My Latest Project

I always need a project. Paint the walls? OK. Plant a garden? Sure. Systematically try all oatmeal cookie recipes to find the best one? Why not? Really it's all an excuse to not clean my house. Anything but cleaning. If you've been to my house you will know that this is not an exaggeration. John has been patient with my projects but really he's holding his breath wishing I would settle down a little. Well John unwittingly introduced me to my next project.

Our friend Kathy has a great knack for decorating, but John knew that I would never ask her to come help me figure out what to do. So for a Christmas present John set up a day for Kathy to come help me with the house. Kathy gave me tons of great ideas and even showed me some great spots to go furniture shopping. She was also kind enough to hold my hand and help me though refinishing some furniture. So without further delay . . . . Here it is!

Ta Dah! Ain't she a bute! Well this is the before anyway. Sorry about the odd angle but it is the best I could do in my garage. Well are you ready for the after. No. To be truly ready for the after you have to appreciate out set up before.

Yes that is what you think it is. Our TV is on top of another TV. Wow. I confessed it. It's good to get that off my chest and out in the open. Now everyone knows how trashy we are. Or as a friend told me "You just need to move it out onto the porch with your couch." Alright now that you understand our desperate need. Here is the after.

Ta dah! I was worried for a while but I'm pleased with how it turned out. I did some end tables too but my camera is having issues and they will have to be posted another day. Now that Kathy got me started I have a long list of furniture to re-do. Thanks Kathy! And don't worry. We just moved the other TV into the cabinet so that John and I can still both watch out favorite TV shows at the same time.

Overdone

I like to get my kids something for Valentines Day. My parents always got us something growing up and it made the day extra special. So I wanted to give a small gift for my kids. My first thought was the heart shaped box of chocolates from the dollar store. They might not be great chocolates but the kids don't care, and I remember how special I felt when I got my own box of chocolates. Well that was the plan until I went to Alan's class party.

Have you been to one of those lately? When I was a kid the fancy valentines that were delivered had a couple conversation hearts stuck in the envelope. Now almost every single valentine was a candy (I say almost because ours was not). I saw them at the stores, they are very cute ideas, but really? It's not Halloween. The kids don't need that much candy. Of course the real kicker was when one of the kids valentine was the box of heart chocolates. You just had to show me up. Now mom looks cheap. (Yes I know that the dollar store is cheap but the kids don't know). Alan ingested the box of chocolate in 6.2 seconds without appreciating it for a second, and then he was on to the next candy. Can't we go back to no candy's in the valentines so that a box of chocolates actually is something to appreciate? Do we have to overdue everything?

So the kids ended up getting a calender from the dollar store instead. I know it doesn't fit well with Valentines but I didn't want to have to compete with a first grader.

The Kids Got New Chores

Well . . . . at least it's not MY job to put away the dishes anymore.