Home improvement

Well it has been over a month since I blogged last.... not that anybody reads this thing but me and those I specifically send it to. lol.
So I have these lists I keep of things to do in my life. There are 2 lists - "hard" to-do and "easy" to-do. Lately I've been feeling ambitious and trying to get a few things done off the list. 2 of the major items are my final big home improvement projects:

• Tile my kitchen counter backsplash
• Replace the wooden hand rail in my upper hallway.
  

Neither one of these tasks are a whole lot of fun. For my counter backsplash the big problem is choosing a tile design. I've been to a few tile stores but nothing has really striked me a "perfect" for my setup. The other thing I'm worried about is doing too-fancy of a backsplash for my linoleum countertop. Of course I could put a nice stone tile in as a countertop, but I think that would be overkill and not necessarily cost-effective.

For the upstairs railing, what I really need to do is pull the existing railing out and buy wood in the same proportions to match what the existing railing looks like... then hopefully put that railing together with only a few modifications. Seems relatively easy until you realize that I only have a chop-saw. DOH! My kingdom for a few good woodworking tools.

The other fun thing coming up is Jen's 30th birthday party. We spent last weekend trying 5 different martinis in anticipation of the big event. All were good, but we discovered it is difficult to try a bunch of different martinis and stay sober at the same time. :) (especially when they are really good!)