Ta-da!

All right, I think it's time for a new post. Aren't you sick of looking at that X-ray? I don't have a lot of time today, so I thought I'd share some fun pictures. (I apologize to those of you who have been in my house and seen my kitchen a million times already.)

In July, I was spoiled enough to get my new countertops! There was no way I was going to pay the extra money to have my old countertops removed, so we did it ourselves. I crawled around in the cupboards and found all of the screws and loosened them, then pried the countertops away from the walls. Once they were completely unattached, I had my big strong husband lift them off and carry them out. I had to repair and repaint the wall, and then the installers came with the new countertops. I'm so excited because the kitchen is basically done now! It's been a long road and a lot of work.

So just for fun, here's a step-by-step view of the transformation. First, the kitchen when the previous owners lived here:

Next, we painted the cupboards white (and the top of the wall green):

Then, we installed a new floor and repaired and painted the backsplash:
And finally, drum roll please.......................new countertops:

In case you're wondering, they're laminate with a shiny and slightly textured finish. The dark, granite-like color is a departure from my usual style, but I really like the contrast it brings to the white cabinets.

Thanks for looking! Hopefully I'll have time for a more interesting post soon!

WARNING: Do NOT try this at home

I have to tell you before you read this that I am a reasonably intelligent individual. You may find that hard to believe after hearing my story.

Two weeks ago I had a little sewing accident. John was on call at the hospital, so my sister and I were sewing while our kids played. Julie left around 10:30 and I went back to my machine to try to finish the blanket I was working on. I had been having trouble with my bobbin for the last hour that we'd been working, so I was very frustrated and rushing to get the last seam sewn. In my hurry, I managed to sew through my left index finger. No joke. The needle went through my fingernail just above the cuticle and broke off inside of my finger tip. I was in shock at first, and it took me a minute to figure out what had happened. It took about 10 minutes before the pain kicked in - and boy did it kick in! I called John, who was just leaving to come home, to see if I should go have it x-rayed. We decided not to, and he came home and shot lidocaine into my finger so that I could sleep.

I felt pretty good about not doing anything, mostly because my sister Julie had done the same thing about a year ago, and she did go to the ER. They took an X-ray, then cut open her finger and tried to find the needle. They repeated the process several times and were never able to find the darned thing. Eventually, it worked its way out of her finger. So I figured I'd skip the pain - and the ER bill - and let nature take its course.

For two weeks I haven't been able to touch anything with that finger because the needle was digging into my skin from inside. When the pain started getting worse, I went to see John at work and finally got it X-rayed. Here's what we saw:

The needle went through my bone. Obviously it wasn't going to come out on its own, and I didn't like the idea of getting stabbed if I ever touched anything, so I asked John to perform surgery for me. We created the most sterile environment possible on a kitchen table, then John numbed me up and went to work. The needle wasn't close enough to the surface, so he had to cut into my finger. Let me tell you, it's not easy to pull a needle out of bone! It was so difficult and took so long that we almost gave up. But he got it! Tanner held a flashlight for John through the entire surgery, and I never looked at it once.

Now, thanks to my doctor hubby, I have three stitches in my finger tip and I'm needle free! If only it would stop throbbing...

Our new addition

No, unfortunately I'm not referring to my sweet little Aidan. Our new addition is Tanner's new pet. My 12-year-old is the proud owner of a 6-foot boa constrictor named Bo. He's as excited as any 12-year-old boy could be, as you can see by the gigantic smile on his face:

Here's another pic, this more of a "look how cool my new snake is" shot:

He brought some friends home to admire Bo today, and they were definitely impressed. I felt pretty awesome standing there next to Tanner, with a snake wrapped around his neck and shoulders, as his friends both said, "My mom would never let me have a pet snake. She's too scared of them."

So let's be honest. Am I scared of Bo? I was running errands last night while Tanner and John went to purchase the snake. On my way home, I vowed to go inside and hold the snake and feign excitement to make Tanner feel good. When I walked into the room and saw how big the snake really is, I was a bit taken aback. I decided that Bo and I might need to warm up to each other a little before we start snuggling. But I'm not scared of him. We've had enough snakes in the past that I'm not afraid to touch them, and I know that boas don't bite. I'm a little nervous about the whole constriction thing, but if Tanner can handle the thing, I should be alright, right? I did have a little scare today when I poked my head into Tanner's room to check on Bo and found myself looking at an empty tank. My heart just about stopped beating - until I saw him coiled up in his gigantic water dish. You don't have to be terrified of snakes to be a little worried about having a 6-foot boa slithering around your house unattended.

By the way, here is one of Katelyn's snakes, which we have had for a few weeks. (John found one while he was fishing, then got the other at the pet store.) They're very skinny and only 10 to 12 inches long. Their names are Fred and Snakey. I'm definitely not scared of them, but I have to admit that I have yet to hold either of them.

Now, please pray for me that I won't wake up to a large boa missing from his cage and one of my cats strangled and swallowed whole!