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Why Holmes is My Hero (or, Hey! I’m on HGTV!)

Home Ownership Rocks/Sucks 13 Responses »

Jun 022010

I like to watch HGTV on Saturdays. And Sundays. It’s my favorite weekend thing to watch, especially in the winter as I’m stuck inside all day. Now that the weather has changed, I have the TV on while I run inside and out, caring for children and flowers and basking in the glory that is the sun. While taking a break with lemonade on Sunday, May 23, I caught a bit of Holmes on Homes, one of my absolute favorite shows on HGTV. And I tweeted.

Because he is. Yes, I know I’m married to a firefighter.

The house that we bought in 2006 is not perfect though we’re getting there. Slowly. In fact, I’d like to meet the (insertnotniceadjectivehere) people who got this house ready for sale and flipped it. We have spent four years fixing the things that they have done wrong while also adding some of our own things. As I’m no design star, it’s been slow going. It’s been even slower going when you factor in that we had to totally rewire the house. And pull up the carpet in LittleBrother’s room because of animal feces under the trim. And then in BigBrother’s room, too. And there was that big bird’s nest under the flooring. And the leak in the bathroom. And the absolutely necessary windows. And the kitchen floor. And the mold in the basement. And we still haven’t fixed our front wall that is slowly rotting because we can’t decide what to do siding/brick/stone wise as that’s kind of above our current skill set. We’ll figure it out soon enough.

I love that Holmes fixes those things for people that were screwed over by previous owners or contractors without ethics/morals/skill.

We’ve been slowly able to fix the things that were/are wrong with our house. We caught the mold before it was a real problem. Some haven’t been that lucky. I know what it’s like to buy a house and think you’re on top of the world and then realize that, oh, things aren’t so stellar. I love our little house. I love that Mike Holmes is able to help others love their houses as well. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling. The world needs more warm fuzzy feelings.

So, yes, I love Mike Holmes, HGTV and the work they do together.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I was in the kitchen, cleaning up the lunch mess, when my ear caught the word FireMom. On TV. I ran over to the TV and watched the end of “my” “commercial.” (Both words used lightly. Technically it’s a promo for HGTV’s Holmes on Homes/HGTV but you get it.) I laughed out loud. Rewound it. Recorded it on DVR. Rewound it. And recorded it on my Flip.

Amusingly, I’ve been getting messages here and there from friends. Military_Mom saw it today. I’m tickled pink. I’m on HGTV! Kind of. Now if only I had the mad skills of Dooce. But I don’t. We’ll continue with the slow going of redesigning our little home.

That said, if Holmes wants to come fix our front wall/garage/etc issue, we wouldn’t turn him away. I’m sure we’ll figure it out at some point. FireDad started using technical terms and big words to describe the potential fix the other day and I may have just blinked at him. But! One of the new pillows on our new couch was on Divine Design the other day so I must be doing something (or, at least one thing) right.

Maybe.

_
[Disclosure: I received no compensation for having my tweet featured on HGTV. You know, other than feeling totally awesome.]

The Fire Life and Technology

fire life, Techie Talk 8 Responses »

Mar 162010

I’ve learned things over the years as a fire wife. I (mostly) keep the scanner turned off when FireDad is at work. I go back to sleep (most of the time) when he’s called out to a fire in the middle of the night. I generally try to focus on the kids and the stuff of life that needs to be done when he’s working his normal 24 hour shift.

Technology makes that a bit more difficult.

I was behaving yesterday. I had the scanner turned off. We were spending a lovely day at home. I hadn’t talked much to FireDad on the phone but I knew that he had been busy, just as we had been at home. I called at one point but there was no answer. I figured he was busy with some fire station work. After the boys settled down in bed, I sat down to catch up on a bit of Facebooking when I learned from someone at the newspaper that there had been a house fire that day.

Instant panic.

Suddenly the fact that I hadn’t talked to my husband all day became a scary thing, not a normal thing. Was he okay? Were the other firefighters okay? Before my mind had time to go over all of the scary questions, the phone rang. It was FireDad. Instant fear relief. They had just finished washing up the trucks and he had taken his shower which is why he hadn’t answered earlier. All was well at the fire department.

Later I thought about how my calm day had been ruined by technology. I knew to avoid the scanner. Had FireDad told me about the fire when he called that evening, I would have been fine as it was after the fact. But those few minutes in between were not fun. Prior to the immediacy of Facebook and twitter, I wouldn’t have known about the fire without the scanner on (or being at work). Now, of course, I can find out about just about anything, almost instantly.

On the one hand, that’s good. On the other hand, I have gotten used to learning about most fires after the fact. It’s in my nature to be anxious and worry and, as such, I prefer hearing that the fire was big but everyone came out just fine. Should I now avoid Facebook (and even twitter) on FireDad’s shift days? Do I keep the computer turned off when he’s at work? It’s an option, perhaps a valid one.

Today’s fire spouses are now inundated with ways to keep up with their firefighters. While that can be a great thing, I continue to learn that every Internet application can be a double-edged sword. Whatever the case, I am glad that FireDad came home this morning and gave me my normal hug and kiss. Worries instantly alleviated more quickly than the immediacy of twitter… until his next shift day, that is.