I live in drive by country.
Oh come on, you know what I’m talking about.
You know when you are on a road trip outside of a larger city, you always end up in drive by country. That’s the area of fields and falling down houses and faded barns, hanging on to the side of the road for dear life. You may be reading a book and happen to glance out the window and wonder who in their right mind lives out in this godforsaken area?
I do.
Paula
Today I’m WOW for the (new) wall in the kitchen / living room.
This is the wall before. Blah, blah, blah. The wall color is Nacho Chip, not beige. Someday I’ll figure out the right way to take pictures. Also on the bucket list is how to edit pictures. Ignore the fish. It’s an Eric thing.
Here the wall is empty and the holes have been filled with spackle.
This wall, all 22 square feet of it, took 5 coats of magnetic paint, 3 coats of chalkboard paint, and two weeks.
Definitely worth it. But looking at the picture I realize I don’t like the mini bookcase. Looks like I’ve got more purging to do!
Up next? I’m painting the living room, hallway, stairway and entry.
That could take years.
Paula
Anyone catch “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern” on the Travel Channel last night?
He showcased restaurants and foods in and around the Twin Cities, his adopted home of the last 20 years. One of the features was about carp, specifically using a method called bowfishing to harvest the carp. The segment was filmed with some of our friends, fellow LLBA Board members Troy and Brian, and past-president Pat.
Ever tried smoked carp? It is very tasty.
And all the bowfishers had installed the Pro Reel Seat on their bows, which my husband invented!
Great job guys!
Paula
Along with purging everything in my home, I’m cleaning up my bookmarks on my laptop.
Except for Mark Laita.
I don’t know how or when I found his site, but goodness gracious sakes alive.
And I H.A.T.E. snakes.
And finally me, before and after….
Go visit his site and take a tour. You will thank me.
p.s. IT’S SNOWING. WOOT!
Paula
Here’s one of the most embarrassing things that ever happened to me…
At the time, I was dating a man with custody of his children. One weekend, he was going to be out of town and would not return until after their mother’s visitation time ended. He asked me if I would collect the kids from their mom at his house on that Sunday and watch them until he returned. He gave her my phone number in case she had car problems, because it was in November and we’d had a lot of snow.
She called me on Saturday to tell me that she was going to bring the kids home at 10 am instead of 6 pm because she had other plans. I told her I would not be there until 6pm because I had tickets to the Vikings game. She was verbally abusive on the phone, swearing and yelling, and hung up on me. I go to the house at 5:45 pm on Sunday and she dropped off the kids at 6 pm. They told me that she had been yelling at them all weekend because I wouldn’t take them earlier so she could go to her party.
I stewed on this all Monday, and got madder and madder. She was their mom, not me. She didn’t have custody of them, only saw them every other weekend, and was mad AT ME?? I talked about it with a few co-workers, and they encouraged me to call her and tell her how I felt about her treatment of me and of her kids.
On Tuesday morning, I sat at my desk at work and called her at work.
A woman answered the phone and I asked to speak to Sharon. She put me on hold and a minute later Sharon picked up the phone. She said, “hello?” and I said, “is this Sharon?” She said, “yes.”
I proceeded to lay into her for four minutes. My co-workers were standing around my desk, rubbing my shoulders and supporting me. My hands were shaking because I was so nervous and angry.
I got finished giving her a piece of my mind, and ended with “do you hear me?”
There was silence on the other end of the phone line.
And then a very small, tiny voice said, “I don’t think you have the right Sharon.”
I said, “aahhh, is this Sharon R….?” and the woman said, “no, this is Sharon D….. Can I give her a message?”
I said, “no” and hung up.
My co-workers laughed for 15 minutes. My face was so red it was almost purple. Even my ears were red.
That was 25 years ago, and whenever I see my former co-workers, the first thing they say to me is, “is this Sharon?”
Paula
Here’s a link to a great post written by my cousin…The Tao of Steve.
And here’s a link to an article written by my niece… Halal Lemonade for Hometown Muslims.
Paula
Sorry I haven’t posted for several days.
Pick the following reason:
1. I’ve been sick, again, for the 5th time since October.
2. I got my haircut and highlighted like Ellen and am unable to style it, driving me to the depths of despair.
3. I painted a wall with magnetic paint and got it all over my fingers and was afraid to use my laptop.
4. A bobcat has been playing around the house.
5. My daughter started homeschooling again this week due to some…issues.
6. All of the above.
I’ll be back on Monday!
Paula
You guys.
I had to spend money today.
I stopped at Home Depot for some paint chips and these were on sale for 50 cents.
I bought one of every color.
Paula
“Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.” from Joshua Becker’s site
His article today is very inspiring. Definitely worth the click over to read.
Anyone who knows me knows I love to organize, rearrange, declutter. Yes, purging is a part of that, but I still end up with totes and shelves of things-I-can’t-get-rid-of. The totes stay in the room under the stairs, the shelves in the family room are overflowing, and I never feel like I’ve done a good job.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to believe that if something is special to me, I should be using it. Stuff packed away in boxes is just stuff. We live in a large house with plenty of storage, so I shouldn’t have to move 5 things out of the way in order to get to the one thing I need to use at that moment.
Josh’s article is reinforcing my mindset. Now I just need to get Eric on board.
Paula
Last October I challenged myself to not spend any money for the entire month. It worked, but I was sick for a portion of the month, and was physically unable to shop. I know! I also had Eric buy some things at the store…
I’m going to challenge myself again this month and try not to spend any money. I think it will be harder this time because now I drive through Elk River every day. Hello Wal-Mart, Cub, Target, and Goodwill!
I came up with some guidelines:
1. No spending on crafts or home décor. Don’t even think about going into Michaels or Goodwill.
2. No spending on books or clothes.
3. No spending on chocolate or chips.
4. Only spend on needed groceries – milk, eggs, etc. and use coupons.
5. Complete any household projects with items already on hand.
Along with this no spending challenge, I’m going to try to purge every room in the house. I’m drawn more and more to the minimalistic approach to living, and want to try with the house.
Paula
It’s snowing, I’ve got chicken in the crockpot, a new cake recipe in the oven, and the latest issue of Country Living waiting by my coffee. What a grand start to 2012!
Paula
