I'll Bet.......

I bet that when you walked into your bathroom to prepare for bed last night you didn't almost trip over this:






















Hey, whose lovely front legs are those in the doorway?

New Hot Air Balloon

I've posted pictures of hot air balloons taking off in the park behind our house before. Hammie, Ree, and I were surprised to see the balloon company trying out a new one last weekend. Look at the teeny seat they use!

Craft Supply Nightmare

I've almost posted pictures of this BIG project several times, but shame and embarrassment have won out and I abort the post. It's shocking how much stuff I have accumulated/bought over the last several years and the MESS is just horrible.

Now that I've made decent progress, I feel a little more comfortable sharing. Plus Lori and Kris have told me I have to post or else. I try to do whatever they tell me to do. They scare me.

I'm not finished, but I'm getting close. I'm waiting for some organizing items (vertical paper holders, storage for tiny embellishments not pictured) to arrive and I have a cupboard and some drawers to finish going through.

Before:











































After: Storing stickers I donated to my kids and items I don't want little hands getting into un-supervised.












































Before:




























After: The 3-drawer organizer contains school supplies and kid craft stuff. I will label the drawers later so that things get put back where they belong. The stamps on the shelves (will also be labeled) are sets that I use often. Sayings, backgrounds, multi-purpose sort of stamps.





























Before: This cupboard and drawer represent the areas I'm still working on. I also didn't take true before pics of these spaces because I forgot.




















After: Some of the stuff has been sorted and relocated to this new space my hubby bought me for my birthday. These will be labeled when I'm finished, but since this cabinet is downstairs I stocked it with supplies I won't use for "everyday" crafting. I divided the cubby categories into seasons, boy, girl, wedding, animal (dog & zoo), and birthday. Once I get the paper into the vertical organizers, I need to buy small totes to put the embellishments that are in Ziplocs.

New Wall Color

In home improvement news.....here is the new wall color I chose for the entry way, main hall, living room, and dining room. The old wall color is on the wall with the hearts (someone still needs to take down the Valentine decor). I have selected a slightly darker shade for accent walls. I'm still trying to decide which walls I want to accent.

Fashion Is Their Passion

The Ball Is Rolling

Here are our first before & after pictures.

Ugly bedroom fan/light combo from 1980 something:

















New bedroom ceiling light:

















Old, dim kitchen light:


















Fancy, brighter kitchen light:

















Old 1980's dining room chandelier:

















Pretty chandelier that doesn't make me cringe when I walk by:

















Old, embarrassing wood wall (admittedly horrid picture, but I was in a hurry):

















New wall under construction, but already looking SO much better:

Oh Boy, Here We Go.

We've been trying to decide whether to move into a bigger place or do some more remodeling on our current home. Due to the horrible financial and housing markets, we've decided to do some remodeling.

The bulk of our madness involves re-doing the kitchen. It has not so lovely forest green counters, the original linoleum that is now bubbled in places, and niceish plywood/veneer cabinets. We're currently trying to decide if we're going to rip out the cabinets or re-finish what we have. After talking with Joseph (our contractor extraordinaire) today, I think we're leaning towards ripping out and putting in new. We'll see if that decision sticks after we do some pricing.

So while we finish figuring out what to do in the kitchen, Joseph will be installing lighting, tearing down the 70's wood wall in the living room, and painting my entryway. In no particular order. Stay tuned for before and after shots from now until.......who knows when.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Parties

The little kids had parties at preschool today. Ree had a traditional Valentine's party while Hammie had a teddy bear pajama party. Hammie asked if I would pick him up today so that I could see the last little bit of the party. So, I left work a little early and caught the last 20 minutes. His teachers are amazing. Check out the fun things they did with the kiddos. Oh, and isn't Ree sweet in her dress?

Little Golden Books

When I was little, I always loved looking at the back cover of Little Golden Books. I probably spent just as much time looking at the pictures on the back as I did reading the actual book.

Now Ree does the exact same thing. She sits on my lap and we go around the circle talking about who's who.

Birthday Party

My birthday was the 4th. I took the day off from work and went to lunch and did some shopping with my Mom. When I got home Bill had a little party for me. It was a great day!

Last weekend my Mom had a little party for me at her house. We had a yummy dinner and it was fun spending time together! Here are some pictures Lisa and I took at the party.

4.5 Miles

I haven't talked about my training on here for a while. I'll bet some of you thought I had fallen off the wagon, or treadmill. Nope, I've been plugging along. I have had a slightly sore right knee this week, but it's much better. Even after 4.5 miles this morning! Granted, I power-walked most of it, but I'm still proud of training through the teeny little injury. I skipped stretching before running 3 miles last Wednesday, then shopped for 3 hours. Won't do that again.

In other news......I went to a running store downtown Friday evening and had the best service I've experienced in a long time. The salesman had me roll up my jeans and walk around the store to get an idea for which type of shoe might work best for me. Then he picked out 3 pairs to start with. He asked lots of questions about my training plan and it seems like I'm on the right track.

I chose some Addidas shoes and they seem to be working great. I couldn't help but ask what colors the shoes came in at the very end. I am a girl, after all!

Favorite Baking Items

As you know, I bake on a regular basis. For many years, I used the standard baking items. Cookie sheets, teaspoons & tablespoons for dropping cookies, the usual. Then I started paying attention to what the real chefs on the Food Network use when they bake.

Everyone was using parchment paper. I thought it seemed like a frivilous item, but on a whim I bought a roll at Williams Sonoma. I never looked back. Using parchment paper means your baked goods don't over-brown on the bottom as easily, they won't stick, and clean-up is simpler. I love it and panic when I'm almost out. Williams Sonoma was the only place I could find it for a long time, but now most grocery stores carry it.

The other thing I noticed is that many chefs use little cookie scoops with spring-loaded squeeze handles. I ordered one at a Pampered Chef party. Love, love, love the scoop. It creates uniformly sized cookies, it's faster than scooping with a spoon, and can be used for other stuff like forming homemade meatballs. I actually plan to get the large scoop for making muffins.

Held Captive By A Cleaning Pre-Schooler

Hammie is on a cleaning binge. He's soooooo like his Dad. I'm totally cool with it, until he ropes me in. He just cleaned his room and put all the books and toys away in the living room. Then.....

Hammie: Mom, I'm gonna go clean Ree's room now.
Me: No you're not, but I appreciate your help.
Hammie: Mom I HAVE to.
Me: No, because her stuff goes in certain drawers. I will do it.
Hammie: (following me through the house) Mom, you need to do it NOW. Right NOW.
Me: I will do it, but I'm not doing it now. I have to go hang up clothes in the dryer.
Hammie: Auntie Lisa is going to be REAL mad at you.
Me: Why would Auntie Lisa be mad?
Hammie: Mom. Mom. Mom. MOM LOOK AT MY FACE. It's grumpy! It's grumpy because you won't clean Ree's room.

Send help now.