Upgrade?

Can you say, "Upgrade?"

Sometimes, when things change, they seem to change all at once. Like, we kind of get in the mode of "this needs changed, this needs changed, let's do it all and let's do it all right now!!!"
For me, sometimes I think I get some high from fixing and changing everything at once, especially if it means upgrading or buying something new. And sometimes, Greg has to reign me in so we don't accidentally throw the baby out with the bathwater.


But this past weekend, we had some much needed changes or "upgrades" occur.


As I referenced earlier, Mia's been in desperate need for a new carseat.  She hadn't outgrown it physically by her weight limit, but it was becoming obvious she was not comfortable in it any longer.  Anytime I tried to put her in it, she'd start arching her back & throwing a fit (very lovely)!  So after some fitful research on the internet and a stroll through Babies R' Us on Friday, Greg & I returned to BRU Friday night and decided on the EvenFlo Symphony.  I had a 20% off coupon, so it made the upgrade even sweeter.
I wished that Chicco did have a toddler equivalent of their infant carseat, but it was just not meant to be apparently.  And while that Maxi Cosi Priori was eye-candy for the mod-lined European design seekers, the 40lb weight limit was a limitation, no pun intended. 


So, one major task completed.


Another included rehauling / rearranging our front room.  We have some amazing furniture up there that I have loved, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't fitting in there correctly and Greg & I experienced a moment of discouragement where we thought we were going to have to do that room ALL over again.  But, the Sabrina Soto* lover in me popped up, and we realized, with some simple tweaking, rearranging, repurposing, and de-cluttering, we could really make the room look & flow how we want it to.
So out went that old nasty bookcase to the garage where it will hold things only garages should hold, and off went the leaning desk with the shelves to a new home across the front room to the opposite hall, and out went the coffee table.
That sounds like a lot, but it really wasn't that bad. I should have taken before & after pictures, but here are just some of the afters (without the wall decor we plan to hang):

TBH (to be hung): picture frames & clock, which shall frame the window

TBR (to be replaced): spazzy lamp, replaced with end tables & other lighting

TBH: sweet wall art from Pier 1 & our prestigious diplomas

liking my new pillow!

And then...Sunday Sunday Sunday.  It was the 4th of July but we were afraid it was going to become a 4th ring of hell in our house because all of a sudden, the AC didn't feel like it was blowing. We were playing with Mia in the family room in the afternoon and her body felt clammy and sweaty.  The thermostat read 80°F even though it was set lower and we couldn't hear any vent fans blowing.  Fortunately for us, sad for all the other Independence Day lovers, the day was a bit of a doozy: cloudy, rain on/off, and cooler thanks to that Hurricane.  Thankfully, we go to church with an AC technician, and as Greg explained the situation to him, he said he'd come over Monday to check it out.  Greg was seriously fearing the worst: buying a brand new AC system that would knock out some of our other hopes & dreams for home improvement / fun plans for the rest of the year.
But Mr. AC (actually "M.R.") came over Monday, found it was a piece that needed replacing--don't even bother asking me what it actually was or what it does--and it was far less the cost of a whole new AC upgrade.  By gazillions.
So yes, we slept in an un-airconditioned house Sunday, but we actually managed to stay comfortable with the overhead fans!  Maybe we should do that more often on cooler days in FL. 


And the final upgrade occurred Monday night!  Our dishwasher is a POR (piece of rubbish).  At least, it has turned into that over the last few weeks. I pull out our dishes after the dishwasher's ran and think, gross, you nasty glass.  It's not energy-efficient, it sounds like a thousand bulls rushing into our kitchen, and it's also not very aesthetically pleasing.  I'm sure it doesn't like hearing me say those things about it, but now that we went to Lowe's and ordered our new Bosch (which will hopefully be "boss"), I feel like I can start to let this standby know how I've truly been feeling.  I don't know when the new one will be here, but I'm already becoming way detached from the low-grade GE dishwasher we have.  There was some incentive to buy this weekend as there was a special Independence Day sale ending 7/5/10, which, if I check my calendar, was...yesterday.  So we bought it just in the (k?)nick of time.

Thus, needless to say, there have been a lot of upgrades.  With these upgrades comes great responsibility, so over the next several months I will be doing my best to cherish these new things, keep them in good condition and rave about them until one of them breaks down.


In the meantime, enjoy what happens when you let your baby try to feed herself.  You know how they say you can tell if a baby eats a lot of orange foods because her skin will turn orange? I thought that 'twas to happen to the consumer (baby), not the provider (me).

carrots on the walls, door, floors

pleased with her performance

carrots on my shirt & pants

carrots on her FACE!

*Sabrina Soto, Candice Olson, and Genevieve Gorder are my favorite HGTV hosts. Sabrina because she's so sweet and down-to-earth, Candice because she's quirky and stinkin' GOOD, and Genevieve, because of her fab name and that she calls Minneapolis home. [sniff sniff]