Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Trying to get Back in the Groove!

 It's been a wild, hectic, emotionally challenging, life altering month around here. Don't want to go into too many details, but the "high lights" were that my husband lost his job a few weeks ago and I have a skin cancer on my nose....yes, those are the highlights! I can boldly proclaim that we serve an AWESOME GOD as He has given us such a calmness and peacefulness and even downright joy in the midst of many trials!

This past weekend was prom for Tyler. He had no intention of going and really isn't involved in any high school goings on at all, as he's pretty much done with all that! He loves working and going to the community college, so I haven't had many senior photo ops!

Thankfully his dear friend, Joci, talked him into going to the prom! She has a Jr./Sr. banquet at her school and really wanted to go to a "real prom"!. They decided to go the Monday before prom and went out shopping on Tuesday night! Tyler bought himself a suit, tie and some lovely white Vans for the occasion. He bought the ticket and they were set! They didn't want to spend a lot of money, so they decided to forgo the flowers, had a "nice" meal at Burger King and I took the pictures!


I think they make a pretty cute couple!
 These are completely out of order...don't know why, but we'll just go with it!!
 Would have been nice if he'd washed his car, considering the white dress!!



 I think he's pretty handsome!!!


Prom ticket = $60.00!! Can't remember what the cost of mine was way back when! I think the juniors always put the prom on for the seniors.




The pretty shoes!!! Joci's heels were a good 4" high and a little difficult to navigate in the grass!


Got out the chalkboards!

Did some climbing!

Liked the matching nail polish and the flowers on her thumbs!




A fun night was had by all!

A little bittersweet as this is one of the "lasts"! Graduation is just around the corner!

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Things I've learned about myself while convalescing

Spring is "springing"! The robins were out for a family reunion yesterday! The lilacs are budding, my MIL has a Rhody in bloom and the weeds are popping up rapidly. It was supposed to be cold, blustery, rainy and snowy during my convalescence, and while there has been some of that, it's mostly been pretty nice around here. Very mild...hard to justify sitting on my backside for the last 2 1/2 months!!

I have 5 hours until I officially go back to work. It will be nice to have a paycheck again. And something definitive scheduled for my day. But who am I kidding? I really LOVE being at home!! It's my happy place, my comfort, my refuge. And, it's just started snowing! I LOVE snow! And being home while it's snowing! Making soup, baking cookies, snuggling under a cozy quilt and reading a good book. Or napping. I LOVE napping! I have read nearly 30 books in the last two months, and have gotten completely hooked on Larkrise to Candleford, Downton Abbey, Modern Family, Parenthood, and shamefully, the Bachelor! (I'll be glad when that one's over!) But that BBC? Oh my!!

I've really accomplished nothing during my time off. I've ignored (or pushed out of my mind) a few things over the years. Namely, I'm basically a lazy person. Not very motivated. Don't get me wrong...I have moments of greatness where I actually get quite a bit done!! But in general, I'm a planner and an organizer. I like nothing better than to come up with a project and organize things all nice and pretty! I have to organize all my sewing stuff before I can quilt. Likewise with scrap booking. Unfortunately, by the time I get things the way I like them, I don't want to mess it up. Or it's dark and the light isn't good enough to make proper fabric selection. Or I need to make dinner. Or go to bed. (I do get my first wind in the afternoon, and then I could go all night, which is not conducive to the sleep patterns of the family!)

I've only started being able to walk, with a boot, in the last few weeks, but what freedom!!!! Freedom to think I can get all these things I've been planning, while on the couch, done!!!! HA!

While I like to plan things out and have everything ready, my husband gets an idea into his head and goes for it! It drives me nuts, but I secretly admire it also!!! He has been tearing apart our little office area and has worked steadily on it! I've been little or no help!! Pictures will be forthcoming!

I've decided to work on the bedroom! Time for a change...of color, of design, of a lot of things! I want to do some major changes!!! We want to put in a fireplace. We took one out of our kitchen and want to put it in the bedroom, along with some built-in's surrounding it. I (yes, only me) want to replace a wall with French doors. Hubby's not quite on board with this, but it's in my head and I know it's the right thing to do!!! Our bedroom is huge. Like a separate wing on the house. It's about 40 x 25. Ridiculous. At one point during the remodel, it held:
1 king sized bed
2 nightstands
2 blanket chests
2 armoires
2 couches
2 wing back chairs
3 large shelving units (my pantry)
1 coffee table
2 end tables
1 ottoman
There was more, but was all quite comfortable...still lots of room!!

This is what it looks like at this moment:
I'm tired of the red. And I hate the carpet with a passion! What kind of builder puts green carpet in his own house? Yuk. I want to slipcover the big chair with a drop cloth. It's sitting on the chair now...has been for awhile. On the left side, mostly hidden, is a door to the outside and a little porch. Really little. I want to put a wall of French doors across that area and have a full porch outside. It would be covered as I'd keep the same roof line. There isn't enough light in this big space and it would really brighten things up. Off that wall is the garden and the pond so I think it would look really pretty. My husband thinks I'm nuts to take square footage out of the house.

Please vote for Holly!
 I want to paint the red wall, trim out the windows and replace the wall/floor trim. We've changed all the trim in the house to off white, and much bigger and need to do the same here.

 I recovered one of the chairs and five years later, hired someone to do the other one! (See earlier, where I said I was Lazy!)

I got this dresser the other day to replace my nightstand and love it! Looking for a similar one for B's side. Some carpet samples are sitting underneath it. I can have samples sitting around for a long time. I don't want to make the wrong decision so I let things sit til I'm really sure!!!
 Does anyone else get an idea in their head and then when they try to implement it discover that they can't find what they're looking for? I can't find the exact shade and texture I want for the bed skirt. So frustrating!!!! And of course, each fabric takes on a different look with different colors of carpet! I'll figure it out one of these days!

This is the nemesis wall! The bane of my existence!! A 35 foot wall with no windows!!! And that color? Ugh! Notice the treadmill holding a wreath. That's all it's really used for. (another thing I'm lazy about...exercise!)
I have a collection of fabrics, paint colors and carpet samples. I think I have more fun collecting all this stuff than actually implementing it! I have some beautiful bedroom ideas on Pinterest, but alas I can't get them to post...any ideas? (Remember, technically challenged here!)


I have a picture in my head of what it will all look like, such as bits and pieces from these photos. I just need to get it out of my head and into action! I'm looking forward to the finished product, but it will probably be awhile. I girl can dream! Another problem...

I've been so blessed by friends and family during this time...Lynda, Linda S., Karen, Tami, Terry, Lydia, Linda K., Ellen, Carol, Janice and especially Brian and Tyler. My extended family has been so helpful too...couldn't have done  this without all of them. From meals to visits, to driving me around and doing fun projects with me. You've blessed me beyond anything I could have imagined!!

It's noon. I'm still in my jammies. That should surprise no one! Now I have to get going...get something more than a blog post accomplished, although that's pretty big since it rarely happens anymore!!

Have a wonderful "leap day"!!

Friday, February 3, 2012

A Fun Little Project

The recovery is slow. I had such high expectations for myself! I'm farther along than the Dr. said I'd be, but I was sure I'd be closer to wearing two shoes! As it is, I now have a "boot" and am able to start putting a little weight on my foot. It also means that I'm able to navigate the stairs quite well and can finally start spending time in my sewing room...yeah!!!

Once a month a get a nice little package from Sweetwater ,as part of their label crew. They create a little project every month, and labels to go with it. I really like everything they do and they have the most swoonable fabrics! I ordered the little fabric kit too, but it was only $5.00...easy peasy!

 The project is for a journal cover that fits over a standard composition book. You get the colorful and very detailed pattern along with the cute label to go on the front of the book. The fabric squares were extra and also came with a fat quarter for the liner.
So I layed out all the fabric pieces until they looked right to me!

Sewed all the rows together...

And together again...

Sewed the front to the back, with a lining in between...

Turned it right side out...

Placed the book inside the flaps...

Ironed on the label and stitched the edges.

I love it! Cute, easy and a project completed in a short amount of time!!!







Friday, January 20, 2012

Snow Days

It seems that the entire nation is aware of our snow storm. Big news when it shuts down a city like Seattle, but also a little fun! The nice thing about snow in the Northwest is that it really doesn't last all that long.  What's a week of snow to people in Minnesota and North Dakota? I'm sure they think we're nothing but wimps!  We have a week of it and then it's back to normal! Green grass is still under the snow and the weather is supposed to move up into the 40's ,and things are getting back to normal.

It started snowing here on Monday night. Why does snow always start when you have the blinds closed and it's time to go to bed? I like to watch it fall and enjoy the stillness!

Fortunately for me, it snowed most of Tuesday as well!

School was cancelled, but my son and husband still had to go to work. I got to sit and enjoy the view!
Read books, watched movies and did a little baking!

Wednesday was beautiful! Rarely do we get a "nice" snow day, where it's just still and beautiful.




The sun was shining...everything was so tranquil!

Tyler and his friends went sledding, out to eat and had a night of movies and games...still no school!

Thursday it wasn't so nice as the Northeaster kicked in, dropped the temperature and blew snow all over! I heard at one point the temperature, with the windchill, was -15 degrees. The view went from  the above photos to this...


It's about three feet deep by those trees, but almost bare by the house!

My friend, Tami , did a fun snow quiz on her blog. You should visit and check it out!

Hope you get a few snow days, but not too many! Stay cozy!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Friends



My Friends have been such a blessing to me, especially these last few weeks! They call and visit, sweep and dust, offer to clean my bathrooms, which I politely decline because that's just yucky, and bring me delectable goods!


Lynda has brought meals, movies, stitcheries and her lovely company! We do have a glorious time together! She's cleaned and has offered to pack away all my Christmas stuff!!! (I know it's killing her that it's still up...sorry!!)

My other friend, Linda, picks up and drops off my library books and magazines, and visits and calls on a regular basis!

My friend Tami spent the day with me last week and brought lunch...
dinner (including a special meal for Tyler!)...
and a project for us to work on together...
This is the finished book of her Christmas cards! What a great way to keep each year together, with a little mini album. We (mostly she) got all mine done, except the cover. Tami is such a go-getter! She brought over all the product for me to use, so I had no excuse not to do it!!! Thanks Tami!! I can't wait to get all the cards from years past into their own albums!

I've had so many nice visits and phone calls and people offering to run errands, clean house, make meals, etc. I am so blessed!!!

My blogger friend, Brenda, gave me a lovely award and so many bloggers have been in touch offering sweet words of encouragement! Thank you so much!!


I can't sit at the computer for very long and I can't blog from my iPad, but I am looking at all of your  posts and enjoying them so much! Thank goodness for blogs and pinterest..and thank goodness for my friends!
You know who you are and I love you dearly!!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Just a Little Stir Crazy!

The following picture is a little graphic, but since this is my journal, I had to put it in...skip ahead if you'd like!!!
I had to have my Achille's repaired  the week before Christmas and while I'm not uncomfortable, I am getting extremely bored!!!
Ten days post-op, but it sure felt good to get those stitches out!!

 I wanted a black cast, but they talked me into a pink one...next one will be black!!! Black goes with everything...pink not so much!
I have a great little scooter that I can zoom all over the house on, but I crawl up the stairs like a two-year old!!
I've read three books in the last three days...
Watched the entire first season of this...
Worked on a little stitchery, finished my Christmas cards, mastered the art of standing on one leg while showering, and very little else! I'm going a little stir-crazy!!!
I have spent extreme amounts of time on Pinterest, but as far as far as doing anything truly productive, it's just not happening!!!

We had a wonderful New Years celebration with dear friends, playing games, visiting and eating copious amounts of food!



There were some very competitive people here...you know who you are!!!!

A wonderful way to ring in the New Year! 12 is my favorite number so I'm expecting great things this year!!!! Walking on two feet would be FanTasTic!!!

I can't imagine what I'll have to blog about over the next two months, as the view from the couch just doesn't change all that much!

Wishing you all the best in 2012!