Deer Crossing…Or Swerving?

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

Tonight I had a bit of a worry moment. My my neice who had called to share that she had made a basket just for Auntie, in her basketball game, quickly had to hang up the phone.

Before I get into the details of the worry moment…did you catch that she made a basket just for me?  Score! I’m sure it wasn’t just for me…but I had personally requested a basket prior to the game and she delivered!  Wish I could have been there to see it. It stinks when your little nieces and nephews live in another state.

At the time of the quick hang up, the youngest daughter was on the phone and suddenly had this strange look on her face.  Apparently, she heard a bang, my sister raise her voice, and then her cousin said….I’m gonna have to call you back!

We were at the dinner table and no one in my house seemed to worry, they just thought it was a bit weird.  Not me…the worrier in me immediately thought…”what if they were in an accident”  I don’t like thinking things like that, because before I know it my head can go completely nuts with the “what ifs”.   I’ve learned to control those crazy thought moments and saying a little prayer usually helps me with that task.

A few minutes later, my mom, who was with them, called to say everyone was fine.  I was right!  They had been in an accident, but not your ordinary accident, I guess a deer had swerved into their lane!  Well, not really swerved into their lane but since mom thought someone had swerved into their lane and hit them and it was actually a deer in the lane, it’s only fitting that it must have swerved. Right?

I hit a deer is not something that you hear very often, at least not where I live!  They were all a little shaken up and my sister’s car definitely will need some bodywork.  I’m glad everyone was OK!

Now don’t get me wrong, I know that was a very scary moment and could have been a very bad situation but after the initial surprise of the moment, and once we knew that they were all fine, we had a great laugh!

I can’t imagine wondering what the heck hit you! I’m sure that it happens often where they live, but can you EVER be prepared for a deer in the road?  I doubt it!

And my animal lover crazy children wanted to know if the deer was OK!  Seriously I didn’t even think about, it let alone think about asking that question!

My boss had been trying for weeks to get me to convince my mom or sister to let him go deer hunting on their property; I consistently tell him that mom will never allow him to hunt her deer. Yes I said “her” deer, come to think about it…I know where my children get that animal lover crazy attitude. And now they’ve gone and hit one with a car! I’m sure he’ll think that there is just no fun in that.

….and I’m sure my mom, sister and neice will agree with him!

Thank you God that they are fine!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;  his love endures forever.       1Chronicles 16:34
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Fan-tastic Idea

Posted on February 26, 2012 by

I do not like the look of brass!  Not real brass, I hear that it’s becoming the “in” thing again, but that fake, shiny gold cheap looking brass.  I dislike it with a passion, always have, but for some reason, I have a good amount of it in my home…I think in decades past it must have been popular, but….can I say YUCK enough?

This fan is the perfect example of how awful it looks.

So, here I am stuck looking at some longtime fixtures in my house, and due to the economy I will not be able to replace them anytime soon.  What to do?  I wanted to get rid of that fan so badly.

I’ve recently realized that re-purposing some things can not only be cost efficient but fun! I alway’s want to paint things, my hubby, the pessimist, usually thinks I’m crazy and that it won’t work. But I’ve been reading blogs that state otherwise, so I wondered… I thought about this for a while.

It scared me to try. I had to nicely request the hubby’s help a couple of weeks prior to tackling this project, because there was no way I was going to be able to get that fan down from the ceiling!   One Sunday afternoon after church, we went for it!  It was a little lotta bit scary because I seriously had to disassemble every part of the fan.  I was praying we remembered how to put it back together! If we didn’t, I was going to have a pretty dark family room!

First I primered them with a Valspar primer. This stuff is awesome…the can even spray’s upside down! Next I sprayed each piece with Rustoleum Metallic paint, it said it was for metal…so I hoped it would work.  I wish I would have thought about taking pictures of the pieces during the painting process, then you’d see why I was nervous.

I gotta tell you….if this wasn’t hanging on the ceiling and had to be handled, I’m pretty sure that that the paint would chip. So maybe the hubby had a point, and I’ll need to try a different paint for something that will be handled more.

BUT!  Take a look at the end result.  I just love it!

It totally changed the look of the fan and I can’t even tell you how much I stared at it for the first couple of days.  I couldn’t even believe that it was the same fan!

I was so excited!  It wasn’t ugly any more.

One brass ugly thing down…. many more to go, and one by one, …they’ll disappear!

I painted a few other items that day and I’ll share those another day.

Spray paint is my new favorite tool!

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Tortellini Alfredo Soup

Posted on February 7, 2012 by

Today is was supposed to rain here in Southern California….I think it rained somewhere…but unfortunately not anywhere that I happened to be!  When I was younger I hated when it was rainy and gloomy, but as I’ve grown older there are times that I enjoy the rain. I don’t think its because I’ve grown into a gloomy person…I just like a little variety in my seasons, before it was summer, summer, summer!  Since the rain affects our income negatively, I have a sort of love/hate relationship with rainy days, the quiet snugly moments seem to be ruined by the racing thoughts of no income.  My head can truly ruin the moment!

Rainy days are perfect days for soup, don’t you think?  A nice bowl of warm soup on a rainy day….mmmm, a little bit of heaven.  Recently, I was searching the refrigerator for food. It was past the grocery shopping day, and I wanted to find all the ingredients to complete a whole dinner, any dinner, with out running to the store.  I said a little prayer, used a couple of different soup recipes as inspiration and hoped that I would end up with something good.

Well….It was so good even the picky eater loved it. (that would be the hubby, not a child).  I’ve been meaning to share it with you because it’s so quick and easy, and I’m sure that it’s soup weather somewhere.

Tortellini Alfredo Soup

  • 6 C Chicken Broth
  • 2 C cooked chicken chopped into bite sized pieces
  • 1 Jar store bought Alfredo Sauce (found in the Italian isle by the spaghetti sauce) I used Ragu because it was on sale!
  • 1 bag Barilla cheese tortellini (from the pasta isle)
  • 2 C bite sized broccoli
  • 6-8 oz fresh baby spinach

Bring the chicken broth to a boil and add the dried tortellini.  Turn down and simmer for about 5 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients (chicken, Alfredo sauce, broccoli, spinach) and cook until broccoli is tender.  Soup should thicken slightly as pasta and vegetables get done.  Approximately 20-30 minutes.

Serve with your favorite warm bread…gotta have bread with soup! I would like to blame this on the Italian in me but I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who feels this way, so we’ll just say, gotta have it!

I can’t wait to make this again….maybe the rain will actually show it’s face tomorrow and we can eat soup.

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My Closet Reality

Posted on January 21, 2012 by

I love reading blogs, but I have to be very careful to keep my self esteem in check. Although they can be very motivating and inspirational, sometimes I find myself feeling a little inadequate. When your reality doesn’t measure up to the pictures of beautiful rooms and houses that you’re reading about, you have to be careful that you don’t start to have a bit of a pity party.

I  want to be inspirational, and I wish I had a perfect life (if there is such a thing), but being real and open is something that is important to me too. Sometimes, my reality, is just not pretty, and it is definately not perfect!  Over my forty somethng years, I’ve learned to not worry too much about what other’s think of me; Today I’m more concerned about being a real woman for Jesus. A real, open and imperfect woman who loves Jesus.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared here that my closet was the first project on my to do list for this year.  I’m very excited that I finished cleaning it right away…..and I am finally posting the pictures of my disastrous closet. Yes, it’s embarrassing, but I bet some of you have a closet somewhere just like this….at least I hope I’m not the only one!

Now don’t laugh, (or judge) at the mess!

 

 

My closet, even though it’s technically a “walk in” closet, is not that big…so when there are clothes and shoes, and boxes and…oh geese,  I don’t know what else, on the floor, there’s really no room for “walking in”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

All these clothes hanging on the door handle blocked the view of the disgusting dust on the floor! Yes, they are mine, I can’t even blame it on anyone else.

 

 

   

The shelves where filled with tons of junk too!

All of the hats that like to wear, were just thrown in a pile on the shelf.

 

 

 

 

I even convinced my hubby to go through the items on his shelves. You’d never guess what we found. We had a few good laughs. There were many broken items, little pieces of papers with addresses of jobsites, from years ago.

 

 

 

My favorites were a broken plastic watch band,(maybe he thought he could fix it one day???)  and this fancy dancy remote control!

Don’t be writing and asking for this item, it’s been passed along to the Goodwill store for some other person who needs glasses and is obsessed with the television control.   As you can see. some husband is going to get a good deal, since it’s never been opened.

Yes, I did say husband, it’s just a feeling that I have ;-)

 

 

 

 

So all in all I spent about 4 hours in the closet. Throwing things in 3 different piles, a give away pile, a trash pile and a “organize it” pile.  I did catch myself wavering with a couple of pairs of shoes…what if I needed them after giving them away, they were brand new…I started to put them back into the closet..but then my logical side kicked in…the side of me that knew I hadn’t EVER worn them. And into the pile they went.

The give away pile ended up being about 3 feet tall, by about 5 feet around and it filled 5 trash bags.   I seriously don’t know how it all fit in the closet.

Oh wait. It didn’t!    For a minute I forgot that there was stuff everywhere!

 Now,  I have a clean closet!

   

 

I love the feel when I walk in there.  I can actually do that without stepping  on things that are laying on the floor!

Dusting and vacuuming in there will be a breeze.

 

 

 

 

I even made a decorative storage box for the shelf where my hats were. I shared how I did this here.

 

Now that it’s done, my goal is that….

IT NEVER GET’S LIKE THAT AGAIN!

Wish me luck ;-)

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Linking to Thrifty Decor Chick

 

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My Fabric Covered Box

Posted on January 16, 2012 by

A couple of weeks ago, I found this great idea over at Positively Splendid with instructions to make decorative storage boxes. I was looking to organize my closet and this was the perfect idea.  I’m really excited to share with you how easy and fun this was to complete.

I thought I’d use a diaper box for this project but it proved to be too large for the shelf, I figured out that an Arrowhead water case, the kind that holds 2 two gallon containers fit perfectly!

I followed the directions on Positively Splendid to cover the box. I did decide to cover the sides of the box with paper prior to adding the fabric. I was afraid that the red “Arrowhead” would show through the muslin fabric that I used. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I choose a box.  That part of the project was a snap.

I’m usually pretty good about the concept of measure twice, cut once, but I definately struggled when I began to cut the fabric for the liner.I learned a lesson; don’t try to be creative when you’re sick. I was sick (yep, I did get it) but I was more frustrated with doing nothing, than being sick, so I thought…”I can just cut the fabric and get organized.”  I was wrong!

Definately wait until your brain is functioning correctly!  I wanted to make two matching boxes, but because I made a couple of dumb measuring/thinking mistakes, I’m not sure that I’ll have enough fabric to make another to match. I will probably have to find a smaller box. Yes I did say a couple of mistakes…the first, I just shrugged off, but when I made the second…then I knew I’d have to quit.

So my advice….remember….measure twice and cut once, and don’t try to be creative when your sick!

I did use a different tutorial for the basket liner.  I found it much easier to understand and the process was easier too. Plus it had handle cut outs and I liked that idea.

 

I wanted some sort of handle on the box so I could grab it and slide it out on the shelf.  The ribbon with the cut out works fine.  I love the bow in the front but I just left the back with the simple ribbon.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s what it looks like on the shelf

 

 

 

 

 

Positively Splendid is having her Saturday Seven Link Party where we can show off our projects and I decided to post this there as a way to say thank you for a great idea!  Click on over there and take a look at all of the fun project ideas!  .

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Growing Valentines

Posted on January 14, 2012 by

I’m having growing “older” pains!  No, there’s nothing wrong with me physically, but the mental pains of my children getting older strikes home periodically.  Today while uploading some Valentine’s Day school cards onto my Etsy site, I asked my youngest if she was going to hand out Valentine cards to her friends this year. Her answer felt like a shot in the heart….. ”Na, I doubt it!”   :-o   Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect her to get all silly and Valentine excited, but handing out a couple of cute cards to her girlfriends could be a little fun, right? 

I know it’s inevitable that children grow up, in fact there were many times that I couldn’t wait for that to happen, so I didn’t expect that I’d be sad that all of those fun little things are coming to an end. 

In the meantime, I guess it’s fun to make school Valentine’s for others. Tonight I’m enjoying looking at how much she’s changed through the years.

  

I used my Creative Memories Storybook Creator software to create all of the above cards.  You can easily create all types of photo projects including cards, mugs, mouse pads and even photo books.  If you’d like more information about how you can do this for your children, visit my Creative Memories website, there’s even a video for you to see some of our favorite features. If you’d rather let someone else handle the creativity check out my Etsy shop and see what’s available there.

I think my solution is ….. I need my granddaughter to get just, a little bit, older….BUT I DEFINATELY DON’T WANT HER TO GROW UP…I know, crazy! Make up my mind!

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Designing DIY Goals for 2012

Posted on January 11, 2012 by

I’ve been thinking about all the fun things I have on my to do list this year, and since there’s a link up party at on of the blogs I read periodically I thought I’d share a couple with you all and link up over at Nester.  This is kind of a “hold myself accountable” type post and hopefully in about 11 months, I’ll look back at my list and at least have the couple of these projects completed.  I’m motivated and excited to get started but I do have a few drawbacks.

First…I haven’t shared this list with my hubby so my first goal is to get him on board.  Usually that’s not hard, but as I shared here I will have to remember that these are my goals and he may not be motivated to help with every aspect. He always helps with the areas of my DIY projects that I just cannot do myself but I will need to ask and of course be patient. Patience is not one of mystrong points.

Second, I have this problem of cash flow….so taking it slow is good.  In fact, some of the projects on the list are a direct result of this problem.  I’ve decided to tackle some furniture painting (scary stuff for me) and re-purposing some items instead of buying new.  At first this was a sacrifice be cause I wanted new, but as I thought through the details, now I’m excited!

I love the spring and so when March rolls around I’ll be looking to be outside, I’ve been wanting a potting bench, both for planting and also for storage…plus, I love the look.  Here’s a couple that I have on my radar.

This one from Southern Living is great but I think this is a hubby helper project.

This one I found over at Robin’s Nesting Place is a bit more of a DIY for Dee plus I like the old fashioned furniture look.  I even have an old table already sitting on my patio that I can re purpose since the dog ate the legs of the chairs!

I also want to paint the front door, it so needs a touch up, I think it might have been 10 years since I painted it maroon. I want it a different color maybe red  or blue….or maybe just maroon again…

    

I’ll have to figure out the details but painting the door…That’s a must!

The first project for the inside is to paint some furniture. I’m starting with the nightstands in my room and I’m pretty sure that I’m going for a grey and silver paint.  This night stand from Centsational Girl  has inspired me.

I love it because it’s feminine, romantic and yet I think that the grey color will be something that the husband could handle. I hope they come out good enough for posting pictures here…well actually I could even post them if it’s a disaster, but I hope that’s not the case.

Do you have any projects that you’re going to tackle this year?  Share them at Nester’s 2012 Home Goals Party or just take a look at all the fun ideas there!

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I Feel Like I’m Gonna Throw Up…

Posted on January 4, 2012 by

Those are not the words that you want to hear at 12:30 a.m. from your daughter who’s spending the night at her cousins!

Last night I received a text with that message!  I couldn’t believe it…I thought I had escaped the sickness that my granddaughter and daughter suffered through this last week. We had a few fevers and minor tummy problems but no throw up…THAT WAS A GOOD THING!  I seriously thought we were in the clear and the youngest daughter and I had escaped completely.

I had just settled down for a long winter’s nap, good night sleep, when I received the text, and the next thing I knew, I was off into the darkness of midnight, to pick her up. I was so tired, and mad at myself for staying up past my bedtime. I was hoping that I wasn’t going to be in for a long night, but at the same time I new that it was a good chance I was not going to get much sleep. I guess it could have been worse, she could have been farther than just across town. I was bummed. I thought I had escaped, I may still, but my chances of getting sick had just increased tenfold!

She was so apologetic…don’t ask me why, it’s not like she planned throwing up at someone else’s house!  We thanked the cousins for allowing her to infect their home, and headed for home.

When we arrived home, we settled in for the night, her in her bed (with barf bowl near by) and me in the extra room, near her, just in case.  We did have a long night….but during one of the seven times she was up, as I was walking back to bed, she said..”mom”, “yes” I answered…”you’re the best”.  :-)

I can do sleepless nights, I’ve had my fair share, like any mom, but little moments like that make it all worth it! I wanted to give her a big hug, I did manage to control my urge, instead I told her, she was the best, that I her I loved her, and I’d do it for her any time!

Now, would you mind saying a little prayer that I don’t get sick!

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A Fresh Start

Posted on January 4, 2012 by

As the new year begins, I’m feeling like I have a fresh start. I have so many ideas and plans for the new year and I want it all to unfold perfectly.  If there’s on thing I’ve learned in my life, unfolding perfectly just doesn’t happen. When I was a little younger I always felt disappointed when my plans didn’t work out.  This year I have ideas running through my head, I feel fresh and excited about what’s coming up this new year. For the first time in several years, I’m looking forward to a great year. I don’t know why, can’t really put my finger on it, I think it may just be my attitude.

This is a great feeling but I know that it does have the potential to blow up in my face.  I’m aware, I don’t want this to happen so for the last couple of days I’ve done some soul searching to create the attitude needed to persevere.

One thing I’ve never done is written down my goals (attitude) for the year.  So I’m taking some time, reflecting on what makes me happy, and making a list.  I’m really a list person, love them, they make me feel organized, even though I’m not!  So why not,  I’m making a list,  I probably wont have to check it twice, but I will have to be realistic.

The first list is some realistic personal goals…like eating healthy and exercising.  (probably every one has this on their list) I’m starting small because I want to be realistic.  Recently, we made a commitment in our home to eat more fish.  That was a biggy because NO ONE (except me) likes liked fish. Today we have 2 different “fish” dinners that they actually request and a couple more that they’ll choke down eat without complaining!  That’s a success story!

The next list is some projects around the home I’d like to see completed.  On this list, there are some big things and some little things,  some of the items I can complete on my own and some I’ll need help with, however I do realize that this is MY list, my hubby may not have the same ideas and I’ll need to let him take his time on my “honey do” list.  That would be fair, right?

Last, (I’ve been thinking about this for a while now) because I’m so unorganized, I tend to forget things and then work in a frenzie to get things (the house) under control. So I’m making a “chore” list.  Not a chore list for others, just a list of things I’d like to get done on a daily, weekly, monthly basis etc.  I’m thinking if I write them down….I won’t forget them or get sidetracked. Yes, I realize that making the list doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll get them done. But at least I’ll know where I slacked…I hate it when I slack.

I’m in the process of crossing one thing off of my list already, the closet that I talked about here, I’m almost done, I just need to create those wonderful boxes and then I’ll show you the progress.  I LOVE how it feels to walk into the closet these days, makes me want to stay home from work and finish…but realisticly, I can’t do that. Duh!

Each list has several things on it and I may add to it as I go along but just because it’s on the list doesn’t make it mandatory, it just makes it possible. Gotta take it slow…be realistic and then I won’t be disappointed.

 

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be— you get a fresh start, your slate’s wiped clean. Psalm 32:1 (The Message)

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Up Next….The Closet

Posted on December 26, 2011 by

I’m wondering if I’m the only one that feels like it’s time to get organized.

I don’t know why, but usually immediately after Christmas every year I get this feeling that I need to get organized. Maybe the house being filled with Christmas decorations and the need to clean up and get back to normal has something to do with it. This year I was committed to decorating simply so that I didn’t feel overwhelmed but that didn’t stop the organization bug.

It happened yesterday….Christmas was still in full swing, and I caught myself feeling like I needed to get organized.  The middle daughter received a new bedspread, it was to be the beginning of a room redecoration, and as soon as that spread was placed onto the bed…..my eyes started darting around the room trying to figure out where to start!

I had been waiting until after Christmas to start a couple of projects, as I didn’t want to get myself into a self induced frenzy, but I could feel it….I wanted to tear that room apart, and start from scratch! I decided to not freak her out, and made a commitment to start somewhere else…..MY CLOSET!

It really is a disaster and in need of a great deal of decrapification and organization. (I’ll post the embarrasing pictures later) No matter how I look at it, is going to cost some money, and I think I spent way too much of that in the last month or so. I silently stood in the closet today, and just looked around…..wondering where and how to start! Yikes!

I decided to research orgainization ideas on my new favorite idea website Pinterest. I definately needed to find some ideas to get organized…. and not go broke at the same time!

I found this idea over at Positively Splendid

Diaper Box Storage

They are storage containers made from diaper boxes, this is perfect for my closet! I loved how easy they looked (the directions are found at the above link) and although diaper boxes are not a staple in my home any longer, I do have a grand baby…so they are at least accessible!  There is so many little things, hats, belts, scarfs and purses that need to be organized and contained in my closet, I think these will be perfect!

So this week I will slowly work on the decrapification (throwing things away!) and as I work through what is no longer necessary to keep, I’ll start to make the storage boxes.  I know I’ll feel better when it’s done….Thank you Positively Splendid!

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