Thank you TurboTax, for turning a minor fight into a pleasurable night of data entry. Also, for telling me that we both qualify for "Making Work Pay" and for making sure that our mortgage interest deduction was included on the right line. Also, for proving me right that we should check the box for yourself and your spouse under Exemptions. You got us $1000 more refund than I did doing it myself. Huzzah!

But you do suck for charging an extra $30 just to direct deposit our refund (in addition to the preparation fee and the state e-file fee). You are lucky it's still worth it.

Now we're thismuch closer to checking off some of our to-do list.
Julie @ 9:29 AM Permalink |

Sitting on the beach in Cancun last month.

He made dinner last night and it was so good. Then, he checked the air pressure in my car tires and filled up my washer fluid. And he got me diamonds for V-day. I am a very lucky girl.
Julie @ 2:27 PM Permalink |

Pretty sure the neighbors got foreclosed on. Their cars are usually parked in front of their house 24-7 and they haven't been for a week. And then there is the huge dumpster of furniture. Can't wait until it is moved, it seems like such a vandalism target. P.S. Promise to give you an update on the living room furniture after a thorough cleaning and a decorating tweak this weekend.
Julie @ 9:48 AM Permalink |

Like my Grandma Christine and my mother before me, I like to make lists. I don't always do all or any of what is on my list. But, I like getting all my thoughts in order in one place. Hence, the baby name list snafu. That wasn't really for all your consumption, really just for me to keep them in one place. Tangent: I was reading Freakonomics last night and there was a whole theory about success and the baby name you choose. Gah.

Anyway, I had a latte after work last night and I should not have. I just never learn to not drink caffeine after noon. So, I couldn't fall asleep and I couldn't get my head to stop planning all the things I want to do to our house. Here's a list of what I can remember:

Paint trim white throughout house.

Living Room
Organize the front closet. Add shoe rack.
Get a big nice rug for the front door.
Change all the brown accessories and art to not brown (this includes recovering pillows and switching out some pictures).
Try a new furniture arrangement in LR with MORE furniture.
Move DVDs to new shelf, move book shelf downstairs?
Put out/organize CDs in shelves
Put piano somewhere? Under the West window?
Hang guitars on the wall.
Paint mirror frame.

Kitchen
Paint kitchen cabinets white or grey.
Get/make new countertops.
Get/make hanging spice rack.
Put in second hand cabinets.
Reorganize upper cabinets.
Put in trim.

Master Bedroom
Change light fixture
Paint furniture? Move furniture to BR?
Get night stands
Deal with extra shelves
New bedspread, new pillows

Guest Bedroom
Clean out closet
File everything away for now
Paint walls

Dinning Room
Install cook book shelves
Remove wall between LR & DR?

Bathroom
Remove plastic tile
Reglaze tub
New tub faucet
Replace some sheetrock
Prime & repaint
Install white subway tile
Replace/make vanity, new sink, new faucet
Remove white shelf
Install towel racks.
New TP holder

Basement
Paint laundry room floor
Install laundry room shelving
Install laminate flooring in BR and Living area
Paint walls
New screen door
Rearrange furniture
Julie @ 8:28 AM Permalink |

Julie @ 11:16 AM Permalink |

Anthony won a contest at work for being awesome and his prize is a brand new TV! We get the cash to spend towards it and it looks like we will have enough for a 50' Plasma AND a PS3. Like, wow. The PS3 will play DVDs, Blue Ray discs, will be Netflix Watch Instantly and Pandora ready and I think I can plug my iTouch into it too.




So, it means we can do some re-configuring of our media set-up in the living room. We will need a new TV stand (!! I hate the old one and I'm going to use my danceteam judging money to purchase the console) and we'll have to move the leaning bookshelf and stereo somewhere else in the house. I'm hoping that we end up with some kind of speakers in the mix too, but we might have to troll craigslist for those later.

Here are a couple of options that we are considering.

Red glossy wide console & upper wall shelf unit from Ikea, formally named: BESTÅ BURS for $349.

Can also be purchased minus the wall shelf for $249, but I think it would look more cohesive and purposeful with. If we went with this one, we would paint the wall behind it white and change some of our accessories for a red, aqua/Tiffany blue, tan, white scheme. Ala this, this and this feel.

I also like this option from Target for $179.99.

Less money and no painting required. But we'd miss out on the chance to update the room.
Julie @ 1:15 PM Permalink |