Mulching 2017

We've been partially neglecting our yard since last year.

I say "partially" because the grass does get mowed by a neighbor, same neighbor also trims the front shrubs a couple of times per season. He does not trim the bushes in the back yard, unfortunately.

Our backyard had vines creeping in from next door, thorny bushes growing in tight spaces and several weed trees ("Tree of Heaven") have rooted and grown into trees with trunks several inches in diameter, we decided to get the place professionally cleaned and landscaped.

I am a bit disappointed with myself that I didn't get "before"pictures.

But here is a picture the day after did the cleanup.

I've asked them to remove the perennials I planted in the area around the lamp post. When I planted them years ago, the idea was to attract butterflies but all they attracted were bees.

Today, we spent the better half of the afternoon in our front yard.

We replaced the edging material in front - the original edging was already broken and torn in several places so we dug it up and installed a new one.

We also installed red mulch - 9 bags all in all (each bag has 2 cu ft.)

Now, hubby and I have both showered the dirt off and are resting. I have to note that the mosquitoes have also feasted on us so we're full of bites as well.

We've run out of mulch so we didn't get to do the backyard today.  Hopefully, our old bones will still be up for it yesterday.

This is hard work.

The only person who is happy with today's activity is Swe-cha, he got to ride his Razor up and down the driveway and sidewalk while we were working.

What is that Cloud ?

These days, Swe-cha has been showing a lot of curiosity.

If he sees something unfamiliar, he would ask "What is that ?" followed by "What is it used for ?".

So far, he's asked these questions about:
- my fins (used for diving), his response was "let's go race in the water!"
- my BCD (used for diving)
- the fish tank thermometer

Last night, I decided to grill some steaks for dinner. I fired up the grill, threw 2 steaks on it and then forgot. I didn't remember until Swe-cha points to the library / family room and asks "Mommy, what is that cloud ?"

Sure enough, smoke had come in through the door I had left open and it was collecting and hanging like a cloud.

I quickly rescued the steaks and they were still edible, despite being slightly charred on the edges and being very well done.

Supercuts

The first time I went to Supercuts was over 15 years ago.

It was winter and I just needed a trim. I went to Supercuts because it was near and the place always seemed pretty busy so I thought it would be good.

So I sit in the chair and the stylist wets my hair. She asks me how long I want my hair and I point to a certain length and she combs my (wet) hair till it's really straight. She then takes her scissors and makes one straight cut from right to left. Then she takes off the cape and tells me that I'm done. She was going to let me go with my hair dripping wet.

WHAT ?

I asked about them drying my hair and apparently they charge extra for that.

It was night time and I was just going to take a shower when I got back home so there was no point in having my hair styled but I figure, it was winter, it was night time and I came in with dry hair. Wasn't it just proper that they send me home with dry hair too ?

So I asked to use their blow dryer and I worked on getting my hair reasonably dry (i.e. not dripping wet). That was the worst $7 I'd ever spent in my life.

Needless to say, I never went back....

.... until yesterday.

I had accrued the maximum amount of vacation days at work and had been losing them so I decided to file for a day off yesterday. I had been looking forward to that day off and had my heart set on getting my hair trimmed but I learned one important thing yesterday - MOST SALONS ARE CLOSED ON MONDAYS!

My desperation led me to Supercuts, I did my research and found a stylist that was mentioned by name several times in their reviews. It must have been my lucky day yesterday because said stylist was available. I went and now, I've since slept and washed my hair and I am still happy.

I don't know if I plan on going back next time but it's definitely a possibility if I find my favorite salon/stylist out again.

KFC

KFC was one of the sponsors of a Korean drama that I recently watched and I can attest that product placement works. As a result of watching the characters wave around crispy chicken drumsticks, I've been craving the same thing these past few days.

Last night, I couldn't hold my craving in anymore and asked the husband to drop by KFC so we can have chicken for dinner. To my surprise and disappointment, he came home with a bucket of original-recipe chicken. The thing is, I have never eaten original recipe chicken in the 17 years that we've been together. That's 7 years of (long distance) dating and 10 years of marriage.

This guy,  my friend of almost 30 years and husband for 10 years, did not know that I prefer the crispy ones.  It just goes to show that no matter how long you've been together, there's always something new to discover.

In any case, my craving has not yet been satisfied. Kelan kaya ?

Asphalt Driveway

We decided to have our asphalt driveway replaced.

It was a spur-of-the moment decision when the paving company who was doing our neighbor's knocked on our door and asked if we were interested in having ours redone.

Our old driveway was old and cracked and we got what we thought was an okay deal so we went ahead and had it done.

For comparison, here's a before shot. I forgot to take a picture before the guys came and broke up our driveway but this one still shows the old asphalt in the ramp that goes from the sidewalk to the street. Our driveway had cracks that were bigger than that and had weeds growing out of the cracks too.

It took the contractors 3 days to get everything done.

On day 1, they came and dug out and carted away the old asphalt.

On day 2, we came home to a mini-road roller parked in our driveway, it was used to compact the gravel base.

They laid the asphalt on day 3.

While all this was happening, I was doing my own research on how to take care of a new asphalt driveway and I learned quite a few things:
- you can walk on asphalt 24 hours after it gets laid
- you can park on it after 3-5 days (we waited 5 whole days to be sure)
- It takes 6-10 months to completely cure so during this time, we'd have to avoid parking in the same spot all the time and also avoid turning the wheels while the vehicle isn't moving.

We may also have to get it sealed after it cures and then every 2-3 years after that.

Child care

Swe-cha is on spring break this week and his backup day care fell through (they're at full capacity and could not accommodate him this week) so I've been working from home.

It's amazing how God always comes through for us and I thought I'd put up a post so I don't forget about this when I get worried again in the future.

So I've been fretting about Swe-cha's daycare for the summer. I learned last week that the summer camp he attended last year may not operate this summer because they did not do well financially last year. Apparently, since he is now 7, there aren't a lot of places in our town that would take kids beyond the age of 6 and given that he is special needs (albeit high functioning), it is not so easy to find a place that would be appropriate for him.

Last weekend, on Palm Sunday, I offered this up to the Lord and asked him for help. I was tired from calling all these places and not getting any leads.

Today, boss calls me up to talk about something else and asked how things are going this week. He then mentions that with our company's offices upcoming move to another city, we're really moving towards getting employees on a hoteling concept and they don't expect employees to come to work daily. Working from home might work out better for me & my child's needs.

The truth is, I've been leaning towards asking to WFH over the summer as a last resort, nahihiya lang ako to ask when I have not thoroughly exhausted all options yet and here, I didn't even have to ask.

W.O.W.

Ang galing ni God, he's working miracles through my boss & my company.