Let's Get Lit

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at our usual spot, Brodie and Sara's House. It's a great way to enjoy a delicious meal without the family drama...

But my favorite part of Thanksgiving always is, and always will be the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...

The grand conclusion of the parade is Santa, and I've always said that the Christmas season officially starts when Santa's sleigh reaches Macy's at the Thanksgiving Day Parade. This year I am especially excited about Christmas, and I have been since early October (strange I know). It must have something to do with the new house, but I'm going all out.

Every year our tradition is to spend Black Friday decking the halls, and this Black Friday was no different. Unfortunately, no Goodfriend home project (even decorative ones) can get done without something that is in need of fixing rearing it's ugly head. This time it was the gutters....

When Derek got on the ladder to hang our icicle lights, he discovered that there was standing water in the gutters... no bueno. So most of the day was spent fixing them. But alas, the time came to hang our icicles! I was very excited. The ones we had from our last place had gotten quite old, and sections would frequently shut off, so we tossed them and got new ones this year. We decided to upgrade and get twinkling icicles because they add a little extra flair. So we headed over to Lowes and picked them up. But that's when the trouble began. Derek hung the first set while I opened all the boxes, untwisted the twist ties, and stretched out the remaining packages. When he was ready for set 2, he realized that the icicles we bought don't connect end-to-end. For rizzle?!? I mean you know that the perfectly lit mansion on the box wasn't lit with one set. And no one in their right mind (especially someone who can afford to have their lights done for them since their house is so big) would run extension cords to every single strand. That's just insane! So we boxed them back up, which was quite a task...

Seriously, it is humanly impossible to put those things back in their boxes without the boxes looking like they're going to bust. Fortunately Lowes took them back despite my not-so-perfect repackaging, and we bought a second set at Big Lots. These ones were slightly more expensive, but we decided that the twinkle effect was totally worth it, so we got them. This time Derek played it smart, and plugged in a set before he even undid the twist ties, and it's a good thing too because that set got returned as well. The box said "Twinkling," but I think the person who wrote that description needs a dictionary.

from www.dictionary.com

I think the person got the word twinkle mixed up with the word flashing because those icicles were practically strobe lights. It was obnoxious, and I'm pretty sure if someone prone to seizures drove down our street we would have ended up with a car parked in our living room. So set number 2 got returned.

Meanwhile, Sunday I had my favorite half marathon, the Space Coast Half...

But no matter how tired I was, I was determined to get our lights up this weekend, so when we got back, we began the hunt once again. For set number 3 we decided to scour the internet to see if we could get a preview of what our local stores carry. Home Depot didn't have any twinkling icicles. Lowes, however, did, and their online site provided a lot of information including whether or not the lights connect end-to-end, and if they are constant, twinkling or strobing (which none of them were because again, that's obnoxious). I found ones that twinkle, connect end-to-end, and were the desired length and price range. They even had them in stock at our local store, and would be available for pick up within 20 minutes. I was sold! We placed the order and headed over to Lowes, and I almost died when I saw what they set aside for me. THE EXACT SAME ONES I STUFFED BACK IN THE BOXES AND RETURNED!!!!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? Here is how the conversation with the sales lady went:
Me: "Those don't connect end-to-end, and the ones I ordered do. Can you check the item number to make sure they're the right ones?"

Lady: (looks puzzled) "Huh? How do you know they don't connect end-to-end? I checked and the item number is the same, and online it says they connect end-to-end."

Me: "Listen, this isn't my first rodeo. If you check out those boxes, you'll see that they've clearly been opened and poorly restuffed back in their boxes... by me... 2 days ago. Feel free to take them out and check for yourself. It's not like you have to worry about restuffing them nicely. I didn't... 2 days ago when I stuffed those exact same boxes."

Lady: (again looks puzzled, she did the whole time in fact) "But online--"

Me: "Check."

Lady: (Opens the box and sees that they don't connect end-to-end. Checks the item number in the computer and on the box... 3 times. Reads and rereads the description online... 3 times. Attempts to shove the lights back into the box.) "I guess you're right. Sorry about that, the description online must be wrong. I just don't get it. It's never wrong..."

This is just plain ridiculous.

On to set 4! Last night I resumed my internet searches, and found that Target had sets of 300 count twinkling lights in stock at the Sanford Target. I figured this would be easy because there's a Big Lots next door (where I needed to return set #2), and its close to work. So after work today I went in, and no dice. There was a huge hole next to the 300 count non-twinkling icicles, so I figured they ran out since I checked last night. Fortunately when I checked (anticipating more ridiculousness), I made sure to check Oviedo too, and they had some in stock as well. So on my way home I stopped in the Oviedo Target, and again didn't see any. FML. They had them in the 150 count, but that would mean I would need 10 strands, and that seems a little ridiculous. This time the Christmas section was littered with employees busily stocking the shelves, so I decided to ask one if they had any twinkling 300ct icicle lights. She went to the large gaping hole next to the 300 count non-twinkling lights and looked. Then she scanned the SKU on the shelf and found out that that SKU was for net lights. She searched the Target computers, and said that they never had any in stock. She then searched online, and wouldn't you know their website had a mistake too. At this point I could do nothing but laugh, thank her for her efforts and walk away.

Time for Plan B. When looking through the decorations, I discovered that last year I must have bought some new icicles on clearance because I had 3 boxes. They don't twinkle, but at least they're icicles, and we can buy more non-twinkling icicles easily (I hope). So I got home and took out the boxes....

Sigh. Two boxes with green wire (why ICEicles even have green wire is beyond me), and one with white wire.

So alas, it's 4 days into the Christmas season, and the woman with the most Christmas in her heart STILL doesn't have Christmas hanging from her roof. At least I found an alternative form of Christmas cheer...

Painting, and Avoiding The Naughty List

It was an exciting week here at the Goodfriend house, and for the first time in a long time the excitement doesn't have to do with drainage! (although Derek did finish the French Drain in the front, and put the extension into the backyard on hold for now) This week we decided to host a painting party and get the inside of this house looking like a home! Most of the day Saturday it was a party of one... me. But it was nice to finally feel useful around here. While Derek was busy at work, I did a deep cleaning of the house (not brilliant to do to kick off a painting weekend, doh!), which included a dusting of the walls, as suggested by Derek. It was this 2+ hour task that brought me to a frightening conclusion...

Walls are really, really stinking dirty! I mean EEWW!!! This one wasn't even CLOSE to the worst. This was after 2 swipes, yes TWO swipes. I think I need to add wall dusting to the semi-annual clean fest list. Although, I might need to grow a few inches first...

You see a dining room table, I see a stool! But really, I was concerned with safety...

I coulda broken a leg, but I wasn't going to risk getting dust in my pretty baby blues (yup, I'm a genius). After Derek got home from a hard day's work, we got to painting...

I took care of the short stuff, and did the tall stuff. Except for this.....

Yup, I stood on our hideous built in entertainment system storage unit, and painted all 3 coats of paint up there. After only 3 hours, Derek and I got one coat on the entire living room/dining room, and one wall in the kitchen. We were beat though, and ready for bed. The next morning, I had the brilliant idea to run 10 miles before I painted for the day...

But, alas the day took a dramatic turn for the better...

reinforcements arrived!!! We're soo lucky to have Brodie and Sara as friends. Not only did they let us live with them for 5 weeks, but they came and spent the day helping us paint too! By the days end, we were tired and sore, but we did all of the rolling in the kitchen, living room/dining room, entryway, and hallway, and we started the trim. It's a dramatic difference!! Take a look:

Living room before. I like to refer to this color as Colonel Mustard
(who committed a murder in the living room with the paint brush!)

Living room after
(although this picture doesn't do it justice. I'm pretty stinking tired... too tired to take quality pictures.)
Colonel Mustard was the worst color to cover. It took 3 coats, yup THREE coats!

Another angle of the living room after that includes a look at the entryway, and a smidge of the hallway

Kitchen before. White blah, and BRIGHT yellow.
A BRIGHT yellow that doesn't match the Colonel Mustard on the other side
of the wall, which is visible from the kitchen... yeah brilliant people lived here.

Kitchen after. Again it doesn't to it justice, but it'll have to do.
The color in the main living area is called Lemon Whip.

So that was the big progress we've made thus far, and it was all with a goal in mind. PARTY!!!!!! Yup, 9 months after moving in we're finally having a house warming party/holiday brunch, and maybe it's because I'm finally in a home I own, or maybe it's just a burst of insanity (which can't be ruled out), but I'm really excited about Christmas this year. Like weird excited. I've never been one to do much decorating. We always put up lights outside, and I have a few things to decorate the inside, but unless you look in the one or two spots in the house where my random gifted Christmas nick-nacks lie, you'd never know it was a holiday season in my house. But not this year! For some reason I've been really excited about decorating the house for Christmas, and I've been excited about it since October, yeah, weird I know.

Which brings me to the second part of my title. You see I'm a firm believer that the holiday season doesn't start until Santa crosses the threshold of Macy's at the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and that Christmas decor should go up not even one second before, buUuUuUuUuUut... I couldn't help it! I absoutly HAD to start. Plus I plan on making alot fo the things I'm going to use as decor, and crafting takes time. So I started.

Isn't this AUH-MAZE?!?!? Pinterest baby!

These candles will be wrapped in candy canes as soon as I pick some up... Pinterest strikes again!

Fortunately, I think this is the one offense Santa will over look when he's making his naughty and nice list. All the other stuff I've done this year.....

let's just hope he's a forgiving man.

Lots of treats, no tricks

Not much is going on around Casa de Goodfriend. Derek has been working 10-12 hour days, and 8hour Saturdays, so his energy when he is home isn't enough to make him willing to dig ditches and repair drywall (and understandably so). Last week was our first Halloween in this house, and it was definitely a disappointment. We had a whopping 6 trick-or-treaters, and because 5 of them came together, we only had 2 knocks. Lame. I was pretty surprised considering all the kids in our neighborhood,  but maybe it's because we're in the back of the neighborhood and in a cul-de-sac. Regardless of the reason, this much candy left after the holiday is unacceptable, especially with the price of candy these days. So next year our light will be off, and our money will be saved! Forget that! At least we were still able to enjoy our Halloween at Brodie and Sara's annual party...

This weekend was Homecoming, and because we love our tailgates, we were ready to go...

Unfortunately only 1 of our lame ass friends was...

Derek had to work a half day before, and based on how his alarm clock was sitting th next morning, I have a feeling he wasn't too excited about that...

But before he left for work, he earned the Husband of the Year award...

You see, I haven't been sleeping well, and Derek saw that I was fast asleep in the wee hours when he was getting ready for work. So, he got ready in the guest bathroom. I <3 him.