I May Need an Intervention

As y’all know, I’m still working on Eldest’s room. Furniture has been repositioned, shelves readied, and knick-knacks are done and ready to be displayed in the manner I know should be done. But there are some things still being worked on, and she has been slow to purge her childish things, so we are still moving at the speed of galoshes in quicksand.

Nevertheless, I have been busy being creative, as well. Boy, have I been having fun making new things out of random crap old stuff I find. I had this cheese dome, bought foolishly at a home party, just collecting dust in a kitchen cabinet and taking up precious space better served by my Lolita™ glasses. I’m making it into a bell jar for her room, complete with a skull.

Like this, just not as cute.

No one can say I am NOT a cool mom.

In the course of making last minute adjustments to her stuff, I have had to go in periodically to the local home improvement store. I was there last weekend, asking about a light kit. The young man who was helping me was interrupted by an older gentleman:

Gent: Can you tell me where to find a filter for a pitcher?

Salesguy: Hm…not sure, but I think you can find them in the kitchen supplies section, right next to the paint section.

Me: No, they are in the plumbing section, far back wall, right past the kitchen appliances and before the salt for water softeners.

Gent: (looking strangely at me)

Salesguy: (looking strangely at me)

Me: I’ve been in that section recently…

Salesguy #2 walking by: Hey, Ms. Aggie*. Haven’t seen you in a couple of days!

Me: (sighing)

Salesguy #1: You should work here.

I’m seriously thinking about it. But I get the feeling my paycheck would just revert to the store anyway 😉

Industriality

Well, since Eldest still hasn’t finished purging her room of the unwanted, I thought I would share an idea I got from the Lowe’s Creative Ideas site. It came out so cool, I will make another for Son’s room.

You’ll need:

• Amerimax Flex-a-Spout in white
• Utilitech 6′ Incandescent Rope Light
• Strong scissors to cut through plastic

The original link said to use a 12″ LED rope light, but guess what? Lowe’s no longer carries it. Also, in my opinion the 12″ would have been too short (shut it, people), as you will see.

First, take the Flex-a-Spout and cut off the square part. I chose to cut it off right where the flexing of the tube begins.

The directions at the link tell you to fold the light in half and place inside the tube, then bend the tube into the shape you wish. But I found it easier to bend the tube first, and then push the folded rope light through. Once done, you have this:

BEHOLD THE AWESOMENESS!!!!

The total cost for the light was less than $20. And Lowe’s gives the military a 10% discount, so it came out to less than $17.50 with tax. I think it goes well with the whole Steampunk vibe in her room, plus it gives her another source of lighting without breaking the bank, since the lamp I originally wanted was a whopping $90.

I love my kid, but there are limits.

Hopefully she will be done this evening, and the furniture moved and situated the way I want it where it needs to go. If not, I will treat y’all to a food hater’s recipe. Or bad Youtube videos. Whichever strikes my fancy and drowns out the gnashing of my teeth 😉

In My Next Life

Y’all have read that cute little email or post about how women want to be a bear in their next life, right?

I don’t.

Sure, you get to sleep through your pregnancy and eat whatever you want, and never have to shave, and kill whatever threatens your cubs, and hey, even fish all day.

Before caffeination.

I’m a “glass empty” kind of gal. I don’t want to come back as a mama bear. That just means I will end up as someone else’s fur rug or trophy. The only upside to being a bear is being able to terrorize campers in Yellowstone. And even then you run the risk of being shot with thorazine, or worse, shot with bullets. No thanks. I’ll pass on being a bear.

No, in my next life I want to be an American Bald Eagle. Awesome eyesight, sharp talons, great nesting, and totally protected. Even my feathers are protected.

I just hope I come back in the US side, and not Canada 😀

Do-It-Yourself: GIVEAWAY!!!

Ok, so lately I have been going a bit nuts over DIY stuff. As soon as I am done with Eldest’s room I will get back to other fluff. But for now, I am enjoying the whole repurposing/ recycling/ redoing bug I have acquired. Seriously, I keep walking around the house looking for stuff to alter or repurpose. Only the dogs are safe.

Last night I was trying to decide what to do with a small jelly jar I had, courtesy of my SIL two Christmases ago. It had been hiding in the back of the pantry, behind the spaghetti container, which is a tall Tupperware™ thing that obstructs my line of sight, given how short I am. So…. I looked around, and thought hey, maybe I can make jelly! Yeah, that ain’t happening. I rummaged through the Box O’Stuff™ chock full of fabric and sundry items, and then it hit me.

A cute little sewing kit!!!

So, all y’all have to do is comment on this post in the next 24 hours with a wish that you want to win it. That’s it! At the end of the day (actual 24 hours), I will do the whole names-in-the-hat thing and let Little One choose. I can’t let one of my dogs choose because they may end up eating the whole hat.

I know I suck at this, but bear with me. It’s my first giveaway. Enter as often as you wish, since I don’t get that many peeps over here, and good luck 😉

Giveaway closed!!

Thanks so much for commenting, and I will post the winner tomorrow!!

Do-It-Yourself Fun: Chapter 1

Well, I know I was supposed to have pics up of Eldest’s room today. Unfortunately, she was ill on Friday, which meant “convalescing” all weekend, and by “convalescing” I mean playing Skyrim™ with her dad while her mom finished off the projects.

*Grumble, grumble*

Anyway, one of the things she wanted in her room was mercury glass. I myself love mercury glass. It is so pretty and old fashioned. But there was NO WAY I was going to pay $80 for a small vase at Pottery Barn™. Not. Happening. I thought about scouring the thrift stores, until I saw this tutorial at Katie’s Rose Cottage Designs, and I thought to myself, I can make that!!

You’ll need:

• cheap glass vases, votives, or whatever you can get at the Dollar Store.
• Krylon Looking Glass Spray Paint™
• spray bottle with a one-to-one mixture of water and vinegar
• paper towels
• well-ventilated area and plenty of coverage for the workspace

First, make sure you have cleaned the item well. I wiped them down with alcohol on a paper towel. Next, shake the paint vigorously, and apply an even coat, or as even as you can, onto the outside of the glass. I had tried doing the inside, but I didn’t get the old shiny results I wanted. After spraying the paint, just spritz the item lightly with the vinegar/water solution, enough to let beading form. Wait just about a minute, and then take a paper towel and gently blot the bubbles and beads of solution. Voilá!! The spray prevents the paint from adhering! Keep spraying paint and solution in as many layers as you wish. I did only two layers for the results I was wanting. This was the bottle before:

Those pretty bourbon bottles sure came in handy.

And this is the same bottle after:

I have plans for this….

I shall update the post with a pic after the Sun decides to make an appearance. Oh, and don’t think I stopped at just one glass bottle.

Can you say “Christmas decor??”

I didn’t go overboard. I just decided to do all of that particular project at once, so that I could concentrate on the rest of her stuff without distraction. All in all, I spent less than $5 on the spray paint, and had plenty of random glass stuff waiting for a ride to Goodwill, so the total expense of this project was well below $10, which is far better than one small vase for $80.

Best part? It was very therapeutic, sitting out in the hot sun, spraying, blotting, spraying, plotting…. 😉

UPDATE AS PROMISED!

Not Even Trying Today

I got up and felt like a cat had chewed me up, spit me out, and dragged through pond scum.

And I’m not even sick. Just tired.

I was thinking of doing a giveaway for the blog. Something either made by me or just some random weird thing I find at the clearance section of Home Depot. Or the Dollar Store. Not sure yet.

Then I thought of doing a simple dish each week and featuring it so that the food pic haters would have some angst in their lives. But that’s not how I operate. I don’t like fostering angst. I like fostering fear.

I also thought about posting pretty thought of the day. Then I recalled I am Sith.

Anyway, I will think of something tomorrow. For now, I am off to paint PVC pipes, attach a ventilation duct for a dryer on the ceiling, and make a lamp out of a flowerpot.

Don’t judge me because I’m crazy. Judge me because I am too tired to make a rebuttal, and this is your only chance 😉

Possible Death of a Salesman

I am NOT a happy camper right now.

About a year ago, one of those college/ vocational/ tech institute students came by selling magazines. My heartstrings are always plucked like chicken feathers. Anyway, he was just a few “points” from getting the level and so I decided to choose a couple of harmless magazines. That usually means family or cooking oriented. Well, they had Family Fun, which I like because it has a lot of ideas for young kids, which can also be adapted for older ones. And since he begged so nicely, I decided to order Rachael Ray’s magazine.

No, I don’t like Rachael Ray. Her perkiness drives me nuts, and feels like a cheese grater on my nerves. But it was the only cooking magazine that wasn’t labelled as “light” or “healthy”. And no, before you freak out I am NOT against eating light or healthy. I just like to do the healthy substitutions or tweaking on a regular recipe if I wish to do so. It’s easier to trim down a regular fat recipe than fatten up a thinned out one. I think I’m rambling and y’all don’t understand, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I ordered her magazine with the full intent to be more creative in my cooking, and instead, I got Newsweek.

I have nothing against Newsweek. Obviously, I don’t care for its political slant, but they have the freedom to do that. No, what bothers me is that I ordered a cooking magazine, and GOT A NEWS MAGAZINE INSTEAD!!!

And on what world does the spelling of Every Day with Rachael Ray look like Newsweek?? He wrote the title, and the numbers that corresponded were not even close to each other. I swear I’m being tested.

And if another salesdude or chick comes by selling magazines, I will greet them with machete in hand. 😉

Food Blogging: Day Three, I Think

I told Laura that for “NATIONAL IRRITATE A FOOD PIC HATER FOOD PIC POSTING WEEK”, known as NIAFPHFPPW, for short, I would have the BEST Sunday breakfast evah!!!

I bet you it will cure a hangover, too.

And this phoned in post concludes my food contributions for NIAFPHFPPW. I can tell you I got some awesome recipes from the bloggers to try in the next few weeks…. Ok, maybe the next few months. If you haven’t been to Bad Bad Juju yet, go….NOW!!

Have a great Friday!! 😀

My Empire for a Pillow

This post has been 30 years in the making. At least, it feels like it.

I have owned the same pillow since I was sixteen years old. I love my pillow. It’s latex, not feather, and I do get it dry cleaned on a regular basis, so don’t get all icky on me. Anyway, everyone tells you that you must replace your pillow every so-many-years, since pillows tend to “break”. And I have tried. Boy, have I tried….

The first replacement I bought in college. It was a feather/foam type. As soon as I lay on it, it just flattened. I was so disappointed, because the salesperson absolutely guaranteed I would sleep like a baby. Turns out I did. A colicky one.

The second time, I found a latex pillow, and I was ecstatic! It was JUST LIKE MINE!! We were in the process of moving from San Antonio to Fayetteville, NC, when I realized my pillow had been packed with all the household goods. GAH!! We went to some big name housestuff store, and I found it. It was just the right size, too: three inches at the middle thickness. That is important, as you will see later. Anyway, we drove out from Houston to Pensacola, and stayed at a La Quinta overnight. And in my hurry to pack up in the morning, I left my pillow in the hotel room!!

Some hotel staffer is sleeping well in Pensacola.

The third time was only two years ago. I decided to splurge on a memory foam pillow, because that’s all the rage and it’s supposed to conform to your head, blah, blah, blah… So I do. I spend $50 on a pillow, but I am prudent enough to keep my old one, just in case. I try it out that night, hoping against hope that it works.

And I ended up waking up feeling rather stabby. GAH!! This time, Little One ended up with the premium pillow. At least she loves that thing, so it wasn’t a waste of time or money.

I scoured all over town for latex pillows, and finally found one. Number Four was latex, and firm, and awesome. But it was four inches thick, and I ended up waking up with a crick in my neck every morning. So, Son becomes the proud owner of a very nice latex pillow, and Momma once again literally dusts off her old pillow for her use.

Fast forward to last Saturday. Hubby and I had been contemplating a new mattress set. The old one was fine, but the box spring tended to creak horribly if you so much as looked at it. So, you can let your imagination wander here. And….you can stop now. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t conducive to a good night’s sleep, either. So, we went to get a new set, and while purchasing the mattress, I spied another foam pillow. The salesman told me it was a top seller, and I tried it out. Seemed the right height, so I added it to the final purchase. I awaited its arrival in eager anticipation. FINALLY, a new pillow for me!!!

And after two nights of waking up in discomfort, I have to take it back. Short of me shaving off an inch from the pillow top, I don’t see how it can work for me. So, either Eldest will end up with it, or the store will.

All I know is, my old, trusty pillow will probably be with me forever. At least, until I get cremated. Then we will have to part, because burning latex can be toxic, and I don’t want that ending up in the sewage along with my ashes 😉

SQUEEEE!!!!

The Nomstress is here, and we get to have some girl time today!!

Hubby: So, what are the plans for today?

Me: I am taking the girls to the Trollbeads store.

Hubby: Uh…

Me: *cuts eyes over to him*

Hubby: That sounds like fun for you!!

It’s a long weekend, and I need to relax. THAT’S FINAL!!

Anyway, gotta jet for now. I have an appointment with the felt department at Hancock Fabrics after the Trollbeads store, and after that, I have an appointment with a glass of wine lemonade. Hope y’all have a good one 😉