Check out page three, cause my blog is on it!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Google love!
So as I was taking a slight detour from my work I decided to Google Greektown Baltimore to see what came up...
Check out page three, cause my blog is on it!
Check out page three, cause my blog is on it!
I said burrr, it's cold in here!
Thanks to the onset of winter in Greektown Baltimore the house has gotten a bit chilly!
You can call me cheap for not wanting to turn the heat up on full blast, but I prefer to call myself environmentally friendly. I've recently been on this big kick to lower my carbon footprint because it's better for the environment. My carbon footprint is 18... calculate yours!
Some steps I've taken include using less water, recycling (obviously), replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, not using the highest setting on the hot water heater and keeping the thermostat lower. Not only does all of this help the environment, it also helps keep energy bills down too!
My latest project was to make the house more airtight. Since the house was built in 1915 (that would make it 93 years old) there are a lot of gaps in the doors & windows and if you held your hand over them for just a few seconds you could feel the cool air blowing in them. I took a trip to the local Home Depot to purchase some supplies including: weather stripping, door sweeps, caulk and insulating foam.
I weather stripped the front and rear doors (prevents air from entering/escaping from where the door meets the door jamb), added door sweeps to the bottom of the door (again to prevent air from entering/leaving) and spraying expandable foam into the gaps between the door jambs and the walls. I also caulked between the glass and frame of the old window on the back door, too! All of this in hopes of keeping the warm air in!
I also finally realized why my bedroom was so darn cold... the vent was plastered closed! So with a hammer, screw driver and a little muscle I was able to get the vent open and sleep a lot warmer than I had been!
Next up, a programmable digital thermostat!
You can call me cheap for not wanting to turn the heat up on full blast, but I prefer to call myself environmentally friendly. I've recently been on this big kick to lower my carbon footprint because it's better for the environment. My carbon footprint is 18... calculate yours!
Some steps I've taken include using less water, recycling (obviously), replacing light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, not using the highest setting on the hot water heater and keeping the thermostat lower. Not only does all of this help the environment, it also helps keep energy bills down too!
My latest project was to make the house more airtight. Since the house was built in 1915 (that would make it 93 years old) there are a lot of gaps in the doors & windows and if you held your hand over them for just a few seconds you could feel the cool air blowing in them. I took a trip to the local Home Depot to purchase some supplies including: weather stripping, door sweeps, caulk and insulating foam.
I weather stripped the front and rear doors (prevents air from entering/escaping from where the door meets the door jamb), added door sweeps to the bottom of the door (again to prevent air from entering/leaving) and spraying expandable foam into the gaps between the door jambs and the walls. I also caulked between the glass and frame of the old window on the back door, too! All of this in hopes of keeping the warm air in!
I also finally realized why my bedroom was so darn cold... the vent was plastered closed! So with a hammer, screw driver and a little muscle I was able to get the vent open and sleep a lot warmer than I had been!
Next up, a programmable digital thermostat!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Werk it out & running water, oh my!
So I've been living in Greektown Baltimore for a month and a half now and have been talking time and time again about joining a gym. While there are a few different gyms in the city most of them are small and not located anywhere near home. There is Mount Vernon fitness and the Federal Hill Gym but those would take me like 20 minutes to get to... a drive that long I might as well go back to Lifetime Fitness. There is the Canton Club, but the gym isn't very big at all.
The only suitable gym to look at was the Merritt Athletic Club on Boston Street - right on the edge of Canton. Only about five minutes from Macon Street. I made the appointment to check it out last night and I was quite impressed. As most of you know, it's pretty hard to compete with Lifetime Fitness - between the pools, spa, steam room and more - but I was surprised... looks like the M.A.C can compete. Afterall it is in Canton. The gym basically reminds me of Lifetime, only on a smaller scale. Large number of machines, basketball court, indoor/outdoor pool (with a bar on the weekend!!!!!), spa, free towels and more.
After taking the tour of the facility it became time to talk price. Luckily being a part of Long & Foster Real Estate I was able to qualifyfor the corporate rate. Unfortunately I'd be paying more than I am at Lifetime as an original member, but given the ability to attend all 10 of the M.A.Cs! Including the 24 hour Downtown Athletic Club! So being the sucker that I am, I signed up. Now all I need to do is cancel my Lifetime membership and I'll be good to go!
Not only did I join the gym, I also worked out there today! Go me! Lets hope that I can keep up with a solid workout routine this time. I'll have to get more comfortable there, too. Sensory overload is an understatement, if you get my drift. HEH.
After leaving the gym I figured that I should stop at the Home Depot to pickup the necessary parts to repair the toilet... I sure was getting tired of hearing the darn thing run non-stop. Not to mention the waste of water! I purchased a new flapper and installed it within a matter of moments. I'm two for two today! HOLLA!
The only suitable gym to look at was the Merritt Athletic Club on Boston Street - right on the edge of Canton. Only about five minutes from Macon Street. I made the appointment to check it out last night and I was quite impressed. As most of you know, it's pretty hard to compete with Lifetime Fitness - between the pools, spa, steam room and more - but I was surprised... looks like the M.A.C can compete. Afterall it is in Canton. The gym basically reminds me of Lifetime, only on a smaller scale. Large number of machines, basketball court, indoor/outdoor pool (with a bar on the weekend!!!!!), spa, free towels and more.
After taking the tour of the facility it became time to talk price. Luckily being a part of Long & Foster Real Estate I was able to qualifyfor the corporate rate. Unfortunately I'd be paying more than I am at Lifetime as an original member, but given the ability to attend all 10 of the M.A.Cs! Including the 24 hour Downtown Athletic Club! So being the sucker that I am, I signed up. Now all I need to do is cancel my Lifetime membership and I'll be good to go!
Not only did I join the gym, I also worked out there today! Go me! Lets hope that I can keep up with a solid workout routine this time. I'll have to get more comfortable there, too. Sensory overload is an understatement, if you get my drift. HEH.
After leaving the gym I figured that I should stop at the Home Depot to pickup the necessary parts to repair the toilet... I sure was getting tired of hearing the darn thing run non-stop. Not to mention the waste of water! I purchased a new flapper and installed it within a matter of moments. I'm two for two today! HOLLA!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
First party, DONE! But wait, my oven's broken...
This past Saturday was the official debut of the new casa in Greektown Baltimore to most of my friends that hadn't seen it. (Don't worry, it wasn't the official house warming if you didn't get a chance to make it!)
There was a lot of prep work to do, as I hadn't cleaned in weeks! And then of course there were the last minute things like replacing light bulbs, old drapes with new paper blinds (until I can figure out window treatments), moving boxes into storage and more.
Finally at 7pm everything was done, and the guests started to arrive.
At this point I was totally nervous. Was there going to be enough parking? Were people going to be able to find the house? Were my neighbors going to complain? Did we have enough beer? All of this was running through my mind.
Luckily the night escaped without any major problems... oh wait, I forgot to mention the fact that Louie broke my stove.
Apparently new gas ranges require electricity for the electronic ignition to light the gas. Since I had two refrigerators, lights and more going in the kitchen, when the oven was turned on to pre-heat the breaker tripped. No biggie. I flipped the breaker and all should be fine, right? Nope. If the oven is ever on during a power outage the stove shuts itself off to prevent gas leaks - neat. Once power is restored the "glow bar" needs to warm before the oven will allow the gas to flow and the oven to heat above 100 degrees.
Well short story long, the "glow bar" isn't lighting, which in turn means the oven doesn't work. I've searched all over the Internet trying to find a way to fix it with no luck. I was on the phone with GE last night for an hour and a half but was disconnected. Hopefully they'll respond to my email.
If anyone has any ideas please hit me up!
There was a lot of prep work to do, as I hadn't cleaned in weeks! And then of course there were the last minute things like replacing light bulbs, old drapes with new paper blinds (until I can figure out window treatments), moving boxes into storage and more.
Finally at 7pm everything was done, and the guests started to arrive.
At this point I was totally nervous. Was there going to be enough parking? Were people going to be able to find the house? Were my neighbors going to complain? Did we have enough beer? All of this was running through my mind.
Luckily the night escaped without any major problems... oh wait, I forgot to mention the fact that Louie broke my stove.
Apparently new gas ranges require electricity for the electronic ignition to light the gas. Since I had two refrigerators, lights and more going in the kitchen, when the oven was turned on to pre-heat the breaker tripped. No biggie. I flipped the breaker and all should be fine, right? Nope. If the oven is ever on during a power outage the stove shuts itself off to prevent gas leaks - neat. Once power is restored the "glow bar" needs to warm before the oven will allow the gas to flow and the oven to heat above 100 degrees.
Well short story long, the "glow bar" isn't lighting, which in turn means the oven doesn't work. I've searched all over the Internet trying to find a way to fix it with no luck. I was on the phone with GE last night for an hour and a half but was disconnected. Hopefully they'll respond to my email.
If anyone has any ideas please hit me up!
Monday, November 10, 2008
Learn to park, a-holes.
Nothing irritates me more than coming home and not having a place to park on my street. And then come to find out I have to park three blocks away from my house. I could park on my street if the a-hole that drives the white van and/or the a-hole that drives this hideous blue truck understood how to park.
::sigh::
I know i'm slacking on my posting, I'll give yah an update tomorrow night.
::sigh::
I know i'm slacking on my posting, I'll give yah an update tomorrow night.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
