My Life: Planned in Pencil

Behold the almighty power of steam!

2012-02-26T08:34:00.000-08:00

I love my dining room table, I have a TON of wonderful memories that include it.

Epic games of Phase 10 and Bananagrams.

Wonderful meals shared with people I love.

It was the first piece of furniture that we saved up for and bought from an actual furniture store. Not a thrift store, not a goodwill, we didn't find it on the side of the road. No, I walked in to an Ashley Furniture in Jacksonville, FL and specifically chose this piece.

So I was beyond bummed when it took quite a beating in the first few days of being in our house.

En route from our storage area in T's uncles garage it got two huge gouges on the top, and then at my nephews birthday party a hot pizza box sat on it all night leaving a horse head shaped white mark.

You can't tell me that doesn't look like a horse head, just a little bit.

My original plan was to paint the table when we move again, I was thinking a black table with four different colored chairs could be really cool!

But on a whim I googled "removing white marks from wood"

I had read that mayonaise can remove white marks, but the thought of rubbing mayo into my table top kind of makes me want to hurl!

This article I read today said that a steam iron would remove the white marks if you ran it lightly over the wood either hovering slightly over it or using a thin towel or t-shirt to absorb the heat.

I figured it was worth a try because if it didn't work or made it worse I would just go ahead with my idea of painting the table in the future.

No horse head!!!

The initial pass made the white mark completely disappear, but as the steam evaporated from my table top the mark reappeared. So I got a bit more agressive and left the iron on for a little longer. I wiped the table top off after each swipe to make sure that no unecessary water stayed on the top.

After a few passes it completely disappeared.

I'm amzed!

While I was at it I gave the scratches a hit of my favorite furniture scratch remover.

They are still slightly visable but not nearly as intense.

Now my table is ready for company again!

Want to come over for dinner?

A shot of sunshine needed.

2012-02-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

What do you mean I haven't blogged in a month?!

I was going to do better about that, wasn't I.

Yes.

I guess I'm not quite out of the funk I've been in for the past few months. I'm trying not to be to hard on myself though. A good friend reminded me that the past 6 months have brought more change and unexpected turn of events than maybe even my crazy lifestyle can handle with grace.

Winter isn't helping.

I feel like I need a shot of sunshine. At least some spraypainting weather!!!

So how are things?

Well... I'm still temping, T is still going to school and working.

Once a week I go to my moms house and we sew.

We're obsessed with quilting right now.

I bought this quilt kit this summer off the clearance rack at JoAnns.

It took us 4 Friday nights but we finally finished and bound it. This was our learning quilt, we learned a TON!

Here's my cutie patootie niece holding it up for us.

I'm already working on my next quilt, it's perfect because even in this tiny apartment there is always room for fabric and a sewing machine!

Life is better with more glitter

2012-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

The day after we moved into our apartment Mr. T had a "to do" list a mile long.

On the list was to make copies of the house keys. We were only issued two keys, one for each door.

This is what he gave me.

Do you see the problem???

Yes, I can never tell the front door key from the back door key.

Without fail, if I'm going to go in the back door, I try the front door key first, and vice versa.

I think I got this idea from pinterest, but at this point I can't remember.

I threw some plastic wrap over a plate.

Really a light sanding would have probably been a good idea, but our dremel is still packed up.

This is my favorite nail polish, it lasts the longest of any I've ever tried and it's cheap!

Originally I was going to coat the entire head of the key, but after I got started I decided to just fill in that little rectangle with the wording.

I filled it in, drop by drop and used the brush to push it out to the edges of the impression in the key.

I think I'll be able to tell the difference now!

As you can see the nail polish is quite thick.

My ugly truck key got the same treatment... I bet my husband won't be so quick to nab my keys anymore!

Easing back into the craft world

2012-01-08T13:06:00.000-08:00

After a long period of fasting they say you should ease back into eating, first clear broth, bland foods and finally returning to your regular diet.

I feel like I have been on a craft fast.

I've crocheted a few things with my mom.

But, other than that it's been a long time since I created anything.

If you are a facebook friend, you saw this pic last week.

A fabric I was considering for window valances.

We decided not to go with it so I needed to come up with a better use for it.

I absolutely love the details of our front door, including the original mail slot. I'm bummed they don't use it! Instead we have an ugly box mounted on the outside of the house.

The original trim is there and it ties so nicely into the windows in the room.

it is however an OLD door, before they used such fun things as weather strips. Do you see that gap in between the door and the frame? I'm sure you can, it's so big I imagine you can see them from space!

Cold air pours in the side and bottom of the door.

I've been putting a rolled up towel down to stem the flow of arctic chill, but it wasn't exactly pretty!

I'm much happier with what I've got now.

One piece of fabric, three seams and a 5 pound bag of rice.

Sunday #1

2012-01-08T04:41:00.000-08:00

I'm dedicating my Sundays to updating my project 2012 goals.

Something I really want to do this year is stop eating so much convenience food.

I'm REALLY bad at sticking to a weekly menu, inevitably we will be out and about and I'll say "let's just grab something!"

Bad PJ!

Cooking our food at home not only helps out with the health goal, but also the financial goal. I can spend $5 on dinner for two, or I can spend 25 dollars at a restaurant for dinner for two. You do the math.

If you're like me you have a board on Pinterest that is full of awesomely delicious foods.

I do.

Food Board.

I've been pinning these things for the last 6 months, and while I have done some projects based off of my pins I have never used any of the foods I have pinned.

So for this week my goal is to not eat out at all, but to explore new dishes from my pinterest board.

What are you working on right now? What goals are you trying to reach?

Project 2012

2012-01-01T06:29:00.000-08:00

So far in life the 2010+ years haven't been my best. We've had a lot of failures and heartbreaks in the last two years. On each of the last two New Years Eves we've said "this is it! this is going to be the year that doesn't suck!"

But they have.

Oh it hasn't been all bad, in fact the one thing that keeps me from running, screaming, into the night is the fact that we have been blessed through it all.

I'm thankful, so thankful for the blessings.

I've got some plans for 2012. I'm no good at keeping New Years Resolutions (is anyone) but my awesome friend Kamryn clued me in to this idea of "Project 2012" the idea of treating the entire year as one giant project.

You all know I love a good project.

My main focus this year is going to be health.

My own health.

Spiritual health.

Financial health.

Emotional health.

Blog health.

Yes little blog, you're going to get some much needed love and attention. So neglected for the last 1/2 of 2011, mama is sorry!

Welcome to Project 2012, hold on tight, it's my life which means it's going to be a wild ride!!!

Settling In

2011-12-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

You know, as I look back over the past few months I am simply AMAZED at the way things have turned out, and I mean that in the best way. We have the best outcome for a truly crappy situation.

I give God all the glory.

We have both found jobs in a wretched economy. T has started school full time and is really enjoying his classes. 15 months from now he will graduate with his first associates dregree. I kind of have a feeling that he will continue on to a second associates using the credits earned in the Navy at a traditional 4 year college once he finishes tech school. I don't know, we'll wait and see!

We bought a little car, something small and economical.

We've rented a little apartment, and I'm not joking when I call it a little apartment. Stand up. Walk twenty steps and see how far you get. You have just walked from my front door to my back door.

The high ceilings, crown molding and built ins make it special!

Welcome to the worlds smallest kitchen.

The day after we moved in our things arrived, it had been 4 months since we packed out of our home in Illinois and 4 months is a long time to be without your things.

Being able to unpack some of our things (because they surely won't all fit into this little space) was wonderful.

We've even put up our wee tree.

There's not much room for crafting, and the thrifting kind of suck, but we're only here for a year or two, to save up our pennies and buy our forever home.

The business of being busy

2011-11-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

Leave it to my dad to call me out on my lack of blogging (hi dad!)

There hasn't been much to say. Up until last Friday it's been a lot of sitting around and waiting.

I will say this. Pennsylvania is the most frusterating state to move to in the continental united states! Well, at least when compared to Illinois and Florida.

Case in point. In order to get a drivers license in the state of Pennsylvania you must prove residency. Residency is proven by the giving of certain documents. Acceptable documents are W2, mortgage paperwork, lease agreement, or tax documents. We have none of these. we won't have a W2 until January. We won't have a lease agreement until our things have arrived from Illinois and we rent an apartment. Do you see the flaw in the system?

We're waiting to buy a second vehicle until we have the drivers licenses and can register the car in the state of Pennsylvania. However (comma) T and I are now gainfully employed (HALLELUJAH!) and we're really needing that second car.

A note about this employment thing. I had been scouring Monster.com every morning when I woke up. It was one of the first things I did each morning

1.) Rub sleepy dirt out of eyes

2.) Check bank account in the hopes the money gnomes left me a present

3.) Open Monster App and look for new listings.

About two weeks ago there was an advertisement for an Administrative Assistant II position that I replied to.

I got an immediate response.

It was a "sorry I'm away for a long weekend and will be back in the office on tuesday" kind of message.

However! on that following Tuesday I got a phone call regarding the position. It was at the local power company, was I interested.

Uhm. Yes!

One interview.

One offer.

A ton of background checking later I was employed!

Praise God!

About the same time I happened to notice a "help wanted" sign outside of AutoZone

Two interviews.

One offer.

One driving record check later T is employed.

I started last Friday. He starts on Monday

Add to that the fact that T starts school next month and we're getting to be busy people!

Now we just need our household goods to arrive, find a place to live... oh yeah, and get PA driver licenses!

The ultimate pencil plan

2011-10-26T12:05:00.000-07:00

A comment on my last post asked if I would be changing the name of my blog to 'My Life: Planned in Pen"

Oh most definitely not!!!

Yes. We are no longer subject to the crazy mood swings of that evil mistress we call the US Military,

However (comma) now we are subject to the crazy world of civilian life.

A sea we little fish haven't had to swim in for 8 years.

Right now we are most gratefully squatting in T's brothers home, looking for jobs, trying to figure out our next step.

We know I need to find a job, we know T is going to go to school, we don't know where we're going to live or how we're going to make ends meet, but we're going to do it together and we're going to make it work.

oy! I will tell you that the control freak in me is FREAKING OUT! but lucky for me I've got a black belt in planning in pencil!

Loving A Senior Dog

2011-10-08T06:21:00.000-07:00

The first time I realized I owned a 'senior dog' was when I looked at my vet bill a few years ago. I had been charged for a 'senior dog examination', I had to pay extra because my dog was older than 10.

Mandy came to us 2 years after we got married, we came home for Christmas and left with a Mandy. It had been an ongoing joke between my father in law and I that she could be ours, and she would come with $100 and a bag of dog food.

That time we took them up on the offer, and the little australian cattle dog came home to live with us.

It was an anxious car ride home as our black lab Pepper got used to sharing her space with another animal.

For the past several years she has been our constant fur shedder, a neurotic little dog who loved to lick. Oh the licking. If you didn't want to be licked you shouldn't be around our Mandy. She licked people, herself (ew) and sheets... she really loved licking sheets.

A year ago she developed something new, she started biting.

It has gotten progressively worse.

Over the past few months we have seen her steadily decline and we knew what was coming.

It was the humane thing to do.

It was still hard.

We will love Mandy forever. Love her for the licks and the laughs. Love her for the cuddles and the rare moments of play.

I will always remember her for being the happiest, laying in the grass, absorbing as much sunlight as she could.

Making It Up As We Go

2011-10-05T14:23:00.001-07:00

We finally have our answers, there is to be no transfer. Its a long story, but the ending is that T's time in the navy is over, by the end of this month he will be a civilian. Its going to be a huge transition and we aren't prepared for it in the least.

We are taking a huge leap of faith, trusting that God has a plan for us.

I know this, im looking forward to not living in my camper anymore!

The long awaited, much hyped, often promised Red Neck Party Post!

2011-09-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

When I first started thinking about our "going away party" LOL, what a laugh! going away party, psch. Grrr!

Ok, back to the party, I planned it for months and I have to admit that I was quite happy with how it turned out, with the exception of the red neck water slide, which didn't work, at all.

We had a table for food, I used a fitted sheet as a table cloth, none of the plates matched I hit up a party supply story and bought a little bit of everything at 75% off! The beer cooler was a dryer we found on the side of the road.

Do you see some pink flamingos?

Oh yes, there I am in my curlers and mumu, sweeping out the camper!

Mr. T's costume.

Oh the costumes, they were pretty epic!

I don't have pictures of all the great costumes because I got insanely sick in the middle of the party, as in puking my guts out kind of sick.

There was a winner of the costume contest.

They won this lovely lamp that Mr. T built out of a vacuum from Goodwill.

How could that face not win?

We also had a cheeto eating contest.

The kids had two minutes to eat as many as they could!

Karina was our big winner!

Her prize was a special creation of mine, an award I picked up for .88 at the thrift store, smashed a styrophome ball on the top and painted orange.

Here you can also see my second costume of the day, a lovely wolf tshirt!

If you've got friends with a sense of humor and access to a thrift store I fully recommend a redneck/white trash themed party.

Who wants a roommate?

2011-09-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

Do you remember when I had this kind of fun blog, and occasionally I would do really fun projects that would be interesting enough to share?

Yeah.

I miss that.

:(

I am trying so very hard right now to keep everything positive and upbeat, but the truth of the matter is that I AM TIRED OF LIVING IN A CAMPER.

To everything there is a season... and this is apparently our season of close quarters.

When we bought the camper it was going to be a fun recreational vehicle, not our home for two months. I am extremely grateful that we have the camper though, without it I'm not sure where we would be right now.

Here is the update, T will take his PRT the first week of October, we will hopefully know something soon after that as it is definitely starting to get too cold for pop up camper living. I have been praying a lot lately for peace and serenity as my worst case scenario brain is in overdrive.

I will say this though, no matter what the size of our next house is, it's going to feel like a mansion compared to what we have now!

Sharing is Caring

2011-09-03T14:02:00.000-07:00

Oh my poor neglected blog, I miss you so. However with only a cell phone to access the internet it is so hard to tap out a post.

Thank goodness for all the friends who share. They've shared wifi, laundry facilities, showers, ac and tv. They've shared laughs and rides to the store and good hot meals.

I'm so thankful for them.

Here's the latest.

We will be in Great Lakes until the first of October, when T will run the PRT. He will pass. That's a given. We will then immediately be given orders to go somewhere, I have no idea where that somewhere will be but we'll be going.

In shorter news we will be leaving Great Lakes on Monday for 10 glorious days at home with our families... expect many posts (including the great redneck bbq) since I will have consistent internet access while we are there.

I'm amazed that you haven't all jumped ship, thank you for all the love and prayers and emails of support, I am whelmed, over in fact... overwhelmed am I.

The dreaded update post

2011-08-18T04:57:00.001-07:00

I am not a fan of the update post, it is a pain to write or to read mostly because it means that the blogger writing hasnt written anything in a while.

I would write, but you might get the same post each day... "woke up, tried not to be eaten alive by flies"

We are still camped out in our camper in the RV park at Naval Station Great Lakes. I grow more frusterated by the situation by the day, but I am desperately trying to remain posutive and up beat.

Maybe this is our Job time, will we curse God at what we have lost, or will we praise Him for what we have?

I'l admit that the situation has gotten to me more than once. When I need a shower, but cant just run upstairs to get one, when the food i just bought has gone bad because the ice on the cooler has melted, its hard to see how blessed we are in these situations.

However then a friend invites us for dinner, offers their laundry room, calls or texts to see how we are doing and I am reminded that we are blessed beyond measure.

Mobile blogging

2011-08-09T05:19:00.001-07:00

Miss me yet?

I know I miss this!

T and I are officially gypsies, living out of the smallest camper at the RV parl.

To compound all the crappines of last week I dropped my crackberry into a puddle and didnt notice for about fifteen minutes.

How you ask?

Well at the time we were having another freak storm and I was running to the camper while juggling my purse, ID, and Mandy, the auatralian cattle dog.

The upside in all of this is that it was the catalyst for a new cell phone company and phones for both T and I.

There are some craft projects in the works for the camper, so stick with me a while and I'll be sharing more than tips for fitting enough food for 2 into a cooler built for 1.

Red Light!

2011-08-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

I honestly don't know if I'm coming or going right now.

Monday they packed us up.

Tuesday they took our stuff.

Wednesday they canceled T's orders.

A new instruction (rule) was just issued that made T unqualified to transfer.

I cried. A lot.

I didn't necessarily cry because I was upset about our move being canceled, although I am!

I cried because this is the last thing in a long list of crappy situations we have had to deal with in the last two years and I am fully overwhelmed right now.

People all over the country prayed for us, and if you were one of those people I'm so grateful for your prayers and thoughts.

I'm dealing. That's the best way to put it.

We'll be homeless, living out of our camper at the RV park on base until further notice. I wanted to live a simpler life this year, I guess I'm getting my wish!

As for what's going to happen from here.... I don't really know yet. I'm surviving on faith, and the goodwill of my friends who let me use their laundry rooms. Thank goodness for good friends!

Before and After

2011-08-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Before

After

Tomorrow just subtract all the boxes and furniture.

Thanks to Panera Bread for providing free WiFi to customers, and delicious food to boot!

Countdowns

2011-07-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

3 days until our going away BBQ

4 days until the movers come

4 days until our internet is shut off

11 days until we drive away from Illinois

16 days until we are home in PA

21 days until I am in NH with my BFF

The most troubling of all those is my internet getting shut down on Monday.

Oy!

What was I thinking?

I Spy

2011-07-28T06:43:00.000-07:00

I am a sorter, a list maker and a pile creater extraordinaire.

I am currently organizing my house for the movers, because I don't like them to come in and pack rooms together, I like similar items together. All my home decor is being compiled in one area. This is an eye opening experience. I have a lot of stuff!!! It's going to be interesting when we unpack in Cali, I think I'll go thrift shopping in my own house!

Let's play a game.

Can you find:

A golden apple

An upside down chandelier

A painting of me as a kid

Two cork balls

Three white candle sticks

An empty bottle of wine

Two yellow candles

The sad thing... this isn't all of it.

There's another pile on the first floor.

I've got bare walls folks, and complete chaos!

A large portion of that upstairs stash came from above the cupboards, it looks so naked without anything there now.

On an unrelated note.... Happy Birthday to Mr. T!

We celebrated a little last weekend by going to see Collective Soul in concert.

It was our first concert together, and T's first concert period.

We had a great time, and aside from being locked out of our hotel room for 15 hours the weekend was one for us to treasure forever.

Tonight we'll celebrate with dinner out, got to make the first day of his final year of being in his twenties super special!

Tattered and Inked (Guest Posting!)

2011-07-27T10:10:00.001-07:00

I'm guest posting today at Tattered and Inked.

Her awesome blog name should be enough to make you click it, but in case it's not she's also super talented.

Recreating the Crayon

2011-07-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

One of my very first pins on Pinterest was of crayons melted down into the shape of a heart and given away as gifts.

Excellent idea.

One problem.

As a childless home we don't usually have a plethora of crayons laying about.

Luckily I bought a bunch of crayons when I hosted my craft night for the neighborhood kids and had leftovers!

Lots of leftovers.

This morning I started peeling the paper off of them, which turned out to be no easy task.

When I was a kid I seem to remember being able to strip a crayon of its paper in 2 seconds flat. Now they have glued the paper to the crayon. Why?

Weirdos.

It seemed to work best if I cut the paper straight down the crayon with a sharp knife, but even then sometimes the paper wouldn't release.

Then it was time to cut. Yes that is a can opener in the background. Please remember that I am in the middle of prepping for a cross country move. I'm going to share the chaos of my house with you later.

It doesn't really matter how big or small the pieces are, they all melt together.

I found this shallow shaped pan at JoAnn fabrics in their 70% off holiday aisle. It said it was for whoopie pies, but I don't usually pay much attention to labels.

I filled each star with cut up bits of crayon, trying to have about the same amount in each.

I also tried to make sure I had a few white pieces in each to break up the intensity of the colors.

Into a 230 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Now for the tricky bit. My first batch I let sit on the counter to harden and they wouldn't release from the pan! Then I remembered the trick with candle wax stuck in votive candle holders. Just pop it in the freezer and it will come right out. So after these hardened I threw them in the freezer for an hour.

Voila! They couldn't wait to come out this time.

I am so in love with these I don't know if I'll be able to give them away!

Good thing I have so many left over crayons!

These are going to be used as part of my Great Mistakes Bucket List.

I've also been making some other things.

Any idea what this might be?

This makes it feel real

2011-07-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

The day the moving trucks pulled up in front of our current house and started unloading all of our personal property was hot. It was the middle of August and I was grateful that moving guys did all the heavy work and I could just stay inside in the AC.

If you've never done a military move let me break it down for you.

If you choose to let the military move you, it's usually a two day process.

Day one - packing frenzy! These movers are no joke. They will pack your trashcans WITH THE TRASH INSIDE! They will pack your pots and pans even if they are dirty (mine weren't) but I did have a few open bottles of cooking oil that they just taped shut and packed up. If it's not nailed down, these guys will pack it.

Day two - loading frenzy! More, (and usually different) strong men come and load everything onto a truck. At the end of the day you're giving a packing manifesto (oh doesn't that sound important) that you must guard with your life in order to get all your personal property back at the other end.

At the other end, more (and again different) strong men will deliver everything off of the truck into your home. They will unpack and place everything on the floor if you ask them to. I don't.

Opening boxes that you didn't pack, and haven't seen in months is better than Christmas.

You find decor items you forgot you had, frames you never used, clothes you forgot you loved.

I like to be unpacked and decorated in a day.

It's true.

Our personal propery delivery happened at 8 o'clock last time, and by 10 they were gone. By 5 o'clock that night the house was completely unpacked and decorated. Okay, not completely unpacked... every military house has a closet with a few boxes that don't get unpacked for a few months because you don't need what's inside.

Mr. T's aunt and uncle were with us during this time and around 2 o'clock in the afternoon the boys decided to go fishing. That was a-ok with his aunt and I because with the men folk gone we could really get to work.

Pictures were hung.

Furniture put back together.

Dishes washed and put away.

Laundry washed and put away.

We operated like a well oiled machine, by the time the boys were back we had dinner made and a table to eat it at.

Last night I took pictured off the walls that haven't been touched (except to dust) in almost 3 years. My walls are bare. I do not like bare walls.

When it's time for a move I group together home decor pieces so they all get packed together. I put all the books in one room so they all get packed together. Laundry can't fall behind right now because if clothes get packed dirty they get unpacked FUNK-AY. Dishes have to all be ready to go. The stuff we're taking with us has to be locked away so that the packers don't accidentally put it on a truck.

I'm dismantling the home I created.

There is very little sadness that goes alone with it though.

I will miss the home, but not the house (well I might miss the house a little, depends on what we move into in California... shoot I might miss the house a lot!)

I will miss the people, but not the place.

I will miss this life, but know that I get to make a better one.

10 days til our packout.

It's a good thing today's my last day of work.

I have a lot to do.

Great Mistakes Bucket List Update #7

2011-07-21T04:57:00.000-07:00

Earlier Bucket List Updates

1. Stand on the SkyDeck

~~2. See at least one more show in the Theater District~~

3. Swim in Lake Michigan

~~4. Go camping in Wisconsin~~

~~5. Get family pictures taken~~

~~6. Canoe on the Nippersink River~~

7. Go to a movie at the drive in

~~8. Visit Field Museum~~

9. Ride Navy Pier Ferris Wheel

10. Watch Cirque at Navy Pier

11. Have a yard sale

~~12. Host a craft night~~

13. Zipline in Lake Geneva

14. See 16 Candles play again

~~15. Watch a sunrise~~

16. Catch a big fish

17. Show my neighbors how much they have meant to me

18. Spend a night in the city

19. See the final Harry Potter

~~20. Take architectural cruise~~

21. Visit Greenbay, WI

22. Update address book

23. Complete Heather’s Kindle Cover

24. Take pictures of all my friends

25. Host a going away party people will talk about

I attempted to knock both 7 and 19 out on the same day.

On Friday I begged Mr. T to go to the movies with me, and then I begged him even harder to go to the drive in. They were playing Part 1 and 2 back to back.

Perfection.

We arrived around 8 o'clock, the first movie was to start at dusk.

We got set up.

We people watched.

I harassed Mr. T about his HORRIBLE tan lines! You've heard of farmers tan? This is canoers tan!

He took decidedly uncool pictures of me

I took decidedly cooler pictures of the moon.

Around 9:15 the movie started and I realized the error in judgement.

Due to the nature of drive ins they notoriously have poor picture quality.

Harry Potter is already a dark movie, add dark picture and there were times when we literally couldn't make out the screen.

Plus it was a crazy week at work for both of us and by the end of the first movie I could not keep my eyes open.

During the 20 minute intermission we made the decision to go home, I needed sleep and it was already pushing 1am.

We slept in really late on Saturday and only ventured away from our house once for food, the rest of the day was spent in bed. I contemplated going to the movies but just didn't have the energy.

Sunday we spent the morning at a flea market and I was spent by the time we got home, we BBQed with friends AND sold our car on Sunday night so no Harry Potter.

Monday and Tuesday were both busy.

So Wednesday night I declared Harry Potter night.

Mr. T had church and after running some errands I settled in to the 6:15 showing.

I was not disappointed.

It's never as good as the books, no movie ever is, but I am a fan of this last movie for sure.

It deserves to be said that I watched the first Harry Potter movie not because I wanted to, but because a friend did. After watching it I sought out the books and became a huge fan of this magical world that all fans have come to love. I'm an avid reader and devoured the books. Even finishing The Deathly Hallows within 2 days of its release. I would have finished it sooner but I was also moving an entire accounting firm from one location to another at the time.

Sigh. Another era, much like my time in Great Lakes, has come to an end.

I'm sad about both things.

Getting To Know Me, and Guest Posting

2011-07-20T05:33:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up with a fun group today that asked me to answer some questions about myself and my blog AND I'm Guest Posting today which I am SUPER excited about.

Why did you decide to start blogging?

I've mentioned before that I started blogging on MySpace, back in "the day". I was upset about something and clicked the BLOG link and wrote it out. My previous blog had gotten really negative, it was about my struggle with infertility and it just wasn't a healthy place for me to be anymore. I needed a fresh start and a chance to share more than just my baby blues, so My Life: Planned in Pencil was born.

When you aren't blogging, what are you doing?

I work full time, at least for the next 3 days.... then I'm done because we're moving to Sunny California. So for two weeks I'm going to be a stay at home wife, and then I'm going to be a back seat driver.

What is your blog about?

Crafts, DIY, Cooking, My Life, Random bits of info

When do you find the time to blog?

Morning Noon or Night, you never know when you'll get a post from me!

Why do you love blogging?

I absolutely adore that this is a place that is truly and completely mine, what I write here can be read and reread forever. It's a labor of love.

What is your favorite post so far that you've written?

Cork Balls

P.S.

I'm guest posting at The 2010s Housewife today.

Won't you go meet her too?

Framing Something Ugly....

2011-07-19T08:01:00.000-07:00

.... makes it something ugly with a frame around it!

My friend Michelle over at Dream Home DIY did this first.

She is super cute and cracks me up!

Don't just check out this project, check out some of her other things too!

Funk-afying Your Thermostat

Now, her thermostats are cuter than mine! Mine are old and ugly and boxy and ecru on my white walls.

Hurk.

White walls.

Blah.

Ecru.

Gag.

When we finally own a home I'm going Joan Crawford and screaming "NO WHITE WALLS EVER!"

This frame has been sitting on my sewing table for a few weeks.

I loved the shape but didn't know what I wanted to do with it.

I finally decided the good old spray paint and glaze would have to do.

As I was carrying it outside to paint it I passed my ugly thermostat and randomly tried to hang the frame around it.

The perfect fit!

Now, I have done other things to cover this baby up i n the past including, hanging a picture on it, or putting a piece of furniture in front of it.

See the before, kind of a blah off white.

Much better.

Has anyone else noticed that I always showcase the right lower corner for the detail shot?

Weird huh.

Necessary self portrait. The frame really isn't that blue, you can thank the artificial light and my point and shoot flash.

I am forever amazed what glaze can do to a simple spray paint job.

On the wall... it's still ugly, just with a pretty frame around it!

Thanks Michelle for such a great idea!

Now I need a door with a peep hole so I can finally realize my dream of framing that too!

Fine Four Fendered Friend

2011-07-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

Mr. T and I have fallen into the trap that so many young people do today.

We've acquired a nice little chunk of debt that we aren't exactly thrilled to call our own, but have to take responsibility for it none the less.

It's a combination of poor budgeting, emergencies and good old American Greed.

I like nice things.

I do not like to wait for nice things!

I used to suck at budgeting.

I'm getting much better!

Thank you Dave Ramsey.

We are trying to simplify and declutter our lives, less emphasis on stuff, more emphasis on living!

We worked really hard for the past several months to pay off our car. Not only did we not want that bill each month, we also did not want the car anymore. When we get to California Mr. T will be able to ride his motorcycle year round leaving me our pickup to drive on a daily basis. Plus with deployments we would end up not driving one of the vehicles for 6 months at a time anyway!

We made the final payment last month. The title arrived in the mail early this month.

We posted it on Craigslist, and sat it in the large parking lot outside the Navy Exchange.

We had two nibbles but they never came out to look at the car.

Then yesterday T got to actually show the car and the buyer made a cash offer (gotta love cash!)

Bye car!

Now, I can't pretend not to be a teensy bit sad!

I have a ton of great memories in this car! Road trips with friends, Road trips with Mr. T, singing at the top of my lungs with all four windows and the sunroof rolled down.

However, paying off a loan, and having a chunk of cash to put towards our debt wins out over nostalgia.

We are now left with just the evil credit card debt, and it's next on my execution list!

Opinions Count!

2011-07-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

NEW PRODUCT!

Don't you love a new product!

Krylon (my spraypaint of choice!) has come out with this new spray paint that is paint and primer in one. I bought a few cans the other night on a late night run to Wal-Mart. It's the same price as regular Krylon so why not?

There were a couple of cons but overall I loved it.

First. It stinks. Bad

Second. If you don't shake the crap out of it the cover is just that... crap.

Third. There is a very limited number of colors available.

Boo!

However! It covers thicker and has a very smooth finish AND the color is more true to the cap than the other options.

So true in fact I wasn't really sure if I liked this yellow when I first sprayed it.

This frame started out that tacky gold color that I think you all know my opinion on.

I took pictures I promise but of course now I can't find them.

BRIGHT!

Ah, there's the detail that made this come home with me!

Of course I had to glaze it.

Love that detail!

Now. How to fill it?

Chalkboard.

Dry Erase Board?

Chicken Wire?

Give me your opinion!

Lieutenant Dan!

2011-07-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

My 9 to 5 job is at a hotel on the base my husband is stationed at. I'm an administrative assistant.

It's definitely not a glam job.

I occasionally get to use a little creativity, but it's a job... not a career.

Next Friday will be my last day.

Today was most definitely the best day at work ever.

It was actually a really stressful day. I was covering the front desk for our associates so they could go to training.

I knew that this person was scheduled to be at the hotel today, but I didn't expect him to walk up to the front desk. I definitely didn't expect him to be so nice. I most surely stammered a little bit when I told him I was a huge fan, CSI NY is my favorite show!

Gary Sinise said "well do you have a camera or something? let's get a picture!"

I would like to bring your attention to the reflection in the mirror.

Yes, Gary Sinise has his arm around me.

Wow!

He and his band The Lieutenant Dan Band are performing on base this afternoon.

He comes every year.

Wow!

Seriously folks the nicest guy!

Oh, and I suggested the clam chowder from next door for lunch, and he quite enthusiastically took my advice.

Double wow!

Could my smile be any wider?

Internet Friends ROCK!

2011-07-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

So I'm one of those people who form real and long lasting internet relationships with people I've never met.

I've sent these women baby shower gifts, christmas cards, birthday gifts and have shared laughter and tears through some of life's biggest moments.

They are almost all military spouses.

I've met my friend Noelle once. She happened to be in Florida for work and I had the oppertunity to have dinner with her. She's hysterical!

One of my first memories of Noelle is her battling the admins on a message board we belonged to.

Upon finding out the sex of her unborn child she excited posted "I have a penis in my belly"

Only the boards censor feature kicked in on the word "penis"

(OMG, if people find this blog because they google "I have a penis in my belly" I will never forgive you Noelle!)

Noelle got around the censor feature by posting "I have a p.enis in my belly"

This folks is why I love my friends. Thumbing their nose at internet rules and keeping it real!

Noelle is currently living abroad with her family and she sent me a message on facebook saying she was going to send something to me and to plan on having my mind BLOWN!

The package came in the mail today.

The uber cute card said this was her first attempt, it was free hand, but she hoped I liked it!

I don't like it.....

.... I FREAKING LOVE IT!

Look at our cute little camper!

Look at my cute little puppies!

Look at my vanity plate!

How about this fire?

If the camper is a-rockin'...

don't come a-knockin'!

Bahahahahahahaha!

I was thinking of making a cute little sign for the door of our camper, this MUST be integrated!

Noelle, I tip my crafty hat to you.... this thing is amaze-balls!

Great Lakes Bucket List Update #6

2011-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Original Post

First Update

Second Update

Third Update

Fourth Update

Fifth Update

1. Stand on the SkyDeck (7/17)

~~2. See at least one more show in the Theater District~~

3. Swim in Lake Michigan (7/4)

~~4. Go camping in Wisconsin (7/23)~~

~~5. Get family pictures taken (6/26)~~

~~6. Canoe on the Nippersink River~~

7. Go to a movie at the drive in

~~8. Visit Field Museum~~

9. Ride Navy Pier Ferris Wheel (7/17)

10. Watch Cirque at Navy Pier (7/17)

~~11. Have a yard sale~~

~~12. Host a craft night (7/6)~~

~~13. Zipline in Lake Geneva~~

~~14. See 16 Candles play again~~

~~15. Watch a sunrise~~

16. Catch a big fish

17. Show my neighbors how much they have meant to me

18. Spend a night in the city (7/17)

19. See the final Harry Potter (7/15)

~~20. Take architectural cruise~~

21. Visit Greenbay, WI

22. Update address book

23. Complete Heather’s Kindle Cover (6/30)

24. Take pictures of all my friends

25. Host a going away party people will talk about (7/30)

Last weekend was perfection (on a stick)

Oh wait, no those were hot dogs and marshmallows on my stick!

We set our camper up on our campsite and applied liberal amounts of bug spray. For some reason bugs LOVE Mr. T... me they pretty much leave alone. I guess he's sweeter than me?

The girls were pretty happy for so much sunshine and fresh air.

I cooked in the camper for the first time. The issue is not cooking but cleaning up, my sink is teeny!

There was many games of Phase 10 played!

Early morning self portrait.

Ah. The pond.

Honestly we spent most of our weekend here.

On Saturday morning I woke up at (wait for it!) 4:30!

This gave me a great oppertunity to finally cross another thing off my list.

Watching a sun rise! I got the fire going, and updated my day planner while I watched and waited.

Only there was no great AHA! moment.

It just gradually got brighter.

Fail?

Whatever. I'm counting it!

Out of no where, a craft appears.

2011-07-13T13:46:00.000-07:00

Oh it was another one folks, another craft that almost stumped me!

Remember these pics.

Well... apparently if there is even the smallest remnant of wax on a candlestick then spray paint will NOT (please notice the intensity of my emphasis on the word not) dry.

Ever.

Ever Ever Ever.

However! Apparently you can spray paint glass if you prime it well enough!

Enter two dollar store glass candle sticks and voila!

You can in fact rise above the fail!

The color scheme came from thrifting with my friend Katie.

She found an awesome table runner to help bring more color to her dining room.

I think these will make the colors in the table runner POP!

Here I've just thrown some miscellaneous items onto it.

Apples

Crystal Lite To Go

Truvia

You know, just what I had laying around.

I definitely think I'm going to need one of these!

Holy Wind Batman!

2011-07-12T11:36:00.000-07:00

Bear with me, I know I promised you a spray paint project on Monday.... however Monday morning the wind-pocolypse came.

Seriously.

Northern Illinois received hurricane force winds leaving over 700,000 people without power.

How strong was it you may ask.

What we have here is a row of port-o-potties left from the 4th of July celebrations on base.

As you can see they are knocked over.

Port-o-potties are not designed to easily tip.... just saying.

There are also trees down everywhere, power lines down, power lines snapped, transformers blown.

It's a bit of a mess.

We were without power for about 12 hours yesterday and got it back just as we were going to bed.

I could cook (thanks gas appliances!) but that was about it.

At one point I resorted to reading by flashlight.

I'm rereading the final Harry Potter book in preparation for the movie's release this Friday!

Hopefully the movie theater has power by then.

Priorities people!

Tidbits from camping

2011-07-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

Full update and picture coming on Thursday

-If you forget a hammer a piece of firewood doubles nicely as an instrument for pounding pegs into the ground.

-If you forget a flashlight the walk to the campsite port-o-potty will be uber creepy at night.

-If in the early hours (4am) of the first morning a campsite nearby is making too much noise then the campsite next to you may be inspired to yell "shut up" into the cool morning air making you giggle and then "shut up" spoken with exactly the same inflection will be used in excess for the rest of the weekend.

-Don't fry hamburgers while not wearing pants.

Worst Super Hero Ever!

2011-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

Oh the things I find on pinterest.

I love this!

It's so me!

I also hate this, because it is so me.

Oh the anxiety I have about this move, I cannot even explain.

Perhaps it is because I am leaving behind so many great people, a job I like, a comfortable home and my safety net of security that I've had for the past 3 years.

Maybe it's about the 5 week long transit period where we will boldy go where we have not gone before.

More than likely it's the not knowing what is coming, the fear of the unknown and the lack of control I have over this entire situation. I might be just a teeny bit of a control freak. I think anxiety and control go hand in hand, mostly because when I'm out of control I have anxiety.

I'm taking a break this weekend though.

I'm going camping with Mr. T.

We're gonna load up the pups and take our newly registered camper on its maiden voyage.

Time to roast weiners, make smores, play card games, go for a hike, maybe play a round of putt putt, go for a swim, generally relax and enjoy ourselves.

I'll be back Monday... with something I spray painted.

I promise!

The real test will be if I can be without internet for that long.

I made this yesterday. I think it needs to be printed out, put in a frame and used as decor in my craft room.

Great Mistakes Bucket List Update #5

2011-07-07T05:43:00.000-07:00

Original Post

First Update

Second Update

Third Update

Fourth Update

1. Stand on the SkyDeck (7/17)

~~2. See at least one more show in the Theater District~~

3. Swim in Lake Michigan (7/4)

4. Go camping in Wisconsin (7/23)

~~5. Get family pictures taken (6/26)~~

~~6. Canoe on the Nippersink River~~

7. Go to a movie at the drive in

~~8. Visit Field Museum~~

9. Ride Navy Pier Ferris Wheel (7/17)

10. Watch Cirque at Navy Pier (7/17)

~~11. Have a yard sale~~

~~12. Host a craft night (7/6)~~

~~13. Zipline in Lake Geneva~~

~~14. See 16 Candles play again~~

15. Watch a sunrise

16. Catch a big fish

17. Show my neighbors how much they have meant to me

18. Spend a night in the city (7/17)

19. See the final Harry Potter (7/15)

~~20. Take architectural cruise~~

21. Visit Greenbay, WI

22. Update address book

23. Complete Heather’s Kindle Cover (6/30)

24. Take pictures of all my friends

25. Host a going away party people will talk about (7/30)

Last night 6 of my friends came over with their kids to "Craft with Miss PJ"

I had pre cut people using the Everyday Paper Doll cartridge for my cricut, and then I cut out clothes.

The kids got to glue on tops, bottoms, hair and then draw on everything else.

Voila! Family portraits!

There are no pictures though... uhm, I was a little preoccupied with handing out hair and dresses to cover up naked paper dolls than I was with snapping pics.

I love a house, full of friends and laughing chilldren!

A quick note about numbers 13 and 14.

They aren't going to happen. 16 Candles isn't playing on a day I can go, and there isn't time in the schedule for the zipline. It's okay though. We're going to see Collective Soul on the 23 and that's going to be fun, and I think we're just going to add an extra camping trip in that weekend as well.

Coming up this week is our camping trip to Wisconsin, finishing some sewing projects (NO MORE PROCRASTINATION!) and seeing Harry Potter!

A Little Giggle

2011-07-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

I've told you guys that I'm obsessed with my stats, right? I love seeing the parts of the world that people read this blog from, and what sites send them here....

Well, over the weekend something new popped up!

Three people have found this blog because they googled the phrase "I might be a hoarder"

I have a mental picture of people who honestly truly feel they might have an issue stumbling upon my posts full of pictures of crap I've bought.

LOL.

I wonder if they are jealous of all my great finds!

New Friends. Old Friends and SO MUCH FOOD!!!

2011-07-05T07:29:00.000-07:00

First off.. we got some new friends here on this little ol' blog over the long weekend

Hello new friends!!!

Now, on to current business.

Pretend it's still yesterday....

Happy 4th of July!

I hope your day was great!

It was a great weekend here in Great Lakes.

Food. Food. Food. Thrifting! Food. Laughter. Food. Food. Food.

OMG. SO MUCH FOOD!

I'm wearing a dress to work today, not because I wanted to look nice, but because I was really sure that none of my pants would fit me after the gluttony that was the 4th of July weekend.

Saturday. BBQ w/ friends

Sunday. BBQ w/ friends to celebrate the retirement of the dirty dutchman (Inside joke.... sorry) after 20 years of military service. Congrats again Baldwin family!

Monday. BBQ w/ friends and fireworks

Tuesday. Guzzeling water like a fiend and plotting my diet strategy for the next 20 years!

I hope you had a safe and happy holiday weekend.

Sorry for the lack of creative posts, I'm gearing up for a "Crafting with Ms. PJ" night tomorrow night and I've been getting ready for that... as is I'm not ready and will be getting by on a wing and a prayer (as usual).

Thank goodness for those prayers.

Scared For My Life x2

2011-07-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of being scared.

I don't like horror movies. I don't read scary books. I don't go to haunted houses.

I am in general a nervous person.

I sometimes groan and make other noises when I get into a situation (like bad driving weather) that stress me out. Mr. T is always asking "why are you making that noise!"

I was scared twice yesterday.

It was the perfect summer day when I got out of work. Mr. T already had the canoe on top of the truck and we had plans to go on base to the marina and paddle about. He had gone by himself on Tuesday and really enjoyed himself. I didn't go because I was in pretty intense tooth pain from the crown prep the dentist had done on Monday. On Tuesdsay the marina was as smooth as glass and he navigated it with no problems on his own.

For fun we decided to take Lady on the canoe with us. Amazingly enough my stress level was not about having my 10lb nervous dog in the canoe. She did just fine! I think we'll take her again when the conditions are better. Yes, it was the conditions that were giving me reason to groan.

The voyage started off rocky, while getting in the canoe solo T tipped it over. Our old camera in the pocket of his cargo shorts got quite a bath, and the book that I had taken to read while he fished was lost to Lake Michigan.

I gave him quite a bit of grief about tipping the canoe, but once we were both in it and on the water we realized why. What looked like small waves from the shore were actually intense rolling waters that our little canoe wasn't big enough to deal with. Mr. T made the call and we turned around to paddle for shore.

Broadside to a wave in a canoe is not a place I ever want to be again.

I prayed and paddled like no bodies business.

Safe on land we loaded up the canoe and headed for home.

With nothing on the agenda for the night I asked T to put the camper up for the weekend as we have some babysitting opportunities and they love that thing!

We decided to spend the night in it and were curled up watching a movie on Netflix when the Big Giant Head started calmly telling the residents of North Chicago to take immediate shelter.

A pop up camper in the backyard is not where I want to be when a tornado hits.

I think we popped it down in about 15 minutes flat, all the while the sky grew a creepy color of yellow and the wind shook us to our core.

More prayers.

We got the camper down, the canoe inside, the motorcycle inside and the picnic table flipped onto its top.

We chased some garbage that had escaped from our neighbors recycling bin and then waited inside for the storm to pass.

Which it did, as storms do.

Tonight I think I'll just stay home in my jammies... I've had enough excitement to last me a few days.

Great Mistakes Bucket List Update #4

2011-06-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Original Post

First Update

Second Update

Third Update

1. Stand on the SkyDeck (7/17)

~~2. See at least one more show in the Theater District~~

3. Swim in Lake Michigan (7/4)

4. Go camping in Wisconsin (7/23)

~~5. Get family pictures taken (6/26)~~

~~6. Canoe on the Nippersink River~~

7. Go to a movie at the drive in

~~8. Visit Field Museum~~

9. Ride Navy Pier Ferris Wheel (7/17)

10. Watch Cirque at Navy Pier (7/17)

~~11. Have a yard sale~~

12. Host a craft night (7/6)

13. Zipline in Lake Geneva

14. See 16 Candles play again

15. Watch a sunrise

16. Catch a big fish

17. Show my neighbors how much they have meant to me

18. Spend a night in the city (7/17)

19. See the final Harry Potter (7/15)

~~20. Take architectural cruise~~

21. Visit Greenbay, WI

22. Update address book

23. Complete Heather’s Kindle Cover (6/30)

24. Take pictures of all my friends

25. Host a going away party people will talk about (7/30)

It has been a busy week!

As of today we have 39 days until we leave.

WOW!

Saturday we picked up the title for our camper. Yeah that sweet baby is officially ours!

Watch out roads of America, here we come!

Afterwards there wasn't enough time to do much else, but we could throw the canoe on the top of the car and head out for its initial 2011 voyage. We spent two hours quietly paddling, enjoying the wildlife like turtles, muskrats, and birds of all type.

There are no pictures because I'm scared to take my camera out on the canoe. If we were to flip or tip I'd hate to lose it to water damage. So I guess you'll just have to trust me on that one!

This past Sunday we spent two hours posing and laughing (because we laugh no matter what we're doing) for our family pictures.

I haven't seen them all yet, but the previews I'm loving!

The P & T in this picture were clearance items from Hobby Lobby, they used to be a rusted red color but a quick spray on Sunday morning transformed them to these awesome teal masterpieces. I love the power of spraypaint! Don't pay any attention to the lean going on in the background... that's an "aw yeah" moment if ever there was one.

We had some fun playing with the sun and creating silouetttes.

This one is my favorite so far.

I adore the artsy aspect of it.

It's different and cool and I'm a fan of the color of my handsom husbands eyes.

I wish it was acceptable to have a photoshoot every weekend.

I had so much fun, but then again I really liked my photographer!

Tshirt remakes

2011-06-28T20:38:00.000-07:00

So first, if you're a pinner I'd love to invite you to follow me on Pinterest. OMG. I need a pintervention.

I have managed to do a little crafting today though.

You see I have a confession to make.

I am the worlds messiest eater.

For real.

Mr. T laughs about it when we go out for dinner. It's almost guaranteed that I will drop something on myself, or spill something on myself or spill something on others!

Oh, I'm also a very involved cook, I like to really get in there, work with my hands.

This involves a lot of splatter.

So.... I throw away a lot of stained shirts.

Well NO MORE!

Today I experimented with three different rescues for stained tshirts.

The first was letters cut out of contact paper, stuck to the shirt to protect it from the bleach I sprayed on it.

I should have used a LOT less bleach!

Next I tried applique.

Hello sweet little bird!

Finally a freezer paper stencil and fabric paint

I think this one is my favorite because that's usually the kind of expressions coming out of my mouth when I realize i've destroyed another shirt.

This doesn't make them acceptable for public, but it does make them a little more fun to wear around the house!

I need a mini me

2011-06-27T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I walk into a thift store and nothing speaks to me.

Sometimes I walk into a thrift store and I don't even check the price of something I put it in my cart.

This piece was destined to be mine.

I believe this.

Of course I also believe that it was destined to hang in a little girls princess room and I don't have one of those :(

The ornateness of this mirror is what immediately jumped out at me.

I'm not sure about that color scheme though!

Enter Krylon Ballet Slipper

Now this I love!

Mirror Mirror On The Wall....

Spraypainted Cell Phone

2011-06-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

Shouldst thou accidentally over spray your latest project and mist thy cell phone with droplets of primer, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser will be thy best friend.

Making over a PJ

2011-06-26T18:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling like myself lately.

I've been a little blah.

I've been a little watered down.

I've missed the fiesty, crazy, fun-loving girl that I used to be.

No midnight trips to walmart have occurred, I haven't licked any windows lately, and there certainly hasn't been a whole lot of funky in my life.

It's no secret that I'm not happy with my weight, but haven't been putting forth the effort to change it either.

I felt like I needed a jumpstart.

A jolt to wake up my spirit.

Enter one amazingly fun friend who is studying for her beauty license.

I kind of wish she would drop out, so I could call her a beauty school drop out, and sing to her about putting away her teasing comb and going back to high school.

Aw man, now I need to watch Grease!!!

I've been talking to my friend about adding some color to my hair for a while. Friday our schedules finally meshed and we got down to it.

Oh baby, check out that before pic. Yeah that's super hot!

These are the placements of the highlights, I kind of resemble medusa at this point.

I'm getting 3 different radio stations right now!

Rawr! Showing off my sexy 90's highlights. Oh lawd, I remember a time when I actually did this and called it style.

Here's the color we added to my hair, it smelled slightly of raspberries... but my friend promised me it would not taste of raspberries should I try to lick it. This did not stop me from pretending to try.

I only got 1 radio station this time around.

Saturday I got my haircut.

For those of you who are new to my life let me tell you that my hair used to be VERY short!

I've been trying to grow it out for a year, and I'm finally happy with where it is.

If you've ever grown out a short do you'll know what a pain it is.

So here we go.

The big reveal!

I have wainted pink highlights for YEARS, and it's just the punch of color that my life needs these days.

T and I were on our way out the door to our photo shoot.... but we are the king and queen of the self portrait so I couldn't resist this shot.

I've entered my pink period, I wonder what color will be next!

Fra-geee-lay (or a major award)

2011-06-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

I got an email yesterday letting me know that I had been given an award.

I hope it's a major award!

I really only accept major awards.

Now I have a feeling about awards. I feel like maybe they might just be the chain mail of the blogging world.

BUT! As I happen to like this particular blog, and since she was nice enough to pick this strange concoction of bloggy madness to give such an award to I do feel like I should give her a shout out.

I like this blog because it feels real to me.

Some blogs I read and I feel entirely insignificant in the world wide web because they are the holy grail of bloggers and untouchable.

Today Tracy shared her dirty oven door window. and oatmeal coconut walnut cake.

Oatmeal Coconut Walnut Cake!!!

Seriously the only way the cake post could have gotten better is if a slice (or two) had been mailed to my house at the same time.

Thanks for the award Tracy!

Go check her out!

Great Mistakes Bucket List Update #3

2011-06-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

Original Post

First Update

Second Update

1. Stand on the SkyDeck (7/17)

~~2. See at least one more show in the Theater District~~

3. Swim in Lake Michigan (7/4)

4. Go camping in Wisconsin (7/23)

5. Get family pictures taken (6/26)

6. Canoe on the Nippersink River

7. Go to a movie at the drive in

~~8. Visit Field Museum~~

9. Ride Navy Pier Ferris Wheel (7/17)

10. Watch Cirque at Navy Pier (7/17)

~~11. Have a yard sale~~

12. Host a craft night (7/6)

13. Zipline in Lake Geneva

14. See 16 Candles play again

15. Watch a sunrise

16. Catch a big fish

17. Show my neighbors how much they have meant to me

18. Spend a night in the city (7/17)

19. See the final Harry Potter (7/15)

~~20. Take architectural cruise~~

21. Visit Greenbay, WI

22. Update address book

23. Complete Heather’s Kindle Cover (6/30)

24. Take pictures of all my friends

25. Host a going away party people will talk about (7/30)

Do you like how last week I completely ignored this post, just pretended that it didn't exist at all? That's because last week I didn't cross anything off of the list. At all.

Oops.

I went fishing a few times to try to catch that big fish, but didn't.

I did some sewing, but am still procrastinating on that Kindle cover.

Oh well.

This week there are updates.

Sunday T and I went to Chicago and I was able to knock two things off of my list.

Visit Field Museum and Take Architectural Tour.

I'm not sure what's going on with T's face here, I think he was sick of me pestering him to keep his eyes open during pictures so he was going to make sure his eyes were open here!

It was quite foggy when our architectural tour started, but by the time our boat left the dock it had cleared up nicely.

I won't bore you with tons of pictures of boring buildings, but I will share this one of my favorite buildings here. Affectionally called "the corn cobs" I think you can see why.

Hanging out on the cruise.

After lunch at Navy Pier (yes that's the ferris wheel I want to ride again) we caught the water taxi to the museum campus.

We are the king and queen of self portraits!

FYI huge props to Shoreline Water Taxis for allowing service members to ride for free! Their company also put on the architecture cruise we went on and T was given the childs fare. LOL. Of course he would have preferred them to call it something different, but I just enjoyed the financial break.

The field museum. I may or may not have hummed the Rocky theme song while walking up all those stairs. There definitely was a fist pump at the top.

I love this light fixture!

Sue!

I can't help it now, whenever I see a T-Rex I think of Night at the Museum.

The rest of the museum was either no photography or difficult to photograph because of the glass.

I was excited to see the panda exibit as I love them the most.

Poor sad panda.

Interesting fact about above Panda, they are the preserved remains of the first panda brought to the US.

Orignially thought to be female it was discovered after death that it was in fact male.

No wonder our breeding program in the US stinks!

I've added some dates to the list, that's because I have alot of things on the books so those are the expected completion dates.

What to do during a tornado warning

2011-06-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last night after throwing away 1/2 the crap in my master bathroom (yeah pre move decluttering!!!) I ran to JoAnn fabrics to buy material for a very special birthday gift!

I had every intention of sewing it and my friend Heather's new Kindle cover last night.

However...

When I got home I got distracted by pinterest, and then I heard Mr. T fire up the Wii.

Lego Rock Band baby!

Queen's "We Are The Champions"

PJ on lead vocals

Mr. T on electric guitar

Why yes, that would be a 100%

Anyone know a Queen coverband who needs a female lead?

Half way through a pretty awesome version of Crocodile Rock our power went out.

Thank goodness for cell phone screens that gave us enough light to get to the garage and find our big flashlights.

It was at that moment that The Big Giant Head (1,000,000 cool points if you get the reference) started shouting "this is not a drill, enter an interior room away from windows, this is not a drill"

Gulp.

I love a good storm so I didn't lock myself in the downstairs closet, I just watched as the winds and rain battered our little house. It was a pretty spectacular storm and we were without power for about 6 hours.

No one here was hurt, and we didn't lose any trees, although the neighborhood is full of downed limbs and clumps of leaves. Power still wasn't restored to traffic lights this morning so the drive to work was interesting!

I hope you all were safe last night if you were in the path of that storm.

Stay tuned for tomorrow... Bucket List Thursday! I actually have an update this week.

Woot!

From Scratch - Vegetarian Spaghetti

2011-06-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

In getting ready to move I'm emptying out my pantry.

I've had a spaghetti squash on the bottom shelf for several weeks and needed to use it up.

I think the spaghetti squash is perhaps the most underloved, and under used squash.

People ask me "how do you cook it?" or "how do you serve it" whenever I say how much I love it.

Well here we go, my first cooking post.

You will have to excuse me as I very rarely cook by measurement or recipe, I cook by taste.

This is how I make pasta sauce. It's probably not the right way, but it's my way!

I started with six big ripe red tomatoes.... .59/lb at my local grocery store, I spent 1.79 on these.

Since I don't like stems or stickers in my sauce I cut those out and sliced the tomatoes into wedges.

At this point you could remove the skin, but if you wait just a minute the cooking process will do that for you :)

In a large saucepan I put about 3 inches of water, and all of my tomatoe wedges.

On a high heat I boil the tomatoes down, as they boil down the skin will peal right off, so as I'm stirring I'm removing the skins.

Once the tomatoes have really cooked down I add my seasoning, garlic and salt... just to taste, it's not an exact science.

See how much lower the sauce is in the pain at this point... it's been cooking over medium heat for about 45 minutes. All the while I'm stirring it and helping it to break down and removing skins as they pop up to the surface.

Time to prep our squash. I sliced this one in half lengthwise.

Cleaned out the seeds and put them in a pan.

Cook them, skin up in a pan for 45 minutes at 350... after that flip them over and cook another 10 minutes to tenderize the flesh of the squash

At this point I use a fork to seperate the tuberous nature of the flesh.

See... squash noodles!!!

Both halves are placed into a bowl and I fluff them with the spoon as they cool to help continue to seperate the noodles.

Spaghetti squash tastes like squash, it's a bit crunchy but holds pasta sauce wonderfully so it's a great lower carb healthy option to pasta.... also wonderful if you have someone with a gluten intolerance or someone who is vegetarian.

I had Mr. T taste the sauce and he approved so I served it up.

So good!

Mr. T must have liked it too since he had two bowls and took the leftover squash for lunch today.

The sauce made enough for our dinner last night, lunch today, and I still have almost a full regular size pasta jar that I refilled with the homemade stuff.

Yum!

Even in the middle of making tomato sauce there's still always time for a photo op!

Little Miss America

2011-06-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

Do you guys remember this post?

Ok.

Here's the thing. My friends have the cutest kids! I swear.

Just look.

I had the great pleasure of meeting this little girls mama while she was still pregnant, and so I've gotten to see the adorable little one grow. She's extra special to me because while some kids are so fussy whenever I hold them, from the beginning she has always just nuzzled right into me and usually fallen asleep. Nothing beats a sleeping baby.

That is part of her one year photo shoot. A photoshoot that used my chair as a prop.

Oh my goodness, I could die.

Remember the Mike Meyers sketch on SNL where he did Coffee Talk as a middle aged jewish woman.

Yeah. Say "I could die" in that accent while clutching your recently set hairdo please.

It's like buttah!

Now, on to the photographer who owns this piece.

Shuckhart Photography is owned by Kenna Shuckhart.

She is so cute, and amazing, and creative.... also her prices are awesome, so if you're in the Great Lakes/North Chicago area you should probably book with her. Kind of like I did... for next Sunday. She hasn't even taken our pictures yet and I can already tell you they are going to be awesome, but no pressure whatsoever Kenna!

Check out her blog or find her on facebook.

Thanks to both of my friends for letting my creation have a part in this amazing photo.... makes me feel like a supah stah!

***All opinions expressed in this post are 100% mine, this is not a paid endorsement of Shuckhart Photography and I am receiving no financial or service compensation for these opinions... basically I just like to support amazing people!***

Drained

2011-06-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

Without fail, whenever I come home from a day in the city all of my electronic devices are dead.

Camera battery. Dead.
Cell phone battery. Dead.
Kindle battery. Dead.
My battery. Dead.

Faux Etched Glass

2011-06-17T04:57:00.000-07:00

Something I can NEVER pass up at the thrift store is cheap and unique glassware.

I've wanted to try etching it for a while now but that $20 price tag on a bottle of etching cream has me rethinking my desires.

Recently a blog I read used SPRAYPAINT! (my favorite thing ever) to give the effect of etched glass. (I appologize if it was you, it was before I had a pinterest account and now I can't find the post, or our lovely email conversation where you encouraged me to try it. If it was you email me and I'll straight up give you the credit you deserve, cause you rocked!!!)

Sign me up!

This is a common sight in our household. I appologize that "Focused Puppy" and "Pouting Puppy" are out of focus I forgot to set my camera to "Pets and Kids" setting for faster shutter speed. Notice how "Visiting Puppy" is sitting quietly waiting... that's because she's well behaved.

They are focused because of that jar. That's the treat jar.

BORING!

I originally was just going to Mod Podge some scrap paper letters, but I just wasn't feeling the look.

So I tried a different approach. I got out my giant roll of laminate and cut a 6x12 piece.

Stuck the paper side down onto my Cricut mat and moved the blade into the center of the piece.

Very important to make sure that the paper side is down or your words will end up backwards.

I used scrap paper around the edges of the laminate to increase the protection zone, and added the inside portions of the "e" and "a"

Very important to also make sure the laminate is REALLY stuck down to the glass. I spent probably about five minutes looking at it from all angles and working those bubbles out because if it didn't seal well it wasn't going to have clean lines and separation between the letters.

This has been sitting in my garage for a month waiting for me to have the balls to try this project.

It worked! I gave it two coats of paint and then get a little panicky that I wasn't going to be able to get the laminate off once the paint REALLY set so I pulled it off while the paint was still wet.

Not necessary, as you can see I left the "e" and "a" filler pieces on as a trial and was able to lift them right off with a xacto blade when it was dry.

I consider it a success!

Now to start busting through my giant stash of thrifted glassware... and what do you know, I have a weekend with almost no plans!

V vs. 7

2011-06-16T16:58:00.000-07:00

I had about an hour uninteruptus last night and decided to hit up a quick project.

Here are my .99 coasters.

Fruit really doesn't do anything for me.

Our last name starts with V.. do you know how hard it is to find things personalized with the letter V?

Let me tell you, it's hard.

They always have T and S and W, but never V.

I measured the coaster...

Used my cricut to cut out a circle...

Gave the coasters a coat of white paint to cover up the fruit...

Then Mod Podged away!

It was all good until T looked at them and said.

Why do our coasters have 7s on them?

D'OH!

Photo Prop 1

2011-06-15T14:41:00.000-07:00

My plan for the photo session that is going down at the end of the month is to really capture the quirky and fun relationship between T and I.

I don't want your normal "hand on the arm looking longingly into the others eyes" couple shots.

It's not us.

At all.

I've been researching a lot of different ideas and something I saw I REALLY liked.

The couple used a chalkboard to write "She said yes" and "save the date" for their engagement cards.

Well, we're a couple (9) years past that but I think it could be a fun way to add some humor to our shoot... and afterwards it can be hung in our house and used to pass messages.

Bonus!

Originally I planned to buy some wood and paint it with chalkboard paint, but at the thrift store one day I found this hanging.

I'm sorry if you love it or it's your style, it's not mine.

Do you like that drop cloth? Yeah those sheets aren't my style either but darn it if they don't work great at not letting spraypaint bleed through to the table underneath!

I gave it a heavy coat of gray primer, and wished I had sanded it down a bit because the lettering of the original hanging was raised ever so slightly and continues to show through just the teeniest bit at the right angle even after two coats of blackboard paint, another coat of primer and two more coats of blackboard paint.

I love how quickly I can change it up.

Need to invest in some fun colored chalk, and maybe some handwriting lessons!

Wordle... rhymes with... Girdle??

2011-06-15T09:09:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I'm checking out A Girl and a Glue Gun

and I see a link to Wordle and because I'm a brainless follower I have to check it out!

In. Love.

Look what I made.

It's me. Well at least some components of me.

You can either add your own words, or give it the link to your blog and it will pull words. I did that originally but the words "naked" and "bathroom" were both in bold and I couldn't figure out how to make that not happen! LOL

Check it out! The possibilities are endless!

I might be a hoarder!

2011-06-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

I haven't shared my thrifted finds with you guys in FOREVER! Which means this is but the tiniest representation of what all I've purchased lately! No really, there is more stuff.... I might need thrifters anonymous!

I've been getting some really great stuff!

Some of it has even already gone to new homes! Combining bulky candlesticks with wooden bowls or plates has been a big hit with my friends, some of you might already have something in your home :)

Something like this perhaps?

Which was a combination of this -

.99

... and a bowl I apparently didn't take a picture of!

Finding bowls and plates that are the right shape is tricky, luckily I found a whole lot of them!

4.99

Candlesticks seem to be ever available, although somtimes I have to scrape a whole lot of wax off in order for them to paint properly!

2.99

1.99

2.12

I am also more than a little obsessed with frames right now... as T and I are preparing to do our photo shoot at the end of the month I am preparing to fill all these with cute pictures of us!

1.99 a piece

1.99

1.21 plus 25% discount

I picked up some "new" old dictionaries for my lettered canvas

1.50 a piece plus 50% discount

Also some canvases to reuse! These are only two, I know there are at least three others somewhere in my stash of stuff.... I'm not a hoarder, I'm not a hoarder!

3.13 a piece plus 25% discount

Some cheap Ikea frames ready for Mod Podge.

.66 a piece plus 25% discount

.99

.88

Coasters, also for Mod Podge.

.99 for 4

This lamp, it needs something fun done with it.... I don't know what yet, but something fun!

2.99

The components to make a cake pan display

.88 a piece

.99 a piece

When it's all done it will look something like this.

Trays. This is where we get into the hoarding issue. I bought 10.

.88 a piece plus 25% discount

I bought this frame as a prop for our photoshoo.t It's big! probably about 4 feet tall. It will be disassembled and painted... because I have no need for a parrot picture in my house.

9.99

Check out this detail!

Okay, now for my really exciting find.

1.21

I have seriously wanted one of these for MONTHS!

and last, because it's most important.

4.14

My parents had this cooler in blue growing up, and I have had my eye out for one for about 5 years. Tonight as I made my way to the counter with my two items I walked passed a cart full of stuff and this was about 1/2 way buried. I asked my cashier if it was for sale and she said YES!

It's in great shape and will be a constant reminder of my childhood.

If the hat fits!

2011-06-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly I've been busy!

And not with crafts. I'll have to apologize right now to those of you who follow me because of my crafts. They will probably be few and far between until we are settled in Cali. I'm still thrifting, but I haven't really had a lot of time to sit down and create, or better yet stand up and spray paint!

Yesterday Mr. T and I went to visit Personal Goods and Housing to let them know we are leaving and to start the process of moving.

56 days until T checks out of his command and we hit the road.

I'm not the first to go though.

Someone else is packing out literally as we speak.

Goodbye Mama Mel!

As a military spouse I say "goodbye" a lot. Sometimes the goodbye is permanent, the connection is broken and the friendship fades away as time and distance takes its toll. You take a BF off of the BFF and you're just F'ed... er... Friends.

I can honestly say this goodbye is not going to be like that.

Like so many good friendships this one started at a random meetup, a train ride to the city, and was then pushed further by a celebrity blogger book signing, and a late night last minute movie date.

This woman, I wish I could really put it into words! She's just awesome. A shoulder when you need it, but a kick in the pants when you need that! The first to ask you what's wrong, and the last to leave your party.

This weekend we got together one. last. time. (I have gone to at least 3 "going away" parties for Mel, that's just how loved she is!)

This weekend was a little different though. We got together for the sole purpose of drinking up her freezer full of Tastefully Simple Drink Buckets.

Yum.

I think I polished off two myself!

Mama Mel, I don't think you will ever know how much you have meant to me here, from helping me plan Mama G's baby shower, to being such a huge support through the fertility and adoption issues.

I am truly blessed to call you friend. Good luck at your next home, may your new friends be cool... just not quite as cool as those you made here!

Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves

2011-06-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

We have purchased a camper.

It pop ups.

This is what we plan to travel across country in, what we will live in when we leave this base until our next home is ready.

I'm not even a little bit excited, nope.. nuh huh, not me!

Wanna see?

Popped down, it is an 89 Coleman, one owner who used it six times, was meticulous about its care and kept it in the garage whenever it wasn't being used. Also the nicest gentleman we could have hoped to have purchased something from.

Come on in ya'll!

The full size bed and the cot, under those four cushions is our "dining room table" and the cushions become our dinette set.

Queen size bed at the opposite end of the trailer.

The neighbor kids loved it and we had a hard time convincing them it was time to get out and go back to their house, but they are welcome back anytime!

T checking out the drawers, we have some vintage pyrex and tupperware!!!

The sink and cooktop, I guess you could say this is my domain?

We are blessed beyond meausure, and happy to have found what we needed. Hallelujah Craigslist!

However now I've got to run because we're eating dinner, playing some games, and spending the night in the camper :)