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When you call your boss at 3:30 and scream, "I WANT TO GO HOME AND DRINK!" it's never a good sign. That's the kind of day I had today. And yes, I did actually do that. Both I mean. Called my boss and screamed that, and actually went home and drank.
I knew it was going to be a long day, but I honestly had no idea it was going to be as stressful as it was. I didn't even make it home in time for yoga class (and tonight was the LATE class). I ended up driving almost 300 miles, and before I returned home I had visited FIVE child care programs. Like on a normal day I visit one or two, and today I visited FIVE. And I had bad news to deliver to all but one.
I'm having to kick out two programs I actually really like. So that's breaking my heart. I delivered news to a third that I swear caused visible smoke to come out her ears. She wasn't mad at ME thankfully, but still, sucked to deliver news that upset her that much.
Then one of the programs, I couldn't even meet with the director because her daughter's house had just burned down. Like to the ground. Last night. The teacher who shared this with me was crying, and it made me cry.
I'm completely exhausted.
And grateful that I have a house. So, there is that.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Monday, January 16, 2012
Project 52 "Update"
So, it's January 16th, and I figured I should post my list for Project 52, 2012 Edition. The first thing you may notice about this list is that the first 20-something items are all the things I didn't check off for 2011. The second thing you may notice is that there are only 33 items. I'm doing this on purpose.
See, last year I worked and thought and pondered and planned and made a list of 52 things at the start of the year. Then life intervened. My goals changed. New things became important to me, but I couldn't put them on the list, because my list was full. And stuff that I'd put on the list quickly became irrelevant (see Basement Flooding Disaster of '11.)
So, this year I'm purposely leaving my list unfinished at the start. This way, I can add new things as they come to light throughout the year.
1. Finish building walls in basement.
2. Drywall walls in basement.
3. Mud and tape walls in basement.
4. Sand walls in basement.
5. Paint walls in basement.
6. Hang doors in basement.
7. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.
8. Decorate basement.
9. Buy a shed for mowers, etc…
10. Take at least one overnight out of town trip with R.
11. Pay off New Buggie.
12. Make trivet with leftover kitchen tile.
13. Make stepping stone for Tigger.
14. Start knitting again.
15. Make candles.
16. Transfer blog (DTBMMLF) to my own domain.
17. Trade in old engagement ring at Kay Jewelers.
18. Go dancing at least once.
19. Sort and put away work files and boxes in basement.
20. Get name changed on diplomas.
21. Get name changed on savings account.
22. Sing karaoke at least once.
23. Go roller skating.
24. Attend at least one concert.
25. See at least three movies in the theater.
26. Paint rocking chair from family room. DONE!
I went through a phase of painting rocking chairs, like with cute things such as daisies, sunflowers, clouds, stars, etc... This particular chair once had grass and flowers all over the bottom and clouds and sky all over the top. I loved it at the time. Like 10 years ago. But it wasn't really fitting into my new decor in the family room. Plus, the paint was all peeling off. So something needed to be done. I decided to spray paint it black and add this pillow from Target. I also painted the shelf red. (It too was once covered in So-Country-I-Could-Puke-Flowers.) It's not perfect, but it's much better.
27. Fix Beavis’s cat tree. DONE!
Unlike some less sophisticated felines, Beavis actually scratches his cat tree. Like to the point that he destroys it. The carpet gets thinner and thinner until it starts just falling completely off. We've had this particular cat tree for about 5 years now, and we've replaced the carpet on the bottom section twice. We may have to just break down and buy a new one next time. But for another year or so, he's good.
28. Get new shelf/cabinet/something for CD’s.
29. Re-do fence in back yard.
30. Re-do deck in back yard.
31. Set wedding date.
32. Attend Power Yoga at least once.
33. Get coat rack/hall tree.
So, that's all I've got so far. But hey, it's only January 16, and I've finished two items already! How are you doing with your goals?
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Things to be Happy About
This week started out really rough for me, and for no good reason. Monday and Tuesday I was just in a horrible mood. And several good things happened, so my bad mood doesn't make much sense. I'm focusing on the good in this post.
I received a package the other day from Caren at Cat Chat with Caren and Cody. I had entered her giveaway for a prize pack from Bissell, and I won! I have a thing with vacuuming. R told me once he thinks I might have a problem that maybe they make medication for. But when you live with two dogs, one cat, and a man, one has to vacuum a lot.
Caren sent me the Perfect Sweep Turbo, which is kind of a high powered carpet sweeper that plugs in and charges. I've decided to keep it in the basement, because it's not like we track in dirt and stuff down there, yet it does need cleaning up, and I don't like hauling my big vacuum up and down the stairs. It's working really great for that. And I love that it doesn't have bags. You just dump the container every once in a while.
I also got the Fur Get It, which is a little hand-held thingy to get pet hair off furniture. I was skeptical of this at first, because I've tried several things like this that didn't work very well. This one actually works though! It took a minute to figure out. I wanted to make long broad strokes, and what you have to do is a back and forth shorter motion.
The third item in my package was the Pawsitively Clean Urine Eliminator System. Thankfully, I haven't had occasion to try this one yet!
My winning streak continued when I found out I won a Scentsy warmer from Gina at Namaste by Day! I love my Scentsy warmers, so I was super excited to find out I get a new one for free. (I haven't received that package yet, so I'll post more info once I get it.)
Then, I found out I get Martin Luther King Day off work. I don't know what I was thinking, but I seriously thought I had to work that day. R is off, so I was kind of bitter thinking that I had to work and he didn't. Then one of my co-workers informed me we are off, and the boss confirmed it. Yay!
And finally, I was approached by a new sponsor who wanted to publicize their company on my blog. Please welcome my newest sponsor, Big Event Fundraising. And the good news for you is, they asked me if I have any bloggy friends who might also be interested in getting a small fee (like enough for your next grande latte) for inserting their text link on your blog for six months. So, if you're interested, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and let me know. Be sure and tell me your e-mail address and blog link if it's not in your profile. (I don't get paid if you do this, just wanted to share in case any of you are interested.)
Hope you all had only good news this week!
I received a package the other day from Caren at Cat Chat with Caren and Cody. I had entered her giveaway for a prize pack from Bissell, and I won! I have a thing with vacuuming. R told me once he thinks I might have a problem that maybe they make medication for. But when you live with two dogs, one cat, and a man, one has to vacuum a lot.
Caren sent me the Perfect Sweep Turbo, which is kind of a high powered carpet sweeper that plugs in and charges. I've decided to keep it in the basement, because it's not like we track in dirt and stuff down there, yet it does need cleaning up, and I don't like hauling my big vacuum up and down the stairs. It's working really great for that. And I love that it doesn't have bags. You just dump the container every once in a while.
I also got the Fur Get It, which is a little hand-held thingy to get pet hair off furniture. I was skeptical of this at first, because I've tried several things like this that didn't work very well. This one actually works though! It took a minute to figure out. I wanted to make long broad strokes, and what you have to do is a back and forth shorter motion.
The third item in my package was the Pawsitively Clean Urine Eliminator System. Thankfully, I haven't had occasion to try this one yet!
My winning streak continued when I found out I won a Scentsy warmer from Gina at Namaste by Day! I love my Scentsy warmers, so I was super excited to find out I get a new one for free. (I haven't received that package yet, so I'll post more info once I get it.)
Then, I found out I get Martin Luther King Day off work. I don't know what I was thinking, but I seriously thought I had to work that day. R is off, so I was kind of bitter thinking that I had to work and he didn't. Then one of my co-workers informed me we are off, and the boss confirmed it. Yay!
And finally, I was approached by a new sponsor who wanted to publicize their company on my blog. Please welcome my newest sponsor, Big Event Fundraising. And the good news for you is, they asked me if I have any bloggy friends who might also be interested in getting a small fee (like enough for your next grande latte) for inserting their text link on your blog for six months. So, if you're interested, leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail and let me know. Be sure and tell me your e-mail address and blog link if it's not in your profile. (I don't get paid if you do this, just wanted to share in case any of you are interested.)
Hope you all had only good news this week!
Sunday, January 8, 2012
The Fireplace Makeover is Complete!
You probably didn't know it wasn't complete. I wasn't entirely sure myself. But now I am entirely sure that it is complete. And it's gorgeous. If I do say so myself.
I'd been pondering for a while whether I should paint it. But that's kind of a scary thing to consider, because it's nearly impossible to UN-paint brick. And there is an entire, quite vocal, population of brick enthusiasts who feel that anyone who might dare to suggest painting brick is the Anti-Christ.
But you know how I get when I start to hate something in my house. (R fears this instant hatred, must change now, mind set will one day come to include him, but I assure him, and you, that it applies only to matters of decor.) I'd come to hate the brick on my fireplace.
Then, we went to my aunt's house for Christmas.
Which seems unrelated, but it's not.
She had painted her fireplace. And I walked in the door and was stunned by how much I loved it. And I never hated her fireplace to begin with. I was just completely in awe of how beautiful it was, how much it opened up the room, how it made the space look bigger and lighter and more modern.
I asked her a million questions about how she decided to do it, how she actually did it, how scared she was, etc... And I decided it was a sign that I should do it. I began reading everything I could online about how to paint a brick fireplace. I went to every home improvement store in my town (which means I went to two) asking for advice. The advice ranged from, "Use whatever paint you want. It doesn't matter." To, "We don't have any paint you can use for that, and I highly advise that you do not do it."
Which I took to mean, they really don't know. And I live in a hick town, and my superior design sense frightens these poor people.
Anyway, here we go...
It was a vast improvement. But I still felt that it wasn't really finished. NOW, it's finished:
Fabulous, no? I changed up a little of the decor in the room, and I'm way happier with how it all looks now. I got rid of an old book shelf I'd had for maybe 15 years and bought this espresso bookcase from Target. I actually didn't pay even that much for it. It was on sale for $95, and I always use my Red Card and save another 5%, so I got it for like $90, and it's wonderful! Five stars! It looks much more expensive, and I'm really pleased with the quality.
And that red lantern on the hearth? Why yes, it is a Partylite Garden Lantern. Yes, I spray painted it red. And yes, many people who might even advocate brick painting might still send me straight to hell for spray painting Partylite. In my defense, this particular piece came from a garage sale and was rusted or something when I got it. Plus, it's just perfect in the room now. So I feel justified.
Even Beavis approves of the new pillows (also from Target, and purchased on clearance.)
I have done a little more work to the opposite corner of the room, but I'm saving that for my Project 52 post. I didn't count the fireplace project, because I actually did all that before 2011 drew to a close.
So, if you want to paint your own fireplace, here is what we did:
Use a stiff brush to clean any dust and loose material off the fireplace. Some sites advocate soap and water or even harsh chemicals. We didn't do that. Just the stiff brush and a lot of vacuuming. It was nasty. I'm warning you. We sneezed a lot.
Then use one coat of Kilz 2. You'll have to use A LOT of it. It took almost an entire gallon to do this. We rolled it first, which honestly didn't do much. You have to really scrub the primer and paint into the mortar and even into the little holes in the brick. Use a cheap and/or old paintbrush, because you'll ruin it. It took forever and my arm was killing me.
We waited a day, mostly because it was midnight and we were exhausted, before painting on the next coat. I just used regular latex paint, semi-gloss. I did buy a pretty high quality paint though, instead of my usual cheap Wal-mart paint. And we just did one coat, but it was a seriously thick coat.
We didn't do the inside, because we have a metal thing in there anyway. If you are going to paint the inside of the firebox, you probably should use the special, heat-resistant, fireplace or wood stove paint.
I chose white, because all the trim in my house is white, and I wanted the fireplace to stand out as an architectural focal point. My aunt painted hers the same color as the walls, so that it blends in more. In my opinion, it was such a huge job that I'm in no hurry to do it again. And I do re-decorate a lot, so should I choose to change the color of my family room, I didn't want to have to re-paint the fireplace.
My final advice:
When it comes to decorating, you just have to do what makes YOU happy. When I decided to throw caution, other people's opinions, and potential re-sale value to the wind, I decided to do it. And I love it.
I'd been pondering for a while whether I should paint it. But that's kind of a scary thing to consider, because it's nearly impossible to UN-paint brick. And there is an entire, quite vocal, population of brick enthusiasts who feel that anyone who might dare to suggest painting brick is the Anti-Christ.
But you know how I get when I start to hate something in my house. (R fears this instant hatred, must change now, mind set will one day come to include him, but I assure him, and you, that it applies only to matters of decor.) I'd come to hate the brick on my fireplace.
Then, we went to my aunt's house for Christmas.
Which seems unrelated, but it's not.
She had painted her fireplace. And I walked in the door and was stunned by how much I loved it. And I never hated her fireplace to begin with. I was just completely in awe of how beautiful it was, how much it opened up the room, how it made the space look bigger and lighter and more modern.
I asked her a million questions about how she decided to do it, how she actually did it, how scared she was, etc... And I decided it was a sign that I should do it. I began reading everything I could online about how to paint a brick fireplace. I went to every home improvement store in my town (which means I went to two) asking for advice. The advice ranged from, "Use whatever paint you want. It doesn't matter." To, "We don't have any paint you can use for that, and I highly advise that you do not do it."
Which I took to mean, they really don't know. And I live in a hick town, and my superior design sense frightens these poor people.
Anyway, here we go...
See? Daisy is stunned by its gorgeousness.
So that you can feel the full effect of it's majesty, I feel I should remind you from whence we came. Here is what the fireplace looked like when we bought the house:
Then we got rid of the hideous wood stove insert and put in nickel plated doors, special ordered from Lowes.
Then we bought a gas log, so we could have fire at the touch of a button, without the mess. (I can't find a picture showing only that.) Then we embarked upon the mantel project and ended up with this:
And that red lantern on the hearth? Why yes, it is a Partylite Garden Lantern. Yes, I spray painted it red. And yes, many people who might even advocate brick painting might still send me straight to hell for spray painting Partylite. In my defense, this particular piece came from a garage sale and was rusted or something when I got it. Plus, it's just perfect in the room now. So I feel justified.
Even Beavis approves of the new pillows (also from Target, and purchased on clearance.)
I have done a little more work to the opposite corner of the room, but I'm saving that for my Project 52 post. I didn't count the fireplace project, because I actually did all that before 2011 drew to a close.
So, if you want to paint your own fireplace, here is what we did:
Use a stiff brush to clean any dust and loose material off the fireplace. Some sites advocate soap and water or even harsh chemicals. We didn't do that. Just the stiff brush and a lot of vacuuming. It was nasty. I'm warning you. We sneezed a lot.
Then use one coat of Kilz 2. You'll have to use A LOT of it. It took almost an entire gallon to do this. We rolled it first, which honestly didn't do much. You have to really scrub the primer and paint into the mortar and even into the little holes in the brick. Use a cheap and/or old paintbrush, because you'll ruin it. It took forever and my arm was killing me.
We waited a day, mostly because it was midnight and we were exhausted, before painting on the next coat. I just used regular latex paint, semi-gloss. I did buy a pretty high quality paint though, instead of my usual cheap Wal-mart paint. And we just did one coat, but it was a seriously thick coat.
We didn't do the inside, because we have a metal thing in there anyway. If you are going to paint the inside of the firebox, you probably should use the special, heat-resistant, fireplace or wood stove paint.
I chose white, because all the trim in my house is white, and I wanted the fireplace to stand out as an architectural focal point. My aunt painted hers the same color as the walls, so that it blends in more. In my opinion, it was such a huge job that I'm in no hurry to do it again. And I do re-decorate a lot, so should I choose to change the color of my family room, I didn't want to have to re-paint the fireplace.
My final advice:
When it comes to decorating, you just have to do what makes YOU happy. When I decided to throw caution, other people's opinions, and potential re-sale value to the wind, I decided to do it. And I love it.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Project 52 2011 Wrap Up
I sort of fell off the wagon with my goals toward the end of 2011, but I did actually accomplish a couple more things on my list that I never posted about. So, here is a summary, with comments as necessary:
1. Make list of 52 goals. DONE!
2. Build cover for mantle. DONE!
3. Redecorate above mantle. DONE!
4. Finish building walls in basement.
5. Drywall walls in basement.
6. Mud and tape walls in basement.
7. Sand walls in basement.
8. Paint walls in basement.
9. Hang doors in basement.
10. Paint (or tile?) floors in basement.
11. Decorate basement. (The entire basement thing just never happened, mainly because of the massive basement flooding that necessitated an even larger project to waterproof and RE-finish the part we had already finished. Maybe in 2012!)
12. Finish reading Committed. DONE!
13. Finish reading Women, Food, and God. DONE!
14. Finish reading Sleepwalk with Me. DONE!
15. Sort through books and post on half.com. DONE! (Sort of. I didn't post them, but I took them to a bookstore in town and then donated what they wouldn't buy.)
16. Sort through closets and donate at least 10 items to Salvation Army. DONE!
17. Buy a shed for mowers, etc…
18. Paint bedroom. DONE!
19. Paint bookshelf. DONE!
20. Organize work things on bookshelf. DONE!
21. Buy new silverware. DONE!
22. Visit Whole Foods and buy some vegan meat alternatives. DONE!
23. Get a new Rock Band Guitar. DONE!
24. Take at least one overnight out of town trip with R. (And he isn't letting me forget this didn't happen.)
25. Hem pink pants. DONE!
26. Get jeans hemmed. DONE!
27. Pay off New Buggie. (Not quite. But it will be done in 2012.)
28. Get a professional pedicure.
29. Get credit card paid off. DONE!
30. Make trivet with leftover kitchen tile.
31. Make stepping stone for Tigger.
32. Start knitting again.
33. Make candles.
34. Transfer blog(s) to my own domain(s). (Did one, this one. So, it's half done.)
35. Sort through jewelry and sell or donate at least 5 items. DONE!
36. Trade in old engagement ring at Kay Jewelers. (Hasn't happened yet, but I did get a bigger, better engagement ring in 2011!)
37. Repaint trim around kitchen window. DONE! (In the nick of time. I think I did this December 30th.)
38. Paint bed. DONE!
39. Get new bedspread set. DONE!
40. Install new ceiling fan in bedroom. DONE!
41. Go dancing at least once. (Again, R not letting this one go. Maybe in 2012.)
42. Sort through glasses/mugs cabinet in kitchen. DONE!
43. Sort and put away work files and boxes in basement. (Considering I didn't need ANY of this stuff for the last year and a half, maybe I should just toss it all.)
44. Buy/paint dining furniture. DONE!
45. Get name changed on diplomas. (Looked into it, but it's gonna cost me $50, and it hasn't happened yet.)
46. Get name changed on savings account.
47. Sing karaoke at least once.
48. Go roller skating. DONE!
49. Attend at least one concert. DONE! Keith Urban 8/19/11
50. See at least three movies in the theater. The Help, 50/50, The Big Year, Breaking Dawn, DONE! (With one to spare! Three thumbs up, one thumb down, for The Big Year. Bleah.)
51. Create some artwork for the bedroom walls. DONE!
52. Spend lots of time snuggling on couch with Daisy and Rudy. DONE!
So I did 29/52. More than half. I'm calling it a win. Hope you did a great job reaching many of your goals! Time to start on the list for 2012.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Put a Ring on It
Lookee what I got over the holidays!
It wasn't a complete surprise, but it was somewhat of a surprise. R and I have been together for...well...depends upon when you count from. Could be 7 or 8 years, could be 2ish. I generally say about 5, because we moved in together and bought this house about then.
Anyway, over that time, of course the subject of marriage has come up. I wasn't too anxious to get it done though. We have both been through divorces, and it just kind of left me not ever wanting to go through that again. I felt like I wanted us to make the choice to stay together every day, not just stay because it was too complicated to leave.
But, we've been through a lot over the past couple of years. I lost my job, we lost a pregnancy, he lost his mind a time or two, and we both lost our tempers more than once. And through all those hard times, I knew with all my heart that there was no one on earth I'd rather be with than R.
He's known that about me for...7 or 8 years. But I've been a bit more hard headed about it.
Anyway, so we've looked at rings. And I picked out my dream ring. And it was expensive. And it wasn't gonna happen within the next 10 years. So, finally I subtly suggested to him that I might marry him, even without THE ring. He found this one totally on his own, and I am blown away by how fabulous it is.
So I know you want to know how it happened. I had suspected it was coming, because he kept dropping not so subtle hints, including being quite jumpy that he was receiving "a package" on a certain day, and he didn't want this package to sit outside, and someone had to be home when it came, etc... And then he was singing, "Yes" by Chad Brock in the shower Christmas Eve morning!
We had friends over Christmas Eve afternoon, and as we were preparing, R kept asking if I wanted to open a present that night. I actually kind of like surprises and anticipation, so I wasn't too into the idea. But he kept bringing it up! And finally I said, whatever, that's fine, we can each open one.
So I gave him pants. Which seems rather lame in retrospect.
He handed me this big box that weighed a ton. I accused him of wrapping up weights for me. Turned out, it was a rusty old trailer hitch. And a tiny little velvet box. He says he only put the hitch in there to throw me off, but we later decided it was kind of perfect, since he was asking me to "get hitched!"
I opened the ring box, and there was this gorgeous diamond and platinum ring. I can't get over how sparkly it is! And I didn't choose platinum, but I love it so much now that I have it.
Oh, and what did he say? I honestly don't remember exactly, but it was something to the effect of, "So can we get married now?" Which seems really unromantic when I write it out, but it wasn't that way.
I was shocked at how emotional I was. I mean, we've been together forever. We've talked about this. I pretty much knew the ring was coming. But seeing it, and putting it on, and him asking me, it was different. I cried, and I hugged him for a long time.
He wanted to put it on Facebook right away, but I made him wait until we'd at least told our immediate families. So, we told our moms Christmas Day, and I told my dad the day after. (For the record, his and Step-monster's reactions were kind of like, eh, whatever, it's pretty. WTF?!)
My grandma was completely over the moon with joy though. And so is R's daughter, S. I'm not sure if she really loves me that much, or if she's just excited at the prospect of being in a wedding. Either way.
So, that was my big present. I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and a happy New Year!
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