There's a hole in the floor, dear Lisa, a hole.  Then fix it, dear Dana, dear Dana, dear Dana...


Just a minor set back in the bathroom remodel.  Last night, my husband finished putting the screws in the new drywall he put up.  Have I told you what a fabulous screw-er he is?  Ooooh he is soooo great!  Take a look at the pictures.  Notice how the screws are in a nice straight row all evenly spaced apart.  Damn he's good and that's not even his normal everyday job.


Anyway, he was standing on a step ladder and the leg of the ladder fell through the floor.  All I heard was Crash, Boom, Bang, and a few cuss words.  I went running into the bathroom to see if my husband was okay.  I found him standing over a hole in the floor.  Immediately, I knew what happened.


Earlier in the week, he showed me how weak the floor was due to termite damage long before we owned the house.  I'm just thankful I wasn't sitting on the toilet when the floor decided to give way.  I would have found myself sitting in the dirt crawl space under the house.  Luckily he wasn't hurt and he'll see to fixing it this weekend.
With what shall I fix it, dear Lisa, dear Lisa? With what shall I fix it, dear Lisa, with what?  With wood, dear Dana, dear Dana, dear Dana.  With wood, dear Dana, dear Dana, with wood.  
(The incident reminded me of this song and my days of teaching Kindergarten.)


He's in the process of mudding the drywall and should be done with the final coat Sunday.  The tile guy comes on Tuesday.  Hip Hip Hooray!  I won't be here to have to deal with anything that goes wrong.  I'm going to a technology conference for most of the week.  I'm hoping I'll have a wonderful surprise for me and you when I return.  Keeping my fingers crossed.

These are the books I've read for the month of July and a very short review.

The Book Thief- Didn't like the narration but fantastic story. Worth reading!
One Day- Kind of weird set up of how story is told. Heartbreaking but good. Want to see movie.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan- Loved the book! Movie is getting horrible reviews.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- Not like most books I read. Peculiar and interesting!
The Good Grief Club- Great book for those who have experienced pregnancy or infant loss.
Heaven is for Real- Another great book for those who have experienced loss or curious about heaven
Fair Play- Romance Hockey story. Fun series if you like hockey!
The Murderer's Daughters- Interesting read told from the perspective of the daughters.
Reshaping It All- Quick read about physical and spiritual wellness. Enjoyed it!

I've added your last suggestions to my want to read list.  If you've read a great book lately leave me a comment.  Or if you've read any of the books above and want to comment I would love to hear from you.

I haven't lost all my marbles!  I know it's Friday and I'm posting about Tuesday, it's just that I didn't have a chance to post sooner.  On Tuesday, curiosity got the best of me and I signed up for Pinterest.  You can't hardly look at a blog without seeing a post about it.  There are some really great organization tips, fashion ideas, and of course desserts.  If you know me, you know I love desserts.  I found this dangerously cream cheesy cinnamon delight and thought I would give it a try.

Source: myellowumbrella.blogspot.com on Pinterest.

I quickly wrote down the recipe and headed to the store. Most of the ingredients I had at home so there wasn't much to buy.  Once I popped this sweet baby in the oven, it wasn't long before my house started smelling like Cinnabon.  If only you could smell through the computer you would be drooling like a baby cutting teeth.      


It was so good my husband had two huge servings and has almost finished the pan.  The recipe was simple and the total time to make was approximately 40 minutes.  If you need a quick and easy dessert, I recommend giving this one a try.

Recipe:
3 cans of Pillsbury Butter Crescent Rolls. ( You could probably use 2 depending on size of pan)
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese (softened)
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup butter melted
Cinnamon and Sugar

Directions:
Unroll and spread 1+1/2 cans of rolls on bottom of ungreased pan.  Combine softened cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla.  Spread mixture over rolls.  Unroll and spread remaining rolls over mixture.  Brush melted butter over the top of rolls.  Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.
I stored the left overs covered in the fridge.  When you want some more simply cut and heat in microwave for 15 seconds and ENJOY!

Once again, thanks to myellowumbrella.blogspot.com for this fantastic recipe.

Maverick (our cat):  Whoa!  WTF is that?

JoJo (our dog): Hi Mav, I'm as sick as a dog so leave me alone!  Oh wait, I am a dog.

Maverick: No shit, what is that thing on your head?

JoJo: I had to have surgery on my lower eyelid because of a blocked oil gland. I also had two fatty tumors removed from my belly. The doctor put this on me so I won't pull out my stitches.  I have to wear it for two weeks.

Maverick: This is going to be the best two weeks of my life. Good luck trying to catch me with that ridiculous thing on your head.

JoJo: Gee, you really know how to make me feel like the cat's meow.  You better be nice to me or you'll find yourself in the doghouse once I figure out how to walk with this damn thing around my head.

Maverick: While you try to figure that cone thing out I'm going to take a catnap.

but worth the wait.  On Saturday my husband and I headed for Santa Barbara to see Eddie Vedder at the Santa Barbara Bowl.  I know we already saw him once this week but that's how my husband rolls.  Anyway, while watching the news the night before, we discovered the Royal Newlyweds were going to be at the polo match in Carpenteria.  Knowing that information we decided to leave early the next morning because to get to Santa Barbara we would have to pass by Carpenteria.  Well let's just say that we slowly crept by Carpenteria.  It should have taken us 1hr and 45 min. to get to Santa Barbara.  Instead it took 2hrs. and 30 min.  That was so rude of them to hold up traffic like that.  Didn't they know my husband and I had a hot date that didn't involve sitting in traffic all morning?  What can you do?

Behind the hedge was the polo match.                         You can see the satellite dishes.               Picture borrowed from kansascity.com

Like I said it was worth the wait.  It was a gorgeous day in SB.  We walked State St., looked in a few shops, got some lunch and of course dessert.  At about 5:00 we headed for the venue.

Having lunch and dessert.

On our way to the concert.                                       Looking down State St.

We had to wait in line for about a half hour before they let us in.  Upon entering we ran up a steep hill to the merchandise line to get a poster.  Amongst other things, my husband has a huge concert poster collection.  We waited around some more until they let us go to our seats.  The Santa Barbara Bowl is one of the most beautiful venues.  It's outdoors, surrounded by tall trees and lush greenery.  I love sitting under the stars listening to music.  If you haven't been to a concert there you need to go.  Add it to your bucket list.




My pictures came out much better this time because I snuck in my real camera.  The rent-a-cops were pretty strict about not letting people take pictures.  I waited for the last song and then went on a photo frenzy.  Shame on me! =)  

Another night out on the town.  This time my husband and I ventured over to the San Manuel Indian Casino in Highland, Ca to see Adam Carolla.  My husband is a big fan.  He listens to his podcast everyday and enjoyed watching "The Man Show".  Early on we listened to Adam cohost "Loveline" with Dr. Drew.  We've also watched "The Hammer" numerous times.  My husband read his book In Fifty Years We'll All Be Chicks.  And sooner or later I'll end up reading it too.

 I spotted the billboard advertising Adam's show when I was coming home from my river trip.  Of course when I arrived home I got on the computer and ordered tickets.  It made a busy week for us but we were both excited to see him do his stand up routine.  We had third row seats and could see his expressions perfectly.  The show was hilarious.  Adam is one funny guy.  

Last night my husband and I headed out to the Terrace Theater in Long Beach, Ca to watch Eddie Vedder perform his Ukulele Songs.  The concert was incredible and the sound even better.  It was easy to hear the words to the songs because there wasn't all the other band members playing at the same time.  Eddie sat on a stool behind a mic, strummed his ukulele, and sang his heart out.  His band mate Mike McCready played the closing song and Glen Hansard, the opener, played a few songs with Vedder.  Who would have thought that someone could sit and listen to a ukulele for 2 hours.  Loved It!  Sorry for the poor picture quality, no cameras were allowed.  They were taken with my iPhone 3G from a distance.  I can't wait for the iPhone 5 to come out because you know this girl will be standing in line at some ridiculous hour to get one.  Anyway here's some pictures of the concert.

If you like Pina Coladas...


And getting caught in the rain...


Come and join our block party and set off some fireworks.


This year our annual block party was fantastic.  Every year our neighbors bring their BBQs and EZ-UPS to the street and we have a grand time.  We had tons of food and great company.  The weather cooled down and there was a nice breeze but there was only one small problem.  All of a sudden we were hit by a rain storm.  It was definitely unusual for us in Sunny Southern California to have a rain storm in July.  Everyone ran under the EZ-UPs.  It was actually hysterical.  We waited out the storm, dried off the chairs, and then let off some fireworks.  A fun time was had by all.