New floors! New stairs! New paint!

We're getting new floors installed in the house!

We moved in to this little townhouse in October 2009. The house was in great condition, and we got it for a song. But one of the most awful things about it was the flooring. The carpet and linoleum flooring were 17 years old. The carpet had a nice gray walk pattern and bewildering red stains that looked like deep, dark rust. They changed and grew every time we washed it. The kitchen had the linoleum that was chipping. The design on the linoleum had indented stripes that held onto dirt and grime, and after 17 years there was just NO removing it.

So, FINALLY we found the flooring we wanted, and someone who could install it. And this weekend was what I've called "Demolition Weekend" We spent all day yesterday, with the help of my mom and sister, emptying the room of all our possessions, moving ALL our furniture to the garage and tearing up the carpet.

On top of that, I've always wondered what our stairs looked like under the carpet. So, once we were almost done, we started pulling edges of the carpet up just to peek, and what we found was AMAZING. Well constructed stairs, with rounded edges and a proper nose (or lip, or whatever).

Unfortunately, I didn't take any full BEFORE pictures, but I DID take some "in-progress" pictures.
Today, we finish clean up, make sure every last thing has been emptied from the 1st floor, and keep pulling out staples on the stairs. If I have my way, I'm going to start sanding ASAP.

On top of that, we have a painter coming today to give us a quote to have our living room/stairway painted. We have gigantor ceilings and there's no way Mike and I could have done it without dying.

The floors are being installed Monday-Thursday and I CANNOT WAIT until I can see the finished product. And to have the 30 boxes of Pergo gone.

How to Install Google Analytics

So, I recently made a couple of changes to my layout. It's nothing exciting and definitely nothing to write home about - mostly I was just playing around.

But! I failed to realize that I need to reinstall Disqus and my Google Analytics tracking code RIGHT AFTER.

For my purposes and yours, here's how to make sure Google Analytics is working properly.

First, you have to sign up for google analytics. So go http://www.google.com/analytics/ and click "Sign Up"
This is especially easy if you have a gmail account and use Blogger. Unfortunately, I don't have any info on how Analytics works if you are using something else (sorry!).

Then you have to find your TRACKING CODE. Here's what Google says:

• Log in to Google Analytics at http://www.google.com/analytics
• From the Overview page, select the account that has the profile for the tracking code you're looking for, as the code is profile-specific.
• Select the profile from the accounts Overview page.
• From that profile's Actions column, click Edit
• At the top right of the 'Main Website Profile Information' box, click Check Status
• Your tracking code can be copied and pasted from the text box in the Instructions for adding tracking section

Now that you have your tracking code, head over to blogger and hit the "DESIGN" tab along the top, and then the "Edit HTML" selection after that.

Once you see all the HTML code, find "<*/*head*>" (without the *s), and paste your code BEFORE that.

Done and DONE. I hope. From what I've gathered (and correct me if I'm wrong) Analytics updates once a day...so I won't know FOR SURE if all of this worked until tomorrow. But, hey! Fingers crossed.

Do you know anything more than I do? Do you have an easier method?

DIY: Trial and Error - How To Get Rid of Ants

Mike and I have new roommates:

[Image via Flikr]

Don't judge me. My house is spotless, so there are no crumbs to eat. At least not anymore.

The invasion started about a week ago, when I found a bunch of ants loitering in the kitchen. I annihilated them with pest spray, thinking that would be the end. (My apologies to those who feel strongly about the use of chemicals on pests!)

The next couple of days were quiet - and then they invaded the living room. HOWEVER, the ants were justified this time! We had left a few crumbs on the floor the other day. So, after another ant annihilation and a thorough vaccuuming, I assumed they would retreat.

I WAS SO WRONG. They invaded the kitchen, the front hall, the bathroom, and the TV stand almost daily. So I set up ant traps - NO USE.

On Thursday night, I was done. I was SOoooooOOO over the ants, so I went online (where all the answers lie) and searched for natural remedies, at home remedies, and essentially anything I could find. Well, I ended up learning a LOT about ants - specifically that they're probably in the house because it is winter, and that they are REALLY hard to actually get rid of and the best you can hope for is to CONTROL them.

Thankfully, every single article mentioned the use of a product called Terro. Which is essentially a 5% Borax solution, mixed with sweetner (or something) to attract ants. Borax apparently dehydrates the ants, and kills them. And with this product, they feast on its tasty sweetness and brings it back to the nest to share, so more die.
(Again, I'm really sorry to those who feel compassionate towards the ants, but I need my house back. I'm tired of feeling dirty because they've taken up residence!)

In my readings I found SO MANY OTHER "natural remedies" that didn't work. Like, a chalk line...many people posted that if you drew a line with chalk the ants wouldn't cross it because the fine dust would impair their breathing (or something), so in the name of science I tested this by drawing a circle around a lone ant. At first it was confused, then the walked right out.

Mustard powder would apparently repel them, however my ants were very curious about it, and decided to take some back to the nest.
Same with cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper and cloves. They walked right through it, and in some instances took some back to the nest.

The only thing that has returned results Terro. They ants SWARMED it (and it took every OUNCE of self control for me to continue to make my breakfast while my kitchen was overrun with those buggers), and brought it back to the nest. Many died in the little traps (because it's a thick liquid, so they likely drowned?), but since I've put them out, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANTS.

And OMG, I am so thankful. Since then, I've vaccuummed repeatedly, bleached the floors and counters. Though, it's not like my kitchen wasn't clean to begin with (I'm super insane about the state of my kitchen). Hopefully those assholes won't be back. But I'll keep you posted.

DIY: Trial and Error

Today:
...I love Jolly Racher Pink Lemonade Valentine's Day suckers.
...My curling iron broke (it exploded on Monday, but was still functional).
...I need to drink more water.
...NEW SHOWS ARE ON! (Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, 30 Rock)
...Is a more organized, less stressful day
...I am planning for the weekend (refurbishing a table! making soup! sewing a dog bed!)

Sorry for my mini-meltdown the other day. I mean, after re-reading it I realized I sounded way more insane than I actually felt. But seriously, those of you (bloggers, specifically) who are able to do ALL of that and more kill me. And I've decided that you, my friends, are an alien race who are able to function without sleep. And I am jealous. I am of the breed that needs 8+ hours of slumber to even FUNCTION at the most basic level.

I think I'm going to add a new dimension to this blog...a DIY, by trial and error section. I'm at a point in my life where I'm learning new things (about being married, owning a home, cooking, sewing) and sometimes the interwebs doesn't offer the resources I need - so I need to cobble together my own recipe/method/system. So why not blog about it!? Not just before/after pictures. Not just my successes. But everything.

That chicken pot pie recipe I mentioned - I'm gonna blog it. Refurbishing a side table - I'm gonna blog it. Installing a light fixture - If I don't die an electrical-related death, I'm gonna blog it.

I'm acting like this is a new concept - duh, it's not. But it will for sure give me something interesting to do with my time.
xoxo