stefr.net

So our latest DIY home project has been working on a new back porch – a screened-in back porch… where we plan to enjoy drinks with friends in the near future. (thankfully, it’s not a complete-DIY job – our friend Scott really knows what he is doing.)
We have the entire place framed in now – and we’re just waiting on the pressure-treated lumber to dry. Then, we will paint… screen… and move in some cool new porch furniture. In another month or so, it will be party time!
In the meantime, I wanted to share some pics with you.
Before:

Currently:

And my personal favorites… Steven using POWER TOOLS! Enjoy these pics – it’s likely you will NEVER see SB using power tools again, ever, in his lifetime.
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Welcome to the crack-head moment of the weekend…
SB and I have been checking out flights for our next vacation… and my mom gave us her SkyMiles.
So, the flight we would like to take costs 80,000 SkyMiles.
Well, we only have 62,900 – so… I called Delta yesterday, to check how much it would cost us extra… I figure, put the 62,900 down, and pay the rest in cash. Makes sense, right?!
Wrong. According to Delta, “Miles and Cash cannot be combined.” WTH?! 
Well, no worries – the attendant suggested we BUY the additional 18,000 miles we need – for a mere $504.00.
Excuse me?! The ENTIRE flight will cost us less than $500 out-of-pocket. So why the HECK would I BUY miles for more than just buying the ticket outright?!
To make a short story long… we’re not going to use the SkyMiles for this flight. Last I checked, there were still a few places we could fly for ‘free.’

I don’t really participate in April Fool’s Day pranks… I’ve never been able to come up with any good jokes, so I kind of just gave up on the whole day.
I did see one joke on Facebook today that was pretty good…

you all know my disgust with the Facebook Birthdays, and how they have ruined my ability to wish friends a Happy Birthday… because it’s just not special to get hundreds/thousands of birthday wishes from people that wouldn’t have known it was your birthday unless Facebook told them. Anyway, I’ve already posted about that (http://wordpress.stefr.net/2010/05/25/its-all-about-me/).

To my point….
An old friend/acquaintance really thought this prank out – sometime before today, she changed her ‘facebook birthday’ to April 1. I saw her birthday on my facebook home page early this morning. I thought, “Heh; I didn’t know her birthday was today… Cool.”
(I have boycotted ‘gunking’ up people’s walls for their birthdays, since I’ve decided it is completely impersonal anyway.)
Anyway, the day went on… and around noon, I noticed a new update from her:
Y’all should know I’m too Cool to be a Fool!!!
It’s not my Birthday, that’s all I gotta say!!!
Happy April Fool’s Day!!!!
So the funny thing about it is … she has pages of birthday messages – from her ‘friends’ – right. If you were her friend, you would KNOW when her birthday is. Just another piece to prove my point.
(Thanks to MaryD for giving me a great blog post!)

I absolutely cannot stand it when I purchase a picture frame… and the store has put the price sticker/barcode on the glass of the frame. Now, how brilliant is that?! It’s a pain in the ass to get the sticker off… and even then, there’s always a slight smudge left on the glass.
Who comes up with these bright ideas?! Idiots.

Today, I have decided to finally unwrap and put away all of my wedding china. Don’t Judge. I know it’s been five years.
I still have the original box and packing for each set… and today, I’m organizing, cleaning and putting away – and… as I’m unwrapping each piece to put into our china cabinet… I realize that one cup has a barcode price sticker on the inside wall of the cup. WHY would someone do that?!
As I inspect the remaining cups… I find that each cup has that stupid sticker! Really?!
I can’t blame it on the store… because some place settings came from Macy’s, and some came from Bed, Bath & Beyond. So- I guess the manufacturer is to blame. Thanks, Kate Spade & Lenox.
So now… I have to spend extra time soaking each cup to get the sticker off! The stickers have been there at least five years, so this will be no easy feat.
Okay. Rant over… I have more china to put away… and cups to wash. Joy.