Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...

my burning bushes are starting to burn.  I love the fall colors and the crisp air.  I have yet to meet someone that doesn't like the fall.

I am thinking...

that by the age of 38 (I know, I don't look that old :) I should have my life figured out and be a source of wisdom and knowledge.  Wait...is wisdom and knowledge the same thing?  See, I know nothing.

I am thankful...

for SPANX.  I was at lunch the other day with a girlfriend and she was rather surprised that I was wearing spanx for our lunch together.  What, does she think I come by this girlish figure on my own?

From the kitchen...

I wish that I had a family chef to cook dinner for me everyday.  Rich people, who have chefs, have it easy.  Don't say money can't by you happiness.  I'd have a chef, maid, driver, and personal assistant.  Ahhh...happiness.

I am creating...

a weekly schedule to keep me on track.  I'm so overwhelmed with the big 'to-do' list that I simply ignore any 'list of doing' and instead 'do nothing'.  Yeah, it's not really working for me.

I am reading...

jewelry magazines.  It gets me all excited to create.  Now, I just need to schedule time to create.

I am hoping...

that the circuit training workout I started works miracles on my body.  Blake promised me a trip to somewhere sunny and fabulous when we reach our goal weight.

I am hearing...

my cat meow.  He wants to curl up on me but I have to say NO because he has a sedative-like effect on me and we end up taking a nap.  He's oh-so-soft and snugly.

One of my favorite things...

I'm having a hard time narrowing this one down today.  Beside spanx, there's spray paint, body wash, good music, telephones...But I'm going to go with...My husband.  He helped talk me through "MY expectations" vs. "the important stuff".  He expects only the best from me but understands that sometimes my best isn't all that great.  So in other words...he has no expectations for me, he just wants me to be happy.  He's pretty cool to hang out with, too.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

I don't know.  I'll have to check my schedule.  :)

A picture thought I am sharing...

in honor of hunting season.  

We saw this beauty up at Bear World in Idaho Falls, ID this summer.  I was even impressed with this rack.

Chaos in my Brain

As I was going through my clutter in preparation for a fantabulous craft room I found this quote in a Women's Day magazine.
"Our environment is a physical manifestation of how we feel.  Clutter creates chaos in our brain, which undermines our ability to function.  With less distraction, our brains function better, our anxiety decreases, our self-esteem increases and we feel more competent.  We also are more likely to invite others over and be social."
That sums up what I feel like with my clutter.  My focus is definitely not to become more social and invite more people over.  I think that would increase my husbands anxiety 10-fold and I've moved past the whole "need to entertain" stage in my life.  But for me I really would love to have less distractions and less anxiety.  And who wouldn't like to feel better about themselves?
I'm slowly changing.  My brain is being re-booted and I find myself a little more excited to accomplish something each day.  The craft room is painted (woo-hoo) with this color...

Behr, Sage Grey, 710F 4 - color-swatches.com

I've repainted my magnet/chalkboard and I'm liking it.  I've fixed the shelves so they won't unexpectedly fall and now I'm moving on to the piles of important stuff that I have no idea why it's important, just that I put it in an "important pile" months ago.

Facelift: Month 6, Part I

Squelch [skwelch] -verb
1. to strike or press with crushing force; crush down; squash.
2. to put down, suppress, or silence.

That is how I feel in my office/craft room.  I walk in, retrieve item, walk out quickly before something falls over or I trip over something.  So this is what I want to focus on for my "facelift" this month.  Check out the before pictures...

There is almost anything you can think of in this room.  Beads, buttons, and baubles.  Family Home Evening lessons.  Books, bags, and baskets. Frames, fabric, a full closet.  It's stressful to say the least.  The only reason I can sit at the computer is because my back is to the mess and I can pretend that it's not there.  I'm good at pretending.

So this leads me to the squelching of my creativity.  I envision a room that has a place for everything and everything has it's place.  A room where I can sit down at that lovely antique table and accomplish bills, crafts, thoughts, etc. without having to move a pile or two (who are we kidding? I would really be 3 big piles to move).  I want a room that inspires me to take time to create. A room where Blake feels comfortable to visit with me occasionally (without wanting to scream or turn his back so he doesn't have to look at it).  Is this too much to ask? You'll just have to wait to find out.

Facelift: Month 5

Blake and I have been wanting to make some home improvements and one of the big ones is our kitchen.  We didn't want to spent a ton of money (which I could do very easily if it wasn't my money) so we tried the rustoleum kitchen counter product where you resurface your countertops.

Here's the before: We discovered that the plastic drop cloths were VeRy iMpOrTaNt!!!

 During: You use a "fertilize spreader" tool to shoot the colored chips everywhere.  

And I mean eVeRyWhErE!

 I still find little chips in little places.  It's like a special confetti surprise.

 Another important tool that came in really handy...SHoP VaC!

Thank you Gibbies for the use of yours. Why we don't have one yet, I have no idea. They. Are. Handy. 

BTW, I think I was a horrible friend and forgot to empty it out before I returned it.  Oops.

 And finally the after! 

This is the cleanest my counters have been since we moved in.  One year ago.

The piles were just relocated and are building new piles of their own as we speak.

How beautiful they seem to us.  It's not fancy granite but Blake and I made a memory of doing it ourselves. Whether it's a good memory or bad one- I guess it depends on who you ask.  The hardest part was keeping our paws off of it for a couple of days. Who are we kidding...The hardest part was doing it ourselves. But well worth the savings. 

Hope you enjoyed this facelift for the month of May but posted in June.

uP nExT: Tile backsplash. We are waiting for our friends to do theirs first so we can learn from their mistakes.  (Am I giving you too much of a picture of how uneven my friendships are?)

Simple Woman's Daybook

Outside my window...

it has stopped raining for a couple of hours.  "The rain came down and the floods came up, the rain came down and the grass keeps growing, the rain came down and there's no time to mow, so we can't see our house from the road".

I am thinking...

that brushing your teeth with Mt. Dew is not sufficient before you go to the dentist in 15 mins.

I am thankful...

for  (somewhat) clean garages.  When it rains this much it's nice to be able to just drive into the garage and not get rained on!  Too bad I have no personal garages at the grocery store, the school, the post office, etc. 

From the kitchen...

I'm trying to be frugal.  I want to try to use coupons more.  Have you seen the TLC show Extreme Couponing?  Crazy!  The kids and I love watching it together and I'm amazed at the savings.  But seriously who needs 60+ bottles of mustard?  The husband even said he didn't like mustard.  I don't want to be extreme about it but I would love to give it a small go.

I am creating...

50 adorable keychains for a Relief Society lesson on Sunday.  I have 15 done...you do the math.

I am reading...

or rather just finished reading, Beyonders: A World Without Heroes by Brandon Mull (the FableHaven Series author).  I loved this book but the next one is not scheduled to come out until next spring. UGH, I hate when they do that to me.

I am hoping...

for a lot of little things that may seem inconsequential and a couple of big things that mean a lot to people  I love.  But here is something I can write about.  I am hoping that Georgia Paige starts taking piano lessons a little more seriously.  She is lucky that we have the nicest, funniest, prettiest, most compassionate and patient piano teacher in ALL the WORLD.  Yep, you heard me right!  IN ALL THE WORLD! (she also reads this blog so I'm hoping my sweet words will convince her in continuing being our teacher)

I am hearing...

interesting tidbits from my kids.  Lane admitted yesterday that he thinks I'm pretty cool and wants me to volunteer for the end of school Field Day for the kids.  He actually requested that I be in charge of a game because "I'm FUN".  Now, Georgia's little tidbit was a little crushing to my self esteem.  In school she's been working hard on a computer project that turns adjectives of the kids' moms into subway art.  Georgia used words like: wonderful, smart, caring, hugs, kisses, best, awesome, special, loving, joyful...you get the idea-she thinks I'm pretty amazing.  Anyways, two of the words were also pretty and cute and a little boy in her class saw that and leaned over and said, "I don't think you mom is that pretty or cute".  OUCH!  Enough said.  For my own sake, I'm going to leave that one alone and try to move on and be mature.  I guess I'll just have to rely more on my "sweet spirit" that's really more sour than sweet.

One of my favorite things...

is Blake's new truck.  I'm putting this response so that he really sees how happy I am that he has a little piece of man-heaven.  He always puts me first and I'm glad his truck makes him smile.  Now we just need to get through all the upgrades he wants.

A few plans for the rest of the week...

(one word that I'll split into two just for emphasis).

KEY CHAINS!

A picture thought I am sharing...

What Spring Break did to all three of our kids.

New Toy!!

So every now and then MAN must blog on wife's family blog.  Ever since I traded in my first truck for my wife's Traverse I've felt less than a man.  Well...I can happily say my man"ness" has returned.  She's a beauty.  I'm the new owner of a Ford F 150 Supercrew 4x4.  I've been eyeing them a long time now and I finally pulled the trigger last week.  I have a few mods in mind but they'll be done over time.  I just hope I won't have to sell the house to keep her.  

 Nice pretty Dark Blue Pearl Metallic

chrome grill, wheels, and step bars.

Facelift: Month 3

I'm thinking that expecting myself to organize one thing a week was shooting a little high for me.  So, I'll be happy if it's 1 thing a month.

Here are the slave chore charts that I'm loving.  I just finished them so the kids don't even know about them yet.  But I think once they see the dollar signs next to some of it they will be on board for "family service" (aka chores).  This is all light hearted for me.  I really do appreciate all my kids do around the house and I try very hard to let them know how wonderful they are.  I'm not one who thinks kids need to be paid for everything.  I think being a part of a family just means there are things you should do without complaining and "just because I said so".  I feed you, I clothe you, I hug and kiss you and tell you how awesome you are, now go clean up your room. Having said that, my kids are reaching an age where a little extra money is fun for them and their skill level is fun for me (i.e. they can do some of the chores I HATE- dusting, toilets, finding their clothes and then sorting them, etc.)  Win-Win situation.

I just used frames that I had laying around, collecting dust (because remember I hate dusting).  I put vinyl lettering flipped on the inside of the glass and backed it with white cardstock.  I used a dry erase marker to write their chores on the front, that way I can change it out whenever I want and switch things up.  The chores on the individual frames are things I expect them to do "just because".  The things on the "extra" frame are things they can do for money.  They are a little harder and up for grabs for whoever wants to do them.  Then I thought I could keep a running tab on their ind. frames of how much I owe them for the week and also keep track of their daily chores and maybe rewarding them if they do it everyday for the whole week.

I think this will be a great solution for us.  I've tried many charts and I like the flexibility of this and that I can just add something as it pops into my mind.  This is so flexible that I can even put words of encouragement and jokes for them.  It's just one more way for Blake and I to let them know that we are a team.  And a pretty awesome one at that.