Burnt out on Beige

I love brown.
I love beige.
They are both forms of chocolate
so what's not to love?

When we moved into this house 8 years
ago the entire house was painted what I

call "khaki".  It was a good, basic,
"sell-your-house" color.  Over time
we have painted some of the rooms
 but I have been very content with
our master bedroom which I decorated
in "kahki & black". 

Then about a year ago I began to view
our bedroom through different eyes.
What I once considered "khaki"

looked "chalky-beige" to me.
"Things, they were a changin'."

The window treatments and
bed cover, which I once thought
quite stylish, had lost it's appeal.
They haven't changed,
and maybe that's the point -
it's time for a change.

I feel like I've been sleepin'
in a dingy, cheap, motel room.
  Get the idea?

We'll be painting the motel roomour bedroom
next Saturday.  Fingers crossed
that I love the new look.

Isn't it funny how our tastes change?
Guess that's why Baskin Robbins
has 32 flavors of ice cream

and Lowe's has a wall filled
with paint sample cards!

Peek-a-boo!

Pssst!

I'm behind this screen.

Don't you dare peek!

I've gone into hiding

because of a little problem.

"I need new bras!"
I need them really baaaad.

I don't want you to know

how long I've been wearing the current ones.

No.  Don't even guess.

I am allergic to lyrcra/spandex/microfiber

and it is difficult to find bras

that are all cotton.

The last few times I bought new ones

I ordered them online.

but alas,

the ones I order are no more.

Stores do not have cotton bras.

Even the ones that are marked "all cotton"

actually have spandex/lyrcra in them,

which it states in the tiniest of print.

Then as I searched online I found the

same situation, with the exception

of this lovely "nursing" bra.

Now doesn't this just make

your heart go pitty-pat?!

After searching online for several hours

I finally found this site

which is totally new to me.

The selection is sparse but at least

there IS a selection.

It pains me to admit

"I have become 'Maxine'".

Banana Brain

Mister stopped by the store

and brought home bananas.

Does anything about this photo

seem strange to you?

Who would put bananas

beside the fruit bowl,

rather than putting them in the fruit bowl

which was sitting there empty?

(perhaps the same person who

puts their dirty clothes
beside the hamper rather than

in the hamper)

I'm not complaining.

I'm just asking.

It makes me laugh to look at this.

Maybe I'm the one that's strange

or waaay to easily entertained.

? ? ? ? ? ?

The same Mister got up Saturday morning,

made and served  pancakes

to me and Princess.

When he gets it right,
he really gets it right!

Love You Forever

Have you read this little children's book?

It's been in print for a very long time

so chances are you are familiar with it.

I happened across the book again recently

and was vividly reminded

of the first time I saw it.

Our youngest son was in college

and Mister and I had gone to visit him one weekend.

During the visit we went through a local mall

to pick up some college things for him.

(College kids are always needy, aren't they?!)

One of our stops was the bookstore at the mall.

In the bookstore there was a display

featuring the "Love You Forever" book.

Son says, "Oh Mom, have you seen this book?"

I picked up the book and began to quickly

read through it.

Then I began to CRY!

Not just a little,

a LOT,

the crying one does when they

can't catch their breath.

The ugly-screw-up-your-face

cry.

People began to look.

We exited the store.

Son and Mister were astounded

as I am one that N-E-V-E-R

cries.  (well, rarely, and only when

I'm alone, with the door shut)

Son is flustered and apologetic

and Mister is shaking his head

and confused.

I vowed to N-E-V-E-R read this

book again.

It is more than I can handle.

I.Am.Weak.

And.I.Am.Vulnerable.

When.I.Read.Those.Words.

*Fast-Forward with me to

6 weeks later*

It was Mother's Day.

I was dressed in my new dress

and thrilled that all our children

were coming in from college to

attend church with us on this

special day.

The BIG church was packed,

pew to pew, aisle to aisle.

We sang.  We prayed.

and THEN

the Children's Minsiter made

a few comments about this special

day, "Mother's Day".

And for this special occasion

she had chosen to read a story,

"Love You Forever".

I looked to the right of me.

I looked to the left of me.

There was no way of exiting

the crowded pew quickly.

I mentally recited the alphabet;

I went to the "happy place"

in my mind,

but there was no ignoring

those words.

I made an awful scene.

There was lots of noisey crying,

snot-slinging, and hic-upped sobs.

I simply couldn't quit crying

I lumbered across the laps

of the people seated on our pew

as I made my way to the aisle

and out the back door.

This was not my finest moment.

I still don't understand

why this book upsets me so.

Perhaps it has something to

do with the passing of time

and little boys growing

into grown men.

Happy Birthday to our
baby boy, Tate!
I wish we could be with you today.

~Mom

Outta here!

Shopping day with my BFF

+

 lunch thrown into the mix  =  therapy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I.Love.Me.A.Good.Shopping.Day.

Baby Love, Oh Baby Love.

When I was a kid I loved my baby dolls.

I got one for every birthday and every Christmas.

I loved that my birthday was in August as that

meant a new baby doll every six months.

I never played with Barbies.

For me it was always about "the baby".

Do you remember these babies?

Tiny Tears

Betsy Wetsy

Gerber Baby Doll

(1980's, my daughter's generation)

I played with my dolls EVERY day.

I slept with them EVERY night.

And the truth is I had a hard time

giving them up when I was 13 yrs old.

Yep.  THIRTEEN!

I only gave them up then because

I was afraid someone would see me

playing with them and would "out" me.

And I remember their names.

I named one "Sears Roebuck",

one "JC Penney"

and another "Sophia Loren."

Maybe I was a strange kid.

Did you play with baby dolls?
Any memories that linger?
And what did YOU name them?

4 letter word.

Sorry.

I really detest bad language,

but sometimes there's just

not a proper substitution.

*Spoiler:  4 letter "F" word ahead.

"FALL"

has done come to the South.

It was a sunny *93 yesterday,

but it rained overnight

and remained gray,

windy,

and 65 today.

"I will not complain".

"I will not complain".

Now when I have a hot flash

I can just go

stand in the backyard.

A True Confession:

at night

I go to the backyard

and flash my ta-ta's to the sky.

"Instant relief!"

I am learning to embrace

the "F" word.

I need some help!

I'm nervous.

Really nervous.

It's one thing to burn dinner.  No big deal.

Or forget a dental appointment.  You get a do-over.

Or plug up the toilet.  You get a plunger.

BUT, I've talked Mister into giving me the OK

to buy new living room furniture

and I sure don't want to screw up

these purchases.

Whatever I decide upon, good or bad,

I'll be living with it for a very long time.

Sure wish some of you Designer Bloggy Friends

lived near and could help me.

Color?

Comfort?

Space?

Design?

Compatibility?

Pet Friendly?

I'd love some advice!!

The picking of nits.

Nit-Picking

Mr. Webster seems to think the act of

nitpicking is: "minute and usually

unjustified criticism", I beg to differ.

I think nit-picking involves

"one entity helping rid somene else of

unneeded and often times unrecognized small

'nits' which over time grow to be annoying and downright bothersome

to those around them."

For the sake of reference I'm going with my definition.

Mister and I have a continuing conversation regarding "retrieval of the mail".

In our neighborhood mailboxes are joined in groups of fives.  In our case the mailboxes are in our front yard.  The boxes serve us, the house on both sides of us, as well as the two houses across the street.  We live in a suburb.  Once a day most of us check our mailbox for mail.  I make the short little stroll from my front door to the mailbox and back again - it takes me probably 45 seconds to do this. . .However, if Mister decides to "get the mail" he will stop at the mailbox while in the car, as he is driving into the driveway. 

Here's the nitpicking. . .

"How can it be that any one healthy person can be so lazy as to retreive their mail from the car, rather than parking the car in the garage and then walking back to the mailbox?"  Do we need to all scream,
"I.Am.So.Lazy.That.I.Can.Not.Walk.To.Get.
My.Mail.!!!!  

 Do we?

Mister is certainly not alone in this practice.  As I was trying to pull into my driveway today there was a car (my neighbor) blocking our driveway as she was retrieving her mail "curbside".  There we sat, the neighbor in her car getting her mail, me in my car waiting, and an on-coming car waiting for her to clear the side of the street.  I wasn't in a hurry.  I didn't mind waiting, BUT, once again this screams to me, "I.Am.So.Lazy.That.I.Can.Not.Walk.
To.Get.My Mail.!!!!
For the record, I am not talking about inclement weather, dark-of-night, or health issues.  I am also not saying or even implying that Mister is lazy.  This is all a matter of habit; a BAD habit, a "nit".

"Stop Curbside Mail Pick Up Now!"

WALK to get your mail, People!
You can do it!

Whew!
I just had to say this.

Got any "nits" you want to pick?
Permission granted.

Calling Homeschoolers!

I've been tagged by Cheryl
at "Say What?"
to participate in this Meme.

This IS our home school.

This holds all our materials
and everything we use for a school day,
with the exception of the computer.
I love having everything
easily accessible.
*Note that Princess is a 16 yr old Junior
and the only student.
You gals who school multiple children
are Saints!

ONE RESOURCE I WOULDN'T BE WITHOUT ... Computer and Printer
I don't know how people did this before the availability of computers.

ONE RESOURCE I WISH I'D NEVER BOUGHT ... Apologia Biology.
We paid a fortune for this so felt we had to stick with it.
We did.  We found the material confusing and poorly organized.
it was a happy day when  the final chapter was finished and we could say goodby to the book.

Many people love Apologia, but we are not one of them.
Just sayin. . .

ONE RESOURCE I ENJOYED LAST YEAR ... "Teaching with 50 Great Short Stories"

by Milton Crane.  Love.Love.Love. this!!

ONE RESOURCE I WILL BE USING THIS YEAR ... "Write at Home" online writing course

ONE RESOURCE I WOULD LIKE TO BUY ... more Teaching Company Videos.

These are great, but very pricey.

ONE RESOURCE I WISH EXISTED ... bottled knowledge.  The student could
take a swig each day and be good-to-go!

ONE HOMESCHOOL CATALOG I ENJOY READING ... The Rainbow Catalog.

ONE HOMESCHOOLING WEBSITE I USE REGULARLY ... "The Well-Trained Mind Forum".

These folks are hard-core schoolers and though I don't hs using their methods, they have answered my questions and recommended some very good materials. 

TAG OTHER HOMESCHOOLERS!

I don't really know many blogging homeschoolers,
but if you homeschool you are welcome to grab
this and run with it!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

These questions are for anyone/everyone.

1.  Do you know any children/adults who are/were
homeschooled?

2.  Is homeschooling a common thing where you live?

3.  Are you curious about anything related to home schooling?

Feel free to ask me anything.

Comments are welcome.

I FOUND IT! (and follow up)

Remember this?

I FOUND IT!

*MY DIAMOND*

I FOUND IT!

I was talking on the phone and reached down

to pick up what I thought was an earring

that Princess had dropped,

but NO!  IT WAS MY DIAMOND!!!

To those of you who prayed I would find it -

I must say I doubted.  I thought it was long gone.

Your faith and your prayers

enabled me to find it.

I know it was Y-O-U!!Thank you sooooo very much!!

 * * * * * * * * * * * *

Remember when I showed you

these lovely gals I found

at the Thrift store?

I promised I'd show them to

you again once I had found

them a permanent place

to roost.

I am happy to report  these girls

are doing well nested high above,

on the top of the 'fridge;

however they have yet to lay a golden egg.

Just sayin . . .

These guys have been split up

and given a temporary home -

There was already a nail in this spot

so they're hangin' out here

until I redo my bedroom and give them

a permanent home.

(forgive me Martha Stewart)

And this guy was given a make-over.

Recognize him now,

all dressed up?

I think thrift "finds" are like rescued pups,

they are happy anywhere

they find a new home.

My baby has a J-O-B!

Two weeks ago she applied to four stores

at the mall near our house.

A week later she was called to come in

for an interview.

She was surprisingly very calm about this.

(I remember job interviews

and I was NEVER calm.  Ever.)

The next day they called to say she was

HIRED!

Getting ready for her first day.

(She sits in the sink just like I used to do.)

Sixteen years old and ready for her first day

on the job.

This is a part-time job

and hopefully it will

pair nicely with her homeschooling

schedule.  There are many

things one can learn from working

with the public.  Hoping this will be

a great experience for her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

I remember my first job.

I was sixteen when I went to work

for TG&Y.

I was honored to be a

"TG&Y Girl".

Does anyone remember TG&Y?

I worked in the Notions Dept.

cutting fabric and ribbon.

It was good experience

and I learned many life lessons

while working there.

I made $1.25 an hour.

Really.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

What do you remember about

your first job?

Good experience

or

Bad experience?

How do you feel about teenagers

working while in high school?

Screw-up

I'm owning this "screw-up".

I did it.

I take full responsibility.

That said, I think you'll understand,
as this is such a "girl thang!".

I bought a lovely quilt and pillow sham set for

our bedroom.

I ordered it online from a major company.

It arrived like clockwork.

I layed the quilt across the bed

and liked what I saw.

I refolded the quilt, and put it back into

the shipping plastic.

My plan was to paint the bedroom

before using the new quilt.

Time passed.

Life happened.

The more I thought about the quilt

all packed away in the plastic,

the more I began to think

perhaps I could find a different quilt,

one that I would like even more.

(See!  I told you this was a "girl thang".)

Sure enough,

I did some more online searching

and found a different quilt.

Yes, one I liked even more!

I began to make arrangements to return

the quilt I had originally purchased.

It was past the 30 day deadline

of being able to return for a full

purchase.  Bummer!

Still, I was willing to take

a partial refund.

I once again took the quilt

out of the plastic packing and worked

on getting it folded "just so".

This was a BIG job since it was

a king-size quilt.

I wanted it to arrive back at the

company perfectly packaged so

I could get the best return price

available at this point.

I still had the original mailing box -

perfect!

Once I had it perfectly packaged & sealed

I delivered it to the UPS drop store,

just as the instructions directed.

$10.67 later it was on it's way.

Imagine my surprise  that 

evening when I went into my

bedroom and found the two pillow shams

(which should have been returned

along with the quilt) lieing on the bed!

Sometimes you just have to "suck it up"

and admit you've

"screwed up".

What I've decided to do:

If I mail the shams I will have to

pay for more postage.

I am planning just to "let it be".

Whatever the company decides

to refund is what I'll have to take.

The original cost was $76.

I've already paid $10+ for return postage.

I will only get partial refund at best.

"To err is human,
but to really 'screw-up'
takes a lot of work."