Now we're actually finished on the toilet!

So sorry it's taken a week and a half to get to "the rest of the story" as I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath!

Long story short (seriously, as long as Saturday took, Sunday went that quickly!)-- We went out with friends Saturday evening with visions on toilets dancing in our heads (well, JE's head) and eager to share the story. Our friend D listened closely, then suggested that his Dremel might be just the ticket to cut through the bolts and remove the tank from the toilet base.

After church on Sunday, we ran by his home to grab the Dremel, read the directions, and got to work.

Sidebar: The little disks that they sell to slice through metal are incredibly strong, but also incredibly fragile. And by incredibly, I mean it's a good thing D had a fresh twenty pack of the things. We went through 7, and not one broke in the actual process of cutting through a bolt. Hit the Dremel with another tool? Shattered. Kick the Dremel over onto the tile floor? Clean break. Tap the Dremel while squeezing between the toilet and bath tub? Yup, again. Seven times. Needless to say, J hit Lowes for another 20-pack on his way to return the Dremel.

A slow and steady hour or so later, and we had lots of little pieces of nuts and bolts and had the tank off the bowl.

Another thirty minutes, and we were actually ready to install the dual flush converter. I'm not certain that we pulled that part of the task off in the promised ten minutes, but it probably wasn't more than twenty to finish the project. Then we spent at least another five flushing the toilet to watch how much water we are saving (yes, I get the irony), and another five putting the bathroom back together.

All told, including Saturday's five hours, the project took us about seven hours. J built a little confidence in his handyman skills, and for maybe the first time in our handy efforts, no one got hurt!

Title: Same Toilet song...still not one you want to read the rest of the lyrics on!

Now we're ... on the toilet

Friday, 6:30 p.m. JE runs to Home Depot to research front doors as a part of an ongoing effort to spruce up the front of the MP (another story that I promise to post about soon). On her way out, she spots a Dual Flush converter, which promises to save hundreds of dollars with just ten minutes of work and no tools!

Having seen a blog post about this handy gadget on Young House Love, JE calls J to see if he's interested in purchasing one to replace the aging flush mechanism in the main bath. J agrees that is sounds like a good purchase and offers to install it while JE works on DAR projects Saturday morning.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. After spending a couple hours working on DAR, JE wakes up J, who makes a fabulous breakfast and heads into the bathroom with the converter.


Saturday, 10:30 a.m. JE hears J mutter "that's interesting..." Having heard that phrase one too many times not to know that it means the latest project is going to take more time and money than planned, she calls out to J to be sure everything is okay. He insists it is.


Saturday, 10:35 a.m. J calls JE into the bathroom to investigate the interesting flush valve mechanism. It's not okay. JE heads to Google to figure out why her toilet doesn't look like the one on the box. Despite the lack of a brand marking on their toilet, she and J agree that they have a Mansfield toilet, which requires more work (of course).

10:55 a.m. JE heads to Home Depot for a replacement flush valve set. J stays behind to remove the tank from the toilet bowl in preparation.


11:30 a.m. JE arrives home with the new flush valve. J has dug out several sets of pliers and WD 40, but still hasn't gotten the tank off the bowl. JE chips in and tries to help. The bolts holding the tank on have rusted solid and become one with the wing nuts under the tank. More WD 40 follows. More Googling.

12:30 p.m. JE plugs in her glue gun in hopes that the heat will expand the nuts. It doesn't. J grabs a butane lighter to see if that would help. It doesn't. Both are surprised that the open flame doesn't produce a more impressive result on the WD40-soaked nuts and bolts.

12:45 p.m. J heads off in search of a nut-cutter. He goes to Lowes. And Ace Hardware. And Home Depot.


2:30 p.m. J comes home with vise grips, a large screwdriver and a large chisel. The vise grips are tightened down on a wing nut to keep it stationary while the chisel is attached to the drill. While JE uses the lighter to heat the nut and hhols onto the vise grips, J attempts to break the rust seal with the chisel-turned-screwdriver inside the tank.

3:00 p.m. No luck. JE googles new toilets and plumbers. J puts his new tools away.



Time: 5 hours...and counting
Tools: six? seven? I've lost count...
Injuries: None...yet


Title: The Toilet Song, from Blue's Clues. Google it. Actual line: Now we're finished on the toilet. But we're not.

If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake

Greetings! Yes, I realize it's been ages (seriously, well over a month and a half...I know!) since an update, and I'm sure that I'm way behind on whatever I promised in the way of blog posts. I'll get better about that over-promising, under-delivering thing one of these days! If it helps, I've been insanely busy (and of course, J has been insanely busy by extension) and have managed to keep the house moderately clean (that was for you, mom!), entertained a few times, made some awesome craft projects, and survived two more Thin Mint Sprints! My running suffered and I went from the first week in April to the first week in June with no 5K, and believe me--my time in my June race showed it. Our next goal is the Bluegrass 10,000 on July 3. Stay tuned for results!

Last week, I started lessons on a new hobby, and I'm pleased to share the preliminary results. That's right, I've taken up cake decorating!

My timing is a bit off, as baking and decorating cakes really doesn't go hand-in-hand with weight loss, but I've found many co-workers and friends willing to help me out with that. In my first class, we learned how to use the star-tip, and I decided to practice a little baking/decorating this weekend to the benefit of the Girl Scouts. I was thrilled to receive many compliments and to find an empty cake plate pretty quickly.

Today I attended my second class and made a cake to share with some close friends this weekend. S & C gave birth to their first child last week, and I'm on my way to meet little D tomorrow. It seemed appropriate to make her a birthday cake to celebrate 12 days of life (really, cake is appropriate to celebrate any day, right?).

I still have two more weeks of class to go, so hopefully there will be more pictures to come!

Title: If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake, by Eileen Barton

Brown paper packages tied up with string

Just wanted to pop in and share my latest crafty efforts! A co-worker of mine shared one of my hand-made banners (I talked about those here and here) with her daughter, who is hosting a wedding shower this weekend. She, in turn, asked if I could make a banner for the shower, which has a Lovebirds theme. Never one to turn down a challenge, I agreed and whipped up this beauty:

My previous banners have been strung on ribbon, but this one is entirely put together using brads (remember those from first grade?). I like the brads for two reasons: first, it totally makes it look like the birds are kissing (cute!), and second, the banner conveniently folds up on itself for easy storage and transport. I added ribbons on each end to hang the banner, and these wrap around it when it's folded up to hold it all together. I tell ya, sometimes I have moments of genius!

Here is the banner all tied up, which actually prompted my post title today...maybe "bright colored banners tied up with rib'n"?

Also, a friend has encouraged me to open an Etsy store using these pictures to make and sell custom banners. I'm thinking about it, but am not sure about pricing...what do you think? What would you pay for a custom-made banner (this is made using a heavy weight cardstock, so really sturdy)? Also, J says I have to wait until June to get serious about this, as I still have to survive May and the two Thin Mint Sprints I have planned. If you're near Lexington (May 8) or Ashland, KY (May 22), come out and join us! You can register online at http://www.thinmintsprint.org/!

Hopefully I'll be back soon with pictures from the Baby Shower I hosted this weekend. It had a bathtime/rubber ducky theme and was absolutely adorable! Yes, there were some cute invitations and cards involved in that one, too! (Something else for the Etsy shop?)

Title: My Favorite Things, from The Sound of Music

Hit the road, Jack

J and I ran in our first 5K of the year today (the Shamrock Shuffle last month was a 3K, or about 1.8 miles). This one was the Lions Club Run for Sight, which wound through Lexington's beautiful Masterson Station Park. This park, located on the northwest side of town, has a large dog park, equestrian facility, and in-line hockey stadium, as well as the track where our race started and finished. We got to see a little of all of these on the run, and that kept it interesting for us.

It was a beautiful morning, but an approaching storm kicked up an awful wind. This was made worse by the "out and back" nature of the course which gave us the wind at our backs for most of the first mile and a half, and then had us running directly into it when we were most tired. At one point on the way back (somewhere close to 2/3 of the way into the second mile), I seriously considered just stopping dead in my tracks and facing the other way for a moment. How I managed to keep trudging up the hill into that wind is beyond me, but I did it.

In addition to learning a little about all of the great charities that put on races, I've also discovered something about myself over the last 7.5 months. I love these races for the excitement in the air (everyone is there because they really want to be) and for the chance to beat myself and my previous times. Sure, I generally pick out someone to pass and take it personally when someone has obviously picked me to be their person, but I'm absolutely loving seeing a shorter time for my pace with each effort. Even though I ran cross country in high school for six years, I never felt that way, and as a result I generally hated running. This time, while I'm definitely not one of those people who 'crave' exercise (yet), I am loving the race experience enough to make the in-between training worth it.

With that build up out of the way, I'm sure you're wondering how today went. Well, last month at the 3K Shamrock Shuffle, I turned in a great time (for me) and dramatically reduced my pace per mile to 13:08. Now, I realized that the better time was likely closely related to the shorter distance, and I wondered if I would be able to sustain that pace over an additional two kilometers (about a mile and a quarter). I looked up the approximate time for a 5K at a sustained 13:08 pace (about 41 minutes) and made that my goal. At each mile marker and the halfway point, I checked my time and worked to maintain my pace. Imagine my thrill at approaching the finish line and seeing I was still in the 39's! I came in just under 40 minutes (no official time yet), so my new pace to beat will actually be under 13 minutes! Obviously, I have a way to go until I'm posting competitive numbers, but I am thrilled with my steady progress and feel good about the direction I'm headed in.

Together with the improved time, I'm also happy to share that I've now lost 20% of my body weight in the last 9 months. I'm pretty confident that I'll hit 25% before the first of May, if not my overall weight loss goal (a total of 75 pounds). J and I are making steady progress toward our goal of each running 300 miles this year, and he's making good progress toward his weight loss goals, too. By the way, I left him out of the running bit, but he did a great job today, too. He's been unable to join me in races for the most part, but picked right up at the same pace today as his last race (the Black Cat Chase on October 30), so I'm really proud of him!

Hope you are all enjoying this beautiful spring by getting out in the sunshine and walking or running, too!

Title: Hit the Road Jack, by Ray Charles

Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday

Today I turned thirty.

Five years ago, I took the time to reflect on my life at that point, and I was pleased. I was in Georgia, celebrating the birth of my first niece a week prior. I was in graduate school, working on a PhD, and starting to develop serious feelings for the man who is now my husband. I was a healthy weight and had a pretty healthy frame of mind. Life was good.

In the intervening years, I've wished many times for the clarity and sense of calm I felt on the morning of my twenty-fifth birthday. I wondered if I'd ever feel the same way and had pretty much come to terms with the idea that I might not.

This morning, I decided to take stock, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I am at a place in my life where I could feel the same sense of peace and clarity. I'm not one of those people who dread turning 30. As the youngest of most of my friends, it's a bit anti-climactic, really. What I do dislike, however, is the feeling that I'm not moving forward to a healthier and happier me.

Perhaps it's a lucky coincidence that my birthday falls in the middle of Lent--itself a reflective time of the church year--because I've been rather reflective these last few weeks. For me, this reflection has brought about great appreciation for the path I'm on today. In the last year, I've become a much healthier person, having shed right at 20% of my body weight (48 lbs), become a recreational runner/walker, found faith in the community of St. Raphael's, and made great friends. There's a bit of peace in realizing how very blessed you are, and age doesn't really factor into it.

So today, I can say that even though I'm living a life I couldn't imagine five years ago, I feel much the same. As I say to J, I'm a lucky girl.

Title: Happy Birthday, by Stevie Wonder (A co-worker and I both turned 30 this month, so we threw ourselves a birthday party at School, a local french/sushi place with a karaoke room. Among the songs we discovered for the first time was this one by Stevie Wonder--not at all what we expected when we typed in Happy Birthday!)

Trapped in the closet, Part 1

First, I know I start more posts by apologizing for the lack of posts, but I'm going to do it again. J and I have both spent this winter fighting off sickness and treading water with regard to everything else. Luckily, Spring is finally arriving (I noticed our dafodils peaking through the ground just last night!), and we're getting back on track!


This weekend, we're participating in our first race of the year, the 3K Shamrock Shuffle. This is a huge race in downtown Lexington, and I'm really looking forward to it! While I've continued to exercise on my own, this is my first race since the Snowman Shuffle in early December. Hopefully this gets us back on target of a race a month!


Now to the title of the post--the Melton Point was built in the early 1970's, apparently before builders discovered that closets sell houses. We have a total of five closets in our house, and two really don't count (they're located upstairs and filled more with boxes than clothes). Up until this house, every closet I've had since my teens has been large, and I'd allowed my wardrobe to expand to the space.


Two years ago, negotiating closet space became the biggest issue in my new marriage (somehow, living out of three wardrobe boxes in the living room just wasn't doing it for me). This wasn't helped by the fact that the closet in our guest room had no rod or shelf, or that my new husband had spent three years making the master bedroom closet completely his own. In addition to these sorry excuses for closets, we have a coat closet that also serves as a the main utility closet for the main level of our house.


For your viewing pleasure, and to show you what amazing progress we've made since January in our closet struggles, I took pictures this week to demonstrate just how small our closets are--


First, the Coat Closet--

Stats: 40" wide and 18" deep; one rod for coats and one shelf




Master Bedroom Closet--


Stats: 75" wide and 25" deep; one clothes rod and one very deep shelf



Guest Bedroom Closet--
Stats: 58" wide and 24" deep, with an oddly offset door; originally, no rod or shelf. I added two hanging rods turned sideways, and a closet unit on the other side to create something like a walk-in closet for J


So this is where we started and what we've worked with for the last two years. I learned to purge (because apparently I didn't need most of the clothes I'd kept from high school), and J made do in the guest room. Then we went to Ikea and J got the great idea to buy the wardrobes I talked about in this post. It's still a work in progress from a finishing standpoint, but we've been using our wardrobes for several weeks. I'll post pictures soon of our wardrobes and then (eventually) I'll get the room finished and share those pictures, too.


Title: Trapped in the Closet, by R. Kelly