Slow and Careful

***Text in this color authored by Shena***

Work & Play
After getting up a little late, decided it was too wet and gray outside to do any yard work...right away. The blinds were still sitting in boxes in the middle of the office floor, so I decided to tackle those first. They weren't hard to put up, just a little time consuming. I wanted to make sure that I did them right, so I took my time. In all, it took about 3.5 hours to get all three up and shortened (taking off slats that made them too long). Shena did the majority of the shortening. I only had to re-drill for one bracket. The instructions called a piece that came with the blinds for the long window a "center support." If something tells you it is a "center support," where would YOU put it? Center, right. Me too. Much too obvious. I got it up, tried to put the blind on and realized that the center of the blind also has a string (ladder, they call it) and pull string...which meant the support would keep the blinds from closing. I had to pull it off and move it to the right an inch. Luckily the support covers two of the holes that didn't get used...and you can't really see the other two holes in the casing, because there is a valance in the front of the blind. They look good, though. They are the 2'' faux blinds, and they look much better than the 1/2" mini vinyl blinds that we have on all the rest of the windows. Shena already figured up how much it is going to cost us to replace all the rest of them. Who knows when we'll do that. We still need to get blinds for the office door.

After the blinds and showering, we decided to head to Costco since it was still a little iffy outside and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to work outside at all or not. We called mom to see if she wanted to go with us. Since we took the recliner she used to have up in her room (Bart's old recliner), she wants to replace it. We saw a coupon from Costco the other day for $100 off a $399 leather Lane recliner. She wanted to go and see it, so we made a family trip of it. When we got there, it was about 12:30 and we were all starving, so we thought it might be a good idea to eat first, so that we don't buy tons of food. We got four pieces of pizza and a Coke and all split for $9. Huge pieces of pizza, too. Not bad for $2. I got my cheesecake that I resisted last time. I was happy leaving the store. Oh, we also bought a 4 person Coleman tent for $50 too. Should be about right for the boys and I to go to the father and son campout in 2 weeks. We were going to have to borrow one, otherwise, and the one that we almost borrowed from Plummer's to go camping with Marcos was like a 9 person tent. I think that would have been a bit much for just me and the boys.

When we got home, Shena and Kelson laid down for a nap, Cade and I went outside and mowed the yard. I should have mowed mom's, also, but it was getting kind of hot and I just didn't think I had the energy for the two yards. I also finally went out to the shed to take a closer look. I saw that the cinder blocks that the shed was on were all a little un-even, but I didn't know how big of a problem that is. Apparently the inspector thinks it is a big deal, but I don't know what that means. I'm sure it would depend on who you asked. Ask another inspector, he'll tell you it is VERY important, ask a contractor or a builder, he'll tell you it's no big deal. Anyway, I have to wait it out, now.

After mowing I took the rest of the night off and studied for my first upcoming CLU test. I have to take it before June 30, and right now it is scheduled for June 23. Since I haven't taken one yet, I have no idea what to expect, which makes me a little nervous. Hopefully I'll be able to pass and get a feel for just how hard they are. I have about 4 chapters left in the text book, then I need to review like crazy and take a practice test. I will probably be hitting the study thing pretty hard for the next couple of weeks. The good thing is after I finish the test, the following week is a LONG 5 day weekend (taking June 30 and July 1st off from work, then July 4 is a holiday). I can look forward to that if I feel like I need to complain about how rough my life is.

Llano Update (Cheeto's Brood)
The boys were really good today. They behaved themselves for the most part, even though we didn't do much that they wanted to do today. They just were along for the ride like it was no big deal.

Arellano Update
Mom said that Marcos and Lettie got to go down to the US National Team's (Soccer) World Cup Qualifier in Salt Lake City. Lettie was playing reporter for the tv station where she works. Apparently she was in charge of the camera and Marcos was in charge of the microphone. Since they had press passes, they were also supposed to be down on the field. I watched the game (results) on ESPN2 to try to see them, but never did. I'll have to find out exactly where they were during the game and watch for them again. I am jealous. Probably a pretty cool experience to be down there around those guys.

Christensen Update
None to report that I now of.

Daily Report
LAST NIGHT:
Sleep: 11:30 - 8:00 - I was going to get up at 6:30 this morning, but I didn't set the alarm and it flew right past me. I vaguely remember Shena getting up with the boys, but I don't know what time that was.

TODAY:
Breakfast: none

Lunch: 1 HUGE slice of cheese pizza at Costco, a little Coke

Dinner: corn tortillas and cheese tacos...I wasn't in the mood to cook much, and neither was Shena, and we had already eaten out today, so we did the easiest thing that came to mind...also had some cookies and milk just before bed (bought the pre-made cookie dough at Costco today)