Taking a whack at home improvement

I'm really proud of Jeremy for renovating our shower over the weekend. He did a great job. I'm so excited for when the grout is dry and sealed, and we can actually shower in it. A note to all you aspiring home improvement junkies - when renovating a bathroom (or just a shower), it's helpful to have another one to use. A big thanks to Jessica who let us shower at her house multiple times over the weekend. :)

Here's a little photo journey. Don't expect a true "before" photo, because of the aforementioned nastiness. Here's Jeremy and his buddy Karl (without whom this project would have been a major disaster) in demolition phase 2. The plastic surround torn off, cutting through drywall to see (yikes) what's back there. And yes, they found a window... Note - see the curling iron I forgot to put away on the counter - covered in dust.

A closer look at the window. So weird. And a tubfull of debris.

Here's the grouting phase - Karl in his dress socks because he came from a wedding. Classy!

Here's the "almost after" pictures. The tile and grout are finished, but the bullnose (edge) tiles are still on order and will get here Thursday-ish. So that's why it looks so literally rough around the edges.

For anyone who might be keeping track, we haven't gotten the new car yet. Hopefully it will happen on Saturday! For now, I just hope the weather holds up so I can keep biking around town... :)

An Update

So, lots of things going on right now!

We're trying to get out to enjoy the lake, but seem to have things going on every weekend so far. It's okay, I guess, since the water at Coeur d'Alene is COLD right now.

Yesterday I sold my car, which means I'm two-wheelin it around town until I get a new car, which will hopefully happen sometime in the next week or so, but we'll see! At least it's nice weather for biking.

Tomorrow, Jeremy is tiling our shower surround (this summer's home improvement project) so I'll post an after photo next week. I would post a before photo if I wasn't so ashamed at the filthiness that is the current state of the shower. Long story short - the plastic surround doesn't meet the top of the tub, so there's an inch of mold and dry rot that I'm sure is infested with snakes and critters just waiting to grab my ankles while I shower. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating a little, but it is certainly not something to be proud of, or to post on your blog for the world (or your three readers, thanks Jaclyn) to see.

Next weekend is the Plewman Family Reunion in Tri-Cities. Hoo-ha! Should be quite a day.

Watch for pics of the new car! Ooh! Suspense.

Yoga-tastic

I'm currently taking a "Conditioning Yoga" class. It's really challenging! Other yoga classes I've taken have been watered-down, yoga-for-the-masses easy versions. This class, on the other hand, is almost two hours long, and designed for "athletes, dancers, and fitness enthusiasts."

There are only two of us in the class (me and my friend Erika, the dance coach) but it's really fun, because our instructor tailors it specifically to us and our strengths/weaknesses. The teacher says it's a treat for her, because she gets to use all the challenging poses that she can't use in her other classes. I'm ALWAYS sore on Saturdays, usually in my glutes, and my flexibility has shot through the roof from all this yoga!

Sometimes the teacher has a tendency to get a little too "spiritual" for my liking (chakras, anyone?), but all we have to do is tell her we want less of that, and more of the hard stuff, and she's happy to comply. So far, my favorites are Plow Pose, Dolphin Pose, and L Pose.

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. My pink Samsung Instinct, which is Sprint's version of the I-Phone. The texting took me a while to get used to, but I love love love having the Internet at my disposal, the visual voicemail, and the Sprint TV (full episodes of 30 Rock, anyone?).

2. Silver flip flops. (link to a similar pair at Old Navy) These have pretty much replaced all the rest of my flip flops this summer. I wear them everywhere. The problem is that the soles on these are actually leather, so they're starting to wear out from all the use.

3. The peonies in my back yard. So pretty! The perfect color, and each blossom just gets bigger and bigger!

4. Safeway Organics Italian Sodas. Orange blueberry is my favorite. They're about $2 a bottle (4 servings) and perfect for summer!

5. My Jane Austen Anthology. I've finished Sense and Sensability, and Pride and Prejudice, and I'm about halfway through Mansfield Park, which is pretty scandalous, by the way. I still have Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Lady Susan. I love having this to read, but it's SO heavy! Also, it makes me feel like a slow reader, because look how much text is one one page!:

6. kottke.org I certainly don't always agree with the politics here, but this is my new source for random facts. Here's something I learned today: "Thanks to digital technology, designers can squeeze so many functions into such tiny containers that there is more computing power in a basic cellphone (not a fancy model, like a BlackBerry or iPhone, just a cheap one) than at NASA's headquarters when it began in 1958. That is why the appearance of most digital products bears no relation to what they do."

7. Banana Boat Faces SPF 30 sunscreen. I've always been prone to breakouts, but I needed to start wearing a high SPF on my face, to avoid the premature aging process. This one is oil free, doesn't smell too "sunscreen-y," made with organic materials, feels good going on, and best of all, doesn't make be break out.

8. White ballet flats. (Link to a similar pair at Target) These are great because I can literally wear them with anything. Skirt? Check. Jeans? Check. Shorts? Check. Capris? Check-check-check. And they're made of PVC pipe, or something, so I can just wipe them clean.

9. Facebook. Seems to be the only way to keep in touch with my cheerleaders/dancers while they're gone over the summer, so I've become even more addicted than I used to be (who knew it was possible)? It's even worse considering Facebook Mobile on my phone (see #1).

10. Working out! Specifically, working out with a buddy who keeps me accountable. My good friend Erika and I have been working out regularly for about three months now. I feel great - healthier and less stressed. Watch for a post in the next couple days all about our LONG weekly yoga class. It's quite something!

UP

What's that? You want to go see a fantastic, wholesome movie? You like comedy, but also incredible animation, intricate storylines, adventure, and heart-wrenching emotion? Well, you're in luck. Disney-Pixar has made a movie just for you.
We saw Up on Friday, but I've been told my movie reviews lack some... "eloquence," so I'm going to direct you to my favorite movie blog for their RAVING review of UP. I love summer movie season... :)

For the over-25 set

If you are 25 or older, or approaching that age, please read this. Thank you.

Five random things in my purse

1. USB memory card adapter - Because you never know when you will need to put some photos onto your computer! It looks so beat up because I've been carrying it around for 2 years!!

2. Dental floss - has come in handy more than I every would have imagined (think pineapple, popcorn at the movies, steak/broccoli/lettuce from a restaurant, etc!)

3. Tide to go - I guess that's not so random, because lots of women carry one, but mine is unique because it's there for messy Ivy, not messy kids.

4. Artificial nail glue - classy, huh? I also use it as superglue when stuff breaks.

5. A very cute, very NOT functional fake Chanel wallet - I bought this for ten bucks at an outdoor market in L.A., and in retrospect should have investigated it much more fully. Problems: 1) there's no pocket for coins, so they're flying all around the inside of my purse and of course I can never find them when I want them. I even resorted to putting them in a ziplock bag. Classy, Ivy, classy. 2) the wallet is constructed badly, so I can't even keep my cards in the slots, because I can't get them out on demand. Jeremy calls this the "Law of Diminishing Returns." I wonder when I'll give up and revert back to the old wallet? We'll see!