Tonight is a new Episode of Shear Genius and I won't be missing it. I used to never watch Top Design until a rerun of it fit into my schedule. Why are these shows so dofferent? I have a few theories...
1) The judges respect edginess and risk-taking, but it has to look good above anything else.
In the first challenge on the quick cut challenge, many competitors came up with some really wacky designs, no doubt thinking that like Project Runway and Top Design, you would get an automatic "in" for being so wildly creative. And what happened? One of the best competitors ended up on the bottom because she took edginess a step too far. It has to look good on this show to make it. The judges do see potential in creativeness, but you have to pull it off or they will send you packing, and this is what judging should be on all the shows.
I think on Top Design (and even Project Runway) creativity can be held in too high esteem when it turns out some fugly results. People that should be sent home don't get sent home because they have a "strong point of view," even if it is a strong UGLY point of view. It is so refreshing to see the people with the crappiest designs go home first.
2) The judges aren't afraid to chastise or be mean.
Criticism can be tough to take, but it is the only thing that will help a designer grow. I found it hard to take watching Jonathan Adler be so saccharine sweet during judging. Margaret Russell was a bit better but they should have let her loose. Even Kelly Wearstler was a little bit tougher, but not by much. Bitchiness makes for good tv. We love Nina G and Michael K because they are so bitchy. We love it even more when one of the designers gets their feelings hurt and decides to lash out at the judges. DEEEEEELISH!!
3) We have a Mentor
While Rene Fris' English may not be the most desirable, I don't think anyone will argue that his ass sure is!! He may not possess the same rapier wit as Tim Gunn, but he sure is fun to look at. And he doesn't sound like he is reading a bedtime story to us (even though I wouldn't mind him tucking me in anytime it has to be said.) He is sometimes harsh on the hairdressers and we love this!!
4) We actually get to see some of the process
We are watching this show to see what the contestants can do. While the judging adds a level of tension, it is by no means the whole show. I watch this show in contrast to other kinds of reality TV shows because I like seeing someone do something they have a talent for. I also love to see the contestants interacting with each other more. It gives me a better feel for theit personalities and it creates its own kind of drama. The fun kind.
So in conclusion...
I am looking forward to the next episode. I can't wait to see what crazy thing Evangelin will do or say. I can't wait to see who Tabatha's next victim will be, and I really can't wait until someone sends Tyson crashing back down to planet Earth.
You see, Bravo made me care about the people on the show. Imagine that!!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
My dream bed
I love the lines of art deco furniture. To me it just brings together arts and crafts style attention to detail and use of rich woods and modern lines.
I cannot get this bed as it has been sold, but they may have another in a darker wood come available soon. I really love it...
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Off to the beach
Or, to a boat to be more precise. Every year my uncle organizes a deep-sea fishing trip for his employees. He pays for the boat, gas, and hotel. This year, he is taking all his employees and as a bonus for the crappy year we have had, he is also taking me, my daughter, my mom and dad. My boyfriend works for him so he gets to go automatically.
A couple of my aunts will be going as well. They will almost certainly want to hit the beach, but mot me. I'm slathering on 2+ coats of SPF 70 and putting on my floppy straw hat and my linen clothes, and I'm going deep sea fishing.
As much as I hate freshwater fishing, I LOVE deep sea fishing. Mainly because I never have to worry about catching anything and I can just spend my time enjoying being on a boat out in the ocean.
In the unlikely even that I get a bite, I usually hand the rod over to my dad who is always more than happy to reel it in for me and handle the fish, as I am petrified of them.
When I say that I am afraid of fish I mean it. A boat is hopefully the closest I will ever come to interaction with marine life. And aquariums. I like looking at fish as long as I have the reassurance they can't get to me. My dad wanted me to learn deep sea diving with him, my mother and my brother. I did fine in the tank, but on my first excursion into open water I hyperventilated as soon as I saw a little fish.
I went on vacation to Chattanooga as well and they had an underwater excursion show at the IMAX 3D theater. I wanted to watch Harry Potter but I got outvoted and we went to the ocean show. This was a bad idea. I can't tell you all how many times I jumped and yelped through that show.
I used to practically LIVE in the water when I was younger. No one, not even I can understand why I have developed this phobia. There is no traumatic event to point back to. The only thing I can blame is possibly a picture I saw once, with a HUGE whale and this teeny tiny boat next to it... only the boat was a 35ft boat. Hardly teeny tiny.
I think it sunk into me at that point just how big some creatures in the ocean are. It didn't help that soon after that there were a string of shark attacks around the FL/GA/AL coasts. No thanks.
A couple of my aunts will be going as well. They will almost certainly want to hit the beach, but mot me. I'm slathering on 2+ coats of SPF 70 and putting on my floppy straw hat and my linen clothes, and I'm going deep sea fishing.
As much as I hate freshwater fishing, I LOVE deep sea fishing. Mainly because I never have to worry about catching anything and I can just spend my time enjoying being on a boat out in the ocean.
In the unlikely even that I get a bite, I usually hand the rod over to my dad who is always more than happy to reel it in for me and handle the fish, as I am petrified of them.
When I say that I am afraid of fish I mean it. A boat is hopefully the closest I will ever come to interaction with marine life. And aquariums. I like looking at fish as long as I have the reassurance they can't get to me. My dad wanted me to learn deep sea diving with him, my mother and my brother. I did fine in the tank, but on my first excursion into open water I hyperventilated as soon as I saw a little fish.
I went on vacation to Chattanooga as well and they had an underwater excursion show at the IMAX 3D theater. I wanted to watch Harry Potter but I got outvoted and we went to the ocean show. This was a bad idea. I can't tell you all how many times I jumped and yelped through that show.
I used to practically LIVE in the water when I was younger. No one, not even I can understand why I have developed this phobia. There is no traumatic event to point back to. The only thing I can blame is possibly a picture I saw once, with a HUGE whale and this teeny tiny boat next to it... only the boat was a 35ft boat. Hardly teeny tiny.
I think it sunk into me at that point just how big some creatures in the ocean are. It didn't help that soon after that there were a string of shark attacks around the FL/GA/AL coasts. No thanks.
Smartie Pants
I made a wonderful discovery 2 weeks ago. I have a 4 year old that can add. We were just going down the road and we passed a 55MPH sign. Out of nowhere my four-year-old tells me with conviction "Mommy 5 and 5 are 10." I was a little surprised. I asked her how she learned to add, and she just huffed in that cute little way that she does and said (with total disdain to my ignorance.) "Mommy, it's really simple. All you do is hold up 5 fingers on both hands and count all the fingers. DUH."
Well, color me surprised. (I'm pretty used to her sass... she learned it from me)
But my little girl can add. As long as the numbers she needs to add are less than the number of fingers she has on her hands. I asked her how many 7 plus 7 was, and she stared at me and said "I can't add 7 and 7 mommy because I only have 5 fingers." Oh. Stupid me.
But she is getting there. This week I started teaching her the concept of subtraction. She is catching on really quickly. Her strengths are definitely math and art. Just like me, only better at them than I was at her age.
Well, color me surprised. (I'm pretty used to her sass... she learned it from me)
But my little girl can add. As long as the numbers she needs to add are less than the number of fingers she has on her hands. I asked her how many 7 plus 7 was, and she stared at me and said "I can't add 7 and 7 mommy because I only have 5 fingers." Oh. Stupid me.
But she is getting there. This week I started teaching her the concept of subtraction. She is catching on really quickly. Her strengths are definitely math and art. Just like me, only better at them than I was at her age.
Tuesday's Twins
Britney Spears and Lacey from Bravo's Shear Genius. I know I'm probably not the first to make the correlation, but it is undeniable. I saw it the first time I watched the show.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Pictures of my garden
These pictures are poor quality because they were taken with my cell phone, and at a bad time of day, but you get the picture. Also, they are over 2 weeks old. I'll get newer ones I promise. 
I don't know how much you can see (again I apologize for poor pic quality, but here is the garden you first see when you drive up. There is a small goldfish pond and I planted pink gardenias as well as pink gerber daisies. 
This is a slightly better picture of the garden with the fish pond. 
This is a 2-tier raised bed. The top bed has wild daylilies, and the bottom 4 beds have Marigolds and Lettice growing in them.
This is the front flower bed. I have some yellow daylillies in the front and purple-leaf lorapetilium starting against the wall. They will grow up similar to boxwoods but with a nice deep red/purple colored leaf.
I don't know how much you can see (again I apologize for poor pic quality, but here is the garden you first see when you drive up. There is a small goldfish pond and I planted pink gardenias as well as pink gerber daisies. This is a slightly better picture of the garden with the fish pond. This is a 2-tier raised bed. The top bed has wild daylilies, and the bottom 4 beds have Marigolds and Lettice growing in them. Thursday, April 26, 2007
A worthy challenge
I have been watching Shear Genuis on Bravo and I love this show!! I have also envisioned a wonderful challenge that would test the best of hairdressers.
Get together a few small girls around 3-4 years old who have butchered their hair themselves, and tell the contestants that they have to fix the hair, and make it look intentional.
I can personally attest to how hard that is. My little girl butchered her hair a few months ago and you can still see some of the places she hacked at today. After 2 repair hair cuts.
Children's hair is usually more difficult to cut anyway, because it is so fine and because kids are more prone to cowlicks, and hair wanting to go in different directions. If their hair wants to lay to the left, 65mph winds and all the Aqua Net you could muster could not get it to lay to the right.
I say put the hairdressers in the hot seat with the kids and watch them squirm! Plus, I really really really want to see Tabatha interact with a small child. I'll even volunteer my child for the job, tee hee hee.
Get together a few small girls around 3-4 years old who have butchered their hair themselves, and tell the contestants that they have to fix the hair, and make it look intentional.
I can personally attest to how hard that is. My little girl butchered her hair a few months ago and you can still see some of the places she hacked at today. After 2 repair hair cuts.
Children's hair is usually more difficult to cut anyway, because it is so fine and because kids are more prone to cowlicks, and hair wanting to go in different directions. If their hair wants to lay to the left, 65mph winds and all the Aqua Net you could muster could not get it to lay to the right.
I say put the hairdressers in the hot seat with the kids and watch them squirm! Plus, I really really really want to see Tabatha interact with a small child. I'll even volunteer my child for the job, tee hee hee.
Modern Dollhouse
Here is an awesome dollhouse that is very modern. 
I know this would not appeal in any way to my daughter. She is just too prissy. But I thought this was a very neat idea that appealed to the other end of the spectrum on little girls looking for a dollhouse. They were designed by Christoph Bitzer and Wolfgang Sirch. It has plexiglass sliding doors, beech furnishings, a kitchen island and shower.
Things that irritate me the most
- Payroll Administrators who cannot add
- Payroll Administrators who cannot subtract
- Payroll Administrators who insist on configuring sums in their head and will not use a calculator
- Payroll Administrators who think all mistakes must lead to someone else
Seriously people, I deal with Payroll Administrators on a daily basis, and at times it makes me worry. Do you know that roughly half (in my experience) of Payroll Administrators do not know the difference between a 28-day deductions cycle, and a monthly deductions cycle? Let me let you in on the gravity of this situation...
Half of the people in this country are having their paychecks deducted from by people who do not know what they are doing... Do you work for a government body or a school? Your likelihood of having one of these clueless people handling YOUR wages just shot up to over 75%.
And the bad thing is, when they make a mistake, they didn't make a mistake. Oh no. You screwed up, or the agent screwed up, or the EMPLOYEE screwed up, or the mother of all scapegoats... the computer screwed up. Computers are only as smart as the people typing numbers into them are.
So here's a suggestion... do some research. Drop by the payroll or Human Resources Department and check out the local talent. I know who makes out my paychecks. She is a very smart woman who has been doing what she does for 30 years and still takes training courses everytime something new is introduced. She knows her stuff.
Do you know the person making out your checks? Have you ever spoken with them? If you care about what happens with your money it might be a smart idea. If you have a question about something being withheld from your check, check it out. Trust me, these people are not above error as they might like to believe. It will most likely save you a huge headache and hassle, and I promise it doesn't hurt to ask.
Funky House Stuff
I have been on the prowl for fun ideas to put in my new home. I stumbled across this absolutely fun website, Modern Poverty. There were tons of whimsical, fun ideas. 
Like these drain stoppers: They look like fun to me, but they might not help with my daughter's fear of the bath tub drain. When she gets in trouble I only have to threaten to throw her into "the deep end of the tub" and she is back on the straight and narrow, pronto! (JK :))
They also had these fun cookie cutters that give the illusion that
someone has already been snacking on the treats: These just look like so much fun to me. I love the little dismembered gingerbread men. I know, it doesn't take much to amuse me.
But these ice cubes are the epitome of fabulosity in a glass. They look like my favorite things in the world.... jewels. Ah...
They also make these wonderful vases out of recycled beer and wine bottles: I think they are absolutely gorgeous, and it makes me ambitious to see if I could duplicate the effect.
The website also sells many of the whimsical "Mr. P" products, including this "fun-at-the-office" wire holder-thingy:
Of course I work with a bunch of accountants so the joke is hopelessly lost :)
And finally, for more office fun, the coolest rubber bands and I want some!
Like these drain stoppers: They look like fun to me, but they might not help with my daughter's fear of the bath tub drain. When she gets in trouble I only have to threaten to throw her into "the deep end of the tub" and she is back on the straight and narrow, pronto! (JK :))They also had these fun cookie cutters that give the illusion that
someone has already been snacking on the treats: These just look like so much fun to me. I love the little dismembered gingerbread men. I know, it doesn't take much to amuse me.But these ice cubes are the epitome of fabulosity in a glass. They look like my favorite things in the world.... jewels. Ah...
They also make these wonderful vases out of recycled beer and wine bottles: I think they are absolutely gorgeous, and it makes me ambitious to see if I could duplicate the effect.
The website also sells many of the whimsical "Mr. P" products, including this "fun-at-the-office" wire holder-thingy:
Of course I work with a bunch of accountants so the joke is hopelessly lost :)And finally, for more office fun, the coolest rubber bands and I want some!
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
The next big thing
There is a really cool blog out there showcasing new fashion designers. Graduate Fashion Week has started a blog where you can see work being turned out by fashion design students. It also has a lot of in-depth information on what it takes to get into the fashion world.
Previous winners of the Graduate Fashion Week competitions have included Stella McCartney as well as Alexander McQueen.
I think it is so interested to see what new designers are coming up with. Of course there are some wild entries, but one thing this blog does not lack is flavor!
Previous winners of the Graduate Fashion Week competitions have included Stella McCartney as well as Alexander McQueen.
I think it is so interested to see what new designers are coming up with. Of course there are some wild entries, but one thing this blog does not lack is flavor!
The Princess Bride
Disney certainly has been busy expanding the princess empire. Recently they paired up with designer Kirstie Kelly to design wedding gown collections based on the Disney Princesses.
You can check them out at Disney Bridal's website and see if what they have to offer is for you.
I will admit that when I first read the story I groaned. I fugured the dresses would be directly based on the princess' dresses, and how twee would that be? But I was pleasantly surprised. The dresses are adult and tasteful, with a hint of whimsy and romance.
They are of course appropriately over-priced for what you get bearing the Disney name tag, but not completely priced out of the general wedding gown market. All in all, it is a nice collection, and gave me a few ideas.
Does this mean I have given in and set a date? Hardly. I was just looking.
You can check them out at Disney Bridal's website and see if what they have to offer is for you.
I will admit that when I first read the story I groaned. I fugured the dresses would be directly based on the princess' dresses, and how twee would that be? But I was pleasantly surprised. The dresses are adult and tasteful, with a hint of whimsy and romance.
They are of course appropriately over-priced for what you get bearing the Disney name tag, but not completely priced out of the general wedding gown market. All in all, it is a nice collection, and gave me a few ideas.
Does this mean I have given in and set a date? Hardly. I was just looking.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Thursday, April 19, 2007
New Schedule
Some of you know I work at Aflac's Worldwide headquarters. Anyway, they are starting a new initiative where they put in new shifts to better serve their customers (and keep their employees even happier) allowing us to work different shifts. I applied for one of these coveted positions, and lo and behold, I was given the shift of Mon-Wed 6am-7pm with an hour for lunch. I really couldn't be more thrilled.
The prospect of having Thurs-Sun off work is making me a happy bunny indeed. They are even going to give me a shift differential so my pay doesn't dip, despite me working 4 hours less every week. I'm not complaining.
A few of my co-workers have questioned whether I will be able to handle 12 hours of accounting per day, 3 days a week. Well, I already work 12-hour days during tax season when our payroll accounts are getting their accounts with us settled up and correcting mistakes discovered through end-of-the-year audits. And I have to do it 5 times a week then. So yes, I can handle it.
I'm looking forward to spending more time with my ever-growing daughter, and of course, remodeling my new house which happens to be getting more and more fabulous on a daily basis...
As to why I have not been blogging daily as a good girl should, I have been playing auntie to my best friend's baby which was recently born. She is a doll!!!
The prospect of having Thurs-Sun off work is making me a happy bunny indeed. They are even going to give me a shift differential so my pay doesn't dip, despite me working 4 hours less every week. I'm not complaining.
A few of my co-workers have questioned whether I will be able to handle 12 hours of accounting per day, 3 days a week. Well, I already work 12-hour days during tax season when our payroll accounts are getting their accounts with us settled up and correcting mistakes discovered through end-of-the-year audits. And I have to do it 5 times a week then. So yes, I can handle it.
I'm looking forward to spending more time with my ever-growing daughter, and of course, remodeling my new house which happens to be getting more and more fabulous on a daily basis...
As to why I have not been blogging daily as a good girl should, I have been playing auntie to my best friend's baby which was recently born. She is a doll!!!
Friday, March 30, 2007
My bathroom plans revealed.
Well I finally have some decisions made on my bathroom plans!! I will be doing the walls in a purple color. I already have the shower curtain I'm going to use, and I'm going with a square pedestal sink with satin nickel hardware. Here are a few examples of some of the things I've chosen. I promise pics as soon as it's finished, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later.
The bees are going down!!
My uncle owns and runs an exterminating business. We have 3 generations of exterminators in my family. So why is it that the house my parents have owned for 15 years is OVERRUN with carpenter bees?
If you look up Carpenter Bees in Wikipedia, the website will tell you they are solitary bees, usually living on their own. LIES! We have a metropolitan colony living in the eaves of my parents' roof. They do not sting you, but they are big and loud. And they aren't shy.
Dad used to sit out on the porch playing "bee-minton" swatting them with badminton rackets. I have to admit he was a pretty good shot, but the problem is, dear father, that the bees don't care. They will still move in.
So tomorrow my uncle had donated a truck and some chemical to my cause. We are going to spray the eaves of the house with something that will GET RID OF the bees. What a novel concept, huh? It will also keep the wasps from nesting in the roof. 2 birds with 1 stone, my kind of solution.
The downside is that female carpenter bees will actually attack you if they feel their nest is being threatened, and we have a good few nests to erradicate. So, how to get rid of the bees without getting stung? Well, my friends, I have the perfect solution. I am going to withold that last little tidbit of info from my fiance and let HIM spray the eaves while I am safely enclosed in the house behind screens, windows and doors. Let no one say I have no sense of self-preservation.
Hopefully by Monday Carpenter Bees will be a thing of the past for my future home. Looks like dad will have to find a new hobby. He really has no problem with finding new hobbies, trust me.
If you look up Carpenter Bees in Wikipedia, the website will tell you they are solitary bees, usually living on their own. LIES! We have a metropolitan colony living in the eaves of my parents' roof. They do not sting you, but they are big and loud. And they aren't shy.
Dad used to sit out on the porch playing "bee-minton" swatting them with badminton rackets. I have to admit he was a pretty good shot, but the problem is, dear father, that the bees don't care. They will still move in.
So tomorrow my uncle had donated a truck and some chemical to my cause. We are going to spray the eaves of the house with something that will GET RID OF the bees. What a novel concept, huh? It will also keep the wasps from nesting in the roof. 2 birds with 1 stone, my kind of solution.
The downside is that female carpenter bees will actually attack you if they feel their nest is being threatened, and we have a good few nests to erradicate. So, how to get rid of the bees without getting stung? Well, my friends, I have the perfect solution. I am going to withold that last little tidbit of info from my fiance and let HIM spray the eaves while I am safely enclosed in the house behind screens, windows and doors. Let no one say I have no sense of self-preservation.
Hopefully by Monday Carpenter Bees will be a thing of the past for my future home. Looks like dad will have to find a new hobby. He really has no problem with finding new hobbies, trust me.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Something Bugging me
Okay, so we all know Bravo edits its reality shows to within an inch of their very existence, so why, oh why, can they not edit out all the fat girl jokes we have been hearing on Top Design this season? Call me sensitive if you will, but there have only been a couple of episodes where someone has not made a thinly veiled fat girl joke aimed at Carisa. It makes me feel bad for her, and she isn't really a person I would probably get along with (if the Bravo TV edited version of her personality is anything to go by.)
But seriously? Is their next reality tv show going to be about who can lose the most weight via anorexia or bulemia? Because through their editing they are really letting out a lot of snipery towards the big girls in this world.
Being a big girl myself, I am proud of my body and I don't let fat girl jokes get to me in a personal way. However, I just wonder why everyone wonders why public figures are starving themselves within an inch of their life, but then laughs along with the fat girl jokes made later.
You can't laugh at fat girl jokes and turn around and slap anorexic girls on the wrist and tell them to eat something. It's hypocritical. I agree that there is a healthy medium, but instead of being judgemental of too-fat and too-thin girls, how about we praise healthy looking-women? I'm one to tell you that a fat girl joke never made me put down a donut. I'm pretty sure harsh criticism never made an anorexic girl want to eat. How about we all stop being so damn judgemental and start trying to help each other feel better about ourselves???
So Margaret Russell, the next time you read an article about a too-thin celebrity, please remember your "big banquette" remark about Carisa and hang your head in shame.
And as for you Michael, just pray to whatever higher power you believe in that all the fat currently stored in your head doesn't migrate south, lest you be the object of all those fat girl jokes you love so much to tell behind Carisa's back.
I'm just sayin'...
But seriously? Is their next reality tv show going to be about who can lose the most weight via anorexia or bulemia? Because through their editing they are really letting out a lot of snipery towards the big girls in this world.
Being a big girl myself, I am proud of my body and I don't let fat girl jokes get to me in a personal way. However, I just wonder why everyone wonders why public figures are starving themselves within an inch of their life, but then laughs along with the fat girl jokes made later.
You can't laugh at fat girl jokes and turn around and slap anorexic girls on the wrist and tell them to eat something. It's hypocritical. I agree that there is a healthy medium, but instead of being judgemental of too-fat and too-thin girls, how about we praise healthy looking-women? I'm one to tell you that a fat girl joke never made me put down a donut. I'm pretty sure harsh criticism never made an anorexic girl want to eat. How about we all stop being so damn judgemental and start trying to help each other feel better about ourselves???
So Margaret Russell, the next time you read an article about a too-thin celebrity, please remember your "big banquette" remark about Carisa and hang your head in shame.
And as for you Michael, just pray to whatever higher power you believe in that all the fat currently stored in your head doesn't migrate south, lest you be the object of all those fat girl jokes you love so much to tell behind Carisa's back.
I'm just sayin'...
Monday, March 26, 2007
Yard work and Paint colors
It has been a weekend. We really got started with the house this weekend. One of the challenges we are facing is a packrat of monumental proportions in my dad. He has 20-some-odd years worth of junk all in that house and yard. When my mom gets on to him to get rid of something, he just turns it into what he calls "yard art" i.e. just plant some shit in that piece of junk and he won't have to haul it to the dump. So now I'm having to do it. Ugh. It's bad when the dump man looks for your visits and knows you by first name on sight.
As far as the house goes, don't get me started. He's always been a packrat, but when I moved out he went wild. He has a kiln in one of the old bedrooms. I'm not even joking but wish I was. He has all the stuff for woodworking, scuba diving, stonecutting, a lathe, tools for every known purpose to man, old computers, a welding station, a huge rock tumbler, you name it, we got it. Crammed into a 1700 sq ft house. Oy.
So this weekend I started piling up the junk by the road and we started hauling it off. I also started hacking through the wilderness that used to be a front and back yard. We made some serious headway with it Friday evening-Saturday.
Yesterday I got the flower bed in front of the house totally re-planted and we got my daughter's room started. We got the carpets torn out and her ceiling painted, and the old ceiling fan taken down. This week I have to buy paint for her room ad what will be the guest bathroom. We are totally remodeling it ASAP.
I worked so hard this weekend. I think I might finally shift all those pounds I gained back when they had me on all those steroids for my allergies. And, by the way, my allergies have not been getting to me despite the fact that grass pollen has been out so bad that my car is now yellow...
Speaking of colors... I have to pick out most of mine this week. What a job!!! I know my daughter wants her room pink, and the bathroom will probably be a pale plumb, but I want to reserve judgement for the living room color until we get the new laminate floors in... There's only about a million shades of green out there. No pressure or anything...
As far as the house goes, don't get me started. He's always been a packrat, but when I moved out he went wild. He has a kiln in one of the old bedrooms. I'm not even joking but wish I was. He has all the stuff for woodworking, scuba diving, stonecutting, a lathe, tools for every known purpose to man, old computers, a welding station, a huge rock tumbler, you name it, we got it. Crammed into a 1700 sq ft house. Oy.
So this weekend I started piling up the junk by the road and we started hauling it off. I also started hacking through the wilderness that used to be a front and back yard. We made some serious headway with it Friday evening-Saturday.
Yesterday I got the flower bed in front of the house totally re-planted and we got my daughter's room started. We got the carpets torn out and her ceiling painted, and the old ceiling fan taken down. This week I have to buy paint for her room ad what will be the guest bathroom. We are totally remodeling it ASAP.
I worked so hard this weekend. I think I might finally shift all those pounds I gained back when they had me on all those steroids for my allergies. And, by the way, my allergies have not been getting to me despite the fact that grass pollen has been out so bad that my car is now yellow...
Speaking of colors... I have to pick out most of mine this week. What a job!!! I know my daughter wants her room pink, and the bathroom will probably be a pale plumb, but I want to reserve judgement for the living room color until we get the new laminate floors in... There's only about a million shades of green out there. No pressure or anything...
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
Check-in
Thank you for those of you who have been concerned. Those of you who don't know me in an un-internet sense are no doubt nonplussed by my disappearance, but unfortunately I have a reason.
About a month ago (around the time I stopped posting) my brother committed suicide. I really haven't been able to write or talk much about it. His 22nd birthday was Friday, March 16th. This weekend I went to his friends' house and had a very therapeutic time talking about my brother and reliving our happier moments. It has made it easier to sit down and talk/write about it.
He was always a very happy person quick to a mischevious grin and I will miss him terribly. He had recently been having trouble with his life decisions not being accepted by our family and his friends, but I don't think any of us realized quite the toll it was taking on him. The shock is only starting to wear off for me, but as a family we have been coping, and for some of us, learning some lessons about acceptance. As soon as I get some pictures scanned it I will post some happy memories.
But, other things have been happening as well. My parents now feel they cannot live in the house they are currently in any longer, and wish to build a new, smaller house. They are going to give me the house they are currently in. I am very excited about this. This is the house my brother and I grew up in, and we have lived on that property since I was 2 years old. The house needs a lot of work, but I'm up to the task.
I'm probably going to start posting pictures of the work we are doing on the house as we go. I'll also post some pics of the new house being built as we get it done.
About a month ago (around the time I stopped posting) my brother committed suicide. I really haven't been able to write or talk much about it. His 22nd birthday was Friday, March 16th. This weekend I went to his friends' house and had a very therapeutic time talking about my brother and reliving our happier moments. It has made it easier to sit down and talk/write about it.
He was always a very happy person quick to a mischevious grin and I will miss him terribly. He had recently been having trouble with his life decisions not being accepted by our family and his friends, but I don't think any of us realized quite the toll it was taking on him. The shock is only starting to wear off for me, but as a family we have been coping, and for some of us, learning some lessons about acceptance. As soon as I get some pictures scanned it I will post some happy memories.
But, other things have been happening as well. My parents now feel they cannot live in the house they are currently in any longer, and wish to build a new, smaller house. They are going to give me the house they are currently in. I am very excited about this. This is the house my brother and I grew up in, and we have lived on that property since I was 2 years old. The house needs a lot of work, but I'm up to the task.
I'm probably going to start posting pictures of the work we are doing on the house as we go. I'll also post some pics of the new house being built as we get it done.
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