sometimes...

Sometimes I wake up beautiful.

And sometimes I look like Ozzy Osbourne.

aiojfopjopjpsharonafpp

It's nothing coffee can't fix :)

Have a great day everyone!

Cleaning it out!

Inspired by my good friend Heather (we went to college together!), I'm going to complete the "Throw Out Fifty Things Challenge" for the month of March. Here's a brief summary of the challenge. Heather originally found the idea at Make Under my Life.

Having rooms in transition makes it really easy (and necessary) to get rid of a lot items. Currently, the very large closet in my former office is full of the remnants of a home business I used to run. Since the business is now closed, and a little boy will need space for toys and clothes, everything needs to go! I started the task last week, and was happy with how successful I have been (although there is still a ton of stuff to get rid of!). I also went through my closet, and pulled a few random items from the den.

Here's my list:

1. box of kitchen knick knacks (I listed them on CL twice, with no interest - now they are going to the church rummage sale (next week))
2. giant stack of magazines (freecycled)
3. old business supplies (listed on Ebay and sold for $25)
4. old business inventory (listed on Ebay, the auction isn't over yet, but there are bids - so everything will be leaving!)
5. business samples and a large sample binder (sold on CL for $10)
6. clothing (took it GW)
7. couch from the den (sold on CL for $50 - it was picked up on Sat.)
8. old pet supplies (the guinea pig died in Sept, the Humane Society was thrilled to have a few bags of food and bedding)
9. frog pod, baby bathtub organizer thing (super cool, but we couldn't get it to work at our house :( someone bought it on CL for $10)
10. wine rack (my sister was happy to have this)

This has opened up a lot of space already, and I have $95 in my pocket!

Who wants to join in on the challenge?

heading to the D

I have pics from the birthday extravaganza, and stories of a pregnant lady who spends her time trying to corral an extremely active 2 year old - but those are for another time.

I've got some business to attend to.

I will be in Detroit this weekend! And the best babysitters EVER (AKA Grammy and Papa) have graciously offered their services for Sat night so that I can go out to dinner with my Detroit girls :)

Hooray for Grammy and Papa!

Leave me a comment or send me an email (firstnamelastname@sbcglobal.net) if you'd like to get together and I'll be sure to get you the info. I'm thinking maybe dinner at Sangria in RO? Any other suggestions?

Alternatively if you want to meet during the day Sat or Sun I'm game for that (just know that JJ will be in tow). We want to see our friends!

bits and pieces

I have two big Thank you's! and one reminder to take care of.

I'll start with the thanking :)

Casey at Thrifty Little Blog featured my humble little closet cleanup in her Closet Week wrap-up post. I sent her my link knowing that she wouldn't have room for it, so I was super surprised to see my messy closet on her post. Thank you Casey! I puffy-heart your blog!

Danielle at The Newlywed's Paradise recently gave me a fun blog award! Thanks Danielle!!! I really enjoying reading about what's going on at your home!

cupcakes!

I'm supposed to share ten things that make me happy, so here goes:
1. Hubs and Peanut (and Bun - whose arrival is getting closer and closer!), it just wouldn't be my little house without my little family :)
2. Getting random emails from my friends (but not forwards - blahh forwards!)
3. Waking up to a clean kitchen
4. Waking up to a clean kitchen and then eating donuts!
5. Spring!
6. Finishing a project, and being happy with the results
7. Getting comments on my blog!
8. Getting rid of clutter
9. Pens that write nicely, even if they were free from a hotel
10. Organized spaces

And here's my reminder:

Amanda's "Show Me The Progress Party!" is on Wed!
So get your post together!

This is going to be so fun :)

migrating

The birds have begun returning to snowy Ohio, and we're doing our own little migration dance in my little house.

My office has moved into the den (previously the "dead furniture room"), and my former office has begun it's transformation into Peanut's big boy room.

former office/guest room
(in the lower right you can see some of the sofa bed)

We never really did anything with my old office, the plan was always to make it a child's bedroom, so when we moved in we just plunked my old desk (3 stock cabinets and 11 feet of counter-top) on a wall and called it good. Not very inspiring, but I had a great work space and plenty of storage.

Once Peanut arrived we moved a sofa bed (Ektorp from IKEA, AKA the world's heaviest couch) in, so that the former guest room could become a nursery. And we always had a loose plan of turning the dead furniture room into a real den/guest room.

brand new command center

We chopped the counter-top and lost a cabinet - both will be donated to our new Re-Store next month! Hubs needs to drill a new hole for the wiring thread though (and then we need to corral it - do you see that knot of wires under the desk?!). And I obviously need to do some organizing. But it's sort of usable right now, I guess the most important part id that it is one item checked off of the list.

Later this weekend the sofa bed will be moving into the den and replacing an old hand-me-down sofa (sold it on CL). After that we will be painting Peanut's room a manly tan (I'll share a mood board later!). And then moving in furniture, accessories and one cute little boy :)

It feels so good to check off the list!

What's going on at your house right now?

How do you...

How do you donate?

I'm not talking about monetary donations, I'm wondering how you decide what/when/where to donate items you are no longer using.

I've got a little system.

I call it "The Bag."

I always have a used shopping bag, with a sheet of paper inside, hanging on a hook in the hall closet. As I find articles of clothing, knick knacks, and general stuff that I no longer love, I put them in the bag and inventory them on the piece of paper. When the bag is full I drop it off at the local GW. It's super easy because I already have a list of items I am donating, and I generally make a weekly stop at my GW. I always ask for a receipt, which I staple to my donated items list and file in the taxes file (then I let Hubs handle it).

putting items in The Bag

Sometimes I will list things on CL before I donate them - anything that requires me to have the GW truck stop by is listed first. Unwanted craft supplies are always listed, and so are items that I think the GW will have a hard time selling (like the sweaters that I felted and decided not to craft with). But I have a CL rule, I will only list the items twice, after that they leave my house. I also never list clothing - I don't know why not? Just a quirk.

How do you Donate? or Do you donate?

Information on donating to Goodwill.
iPhone app to help you track your donations.

guess what?

Chicken butt.

Haha.

I'm at 27 weeks today, which means only 13 weeks left to get everything ready for Bun. I feel like we need to kick it into warp speed. Which is easier said than done with JJ running around. It's almost noon, and I've only managed to get him into a clean onesie and diaper so far.

The child who usually tells me his toes are "cold and sad" as soon as I take off his dirty socks is happily running around in underwear. And I keep the house cool, because I like to wear sweaters but hate to sweat. Go figure.

So anyway, this past weekend we headed up to Muskegon and I threw JJ a little party for his family there. And, although the invites clearly stated "no presents, please," he really raked it in. So add thank you notes to my list of things to do today:

1. get JJ dressed
2. sweep and mop the kitchen (and let JJ help) - I DID THIS!!!!
3. thank you notes, complete with 2 year old scribbles

blowing out the candles

This weekend we're having a party here, and my side of the family and some friends will be coming in for it, and since he's two I decided JJ could have two friends over - I think they were impressed by the dump truck invites!

We've also begun the great migration.

The office desk was chopped in two and moved to the den. I sold the old couch from the den (hello $50) and this weekend (when there will be many hands to help) the sofa bed will move from the office to the den, and then we will be able to paint JJ's big boy room. His new bed has been ordered, we're just waiting to have it delivered until after the room is painted.

And that's where we're at.

for reals

From my super-awesome local paper:

"Jewelry and an autographed photo of Dale Earnhardt Sr. were stolen recently from 424 Scarlet Oak Drive."

And, I promise to do a real post later - like during nap time - one with pictures! And more than 25 words!

I love a well-stocked pantry

Growing up, my mother had an amazing pantry.

When we were very young I remember canning applesauce, peaches, pears, tomatoes - all sorts of delicious things. Her peaches tasted like summer - even in February.

I guess she was sort of radical (for the early 80's) in how she looked at food. She didn't trust preservatives, food dyes, or HFCS. I remember finding carob-chip cookies in my lunchbox, when all I really wanted were Chips Ahoy. I remember eating wonder bread sandwiches made with grape jelly and Jiff with a side of Doritos at the house across the street - I can distinctly recall the shade of green my mother turned when I told her that's what we'd eaten for lunch ;)

Mom belonged to a natural foods co-op, and once a month we'd gather with other families in a church parking lot to unload the truck. It felt like playgroup for us kids. We would run around the church yard, playing tag and red rover among the hugs pine trees; our mothers would be busily dividing the bulk boxes of dried fruit, cheeses and pails of natural peanut butter. And when we got home, she would store it all away in the pantry.

I love my pantry. I'm pretty sure I could easily feed my family from my pantry/freezer for at least 2 weeks. After that we'd be down to some strange meal options, but we still wouldn't starve.

I just found a fascinating blog, The Prudent Homemaker, she has been feeding her family of seven (and she's due with her 6th child very soon - I love big families!) for two years. She does say that she's stocked up on certain items when she can, but for the majority of two years she has not had the luxury of going to the market every week and buying groceries. She also grows quite a bit of fresh food (makes me feel like the ultimate underachiever).

I'm going to follow some of her tips, and try some of her recipes, and see if I can't stretch my grocery money just a little bit further. All while padding my pantry.

blank walls

The other week I spruced up (a little bit) the buffet in my entryway.

Now the rest of the room is really starting to get on my nerves.

I think I have a plan for it, but I'd love some input. And I want that input to be totally unrelated to what I've been thinking, so I'm not going to share any parts of my plan until tomorrow - sounds like fun to me!

Here's the space from left to right - it's (very roughly) 6' x 8' with recessed lighting and a skylight.

left side
I like this for right now

front door
so boring

right side
hello ugly boot tray and preschool art project

What would you do to the right wall and door to add function and life? We don't use the front door very much (we generally enter from the garage), but it's nice to have a place for guests to place wet boots. How about my ugly white door; boring, isn't it? (and did you notice the green hinges? they confuse me) I like the mailbox basket, but the random plastic greenery that was leftover from an old arrangement? Totally not attached to that - I need some fun ideas.

I would love to put a rug in here, but the problem is the door has zero clearance over the floor. I've brought home more rugs than I care to think of, hoping that they will be thin enough to stay put and not curl up when I open the door - nothing has worked. What would you do if a rug wasn't an option?

I'm so excited to see your ideas! I promise to share mine tomorrow!

Want to join in the Decorating Dilemma fun? Head over to Serenity Now and meet our super-cute hostess Amanda. She's so fun!

dokcet, docket

Some mornings, the public docket is my favorite thing to read:

"An inebriated man was arrested for disorderly conduct Sunday morning after he fell into a wall and rolled down a snowbank at Meijer. He believed aliens were after him and that all the people who had been with him earlier had been killed."

Classic.

It's a Full Little House

The last few days have been pretty full around here.

We've got two extra kids. We had a fog day. We had a snow emergency.

And we ran out of milk.

My little visitors will be heading home by Fri, and then I'm looking forward to getting a few things done around my little house :)

inspiration... FOUND!

It's no secret I've been working on the Great Room for quite a while. We painted it a buttery, summery yellow over Labor Day weekend, furniture has been moved in and out, arrangements have changed, there are huge gaping holes, and a few spots that i am actually starting to like.

This whole time, I've had a picture in my mind of what I want this room to be...I just haven't been able to find a visual representation. Not really a problem for me, after all I have a solid idea in my own head, for Hubs it's tough to just trust that I know what I want it to be.

He likes to second guess me. It's annoying.

But on Sunday I stopped by PK's inspiring blog and found it.

My inspiration room actually exists.

And there are pictures. Lovely, scrumptious, pictures.

source

A kitchen with creamy white cabinets. Lovely yellow walls.

source
white beams - although I won't be painting my ceiling blue

I, very excitedly, showed my husband these inspiring images.

He trusts my vision. And agrees that we should paint the island stools red :)

peep show

Tomorrow will be 23 weeks (I think - it's amazing how not obsessed with everything I am this time around).

I feel like I've finally hit the point where I look pregnant, and not just extra fat.


Like how the break in the mirror cuts off my butt?

Yeah, me too ;)

sideboard confessional

A few days ago the sideboard in my entryway looked like this:

it looked even worse in real life

All of the Christmas decor had been packed away (except for the advent candles), and random items had taken over. It made me feel gross to look at it. It also made me very glad that we don't have a lot of front door visitors.

On Thursday I decided something needed to be done. We were having a bit of a thaw here in NW Ohio (ok, it was in the upper 30's, but the snow was melting) and I really, really, really wanted to put out all of the spring decorations.

a hoarder doesn't live here, after all

As you can see, I used restraint and only added one little posy of yellow paper flowers. And then I decided to add a bunch of family photos that had been hiding in the linen closet (does anyone else store random decorating items in the "linen" closet?).

I like to see my family as I walk down the hallway :)

Adding this one to the Before and After party over at Thrifty Decor Chick.
Stop by for some before and after inspiration!

this guy

Loves to eat PB sandwiches.

He's actually a really great little eater. He'll always try new foods (I'm not saying he doesn't spit out offensive foods). And he's addicted to fruits and veggies :)

But last week, fueled by pregnant-lady-food-cravings, I bought potato bread instead of the fabulously healthy, whole grain brown bread I usually buy. I accidentally created a monster.

He now refuses to eat brown bread. And he's too young to use the logic my mom used on us when we would ask for wonder bread at the store (she'd tell us we were "rich," and could afford to eat whole grain bread, weren't we so lucky?).

After this loaf is spent I think we're going PB sandwich free for a few weeks. Maybe he'll forget about the soft and sweet white bread and be more receptive to the nutty,chewy, brown bread he used to love. Maybe he'll also eat the crusts, and quit throwing them on the floor.

Here's to hoping.

Every Sunday Needs

I'm pretty sure every Sunday needs a freshly baked Devil's Food cake with cream cheese icing.

I think this is the most perfect way to ice a layer cake.

The bast part? Monday morning breakfast...yum, yum!

Hope you all had a great weekend!

halp, halp!

Yesterday I was busy cleaning and JJ was reading in his room.

Then I heard “Halp Momma! Halp! Halp!”

He climbed up the changing table and jumped into the hamper, and then he realized he was stuck :)

CL woes

I love to stalk our local CL, the problem is, it is generally rather disappointing.

I've sold a few things using it, but I have never made a purchase, maybe because gems like this * keep popping up.

But, I will continue to stalk CL daily, hoping to one day find the dresser, or pair of armchairs, or extremely large area rug of my dreams.

PS - check out what my friend Heather recently scored from her local CL, I am so jealous!

*If the listing disappears -it's for a barely-used stripper pole, but the listing is misspelled so it's actually a "striper" pole. Classic and classy.

photot tag

Kara tagged me :)

Here are the rules:

1. Open your first photo folder
2. Scroll down to the 10th picture in your folder (if you don't have 10 pictures, go to the next folder that does)
3. Post that photo and tell your story behind the photo
4. Tag 5 friends to do the same

Ready for this?

I love carbs.

I was six months pregnant with JJ here (Nov. 2007), J and I went to Gatlinburg for a little vacation. We saw this giant potato (pretty sure this is in Dollywood) and instantly thought - awesome photo op.

Tag you're it! - Laura, Stephie, Pam, Heather S and Randi

it's a work in progress

I couldn't leave the mantle alone after getting so much great feedback. Thank you so much for all of the ideas!

While I convince the hubs that we really need to paint it white (ten votes for going white!) I am also going to be searching the local architectural salvage for a pair of reclaimed corbels (Thanks Tidy Mom for the excellent link - I found the corbel idea there!).

Design-Aholic suggested I think about going chunkier and shorter with the mantle, which is funny because I have actually thought about that, and *might* have convinced Hubs to try and remove the mantle just so I could visualize it easier - and we discovered that removing the mantle = destroying the masonry. I'm think the corbel idea might work the same way, by visually beefing up the mantle and breaking up the vast expanse of wood.

I decided to start with the top half. Little hands can't get up there, so the one part that won't need to be adjusted every ten minutes ;)

Many of you suggested using darker (wrought iron/black) and larger accessories - love it! In fact, the picture I posted was a little misleading; I usually do have much larger objects on the mantle (a 2.5 foot high garden gnome usually keeps an eye on us), but I was in that "just put away the Christmas decorations, still have a few 'winter' items out" mode. So this morning I headed to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few items in the 66% off area, and a canvas for an Alanna Rose original (seven votes to add art on top!).

Here's a little preview:

excuse the ultra-poor photo quality - I was excited to show you the progress!

I bought everything to the left of the canvas, I had the fun moss-covered-rattan-smokestack-thingies (PB sometime last year), and the bird house. For sure the birdhouse is not staying - it's too white and not organic enough. I'm pretty sure my gnome is coming back (I miss him.). I'm torn on the bird topped finial. In person it really blends into the stone; if I keep it I'm thinking of whitewashing it so it'll stand out more. And the arrangment isn't there yet, but it's getting there.

I think I have a plan for the canvas... but that's another post :)

Thanks again for all of the feedback!

warts

Just a little love from the docket.

"Two people were nabbed for shoplifting three DVDs and a wart removal kit from the Trenton Avenue Walmart."

meet my mantle

This is my fireplace and mantle.

boring and empty

It's sort of large (9 ft. across), and placed in the corner of the living room portion of the great room.

It needs something, and that's where you come in :)

The furniture is dark wood tones, and off-white slip-covered seating (just ordered the new slipcovers). The "drapes" are drop cloths (and are still in their temporary faze).

Should I paint the mantle? I go back and forth on this question. The trim throughout our home is white, and there are white beams on the ceiling in this room; but the ceiling and floor are both a light honey wood-grain and the mantle matches. I don't want to paint and then say "Crud. I should have left it."

Look behind the wreath, can you see the ugly beige vents? Because I sure can. And I hate them. I have thought about buying canvases on sale and doing some abstract-amateur painting, and then just leaning them against the wall. I'm hesitant to hang anything very heavy or breakable (like a framed picture) because when we have high winds a bit of air pushes through the vents and I don't want anything to come crashing down on us (or scaring us in the middle of the night).

Now look at the fireplace.

I love the screen (it came from Crate and Barrel, but I can't find it). My parents gave it to us as an anniversary gift :) I also like the basket (it's ancient and came from Target). But it needs something. PS - I have a two year old. So no fireplace tools or large ceramic horse sculptures.

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

Want to join the Decorating Dilemma Party?

Visit Amanda at Serenity Now and link up with your own problem area. See you there!

peanut butter ;)

The other day a thick Pottery Barn catalog arrived in the mail.

Nothing new there, it seems we get a new one every other week. But this time, I had a few minutes to study it, and I found quite a few things I would like.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, if you look at this from a thrifty standpoint), I cannot see spending $1500.00 on a new dresser when I can get a very nice one for half that at our locally owned (they actually live one house over from us) furniture store. I grew up with some beautiful furniture and, as far as I can tell, PB's prices are simply inflated to pay for all of those catalogs that they send. But I will take the ideas and run with them :)

I did spy this shelf, which would be great in my front entry.

image from Pottery Barn

I asked Hubs if he could maybe make one for less than $230? Of course he can, and we can save even more if he uses MDF - and since I'd like to paint it, I'm pretty sure that's the way we'll go.

So, we'll just add that to his ever expanding list o' projects, and I'll keep you posted.



Are you like me (read: not independently wealthy?); PB currently has a Dream Room Giveaway - but if you win you have to share with me ;)

Later tonight I'll be posting a Decorating Dilemma and participating in Amanda's party - come join in the fun!

guess what?

Today is the halfway point of my pregnancy!

I know. It feels way too fast for me, too.

I feel like we may never get anything done for this baby. The nursery is done, but we need to make JJ a big boy room so Bun can move in. And that is kind of a slow process, as it involves the moving of lots o furniture, selling of old furniture and acquisition of new, painting and general rearranging of life.

It's a lot to think about. I need a nap.

Which brings me to this - I am so incredibly tired this pregnancy! If I do not nap on the couch every afternoon I am a zombie. So, JJ has been watching way more TV than he should be, which gives me mommy-guilt and causes me to sleep even less. It's a terrible cycle (one I'm sure you know all too well).

While I'm complaining, let's talk about skin tags. All.over.my.neck.

And JJ thinks they are fun to pull and pick at. Which hurts and grosses me out. And I tell him that he might have given them to me, but that doesn't make them his, so HAND OFF mister!

I am calling the dermatologist and making an appointment for June 15, these nasty things have to go, because I cannot wear scarves and turtlenecks in the summer.

oh my - ohio

Yesterday I ate a cookie.

Shocked? ;)

I was nibbling at it like a rabbit, and I looked down and realized...


I had turned it into Ohio!!!

I briefly thought about keeping it, just like I would keep a potato chip shaped like Elvis or a cornflake that reminded me of the Virgin Mary...

But it was a really good cookie, so I just finished it off.

un-trimming the tree

Today is Epiphany. We celebrated it at Mass on Sunday (couldn't skip out on my goals the very first weekend!), and our priest reminded us that we are still in the Christmas Season.

That's why my tree is still lit, and my outdoor lights are still turned on.

But after today we'll start to take everything down :(

To be honest, I have already put a few things away.

Some of the Santas and snow men have been packed, so have our stockings - but my nativity sets and the tree are still staying strong.

Which means that every morning Peanut wakes up and plays with his nativity set.

the most important thing to remember is that the donkey likes to sit on top of the manger

When do you take down all of your Christmas decorations? Do you do it all at once, or a little bit at a time?

Chicken Paprika

On Sunday, while I was planning our dinner menu for this week, I asked Hubs what he felt like eating for dinner. He said "chicken."

Thanks Hon, way to be specific.

I decided that it was an excellent opportunity to try a new recipe and ran to my favorite "go-to" cookbook - The Joy of Cooking.

I was skimming through the "chicken" dishes and stumbled onto Chicken Paprika - I vaguely remembered watching some random chef on The Food Network make this years ago (really, I'm pretty sure I saw this episode when we were apartment dwellers - easily seven years ago). The recipe looked simple and sounded delicious, and I had a fabulous bottle of Penzey's Hungarian Sweet Paprika on hand.

It was a done deal :)

I just needed to chop some onions.

next time I'll use a larger bowl ;)

Then, brown some chicken.

well-seasoned with salt and pepper

Finish following the recipe, and make up some couscous to pour the yummy sauce over.

nom. nom. nom.

It was ridiculously easy, and delicious. Peanut even scarfed down the chicken, so you know it was yummy.

There are a few things I'd like to do to the recipe next time, I'll keep experimenting and let you know how it goes :)

quick and dirty

Christmas was great. This is the first time we have spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at our home, and it was great. So much less stress, and I'm pretty sure JJ really liked opening his presents at our house first :)

Then we headed up to Troy, spent a few days there and celebrated Christmas with my family and then headed to Muskegon. Since we missed all of the parties in Muskegon I decided to have a casual family gathering for dinner one night. We had everyone meet at the Vikings Club and J and I bought pizza and wings. I think everyone had a good time - and we were able to spend more time with J's cousins than we usually get to on Christmas Eve.

We came home on New Years Eve and just chilled out.

JJ really liked having his Daddy at home.
I really liked having J at home, too; but I like being able to pay the mortgage more ;)
Needless to say, we both miss him today.

Especially when JJ decides to break through the child locks and drink dish soap (don't worry, he drink very much and I buy the environmentally friendly stuff - it's also apparently better suited for consumption).
I could have really used an extra set of eyes for those five minutes.

New Year and a Resolution, or Five

My little family is back from our whirlwind tour of Michigan. It wasn't really a tour, but we got to spend a few days with each side of the family, and that made the grandparents happy (and us, too!).

I got up this morning and finished putting away all of the lovely Christmas presents we received, now I need to sort through Peanut's toys and take a load to Goodwill. Seriously - I feel like we live in a toy box.

And since it's a new year I feel like I should make a few resolutions, a list of goals, something a bit more involved than:
1. Lose weight.
2. Go to Church more often.
Although those two items are on my list ;)

Goals for 2010
1. Blog more. I'm going to hold myself accountable for three posts each week, it might turn into more, but for now I think three is a nice number.

2. Cooking and baking! Last year Hubs and I decided not to eat out for the entire month of January; and then three days later Oprah told everyone else in America to do the same thing.
That's when I knew I was a genius.
He doesn't know it yet, but the Chinese carryout we just ate will be his last restaurant meal for awhile - and I'm going to start packing him a lunch for the office.
We still need to save about $16K to cover the very-necessary foundation repairs that were finished in November, we were able to secure one year same as cash financing (which certainly helps) - I'd love to pay this off with new money instead of pulling it out of savings. Spending less on entertainment (for us that's generally food) will make a small dent.
Anyway - not eating out will help with my actual Goal:
To try a new recipe every week. And to document that recipe with a picture - and then post it here (and help out with Goal #1)! I'm such a multitask-er.

3. and 4. Church.
Every weekend we are home. And if we aren't home on the weekend, I need to take Peanut to Wednesday AM Mass at the school. But I'll give myself a week (or two) off after Bun arrives - because I know I will be a zombie then and Jesus would much rather see me sleep-in, than break my back getting us to Church.
And I really need to have the kids Baptized. That has been more of a scheduling issue than anything else - but I have got some major Catholic-guilt about it. I've decided to schedule it for July, and have everything ready (invitations, decorations, catering, etc.) before my birthday. So there's Goal #4.

5. Lose weight.
I'm having a baby - I expect to lose some weight while I'm nursing (worked like a charm the first time). Beyond that I'm planning on going back to Weight Watchers after my OB gives me the go-ahead because I have plenty of non-baby related weight to lose.

6. The House.
All decorating projects have been derailed. I need to get them back on track. I know that once the Christmas decor comes down (not until twelfth night!) the great room is going to feel empty and depressing. I need a solid plan before then or I will be in a major funk.
And we need to turn the office into a big boy room for Peanut.
And then we need to move the office into the den (which is currently the "dead-furniture" room).
And then I'd like to paint the hallway.
And the guest bath.
And now I'm going to stop :)

So that was my ramble-y list of goals for 2010. I'm excited for this year!

docket, docket

I love the way they report items in our docket, so much unnecessary information :)

"A patron at Nino's Bar reportedly told employees he was going to come back and shoot everyone. He also said he was better at basketball than LeBron James, was a sniper and a black belt in Chinese Kenpo. This was reported Tuesday; the man was issued a trespass warning."

"A Marion Township woman said a former classmate of hers, whom she "had a drunken make out session" with once while in college 15 years ago, was harassing her over the Internet on Tuesday."

dashboard indicators

JJ whacked the back of his little head on the corner of my nightstand :(

I'm pretty sure he's fine, sure enough that we aren't going to the Dr's office or ER.

It occurred to me that it would just be so much easier if kids came with a little light-up panel, like the one in the dashboard of your car. Then his little engine light would light up and I'd know without a doubt what to do. There'd be no momentary panic, frantic phone dialing or calls to J (seriously - what was he going to do?).

And maybe there could also be an indicator light for plotting mischief... that one would definitely be handy.

yick

Did any of you have nosebleeds while you were pregnant?

I remember having a few during the winter while I was expecting JJ, but this time it's almost an everyday occurrence. It's really no good because I have been using a million kleenex everyday and it's annoying.

Other than that everything else is ducky.

I finished my Christmas cards (woohoo!) and I think I'm close to being done with shopping. The tree is up and is decorated a little bit, JJ is really interested in it, so I'm not adding any more ornaments for him to pull off and break. Now I just need to wrap the presents and do a lot of baking :)

white lies

At this very moment JJ is at Mom's Day Out (MDO).

Breathe a sigh of relief with me. ahhhhh. I needed that.

When I dropped him off I had to leave my contact info, etc, and there's also a line that asks what you will be doing. I assume that's so they don't try to call you while you're in the middle of a root canal. Every week I write "errands" just like all of the other moms.

Sometimes that's true.

Most of the time it's a lie.

Today I ran one errand. I took myself to Panera to grab breakfast (cheese pastry, thankyouverymuch). Then I came home and watched all of the episodes of Glee I have missed.

It was wonderful.

I was forced to run a load or two of laundry (I ran out of underwear again). And now I'm going to write some Christmas cards.

Maybe.

But there's an episode of Eastwick still on the DVR....and a french bread pizza in the freezer.



No one really cares if they receive a Christmas card from us, right?

hoarding

I love to watch the show Hoarders on A&E. It's like watching a train wreck. I find the fascinating, and extremely depressing.

I feel so bad for the people involved. It's such a complicated disease, I wonder if they are ever able to live a life that is free from the extra stuff (sometimes actual garbage)?

Not only is the show entertaining, but it provides real motivation for getting rid of the extra stuff that I tend to accumulate. After watching last night's episode I went through my closet and pulled out the clothes I no longer wish to wear (and I packed up everything that I won't be wearing for the next few months). A clean closet is such a fabulous thing!

Tomorrow I'm planning on going through my son's closet and drawers, and pack away/donate his outgrown items. I'm getting excited about dropping stuff off at Goodwill :)

Yeah, I'll probably go in the store and take a peek, too. If I get any great deals I'll let you know!

Does anyone else watch Hoarders?
Does it set you on a search and destroy mission of clutter in your own home?

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at my Mom and Dad's house.

For the past few years my Mom and I have taken turns hostessing, this should have been my year, but back in July when I asked her about Thanksgiving plans she responded with "Why would you want to do that? You have a toddler running around." So she took over, and it was especially wonderful because now I don't just have a toddler running around, I'm also expecting again in early June :)

What you need to understand is that Thanksgiving is serious business for my mom and me. I remember being about 8 years old, my Grandmother had finally allowed my mom to hostess Thanksgiving (I love my Grandma, she was amazing, but she wasn't the world's most amazing hostess) - my mom sat me down for a serious talk and told me that "We are going to out-Martha Martha Stewart, and I am going to need your help." I mixed pumpkin pie and mincemeat fillings,peeled potatoes and set the table.

We out-Martha'd Martha. And I loved it.

We both have our Thanksgiving "Bibles" - three-ring binders full of recipes, notes, and most important - the names of our turkeys (to make a wonderful Turkey, you need to bond with it, and you must name it). The turkey is key, we usually order an Amish turkey (Mom) or one that is locally raised (Me). We set the tables a week in advance, carefully plan the menu and pick appropriate serving pieces, and then work our butts off so that on Thanksgiving it looks effortless. We are exhausted by the end of the day, but so very happy to have served our loved ones.

I'm planning a few posts for Thanksgiving, so today I'll leave you with the meal, it was wonderful. I'm currently hounding Mom for the recipes, I'll share when she starts to co-operate ;)


Clockwise from the top:
Savory Bread Pudding
Mashed Potatoes and Mom's Amazing Gravy
Green Beans with Shallots and Bread Crumbs
Cold Cauliflower Salad
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
The Best Turkey Ever (we named him Thom) with more gravy (I could drink it, really)
center - Brussel Sprouts with Hazelnuts

I neglected to take a picture of the brioche and artisan breads (from Zingerman's) and yummy cranberry relish. I also forgot to take pictures of the pies (pumpkin, apple and pecan) - I blame that on food coma :)

so good

Guess who:

*ate his body weight in mashed potatoes?
*refused to eat crackers/cucumbers unless they were dipped in dill dip?
*loves to build with Duplos (leftover from me and my siblings, of course)?
*has Grandpa completely wrapped around his fingers?
*always has eight thousand kisses for his Grammy?
*is going to be a big brother in early June?

gobble gobble!

We drove back from Troy last night. We were planning on visiting baby Emily (and Stephie and Jay) this morning and then driving back, we were also planning on going out to after-party with Danielle after her (beautiful and delicious) wedding and reception.

This guy had other plans:

see my angry, white gums? it's molar time.
not as fun as miller time :(

After Danielle's reception we headed to my parent's house to check on the little man, change clothes and then meet up with everyone at the hotel.

What we found was the angriest little guy ever.

He actually had a great time (as usual) hanging out with Grammy and Grandpa - he adores them, it's really cute. But then he woke up halfway through his nap and was a complete mess. I could hardly get him to calm down (which is really out of character), he just wanted me to rock with him and sing (someone appreciates my amazing voice!). So we made the parental/executive decision to pack up our bags and head home. JJ just needed a night in his own bed, now he's a happy guy again.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving! Ours was wonderful :)

fruit from the docket

This might not be super fabulous but...
"A man who appeared to be high while driving on Interstate 75 on Wednesday was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia for having 6.25 grams of marijuana in the car he was driving. He told police he and his friend were returning from a rock concert in Detroit."

Now, you need to understand that there was a Phish concert at Cobo Hall on Wed. night.

I know, who would have guessed that people at a Phish concert would smoke marijuana? Unthinkable!

Chocolate Ornaments

This is my first tutorial! And it is super-duper easy, hooray!

I wasn't really sure what to call these bites of chocolate and pretzel yumminess, but they are round and festive, so I figured calling them "ornaments" wasn't too far of a stretch.

These are ridiculously easy. So easy that someone taught me how to make them when I lived in the dorms, and I made a whole bunch of them in the shared, dorm kitchenette and proudly handed them out at Christmas.

Here are your ingredients:



a bag of pretzel rounds (sometimes they call them "beer pretzels" and they are generally not manufactured by a national brand, just look for them - I swear they are out there)
a bag of holiday M&M's
a bag of Hugs (because the stripes are more fun than plain old Kisses)

Step 1: unwrap the Hugs - this will be mind numbing and time consuming - I suggest doing this while watching TV.

Step 2: preheat your oven to 150 or 200 degrees (basically, as low as it will allow you to set it) and then turn it off. If you don't turn it off you will burn your Hugs, and no one wants a burnt Hug. Then lay out some pretzels on a foil lined cookie sheet, and slip a hug into the center of each pretzel.

yep, I forgot to use foil - it made ornament removal a little bit difficult

Step 3: put the pretzels and Hugs into the oven for 2 - 3 min. They will become nice and melty.

mmm...melty

Step 4: top each Hug with an M&M .I like to place mine upside down so you can't see the logo. I also try to place the M&M exactly over the pointy part of the Hug, just to knock it down.



Step 5: stick you tray of ornaments into the fridge until they are set (10 min. or less), pop them off of the foil (or pry them off with a spatula- seriously - use the foil) and enjoy!

nom, nom, nom!

I'm adding this post to The DIY Show Off's Holiday Highlights Party :)
Come join the fun!

On the Subject of Christmas Gifts

Thanksgiving is almost here!

And you know what comes after that... Christmas!

The season of giving, love, Christ, family and friends, and ridiculous spending. Yep, I said it, it seems that every year, no matter how hard I plan, I will go slightly overboard on gifts for a few people. Now, I've never gone so far as to have massive post-holiday debt (we buy most of our Christmas gifts with cash), but every once in a while I forget about someone, and then in my rush to get them a gift, spend more than I would have if I'd given it a little more thought.

This year we're downsizing our Christmas spending. I'm pretty sure my husband will only find socks and undershirts under the tree this year. We're pretty much in agreement that our $20K foundation repair (oh yeah, that totally happened while I was on hiatus, but I'll elaborate later) was easily our joint Christmas gift... for the next 30 years or so.



I've cut my list down this year, and cut back the amount of money we're spending as well. It was something I've been thinking about for awhile now, and the Advent Conspiracy videos really solidified that for me. I'll be Giving Water to a few of my friends, I know they'll appreciate that much more than another pair of Christmas socks, blank journal, or random set of bath products. And a few other very special people will be receiving goodies from my kitchen.


I'm still trying to decide exactly which goodies to put in my boxes, but I have a few front runners:
Chocolate Ornaments
Spiced Nuts
Pepparkakor
Christmas Spritz

Have you thought about giving homemade or charitable Christmas gifts this year?

i promise to do better

I've been super-duper busy lately.

You can read a little bit more here.

But I promise to do better, and to post pictures of my adorable gnome-boy! OK, that might take a while because the adorable-one keeps stealing the USB cords for the camera. But once I dig them out of the registers, toy box, and warming drawer in the oven, I'll try really hard to get a few pictures of gnome-yumminess up :)

Hope you all had a great weekend (the weather was awesome!)!

jumping back in

I've been busy.

Mostly I've been working on a Historic Homes Tour (it was yesterday), which is our bi-annual fundraiser for service league. The homes are decorated for the holidays by local florists, and this year we're pretty sure over 2000 people toured the homes. Our goal is always to raise at least $14,ooo, as that's pretty much our philanthropic budget for two years. The best part is that every single penny we raise goes directly to our community.

In a community this size $14,000 can make a huge difference. For example, our local food pantry is starting a milk money program. They were hoping to raise $1,400 to start the program and be able to give over 800 families a few vouchers for milk every month, unfortunately they were only able to raise $400. So they sent us a request and we were happy to assist them.

So that's why I've been absent from the blog.

And even though I missed doing little projects - and taking the time to take pictures of my food as I am cooking (although I never seem to write those posts!), and missed a bunch of fun blog parties and great posts that all of you have written - I'm happy to be able to give my time to my communtiy. I had a lot of fun working on this project, even though it didn't give me the immediate satisfaction that our service projects do. When I sit back and think about the impact of the money we raised, I have to say that it makes me tear up to think of little ones and pregnant women (who live right where I do) drinking milk instead of water because I was able to donate (sometimes begrudgingly) some of my time.

And now back to blogging :)

i'm hiding

Life's been both busy and boring.
And I just haven't felt like writing, or I haven't had the time.
(Or it could have something to do with all of the excellent tv shows that we DVR religiously...)

Give me a topic, then we'll discuss.

I'll bring the coffee :)

gardening for a cause

Tomorrow morning, rain or shine, I will be planting bulbs.

image from http://www.flower-garden-bulbs.com/

83 to be exact.

And nope, they won't be in my yard; because, once again, I procrastinated on ordering my bulbs.

I'm actually really excited to be helping with the landscaping of a local Habitat for Humanity home build! I'm in a local service sorority, and we are landscaping the home as our Make A Difference Day project for this year.

We threw an awesome Cinco de Mayo party last year to raise enough funds to landscape two homes (unfortunately they were only able to fund one home this year), and now our project days are here! I'll take my camera and share some pictures tomorrow.

Have you had the opportunity to serve your community lately?

window dressings

As I alluded to earlier, I now have a pretty firm plan of how I want to treat the windows in the great room.

Here's what I started with:

these curtains came with our home, I'm so over them

The walls are now a yummy butter yellow, and I've kept the crisp white trim.
I have decided not to use shears, I can add them later if I feel we need more privacy, but I honestly don't think I will. I was also super happy to see those flimsy rods go away (note to self - list them on Craigslist!).

For now I have hung up one set of "drapes" - I used drop cloths like I keep seeing everywhere in blogland, what can I say? I loved the idea!

drapes in progress
(it's really hard to take a picture of a window!)

I really like the new rods I picked - I found them at Lowe's, so the price was right and they have the feeling I was looking for. At first I was going to just go for the dark, round finials, but I ended up with fluted amber glass balls. They go really nicely with the wood tones in the ceiling and mantle.

I had to hang up a set of the drop cloth panels because we needed drapes at least on the front of the house for privacy (the neighbors don't need to see me before I've had my coffee!), and because my husband was less than excited by the idea of drop cloths as drapes.

I'm pretty sure he was picturing clear plastic sheets on the windows.

I'm not sure if he really likes these, or was just really happy with the price (I've been brainwashing him into believing that Potter barn is the only place to buy drapes - hee hee!)

I'm very happy with the texture of the drop cloths. I'm going to sew on (green) ribbons to tie the drapes to the rings, because I love these drapes from Potter Barn:

Pottery Barn

And I'm also going to do something to the bottom of the drapes.

At first I was thinking of sewing a chunk of green and white fabric (maybe a trellis pattern?) to the bottom of each panel, but now I'm thinking of stenciling the panels instead - I figure if I don't like the stencil I can always go back and sew on some fabric later.

So that's the direction I'm headed with the drapes.
I'm excited for the change!

back to the grind: goal time

I like posting my goals for the week. I find it helps me to stay focused, and I love hearing your goals! If I started a Monday Goal Party, would you join?

I am planning on going out of town for a few days this week, so I have just a few goals for this week (a few are repeats):

1. Start decorating the tops of the kitchen cabinets.
There are basically three chunks of cabinets, I'd like to decorate one, and round up all of my decorations.

2. Finish my spray paint project.
I need to do this - I really want to join Kimba's DIY Party (it's moving to Tuesday starting this week!), and I think this is going to be really cute when it's done (of course, it could also be huge disaster). Regardless of the outcome I need to be able to mark this project done.

3. Clean out the linen closet.
It's become a black hole.
I can't find the toilet paper or kleenex without a huge pile of fabric falling out, and I can't smash my sewing machine back in there.
The great news is my little sister is still here (just until tonight), so I'm going to let her distract my little man while I get this bad boy under control.

What projects will you be working on this week?

goals: a recap

I was a little ambitious in my goals last week.

1. Start decorating the tops of the kitchen cabinets.
I didn't do a thing with the cabinet tops, although I did find a Longaberger basket for $3 at Goodwill that will be very nice above my cabinets.

2. Cozy up the guest room/office.
I dusted and vacuumed, swapped out the nightstand and lamp and edited the shelf that runs around the room. I really wanted to clean off my desk - but I didn't touch it.

3. Finish my spray painted masterpiece.
I ran out of primer. This project is never ending.

4. Plan new drapes for the great room.
I have a plan! And I will post about it later :)

5. Continue to work on the front porch.
It's not done (not that anything is ever truly done), but I picked up some pumpkins, and some fall decor and it's really starting to come together. I'm sure it'll be great in time for Amanda's next Design Dilemma Party!

How did you do last week?

goals for this week

It's good to have goals.
Follow through is also important....we'll see how I do on that end ;)

I have five little goals for this week:
1. Start decorating the tops of the kitchen cabinets.
We are done painting! Now comes the fun part :)

2. Cozy up the guest room/office.
My little sister is coming to visit this weekend, and the guest room/office has seen better days. it just needs a little refreshing, and I already have some ideas.

3. Finish my spray painted masterpiece.
This piece is taking so much more time than I thought it would - I hope I'm happy with the results.

4. Plan new drapes for the great room.
We took all of the old ones down, and they are NOT going back up (in fact I'm listing them all on Craigslist today). Right now our house is rather open, and I need some privacy!

5. Continue to work on the front porch.
All of the ideas you gave me during the Decorating Dilemma's Party were great, and I've been working on a few of them, I just need to kick this project into overdrive so i can share my progress with you :)

What are some of your goals for this week?

i'm inspired

As I mentioned before, I'm participating in the Scavenger Hunt at The DIY Show Off - as part of my entry for the giveaway I needed to find a post that most inspires me.

It wasn't easy folks.

There was this.

And this.

Have you seen this?

I know. I need a drink.

So I figured it out! I am most inspired by Debra's Kitchen Island Transformation.

Right now we are redecorating our Great Room, a big part of that is our 5' x 5' kitchen island. The previous owners had stools around two sides of the island, we only have them at one side and I have been trying to decide what to do with the other, empty and boring, side. I think I would like to put bookshelves under the overhang to store my cookbooks. But that would probably require measuring. Plus, I have a very busy 1.5 year old - there's no way cookbooks would last 4 minutes placed within his reach.

But I still want something to pretty up the empty expanse of cabinets (have I mentioned that the cabinets are from Ikea? The sides are not pretty). I think the wallpaper that Debra used might be my solution!

So now I'm trying to imagine my kitchen with bead board wallpaper on the island.

And I think I like it :)

Want to be inspired?
Head over to The DIY Show Off.
There's so much goodness going on over there, it's crazy!

newsworthy

Big news in a small town:

"A High School student, 16, was cited on West Foulke Avenue for wearing a Taco Bell window promotional sign as a cape. He had taken the sign from the store Tuesday."

famous little pig

Zippy, my beloved guinea pig, passed away last Fri.

When I heard that Roeshel at The DIY Showoff was having a Pet Parade, I knew it would be the perfect way to honor her.

Check out all of the cute pets!