Ew!

This week has been a total bust! Sunday night both Chloe and I were hit with the stomach bug. Evil thing it is. Horrific barely begins to describe it.

Then Tuesday morning we woke to our master bathroom besieged by hot water. One of the faucets broke and let the water flow. And it flowed right out the bathroom in the master bedroom and closet.

What happened next? That very night the stomach bug found both John and Jesse. The entire house was down.

Now, Friday, we are all beginning to feel more like ourselves. It has been a long ride, longer for Chloe and I, but I think we are finally at the end. And honestly, I hope we don't get that again for quite awhile.

A new stove

Saturday we went to Lowe's to pick out a new stove. Sunday morning we spent the morning cleaning, so they could deliver the new stove. Now you are wondering why we needed a new stove.

Honestly, we've talked about getting a new one for a couple of years. One of the burners sparked when you turned it on, for quite a few years now. Then last spring, or summer, John and the girls had to try an experiment with aluminum foil. It left melted aluminum foil on my favorite burner, even though I was told it would not do that.

The final straw occurred last week. John told Chloe to store her bag of popcorn in the stove to protect it from the humidity in the house. Then he told her that may be a bad idea and she had to remember it was there. Well, no one informed me of any of this until after the fire. Yep. Small fire in the oven. Did I panic? You bet ya! Did Chloe? Not at all. She came right into the kitchen, grabbed the can (not an actual fire extinguisher, but easier to use), and put out the fire. Then she realized what was in the oven and fell apart. lol  I totally blamed John.

And that is why we have a new stove.

Today, I had to get a new military ID. I am the lucky one who only got six months before needing to get a new one when we had them made last year. But we had the chance to see John for a few minutes and that always makes my day.

We came home by way of our favorite RV place. They finally (after 1 1/2 year) have the floor plan we saw at the RV show two years ago. I wanted Jesse to get in it again. She keeps saying the ones we are looking at are too small. But that is what we want. I also found her complaints rather amusing considering we were all on our bed last night watching TV.

School was finished early today. We took an hour break, then headed up to the classroom to clean. So many things have been left out lately and it was driving me nutty. After cleaning, we had a foosball tournament. Chloe beat me, but just by one point. Then she and Jesse had it out. I'm not sure who won their match.

Spring cleaning??

Today, we did a bit of spring cleaning. I do realize it is the middle of winter but it seemed like a good time. It was time to spray the house for bugs. No, we haven't had any and personally I'd like to keep it that way.

Chloe has been working on crocheting a gift for a friend's birthday next week. I hope she gets it finished. She doesn't seem to like how the legs look.

Jesse cooked dinner tonight. We had mashed potatoes and hamburger steaks cooked in a mushroom sauce. I'm proud that she wants to try. Chloe will be cooking dinner next week. They asked to have nights when they could cook by themselves; I'm not going to say no to that.

I did get out this morning to a solo romp to Tiffany's, while the girls and John went grocery shopping. I managed to get some papers graded and created a history test.

More Christmas decorations to come down

Today, the girls and I went to Charlotte to help take my parent's Christmas decorations down. We had a good bit of fun trying to take the tree the apart. I'm not sure what happened, but the bottom two pieces would not come apart. Dad had a few laughs watching us trying to get things back into boxes; I'll just say next year will be interesting when we pull it all out again.

I also cut my Dad's hair for the first time today. He has decided to keep it short and I like it. I told him I'll try to remember to bring the hair clippers up when I go up. Just to keep it "fresh". lol

The girls have spent the last few days working on some, interestingly awesome, LEGO creations.



Jesse's Theater

 

They are performing "The Lion King".

Every theater needs a concession stand!

Chloe's "Redneck Community Center"



Chloe's "Redneck Community Center" - a pool table

Chloe's "Redneck Community Center" - bon fire

Chloe's "Town of Awesome" - the Dept. Store

 

Chloe's "Town of Awesome" - the dog park

Chloe's "Town of Awesome" - the library

This is a video of Jesse's Garage. I thought she did a great job; she is far more creative than I ever was. I suppose she gets it from her Dad.

So, now you will understand why our living room currently looks like this:

My hope is by this time tomorrow it will be clean again.

Crazy life!

It has been two-and-a-half weeks since Jesse became ill and truthfully we have accomplished very little school work since then. We did a bit last week, but because John was home last Thursday and Friday (and he was off Monday)...well, you can see how getting anything done would be difficult.

In fact, I was behind in fixing their schedules for their work. Imagine my surprise last week when I went to add in times for Chloe's October schedule and there was not one! There was actually not a spreadsheet made yet for October! Really?! Oh, my, I do have much to do. So today became my "fix it" day. It took me about two hours to fix, and create, their October spreadsheets but they are finally done. I am now caught up to the 24th of this month, which I delights me to no end. It is truly the small things in life that make me happy. lol

All four of us went to Charlotte this weekend, so my folks could celebrate John's birthday with him. We had a good visit. And plenty of good food. My Dad taught the girls how to make chicken and dumplings. They did a great job. In fact, they cooked the entire lunch with directions from Grandpa and did a great job.

I took a break, after doing all that spreadsheet work, and was browsing Facebook. A friend of mine posed the question about chores and allowance. I have to say we do pay the girls an allowance for chores; however, things are not going as well I had hoped. I hoped the incentive of cash would help them do more around the house. It hasn't worked quite like I'd hoped.

The discussion on the post was chores are for those who live in the home and makes things run smoother for everyone. Something I've tried preaching for awhile, along with, "if you want Momma happier then clean up after yourself." That too has not worked so well. lol  What many of the moms said was their children earn money by doing extra things around the house that is not normally expected. I think I'm going to take this up with John to see if we can come up with something for our household. All I know is something needs to change. I really enjoy and clean organized home, but I feel like I rarely have one longer than a couple of days in a row, then it needs a total overhaul again. It aggravates me to no end. Don't get me wrong I love and adore my family, but I wish they were neater. lol

I know I should blog daily so I don't have to write a catch-up post

If only life were so easy that I had the time, and energy, to write a post daily. lol  Last Thursday was rather quiet. Jesse had an orthodontist appointment at the same time Chloe had a  Battle of the Books meeting. Other than those two things being at the same time, life was quiet.

Friday afternoon we headed to Edgefield. It was John's Dad's birthday. Korean custom is you visit the grave to leave gifts. We actually went down early to spend some time with Oma. She is doing well, but not happy with her new diet. Change is difficult for all of us. After the cemetery, we stopped off to have dinner at one of our old favorite restaurants. It has changed owners, and the menu is now (in my opinion) hard to read but the food is as good as ever.

Saturday was the baby shower. I know the girls enjoyed seeing Brittany and of course eating some awesome cake!

The Teddy bear Jesse made for baby Liam.

Brittany with her mustache!

Sunday was Family Day at the lake for John's work. I have to be honest; all four of us thought it was going to be horrible. We were surprised! It was hot, and we knew it would be. There were people there who are annoying...we knew they'd be there. But John and the girls found a way for us to find some peace. We took a couple of peddle boats out onto the lake. It was early enough so there was still some shade around the lake. We had a good time.

Monday we went over to look at RVs again. We actually found one with both agreed would be nice. It is a pop-up, with a slide-out, a wet bath, a stove, and a microwave. If only we had a truck! lol

Tuesday night about midnight John woke me up to tell me our air conditioner was no longer working. Great! We woke the girls up and carried all of our bedding upstairs. Wednesday was hot, but not too bad. The girls and I hung out in the classroom (where the window unit is) until the air conditioner repair man came. It didn't take him long to fix the problem...condenser coil, and we had air again. I was beyond grateful!

So we didn't have school on Tuesday. It was too hot and the upstairs was a mess because I had taken all the boxes out of the attic in case the repairman needed access. Wednesday we didn't have school either. I decided if I didn't get the house cleaned up I was going to go crazy. We took the day to not only clean, but organize. While the house is not perfect, it feels so much better now.

Our LAST day of school!!

Both girls had a history project due today.

Jesse's diorama

Chloe's diorama

The dioramas were only part of the project; they also had to give an oral presentation. Chloe was able to choose anything she studied this year in Story of the World III; she had to create a diorama and give a report explaining what she chose. She chose The War of Jenkins' Ear. Jesse had to create a diorama and give an oral report on how life changed for people during the time she studied this semester. Her diorama depicted nomadic people and her oral report explained how people lived prior and after. She also explained how there are still people who are nomadic. They both did very well.

The rest of the day was spent in total bliss. lol  We ran a few errands this morning, including a celebratory trip to Tiffany's. I mean really when you only have a two week "summer" you need to enjoy every single moment. Right?

I am also happy to say last weekend I was able finish most of the homeschool association's paperwork. We just need to grade the history projects and one English test. :D  I've already switched out most of this year's books for next year's books.

I posted a picture of one of the new verbena with a few blooms the other day. Well, today I saw the other verbena now has quite a few blooms. Oh, yeah! (Remember I paid $1 each for them.) We also bought a couple of new plants today: a bee balm (which I planted by the garage, near the fence gate) and a parsley plant (in the kitchen). John said the parsley tasted awesome. :)

Unfortunately, I did not get the house organized this week. Boo! I think it is actually dirtier, except the kitchen. I even reorganized a kitchen cabinet the other day, so food would stop falling out onto my feet. lol I hope I can get everything I want done next week, so the following week I can relax. Because the week after that, we start school again. But that is in two weeks, so I choose not to think about it right now. ;)

Days like this are just fun!

Wow! You never know how a day is going to go when you wake up in the morning. I mean, really!

It started quiet enough. Our usual morning routine. Jesse volunteering, while Chloe and I ran a couple of errands. Lunch at home (much to Chloe's dismay), then some cleaning. Okay, the cleaning was not really cleaning but organizing. Our closet is now reorganized. Woohoo! The plants have all been moved and their old table is now in our bedroom.

We had a visitor today. We don't get them often, but this was my favorite Jehovah Witness. She always cracks me up and we have such a good talk. Today's talk was brief because it was cold and windy out. She never comes in, but always makes sure I have something to read. And yes, I do read all of her pamphlets...in case you were wondering.

Tonight was also another rehearsal for Chloe. Which reminds me, that people are funny. Now, the girls have not done a play in Columbia since last January, so there are quite a few "new" people who have never seen us there before. I was trying to sign-up to volunteer and the nice lady at the table was trying to con me. (First of all, never con a con. It doesn't work.) "Oh," she said, "I heard the Green Room is the funnest job". Yes, "funnest". Um. Yeah, lady, sure it is that is why the third Green Room person is now called "Green Room Bouncer". Tell it to someone else I'm not buying today. :)

I have to tell you a story. I'm being stalked. No, really. When I say the name, some of you will roll your eyes and be in total belief. Alex. Yes, he is stalking me. I'm not kidding. You see it happened three weeks ago. Master Mike has a new class on Mon/Wed nights at another rec center. Alex is now teaching there. Three weeks ago, I was at B&N while Chloe was at rehearsal. He just happen to come in and saw me. He has been there now every week for three weeks after class. Tonight, however, things went a little different.

Rather than sitting in the café, my friend and I went to the kids book section to watch her baby so her oldest could make a few phone calls. I was hoping this way I could avoid Alex. Well, it worked...up until we left. I'll skip some of the slap stick comedy once I saw Alex. What happened in the end was we were all running toward the door, when I saw Alex inside the mall on the other side of the glass wall we were all running down. I laughed so hard I almost cried. He turned around to come back to the door to speak. I cannot wait for this show to be over. lol

John was busy tonight too. While we were out, he went to Lowe's to buy the wood for the swings. He is hoping to get it built before the weekend, but I'm not sure how since I won't be here to help hold the wood. However, once he gets something in his head, he usually does it. :)

Wow! Just wow!

I just took the dogs out. I had Hank on his leash because Cat Black was on the deck. Well. I could not believe what I saw! I opened the door and Cat Black put two paws inside the house and rubbed her head on Hank's muzzle! She just saw him for the first time last night. And now the Warrior Princess is rubbing up on him. Wow!!!!!! Amazing! And Hank didn't make a sound.

I finished a project today! I wanted a place to put aprons. We used to hang them on the key hook in the dining room, but you couldn't get to the keys easily and it looked messy to me. Then I had them in a tiny drawer, but there were too many of them to fit well. Honestly, the whole thing was gettin' on my nerves. I started just hanging my apron on the key hook.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago John came up with the brilliant idea of using a utensil holder for all the silverware. You know one of those for a picnic table that has three compartments. Well, guess what...you can't find them this time of year. Geez! Really?! I was already anxious to move everything, so I used what I had. I had a wide utensil container from IKEA and put all the silverware in it. After an hour, I was irritated. However, I was loving having the drawer for the aprons and the girls coffee mugs.

Then John had another idea. The Disney cups! We have so many souvenir mugs and most of them are being stored in the top of the cabinet. Today, I finally got the cups down and sorted out the silverware. Not only are the forks, spoons and knives in their own cups, but we also have a cup for our chop sticks! I'm happy now.

Still moving forward

Here has not changed much in the last 24 hours. There was some growling, baring of teeth and snapping but it was mostly to the humans in the house. Someone does not liked to be picked up; however, I'm not convinced he won't run out of the house when the door opens, so being picked up is going to be in his future for awhile. lol

Jesse is finally starting to make me a hat. She made herself one a week, or so, ago and I asked her to make me one too. I'm excited. I am going to post a picture of all the things she has made in the last few months. She has been very busy!

Chloe has been working on her own list of activities. She is looking forward to working some agility activities with the house guest and she is loving going out to run with him too.

We finished our school work today too! And we worked on cleaning the classroom. We figured with our house guest we should clean so he doesn't eat anything he shouldn't. Not sure if he would, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I still need to find a reading book for Chloe to start tomorrow and work on scheduling Jesse's math, but we are ready to start the week. And what a crazy week it will be.

We go back to taekwondo this week, after being off since the week before Thanksgiving. Chloe starts rehearsals for "The Wizard of Oz" at CCT. Jesse will finally get back to volunteering at the library; they were closed the last two Wednesdays because of Christmas and New Year's. I'm sure there are other things on our calendar, but for right now that seems enough for me. :)

Another "Mom" day

Well, today I got up at 5:30am to get ready (and leave early) for the commissary. Everyone else was still sleeping when I left the house. Jesse was still sleeping when I came back home. Really?! It was just another day where "Mom" gets the crap work and everyone else gets to chill. Geez.

I did talk to a man this morning while waiting for the doors of the commissary to be unlocked. He told me I was too young to be married as long as I've been married. I told him he was my new best friend. :)

We ran a few errands this morning, and John decided to eat a new restaurant we've not tried, Quaker Steak and Lube. Yes, you can get an oil change while you eat! Unreal. Anyway. John had been waiting to try their wings. I have to say we had an amazing lunch and the waitress was wonderful. She even gave us an order of chips to try since we'd never been there before. Yes, for free. I keep telling the girls it pays to be nice to people...especially those serving your food, because they can do awful things to your food in the kitchen and you'll never know. {shiver}

We are still working on organizing the house, but I am loving the changes. John moved our towel rack in the master bath and put three three-foot shelves up in its place. LOVE the storage...even though half the baskets are still empty. I know what I'm putting in them but haven't taken the time to do it yet.

We also completed the shoe shelves. We now have two floating shelves for shoes. The wall is has a rectangle of "cherry on top" paint. And the shoe shelves up to the coat rack is all surrounded by molding. I like it. John started the idea, but I came up with the different colored wall and molding when I looking through a decorating magazine.

We also put up a new shelf over the sewing desk. It holds a couple of boxes with notions and the sewing basket. We have a few more things to complete but the shelves are all working out well.

Hello, friend (Love that Bill!)

I know it has been quite awhile since I blogged, because Jesse has sent me multiple pleas for me to blog through the messaging system. LOL

December was crazy, as usual. I am always amazed by the fact our calendar is empty just before Thanksgiving, then blows up just after. This past December we had two homeschool parties, three family parties and one for John's work. We also spent Christmas Eve at my parent's (no deputies with guns this year!).

So, I'm sure after reading all of that you'll forgive me for not blogging. And if not, maybe this will shed even more light. In addition to all the parties, John decided (after decorating for Christmas) that we would paint the living and dining rooms and the kitchen! I love it! A week after finishing the painting, but before getting everything back place, John decided the classroom needed painting and a complete overhaul! Really?! To say our December was busy, would be a vast understatement!

January brought on new adventures...sort of. The girls auditioned for "Music Man". Yes, I know they have done this play before, but not at Kershaw's Fine Arts Center with the lovely Candice at the director's wheel. This time auditions were for elementary and middle schoolers only. Jesse is still a Pick-A-Little Lady, but she is a "main" one this time rather than being in the background. Chloe is Hazel, a part that is being added and created just for her; she too is a supporting character.  They are both thrilled and excited rehearsals have now started.

We finally took a break from everything and escaped to Pigeon Forge last weekend. Of course, that had its own mishaps. Well, one mishap: weather. We were originally going to leave Friday, but I received a call from the office Thursday afternoon saying they were getting lots of snow, but if we had a four-wheel drive and felt comfortable we should be okay. We'll I neither have four-wheel drive or am comfortable driving up a huge mountain in ice/snow. We left Saturday instead and got to the resort just as the power was coming back on. Yeah!

I'll post pictures on the next post.

Eager to get started

I know I haven't caught you up on everything since mid-November, but I just have to let you know what is going on here.

Shortly after Thanksgiving, John decided to start painting our living/dining room and the kitchen. He was going to start painting during his up coming week off, but then he decided to start last week. Last Monday and Tuesday, he painted the living room. Last night he started working on the dining room. Today, he finished painting the bay window walls. He said he was going to stop, but now he is painting around the door of the stairs.

Of course, this has not been easy considering we had already decorated for Christmas. What were we thinking?! But we are all in love with the color, think sky blue...simply stunning. I'll post pictures in a couple of days when everything is put back where it belongs.

Right now I'm fighting off the urge to start my list of things to do while we are out of school. I have quite a few things to do inside, mostly the kitchen, but because of the painting I'm unable to start. It is giving me an itchy kind of feeling, which is why I'm posting (something is getting done at least).

Okay, I have to start getting ready to leave the house. The girls and I are going to CCT's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" this afternoon. One of our favorite people, Anthony, is Charlie Brown and I cannot wait to see him. He was awesome as Clogsworth and the Mayor; this one should be awesome!

Group project

Okay, a family project. This weekend we finally worked on reorganizing the garage. We've talked about doing it for months, but who really wants to be working in a garage when it is 90+ degrees? Um, not us. ;) 

I have to admit I thought we were simply going to "clean"; however, that is not exactly what happened. We actually moved almost everything in the garage. My potting bench now has a new home...far, far away from John's tools. All of John's toolboxes are now together. All of his gear is now packed away, until needed.

We still have to work on the garage a bit more, but most of the big projects have been done. All this is really left is taking the trash, unpacking two boxes and finding a new home for a couple of mid-sized items. John and I are both exhausted but happy to almost be done.

Now, I'll admit I had wanted to "accomplish something" this weekend, but the garage was not it. I was really hoping to get through all the "arts/craft" drawers upstairs. I really think we have too much stuff we don't use but I won't know until I can lay my eyes on the actual stuff. Maybe I can find time soon. :)

A week off!

I always have high hopes for time out of school to get things "done" around the house. {sigh} Here it is Thursday afternoon and...well, I'm saddened by the fact most of my list of things to do this week are still on the list to do.

I was hoping to do more cooking, or sewing, with the girls this week, but that didn't happen either. We did get Chloe's eyes checked (no glasses for now, but possibly next year). We did work on handing out papers, for a project Jesse is working on, at John's old office.

We also had to say goodbye to yet another librarian, Daniel. Not only is he leaving the library but he is moving to Georgia. So, sad. But now we are FB friends so I'm not as heartbroken. I can still lean on him for some wisdom when I need to.

The girls have made plans for their next romp in the theater. They have decided to do the theater in Camden next spring, because the Camden theater is dividing up their students. The spring production will be for middle/elementary students, so Jesse is hoping for a better part than what she's been getting. In fact, she has already decided what part she wants to audition for, the Mayor's wife (Music Man Jr.). Yes, they were in Music Man Jr last summer at CCT. Next spring it will be with Mrs. Candy and both girls are very excited. So is Mrs. Candy! I have not told Mr. Jerry yet. :(

So while things were not accomplished that I wanted accomplished other things did get done. I don't think the girls are looking forward to going back to school, but they have enjoyed their week off. And there is still tomorrow.

Constant flux!

My mother tells me, often, that I'm constantly rearranging. I have to agree with her. I always feel like things can be improved, even if they seem to work. Today, the classroom is getting a new arrangement.

Of course, school has been going well. We've now completed six weeks and we are starting our first, one week, break. I suppose this would be the week to change the classroom; I mean we won't really be using it. Well, they won't (I still have a bit of work to do, not including the rearranging).

Are you curious yet, as to what is changing? Well. :)  The girls have new desks! Yeah, we broke down and now each one has a desk. The desk are put together, but not set-up with their stuff yet. When they get it done tomorrow, I'll post pictures. John and I had tossed around the idea of each of them having their own desk for awhile now. But tonight we went in to buy them a lamp, for the school table, and came out with two red desks! LOL  The girls have been asking for some color in the classroom and now they'll have some.

I think it will work great for them, but honestly I'm a little curious as to how this will work for me. You see this year, I decided to put my laptop on my desk, instead of the end of the classroom table. This year I used the end of the classroom table for my teacher guides as they were working. It is also where I graded their papers, since my laptop is on my desk. I was thinking of putting my laptop on the "keyboard" pullout of my desk, but I don't think it is wide enough. So, this week I'll be trying to figure out how to make what works for them, work for me.

Drum roll, please!!

Finally! Jesse's room.

She has had this sign for years now. It is the only thing we can find with her spelling of her name.

We have been invited in.

IKEA is everywhere!



A place for her favorite things.

In the above picture, you can see a red frame where she framed her winning art work from CCT S.T.A.R. Also, her Bug collection, ducks, Stitch, etc. 


Most of her rubber duck collection.

 

Now, she wants to add a corkboard but I have no clue where it will go.



Can YOU find the dog?

 It took us quite awhile to find a bedspread she liked. This one, I believe, suits her to a tee.

We also added an art display (the wire going across the room). She loves it! Here is some of her artwork that is currently on display:

Goofy, of course!

Baljeet's (from Phineas & Ferb) twin who lives in India (from the mind of Jesse!).

Ready, Set, Go!

First, I'll say, "No, Jesse's room is still not finished." We still need a hang a couple of things, then we'll be done. She loves it though and, truly, that is what matters.

Today was interesting. I think all of our days are interesting (John disagrees, but that is another story), but today was especially fun. Today was our last day of summer, with just the girls and myself. We celebrated, or consoled (depending on your point-of-view), ourselves with Tiffany's for breakfast. Then we relaxed for awhile. Well, until the bread slicer machine went nuts and made an incredibly high-pitched shriek that startled everyone in the building. They got it fixed; I think it just wanted extra attention today. lol

A homeschool friend met us there. She wanted me, and my A-type brain, to look over her homeschool schedule she made. It was beautiful!! So many colors! I told her I had tried to schedule our lives like that a few years ago. We failed miserably, but I think she is going to do great. So long as her almost two-year-old goes along with the plan. I told her Monday (their first day of school) will be the day he figures out how to crawl out of his crib by himself. She laughed, but agreed. That just seems to be the way our lives go, as homeschoolers; you work so long for the perfect plan, then a child has his own (throws a monkey wrench into everything!). LOL

We are almost ready for school. The girls and I finished cleaning the classroom this afternoon. They also took out all their papers from last year and set-up their notebooks for this coming year. I still need to finish up their paperwork from last year and get it mailed, but I think I am finally ready to start the year. Last night I typed in the science schedules for both 4th and 6th grade. I have finished the reading lists, and even picked the books up from the library. I am ready to go! I just wish the girls were. ;)

A change here and a change there (boredom alert John)

Somehow the year has just flown by...can't imagine why! ;)  So, it is difficult for me to believe how many months ago I posted on Facebook that we were rearranging furniture to have a friend ask for pictures. I had yet to get pictures on, but there were a few reasons why.

First, a couple of months ago I posted a picture of the white table, in the kitchen, for our pots and pans. Well, honestly I was never happy with the end result. I tried desperately to come up with a fix, but failed. The problem was the bread. Such a simple thing, but such a big deal. You see the bread was in one of the drawers of the kitchen organizer we removed. All of a sudden the bread was living on my counter top, something that drives me nuts! Everyone in the house knows if I'm standing in the kitchen, with something in my hands, and no where to put it down then I'm about to erupt. The spewing is close at hand and something needs to be done. Well, that was daily with the bread all over the counter next to the toaster.

The end result is the white table needs another home, and the kitchen organizer is back in the kitchen. We did change it up a bit. We left the microwave on the counter top and put the pots and pans on the top of the organizer. I'm happy. The bread is no longer in my way every day. The pots and pans are still easily accessible. And there was a bonus! The bonus is I had purchased a red container to put onions and potatoes, because they too had lived in the organizer. Now the container is free to hold small items, so when cleaning I pick up one container rather than five, or six, smaller items. I have even purchased a white container for the remaining items.


Something old, something new.



This makes me so HAPPY!!!

The living room is very different than what we are used to, but we are loving it! The old TV was above the fireplace (still is until I figure out how to get the 100 lb item down), so your head was always looking up. Way up! Now, the new TV is just across from the love seat and the sofa. There is a comfy feeling now.


The living room from the foyer.



Can you find our new recycling center? Love that too!!

The living room.

 We've also been discussing our desire to never be home. Yeah, we get the urge to leave frequently. My new opinion is this: We are seeking fun! Yes, we have all kinds of fun things to do inside, and outside, but the ambiance sucks. Yes, I said it! It sucks! I think I figured it out a few weeks ago when were looking at hotels. John loves to go on Groupon and look at the hotels. We seem to be drawn to color. I have finally, I can't believe it, talked John into painting our living room. It probably won't be until this fall but I really cannot wait!!

The blue is the shade we have picked for the living room. :)

I thought our bedroom was done. It is organized now, mostly, but I really thought besides painting we were done. But just before our beach trip John asked me what I thought about a new headboard. A BIG headboard for our bed. Love it! Ours bumps me just at the base of head, before my neck, when we are sitting in bed watching TV. I wind up with a soar neck from holding my head weird, so I won't have a sore head. I don't know when we'll get it done, but I'm excited.

I also finally found a fabric for my Grandmother's rocking chair. It is a red toile with an off white background, and I love it. The only problem. It is $27 a yard!!! Ouch!! And because the bottom of the seat, and the front and back of the back need to be covered, I'm looking at about 2 1/2-3 yards. Painful! Maybe next year.

Right now Jesse's room is under construction. It even says so on the sign she made for her room. ;) We decided a month ago we'd paint her room. She wants yellow, Funshine yellow to be exact.  This week she talked her Dad into taking down all the shelves he put up in her room a couple of years ago. So, this week John has been filling in holes. So many holes! I'll post pictures once we are done. I want to get her a new bedspread too; hers (and Chloe's) I bought when she was two! She finally wants a new one (she is very sentimental about things).

Experiment Update

If you recall, we started our "dish washing" experiment about five weeks ago. At the same time, we also started running the sprinklers for the yard. Well, the power bill arrived today. Yippe!! It is down about $35 from last month and it is also down from one year ago. I'm happy now. :)