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Replacing your kitchen Countertops

Are your kitchen countertops worn out? Do your countertops have stains that you just can’t remove? Do you countertops have more groves than smoothes and need repair? Eliminate those OLD, UGHLY problem countertops, and replace them for less than you think. Rebuild that counter area into something your friends and neighbors will envy. Yes you can do it yourself and save thousands in the same process. Here are some quick do it yourself tips to accomplish this.

First off you will need to decide if you want a solid one piece top, or you can go with smaller tiles to create a unique look. Also the type of backsplash you want will be critical in your choice. The cheapest way to go on your countertops may put you right back where you are now as the material will in all likelihood be Formica, and that material has a tendency to scratch and stain. My recommendation would be to choose either a solid surface such as granite or ceramic, which is of course a stronger or much tougher solution and will last a long time. If cost is a problem, then I would go with the ceramic, as you can buy tile at a fraction of the cost. I replaced my countertops about a year ago and with a surface are of approximately 30 square feet, it only cost me about $14.00 per box or about $50 for the tile. The granite countertops are about $10.00 per square foot for a comparison. The adhesive or tile glue runs about $30 per bucket, and finally the grout, which will be about $15-20 per container. My cost for the materials ran about $120, excluding the tile for my backsplash.

On top of the materials, you are also going to need a Tile saw, (a simple table model works just great) which you can buy at a bargain price of approximately $80-100 at your neighborhood Lowes or Home Depot. If you consider the price to just rent one at either of these places (about $50 per day), you would have to be a fool not to buy one, especially if you will be doing other projects where one might come in handy. You will also need a rafter square, a notched trowel or spreader, a level and a sponge. Grout float, tape measure and rubber hammer, grout sealer (you can buy grout with this already mixed in), and tile spacers if needed. Are we tired or ready to quit yet? I hope not, as the fun is about ready to start.

In all honesty, the hardest part of this project is actually removing the old countertop, mainly because you need to be careful so that you can re-use the existing base, otherwise you would be looking at an additional cost to buy the wood for that. Once you have removed the old top, you will need to sand down the area so that the adhesive can be spread smoothly and evenly on the surface. Next you will lay each piece of tile onto the adhesive making sure that it is square and even to the previous piece. If you are leaving a space between each piece of tile, this is where you will use your tile spacers to make sure each piece of tile is straight and aligned with the other. If you have done this project several times, you may be good enough to do it without the spacers, but not on your first few attempts. If you are replacing tile that has a sink, you will of course need to have some caulk to put down around the sink so that you form a water tight seal and don’t have a leak under the sink. Remember you can not install the sink until the entire tile and grout is completely dry.

After the tile has been installed, you will need to wait approximately 2-3 hours for the adhesive to dry, then you can add your grout between the tile pieces using your putty knife or spreader to apply it. I recommend adding your grout in sections of 4 to 6 feet at a time, because the grout does dry rather quickly and you will need to make sure that the grout is uniform and even around each piece of tile. A secret that I use is that my finger is perfect for about a quarter inch width. Make sure that your grout is as even with the tile as possible and keep your sponge damp in order to wipe up the excess grout as you apply it.

Once all the tile and grout has dried you are now ready to use you new countertop and sink, enjoy. Need more helpful information? Try following this link "CLICK HERE"

Does your kitchen need a new look?

Have you been looking at the same kitchen walls for too long? Does your kitchen paint or wallpaper have you in a funk? Do your cabinets or countertops need repair? Or is a simply a matter of “does your kitchen need a new look”, that your current style went out in the 90’s. Think that this type of work is beyond your ability and requires a contractor? Well think again, I can offer you an easy, cheap, do it yourself solution. Have I gotten your attention yet? Well read on for the easy “do it yourself” tips.

First you need to get some ideas for what you want to do, my suggestion is to look at some home interior magazines for ideas on color schemes to go with. Try picking one or two colors that will blend into the connecting rooms, unless you have “bolder” plans to expand your redecorating to the rest of the house. Once you have an idea on the colors you want, go to your local remodeling store, (I recommend Home Depot, but Lowes is good also) and look at the color swatches that are available. It helps to bring your example with you to make the selection easier and don’t be afraid to ask the salesperson for help, they can be a great aid in providing instructions on your project, plus, that is what they are there for.

First off let me start by saying that painting is probably one of the easiest “do it yourself” things to do around the house, all it requires is a couple of rollers, 2-3 paint brushes, a drop cloth and paint pan and you are ready to go. You are going to want to use a latex paint and more than likely either semi-gloss or gloss, as they are the easiest to keep clean. If you go to places like Home Depot or Lowes, you should ask the sales person if they have “return paint”, they will sell this paint at a big discount (maybe 50% less) and if you are lucky, you can find a couple of gallons of the color you need and save some $$ at the same time. Depending on the color you are painting over, and your new color, you will probably need to get a gallon of “Primer paint” to cover the old paint. If you are replacing wallpaper, you will need to get some “Dif”, which dissolves the wallpaper paste and makes it easier to remove the wallpaper. Another tip I can offer is that if your walls are currently smooth, and you would like to add some texture to them. There is a product called “Paint and Tex”, which is colorless and can be added to any type of latex paint and will give your paint surface the same texture as if you had sheet rock from the beginning.

At this point you may be saying, “Gosh, what is this going to cost”? Well if you are not able to find any “return paint” and have to have it mixed, I strongly suggest using Behr paint. It was recently rated as the best paint on the market by Consumer Report, and I have been using it for more than 10 years and frankly would not use anything else. You may find other brands of paint for a cheaper cost, but take it from me; you will save money in the long run by using Behr, as it will last longer and clean up better. A 1 gallon can of semi-gloss paint will run you about $18-22 at Home Depot and a gallon of “Primer paint” will run about $10-12, which should be enough to cover a 10-12’ X 16-20’ foot room with a single coat of each. If you need or want a second coat then figure $40 for 2 gallons of paint. If you are adding the texture mix a box of “Paint and Tex”, which comes with 2 packages and you use one package for a gallon of paint. That will run about $15. Also the “Paint and Tex” will thicken your paint, which may reduce the amount of paint you need. Your painting kit, which should consist of a couple of rollers, 2-3 paint brushes, a drop cloth and paint pan will run another $15-20, for a total cost of $85 to maybe $100 tops.

Now all that is left is for you to actually paint your room. If you do not have to remove any wall paper, you will need about 2 hours in order to apply the first coat of paint, then maybe 1-1.5 hours for the second coat. If you do have to remove wall paper, that job will probably take a one day on its own, as it involves the spraying of the wall paper and then scraping. Once you have finished the project, you will receive a sense of gratification in your do it yourself project.

Tips for successfully house training your puppy

So you now have that puppy that you've always wanted, but now you are worried about ruining your carpet or rugs because of accidents. Are you looking for that easy solution to house training your new puppy? Well guess what? There is no easy solution, it is going to take some time, effort, patients, and love from you, but it can be done.

The first thing you have to understand is that your puppy is probably about 6-8 weeks old, and at this age they don't understand good and bad. They know when they are hungry, thirsty and when they have to relieve themselves, so it is your job as a puppy owner to teach them what to do. The main thing that your puppy wants to do above all other things (no it is not chew your shoes, but that is close LOL), it is to PLEASE YOU. Your puppy understands that you control the food and water, and it wants to make you happy. So make sure that you praise your puppy and give it a treat when it uses the bathroom outside. Under no circumstances should you every yell, whip, spank, or rub your puppies nose in their accident, this will only delay your goal.

If you want to be successful in house training, you will need to establish a routine for your puppy, and to aid with this, I suggest using housetraining pads. I recommend the Ol'Roy brand from Wal-Mart, as they are very inexpensive, about a third to half the cost of other brands from Petco or Petsmart and they work just great. Place the pad as close to the main door as possible so that your puppy will get used to going to that spot, and evidentially, after about 3-4 weeks your puppy will be "going to the door" when it is time to relieve themselves and will continue to do so, even after the pad is gone. Now you know the secret as to why you see your friend’s dog go to the door when they need to "go outside".

Start off by taking your puppy outside about every 30-45 minutes. Remember your puppy is small (even if it is a LARGE breed) and likewise their bladder is small, so they will have to relieve themselves more frequently. Also remember that the more you feed and/or water them the more they will have to go. Don't starve them, but use some common sense, also talk to your vet about how much to feed them.

If you have to leave your puppy alone for long periods of time (I dunno, like maybe when you go to work?) make sure that you feed and water your puppy about 30 minutes prior to leaving and that you take your puppy outside to "do their business". If you have to leave your puppy, please get a kennel or cage that is at least twice their size, so that they have room to move around a little. The kennel will also teach them, that even though they "feel the urge" to go, they can in fact hold it. If you don't give hem food or water, in their crate, they will be less likely to relieve themselves since they don't like to lie/sleep in their own waste, puppies that are 5-7 weeks old can actually hold it for up to 7-8 hours, but please, please make sure that the first thing you do when you get home is to take your puppy out to "their favorite place". Also always use the same term when you want your puppy to "go". It might be "let’s go potty" or something similar, but always keep it consistent so that your puppy can learn what you are wanting.

Now trust me on this, after about 2 months of following the same routine, you will all of the sudden realize that "hey, Suzy hasn't had an accident in the house in about 3 weeks. You will feel a great satisfaction in this and will probably go buy Suzy a new toy from Wal-Mart for her success. She won't have a clue as to why you did this, but she will be happy and love you more just the same.

I hope you find this article helpful. If so you can find a few other articles I have written on my website, along with some of my "favorite shopping places"...

Raising a Dyslexic Child Part 2

As I discussed in my previous article, once Peter was on his medication, he became a totally different student. The doctor started him on Ritalin and he was later switched to Adderall which seemed to agree with him better. The only side affects we noticed with Peter, was a small lack of appetite in the beginning, although he was never a big eater to begin with. After about 2 years in that small East Texas town, our situation changed and we moved back to the Houston area and Peter went to school where my mother was a counselor for the 5th and 6th grade. He was thriving in this environment, making A’s and B’s and just enjoying life. That was short lived; however, once Peter hit Puberty (around 12-13 I guess) his attitude towards everything and everyone did a complete 180.

My husband and I had been doing fine financially over the previous 3 years, and right after the start of 7th grade, we were able to move out of our apartment and buy our first house, which, unfortunately meant having to move to a new school district, where Peter was not familiar with the other kids his age. Peter had always been a very easily influenced child, and soon he was starting to wear the “gothic” clothes and his behavior as well as his school work began spiraling downwards. We tried getting him involved in school activities, and he was in band for most of the 7th and part of the 8th grade, but he soon grew disinterested in that, he was becoming more rebellious at home, both with my husband and myself and just didn’t seem to have any interest in doing anything. Once he began 9th grade, (start of high school), we made it clear to him that the path he was on, was not going to continue, that if continued to make the bad grades and not try, we were going to be forced to place him in a different environment (we looked at military school, but that was not a realistic option due to the finance portion of it), probably involving his moving in with his grandparents. Well, both out of defiance or disbelief, Peter wound up the first semester failing most of his classes, just as we had warned at the start of the school year, we moved Peter to his grandparents and he started school in January at a new school.

Peter was a little shocked at this and while his attitude over the school and his grandparents was fine, he was, hostile towards me and my husband over this change. I had to sign part of my rights over to my mother in order for Peter to go to school in this new district and we soon, after about 2 months were able to locate a house in the new school district and move. Peter continued to go to my parent’s house after school so that she could continue to both tutor and mentor him as well as provide additional support. The doctors also switch his medication, this time to Strattera, but that didn’t work at all, in fact it seemed to make him sleepy and had no affect on his attention span. Peter would spend hours working with his grandmother on his various homework assignments each day. But then when the school issued the 6 week progress reports, he was still failing most of his classes. When we questioned Peter about this, he replied that he just didn’t turn the work in. Apparently this was to “get back at us” or to show us that he controlled the situation and he would make us pay for it. It wasn’t until a couple of years later, that I believe he realized that the only person he was hurting/affecting by doing this action was himself, since it wasn’t me or his grandparents that was suffering from his bad grades, it was Peter himself.
My husband and I believed that a lot of Peter’s “issues” and rebellious attitude involved the non-involvement of his father, who I had previously mentioned, had left the state when Peter was 3 and had little contact with over the previous 10 years. It was our belief that Peter’s lack of desire in school and life in general was maybe due in part to his lack of contact with his dad. Even though my husband is a good step-father, he is not his real dad, and we both thought that it could do some good. Due to the fact that my husband works in the “Court system”, he had a friend would was able to do a search on the Internet and provide us with a starting point in locating Peters dad. We took a road trip one weekend, and much to our surprise, was able to find him on the second telephone call we tried from the list. We met with his dad and he agreed that it was time for him to try to re-connect with Peter. I warned him that if he was going to contact Peter, that he had better make sure he was in it for the “long haul” and not to just call or come visit a couple of times, but to stay a constant part of it. He agreed and has, for the most part stayed in contact with Peter, including coming to a couple of parties, sending money so that Peter could ride the bus to visit him and calling on the phone. It has not been a everyday or even weekly contact, but it has been better than no contact whatsoever.

Since it was obvious Peter was not adjusting to life in a normal structured school, we talked to the high school counselor and decided that Peter needed to be in a smaller, more controlled environment. There were really only two choices left to us in our school district, one was really a school of last resort, while the other was a “alternative” school that offered smaller classes (about 20-22 students each), providing more one on one mentoring, and a “no homework” policy. The school also had a zero tolerance policy, both in regards to drugs (thank God that Peter has never been involved in that), and school work. Well of course, it now being in Peter’s nature, he was going to test out this rule and within about 3 weeks of being in this school, they did in fact suspend Peter for not completing his work and failing a class. This apparently was the “slap in the face” that Peter needed as he was forced to meet with the counselor and principal to discuss his attitude and a change is his behavior was slowing beginning to emerge. We also had the doctor switch him to Adderall XR and it helped in his focus and attention. Peter was able to pass all of the required TAKS tests during his junior year, so that was one less worry on our part for his senior year. We were hoping that Peter would “see the light at the end of the tunnel” and make a dash for it in his senior year. Of course this would not be the case, as he once again failed a class the first semester and was forced to double up the second semester. He apparently “got it” that second semester as, not only did he pass all of his classes, but he even was able to maintain an overall “B” average for the entire semester.

I don’t believe that nether neither I nor my husband has ever been as proud as we were on that Saturday morning of May 27, 2006 when Peter’s name was called by the school superintendent as a member of the graduating class of 2006. Peter is currently working for a contract company at one of Texas’ largest refinery’s, working a steady 40 hour plus work week I guess this just shows that with a lot of work, sweat, pain, tears and sacrifice, all things can be accomplished. In closing, I hope that this story can help someone who might be in a similar situation, don’t give up, it can happen.

Raising a Dyslexic Child

After the birth of my first child, a son that I will call Peter (name changed for personal reasons), we soon realized that he was not developing properly. He was such an easy baby, never the whining or fussy type. In fact, you could put Peter on a blanket on the floor and he would lay there for hours entertaining himself. It was more in the performance of certain day to day activities such as remembering directions on how to get to certain places, such as his grandparents, or to his cousins house. There were also problems with Peter being able to follow directions on easy items such as tying his shoes, being able to stay focused playing with his toys and games, going from one to another without spending any length of time at any one activity.

When he reached the kindergarten age, his problems were along the lines of being able to spell words correctly, Peter would always spell the words more phonetically, or like they sounded to him, rather the how they actually were spelled. When it came to reading, books that were his favorite he could read (or so we thought), but new books at the same reading level he struggled. Turned out he had memorized those “favorite” books and wasn’t actually reading the words, he did of course, know some of the words, but not at the same level as most of the other kids his age. It was a problem to the point that when he was in first grade, his teach convinced me and my mother to have him repeat the first grade, rather than moving on to the second grade. His teacher felt that he needed another year to mature to be able to “grasp” what was going on. What would happen over the next couple of years would surprise both myself and my mother, especially given the fact that my mom is a PHD child psychologist specializing in children in the 9-12 year age range in a public school. She was apparently just too close to the situation to be able to recognize what the problem was.

I had been raising Peter by myself, with the help of my parents since he was 3 years old, since I had divorced his father, who then ran off to Louisiana and we might hear from him, oh, maybe once every couple of years. As I struggled to make ends meet, working jobs such as a waitress, a checker at the grocery clerk getting help from my parents, I met my current husband, who was recently divorced, and had two children of his own, a boy the same age as Peter and a girl who was 4. We dated for almost a year before moving in together and getting married. Peter and I moved to his house, which was in a small east Texas town about 50 miles away from my parents. When Peter started school that fall, he once again was struggling with his school work. Since he was now 9 years old and in the 3rd grade things were not as easy as when he was younger. He would now argue with us on his homework, telling us that he didn’t know how to do the work, that the teacher never explained it at school. When we had the parent/teacher conference they suggested that maybe Peter should be tested for “ADD” (Attention Deficit Disorder) and Dyslexia. This was a shock to me and my new husband as we had always associated this to children who were “hyperactive” which Peter was not. When I talked to my mother about this, she was heartbroken, as she immediately said, yes I do believe that the school may be correct, but being his grandmother, I guess I didn’t want to accept the fact that it might be so. She was heartbroken because if she had been willing to recognize this years earlier, then he would have been under a doctors care and program to help him mange this illness. So the teachers gave us forms and questionnaires to complete as well as informing us that we needed to have his doctor examine him for it also. After all of us completed these tests and questionnaires and submitted them back to the school, the verdict was in. Peter did in fact have what is actually referred to as ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. This link Treating ADHD is a good source on what is available to you in regards to the treatment of this disease.

Peter’s doctor suggested that we start off taking a drug called Ritalin first to see if it would help. All I can say in regards to this first suggestion was “OH MY GOD”, it was like we had been given a key to unlock Peters brain and all that he had learned or was learning was now open and available to him. His grades went from the low D’s and F’s to A’s and B’s. We did have an “adjustment period”, a trial and error process in regards to him doing his homework at a certain time, because the dosage that the doctor gave him only lasted for about 10 hours. What we found was that if Peter did his homework as soon as he came home from school, everything went well, and there were no problems with him doing the work or understanding it. However, if he had to wait until later in the day, say after 6 PM, we would encounter the old problems again, the “the teacher never covered this”, or “I’ve never seen this before” complaints. We mentioned this to the doctor and he did tell us that, that was perfectly normal, that when the Ritalin would wear off, then Peter may have trouble concentrating or doing his school work, but he didn’t want to increase the dosage, because one of the possible side affects can be a “lack of appetite” and Peter was a finicky eater as it was, so we didn’t want to risk that. After we reached the decision that Peter needed to have his homework done before 5, then our school problems went away.

Well this looks like a good place to end part one. Stay tuned for the second part, where I will cover the wonderful years of Junior High through High school. See you soon….