pickle-chiffon pie

A Project A Day

2011-06-17T22:50:00.007-05:00

***Please pardon the wonky line spacing of late. Can't seem to fix it.***

I set a goal for myself to start (and finish!) one home project a day this week. Breaking it down to one project and one day really helped me from feeling overwhelmed by the LONG list of stuff I'd like to tackle this summer. So, without further ado, here's what I accomplished (and please forgive my poor photography skills)...

Monday: Turn these bifold closet doors in the craft/playroom...

...into this giant chalkboard!

Tuesday: {okay, I cheated a little bit here. I counted rehanging those doors as a project. I didn't feel too guilty about it as it was a far more daunting task than I had originally expected.}

Wednesday: I finally painted the cabinets in my laundry room. I had some paint leftover from painting my front door last summer. To make up for Tuesday's laziness, I actually rehung the doors before considering this project complete. Although if you want to get super technical about it, I need to drill holes for my new knobs (cute orange glass Anthropologie knobs via Wall's).

Thursday: The easiest project of all was to hang these cute handpainted vintage plates in my kitchen. I should have taken a closer shot of them. It's a couple named Charles and Betty. I found them at one of my favorite thrift stores in Tulsa for 79 cents each!

Friday: I have recently discovered the joys of Pinterest and repinned a fabulous pic of a magnetized board for displaying makeup and decided to tweak the general idea a bit by hanging the Ikea magnetic knife strip I've had for a few months now. My makeup routine is pretty basic so I just have a few compacts of powder, blush, and eye shadow but they just litter my teeny tiny vanity area. After hanging the knife strip vertically I glued magnets to the back of each compact, slapped them on the strip and voila! Genius...

With the relative success of this week's projects (and the satisfaction that comes with crossing stuff off my list) I think I may just continue this new not-so-procrastinating version of myself next week. Wish me luck!

Hot Wheels

2011-06-07T16:35:00.003-05:00

Last Monday (Memorial Day) I headed out to Arbuckle Lake to celebrate Robin's birthday and Chris graciously offered to watch Little Miss M for the day. At 3:10 I got a picture text entitled "Wild Hog." When I opened it I discovered that he had stripped M's bike of its training wheels earlier in the day and she had mastered the art of riding sans training wheels! Woohoo!

Dance Fever

2011-05-26T19:59:00.006-05:00

A couple of weeks ago my family (and Chris!) and I had the distinct pleasure of attending Little Miss M's very first dance recital. This first photo is from the dress rehearsal a few nights beforehand. We were supposed to cover her costume up and this is the best I could do:

It was at the dress rehearsal where I realized that updos, glitter hairspray, caked on makeup, and spray tans aren't just for the TLC show "Toddlers and Tiaras." So on Saturday we jazzed it up a bit with a little:

makeup

poufy hair

and a dash of diva attitude!

Their costumes were probably my second favorite. I like how classic they look. A bit of a Spanish vibe, no? My favorite, without a doubt, were these adorable sequined sailor outfits. Complete with little white hats! Wish I had snapped a pic of a cutie in that class...alas.

First up was her class's tap dance (she's in the back right corner):

After the intermission we waited for her ballet routine (same position. She's the one who takes a little tumble at the beginning. Gotta admire her for getting right back up!).

Afterwards she was showered with real flowers, candy flowers, and a tiara by all her adoring fans!

Then we all went to Pink Swirl where she indulged herself with her standard chocolate yogurt topped with Skittles, chocolate chips, marshmallows, and gummy bears! Errr....yum? It was so wonderful to enjoy an afternoon with my family (9 of them traveled from Stillwater, Tulsa, and Texas) and this "fablious" (in her own words) five year old!

Little Miss M-ese

2011-04-22T18:27:00.002-05:00

I've been keeping a running list of her latest and greatest mispronounced words...

Oak mill - oatmeal
Patcherbob - Pastor Bob
Bullish dog - English Bulldog
Okiemogie - the place where Papa Gene lives (Okmulgee)
Hoka City - OKC
Swamp - Wasp
Weenie - Twinkie
Scare - Stare (as is in, "Don't scare at me. It's rude to scare at people.")

Old School

2011-03-16T19:22:00.003-05:00

So I finally got a scanner and had some laughs adding these to my digital gallery. Here I am in all my ~~glory~~ dorky.

1st grade
2nd grade

(a cleavage problem even then...)
3rdgrade

4th grade

5th grade

(don't be jealous of my Tina Turner perm gone wrong)

6th grade

(can you say "Awkward?")

7th grade

8th grade

Happy Valentine's Day, Lovies!

2011-02-14T17:42:00.005-06:00

Here's my funny Valentine:

For her gifties to her classmates we joined the "take-a-pic-and-shove-a-lollipop-in-it" movement of last year:

Hope you have a wonderful day

with your loved ones!

What M Wore

2011-02-10T20:39:00.007-06:00

So there are tons of blogs out there that do a regular WIW ("What I Wore") post. I won't be modeling any of my outfits anytime soon but Little Miss M has taken to assembling her own outfits as of late. While I'm not brave enough to send her to school in some of her ensembles, I do enjoy snapping a pic of some of her more, er, interesting outfits. Here are some from the archives. Most people include the brands of clothing they wear and/or where they bought said items. Perhaps this will be a regular feature here at PCP (great, the initials of my blog are also a drug).

I asked M to describe each outfit and her quotes are below each photo.

"Fancy. Beautiful. Because I think it's so great and beautiful."

shirt - Old Navy (garage sale)

leopard print skirt - The Children's Place (thrifted)

knee high socks - Target

slouchy boots - Ross

"She's so Fancy Nancy and lovely and pretty and beautiful, like a sunshine."

striped cardigan - Cherokee (thrifted)

tank top - Mossimo (thrifted)

red polka dot skirt - gift from her grandparents

red Dorothy shoes - Target

"I love these shoes and skirt."

pink cardigan - Circo (thrifted)

froggie tank top - Sonoma (thrifted)

skirt - Janie and Jack (JBF consignment sale)

knee socks - Target

red shoes - Target

"I would wear this to church."

embroidered hoodie - Old Navy (thrifted)

gray/pink leggings - Faded Glory (thrifted)

rainbow knee socks - (thrifted)

deck shoes - Faded Glory (thrifted)

It seems kind of silly for me to write where I bought her clothes since about 85% of her wardrobe is obtained at thrift stores and garage sales. I rarely pay more than $3 for any particular piece of clothing unless it is super stinking cute (not to be confused with super stinky!) and usually keep it to less than $1.50 an item. The sad thing is that because I feel like I'm getting such a great bargain I tend to buy too much stuff. The other day I counted the clothing hanging in her closet and there were 104 items. And there's still all the stuff in her dresser! I know I need to pare down. The whole 80/20 rule applies to 5-year-olds too. She has her favorite pieces of clothing that she would wear every week if they were clean. I guess that's one good thing about the abundance of clothing in our house...we can stretch laundry day waaaaay out.

My name is Courtney and I'm a shopaholic.

Gettin' Our Christmas Craft On

2010-12-29T09:58:00.003-06:00

Okay, so it's not technically a craft. But I made red and green play dough via Ashley Ann's cameo at eighteen25. Pretty easy and the colors turned out great! Two batches made enough for eight small gifts (16 balls total) that turned out like this:

Missed Him By That Much

2010-12-28T22:16:00.003-06:00

We primped and we preened and we made our way to Santa's house only to find the door locked. He was probably already on his way to the reindeer stables. Yes, we put off the visit until Christmas Eve. As in evening. Darkness falling. I had checked and double checked the times online. Monday through Friday until 9 PM. And it said the times were good through December 24th. Argh! Oh well, she still had fun...

A Conversation with Little Miss M

2010-12-08T23:02:00.004-06:00

This snippet of conversation occurred last night on our way home from daycare. There is a new house being built nearby and we talk about its progress most days.

Me: Hey, I think they're going to paint the front door soon. What color do you think they'll paint it?

M: I don't know.

Me: I'm going to guess dark blue.

M: I pick red.

Me: Yeah, red is a popular color for doors.

M: We're just gonna have to ask them.

Me: Ask who what?

M: Ask them what color they're going to paint.

Me: Who are we going to ask?

M: Those humans.

Those humans? Are you kidding me? Where does she come up with this stuff?!

Hark, the Herald Angel Sings

2010-12-06T21:02:00.011-06:00

...and I finally posted again!

A couple of weeks ago a small group of friends gathered in the fellowship hall of our church and worked on advent calendars for our all our little ones (whose ages range from 2 to 20 years!). The others assembled calendars out of mini muffin tins and they turned out adorable! I, of course, couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted to do and finally settled on these little gift boxes from the dollar store. The idea was to string them on some twine and have M untie one each day. Well, six days into December I finally got my Christmas spirit on and hung up my advent garland.

Mind you, my windows have been naked since I painted in October so in order to hang my garland up I also had to hang my curtains. Which is a chore I'd rather not do. It's just so tedious. I tried to pass it off onto Chris but he was about as excited as that prospect as he was when I tried to get him to paint for me. Which means I had to suck it up and do it myself. Which is also why it was left undone for a month and a half.

So...notice please the wonderfully white walls. And the curtains (overlooking, of course, their {ahem} ever-so-slightly rumpled state). And then the garland. Inside the boxes are candies, stickers, and an assortment of ornaments for decorating the tree in her room. It still looks prety plain so I may tie colorful ribbons in between the boxes. And as Christmas cards begin to arrive my plan is to clip them in the empty spots.

I also have another idea for displaying cards. But more on that later...

I'll Get You My Pretty...

2010-10-31T16:25:00.007-05:00

Oh, Halloween, how I love you and all your spookiness!

This year Little Miss M was a witch. I bought the costume at a thrift store for $1 earlier in the year and the hat was another dollar. The dress has a cute collar and apron/skirt with glittery purple spiderwebs on it. I tried to convince her she should call herself the Spider Queen (one of her earlier alter egos) and wear a tiara instead of a witch's hat but she wasn't interested so a plain ol' witch she was.

Excuse me, the cutest plain ol' witch there ever was!

I didn't take a great pic of her face (did I learn nothing from my SnapShop with Ashley?!), but she had purple swirls kind of swooping out from the corners of her eyes and a big spider hanging out on her cheek.

I, too, enjoy dressing up for Halloween and I went to a costume party on Friday night. I went as Bianca from Lars and the Real Girl, a movie which you all should see if you haven't already. It stars Ryan Gosling and is just a cute, funny, quirky movie. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you. I'll let the following photos peak your interest.

Here's a shot of Bianca from the movie:And here's my rendition of her:

...And Your Little Kitty Too!

2010-10-31T15:31:00.009-05:00

So Little Miss M turned the big FIVE this past Monday. We celebrated her birthday last Saturday Hello Kitty style (Leslie T., can I get a what?what?!). We invited four of her little girlfriends from church.

We played Pin the Bow on Hello Kitty...

decorated Hello Kitty outfits for felt kitties I had cut out... had a makeshift photo booth with a special Hello Kitty disposable camera that will add a border to the photos, attempted a Hello Kitty puzzle for approximately 48 seconds,

ate cake...

and opened gifts...

Whew!

And let me just say that the party planning process and the party itself are much more fun than the party preparation. I was a nervous wreck the 24 hours leading up to this little shindig. I could hardly sleep the night before and ended up in my kitchen at 3:00 AM and 5:30 AM cutting cute shapes out of meats and cheeses, thawing out cupcakes my mom had made for my birthday several months ago after my attempt at these cake pops from Bakerella turned out like this...

Turns out I didn't even have time to frost the cupcakes so I ran to the store and bought a small cake and had them slap the number 5 on it.

Speaking of 5, I made M a little shirt with a freezer paper stencil but I didn't get a cute shot of her in it. This is as close as I got. Yes, the "hair" in one form or another is never too far... On Monday, her actual birthday, my fam came up from T-town and we ordered pizza from Giorgio's who graciously arranged the pepperonis on one of the pizza in the shape of a 5. Little Miss M kept changing outfits throughout the evening and finally settled on this leotard. With a pull up on underneath. Quite the fashionista, eh?

I did have time to frost the aforementioned cupcakes (or "cuckakes" as M likes to say) for this celebration and even though I had removed the candle stick this tray had been glued to at the Hello Kitty party I thought it would be okay to just balance it on the candlestick. I was wrong. The lid of one of the pizza boxes flopped over on the tray and the cuckakes took a nosedive onto the bench behind the table. Argh.

This picture, my friends, pretty accurately depicts the whole party-planning experience from start to finish! At least I have a year to recuperate!

It Is Finished

2010-10-21T17:31:00.002-05:00

Not well. But it is finished. Sorry, Valerie, no giftie for you this time. I did discover that I hate painting even more than I thought. Definitely NO FUN when you do it by yourself. I needed my mommy or Kara to be here to help out. I'm pooped out and my eyes are playing tricks on me...can't even tell much of a color difference even though I know it went from a weird green to white. Hmmm.

But this whole money motivation worked well (for me at least!). I need to channel this into other areas: weight loss, other home improvement projects, credit card debt reduction, etc.

Thanks for all the encouragement/motivation/friendly competition.

If I Were a Betting Girl...

2010-10-20T21:22:00.006-05:00

Okay, we all know I'm a bit of {which is a bit of an understatement} a procrastinator. I had planned to paint the entire interior of my home the week I closed on the house. Then I was going to paint certain rooms last Christmas break. Then it was pushed to the summer. And now I've set a goal of painting my living room prior to Little Miss M's birthday party. On Saturday. Yes, a mere three days away. So I've been "planning" on painting tomorrow on the first day of fall break so that I can reward myself on Friday with shopping and whatnot in the big city. But I fear that I will, once again, put it off. So...as an extra incentive I'm going to wager against myself. Sort of.

Here's my proposal:

If I don't paint my living room by midnight tomorrow night (Friday morning, technically) then I will purchase a $25 gift card to the establishment of choice for the first person to respond to this post. Which will be sad if nobody posts until after tomorrow...

So good luck to you! But more luck to me! Either way, someone will get something by the end of the day tomorrow!

Rock {'n Roll} A Bye Baby

2010-10-10T13:21:00.009-05:00

I keep telling myself that my sewing machine is not something I should be afraid of. Last week there was a baby shower at work and I had psyched myself up to sew some burp cloths but then chickened out in the end and bought my gifts. Well, a friend is expecting a baby boy next month so I finally bit the bullet and conquered my fear.

I had purchased a two-pack of metallic iron-on transfers that said "My Dad Rocks" (because his dad does) and "My Mom Rocks" (with a rocking chair). I found this cute longsleeved onesie at Wal-Mart and slapped the daddy transfer on it.

Now I had to figure out what to do with the mommy transfer. I decided to make a burp cloth and while I was waiting for the lady at Hancock's to cut the flannel (black and white houndstooth on one side, solid red on the other) out I had the bright idea to make it in the shape of a guitar. Not necessarily the most practical burp cloth design, but I though the concept would be cute. I drew out the shape on a sheet of newspaper and then cut out the flannel. I wasn't sure to do with the tuner knobby things so I sewed some ribbons near the top to simulate them. And added the transfer near the bottom. The finished result:

I topstitched a zigzag stitch but wasn't very adept at sewing it in a relatively straight line near the edge and therefore didn't quite get the opening at the bottom sewn shut so I had to deviate a little and add a second wonky topstitch (see below) to correct it. I'm hoping that that houndstooth is busy enough that you don't really notice how poorly it was sewn. But, all in all, not too terribly bad for my first go at it.

Blast from the Past

2010-10-03T21:22:00.008-05:00

I was just going through all the pictures on my computer trying to weed some out because my laptop is a little sluggish these days. I ran across a bunch my mom took a few years back and this one is my favorite so far:

My mom was watching her on this particular evening and had put her down to sleep in her (my mom's) room. Apparently Miss M (she had just turned 2) got off their big bed and found one a little more to her liking. I wonder where their dog Mattie slept that night...

My New Favorite and Best

2010-10-02T20:12:00.012-05:00

Every once in awhile I stumble across a great find at a thrift store or a garage sale: my vintage O'Keefe and Merritt stove, my round blue coffee table, the set of Calphalon cookware, my awesomely funky headboard, that great dresser I scored a few months back...and for awhile that thing becomes my favorite item in my home.

Well, this morning Little Miss M and I got up early, hit the donut shop, and headed out to the garage sales awaiting us in our thriving metropolis. The first one I hit was for a local pet rescue organization. I was browsing the tables and bookshelves and as I was about to pay for my measly little purchase I saw this chair:

It was near the cash table so I assumed that it was for the volunteers but I asked anyway. I was wrong! For $12.50 it could be mine, all mine. Although a bit on the office-y side, I loved its Danish modern lines and it was in great condition. There was a great debate about whether or not it's upholstered in leather or vinyl but I'm confident I'm right and that it is vinyl. Obviously (for those of you clever enough to notice the chair is in my living room and not a garage) I made the purchase. Fitting it into the car was an adventure, especially in light of the cracked window incident last summer (trying to cram a desk into my compact car). Neither my mother or stepfather would be proud of my knot tying abilities, but I prevailed and it found its way into my house.

And now I get to figure out how to rearrange my living room to make space for them.

Say what?! That's right...

I bought two of them! Not too shabby for $25, eh?

Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

2010-09-22T20:35:00.003-05:00

In Little Miss M's immortal words, "Whoopadie!" I feel like a lottery winner tonight!

I got home from work and made my way through my daily blog roll and when I saw this post from Ashley Ann I went ahead and e-mailed even though I was sure I was way too late.

But I wasn't! I'm the reason it's crossed out. Giddy up!

And now I get to join the ranks of my friends and fellow SnapShoppers Valerie and Robin both mentioned in this post of Ashley's. And cross #10 off this list. Yeehaw!

{Mobile} Home Sweet Home

2010-09-20T21:33:00.003-05:00

My BFF Kristin's last post was about some Airstream food vendors she stumbled across on a recent weekend getaway. Which prompted me to post this fantastic image I came across just the other day. Communal trailer living at its finest...

Actually, it's a set design from some production in Amsterdam a few years ago but I think it's wonderful! My mom and stepdad have been on the hunt for some land to build on. How great would it be to do vintage trailer installation like this and have them serve as guest houses?! Just needs a couple of plastic flamingos. I could maybe convince my mom, but Dave would never go for it. Boys...sheesh! I don't know, maybe I'm just weird.

One Hot Betty

2010-09-19T22:02:00.004-05:00

Last weekend Little Miss M and I were at "The Bweeto Place" aka Taco Bueno. I always get a refill on our way out and as I did I took notice of the little old lady placing her order. Our Taco Bueno asks for your name so I know her name was Betty. She looked exactly like a little old lady named Betty should look. I'm guessing she was in her eighties. A little on the short side. Short white hair definitely hit with the curling iron before she left the house. Silver glasses. Pink lipstick. Smaller purse hanging from the crook of her elbow. Plaid button up shirt and matching plaid walking shorts. Why is it that babies and senior citizens are the only ones who can pull off matching separates? Anyway...back to Betty, the consummate grandma. Yes, I realize that I was totally looking Betty up and down, head to toe. Creepers, I know.

So then I saw her socks. They were white. Taller than anklets, shorter than crew socks. With glittery, hot pink writing circling the top of them. "Hottie" they said! I don't know if she even knows what it means but I got the giggles. I totally wanted to whip out my phone and take a picture of her (or at least her socks) but I restrained myself. I just hope that when I'm older I'll be able to rock hottie socks!

(edit: and her shoes! How could I forget the Keds?! Khaki Keds!)

A Little M for Little Miss M

2010-09-09T19:34:00.004-05:00

We have a new housemate. I was feeling a little homesick a couple of weeks ago and begged my mom to come visit. She said yes. On one condition...we take "The Pig." Enter Meemo. I guess that's how you spell it, like Nemo but with an M. But that spells memo so...Meemo it is.

This guinea pig has bebopped her way into our home and, dare I say it?, our hearts. My stepsister got Meemo when she was 13 and, in all honesty, it stunk up her room for a couple of years. At some point in time she (The Pig) went to live with my stepsister's brother but made her way back to my mom's house several months ago. Minus quite a bit of her fur. On her backside. If you look closely at the next picture you can see where she's "rogaining" it back.

So now she's starting to stink up our little house. Not as bad as I would have expected, but not quite a Tyler candle either.

All in all, it was well worth the visit with my mom. We ate and shopped and decorated to our hearts' content. We drove into the city to hit several thrift stores and happened upon the motherload. We drove into a parking lot and could barely find a spot and then when we got inside it was crazy packed and there were no carts left. I was ready to turn around when my mom discovered what the buzz was all about...they were having a back to school sale and everything was a dollar. That's right, $1!!! So we jumped right into all that craziness and had quite the pile of goodies by the time we left. I was looking for dance outfits for Little Miss M and came away with several leotards and tutus as well as a Halloween costume and several pieces for school. And a lamp for her room. My mom bought a bag full of Barbie clothes. She weeded through it for all the vintage Ken and Barbie outfits (looks somebody was inspired by Toy Story 3!) but then Little Miss M got all the rest!

We drove over to Pop's for lunch because my mom had never been and then we spent the evening decluttering my office/craft room and putting the almost final touches in M's room. I'll take some pictures in the very near future and share. The biggest hurdle left is wiring her colorful gypsy chandelier.

I've got another garage sale in the works this weekend and then methinks my house will return to its slightly less cluttered normalcy. And perhaps I will return to my slightly less scatter brained ways. And, if I so desire, I will be able to do a handstand against the wall that has been the dumping ground for all things destined for garage sale goodness.

Sleeping Like a Baby (or Joan Jett)

2010-09-08T22:30:00.007-05:00

Well hello there, friends!

So, no better way to get back into the habit of blogging than a spotlight on Little Miss M. I just went into M's room to check on her after she'd fallen asleep and this is what I found...

...wait for it...

...I think it's worth the wait...

This kid never ceases to amaze me!

Bison, Go With Ka-Rip!

2010-07-28T20:44:00.005-05:00

In just a few short weeks, incoming freshmen will migrate to Bison Hill for Welcome Week. This year marks 17 since I myself made the trek. I can't believe I'm that old. 17 years! Yikes! It's nearly half my life.

Anywho...yesterday morning I headed over to my friend Kara's house where five lovely ladies with ties to OBU gathered for a craft session. On the agenda: freshmen beanies! It's an OBU tradition for freshmen to wear them during Welcome Week. On average I'd say beanies are worn for about 30 minutes. Max. But every year somebody, somewhere, cranks out hundreds of these puppies for incoming students. And this year I helped!

I hadn't pulled my $14.14 sewing machine out of its box since sometime before I moved. I rediscovered that it came with its manual, a treat for those of you familiar with thrifted goods. And the manual came in handy since I was experiencing some tension issues. Even more handy than the manual was Christina who lent oodles of sewing expertise. After some fiddling with the machine I cranked 39 beanies out. Sans seam binding. I was the first one to leave so I don't know how many the rest finished.

But it sure did feel good to cross something else off my list and to know that I'm giving back a wee little bit. I wonder if one of my beanies will land on the head of someone who, 17 years in the future, will find herself whipping up a few of these babies for someone else.

Go-To Tee

2010-07-28T20:20:00.004-05:00

Going through some photos from this summer I began to notice a pattern emerge...

Kristin's visit in July

My brother's visit in June

Valerie's birthday party in May

I almost always wear a black knit skirt with it. I'm fairly certain I wore said outfit this past weekend at the garage sale with Kara and at countless other undocumented events in the last couple of months. I wore it when took M to swim lessons one day at the beginning of the summer to find my coworker there (her daughter was in the earlier session) wearing a vintage Mickey tee and black knit skirt, too. How random is that?!

Overall, I'd say it was a $7 well-spent.

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

2010-07-28T20:04:00.010-05:00

Earlier this month Little Miss M and I hopped in the car and headed to T-Town to celebrate my nephew's birthday. There was tons of rainfall around that time and, sure enough, drops began falling just about the time we got onto I-44. Not too much later we saw a big rainbow off in the distance. I pointed it out to Miss Priss and she oohed and aahed for a little while.

Like all rainbows, this one seemed super far away but then the road must have curved a little bit and out of nowhere, I saw the end of the rainbow! Right. In. Front. Of. Me. Can you see it?!

I mean, it ended right smack dab in the middle of the Interstate! I don't know, maybe this isn't as phenomenal as I think. Has anyone else seen something like this? All I know is that it was as close to a rainbow as I've ever been. And, in case you were wondering, there was no pot of gold on the road. Alas. And as much as I wanted to (and even tried to!), I wasn't able to actually drive through it. Hmpf!

The House That We Built

2010-07-01T18:31:00.012-05:00

I have a confession to make. I played with Barbies for a very long time. Well beyond any of my friends. My favorite thing was to decorate their living spaces. I never had Barbie's Dreamhouse or Malibu house or even the RV but I found all sorts of places for her to live. More often than not she lived on my vanity table. The one with drawers on each side and the middle shelf that dropped down a bit. LOVED turning that piece of furniture into her New York loft. So you can imagine how delighted I was when I stumbled some homemade doll houses like these...

from Ohdeeoh

from Craftastica

In a recent round of thrifting, I picked up a bag full of Polly Pocket dolls (excuse me, Holly Pocket dolls according to Miss M). I thought that this little craft would be perfect for them. Because they're so small, we could work on a smaller scale. I decided to make two houses. One for M and one for me! I mean, er, for the dolls, of course. I chose to make the second style of house because it could easily be disassembled and stowed away.

First, I unfolded a box that originally housed a tower fan - tall and skinny - and cut four rectangles out. Two rectangles = four rooms = one house.

In the middle of each rectangle I cut a slit halfway up/down. This is where they slid together.

Then I cut out doors, doorways, and windows.

I spent the other day ripping out pages from old home decorating magazines and catalogs. Scrapbook paper works great too!

M and I grabbed our scissors and glue sticks and got our decorating on! M called herself a "builder" during this phase. "So that peoples could live there."

M brought the dolls out and we had a "reveal" for them!

M's house:

And mine:

I can't tell you how much fun we had doing this activity together! I have a feeling this is only the beginning...

Another New Toy

2010-07-01T11:23:00.007-05:00

I've been so good lately. No excess spending. Not even shopping for entertainment! I know, I can hardly believe it myself. But yesterday I did happen to wander into Wall's to kill some time before picking the little one up from daycare. I started digging through bins, saw the word "Holga" on a box, and snapped this bright little puppy up:

It's from the "Holgawood" Collection - I think this color is the Sunset Boulevard one. Wall's got a shipment of Urban Outfitter's stuff awhile back and they have been sneaking out random bits of home items and accessories over the course of a couple of months. Originally $48 at UO, Wall's had it priced at $6.99. But that's not all, folks! It was 25% off that. So I got a cool new toy for the low, low price of just $5.25. Oh yeah!

I love all the Holga shots I see on people's blogs. So pretty, soft, blurry, ethereal. We should start a pool on how long it takes me to actually try the thing out. Yes, my "new" DSLR is still in its box...wah wah.

In other news, I went outside at 11 PM last night to take the trash out and ended up killing this fairly ginormous creature:

It was just off my porch, on its back and flailing its legs all about. At first I walked by it and said, "Man, that's a big spider," and then I went back inside. But I kept thinking about it and said to myself, "Man, I bet that thing's bigger than a quarter. I'm gonna go measure it," so I went back outside with a quarter and a camera in hand. And then I went back inside. But then I got to thinking again, "Its belly was so swollen and it was stuck on its back so maybe it's about to start spurting out hundreds of spider babies that will be small enough to scamper inside the house underneath the cracks in the door and then all those hundreds of spider babies will grow up to be bigger than a quarter. You know what you're gonna have to do, don't you? You're gonna have to kill it, Court." So I grabbed a pair of flip flops and headed outside again. But it was so big that I knew it was going to creep me out to feel it squish underneath me. So I grabbed Little Miss M's SpiderMan scooter and rolled over its fat little body three times.

Then I turned around and realized I had locked myself out of my house. At 11 PM. With a child sleeping peacefully inside. Awesome.

Cutie Patootie

2010-06-28T16:31:00.002-05:00

Just a quick little post to show off my cute kid:

Haven't cropped or touched it up yet. Not exactly sure what my stepmom put on her head but I just love her little expression!

I actually have some crafty projects underway so hopefully I get the show on the road and post them in a couple of days.

Funny Little Father's Day Lunch

2010-06-21T22:54:00.005-05:00

"Happy birthday FARTER's day!" is how Little Miss M greeted my dad ("Papa Gene") yesterday at lunch. Also, it should be noted that she has taken to wearing her "hair" most of the time these days. "Hair" used to involve a long red sweater but has, in recent months, switched to a yellow floral jacket and most recently a pink and silver scarf. Wrapped around her head and tied at the back. I'll try to take a picture in the next day or two. My dad started calling her Gypsy Rose because of it. Anyway...the US Open was on a big screen and they did some blurb about Tiger and M thought it was funny that his name was Tiger. Thought Papa Gene was teasing her. So he said, "Well actually his name is Eldridge (or whatever it really is) but they call him Tiger. Like a nickname. Like your name is Marilyn but we call you...what?" And out of nowhere she says, "Troll?"

Troll?! I think I'm going to start calling her that. Man, that kid can get me going. On the way home I was worried about her having to go to the bathroom so we reworded the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn" to "No Pee Till Pamma's!" It was a random two hours to say the least.

And if you ever find yourself in Bixby looking for a place to eat, I highly recommend Savastano's. Excellent pizza. Better than Hideaway. Maybe even better than Joe Mama's. Maybe it's a chain and they're all over the place, I don't know. But it was good. So, so good.

Totally Floored

2010-06-17T10:21:00.009-05:00

Yesterday morning while tinkling on the potty I took a good, long look at the floor. The ugly blue and white vinyl peel and stick tiles were starting to come up in places due to Little Miss Thang splish splashing in the tub. So I did what I always do at the cusp of a home improvement project: I jumped right in without knowing what would come next.

Had I known that what would come next involved scraped knuckles, bruised kneecaps, swollen palms, blistered fingers, and a Barbie bandaid where I jabbed myself with a utility knife, I might have decided to tuck that single stray tile back into place. But I didn't. So this is what my bathroom floor looked like before I went to bed last night:

It looks much better than I had anticipated underneath. There is one small divot in the concrete near the door. The adhesive was still pretty sticky in some areas but I was able to scrape it up pretty easily. Except for a good cleaning to remove the nasty smell (I think it's just the standing water that had been sitting underneath some of the tiles that had pulled up over time), over all I don't think there's going to be too much prepping before moving on to stage 2:

via desire to inspire

High gloss floor paint! I've been considering pulling up all the flooring in my house and slapping on a coat or two of paint since I bought the place last summer. So this is going to be the trial run.

But, really, who am I kidding? We all know that this is going to be what my floor will look like for a good, long while:

I think the floor mat makes all the difference, no?!

Weekend Revisited

2010-06-14T20:23:00.008-05:00

Little Miss M finished up with swim lessons on Friday. She was really pretty good!

Got bored Friday night and decided to cut my bangs. No going back, at least not for a few more months. Ran down to Texas on Saturday with a few girlfriends to celebrate Carrie's grad school graduation. Bought an fantastic vintage tote bag, paid $17 for a hamburger, and trekked back home by 1 AM. Awesome!

Made it to Sunday School before heading out to T-Town.

Caught up with Amy and Katie both last night and at lunch today. 5 kids + lunch buffet = en.ter.tain.ment!

Ran by one of my favorite thrift stores after lunch and scored this beauty for $25:

Made the drive home in the torrential downpour and wondered how children can sleep for hours at a time in positions like this:

Entre Vous, Si Vous Plait

2010-06-09T21:58:00.007-05:00

Geez, I need to have people over more often. Yes, it involves some cleaning but it is also motivation to knock out an item or two off my to-do list around the house. Take, for example, my entry hall. It has been sitting unadorned for the past nine ten months. Unless, of course, you count months of junk mail and boxes of random stuff I move out of my car when it gets too full. Anyway, the night before having company over, I finally hung my collection of vintage mirrors near the front door. And I also hung the decorative hooks my Aunt Kim gave me several years ago.

I've been wanting to paint my front door since the day I moved in, and it finally happened today! I tore a page out of a magazine a year or so ago with tons of ideas for front doors. I was attracted to a Benjamin Moore color called Venezuelan Sea so I sent my mom for search around T-town for a swatch. It's a really pretty blue green. A little more on the green side than blue. I've been to all the local haunts looking for something close...Caribbean Splash, Bermuda, Bluefin, Peacock Plume, Astral Journey, Endless Galaxy, etc. And then a few months back I bought that pot to coil my hose up in that was flecked with all sorts of blues and greens. I finally just decided to take Venezuelan Sea into the store to have it matched but, wouldn't you know, the machine was broken. So I picked up a random paint chip called (get this) Basic Teal, crossed my fingers, and held my breath.

Before:

Here goes nothing!

Voila! It's a bit more vibrant than I was expecting but it's a nice pop of color for the otherwise dark covered entry. An added bonus is that it happens to be the best match for that pot! Perhaps I should have taken a photo that included the pot. Hmm.

My one concern now is how similar it is to my gal pal Val's front door color. It wasn't my intention to copy her but if someone were to accuse me of trying to steal her style, I wouldn't take offense (although Valerie might!). I mean, have you seen her and/or her house?! To. Die. For.

35

2010-06-04T00:00:00.006-05:00

I can't believe that I'm 35 years old today. None of my other birthdays have hit me quite like this one. I mean, 35 is practically 40. And 40 just sounds old. But I have plenty of friends in their 40s and beyond and I wouldn't ever consider them to be old. I think the thing that is really starting to hit me is that I'm not really where I had hoped/expected to be at this (dare I say it?) middle-aged stage of my life. Like so many women, I just assumed I'd meet Mr. Right a few years out of college and start a family soon after. But it hasn't quite worked out that way for me.

Don't get me wrong, I'm okay with where I am now. It's just different than what I had pictured so many years ago. I have an awesome family and great friends and I'm enjoying my fairly new job. I have a house, furbabies, and even a child on the way. Now don't go jumping to conclusions, folks! For those of you who may not be aware of the situation, I am in the middle of the adoption process so that my precious foster daughter can drop "foster" from her title. It's so crazy that things have played out the way they have. Never would I have imagined I would be a single adoptive mother. Who will be 49 years old at her daughter's high school graduation. Yikes!

I stopped trying to figure out when and how things would unfold in my life a long time ago and decided to just roll with it and enjoy the ride. So for the past few years, on my birthday I sit and wonder what's in store for me in the coming year. Travel? True love? Fortune? Intrigue? I know one thing, it's sure going to be hard to beat a surprise kid!

Freedom!

2010-06-02T23:05:00.012-05:00

Today was my last day of work and tomorrow, therefore, is the first day of summer. Giddy up! I don't have summer plans as of yet which is kind of nice. But I'll get bored. And then I'll shop. So here is the part where I come up with my Summer To-Do list and hope that I actually cross some of it off by the time school rolls around again.

1. Paint ALL the walls in the house white
2. Paint ALL the trim white
3. Paint ALL the doors black
4. Wallpaper my bathroom(s)
5. ~~Paint the front door a glossy teal, turquoise, something or other~~ (6.9.10)
6. Paint the kitchen cabinetry black
7. ~~Pull up the peel and stick tiles in both~~ (6.16.10) one bathroom(s) and paint the concrete slab.
8. ~~Swap M's room and the office/craft room~~ (7.27.10?)
9. Spray the kitchen chairs a glossy white
10. ~~Learn how to use my DSLR camera~~ (9.25.10 - SnapShop!)
11. ~~Have a garage sale (yay, Kara!)~~ (7.24.10)
12. ~~Find a sturdy old dresser for M~~ (6.14.10) and paint it out in a fun color
13. ~~Sew something (anything!)~~ (7.27.10 - OBU beanies!)
14. Paint something to hang in my bedroom
15. Hang all the light fixtures sitting around in boxes (the count is at four now)
16. Reduce the clutter (tips welcomed!)
17. Hang with friends from far away (~~Amy!~~ (6.13 and 6.14 and 6.18) ~~Kristin!~~ (7.6 and 7.7) Jen!)
18. Plant those elephant ear bulbs...is it too late???
19. Exercise regularly (yes, it is last on my list. Of course!)

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - S

2010-05-24T22:36:00.003-05:00

Scooter - I love my scooter but I haven't been able to ride it nearly enough. The only time I've been on it in the past nine months is when I rode her to the house from the storage unit on moving day. Alas.

Shamu - I'm not ashamed to admit that I slept with a stuffed animal for a longer than normal period of time. I went to Sea World in San Diego with my dad and grandparents when I was eight years old and my favorite souvenir was a stuffed Shamu. I loved him so much that I wouldn't let them put him in the plastic sack face down (he had to breathe, you know). From that night on I slept with him. He went to college with me. And onto my first apartment. And probably even when I bought Loraine. In fact, I'd probably still sleep with him if it weren't for him missing half of his stuffing, his dorsal fin, and an eyeball. Now that's just creepy.

Shopaholic - Hello, my name is Courtney and I'm a shopaholic. I think I'm finally ready to admit it. I've got a lot of excuses but when I recently caught myself rationalizing not the price tag on an item but the amount I stood to save I decided it's probably time for a shift in thinking. Baby steps.

Spanish - I never even saw it coming. I was a Latin geek in high school and was kind of put out that I would have to take a different language at college to fulfill requirements. I figured I'd get my six hours in and move along with my English education degree. But la lengua espanola and la Sra. Hall had something different in store for me. Fell in love with la lengua almost immediately and never looked back. My only regret is that I never had the guts (or cojones) to live abroad.

Stubby Toes - I have them. You can make fun of them if you want. But I've learned to like mine. I think they're kind of cute.

A Baking Tip

2010-05-19T21:02:00.004-05:00

If you ever find yourself making brownies (from a mix, of course) and you've dumped the mix and the water and the eggs into a bowl only to find out that you no longer have any oil don't fear...you most certainly can use the used oil you poured back into the container after using it to fry sopapillas a few weeks beforehand. Good thing you kept it (even if it was only because you weren't exactly sure what to do with it -- pour it down the drain? throw it in the trash? fry something else down the road?) Turns out you can't really taste a difference.

But it did weird me out enough that I ended up taking most of them to school for the send-off party for our office aides. Got some compliments even so, again, go for it if you find yourself in the same pinch!

Does anyone actually know how long used oil lasts?

And don't worry...I really am planning on buying new oil in the very near future. And to all of you Dinner Club girls who might be reading, the Mexican fiesta was the first ~~and only~~ time the oil had been used. Up until the other day, I mean.

And I've also read that you can replace oil with applesauce in recipes but I didn't think of that one in time. Alas.

Paint, PJs, and Panties

2010-05-15T20:33:00.008-05:00

So I went outside to spray paint a little project and Little Miss M decided she wanted to come out and play, too. I told her to put on her rain boots and this is what she looked like when she came out...

I think it just might be one of my favorite outfits. Footie pajamas with snowmen in the middle of May. And "Hurdo Kitty" rainboots. Classic! Here's a funny story regarding these pjs. My mom bought them for M last fall and she wore them once and then I couldn't find them. I searched high and low for them during the cold winter months. Same thing with her Tinkerbell pajamas and my favorite Gap cardigan. I looked everywhere for them! And then in February a pregnant student came in and told me, "Hey, you left some clothes in the dryer you gave me." Yep, I bought a new(er) washer and dryer from a friend and moved my old ones into the garage. Way back in November. In February when I learned that a student who was about to pop a baby out didn't have a washer or dryer I delivered my old ones to her door. A couple of days later she told me about the clothes (of course she didn't bring them with her) and then before I could retrieve them she had her baby. She returned to school a couple of weeks ago and I finally got my clothes back. Needless to say, M's been wearing her long lost winter pajamas constantly since then! I, on the other hand, have finally recovered from the embarrassment of realizing I had left a wild pair of purple zebra striped panties in the dryer. And this poor girl's boyfriend was the one to pull them out of the dryer.

But I digress...while outside I decided to tackle the dogs' coats...definitely time for a brush. I raked a ton of their shedding hair. There was actually more hair than this picture shows but Bijou kept eating it. As M would say, "That's eh-scuss-ting!" No wonder she's as fat as she is.

I think I've come up with another summer project for myself. Notice the little shed at the back of my yard. I think I want to paint it. I ran across the following photo somewhere in blogland and thought it was so cute. I love the yellow. And would love to paint the doors a fun turquoise or something. But I'm not so sure my neighbors would dig it.

(source)

Lovely Little Wedding

2010-05-07T23:07:00.010-05:00

Catching up on my wedding blog reading I came across this one photographed by Blue Window Creative via Green Wedding Shoes. I love it for its simplicity, that it is outdoors, fairly small, has Mexican food, and (of course) features an Airstream.

The Tin Cantina is a traveling bar/caterer. How great is that?!

At this point I'm not sure if I'll ever get to plan a wedding but if I do, I'll be looking back at this one for sure! Which makes me think that I should post a few other of my favorite weddings as well. Tune in next time...

Double Ugh

2010-05-01T23:05:00.005-05:00

I bought a fancy new scale today only to discover that I weigh six (6!) pounds more than I did (or thought I did anyway) this morning. Should've stuck it out with my retro mint green one. Grumble, mumble, mumble.

So Not a Green Thumb

2010-04-30T16:01:00.009-05:00

I finally figured out that the problem I thought was my camera was actually the SD card. So now I can take like six pictures at a time and then download them and delete them and so on and so forth. I know, I could just buy another card.

So, here are a few snapshots I wanted to share with you earlier in the week:

We spent last weekend at my mom's house. Little Miss M had a blast helping mom in her garden. She watered everything in sight. In abundance. I came home from shopping on Sunday afternoon to find this little garden waiting on their front porch. Little pots with seed starters she and M. planted together. Even labels on the clothespins! Super cute in theory but my mom should know better. Really, she should. I mean, look at the poor little things' new home...

I don't even remember if those dead plants in the background even belonged to me or if they came with the house. Either way, they haven't been tended to since August! And the "flower bed" they're sitting in? Mom mentioned something about cutting the old grass down to allow for new growth sometime last month. Still haven't gotten around to it. And don't even get me started on all the weeds that are beginning to creep in. And I'm supposed to transplant these new guys into soil somewhere? I don't think I know how to do that. We did finally get around to watering them last night, even though I'm pretty sure my mom said we needed to do it every day. Really?

Just next to my grave of flora sits a newly acquired pot. I saw one in one of David Bromstead's outdoor designs a couple of years ago and have wanted one ever since. It's a clever pot for coiling your hose inside. It's got a big ol' hole in the side of it to run the hose through. Even if my hose rarely gets used at least it'll have a pretty little bed to rest in. I've seen them in the $75 range and over spring break my aunt bought one at Home Goods for $50 and I almost caved. And wouldn't you know that in the past month Wall's has acquired a whole lotta Home Goods inventory so I scored this one for 33% off that! I love the colors: teal and turquoise and peacock blues. So now my goal is to paint the front door in a shade that compliments the pot. I've actually had paint swatches since I moved in but I just couldn't pick the perfect one. Hopefully the pot will make the decision a little less painful. Yes, I do realize I'm up to Summer Project #127 by now. And don't you love the way I scraped all the leaves and dirt and terra cotta shards partially out of the way to take the photo? Yep, I'm all about the staging!

Jailhouse Rock

2010-04-27T21:49:00.007-05:00

Speaking of stripes, I THINK I finally came up with a name for the house. Only took me nine months but I guess if people take that long to name a child I can take that long to name a house. Right. It's not a person's name. I was toying with various "estate" names and then while sitting in the public libary this afternoon waiting for Little Miss M to play on the computers there an idea came to me:

The Federal Pen

Kinda funny, no? Beause it gets pretty crazy here and sometimes I feel like a prison warden. And with the animals coming and going it is sort of like a pen (not to mention the general disorderliness of the place). Oh, for those of you who don't know, my house is on Federal Street. But now that I think about it, I'm not so sure I'd ever want one of those family name signs with "Federal Pen" in the background. Okay, maybe it still needs some thought...

2010-04-27T20:57:00.008-05:00

And while I'm on the topic of black and white...I bought two rolls of this wallpaper at a thrift store a couple of weeks ago.

I got it for $4 a roll and then found it (same brand!) online for $30. Score! Plans are to use it in my bathroom with the walls under the chair rail painted black.

Vertical stripes...

(source: elledecor.com)

or horizontal... That is the question. Hmmm...

Maybe both?

(source: Domino)

Just kidding!

Back in Black?

2010-04-27T19:26:00.007-05:00

I've been toying of the idea of painting my kitchen cabinetry black. Especially since I loved how it turned out in Loraine, my last house. My mom has tried to persuade me in another direction. Any other direction. She thinks it will make the small space look too dark. I don't really care about that. I'm more concerned about whether or not it will look bizarre with my white stove and dishwasher. So I started looking online and found some photos. This is The Lettered Cottage's black kitchen with white appliances and I think it looks fine. I love everything about their kitchen. It's a little more country (or something) than I'm headed but I love it! I think I'm going to copy the corbel idea under my microwave shelf and on some open shelving I've been considering. I'd also copy the naked cabinets if 1) my cabinets were more organized and 2) my cabinets weren't the cheapest made cabinets on the market in the early 70s. Alas...

So...back to the black cabinets and white appliances...what are your thoughts?

Frustration

2010-04-26T21:52:00.002-05:00

My third (yes, THIRD) point and shoot camera seems to have bitten the dust. What is it about me that causes it? It turns on and the lens zooms out but I can't push any of the buttons or even turn it off unless I remove the battery. Alas. And, sadly, I still haven't learned how to use my new DSLR. So let's just imagine you can see posted photos of...

...Little Miss M's temporary garden
...my favorite thrifting find in quite some time - a mid-century modern end table
...inspiration for painting my front door
...how outta control my backyard is. My neighbors (yep, on both sides) have taken to mowing the front yard. Gotta find myself a yardboy...

Canton Finds

2010-04-22T12:45:00.006-05:00

I went to Canton last month with my two aunts and Little Miss M. I was able to keep my wallet in check except for one major splurge for M's room...

They had them last year and I really, really wanted one but seeing as how they were selling these chandeliers for about $250, I had to pass. This year, however, I walked into one of the vendor's shops and this one was less than $100 so I feel okay about it. Really okay. Super okay. Been looking for a photo of it and wouldn't you know today I stumbled across it at Urban Outfitters here. For $158. Yeehaw!

Can't wait to get it hung in M's room. But I'm debating about switching her room and the office so I guess I should hold off for a little longer. Add another project to my summer to-do list...

My other memorable purchase was another welded flying pig. Yes, I did say another one.

Little Miss M-ese

2010-04-18T13:43:00.002-05:00

Aminals = animals...I know it's a common one but it's just so cute!

Bathing soup = bathing suit. A two-piece "bathing soup" is also referred to as a "keenie" and is made up of a "brawl and panties." My former foster daughter liked to wear her "mathin' suit."

Hotch scotch = hop scotch

Monstered = mustard

Ogret = not a baby Shrek but yogurt.

Oopsie pota-tios = I'll give you a moment to see if you can figure this one out...It took me a while to realize what she was trying to say was "uh-oh spaghettio." Cute, right?

Whoopadie! = an expression of excitement about something.

Not exactly a word she uses but a few weeks ago we were in the middle of a hardcore shopping spree and she looked up at me from the cart, furrowed her brow, and said, "You are wearing me out."

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - R

2010-04-17T22:41:00.003-05:00

So I feel the need to explain why I haven't posted in a while. It's silly, really. This is my 100th post and I got a case of stage fright. Felt the need to post something witty or meaningful or do a give away or something other than just the ordinary. But I'm a rather ordinary girl living an ordinary life in this ordinary world so here's my ordinary encyclopedia entry...

Range Rover - okay, I've said over an over again that I really want a Murano but if money were no object...Range Rover? Yes please!

Resident Assistant (RA) - I spent three years in college at OBU as a resident assistant. Loved it! Probably the most defining experience of my years there. I mean, besides the lifelong friendships created and the whole figuring out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Resident Director (RD) - also known as a dorm director. Loved it! Probably the most fun working experience of my adult life. Went back to OBU a few years after graduation and worked in my favorite dorm (er, residence hall) -- Go, Kerr!. Loved my girls (the RAs working for me as well as the residents) and my coworkers and all the event planning...Trick-Kerr-Treat, Murder Mystery, Trading Spaces, etc. What fun!

Road Trip - I love the idea behind road trips. Scenic routes, tourist traps, cheap souvenirs, soundtracks, all of it! But the actual execution is a little less beloved. I get bored easily and I don't really even like driving all that much. The checking out the cities and shopping and restaurants and sightseeing are all good. It's the actually getting there that's my problem. I did, however, manage to plan a cross-country trip and actually follow through with it a couple of summers ago. The destination was Florida to visit my BFF (Kristin!). I meandered through Memphis up to Kentucky (Amy!) and back down to Nashville (Adrian!) and across a tiny sliver of Alabama straight down Georgia (skipped the day and night in Atlanta) and finally reached Kristin about a week after I left home. After a couple of days at her place we headed west and spent a few days and nights in New Orleans (tattoo #2!) before I dropped her off to visit family in Texas. It was a good trip all in all. I'm thinking that actually buying an Airstream and a towing vehicle (Range Rover anyone?) will cure my dislike of driving. Right?! Because I love the idea of road trips...

Little Miss M's Microphone

2010-03-23T19:13:00.008-05:00

...sorry about the title, that's what M wanted to call it...

We did a little rearranging of furniture when Pamma (my mom) came to visit last week. First up was Little Miss M's room. Here's a before pic (this little photo tour is mostly for Kristin, who otherwise might not have the opportunity to check out my digs).

And some afters. Yes, the paint job is bad. Looks even worse since I spackled all the nail holes but never washed the walls down afterwards. And please pay no mind the cloudy blue ceiling that bleeds down onto the walls. It was going to be one of the first things to go when I moved in but the Little Miss M. found her way back to me just a couple weeks later.

That sideboard had been in the living room with my TV on it but my mom thought it would look better with the other pieces in M's room. Please note the bargain valances bought at Goodwill for $2 each! We tried to tuck the the kitchen away as best we could but you can't really get around it.

Wasn't sure where to hang the netted canopy a friend let us borrow. So we put M's table and chairs under the existing hook in the ceiling. The armoire holds all her dress up clothes and the majority of her toys, games, and coloring supplies. Her microphone is probably somewhere inside!

The collage of frames I purchased at Goodwill. Just put scrapbooking paper in them. You can't really tell but I cut out M's silhouette in the purple and turquoise one. Bought the turquoise ballerina picture at Big Lots. Stamped "Oh Happy Day" on a blank canvas board and clipped it up. The dog decal is from Target via Goodwill. Have the others that I still need to slap around the room.

Moved the bookshelf to the stubby wall. I tacked a couple lengths of ribbon on the wall and hung her artwork and photos from decorative paper clips on them. Her table and chairs used to be on that wall so it was a nice way to display her art. But with the taller shelf there I'll probably take the ribbons down and then hang a larger bulletin board over the sideboard.

I'm not really sure where all the purple came from. Cindy let me borrow the comforter and canopy and I guess it took off from there. Just trying to figure out what color to paint her room when the time comes. Planning on painting the rest of the house fresh white.

Isn't She Lovely?

2010-03-22T20:30:00.005-05:00

My mom did end up coming to visit us at the end of the week. We made some changes to the living room and M's room. And although I didn't get around to my craft room, mom brought me a little sumpin' to spruce it up a bit...

I always end up with my mom's cool stuff. She gave me this dress form a year or so ago and she's just been sitting around fairly nekkid (the form, not my mom!). I had that leopard print scarf tied around her neck until I finally unearthed the beaded bolero jacket a month or so ago. I've always thought she needed a cancan. And wouldn't you know my mother happened upon a garage sale of a former square dancer. So she picked up three. This off white one (which I'm debating whether or not I should dye it hot pink) and orange one and a black one. She said there were others but she didn't think I wanted them all so she picked these because she thought it'd be fun to decorate her for Halloween. True. But how fun would it be to do something like this in M's room?

I'm a bad, bad blogger and have absolutely no idea where I found this photo. If I had to guess I'd say it was from one of the kids' room tours on ohdeedoh.

I found it, I found it! Click here to see more of this lucky kiddo's room.

I Shopped Till I Dropped

2010-03-21T22:15:00.005-05:00

I bought a new toy on Wednesday night. I was at Wall's, one of my favorite bargain stores here in town, and noticed some dslrs in their display case. 25% off. Even though it was just about time to pick up Little Miss M from daycare I got someone to unlock them and compared the Sony Alpha a230 and the Canon EOS Rebel XS. By comparing them I mean I called Carrie who purchased a camera last fall. All I know about them is that I want one. So I can pretend to be P-Dub or Ashlely. Or at least look cool.

In the end I bought the Sony because there was only one of them left and it was quite a bit cheaper. I figured I could do some research and do a switcharoo if I needed to. I think I'm going to keep it, mainly because of the price difference. I wouldn't really have to pay much more if I bought it online or at Walmart but I'm all about saving what I can. Even though this wasn't exactly a predetermined and/or budegeted decision. I blame it on Spring Break. In my experience it's when I'm at my retail weakest.

Without further ado, here she is:

No name yet. Any suggestions? And no idea on how to operate her. I'm open to suggestions here, too!

And, yes, I did pick the kid up from daycare on time!

Airstream Love

2010-03-21T15:12:00.000-05:00

For those of you who might not know me, I have two obsessions: Airstreams and weddings. Imagine the sheer bliss I felt as I was catching up on my wedding blog reading and happened across this engagement shoot by Leslie Mitchell via the Green Wedding Shoes blog.

So then I had to search for this wedding I found several months ago on OnceWed, another wonderful wedding blog.

See more here, here, and here. Photography by Steven Meyers.

Airstreams + Love = Wedding perfection. Ahhh. Now I just need to find myself an Airstream. And a man. Hmmm...

If anyone has a lead on either of the two, please let me know!

Pugalicious

2010-03-20T12:46:00.008-05:00

According the the AKC standards for pugs, it is "desirable" for them to weigh between 14 and 18 pounds. Another site I visited said they could be between 17 and 24 pounds. Hmmm...you don't say? Keep in mind that females are supposed to be on the lower end of the spectrum.

Well, I finally took my woofies into the local vet for their yearly checkup and vaccinations. It was the first time I've taken two pets in at the same time. But they did surprisingly well.

Here they are waiting for the good doctor to visit them.

Wilbur, weighing in at 27.8 pounds. I can't be sure, but I think most of it is tongue!

And Bijou. Sweet Boo. My fattie. She's a whopping 32 pounds!
Yep, double what the AKC recommends.

The good news is that the vet thinks they are both in good health (minus the weight factors) and their teeth are fantastic...considering dental issues common in the breed. And he was thrilled with Miss Fattie's teeth especially because she's 5 1/2 years old. You go, gurrrl!

I Hate Puzzles

2010-03-19T22:14:00.011-05:00

Okay, so it's the night before you return home from your Spring Break shopping extravaganza and you begin to survey the spoils of the trip. And you see that it is good. Very good.

You are pleased that you finally decided to buy that frame from Ikea.

And you're thrilled with the foldable(?) Barbie house you found at Thrift Town.

And your new owl. The cutest little owl. But will it live indoors or outdoors? That is the biggest question on your mind.

Until the fear sets in. Because you must find a way to make all this material goodness fit into your car. Your compact car. And don't forget about your luggage! And you think about how much you dislike jigsaw puzzles, because that's really all this is. And you wish for an SUV yet again.

Especially when your trunk already looks like this. Always. It's okay, just take a deep breath.

First, you must empty it all out. And then you ought to borrow a Dustbuster to finally suck up the broken ornaments that have been in the car since last year.

Then you lay down your oversized dog crate, golf umbrella, random decorative twigs (that have been in the trunk since moving out of your last office - 9 months ago!), and your What-A-Chair.

Why, yes, I did indeed say What-A-Chair.

Next, you add your Ikea goodies (black baroque frame and Calypso light fixtures) and the stroller you borrowed for "Baby Lilly" (the baby alter ego of your foster daughter).

Then you just start cramming in everything else and hope it all fits. Games, an Ikea poster, a throw you've been meaning to return to TJ Maxx since before Christmas, a lamp from Home Goods, and your Christmas tree hat. Because you never know just when it might come in handy.

When it doesn't fit and you finally come to grips with this realization, you stuff what's left into the front seat and hope to heck that the kid and the two dogs will travel nicely together in the back seat. And that you're tall enough to see over the mound and into your side mirrors. And then you promise yourself that you won't stop at the outlet mall on the way home. But if you do give into temptation, you promise to limit yourself to just two bags. Three max. You can probably squish it all in there. Probably.

Once home, you schlep all of it all onto your living room floor and hope the decorating fairy (aka "Mom") comes to visit soon! Then you sleep. Or drink. Or both.

The Dump

2010-03-19T00:01:00.006-05:00

I experienced The Dump for the first time last week. It was like Ross for high end furniture. If only I had more money and/or space (and a stinkin' SUV) I would have gone crazy!

Okay, they weren't for sale but how great are these light fixtures?!

If only I had more than a foot above my doorways. Oh, Loraine, how I miss you!

LOVE this dresser. Can't get enough houndstooth! But it was still over $3,000...

...so I'd settle for this one. So pretty! But can you imagine the fingerprints?

I really did almost buy this picture. Carried it around with me for almost an hour.

I thought it would be great in my kitchen but it was still a little steep for me.

Several other pictures had a 30% off sticker...drats!

Curb Appeal...sorta

2010-03-18T10:15:00.003-05:00

Lest you think I've done nothing productive during the break, check out what I did yesterday!

I found these house numbers at Tuesday Morning in T-Town but they didn't have all the numbers I needed. Luckily, they were at the store around the corner from my aunt's house in Texas. The best part is that they were$1.99 each!

Old numbers...teeny tiny.

Look how tiny in comparison!

And, okay, the numbers are bigger but because they're nickel it's a little tricky to see against the white paint. Alas.

School Office

2010-03-18T10:00:00.004-05:00

To make myself feel a little better about the home office looming ahead of me I dug through some photos to find before and after photos of my school office.

I painted the two brown walls this pea green color I bought in the Oops! section (of course). It took me awhile to get used to it but now I really like it. If the paint is still usable I think I'm going to paint zebra stripes on the other two walls this summer. I have more shelving and filing cabinets in the room now but I think it looks bigger mainly because of the color change and furniture placement. That rug is one of my favorite garage sale purchases. $5...score! The colors are fantastic. It's old, handmade in the 70s, and there are spots where it's worn through and/or unraveling but I still love it!

Ugh

2010-03-18T09:48:00.003-05:00

My mission, should I choose to accept it, is to deal with this today...

My office/craft room. It invokes fear in the heart of man. So daunting. Ugh. I don't think I need to worry about this message self destructing because this room already has!

Curious

2010-03-10T22:35:00.002-06:00

I bought my pups these Three Dog Bakery Lick 'n Crunch cookie treats. Vanilla cream sandwiched between carob wafers. They're referred to as the "Oreo cookie for dogs." So true! My pups love them. And I'd be lying if I said they didn't smell doggone good! I cannot believe I am even thinking (let along posting) about sampling one. Because they don't smell like dog food. And they're all natural. But it's not normal to want to eat scooby snacks of any form. Right? I'll let you know if I succumb to curiosity. It killed the cat, you know.

Obsessed

2010-03-09T20:44:00.005-06:00

photo found here

Oh my. I love iced coffee. Love it. But I don't like to pay for it. And then I discovered this tasty concoction on P-Dub's Tasty Kitchen. My life will never be the same. Unfortunately, neither will my waistline. I might have made myself TWO on my lunch break yesterday. Maybe.

Now, I don't like hot coffee (even though I do own a coffee maker) so I improvised the recipe a bit and used instant coffee. The first time I made it I did use my tea kettle but then I started using cold water. Just have to shake it a little bit longer is all. And while the mason jar isn't required, it certainly is cute! Here's my version...

1 T instant coffee
3/4 C cold water
3/4 C milk
long squirt of chocolate syrup
longish pour of Coffeemate (I used Italian Sweet Cream like suggested but I'll try French Vanilla next time)
2 pkg Splenda
ice

I do use a mason jar, but I have a really big one. Then you, you know what to do...shake, shake it, shake, shake it, shake, shake it like a Polaroid picture!

Sooo good. Do try!

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - Q

2010-03-09T18:37:00.004-06:00

Disclaimer: I must admit that I cheated a bit and looked up some Q words. Otherwise I would have had only two entries.

Quarter - not just one-fourth, ladies and gentlemen! Apparently a quarter is "a unit of measure equal to 28 pounds." Did not know that. 25 pounds is what I would've guessed if pressed.

Q-Bert - okay, I loved this video game as a kid! I don't know how many quarters (possibly 28 pounds worth - haha!) I went through at Mazzio's and The Tilt on this game. To almost clear the board and then end up hopping off the edge accidentally...nooooo! In middle school I had "Note Books" with my friends (we passed spirals -one spiral per friendship- back and forth to each other in between classes) and Meena wanted us to use code names in case our book was confiscated. Q-Bert was my name. Or possibly hers. But I think probably it was mine.

Quiet Light - when we lived with my grandparents for a bit if I couldn't fall asleep I would find my grandmother who was usually sitting in her wooden rocking chair in the living room. I would sit in her lap and we would rock back and forth looking at the lamp post in her backyard, our "quiet light."

Quinquennium - a period of 5 years. How exactly is this word used? Is it like a 5-year anniversary mark? What are your goals for this quinquennium?

Quire - exactly 24 sheets of paper. Hmmm.

Quitter - not just what you call someone who quits something...quitter also refers to pus. Awesome.

Here's some other random Q words I'll use in a sentence: I hope you never quackle on some qat or a quarender. If you do, I hope a quidam (preferably not a quean or a quidnunc) is there to quagswag you so as to quich the blockage.

Back to the Basics

2010-03-09T12:42:00.001-06:00

Just couldn't keep the leopard print background. The pink was too much. So back to where I started. Aaah...feels good!

Oops.

2010-03-08T17:05:00.007-06:00

So I was checking out free blog backgrounds at lunch and saw this cute pink and leopard print one on Aqua Poppy Designs and decided to give it a whirl. But it looks a little too girlie for me. And now I can't remember where I found my last background. Of course I didn't copy and save any of the HTML coding. And of course I used to be a bad blogger and I would change some of the code so that you couldn't see their tag/link. Which means I wasn't reminded daily of where I could find it again. Bad blogger, bad, bad blogger! Alas.

What are your thoughts about this background? This one or the loosely interpreted zebra stripe one? I think if this one didn't look so patched together in some areas I'd like it more...but I might be outta luck!

Nevermind...it is now a few minutes later (5:16 to be exact) and I found the last one...it was from Aqua Poppy, too. So I can get it back if I want to. Thoughts?

Game Night - Finally!

2010-03-08T17:00:00.007-06:00

Finally, a game she likes! We've tried Memory and Candy Land and Disney Princess Yatzee (a bit over her head yet) and Hi-Ho Cherry-O and some Dora ABC game and...but finally I found "The One" and she has been playing it nonstop! Let's hear it for Hungry, Hungry Hippos! I thrifted it and paid a bit more ($6) than I normally would for something at a thrift store but it looked brand new (retails for $18.99) and seemed to have all its parts. So we brought it home, set it up, and started feeding those colorful hippos! And we kept on feeding them. Into the night. After her bath. Instead of a bedtime story. When she woke up this morning. When we got back from church. After her nap (make that rest time). And...

But apparently we weren't the first owners after all because it turns out it was missing one marble and, well, I'll let you see if you can figure out the other thing...

My guess is some little tyke was in charge of affixing these two poor hippos' sticker eyes in the right place. The green and yellow ones were fine. And, after receiving permission from Little Miss M, I peeled these guys' eyeballs off and relocated them!

Work In Progress

2010-03-07T20:27:00.006-06:00

Here's a little look-see into what's cookin' in my kitchen redo...

And here's what was cookin' tonight for dinner:

Chicken Enchiladas from Mique's (of 30 Handmade Days) food blog. Yum!

Memory Lane

2010-03-07T14:22:00.014-06:00

For some reason I've chosen this week to delve into the crazy insane mess of boxes in my craft room. Because of said boxes I am unable to actually use the room to do any crafting. So...I jumped into it and, as usual, I have only created a larger mess. Because, of course, I find it necessary to sort through every little thing which reminds me of something else that I need to find which leads me traipsing through the rest of my house. And if I do make progress (which is mostly just creating a toss pile) it looks worse because instead of throwing all the junk into a big black trash bag I have to make several more piles of stuff : one that should be shredded, one for donations, one for stuff to be recycled...and on and on it goes.

But this long and arduous process has gifted me with a few surprises and smiles. For example, a random photo of my step mom whom we lost 3 years ago; old birthday cards from Kristin; the past seven (7!) years of Valerie's family Christmas photos; a CASSETTE TAPE of Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians (I used the artwork from that cover for my 8th grade art scale-to-scale drawing project...21 years ago - egads!); some confetti shrapnel from one of Leslie's cards; a "Hot Shot" hot water dispenser (where were these in my college days?); four of my old cell phones; and this:

It was in a box of some stuff that didn't sell in our last garage sale but I wasn't quite ready to donate it for whatever reason. And remembering that I pulled some CDs out because people noticed that some were missing from the cases, I opened it to see if I could just throw it away. But the CD was still there and so was this:

The first year I went back to OBU to work as a dorm (excuse me, residence hall) director I had an awesome group of young ladies working for me. At the end of that year they printed 250 of these business cards and snuck into my office and apartment and hid them EVERYWHERE. I was finding them all over the place the first month. In drawers, in work files, in the key cabinet, in my sock drawer, in cookbooks, etc. I've kept every one I've found over the years and I think I'm up to about 200 of them. Everytime I find one (and it's getting much further in between findings) I can't help but smile. I hope I continue to stumble across them on into my 50s! What a fun group of girls!

A Long Time Comin'

2010-03-04T22:19:00.003-06:00

So after at least eight (8!) long months I FINALLY got my hair trimmed. I remember that last winter my hair was pretty dry but this winter has it topped. My split ends had split ends! How does that even happen?! No joke, one of my hairs was split seven times. Yep. I counted. At work. When I should have been using my time more efficiently. But even with the sorry state of my hair I never got around to making an appointment for a trim. Until last week. I finally called the hair salon I went to years ago when I lived here before.

And there was some massive confusion about which Janice I used to go to back then. Because there are two Janices. I had no idea which one. By the time it was over I thought I had made an appointment with Janice H. only to find out later that it was actually Janice W. I used to see. But then I remembered I had a conference on Tuesday and was going to use it as an excuse to cancel the appointment. But after I told them I was unable to keep my appointment because of a conference it ended up I was on the right Janice's schedule after all. Noooooo! And she wasn't going to be able to fit me in again until Spring Break. Nooooooo!

Anywho...yesterday I spent more time than necessary looking at my split ends and breaking them off (it was kind of cathartic in a gross, creepy way) and I decided I had to do something about it. I was even going to head to the mall when I decided to call them back just to see. I'll spare you the script of that call. Mostly I was awkward and not very clear. I think the way I worded it ("Do you have any openings?") made them think I was looking for a job. But I was able to get in! I didn't get anything drastic done. Really it was just a trim (but she had to whack off around three inches to get rid of most of those ugly little suckers) and a little bit more bang than last time. And she told me if I took 2-3 flax seed oil pills a day for a couple of weeks I'd notice a big difference in my dry hair. Hmm...I'm up for that experiment.

And that, my friends, was a great big snore fest of a story for each and every one of you. And now I have to actually do more productive things while at work. Boo.

Oprah's Full of Inspiration

2010-03-01T21:35:00.006-06:00

So here's what my dining area looks like:

Pretty blah, no? The biggest issue is that I'm unable to use the french doors to the backyard because the (rather small) table is right smack dab in the middle of the fairly small room. So I end up using the door to the utility room which leads to the garage which also has access to the backyard. Way too many steps out of my way if you ask me. Which I know you didn't.

And then there's this cut out or pass through or whatever into the living room to contend with. So not inviting. I know, I know, I really should have hung something on the walls by now. But it's only been six months. Cut me some slack, people! Sheesh.

I know, blah blah BLAH! But then I picked up the Winter 2007 issue of Oprah's O at Home magazine in a recent thrifting trip and all my dreams came true. Or at least I finally solved my decorating dilemma.

I don't know if it's because my old dining room was chocolate brown or because I have an oversized gold frame or that I own one of the EXACT SAME black and white chairs or what but I'm so drawn to this room. And I think it's similar in proportion to my teensy tiny room. I checked the shopping section in the back and learned that she just slipcovered an Ikea bench so I made some notes for my upcoming trip to Texas. But then I went into TJ Maxx and found this:

Methinks it's perfect! And it's a storage bench to boot...for cookbooks or extra dishes or (gasp!) the toaster oven my grandmother has convinced me never to get rid of but right now is awkwardly sitting on top of my dryer. Genius!

Also, I'm not planning on doing brown again. If I ever get around to it my kitchen will be painted white. Although I did consider painting that back wall in black chalkboard paint for Little Miss M but then I nixed that idea. And unfortunately my gold frame is too big for the space. So I'm going to hang a black mirror there for the time being. And I'm keeping my black table. And two of my dining chairs. The armless ones. I'll reupholster the seats in something snazzy...black and white zebra stripes perhaps?

Pics of the work in progress to come. Hopefully leaving all (three) of you faithful readers hanging will motivate me to whip the room into shape. But for now the big question is...what will I buy on my Ikea shopping trip over Spring Break now that I found the bench?

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - P

2010-03-01T20:18:00.013-06:00

Papa - my grandpa was an amazing man. I always thought he was kind of strict and I can still hear him "talking" to me through the bathroom door whenever I got mad and locked myself inside, "The world does not revolve around Courtney Marie, you know." But underneath his tough exterior was a big softie. When my mom, my sister and I lived with them for a few months he would kneel between our beds, scratch our backs, and hum us lullabies. Ah, sweet memories!

Pepper - love me some pepper! I don't do much salt but you can always count on me and pepper. Especially in my ketchup. Yum! A funny (if not predictable) story about me and pepper...just a few weeks ago I was lunching at McAlister's and was trying to sprinkle some pepper on my chicken caesar wrap when the whole cap came off and a heaping pile of pepper ended up on my plate. I seriously considered shaking what I could off to continue eating it but in the end I was persuaded to get them to replace the meal. And the pepper shaker.

Persnickety - I just love this word and its meaning!

Pickles - it's a toss up where pickles and pepper are concerned. I lurve pickles! Dill, mind you. Spears preferably but chips will do in a pinch. Not bread and butter and never, ever sweet! And the combination of Mazzio's ranch dressing and their bitesize pickles in the salad bar cannot be beaten. To. Die. For. Which is a silly thing to say, I realize, about pickles. I love pickles so much that my grandmother has gifted me with pickles on two occassions...for my 13th birthday I received a case of pickles and one Christmas I received a large box of individually wrapped pickles. Like they used to sell (and maybe still do?) at the roller skating rink. And I have wonderful friends who know of my love for pickles and will sacrifice their lunch spears to see me light up when they offer me theirs. Except for now Steph has a kid who also happens to lurve pickles so I am no longer the recipient of her pickle generosity. Cute kids....hrmph!

Pickle-Chiffon Pie - This was a favorite book in our house when I was a child. My mom read it to us a lot. Unfortunately we no longer have it. And unfortunately I don't really remember much of the story. Something about a weird monster competing for the hand of the princess and bakes her father, the king, this crazy pie concoction. I keep my eyes out at thrift stores but I really ought to just suck it up and order it from Amazon. A side note...growing up as latch key kids my sister and I had a secret code word that was to be used if our mom had to, for some reason, send someone else to pick us up. Stranger Danger and all. "Pickle-Chiffon Pie" was our word. And to top it all off, the book was written by a guy named Jolly Roger. Gotta love that! Pops -Yay for gas stations + soda pop marts + yummy hamburger joints! Head on over to Arcadia, OK and try it out for yourself.
Pugs - I do not what it is about this breed of dog but I am completely smitten. From their snorting and snuffing and smashed in faces to their curly Q tails. My friend Amy got a pug right after college and I thought she (both Amy and Maude the pug) were crazy. But then I volunteered to dog sit for a friend and ended up having both his husky and his pug for a couple of months. Gigi chewed up my shoes and the arms of my sister's futon (thank goodness I hadn't bought a couch of my own yet!) but she had such a great personality. So quirky and spunky. I was sold! And here I am, nine pugs later.

Becker and Bijou - my first two pugs

Ingrid, Buster, Humphrey, and Greta (sans baby Bing) - my last little puglets

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - O

2010-02-21T17:54:00.002-06:00

OBU - my alma mater. If I had to do it all over again, I'm not so sure I'd pick a small faith-based institution but, over all, I was pleased with my years there. Bison, go with Ka-rip!

Ombligo - my second favorite word in Spanish. Means "belly button." My favorite word in Spanish? Hipopotamo.

Orange - my favorite color. Usually. Sometimes it's pink. And sometimes it's black. But usually it's orange.

Orange Julius - back in the day a mall trip wasn't complete without hitting Claire's Boutique, stalking a couple of cute guys, and getting a drink at Orange Julius. I loved their Strawberry Julius.

Orbit - my gum of choice. Peppermint.

2010-02-15T19:42:00.004-06:00

This is the outfit I picked up for Little Miss M on Saturday evening. She wanted to wear it to church yesterday. Without washing it. I thought it might irritate her sensitive skin but she didn't care. A slave to fashion in the making! My poor picture-taking skills don't allow you to see the super cute bow at the neckline. And the back of the dress buttons up with big pink buttons. Can you say cute?! I had picked up this pair of funky green tights at a thrift store months ago against my better judgment. Didn't think I'd ever actually find anything to match. Lo and behold! Need to be better about noticing what's in the background when I take photos...ugly!

Tidying Up

2010-02-15T19:22:00.002-06:00

I don't know what got into me yesterday but before church I decided it was time to revamp my linen closet. And by linen closet I mean shoe closet. When I checked this house out and saw the linen closet in the hallway I thought that there was no way I would ever fill that much space with bedding. But shoes, I could probably fill it with shoes...just toss 'em in and shut the oh-so-trendy bifold doors. Works like a charm! Orginally there were purses and boots on the top shelf and everything else haphazardly thrown on a shelf below.

But yesterday morning as I selected my footwear I thought I could probably organize the space a little better and use some of it for {ahem} linens. Imagine that! So now it's purses, random bedding, and weekend totes on top, boots on bottom, and everything else in between.

I'm kicking myself for donating a couple of shoe racks before I moved. They fit perfectly on the shelves and double my shoe storage. Going to pick up a couple more and hopefully I'll be able to move the shoes hanging in the organizer behind my bedroom door to their new home across the hall. And I think I'm going to paint the back wall with a pop of yellow or turquoise. Once I start tacking the rest of the house. Which is just around the corner. Yeah, right.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - N

2010-02-14T15:36:00.003-06:00

Nicknames - at various times in my life I have been called: Snortney, Boobs, Spud Bud, Buttercup, and Coco. Any others I'm leaving out?

Nissan Murano - I. Want. One. So sleek. So sexy. I know, just like me...right?!

Nose Ring - Been done twice before. I have been contemplating do this to myself one more time. I think I could get away with it at my current school.

A Thousand Words: December 2009

2010-02-14T00:00:00.005-06:00

The Thrill of Thrifting

2010-02-13T21:42:00.008-06:00

I love it when I score bigtime at thrift stores. I only hit two today but I picked up several things and I'm tickled pink with what I brought home!

At the first store I found:

~ a pair of sheer purple valances with embroidered flowers for Little Miss M's room ($4/pair)

~ pair of little Gap jeans for the girlie ($6 but 1/2 off = $3)

~ a "vintage glitter tree topper" from Pottery Barn still in the box ($2)

At store numero dos:

~ a Princess book...I think we're up to about 127 of these now... (.50)

~ two large white picture frames from Target ($3/ea)

~ "Hurdo Kitty" (that's M-speak for Hello Kitty) rainboots -- still had the elastic band tied on ($3.50 - Target is still selling them for $16.99! Woohoo!!)

Here's my booty (or is it bounty? loot? er...) from Goodwill.

And while there I donated four bags full of clothing, shoes, toys, and knick knacks. Don't you just love a good purge every now and then?

But the shopping extravaganza didn't stop there, no siree. We forged ahead into retail-priced retail therapy. Went to Payless mainly to measure her little tootsies (10-1/2) but, because you can't really pass up BOGO, ended up buying her some socks and flip flops. At Target I bought 4 smaller white frames that were on clearance (finally getting around to some art in Little Miss M's room), a super cute dress (so cute I paid FULL price...history in the making!) and ruffled hoodie for M, and boring stuff like dog food (but I did get a $5 gift card for buying it), bread, and cereal bars. Onto Marshalls where I loaded up on some stationery goodies and a silly little doodle book for my valentine.

Speaking of valentines...this is the first Valentine's Day in years that I actually have an honest-to-goodness valentine of my own. Of course, my little eCrush is laying in his bed with an abcessed tooth huffing and puffing while he awaits a root canal. So even though I celebrate actually having a valentine this year, I may not actually be celebrating the occassion. No biggie...I'm used to it.

Bow Chicka Bow Bow

2010-02-09T19:37:00.005-06:00

Is that how you spell the sound of porno music? Although I'm sure my reading audience of three or four probably isn't the type to know that...

Anyway, it appears as though Little Miss M has been "gettin' her freak on" in daycare. When I picked her up today I was informed by the afternoon teacher that she and a classmate (a boy) were in the corner showing their "parts" to each other. Okay, great, um...er...what to do with that?! I have been assured that this is completely normal but I don't recall anything like that in my past.

So the conversation on the way home went something like this:

Me: So, uh, what did you do in school today?
M: Nothing.
Me: Oh. Ms. Lori said you were showing your "gina" (M's word, not mine) to a boy.
M: I didn't do it. (Surely she was just denying the events and doesn't know what "it" is...right?!?!?!)
Me: M, you need to tell the truth. It's not nice to lie.
M: I'm not.
Me: Hmmm. Well, you know that some people call "ginas" privates, right?
M: Yeah.
Me: Do you know what private means?
M: Yeah.
Me: What?
M: Dunno.
Me: It means it's only for you to see. That means you shouldn't show it to other people at school.
{silence}
Me: Or at church.
{crickets chirping}
Me: Or boys in general.
M: Okay, can we go to Old McDonald's for dinner?
Me: How about pizza?
M: Um, sure!

Miscellaneous J-Legs Received

2010-02-09T17:09:00.003-06:00

Remember Chloe? The couch I finally caved and ordered all those months ago? Well, she was delivered to my mom's house in late November and my mom was kind enough to transport her all these miles to my house. I was so excited! We ripped into her plastic and cardboard packaging and she was oh so soft! Got her in place and then began the frantic search for her...can you guess? Yes, the title of the post was a big, fat wad of foreshadowing. My beautiful new couch was shipped to me sans legs! Can you believe it? So for the past two-and-a-half months we've been low riding in the living room.

Well, to make a long, boring story less long and hopefully less boring my mom got the legs in the mail last week and she graciously agreed to meet me halfway so I could at long last give my little Chloe the lift she needed. And...voila! She's got legs...and knows how to use them...

Okay, I realize that the difference probably doesn't seem so dramatic in the pictures but believe you me this is life changing! I'm now (slightly more) motivated to actually paint the walls finally hang the new curtains. Who knew five inches could make such a difference? I guess size really does matter!

Marshmallow Madness

2010-02-03T23:56:00.002-06:00

I finally uploaded photos from my marshmallow experiment here.

Snowed In

2010-01-31T20:06:00.010-06:00

In the span of four homebound days I have managed to:

make a tutu for a doll to match Little Miss M's,

steal this craft project from Ashley Ann at Under the Sycamore,

I said steal, not execute flawlessly!

attach new seats on BOTH toilets,
finally change the lightbulb in my hallway,
catch up on all my laundry,
change out the wiper blades on my car,
make several homecooked meals (including the best omelets I've ever created!),
watch 35 episodes of LOST,
measure random things around the house for decorating purposes,
do a little research for a writing project I'll probably never start,
sort through clothing, shoes, and toys for donations,
firmly plant Little Miss M's behind in Time Out about a gillion times (probably should be rethinking the discipline situation...hmm)
and finally update my blog -- but don't get used to it!

Whew.

In hindsight, it would have been the perfect time to tackle some of the painting that is looming ahead of me. But that's the beauty of procrastination...I'll get to it eventually in effort to avoid something else in the future.

This Is What My Heaven Looks Like

2010-01-29T10:54:00.005-06:00

I just stumbled upon the Airstream Penthouse Trailer Park at The Grand Daddy Hotel in Cape Town. Seven Airstreams decorated by seven Cape Town designers. "For those who want to pimp their park life and flash their trailer trash - or for those who simply want to experience the world's only trailer park rooftop suite - just take the vintage elevator to the third , take the rooftop exit and let the adventure begin." Wow. And The Pink Flamingo Cinema? Double wow!

If I had to pick just one to stay in it would be the Love of Lace trailer (below) but wish it were more muted than so girly pink. By the way...does anyone know how much R1250 is?

I've had a semi-similar idea in the back of my mind for a few years now. If only I had money to spare and no other responsibilities. I'd live in one, too. In my little mecca of shiny, silvery goodness. Naturally.

I Speak Four-Year-Old

2010-01-29T00:53:00.004-06:00

I've been trying to keep a list of Little Miss M's latest vocabulary feats...

Arra String = Airstream (I consider this quite an accomplishment on my part. Good to know the silver streak will always be a part of her vocab!)
Lickstick = Lipstick
Ooh La = Hola
Panyo = Piano
Sillious = Serious (I blame this one on Ming Ming, the duck with the lisp on the ever popular Wonder Pets. Although her rendition is "seewee-us")
Squeerial (rhymes with "cereal") = squirrel
Stunk = Skunk (fitting, no?)
Tillet = Toilet

Christmas Catch-up

2010-01-28T20:14:00.008-06:00

For the first time ever my mom's side of the family celebrated Christmas at my aunt and uncle's house in Texas. Four carloads of Oklahomans headed south for the festivities. I left Tuesday night with Little Miss M and my nephew following Christmas with my dad's family in OKC. Got there around 11:30 pm and my Tulsa aunt and cousins were already there. Auntie M (Texas aunt) convinced us we needed to take a dip in the hot tub. None of us had swimsuits but she said she had us covered and retrieved a tub full of bathing suits. Two-piece bathing suits. Belonging to my Texas cousin. Who wears a size 0 or 2. And we do not. Needless to say there was a lot of laughter and experimental combining of strings and patches of cloth. "Covered," my ass! In the end we all ended up in baggy old t-shirts and my uncle's swim trunks. Nice.

I got the opportunity to meet up with Kristin on Wednesday and we were able to hit a few shops at our former TX stomping grounds. By the time I got back to the house my mom, stepdad, and stepsister and my grandma had all arrived. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then did our gift exchange. We've been doing Dirty Santa exchanges for a few years now and this one was supposed to be "silly." Okay, I need a few more guidelines than that. And if I'm going to shell out my hard-earned money I want the reassurance that I will get something decent in return (yeah, I know, so much for my Christmas spirit). I spend days trying to find the perfect "silly" gift and in the end I was proud of my purchase. It was funny, practical, and unique. Or so I thought...

Yep, four state school Snuggies later...ah well. This is my family's rendition of the Snuggie dance. Note the ostracized OU fan in back. My gift, you ask? Ah yes...I was the proud recipient of a wonderfully useful hat and Christmas puzzle...

On Thursday we all pitched in and made the traditional Christmas dinner and then my Tulsa aunt and cousins hopped in the car to begin the five-hour trek back home. Unfortunately the snowstorm had already begun and seven and a half hours later they were back at the house in TX. They made it as far north as Durant and had turn back. My mom and her household were planning on leaving on Friday but no one left 'til Saturday. M and I hung back until Sunday when we were sure I-35 was clear.

All in all, it was the perfect (extended) holiday spent with my favorite people in the whole world. Lots of laughs. Lots of love. The End.

Stranded

2010-01-28T20:12:00.001-06:00

Trapped in the house today and tomorrow with nothing but a four-year-old and five seasons of Lost. If I start now, do you think I can make my way through them by Tuesday's season premiere? Hmmm....

Progress?

2009-12-21T17:11:00.005-06:00

It's about this time of year when we think back on the year and ponder resolutions for the future. Does it seem kind of silly that in the past year I have:

~Moved back to a town that I have already moved away from two times?

~Welcomed a foster child back into my home after watching her leave over a year ago?

~Started (re)dating my former eCrush?

2009: Year of Progress or Year of Second Chances?

Marshmallows Are Not For The Faint of Heart

2009-12-21T16:12:00.019-06:00

I should have listened. But I never do. Valerie turns out these amazing homemade marshmallows every year at Christmas. They look just like the Williams-Sonoma marshmallows pictured above. I was looking for a low-cost gift for a family get together and decided that if Valerie could do it so could I. But Valerie said it's way harder than it looks. Valerie said she couldn't do it without her husband's assistance. Valerie said using a mixing stand could blow out the motor. Did I listen? Nope. Valerie, my apologies.

8:45 am - Batch #1: So I'm using a slightly different recipe than Valerie. And since my printer isn't hooked up, I copied the directions by hand. Gelatin and water sitting for half an hour, syrup mixture heating up to 240 degrees, all is well. Turn the mixer on low and add the syrup. Beat for 12-15 minutes and add the vanilla during the last minute. Poured it in the sugar-dusted pan and it was about an eighth of an inch thick. Busted out the recipe and realize I forgot to write the following: "Once all of the syrup mixture has been added to the bowl, INCREASE MIXING SPEED TO HIGH and continue to beat for 12-15 minutes. My first batch looks more like Laffy Taffy than marshmallows. It kinda sorta tastes like marshmallows but its texture is more like one of those sticky spiders that you got as a kid and threw on the wall and watched as it globbed its way down.

{The first skinny batch}

3:30 pm - Batch #2: This time I followed instructions to a T. And then I realized exactly why Valerie needs an extra pair of hands. She said that at about 7 minutes into mixing the marshmallows start to climb up the beater (and on into the motor) unless you are able to keep it "mashed down" in the bowl. Less than 5 minutes into my {ahem, HIGH-speed} mixing session it started to rise. I kept my cool and was using a spatula to keep it all down. I was thinking to myself, "Self, you are a natural at marshmallow-making. Self, you should tell Valerie exactly how you're doing this so that it will be easier for her next year. Self, if only you had a free hand available because you should totally give yourself a pat on the back. SELF, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE HEAD OF YOUR SPATULA JUST GOT CAUGHT IN THE BEATERS AND BROKE OFF AND NOW YOUR BOWL IS WOBBLING AND THE MARSHMALLOWS ARE CLIMBING UP THE BEATERS AND ALL YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND IS A PLASTIC STICK?!?!?!?"

It's okay, readers, I still managed to keep my cool...just a minor setback. I turned the mixer off, fished out the spatula part, grabbed a spoon, and went back to work. I managed to keep the climbing at bay by resting the bottom of my big spoon against the top of the blades. Yep, hubris snuck back in and I was gloating in the fact that I had apparently solved Valerie's biggest marshmallow dilemma. The only issue at this time is that I was fairly sticky from fishing out the spatula bits. With one minute remaining, I was supposed to add a teaspoon of vanilla but my left hand was super sticky and my right hand was dedicated to spoon/beater duty. I grabbed the bottle with my left hand, and opened it with my teeth (totally sanitary, I know). I figured I'd just eyeball the amount, just a splash really, when the bottle hit the side of the spinning bowl and a whole lot more than a teaspoon fell into the batter. "Um...self, any suggestions here?"

{Exhibits A: the plastic stick and B: the pesky bottle of vanilla}

So I turned off the mixer yet again, put a smaller bowl underneath the beaters (in case any blobs of sticky goo dripped off), and inverted the larger marshmallowy bowl over the sink. I think I drained most of the vanilla but there's really no telling just how much remained in the batter. If I thought I was sticky before that I was sadly mistaken. I went ahead and beat the crap out of this brownish mixture for another minute and then I scooped it all into my pan. This batch is much fluffier and taller and all-around more marshmallowy looking than the first, but I'm concerned about the taste. Alas. Also, Valerie's are always level on each side and the top of this batch seems pretty wavy. Oh well. Two down, two to go.

{Better looking, but better tasting? Hmm...}

{Er, did I say better looking? Most definitely before pulling it out of the pan!

But they actually turned into decent mini marshmallows. Could hardly tell how ugly they were beforehand!}

P.S. I used to think that Williams-Sonoma was ripping people off by charging $15 for 27 oversized marshmallows (pictured at the top of the post) but now I'm not so sure. I think that probably the people who are forking over that kind of cash are all people like me who have attempted (and failed!) to make them on their own. Personally, I think $15 is looking like quite the bargain at this point!!!!

...and later in the day...

9:45 pm - Batch #3: I came home from watching a "dollar" movie with Little Miss M and decided I would give it another shot before going to bed. Everything was perfect. I had all sorts of backup utensils lined up in case of emergency. I improved upon my technique (some lessons learned from throwing pottery actually came in handy) and thought I had knocked this one out of the park until.........can you guess what's coming?.............the motor blew on the mixer! Are you freaking kidding me?! Remember Valerie's caveat? Yeah. It was just so thick and I guess it was too much for the poor machine to take. I'm hoping that it just overheated and will work again soon because I borrowed it (oops!).

I still had three minutes remaining and had a whisk on stand by but I had beaters and a spoon and a spatula that needed de-marshmallowing (mainly because there wasn't much left in the bowl at that point) before I could start whisking. I wasn't sure if this lag time would be detrimental to the marshmallows or not but what could I do? I tossed in the (precisely premeasured and at-the-ready!) teaspoon of vanilla and whisked the hell out of that bowl of glop. My arm was killing me after about 30 seconds but I pushed through for a whole minute. I still had two more minutes to go but I figured if it was stiff enough to break the mixer, it was stiff enough for me. It took a while to mush it down in the pan and it still isn't an even surface but whatever. I don't really care anymore. I have enough ingredients to try a fourth time but, again, I don't care anymore. What I care about is alcohol. Tequila. I need a shot of tequila.

{All in all, they turned out just fine. Tasted pretty good, too. But I'm not convinced it was worth it...}

Lessons Learned:

#1 - Valerie is a domestic goddess. When she speaks of marshmallows, she speaks the truth. Write down her every word. I am now recalling that Valerie also said she started using a smaller pan so the finished product would be taller. Hmpf.

#2 - Never handwrite detailed recipes. Print them out!

#3 - Always have a dog or two around for kitchen clean up. (EDIT: apparently dogs do not care for powdered sugar and therefore you must clean up your own marshmallow mess)

#4 - If someone sells it, buy it. No matter the cost!

#5 - If your dear friend gives you a delicious homemade treat, enjoy it and think not about whether you are capable of recreating the deliciousness. You probably aren't.

#6 - Pottery techniques work surpisingly well with a spinning bowl of marshmallow goop. So take as many continuing education classes you can. You never know when they'll come in handy.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - M

2009-11-15T20:53:00.004-06:00

Mag - Mag (pronounced "Mog") was my Latin teacher in high school. Mag is short for "magistra" which means teacher. She is an amazing person and quite possibly the reason I decided to choose a career in education. When I was writing my eHarmony profile I had to talk about someone besides a family member who has influenced my life. I chose Mag.

Mamarj - this is the name I gave my mom's mom. Apparently I had everyone else's name down pat but I couldn't/wouldn't say "grandma." She coached and coached me and when I still wouldn't utter the word she longed to hear she gave up and said, "Marjorie, call me Marjorie." At that point I put the two together and came up with Mamarj. It stuck. She is a wonderful woman with so much love and wisdom to give. Some of my favorite memories growing up include her.

Michael J. Fox - my first celebrity crush.

Monkees - MTV used to air reruns of the show back in middle school. I was hooked! Davey Jones was my favorite. And my stepsister (18 years my junior) shares the love...she got their boxed DVD collection a few years ago at Christmas.

Mr. Taco - Best. Tacos. Ever. Topped with cilantro, onion, and a wedge of lime. And so cheap! Just north of I-244 on Lewis in Tulsa...go there!

A Thousand Words: September - November

2009-11-09T22:04:00.006-06:00

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - L

2009-11-09T21:49:00.005-06:00

Labrador Retrievers - As you all know, I have a slight obsession with animals and particularly with dogs. Once upon a time I rescued a chocolate lab and then ended up with a black lab and of course I had to complete the collection and get a yellow one. And they all slept in my bed with me at night. I know, I know...

Latin Geek - Oh yeah. Big. Latin. Geek. Four years in high school. Senior year I took home the first place ribbon in Academics at the OJCL (that's the Oklahoma Junior Classical League for those of you not in the know). I didn't just spend four weekends of my high school career surrounded by other Latin nerds, I competed against them! Academically. That means that while the cool kids were partying and having sex and whatnot I was in a classroom (on a Saturday!) taking tests about Latin grammar and Roman history and Greek mythology and...I need to scan the picture that ran in our local newspaper. Classic! And my Latin teacher, just wait 'til we get to Ms (next week, theoretically)!

Leopard Print - Love it! It has seeped into my home decor, my office at school, my wardrobe. Will be incorporated into my wedding one day. Mark my words.

Limes - I always order lime with my Dr. Pepper at a restaurant.

Lost - I'm a fanatic. Thank goodness this is the last season! I'm so confused and I don't think I can stand another season of more questions. I need answers, people! And what's with them holding off 'til winter to start their seasons. Do they really think they're that good? That people will just sit and wait with bated breath? Yes, they probably do and yes, we definitely will!!!

Meet Chloe

2009-11-02T21:25:00.003-06:00

This is the sofa I ordered six weeks and two days ago. In gray. I spent over a month searching for the perfect sofa and loved this one so much I almost bought it in white (I was originally told I couldn't get it in any color other than Ivory or Seafoam). And if you know anything about me and my (in)ability to put food into my mouth without it landing anywhere else, you know I was smitten. Luckily, I later learned that I could get it in the colors once off-limits. I love it and cannot wait for it to arrive. I had to special order it. They said it would take six to eight weeks. I got a call last week that it should arrive in the Houston warehouse by November 13 (precisely eight weeks later) but that they doubted they could deliver it to Tulsa by Thanksgiving. Of course they can't. So I wait. Which hasn't been so bad. My trusty bag chairs have come in handy. But my fuzzy leopard print one kicked the bucket about two weeks in and just this evening my cute polka dotted one gave up. Alas.

But isn't Chloe just lovely?

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - K

2009-10-18T20:42:00.002-05:00

Knees - I have bad ones. It all started at the end of my sophomore year of high school. My youth group was playing volleyball one night after church and I landed badly. For weeks I limped around and it felt all wobbly and if I tried to get into a car on the passenger side I would collapse. Finally got around to checking it out and they said there was just fluid built up. I lived with it for years...the limping improved and it would only occassionally "wobble" and I was able to get in and out of cars with ease. Athletic would never be an adjective to describe me, but I played racquetball and tennis and even more volleyball with the bad leg. Sometimes it was okay, sometimes not. Many years later I decided it would be a fantastic idea to play intramural football in my old age. We played in the rain one evening and I heard a pop in my other knee! I limped around for days and when I finally went to get it checked out I was certain I had a torn miniscus. Got an MRI and everything. They said it was fine. I beg to differ. Alas...perhaps when/if I drop some much needed weight my knees will improve but I guarantee you there is something wrong with them!

Kristin - I met her my freshman year of college and lived with her my junior year but it wasn't until J-term of our senior year that we became close. She's creative, has great taste, loves to think and continue learning, is passionate about giving back, has the best advice and knows just what to say, and is one of the most amazing people I've ever know. BFF!

She's Back...

2009-10-11T21:47:00.003-05:00

and, no, I'm not referring to myself. Although, yes, I'm back at the posting again...finally got Internet in the new house!

Who I am in fact referring to is Little Miss M. Four weeks ago I drove to Tulsa and picked up my current (and former) roommate. The past month has been riddled with a lot of laughs, a lot of shopping, a lot of Dora the Explorer, and a lot of temper tantrums (and not just from her!). It has been quite the adjustment as I had much less time to prepare for her arrival this time around. I'm unsure as to how long she'll be with me this time around, but I'm fairly positive it will be less than the year and nine months she was with me before.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - J

2009-10-11T21:26:00.006-05:00

Japan - my grandmother is Japanese, born and raised in Tokyo. She met my grandfather when he was stationed there during the Korean War. A couple years later, he brought her to America. I hope to travel to Japan with her one day.

Jargon - okay, I actually prefer the term "lingo" but I'm searching for Js here. I love the jargon and acronyms that come with different jobs (take, for example, my job: EOIs, IEPs, AYP, API, ACE, NCLB, etc.), hobbies, and 4-year-old children. Here is what I've decoded so far...
"bweeto" means "burrito"
"cheater" means "cheerleader"
"getty" means "spaghetti"
"mudder" means "mother"
"pock pock" means "backpack"
"pooh-ding" means "pudding"
"scissor" means "sister" and yet "zizzers" means "scissors"

Jeep - still missing Geronimo, may he rest in peace.

Jobs - I just counted and I've held 16 jobs over the years. Not since graduation, mind you. Several were parttime jobs held at night (nothing risque!) for a little extra cash.

June - my birth month. Growing up I always felt jipped because 1) school was out so fewer people came to my parties and 2) the pearl seemed like the lamest gemstone ever. I mean, it's not really even a GEMstone. But now I love that it's the most unique one. Go figure.

Jury Duty - I've never been asked to serve and part of me is very grateful but another part really wants to sit in on a super exciting trial and determine someone's fate. I know...gotta watch what I wish for!

Procrastinator...moi? I think not!

2009-09-08T18:18:00.006-05:00

Here's my latest and greatest home project. You may remember this headboard rescued from a family estate sale (for free!):

After letting it sit in storage for over a month, I was finally able to begin its facelift...

a coat of primer...

a couple coats of gloss black...

and a few finishing touches!

The height of it is fairly deceiving. It's taller than me by at least a few inches. Just need to glam up the rest of my room now...

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - I

2009-09-08T17:58:00.004-05:00

Iams Dog Food - Healthy Naturals. Weight Control. On sale at Big Lots...$12 a big bag. When I brought home my first dog (a beautiful chocolate lab) I swore I'd feed him nothing but the best and bought Eukanuba. When the one dog became three beautiful labrador retrievers the pricey stuff went out the window. Downgraded to Iams and have bought it ever since. I don't know if this Healthy Naturals is for real or just a big marketing hoax or what. I've been buying it for about a year now and as long as Big Lots has it on sale I'll keep biting.

Incontinence - I fear this may be a problem for me in the future. Just this past weekend I waited a little too long to take a bathroom break. I had been warned that the restrooms at our football stadium were less that sanitary so I thought I could make it home. But before leaving the game I headed over to another friend to chat for a bit. En route to my house I made the executive decision to stop at Arby's and use their facilities. I am ashamed to admit that as I was getting out of my car I may have leaked just a tiny bit. This normally wouldn't concern me too badly as I did have several glasses of sweet tea at dinner and I did spend too much time visiting with my friend. Unfortunately though, I experienced a very similar incident just a few weeks ago on my way home from the family reunion. Depends, anyone?

Indecisiveness - It's a curse. Right now I'm all moved into my cute new house but I have no seating in my living room. Can't decide on the gorgeous white velvet couch or the more durable (and affordable) chocolate brown one. I've known this pesky decision was lurking around the corner for almost two months now but I still can't choose. Going to the video store is a chore. I almost always come home with more than one movie simply because I get tired of trying to pick just one. But going out to eat with me is the worst. Even if I knew I would come back to the same restaurant the next day it would still be difficult for me to pick an entree. Inevitably the server makes at least one decision for me. Really? Am I that immobilized by decision making? Apparently so. And, yes, I do own a Magic 8 Ball.

Insubordination - my last boss accused me of blatantly refusing to follow her directions. That was at the end of our working relationship, thank goodness. I can assure you that I have never blatantly refused to do anything a "superior" has asked me to do. Superior, ha!

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - H

2009-08-02T23:40:00.004-05:00

Halloween - my favorite holiday. Not sure exactly when it happened but at some point in my adult life I decided that Halloween was the greatest thing ever. Well, not so much the pagan origins and everything, but to dress up and play pretend. And to decorate the house with dim lights, dust, and cobwebs. I mean, come on! It's the one month I don't feel so domestically-challenged, you know? And I love all the vintage-y halloween decorations out there. Some glittery, some paper mache, none too scary or cutesy-crafty. I've rocked some smokin' costumes in my day...the standard stuffed pumpkin as an infant, both a Snoopy and Witch costume (the kind with the face masks and entirely plastic jumpsuits), a princess with the most amazing hat ever (although now I think it probably just looked like a sparkly dunce cap!). In the mid-80s I'm pretty sure I dressed as a punk rocker three years in a row. And in college my friends and I went as the cast of the Wizard of Oz. I've been a geisha girl and a bag of jelly beans. A couple years ago I won first place in a costume contest for being the Corpse Bride (Tim Burton, anyone?). And just this weekend I came up with an idea for this year's costume whilst sitting in a movie theater.

Harry Potter - Okay, I held out as long as I could before jumping on the band wagon. A friend began reading the series when JK Rowling started putting them out all those years ago and he swore they were amazing. My response was always, "You've got to be kidding me...they're, like, children's books." And then I started working with kids again and a couple of years ago I borrowed each and every book from one of my counselors' aides. And I'm not ashamed to admit that by the fifth book I had myself a little crush on Harry himself.

Harwelden Mansion - this is the fabulous venue where I've wanted to get married forever. Ever since I attended the Pep Club's Spring Fling in the ninth grade. I want a small gathering of my closest friends and family there with a touching (but short) ceremony as the sun sets, a champagne toast, hors d'oeuvres and dancing, followed by a sparkler send-off. Interestingly enough, a good friend of mine had a similar wedding there several years ago. Crazy how great minds think alike! Of course, at this rate I may never get married. So I'm thinking maybe she should just make an extra copy of their wedding album so I can paste my head and that of some gorgeous underwear model's in their pictures and just pretend...

Hiccup Hiccup In My Teacup - So I really just felt like I needed an extra entry...When I got a severe cases of the hiccups a few years back a coworker walked up to me, extended her arms out, offered me an invisible cup of tea, and said, "Hiccup hiccup in my teacup." And the hiccupping ceased. Since then, I've used it on everyone I've run into (with the exception of strangers, of course) and I would say it has a 95% success rate. Try it; you'll like it!

Hooters on Scooters - the baddest, most fabulous gang of scooter gals around! The largest all-female scooter riding group out there. And I'm a part of it. Just one of the HOS. Well, at least I was. Got a couple rides in with those lovely ladies. And a cool t-shirt. But more importantly, their cause (breast cancer research and awareness) is close to my heart (figuratively and literally, I guess). I lost a very dear woman in my life to breast cancer three years ago. And my stepmom has been in remission for a number of years now.

Home Sweet Home

2009-08-02T23:33:00.003-05:00

I'm sure you've guessed by now that I'm an ace in the procrastination department. One of my areas of expertise.

So to catch everyone up I got the house (cheers!), the inspection went well, I'm in the new town couch surfing, and now I'm just counting the days until closing (27 to go)...tick, tock, tick, tock.

I attended a computer training a couple of days last week and discovered I'm to report to work, get this, on Tuesday. Where did my summer vacation go? That means tomorrow is the only day I have to get my new office ready. Guess I have to put the zebra stripes on one wall on hold for now. Alas.

But I have had some success in the shopping department and can't wait to start decorating my new digs (in 27 more days, that is).

Wishin' and Hopin' and Thinkin' and Prayin'

2009-07-17T19:55:00.005-05:00

I looked at another dozen houses in the new town this week and finally made an offer on this little gem:
They countered, I countered, and now I'm just waiting for their response.

I had hoped to be able to move in before closing and pay rent or something to the sellers for a month but of course I decided on one of the only houses that is actually inhabited. Alas...here's to a month of couch surfing and moving twice (once to storage, once to a --hopefully this--house).

A Rose By Any Other Name

2009-07-12T22:55:00.004-05:00

So I ran across one of the lists I started making earlier this year while I was bored at my second job. This particular one is to do with last names I hope never to marry into. I sincerely hope I fall madly, desparately in love one day (sooner rather than later) and cannot wait to exchange vows that will forever connect me to another person and create a new family from that point on. Unless, of course, Prince Charming's last name is one of the following:

Butts (I had a college student with this last name observe my classroom full of 9th graders. You can imagine their snickers)
Dick (enough said)
Funk (by far the least embarrassing of the list, but still...)
Knippelmeyer
Snodgrass
Titsworth (I once had a student by this name. So sad...) or
Weiner

I know, I know, it's so juvenile of me. But I really think if a man by any of those names proposed, I'd definitely have to keep my maiden name. Which is alright, I guess. It's a little unusual so that's good. But I'd love to marry into a distinguished, soap-opera-sounding name like:

Davenport
Valentine or
Winchester

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life - G

2009-07-12T22:17:00.006-05:00

Gay Bar - so my (totally straight) cousin texted me last week and asked if I'd want to go to see a drag queen show. As it turns out, I did want to go see a drag queen show. My curiosity has been peaked by a friend's stories as well as watching the episode of Sex and the City with the transexual prostitutes. I was envisioning a very glamorous evening of cosmopolitans, a catwalk, and fabulous hair. What I got was a dingy, dimly lit gay bar with awkward people waving dollar bills around and TV monitors with, well I won't go into what was playing on the monitors. To top it off, the queens were less than what I had hoped for. They lip synced and danced (sorta) to songs. Most were bad, a couple were decent, and the one I thought was simply fabulous turned out to be, get this, a real woman! Talk about confusing! The highlight of the evening was when the guy taking the cover charge asked for my ID and he said, "Oh my, I was way off on that one." "I'm sorry?" I asked. "Your age. I always try to guess everyone's age before I look at their ID," he replied. "Oh," I said, "How old did you think I was?" And he said to me, "I seriously thought you were 25 tops. Girl, whatever you're doing, keep on doing it!" I was waiting for a finger snap and bobble head movement but I never got it. I guess I do clean up pretty good after all. The low point of the evening, however, came when my sister and I were leaving the bar together (she drove) and a creepy guy followed us out and asked us if we were "like, uh, lesbians or something?" Ew, we're related! Although given our location, I guess I can't really blame the guy for asking.

Geronimo - ah, my trusty Jeep. My companion for over seven (count 'em, 7!) years. I really miss being in an SUV these days. I'm not so sure that the savings in gas mileage is really worth it or not. And his storage capacity! No way his windshield would have cracked under the pressure of fitting in an awkward piece of furniture. I miss him. At least he died a hero. He went out in a blaze of glory. Okay, okay, it was more like a puff of smoke that left me stranded on the highway.

Greta (the Jetta) - my newest liege. So far so good except for, of course, that pesky windshield incident...bygones! I'm envisioning many years of her company. I don't talk to her or pat her quite as much as I did Geronimo but I'm sure time will change that.

Guilty Conscience - I don't know what it is but I almost always feel like people are watching me when I'm out shopping. Like they're just waiting for me to shoplift something. Even though I know certain stores make bogus announcements like, "Security, sweep section four," I always freak out and wonder if I'm in section four. I worry about draping my jacket over my arm if I'm too hot because I don't want them to think I'm trying to cover up something I'm trying to swipe. I wonder why I carry such a big purse because that's gotta be a sure sign I want to fill it up with "freebies." I wonder why that woman (she must be undercover security) keeps walking by me because she's gotta be checking to see if I'm trying to put a lipstick in my pocket or something. I know, I know, major paranoia. Where did it come from?! I mean, there was the incident with the Snoopy pencil set thing I was like seven or something but that's been over 25 years ago! I mean seriously, what gives?!

The Kid Is Ten!

2009-07-08T22:24:00.004-05:00

Ethan turned the big one-oh yesterday. Double digits, people! It's been years since I've been able to celebrate his actual birthday with him. And after spending the evening with nine 9-year-olds, it may be years 'til I do it again. I'm so not joking...

The balloons on his cake reminded me of some of the pictures I've seen on Cake Wrecks!