New overhangs

Well I knew that the overhangs were bad and that I would need to replace them soon. I had them replaced a few weeks ago and its a good thing that I did. One of the full time guys on the department is a contractor, and he sent a few of his guys over to do the job. They started the demo on a pretty cold day, better them than me. After the gutters were removed they found that there was a pretty sizable gap between the roof and the face board that the gutters were hanging from. They also found that there was no insulation at the top of the outside walls.
So they removed all the overhangs and put all new face boards on, put insulation at the top of the walls and installed foam baffels for attic air movement.

So the new overhangs are complete and they look great, and I have to install new security light by each outside door. You would think that I would have pictures of the finish product but I dont, go figure. Maybe I will have some ina few weeks

Pictures of the house, FINALLY!!

For those of you how have not seen the house I finally have a few pictures.

This is from the street

And this is off the back deck

Go Wings

Go Wings, what a game on Saturday night the 8th. Lisa got us tickets for Saturdays game, big points for her, the seats were great and the game was awesome. McCarty was fighting with in 2 minutes of the start of the game, and they were up 1-0 quick. The rest of the game was exciting and we won 3-1.

Lisa and I had a blast, we joked about each other and the people around us, the Canadians in the row in front, the 2 women sitting next to me and the 2 kids who sat next to her. There was also this smell, I am pretty sure that it was BO and every few minutes we would get a whiff, we pinned it on the Canadians down front. The kids next to her had a few cheers that they had made up for the game, and it was fun hearing them. The ladies next to me were not as into the game as we were, as you could tell by the looks. But they soften by the end of the game and were singing along with the rest of us when there was a good song playing over the intercom. It was an awesome time, cant wait for the next game.

The Shack

OK, so I am not a big reader, but I have to say that this book that I just finished was awesome. I am actually going to reread it, that is unheard of. I think that everyone should read this book, it has given me some good perspective on my journey.

The great sadness in the book can be substituted for any tragedy that you may have gone through. My ONC group has just finish reading this and it has created some awesome discussion. Please pick it up.

Thanks to all

As some of you know today is my birthday and what a day it has been. My birthday for the past few years have not been anything for me to celebrate and today I realize what a blessed life I have. I have reason to celebrate again, as I take time to reflect, I want to thank all of you who have been on this journey with me. There is a reason why things happen the way they do, we may not discover the reason and some times it is very obvious. The relationships that have developed and ones that have grown stronger is the reason why I celebrate today.

Chris, Melissa and Ethan(my BFF's) the amount of support and love that these three people have given me has been awesome and unsurpassed. Ethans' smile got me thru every tough day that I thought I had, every dinner and sleep over with them healed my heart.

The DC and ONC group Jeff, Sharon, Mary, Joel, Ann, Heather, Lauri, Julie, Tamara and Becky. Even though a few are no longer with this group each one holds a special place in my heart. This group of people saved me and brought me back to where I should have always been, have been the inspiration for me to keep living with my chin up, and living every day to the fullest. I could go on and on about this awesome group and would fill up many pages about each person and what they mean to me.

Randy, Angie, Caleb, Emily, Katy, JJ. My beautiful brother, sister and their kids, showed me how to stand up in the face of adversity. I have so much pride and admiration for this family, to face the adversity that they faced and keep going has been tremendous.

Brian and Amber, my beautiful brother and sister have kept me smiling when I thought there was nothing to smile about. The time that I spent with them brought me peace.

Mom and Dad, without there guidance and teaching nothing like this would have been possible, it has brought me full circle.

My Grandma, Unwavering love, kindness and unwavering support from her keeps me going, to strive for my best. I thank her from the bottom of my heart for the help she has given me.

This is just a small look into a few people who have touch my life in a tremendous way. It is hard to put into words what they all have meant to me and the way I feel about them all.

Waiting to move in!

OK so here is my second blog, finally. The house is coming along slowly, removal all of the carpets in the main floor and a new water heater have been my biggest challenges to date. The clean up after the carpet and foam was removed has been slow and I am still working on it. My thinking was that at some point the previous owners were sure that the house was going to collapse, so putting the carpets in kept the house standing. I say this because I have been removing so many staples, I think I counted at least 500, and tack strips that have more nails in them then Home Depot, Lowe's, and Menard's all have in there stock.
Then to the water heater, FUN. I removed the old one and put the new in its place, hooked the hot and cold lines up to the heater, everything is going good(so far)! I connected the gas line to the heater, followed all the directions(can you believe it!) on the heater for start up, and the reset function was not functioning properly, or so I thought. Called Whirlpool, they sent out a new gas valve for me to install. Installed the new valve, turned the gas on and smelled gas, tightened the connection, smelled gas. I fought with this heater for 2 more days, gas filling the house both days, turns out tighter is not always better on gas connectors!! I have to remember that! So I called Whirlpool again, they sent out a plumber at there expense to replace the gas valve again(3rd valve), and now I have hot water!! Awesome!
So I continue to pull tack strips and staples, and clean, but it is so worth it, I am not living there yet and I'm loving it. Hopefully I will be in the first week in November.

The house

This first short blog is dedicated to the one person who told me very clearly that I would "never be able to own a house like the one." This interaction happened over 2 years ago, since then I have been able to stand up, dust myself off and start to pursue new my new goals and dreams. So thanks to her and alot of hard work, I purchased that house I would never own, it feels great. I wake up in the morning and I am happy to be the person that I am, and where I have landed. This life is a journey and I'm just getting started.

Also thank you to the many great friends and family who stuck by and supported me, I love you all!