Deep Thoughts.

Today, I thought that I would share some deep thoughts on this, the last day of February...

1. Though February claims to be the shortest month of the year, I believe that it is secretly the longest.
2. I was under-whelmed by the Academy Awards last night.  I really wanted to love Anne Hathaway's hosting skillz, but I think that the commercials they showed for the Oscars were actually funnier than the show. 
3. I include the previous deep thought not to ridicule the hosts, but because I'm pretty sure Anne is going to want to know how I feel about her performance.
4. I still love The Princess Diaries.

5. Sometimes I'm afraid that I'll forget to pick up C from preschool on time. 
6. Today I set the microwave timer so that I won't lose track of time.
7. The sun is shining here for the first time in a year and a half. 
8. Maybe it hasn't been quite that long, but it sure feels like it.
9. Yesterday, I learned that the color of the year is "honeysuckle."

10. Today, I'm wondering if Jason would be cool with pink throw pillows in the living room.
11. C used to like pink, but this year he refused to open a pink Tinkerbell valentine from a girl in his class.
12. It was described as being "too girly."

13. I don't believe that any of the Star Wars characters wear pink and if it doesn't work for Star Wars, it doesn't work for C.
14. C likes Star Wars.  In case you hadn't heard.
15. I secretly rock out in the car when I'm by myself.
16. I find it difficult to dance and drive at the same time, but I do the best I can.
17. The don't-forget-to-pick-up-C-from-preschool-timer just went off so I'd better go.
18. I hope that you have a lovely Monday!

It's a Dog's Life.

Sometimes I feel like Molly is the dog-version of me:

• She likes good food and she likes it often.
• She sheds a lot.
• She only stands up if it's really worth her time.
• She often seems fed up with the boys in our home.
• She has perfected the art of napping.
• She's slow to warm to new people.
• She snores really, really loudly.  (I'm not saying that I snore, but some people around here claim that I do)

Molly's no delicate flower, but I like her just the same.

Old House Despair.

I just finished reading about the shower curtain and bathmat that John and Sherry picked out for their guest bathroom over at Young House Love and I am, once again, convinced that J needs to quit his job so that we can work together at home, writing a blog about our lives.  Like John and Sherry. 

Just imagine a blog dedicated to the days of our lives.  We could call it "Old House Despair."


A typical day would look something like this...

I take C to preschool, return home, and wait until 10:30 for J to get up (he's nocturnal).  Once awake, J puts on his hole-y (not to be confused with 'holy') camouflage pants and Superman t-shirt before settling in for a bowl of oatmeal.  After brunch, J takes out the trash and I photograph the process for a Very Special Blog Event.


At noon, J and C settle in for some Xbox gaming while I work up the energy to re-wash the load of mildewed towels in the washing machine.  After that, I may or may not think about dusting the living room.  If I do think about it, I decide against it and instead compose a blog post about the proper way to organize embroidery floss.


At 2:30, C puts J and me down for our nap.  J listens to sports talk radio while I snore.


At 4:30, I suddenly realize that I'll be expected to make dinner within the next hour and I need to run to the grocery store.  I decide that brushing my hair would be overkill, but do manage to change out of my faded blue sweatshirt with the mysterious stain into my faded black t-shirt with the mysterious stain.  I drive to the store, spend $30 on dinner fixings and a few "treats" and head home where I decide NOT to make dinner after all and instead, dig through the frig looking for something "nutritious" for C.


I quickly compose a blog post about 10 ways to save money on groceries and a follow-up post highlighting our three favorite family dinners.


I consider another post suggesting key conversation starters for families on the go, but quickly get caught up in an episode of Wheel of Fortune and postpone that idea until C goes to bed.
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Okay, so clearly our blog mission would be broader than just "home improvement."

And, no, we don't have a super-cute baby like Clara or an adorable dog like Burger (though we do have two muts I'm thinking about offering as the prize for our first blog give-away).

And so what if J and I aren't quite as young and cute as John and Sherry...


I'm sure that we would appeal to all of the real people out there, right? 

Advertisers are going to be breaking down our door with lucrative offers.


Well, hopefully not literally breaking it down because we would have no idea how to fix it.


Any day now!


Right?

Spring Ready.

I hereby declare that I am ready for spring! 

Sure, I'll miss cardigans and hot chocolate, but my sad, sorry little flowerbed is making me long for blooms!  And my heating bill is making me hope that we have a little break between turning off the furnace and turning on the air conditioner. 

I know we still have another month of winter to survive, but I just wanted to let the universe know that...

I. am. ready.

Finishing & Starting.

We had a little pocket of spring weather last week.  It was great, but now it's back to winter and that's okay because it has provided a little inspiration to finish up a project I started after Christmas:

I really like how it turned out, but what I like even better is the idea that I came up with for my scraps:

Can you guess what I'm going to do with my little yarn balls?


I've also started working on a springy little pillow and I really like how it is turning out...

...but what I like even better is the idea that I came up with for my scraps:

Are you sensing a theme? 

Have a scraptastic Presidents' Day!

The Room That Refused to be Tamed.

Disclaimer:  The thing to remember about this re-organization project is that the goal was: A space that allows me to consistently work on crafty projects while also allowing for storage, office needs, guest sleeping potential and more.  An ancillary goal was to reduce the clutter that was driving me a bit batty.  So here are the "after" pictures, keeping in mind that the wall decor needs lots of tweaking.


Closet



Closet-left side




Closet-left side-top

 

Closet-right side




Closet-right side-top

 


Desk area

 


Craft storage

 



Unfinished projects--yes, I have a problem.

 


Sewing table

 


Fabric storage

  And there you have it.
A room of my own.
Sortof.

Last night, I caught Jason trying to store a space heater in there...

Polka Dot Bikini?

The Room That Refuses to be Tamed has, indeed, been tamed! 
Mostly.

At least sortof.

Um.

Pictures forthcoming!
Tomorrow.
After the Valentine's Day party that may or may not occur.

Unless I'm busy sunbathing in my polka dot bikini here in the banana belt.

Errr...

Just kidding! 
I won't pull out the bikini until at least April!

Random Cuteness.

I've been sorting through pictures as part of my never-ending room renovation project.  This pic is from a day of shopping with Grammie in March 2006--back when my boy still napped.

I miss those days. 
I miss that little round head!

Today.

Just a few things to report today:

1. Max the Dog is sick.  Like loads-of-money-to-the-vet sick.  He has an infection.  We hope that he feels better soon.  Or at least stops barfing.
2. C is out of school today.  Again.
3. J is not.  Again.
4. Our entire house is a cluttered (and barfy) mess.
5. The The Room That Refuses To Be Tamed  continues to challenge me, but my goal is to wrap things up today.  Did you hear that, room?  Today!
6. It's difficult to get things moved to the garage and to make progress with my mountain of laundry when there is a barfy dog installed in the laundry room.
7. It's -4 outside so it seems wrong to make him stay in the backyard.
8. Yesterday, C decided that he wants to be a toy designer when he grows up.  We did a little research to see what he needs to do to make that happen and it looks like he'll be majoring in Mechanical Engineering and minoring in Art.  Once he has his big new job with Lego Incorporated, he's going to hire J and me as his assistants.  He'll pay us $10 a week.  $10 combined or $10 each--it's unclear at this time.  He did say that he'd pay health benefits so I think we're good to go.

Happy Thursday!

Mrs. Hen's Bad Attitude.

Greetings from the Snozarks!
Another day; another day off from school!
Oh well!

Yesterday, as I was working on The Room That Refuses To Be Tamed, I came across several books that I used to read at my Grandma Nina's house when I was little.  Books like...

and...

Mrs. Hen (by Godfrey Lynn & Elizabeth Webbe, 1949) had a few lessons to share. 

One morning very early, Henrietta Hen lay in bed and opened one eye.  She saw the sun just peeking over the hill.  Then she heard Rooster cry, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!" and she knew it was morning.

Henrietta thought, "Everyone else is going to do something wonderful today.  But I shall do the same old things I do every day--cook the breakfast, wash the dishes, sweep the floor, and go to market."  And she sighed a big sigh.  "I don't even want to get up."

The story continues without any improvement in Mrs. Hen's mood until she encounters a sudden storm on her way back from market.  She raises her umbrella and is carried away by the wind...

Meanwhile Henrietta was being lifted higher and higher into the sky.  But she was getting used to it.  She even decided that it was fun to ride along in the wind.  She was just thinking about enjoying the sights when--SWOOSH!...her umbrella blew inside out.

In an instant she was dropping like an arrow toward the earth below.  She saw the trees getting nearer and nearer, and in her fright she started to flap her wings.  Then she noticed that she wasn't falling any more, and she flapped her wings all the harder.

"I'm flying!" she cried.  "I'm a bird!  Oh, this is wonderful!  I shall fly, and fly, all over town!"  And she did.

And after her adventure...

Henrietta doesn't mind getting up in the morning any more.  She bounces out of bed clucking a jolly little song.  She hustles with the cooking, and hustles with the dishes--and hustles with the sweeping.  And she can't wait to go to market--

because now...Henrietta flies to market every day!

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I can't help but wonder if I can get carried away and learn how to fly...

It's Cold and I have a Cold.

We're expecting more snow today. 
I'm not excited about this.
It makes me want to cough.
No, wait--that's just my new cold.

Today I will continue working on my "guest room/craft room/home office/storage space" closet reorganization project. Here is what I started with:


Left Side

 


Top

 


Right Side



And this is where I stopped yesterday:



"Guest Room"



I'm having a hard time figuring out what to store where.  Maybe I'll find clarity today. 

But probably not. 

I don't see clarity listed as a possible side effect on my antihistamine bottle.

It Takes Three.

I have come to the conclusion that it takes three days at home together before we start to come unglued.  Unhinged.  Impatient.  Inactive.  Tuesday was pretty good, yesterday was excellent, today...not so much.

It takes three people to turn our happy little home into a somewhat dissatisfied pig sty.

It takes three minutes for me to trim my bangs into a style that would make a five-year-old girl cringe.  {Must remember to hide scissors from self}

Apparently it takes four days to get life back to normal after a snowstorm because my Snow Boys are off again tomorrow.

Heaven help me!

Snow Boys.

They decided to go outside.

We bundled.
And bundled.
And bundled just a little bit more.

They were outside for approximately 6 minutes.
They came inside.

We unbundled.
And unbundled.
And unbundled just a little bit more.

The moral of this story:  It is very cold.

The End.

It's a Gizzard Out There.

Well...the worst blizzard since the storm of 1912?
Not so much. 

I am predicting, however, that I'll have at least one more snow day with the man who forgets dishwasher detergent, but brings home donuts...

...and at least three more snow days with the boy who refuses to blow his nose and thinks a DumDum is a well-balanced lunch.

I am just trying to decide what to do next:  (1) Nap; (2) Read; or (3) Crochet. 
Perhaps a donut will help me decide?