not exactly as planned

Remember these? I cleaned the frames & took them apart.

I thought it might be quicker spray paint them, but it was really windy outside. So I painted them by hand with craft paint. Luckily when I needed to varnish the frames it wasn't windy so I could spray them. 

I brushed this one with a little ivory paint for some interesting detail.

This one got a little metallic gold paint. This will be for a different project.

Ok ~ so here's my idea. I wanted to do a silhouette on the glass with something interesting behind it. I cut out the bat and got the background ready. I intended on putting the bat on the underside of the glass, but it looked funny. Too bubbly.

So I put it on the outside of the glass. It's ok, but not what I had in mind. It bubbled and I couldn't smooth them out. Greg asked why I didn't just put it on the paper behind the glass. Well, dear, since my idea turned out like crap, let's try yours.

That's better. I took it apart, cut out a paper bat and attached it to the paper. Dumb vinyl. Plus I like this bat better. The other one was way too big. I'm sticking with paper.

Sometimes these things don't turn out as planned. As long as they are cute in the end, that's ok. I bought two packages of vinyl thinking this was going to be the bomb. Right. Bomb it was. I'm taking one of the rolls back.

where everything is not as it seems

If you look with a careful eye, you can see past the current condition and into the beauty of an object. I mentioned this to you the other day after I visited the thrift store. 

I saw this candle holder on clearance at Target. It was about $2, I think. It's not incredibly ugly if it were in just the right house, in just the right place. In my house? Yuck! I bought it anyway with something in mind.

I decided to spray paint it another color. This may have been easier if it were plaster, but it glass underneath all that shine. So I sprayed a primer coat first. I ran out of primer in the middle & had to buy more. I also see where I missed a spot. Oh well, getting a base coat on was what I was needing.

When the primer was nice and dry (actually a few days later) I sprayed it black, at sunset, while Greg was trying to mow the lawn. I'm not always easy to live with, people. 

When this was dry it sat in the garage for a few days. Then I put it in the entertainment center with a bird on it. It looked kinda dumb. No photo.

Yesterday I found this white pumpkin at Michael's. I found the leaves at Joann's. 

I like the way it looks. Fall. Simple.

I didn't glue anything down, so after fall is over I may find a way to use it with the Christmas decor. Then? Who knows.

Keep an eye out ~ you never know what you'll find to change. 

I'm working on doing something with those frames. You'll be the first to know when I'm done.

because i needed one more project

For a while I've been admiring the tassels that The Nester makes. I even bought one several months ago with a rooster on the top. Shh ~ don't tell Greg I snuck another bird in the house!

After finding a tutorial online (can't remember where I found it), I decided to try them for myself.

This is my first one. Not bad, I think. I didn't even burn myself with the glue gun ~ much.

You can hang tassels from anywhere! This one is on the entertainment center in the living room. The rooster is hanging from a hook on the bench in the front hall. 

I bought some stuff to make more for the upcoming craft show. And etsy, of course.

keep your chin up

Yesterday I had playground duty near the intermediate playground equipment. Stephanie and some of the kids from her class (plus a few 5th graders) started having a contest to see who could hold a chin up on the bars the longest. Stephanie beat them ~ every time! Oh, I wish I had had my camera to show you her beamy face each time she squashed her opponent. I wish I could show you those boys' faces as they dropped from the bar and got that surge of testosterone that screams "unfair" as they challenged her again. That's right, she beat the boys ~ hands down chin up.

Money for gymnastics/dance lessons is clearly unwasted here!

harvest time

Our test garden is coming along. Greg has learned some should and shouldn'ts for next year. We planted a bell pepper plant. It responded poorly to Greg's love and care at first. We thought it was a goner.

Apparently not. Greg harvested these bell peppers this weekend. They are delicious!


The first corn crop was planted too early. The ears were mini. Greg tried once more. The stalks are larger and have the promise of larger ears this time.

Sometimes I think it's odd to have a "corn field" outside my bedroom window.


We did not grow these.

adventures in thrifting

Ok, right about now, Greg is giving a huge shudder as he reads this. Hee hee. He hates thrift stores, garage sales, and anything of that used sort! Ebay even gives him a mild case of the willies unless it's new items.

Hmmm. I'll admit, those places give me pause sometimes too.

But I do like to go look for items that I can clean up a bit and repurpose. Generally, the repurposing includes painting of some sort and I'm pretty picky about what I will buy.

Tuesday after school I went to the thrift store I like the best. This one is the cleanest, the least creepy, and actually the cheapest. I was looking for a couple of specific things, but always try to keep an open mind. I try to see past the previous use of items. I try to see the future beauty of how I will transform these items.

I gotta tell you, the man checking out the suitcases who smelled like a pungent bouquet of b.o. and booze gave me the heebeejeebees. The wild eyed, disheveled man at the in front of me cash register who turned and pushed my cart out of the way, then just stood and stared at me freaked me out. He left the line and shopped for a minute more. As soon as I paid my $5.50, I hustled the kids the heck out of there because he got back in line behind us.

And I came home with these. The frames and the crate were items I was searching for during this trip. I have an idea that I've seen around blogland for the frames. The sconces were a happy find. I've refinished and painted a pair like this before that looked pretty nice. I'll do the same for these. These are actually in better shape than the last pair. I'll show you as I finish my projects.

spooky spider

Don't you know a certain size 2/2T somebody who just needs this boo-tiful skirt set?

See more here.

ways i drive my husband crazy

We all do it, whether we are brave enough to admit it or not! We all drive our husbands crazy! Oh, but we aren't the only ones. Husbands drive their wives crazy too.

I've made a list. These are all the ways I know, for sure, I drive Greg crazy:

1. I'm habitually late. The man works for FedEx, people. You do the math on how this might drive him nuts.


2. When it's time for bed, I find 10 more things that need to be done before I go to bed. The most usual is pulling laundry out of the dryer and putting more clothes in the dryer. Sounds simple enough, but most of my clothes do not get dried, so I have to spend the time hanging up some wet clothes. Then I need a drink. And to go to the bathroom. And to plug in my phone. And... And...


3. When he asks, "What's for dinner?" my number one response is, "I don't know."


4. I love to stay up late. And I always want to read before I go to bed. Greg leaves the house at 4:30 these days. He just wants me to turn off the light and go to bed with him. I get up at 4:30 with him. He needs more sleep than I do.


5. I allegedly break sprinkler heads. We have a curvy driveway. When I'm backing out of the driveway I may or may not sometimes end up a little bit in the grass to avoid his truck. I still think the neighbor boys do it with their toy 4-wheelers. Do you believe me? Good thing I got a smaller car.


6. When we plan errands I try to sneak in a few extra stops along the way. Greg doesn't like shopping unless it's at Best Buy or Home Depot, so for him this is torture. Of course, the saving gas angle is always a good one. The extra stops are usually in the same area as the other errands, or on the way home. Sometimes he gives in, sometimes he doesn't.

It's a good thing I'm a good cook and naturally hilarious. It makes up for all the craziness I'm certain.

where are all the children?

The children I gave birth to are with Grandma and Papa today. Hallelujah for semi-retirement because that saved them from daycare.

The children they make me spend my days with are torturing their own parents or grandparents. Or maybe they had to go to daycare because there is no semi-retirement option across town.

Why are all the children missing?

STAFF DEVELOPMENT!

The kids feel sorry for me because I still have to work and they get a day off. Well, me too, a little. But today I get to

• wear what I want to school,
• hang out with my friends,
• learn something,
• pass notes to with my friends and try not to get in trouble (not really) (maybe) (not telling),
• go out to lunch at a real restaurant,
• not inhale my food in 20 minutes & forget to pee,
• refrain from saying the names of certain misbehavin' boys continuously ~ all.day.long.

Yeah, this day will be okay.

party all night ~ or until you fall asleep

Friday night Stephanie had a sleepover for her birthday. We allowed her to invite 6 friends over, but only 4 were able to make it. Quite manageable!

We found some cute invitations that had a black border with pink polka dots. A polka dot party theme was born. I tried to do as many pink/white/black polka dot items as possible. At the party supply store, Heather found pink napkins with white polka dots on them.

We had cupcakes (hello, each one is a polka dot) with M&Ms for more polka dots. The table cloth covering the island was Stephanie's idea ~ pink plastic table cloth with paper dots taped on.

So the cupcakes were pink, they were strawberry flavored.

Stephanie wanted ham and turkey sandwiches cut into shapes (circle), chips, and apples with caramel dip. So easy to please.

While the kids ate their dinner, Greg bugged entertained them with his antics. He gave all the kids a healthy case of the giggles.

What else do you do at a slumber party besides play dress-up, scream and run around, dance to the latest tunes, and talk about who you want to be your boyfriend when you are supposed to be sleeping(yeah, I found out about that)? Make bracelets! The girls got busy choosing their beads, arranging their combinations and stringing their bracelets.

Their combinations turned out really cute.

Stephanie entertained us all while she opened her presents. Most of the girls were from Stephanie's class. A few times they broke out in songs their teacher is teaching them. You know, a little ditty here and there to get the kids' attention.

Make a wish! Take a big breath...

and blow!

Heather waits patiently for her cupcake. You know she was really thinking that her sister should get this show on the road! Give me a cupcake, already!

Rise and shine, sunshine! At about 10:30 we put spread the sleeping bags out and put a movie on for the girls. Naturally, there was popcorn with M&Ms in it. We were thinking that as they watched the movie they'd get drowsy and just fall off to sleep or be real close by the time the movie was over. Heather fell asleep. I fell asleep in the last 15 minutes. The rest of the girls? Not so much!

They wanted to camp out upstairs, so Greg helped them get settled. He told them they could stay up and chat as long as they wanted but they had to stay in their sleeping bags. Laying down, in the dark, past midnight. Who would last? These girls would. From the pounding we heard on our ceiling, they were not staying in their sleeping bags. We decided to be the fun parents and ignore this. About 1:30, Stephanie's friend with diabetes was having problems with her pump. A call to mom fixed that, but her blood sugar was too low so mom had to come get her. Last I heard at 2:30, they were still awake. I'm pretty sure they fell asleep soon after that. I know I did. This whole time? Heather is still asleep in her transplanted sleeping bag in the midst of all the giggly goings on.

The kids made foamy Halloween masks while I made sausage and eggs for breakfast. After eating outside and a little running around, parents came to collect their sleep deprived children.

One last polka dot. We sent these bags home with the girls.

Overall, the party was a huge success. I think all the girls had a great time ~ Stephanie especially. Prior to the party I was talking to some of my friends at school and they said they'd never do another slumber party again or they were glad it is only a once a year thing. Greg and I were thinking that it wasn't so bad. The whole deal was really low key and easy going. We weren't worried about a schedule or keeping the girls occupied every minute. We did have plenty of activities planned, but didn't need all of them because they had such a good time playing. In a couple of months, we'll let her have another sleep over if she wants.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering? We did not ignore the gal on her actual birthday. I made cupcakes for her class. She got to pick the dinner menu. She picked beef stroganoff, so Greg cooked.

This officially concludes Stephanie's birthday celebrations. We try to stretch them out as long as possible at our house, much to Greg's dismay!

a new bike and a tattle

Grandma and Papa took Stephanie shopping for a new bike last Sunday. She's pretty much outgrown her old one. She got a really fun Mongoose bike with a new helmet.

This one doesn't have foot brakes like her old one. I think she was a little bit nervous about this. We prepared her for the inevitable fall. The inevitable never happened that afternoon. Whew!

She whizzed up and down our street like a pro, loving her new bike. 

Then ~ somebody else wanted a turn.

Oooo! I'm tellin'! Aunt Wendy and her unborn child hopped on Stephanie's bike for a test spin around the cul de sac. Of course, Greg click-clicked away with the camera for bloggy evidence. We told her she was going to get in so much trouble when Chris saw these on the internet. Apparently she went right home and confessed her wayward self...but no pictures showed up this week because I got behind. She told me today that she confessed for nothing. Well, not just for nothing, Wendy. I'm late, but here they are on the internet! Good thing you confessed.

I think Gavin rather liked his bike ride.

And so did his mother. It's hard to keep Wendy off things with wheels ~ bikes, scooters, 4-wheelers, big girl trucks ~ you name it, she loves it.

And here are the artistic race car driverish shots. Or maybe Wendy is doing an Oakley ad.

About 6 o'clock, Paulette said it was time for them to go ~ after all, it was 6 o'clock and she hadn't eaten dinner yet. Then I made some sassy comment it must be past the Senior Dinner Hour. She likes to eat so stinkin' early! I'm not thinking  I scored any Cool Daughter-in-Law points on that one. There goes another award. 

lunching with the little lady

After church on Sunday, we met at Olive Garden for Stephanie's family birthday lunch. We were thinking that most of the family does not want to be a part of the all-girl slumber party that will be taking place this Friday, so a birthday lunch was in order.

What else do you need besides the good company of family, some hearty pasta, a birthday song, and an ice cream sundae?

Duh? Presents!

Hey, what is it?

Oh, geez! Not the box within a box trick! Jim and Tona used to do that to Greg and Wendy all the time. I've heard stories about especially brutal instances when a screwdriver was required to unscrew many screws on the wooden box to get to the next box inside.

Wishes do come true! This girl has been wanting an ipod for over a year. We decided to give in and get her her very own hot pink Nano.

Grateful does not describe the bone crushing hug and ear piercing squeals I got.

This is Heather's P-L-E-A-S-E face when she asked me if she can have an ipod when she turns nine. What was my answer? Well of course, the usual ~ "We'll see." Come on! I think Rule #57 of Parenthood is not to give in easily. Rule #65 is to not show all your cards at once.

Stephanie had a great lunch. Then she headed out with Grandma & Papa to go bike shopping and with Aunt Wendy for a birthday shopping spree. Nah ~ she's not spoiled or anything.