Home Projects - Update #1

Yay! We finally started on the guest room upstairs and the laundry room! It's one of those projects that I totally want to have done while still trying to ignore it. The thoughts of it filled me with dread. Both rooms had this hideous wall paper border that needed to come down. I use the word "room" very loosely in reference to the laundry area, mind you. It's not really a room at all. It's more of a back door entry that someone through the years tried to see just how much stuff they could cram into it while still being able to walk. For all the things that I adore about my home, this just isn't one of them. Let me see if I can paint you a picture. When you walk in the back door - there are 3 steps up to a landing that turns and continues upstairs. The bottom 3 steps butt up next to the door casing. The door sits right up against the wall that separates it from the kitchen. So there is no space there. In this very small area we have a nasty monstrosity that I like to call the furnace. I have thought and thought about the furnace. There is really no solution that we can come up with to hide the ugly thing. So, we will get to look at it in all of it's mechanical glory until the day we decide to take on some major renovations. In this laundry room (again, very loosely) there are the appliances that have bestowed upon it it's name. The washing machine is on the wall that backs up to the kitchen. The dryer is tucked in under the stairs. That's fun! I can't tell you the times that I've hit my head while doing laundry. Maybe one day it will knock some sense in me! LOL! And you can't forget the laundry hampers that hold dirty clothes, a basket intended to corral the shoes that always escape and try to trip me. And there is also the trash can. So, as you can see this is a FUN room. Anyway, taking down the border is the part I kept dragging my feet on. We had started to take it down once before in a cubby upstairs and the stuff wasn't wanting to budge. I just knew it was going to be a bear.

Yesterday all 3 of us in my clan marched upstairs with our arsenal of paper removing weapons in hand. We had determination. We had the right equipment. We had each other as reinforcements. It went surprisingly quick with all 3 of us working together. We had both areas stripped down in an hour and a half. Funny thing is - the only really stubborn area was the one that we had started on before. I wouldn't have waited nearly so long if we had started somewhere else the first time. Isn't that usually how it goes?

There are some places in the walls that need to be patched and sanded and then we can start painting. That should go really quick. We have gotten the painting part down to a science. I'll post pictures as we progress with our make-overs. I have added a couple so you can see what we were dealing with. SO GROSS!

These two pictures are at the top of the stairs. Could it BE more disgusting?

These two lovely shots are of the laundry room. Notice how it still looks like a border is up due to the nastiness of the walls? NICE. Also, you can see here what I was saying about the door butting right up on the kitchen wall. I'm taking the picture from the landing.

After living with this mess for almost a year - I'm excited about the prospects of clean walls and fresh paint. It's going to be a busy work week here - but a very rewarding one.

Catch ya later.

Pam

Having Fun Together

Well, I've haven't been consistent with this at all because I can't figure out how to get the meme button to work right. But, because I want to participate - I'm going to anyway. If you would like to be a part of My Husband Rocks Fridays (I'm also a day late - but life happens!) you can click on The Great Adventure in my left hand side bar's blog roll. Katy Lin's site will fill you in on all the details and you can also see how so many other husbands rock as well.

This week we are supposed to tell some of the things we do for fun together.

First of all I must say that my husband is a riot. We don't have to DO anything to have fun together. An example of this would be this morning after breakfast I was washing up the dishes and Chris and Isaac were watching some TV show about junk yards and demolition derbies (guy stuff). One of the guys said something about a broken axle and Isaac said, "What did he just say?" From the kitchen I remarked, "Isaac must be the swear word police today." So Chris explains that an axle is part of car then goes into this whole conversation with himself. "Axel? What did you just call me? I'm not an axle. I'm a piston!" I promise - it was hilarious if you'd have been here. I was belly laughing! Anyway, we have a blast together no matter what we're doing.

We used to go camping and take picnics by the water together. A lot of times we'd go wading in the creek. We don't do as much of that stuff as we used to for a number of reasons; a) We lived in FL for so many years. Wading in the water with things that can kill you just wasn't for us. Neither was fighting off mosquitoes so big they could carry you away. b) We also had a child. That limited our freedom for quite some time. We are beginning to be able to do more of those things again. But we also like to get out by ourselves and drive in the country. One of my most favorite memories was from this past fall when we did that on a motorcycle. Something about feeling my chest against his back with the wind in our faces was absolutely wonderful. Sometimes we also just like to lay next to each other and talk and dream.

The thing that we have discovered through the years is that everything is special and fun as long as we're together.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things...

I've been sitting here staring at my blog hoping inspiration would strike. Nope. I just don't have brilliant ideas or inspiring stories...or funny stories...or personal stories...I got nothin'. (Excuse the grammar.) BUT - I really want to make the effort to be consistent with my blogging. I'm hoping to brush up on my writing skills. Don't ask me why because I really can't tell you. It just seems like a good thing to do at this point in my life. So, for lack of inspiration's sake I'm simply going to share a few of my favorite things. Bear in mind - this is just a few of my favorite things.

The following three things are universal. It doesn't matter what time of year it is - I always love them.

- Dinner seated around the table with my family. We used to eat dinner in front of the TV all the time. Now those times are few and far between. Something special happens when we turn the television off and focus on each other. We connect as a family in a way that completely eluded us while seated in front of the idiot box.

- Handwritten notes. I'm all for e-mail and electronic communications, don't get me wrong. These things have allowed us to connect not only across the miles, but in many cases around the globe in a way that many people throughout history never dreamed possible. But there is something so special about receiving a card in someones own penmanship. It's tangible. I can hold it not only in my heart, but I can file it away and pull it out again over time. I can't tell you the times that I have been weeding out our file cabinet and run across a card or letter from someone and it makes me laugh...or cry. It doesn't just remind me of the sender - it opens the floodgates of memories and emotions that sometimes were completely forgotten. I always keep blank note cards on hand for those times when a 'thank you' is in order or someone is simply on my mind.

- Burning candles. I mentioned these in one of my earliest posts, but they are worth repeating. Science has proven that peoples emotions and memories are directly tied to scents. To me, there is nothing better than entering someones home and being embraced by a wonderful aroma. It immediately puts me at ease and in a relaxed posture. I feel welcomed, like my hostess is glad that I'm there and would like for me to stay and enjoy our time together for a while. Likewise, I want visitors to feel at home when they come and see me. And quite frankly, I want to feel at peace in my home. Scent is just one way to accomplish that feeling. I could spend all day baking and brewing coffee - but then I'd be wore and not be able to sleep at night! No thank you. I think I'll light a few candles instead.

The next few things on my list are seasonal. So, I savor them while they last then quietly wait in expectation for the time when I can enjoy them once again.

- Watching the snow fall. There is something almost magical about staring out my window and seeing the landscape transform before my very eyes, especially when it's an unusually heavy snow fall. All becomes quiet. The world is at peace. So am I.

- Big, furry throws. Kmart has a faux mink throw by Martha Stewart. I loved it so much that I bought two. I love to curl up in the early morning hours with my coffee and my Bible underneath one of these. They are equally delightful in the evenings on the couch with my family by my side. They are oh, so soft and feel exquisite against my skin.

- Snuggling up in front of a roaring fireplace. OK. So this one hasn't happened for me yet, as we don't have a fireplace in our home. But one can always dare to dream!

Well, I think I managed to log some words on a page today. Practice makes perfect.

Science Craft

I wanted to share some photos of the skeleton that Isaac made recently. He likes crafty stuff and I thought it would go well with science.

Here Isaac is pouring the plaster he mixed up into the molds.

And the finished product. Magnets came with it so we glued them on the back and hung it on the refrigerator. It's really long, so I couldn't get a good shot of the whole thing. But you get the idea.

Feels Like Redemption

Need I say more?

No Longer Call Me, Mrs. Flintstone!

I'm so excited!!!!! This house is finally out of the technological stone ages! The comcast guy left just a bit ago and I can proudly hold my head up high and say, "I HAVE HIGH SPEED INTERNET!" I can actually listen to your play lists and watch your you tube videos. Whoo Hoo! I can even talk on the phone while I'm blogging. Not that I'm a big phone talker - but still. I'm looking forward to seeing how much more quickly I can get my computer stuff done in a day. I promise - I bet I was spending 75% of my computer time just waiting...and waiting...and waiting. Life is good.

Cake Mix Cookies

For today's recipe I thought I'd throw out a little something sweet for when you need to whip up a batch of cookies super fast and don't quite want to go the 'ol break-n-bake route. These things are sooooo simple and the options are only limited to your imagination.

CAKE MIX COOKIES:

1 box cake mix (any flavor)
2 eggs
1/2 c. oil

Mix ingredients together and stir in 1/2 bag of baking chips (chocolate, peanut butter...). Place cookies on an ungreased baking pan and bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes.

You can also add in nuts or fruit, if you like. Some great combos are chocolate chip cookies (duh)made with yellow cake mix, and chocolate cake mix with chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or chocolate mint chips (yum!). You can also use a plain yellow cake mix and omit the chips altogether. Roll the cookie dough in cinnamon and sugar for Snicker doodles that will stay moist until the last one is eaten! Another tasty version is lemon cake mix with no chips at all. Simply dust with powdered sugar when they come out of the oven.

If you keep a box of cake mix in the cupboard and chocolate chips in the freezer you'll always be prepared for begging kiddies or unexpected company. You'll always be able to have a batch of oh so yummy cookies whipped up quicker than you can say, "Dessert anyone?".