Day 101: Rise and Whine

Aha:
I had to have some lab work done today as a walk-in. The clinic opened at 7am and was about 10 minutes from my house. I woke up at 6am and was out the door by 630am. Clinton asked why I was leaving so early and I told him I didn't want to have to wait in line all day. Good thing I left early!
When I got there one gentleman was already in line (that made me #2). Right after I got in line another man came. Within 10 minutes there were about 10 people in line, and by 7am that number about doubled.
When I finished my labs 40 minutes later, I came into the waiting room and it was absolutely PACKED!
It stunk a little to get up so early on a Saturday, but getting in-and-out was totally worth it! Plus, I had a great two-hour nap this afternoon, so it's all good. :)

Haha:
I think (wink, wink) I've mentioned this before, but our landlords do anything but "own" their property. We still have maintenance issues that have yet to be addressed and the things that have been were done very shoddily. We continue to find problems on a regular basis--take today for example.
Clinton went out to get the electric mower to mow our yard. He was outside for a while but I didn't hear the mower. He came back in and grabbed his tools. Again, he was outside for quite some time but I never heard the mower. When he came back in I followed up.
Me: Lemme guess, it's broken?
He: Well, it's starting to work, I think...but yes, it's broken.
Me: Big shocker.
Well, he went back outside to work on it some more and I joined him. First of all, the thing was held together by duct-tape and a couple of the cables were burnt to a crisp and the motor had corrosion on it as well. I asked him if this was going to be fixable and he wasn't sure. He tried a few things and nothing seemed to be working. Finally when he thought it might work, he carefully plugged the mower in.
Drum roll, please....insert random ticking sound...and black smoke from the motor! Ha!
He: Uh, yah, I don't think this thing is going to work.
Me: I don't think so.
LOL, oh man, this rental is a joke!

Day 74: Easter, Teased Her

Aha:

Well, I wanted to just take a brief second and publicly thank my saviour, Jesus Christ, for his willingness to die for me so that I can repent and one day return to live with God. 

I have felt the power of His atonement in my life and the peace and comfort it brings. I have been enveloped in His arms during hard times and felt His love when I needed it most. I am thankful that He knows me and cares about me, even the little things are important to Him.

I love Him.

Haha:

My FIL spent about an hour and a half raking all of the garbage and dog crap left in the backyard from the previous renters. When he came back in he said, "Well that was a crappy job."

Clinton and I laughed at the pun; my MIL said, "Why? Is your back ok?"

Clinton: No, it's a joke.

She: Oh.

Then we all laughed...at her. ;)

Day 73: Good Will, Good Grief

Aha:

I had an appointment this morning and while I was gone my sweet MIL washed the walls and floorboards in my kitchen, while my FIL moved the old dryer out of my kitchen and our table and chairs into the kitchen from the living room.

What a nice surprise that was!

Now I'm three steps closer to have this rental house in decent order!

Thank you, Bob and Rennie!!

Haha:

Our landlord and his wife came over today to look into the maintenance items I had emailed him 2 weeks ago. When I pointed out to him that the previous tenants let their dogs pee in the basement they went down to have a whiff for themselves.

And can you believe they came back upstairs and told me the smell was not urine, but soap?! Lol.

I quickly said, "That is not soap! It's pee and lots of it. It needs to have the rug and padding pulled up and the cement floor resealed in order to get rid of it."

They continued to insist it was soap. Only when I mentioned the urine being a health hazard did he (she still fought me) consent to having a professional come take a look.

I don't know what kind of soap they use at their place but if it smells like dog pee then remind me to never use their bathroom.

Day 72: That's What Family's For

Aha:

My in-laws braved the snowy weather and drove from Grande Prairie to be with us for Easter! So glad they were able to arrive safely and so happy to be with family!!

Haha:

Since our landlord is unresponsive, Clinton and my FIL moved the inoperable washer and dryer from downstairs to the back patio, as well as moved the replacement washer and dryer downstairs. It was a really big task, not to mention dangerous.

Well, when the washers had been moved around and only the dryers were left, my FIL said, "Since they're lighter to move and Clinton and I moved the heavier pieces, I imagine that Rennie and Dani could move the dryers."

To which I replied, "You're right; you can imagine."

Ha!

Day 68: Big Deal

Aha:
Clinton got a great deal on kijiji today: kitchen table, four chairs, a coffee table and delivery for $80! Our home is slowly but surely coming together. Hey, before too long I'll feel like it's cute enough in here to post pics! Ha!

Haha:
I don't know why this was so funny to me, but Peter wanted some water tonight and was extremely insistent about it. He scratched his bowl once, cried for a second and then walked up to me and stared.
Me: You need some water?
He: (takes a couple steps closer to me--his confirmation)
Me: (brings a cup of water to his bowl and leans in to pour)
He: (nudges his head into the cup)
Me: Hold on, Pup. (shoos him to the side and leans back down to pour)
He: (nudges his head into the bowl, blocking me from pouring)
Me: Hold on, Pup. (shoos him to the side and leans back down to pour)
He: (nudges his head alongside the cup and starts licking every drop that makes it into the bowl)
Me: (laughing) Hold on, Pup! (shoos him, holds him back)
He: (leans his head in as much as possible, bumps the bowl, knocking out water)
Me: (laughing) Petey! Hold on! (pours the rest of the water in the bowl) OK! Go for it!
He: (frantically drinks)
Me: (laughs)
It's like he's never had water before. Ha ha!

Day 67: Sterilizzzzzzz

Aha:
I am thankful for modern-day cleaning products.
I am thankful for Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, they are amazing at pretty much everything.
I am thankful for Windex. Without it my glass-doored closets would still be filthy and fingerprinted.
I am thankful for powerful vacuums (especially ones you find at Walmart for a great price)!
I am thankful for carpet cleaners. Let's just say the water was far from clear and now that junk is no longer in my carpets.
I am thankful for used dryer sheets. I don't know if you know this but they are a life-saver when it comes to cleaning soap scum out of tubs/showers (Thank you, Katie Hendrickson, for that tip! I never clean my shower without one!).
I am thankful for rubber gloves. 'Nuff said.
There are so many more things for which I'm thankful, but these few items have really made a difference in our lives this week and I guess I just want to be publicly grateful. :)

Haha:
This has been a day for naps at the Logan household. I woke up really, really early this morning (after going to bed very late last night) and couldn't fall back asleep till later this morning. Then I fell asleep again this afternoon while snuggling Petey.
When I came downstairs from my nap I sat down next to Clinton and Peter on the couch. Shortly after I sat down Clinton fell asleep with his head hanging off to the side. This must have queued Peter in on the idea of another nap because he promptly stretched right out between us and fell asleep.
I guess the stress of the move has got us pretty well wiped out! Ha!

Day 66: Moving and a'Shaking

Aha:

We are officially out of our old place and are making great progress on our new one.

Clinton and I teamed up and cleaned the old house, did some laundry and totally wrapped things up for the homeowners when they return this week.

We feel so blessed to have been able to live rent-free for the last couple months! And we are thankful now to be in our own place for the first time since we left Milwaukee!

Haha:

We went to McDonald's for "lunch". I got my usual: two ice cream cones and a large Diet Coke. It was below freezing outside and I was cold before I even started eating. Well, as you can imagine, my "lunch" made me absolutely freezing from the inside out. I shivered uncontrollably through my whole meal but I gotta say, it was totally worth it. What a deliciously freezing indulgence!

Day 65: Clinton's a Pro Mover

Aha:

So glad the work week is over!! This week has been very long and tiring with moving into and cleaning the disasterous mess we rented. It's starting to look like a home instead of a meth house, so that's good. Ha!

Seriously though, Clinton has worked so hard to make this place sanitary and I am so thankful for all of he has done!

Haha:

Clinton and I were commiserating about the wiles of moving and he recalled an experience from his mission that made me laugh out loud.

He said that he was asked to help a member move a washer upstairs. Not only was the stairway very narrow, but each of the steps were extremely shallow--to the point that he was balancing everything on his tiptoes. He said that the machine was the heaviest thing he'd ever carried and that by the time he made it to the top of the stairs he thought his back was going to go out.

Baffled by the weight of the machine he decided to open it cause it felt like something might be in there. Sure enough! It was a quarter of the way full of rocks! Rocks! Why would there be rocks in there? Bwahaha!

He said he was so mad! Oh man, I'm laughing just thinking about what must have been going through his head back then. Who puts rocks in a washing machine anyway, especially when you're having people do you a favour? Ha!