First I wanted to say a BIG thank you to everyone. Your encouragement and kinds words from my last post have been really nice. It's nice to know so many feel the same way and don't think I'm a bad person :) Not that I really worry that you think or write that I'm a bad person....I'll just delete your comment LOLNow for the Shark....
This steam mop is pretty cool. I went over our kitchen floor 4 times! Honestly, tile floors kinda suck. They are a pain to clean. Although I vacuum the kitchen all the time, I've really only mopped it a couple times in the 2 years we've lived here.I really think the tiles look richer now that they've been steam cleaned (I'm sure it's just wishful thinking):
It was a nice surprise when I got home the other evening and the corner of the yard was complete. Thanks Matt!! It looks great!
He even put wood chips along the back and side fence. We didn't use the rubber bark again because we were told it gets really hot and will kill plant roots.
Here is a quick update on our fruit trees...Mandarins are doing okay, they don't seem to be doing as well as last year, but we've put them through a lot this year. 
Limes:
Limes:The plant is still very little and so are the fruits, I'm just happy it has fruit.
Lemons:
Lemons:This tree is a champion!! 
And Oranges:
And Oranges:The fruit are doing really well this year! I'm so happy we finally got fruit this year and even after being put in the ground it's still thriving.
I've posted so much about our backyard this year....now that it's done I don't know what I'll post. Next year should be more yard work again...since we'll be getting rid of the grass on the outside of our fence line. It drive me CRAZY that we pay to water that grass and we can't/don't use it. OH, we will have more to post for the backyard....we still have a fire pit to build.
I think I’ll make an alright mom, but Doug will make a great dad. He’s really looking forward to teaching sports, playing with the kids, etc – he’s wanted kids of his own for 10 years…meanwhile, I’m NOT looking forward to weight gain, stretch marks, LABOR, poop, spit up, screaming and crying (probably on my end too), babysitters, loading the car to make a small trip, sleepless nights (I have enough of my own), etc – and that doesn’t even count the older years. I’ll admit it, I’m really a pessimist when it comes to kids. I’ve never had a craving to have children of my own. I love kids; they are fun to play with and teach and the things they say can be really funny, but I’ve never been the type of person that can’t wait to hold a baby or coo at little babies, or whatever. You probably think I’m a selfish person regarding my views on being a mother; I am. Oh well. I thought about not posting the last paragraph, but I’m going to leave all my emotions out there. Simply, I’m scared and I’m scared I’m going to lose my mind.
Then, Saturday and 1000 degrees rolled around. I thought Doug said he was going to be home. Nope. So, I tackled the yard work myself. Before:
After spreading dirt for what seemed life forever:
Then it was time to put down the ground cloth:
At this point I was filthy, exhausted and sweating like crazy. I sent Doug a text and a photo of the yard and said, "I'd say TA-DA, but I'm too tired." I got to the point where I was so hot and tired that I would stand up and my vision would go dark, like a major head-rush, so I would have to quickly sit back down. It took me a while to get to a chair - and I kept thinking how pissed off I was going to be if I passed out and bruised up my face or broke out my teeth. Filthy me resting:
Then Bell Brothers called to see if they could come early for their appointment. YES PLEASE! I had 45 minutes to clean up....
I was peeking at her through the window:
Our air conditioning unit is doing just fine. It makes a weird noise, but other than that, it gets a passing grade. She did say the refrigerant is overcharged and can cause the unit to run down quicker. Some of their measuring gadgets:
On to the next project:
Our refrigerator has been pulled apart for a few weeks now. I pulled ground beef out of our refrigerator a few weeks ago and blood got all over one of the drawers. In order to clean the drawer and shelf I had to pull the refrigerator apart. Why not clean the WHOLE thing while I'm at it?? Sounded good at the time....
Come to find out there was frozen water in the bottom of the refrigerator. After fighting to get the chunks of ice out, I realized there's dripping water on the back wall. AND it's probably been doing it for the entire time we've owned the fridge. But of course, it's almost 2 years old and no more warranty. FUN! So $65 and an appliance repairman later, still leaking. Then Doug tried to add an extra lip to the condensation tray, no luck. Now we're $100 into it and still leaking. CRAPPY. I emailed GE this morning; hopefully they can help. On a positive note: we thought the bottom tray was stubborn, nope! It was frozen to the bottom, so that's fixed if we ever get to put the whole thing back together.
While the refrigerator was apart for the 3rd or 4th time, I figured I'd take the time to introduce you to a Pluot....it's a plum and apricot all in one. They are very tasty:
And finally, the corner is ready for wood chips. I got up the next morning and headed out to finish what I started before the heat rolled in again.
I wish I had photos of the mess we had before; I hated these open areas and never wanted them in pictures. We used a book shelf for DVDs, a coffee table for a TV stand, and an upside down shelf for the DVD player and receiver. 
Installation:
Doug said he was trying to take a picture of the 
We tried not to step on the jelly fish:
There are a couple crab and fish in this picture:
We caught a few pictures of some squirrels playing:
We saw a pretty big fire, there were 3 or 4 
Then we saw this: YIKES! It looked like a dad, mom and little girl sitting alongside the freeway.
