4 Coats Later

Gracious. FOUR COATS OF PEA SOUP GREEN PAINT.

We're talking "Exorcist" here.

"Pickle Baby Food" is generous.

Four coats, though? C'mon.

I used primer.

Two should do it, right?

That's FIVE coats all together...

Are you counting? 'Cuz I was.

So, that is half of the paneling and I still have that much surface area again to cover in drywall. By the way, if you are reading this, do you have some scaffolding I can borrow?

(See my little flooring swatch up in the corner?)

Pickle Baby Food

Well, I took my fifty dollars' worth of "Dried Palm" back to Home Depot and the nice lady heard me out and started mixing in additional pigment to get my paint darker and "more green." It was not happening. It still looked like a dyed Easter egg. Nice color for a baby nursery, not my bedroom. So, we ditched it and started from scratch with the color matched to my duvet cover. "Retro Avocado." Or, as Katie dubbed it, "Pickle Baby Food."

My Chiropractor Loves Me

This painting is moving SO SLOWLY! The recommended approach to painting knotty pine is to:
1. Clean it thoroughly with TSP.
2. Patch the knots and nail-holes.
3. Caulk the joints in the paneling.
4. Prime with a shellac-based primer such as B.I.N.
5. Paint.

Good grief, this is labor-intensive. I started with the patching and screwed up. The patch I am using isn't sandable and I didn't realize until half the room had been done. Thankfully, it comes off with elbow grease and water. Sadly, this elbow grease comes at a high price when I'm in the early stages of treatment for whiplash. Grr.

Today, however, I've gotten the first half of the room ready and I will be starting to prime. (I can't do more than half at a time because there is furniture pushed up against everything!)

The other hiccup is that while I was settling in with my "Rhythmic Blue," I noticed that Mark was uneasy. Yep, you got it. He doesn't want the blue. O.K. No biggie. I was always o.k. with green. I sneak away from the family and mix up two gallons of "Dried Palm." Slap it on the wall at home and it looks yellow or white. In the perfect light, it looks like too-light green. Hmmm.

What to do, what to do?

The Next Big Project

This is the knotty pine paneling that graces the walls of our second story bedroom suite. Until the decision was made to paint over it, it was impossible to choose new flooring. We decided to use an engineered wood flooring, but it was hard to conceive of a pretty oak against all this pine. I trekked around and looked at a million samples, but nothing looked right. Finally, when I mentioned the struggle to Mark, he said, "Well, why don't we just paint it?" Huh? Boys hate to paint real wood. I never imagined.
Here is why we NEED new flooring. The picture does not do justice to the disgusting that has become the light-colored carpet. Long ago, big buckles appeared in the carpet and it drove me crazy. Then came Ruby and she made very quick work of destroying it completely by peeing EVERYWHERE. I have shampooed this so many times... Finally, I made the unpopular-with-Mark decision to start demolition. (Watch for more pictures!) He hates the state of undone while a project is underway. To me, it looks like progress.
Here is the carrot that I am dangling in front of my own donkeyish nose on this one! It is barely enough to keep me going for all the work we're looking at, but it is something! Our duvet-cover is the green graphic print. Then, I saw this adorable embroidered pillow at IKEA. We have some red accent pieces (which is decorating-talk for "junk I've picked up along the way and painted") and I was hoping to keep them. For some reason, I never tire of the red.

That said, I am not about to paint the walls red. Mark said he trusted me to pick the paint.

Now, let me stop for a moment and say that this is the first time ever that he has articulated this sentiment. I grew up in a household where Mom made every decorating decision, so I thought that was the way life was. Not so. Mark typically likes to weigh in on this stuff. He has definite opinions and he cares. Wow. What a source of frustration for the "queen" of this castle. But he likes the funky living room paint job I came up with, so now he trusts me.

OK...back to the bedroom paint. I'm working with this yellow-green and want to keep some red and my mind keeps running to blue for the walls. Hmmmm. I got a quart of light, dusty, robin's egg blue to test out on the walls and have splotches covering three different areas in the room. I'm thinking I like it...and then an unexpected trip to IKEA brings me the gift of this Alvine pillow. It's got my colors! Yeah!

I think I'll go for it.

Drawer Makeovers

Dream a little (weird) dream...

It was one of those elaborate dreams that seems to stay with you all night long. We were crammed into a compartment listening to our children's piano recital and, lo and behold, we found ourselves next to the family of an old flame. Why, of course, his teenagers who live an hour away shared the same music teacher as my elementary school children. Fuzzy transition and I'm walking along with his wife, visiting and complimenting her on her beautiful and sweet kids while our husbands run ahead and dress up in silly costumes like a hotdog and a photo booth. Still, all I can think of is how wonderfully talented are their children....
(there's also a plane crash and a sort of apocalypse, but my subconscious digresses...)



Interpret THAT!

Operation Green Apple

Sweet Judy Gullifer offered us these adorable dressers and hutch last year and they have been living in my living room. I had been thinking about painting them and moving them into the girls' room and the decision was made very easy...
a home fragrance oil spilled and was wicked over a sizable area of the hutch. It bubbled the paint up everywhere it touched.

Ready or not, the "after" pictures...

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Katie's friend, Hailey, joined us for an afternoon and evening at the Minnesota Zoo. Here the kids are perched and watching the grizzly bears!

Katie loves to open presents =) Mom and Dad gave her a look-alike American Girl doll, Abby gave her some AG accessories, Owen gave her a Wimpy Kid book, and Dad picked out James and the Giant Peach for her, too. The Grandmas and Grandpas sent money that she thoroughly enjoyed spending at the American Girl store the next day!

Picnic and Pyrotechnics

We spent a relaxing 4th of July at Oak Hill Park, picnicking with friends, and Aquila School, watching fireworks. Our little town puts on a very nice firework dispay, replete with ooohs and aaahs over new styles!

Big Tease!

Book of the week...

"You are resolved then to have him?"

"I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected to with me."

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Big Tease!

Book of the week...

"What's the aging process for your kind?" Doc asked. "The natural life span?"
"We don't have one," I told him. "As long as we have a healthy host, we can live forever."

The Host by Stephenie Meyer



Yes, that's the same Stephenie Meyer. The author of the Twilight Saga apparently has a few more stories up her sleeve. This one is science fiction and I was surprised that I was so engaged. Based on the cover blurb, I had passed it over before. That's also how I felt about "vampire stories," though! This one leaves you pondering what makes you YOU? There's also a little food for thought about colonization and world domination...

Gift Card Holders

A bit of papercrafting today to celebrate the kids' teachers! I received a gift card from a friend in a most adorable holder that had fancy edging and sewn-on baubles and I looked forward to recreating the effect. The colors didn't photograph very well here, but you get the idea...
This was a great way to use leftover buttons, beads, charms and lace from other miscellaneous projects. Cute AND thrifty AND eco-friendly.

A Week of Rediscovery

I have had one of those weeks...
I stopped to think this morning, "Why do I feel so crazed? It was a short week and I'm exhausted!" Tuesday was piano. Wednesday was grocery-shopping with the kids, dance class, and tutoring. Thursday was a visit from my little friend, Caleb, receipts for the insurance company, a play in Owen's room, and refinancing the house. Today, breakfast with Diana, two trips to Home Depot, more banking, puppy to the vet, building shutters...
Sigh.
This weekend still has a big garage sale, a junior high play and Children's church.
Well, there's the laundry list. It's a lot, but not so far off normal. (The kids took turns being impossible, though.) What I will remember about this week, however, are these two things:


1) I rediscovered the joy of Jane Austen (via Hollywood.) I watched Pride and Prejudice and then Sense and Sensibilities. I was just tickled and remembered devouring and loving Jane Eyre as a teenager. I'll look for Pride and Prejudice next time I'm at the library. The movie was really good, but I'll bet the book is even better!

2) I reconquered my fear of power tools and had a blast building some new shutters for my little house. Some time ago, I bought a miter saw for Mark as a gift. I think he despises it because it represents all the ways he does NOT want to spend his time. But, I wanted to use it. And, I was scared of it. I took a lot of woodshop in high school. I liked it. My parents influenced me to take a clock-making course in 9th grade and I built a grandfather clock. Still, that was over twenty years ago (how did I get this old????) Today reminded me how much I love to build things.

Moments like this are truly good for my soul. It is heartening to learn or re-learn something. It feels good to get my brain engaged. Aging is a lot less scary when you can find great enjoyment...and sometimes even wonder...in your ordinary days.

Big Tease!

I am due for my first chemo on Monday morning. With a life driven by sports, sales, and Catholicism, my dad's MO will doubtlessly involve attacking it, staying positive, and having faith.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

Big Tease!

The book of the week...

Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"He tried to teach her to be a real white, to revive for her his failed dreams of an American -born noble, to supress her fondness for pickled iguana and armadillo strew. He attempted almost everything except asking himself whether this was the way to make her happy."

------------------------------------------

Garcia Marquez is most famous for One Hundred Years of Solitude and for winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. He has an amazing flair for writing the fantastic as if it were common and everyday... "magical realism", I think they've named it.

Some Days are Diamonds, Some Days are Coal

Today...coal.

I am in a monumental funk. Two of my three kids raked me over the emotional coals today. I want to appreciate their uniqueness and I don't want to hold it against them when they aren't like me, but it goes beyond that sometimes.

They treated me with such disrespect today. One of them seemed in it for the drama, the other truly seems to loathe me. I don't know if I am more angry or hurt, but I can say for sure that no response I offered was productive. (Can you tell I'm writing in generalities for fear that someday they read this and realize exactly what I'm talking about?)

I just finished reading this post-apocalyptic book tonight and it didn't exactly lighten my mood, so here I am thinking about what these kids would say about me at my funeral.

I wish it would read like Katie's recent ode that I found on my pillow...

To: Mama,

I love you

your helpful

your pretty

you like naps

your funny

your good at cooking

Sincerely Katie,

I'm a little afraid, though, that they are more likely to tell stories about my general crochety-ness and laugh at the ways that I threatened them and how I used to scream this special scream at them that ended all tirades because it hurt my vocal cords.

Note to self: Add to my will the clause, "No biological child shall be permitted to speak publicly at my funeral or memorial service if said child wishes to receive the inheritance described below."

My Son Cracks Me Up

This is what Owen and I do together. So far, this is the only common ground we can find. He draws and dictates. I provide design help and technical support!

Allergies Anyone?

HELP ME!!!

It seems that I've finally succumbed to seasonal allergies. They are pesky. I'm sorry I haven't been more sympathetic to others until now.

Please tell me, what do you do about medication?
So far, I've just taken the old-fashioned Sudafed or Claritin (generics, of course, but they are harder to spell!) Trouble is, I like to sleep at night. What the heck? Do I have to take something to be able to sleep, too?

Please weigh in...

Big Tease!

I was perusing a new-to-me blog http://www.sixlitchicks.blogspot.com/ and found a fun idea. You take whatever you are currently reading and randomly turn to a page. Choose a couple of sentences (without spoiling anything important) and cite them as a teaser for your fellow readers. Be sure to give the title and author.

Here we go!

"He had seen many dogs in the last two days, and he had tried to shut them out of his mind. They were pathetic, and he did not like to think about what was happening. Some of them looked starved; some of them looked too well-fed." p. 41

Stewart, George R. Earth Abides. New York:Ballantine Books, 1949.

My Model Pooch

It wasn't bad enough that I had to get a teeny dog (I said I hated little yappy dogs!), but then I had to go and get her precious little muzzle captured on film.

Can You Ever Go Home?

It is an eerie feeling for me to "go home." (By this, I mean to northern Minnesota, although HOME is St. Louis Park, really.) I have very mixed emotions when I go. The scenery is very comforting to me. The blasted stone that rises above the highway on the Iron Range. The rolling hills around Bemidji. The countryside makes me feel very at-ease. However, as soon as I roll into the residential areas, I practically feel queasy. The combination of the deteriorated buildings and my fairly fresh memories of growing up are a brutal combination. I have friends who grew up in the same town and have polar-opposite feelings about "going home." They don't seem to mind the five hour drive to spend the weekend. I have to psyche myself up to make the trek under the very best circumstances.

How about you?
What's it like to visit the town you grew up in?

Owen's Kindergarten Music Program

Selected numbers from a fabulous program at Peter Hobart on Friday, May 1--thank you kindergarteners, classroom teachers and Rhonda Jamison!

(Owen is in the middle row, approximately under the "K's" in the program title.)

Rock and Roll Spring Recital

These little girls have been a highlight of each of my weeks this school year. They are adorable and squirrely and they sure put their best feet forward on their recital day. Their teacher, Heather Bisonette, sewed all these colorful poodle skirts and had matching ribbons for their hair...the girls were just tickled with their twirly costumes!

Twilight

I wasn't quick to jump on this Vampire bandwagon. My younger sister read Twilight and had rave reviews for it many months ago. It was completely resistible for me, though... I don't do spooky. I typically avoid witches and vampires with enthusiasm. (My reasons range from spiritual to fear-induced...) Well, on a lark, I downloaded the movie Twilight to try out my new iTouch (Wednesday). Let's just say, it was fairly gripping. The next morning, I went out and bought the frist two books in Stephenie Meyer's series. (These weren't stereotypical vampires!) I got through both books by the end of Friday and headed out for last two on Saturday morning. Sure enough, I spent much of Easter Sunday absorbed in the vampire and werewolf finale...

You can guess that I have good reviews for the Young Adult series (labeled as such because the main characters are in high school when the saga begins.) Funny, since everyone ends up immortal... I haven't read anything so romantic or so engaging in a very long time. I say it was "Dark Disney." Just like the animated princess movies for children that paint life and love as it will never be and cause extremely frustrated expectations all through life, Twilight suceeds in perpetuating the charged, romantic notions for another generation. I feel sorry for the parents of teenagers who have read the books (and for the people those teens will eventually date and marry!!!) Thankfully, I don't have teens yet and could read and enjoy the heady tale of first and only love with giddy pleasure.

Meyer crafted these novels. They are practically seamless! Even if you don't love the stories or the genre, I don't think you can criticize her workmanship! Every supernatural power had a purpose and every character was entwined in the outcome. She makes me want to write books!

Torture at American Girl

Ahhhh, spring break...only the weather systems don't know it. Nonetheless, we are trying to make the best of it and we were off to a really good start. Yesterday we arrived at IKEA shortly after they opened. The kids checked in to Smaland to play and I bought a new down comforter with some birthday money. I picked up the kids and we headed over to get frozen yogurt cones. On our way to the bistro seating, there was a gal doing really cool face-painting...compliments of IKEA. Katie got an amazing tabby cat mask painted and Abby got a tiny Hello Kitty on her hand. Then we headed to Legoland where we played and helped comfort a little boy who was lost until he could be reunited with his mom. Katie picked out a couple of new outfits, a swimsuit and shoes for summer (thank you G'ma Karen and G'pa Jay!) Finally, we made our way to the American Girl store.

Katie has been devouring books lately...we love this! She has read through two of the American Girl historical series and is working on a third--Kaya (a Native American girl.) She's also read a couple of the contemporary stories about Chrissa. It seemed like a fun idea to visit the store that celebrates these stories she has enjoyed so much. Well, there was apparently a misunderstanding about the goal of our visit. She was convinced that she would get to bring home a doll. In case you don't move in this world, you ought to know that these dolls cost a hundred dollars...and then you add on any number of cool, period-specific accessories... Some time ago, I mentioned to Katie that if she was ever interested in getting one of the dolls, it would be a good birthday wish item and I'd like to know which her favorite was.

Recall that she had her face two-thirds covered in yellow and back cosmetics and you will understand the drama that ensued when she began to cry over not buying a doll. "Why did you bring me here if you were just going to torture me?" she wailed in her characteristically LOUD cry. The salty tears blazed a messy trail down her face and began to drip onto her white shirt. Accusations and recriminations rang in my ears all the way from Bloomington back to St. Louis Park.

Thus ends a great day together.

Here's a layout I did , featuring Abby and Ruby, with the Birdie Lou papers!

Birdie Lou Papers

My best ideas are always someone else's =) That's the teacher in me...you look and listen for good ideas and then you appropriate them for teh greater good. Some of us even try to observe the rules of copyrights! Scrapbooking is the very same. Digital scrapbooking allows you to take a great idea that isn't on archival paper (or even on PAPER!) and make it work for you. These "Birdie Lou" papers were inspired by the super-cute planner by Silver Lining that I bought at Barnes and Noble.

Free Scrapbooking Digi-Papers

A few papers to share from a set that began with a photograph of a cosmos blossom. They are on the bold side...what can you do with them?

Sad Blogger

Face it, if you blog, you want somebody to read what you write or check out what you post. When I first began to post, it was for a scrapbooking challenge posted on the Close to My Heart consultant bulletin boards. A few of us were taking part, so we tended to check on each other's progress from time to time. Plus, I conned a couple of girlfriends into checking the posts once in a while. I honestly think that was more interesting because it was a dark time for me. I was really struggling with my depression and anxiety and had tried to be off medication (bad idea) and then got back on a new Rx (not easy, either.) After I got happy again, I believe I started posting a bunch of my goofy house projects, random and only occasional thoughts, and a bunch of stuff about the kids. Well, at that point, maybe a blog is only interesting to the grandparents.

What does it take to get you to read a blog? Post a comment to tell me and I'll be high as a kite.

Here is what I like when I read blogs:
1. Something super personal by someone I know
2. Something funny by anyone
3. Free digital scrapbooking downloads (my fav right now!)
4. Cool photos from people I know
5. Lots of crafty things

Other than the few scrapbooking blogs I check regularly, my favorite blog is written by Kristi Elker from Rochester, MN. I met Kristi many years ago when I was at Bible College. We never really knew each other while we were both in Bemidji, but she married someone I had known. When I saw her on a mutual friend's Facebook, I got in touch. She writes well, is very thoughtful about matters spiritual and intellectual, says funny things, likes a lot of the same things that I do, and is a little further down the parenting path than I am. Last I had seen her was fourteen years ago, right after her daughter was born. Strange thing, I actually ran into her and her kids a couple of weeks ago at a truckstop on the way up north. (I recognized the kids from pictures on the blog!) Long winded way to say, you could check out her blog,too: www.stuffthingsaremadeof@blogspot.com

Seriously, I said, "LEAVE A COMMENT!"

Kids' Conferences

My children have split personalities. They have two apiece. Home personality and school personality. According to Mrs. H., Owen is charming, polite, always thinking about something. He is a superstar reader and a math prodigy. According to Miss K., Katie is a top-of-the-class kind of reader who's got math wrapped around her finger. She's a sweet girl and a great friend.

According to me, yeah they are both a couple of smartie pants... Holy cow, though, they must use up a lot of good behavior at school because they are uncooperative, combative, complaining and ornery with me and each other. I am being paid back for their father's childhood behavior.

Time Makes Everything Garbage

I had this realization last week. It sounds very pessimistic, but that is not how I mean it. I was cleaning the laundry room and utility room and clearing my crafting supplies out of the family room in the basment. In case you didn't know this about me, I like to keep stuff. For a long time. As I was sorting, I was just tickled with every item that I could throw away or donate. It dawned on me that the only difference between when I stored the throw-away items and now was the time elapsed. Apparently my attachment to a lot of things fades over time. SO...time had made garbage out of my stuff.

For some reason, I continued to think about this concept. It applies quite aptly to my physical body, for sure. I feel time making garbage out of that on a daily basis. It also applies to all the material things that we hold so dear. Why, if it will eventually be garbage, do we care so much? Maybe if I remember the destiny of this "stuff" I will hold on to it a little more loosely.

Owen=Artist

Every child has his or her own special "thing." Strength, talent, character trait...whatever it is. Since he was very young, Owen has shown an interesting aptitude for drawing. He has these super-stylized , comic-book characters. For a long time I wondered if these characters were people, but he assured me that they are aliens. (When the kindergarten teacher asked him to draw a person, it looked like a person.) He prefers to draw in frames. We have files on our computer that are called "Owen Grid" and "Owen Grid 2" so we can print off endless copies of his drawing frames in a couple different sizes. Every once in a while, we staple together a stack of his pages and add a book to his collection.

These are a couple of my personal favorites from this week. The first guy looks like an evil teddy bear. The second looks like Randolf from Monsters, Inc. (Owen explained that he was walking away from the viewer, turning back to snarl over his shouder!) Although these two are less eye-catching, they had to be included here because they are part of a dynasty...the Dynasty of Wonder Owl. In a drawing session with his dad, Owen created the character Wonder Owl and some villians to accompany him. He draws these characters over and over! I wonder if anyone sees the Ed Emberley inspiration? Mark and I both had copies of his drawing books...Mark had originals that he had pored over as a kid and I had copies that I purchased when I first started teaching because I remembered them so fondly. Now they belong to Owen. It's the perfect style for him.

So much of our daily life is consumed with kids being ordered around or yelled at, but when I can take a minute to single out something really special about one of my kids...well, there's plenty of reason to be proud. Look for upcoming entries about the girls!

Melted Circuit

Two out of five holes cut in the plaster in the living room...what price, electricity? The worst part is that I have to buy more of that ORANGE paint. I knew I should have purchased a gallon in the first place.

Crying Tired

Most of you will know what I'm talking about...you know how exhausted you feel after you have had a really hard cry. Your head is throbbing and your cheeks still feel the burn from the salt. Your muscles are tired and you just want to sink into some warm blankets to give into sleep.

That's how I feel today, minus the salty cheeks. I haven't been crying, it's just the anxiety over so much chaos. We were so blessed to have friends put us up for a couple of days (and cook for us!), but the disruption in routine was still tough. We were back and forth to the house, feeding pets and picking up forgotten necessities. The kids had to be shuttled back and forth to school (when they desperately wanted to ride their bus.) The dog barked like crazy and had to be watched like a hawk (it's one thing to clean up poop on my own carpet...) Plus, we still had normal things to attend to and the first three days of the week are crazy with tutoring, piano, prayer meetings, dance class, etc.

After the construction workday ended yesterday, the contractor said that the drywall tapers probably wouldn't be able to get here until Monday. This was the first time that we had to say, "That just isn't going to work for us." Leaving the house the way it is until then isn't an option and neither is moving it all again in five days. I haven't heard a resolution to the situtation, yet, but of course my phone died while we were gone and I can't track down the charger...

Betty Lou Wants a New Tatoo

I just saw Facebook photos of an old highschool friend as he got a full forearm tatoo. (It looked super, cool, by the way.) Thought I'd throw it out there that I have been thinking quite a bit about getting another tatoo...something a bit more spiritual than my cute little cherries. So, what do you think? I have two questions: What should I get? Where should I get it? (My criteria on this second one is that I want a place that can remain pretty private most of the time, but that won't embarass the heck out of me to reveal to the tatoo artist, either.) So...if you have any great ideas, I'd love to hear them. Maybe if I pick yours, you can come along with me for the tatoo ;)

Photoshop Elements Tutorial for Blog Headers

This tutorial provides the basic steps for customizing a header in Adobe Photoshop Elements 6.0 for use with Blogger. Creating the tutorial was a learning process for me and I wish the screen shots were more readable within the blog window. However, if you click on the image, you get a crisp, enlarged version from Picasa photo hosting and you can use the Back button in your browser to return to the blog. The pink text box provides more detailed instructions and the transparent pink boxes provide reference points. Each screen shot is followed by a brief description of the step.

Step 1: Create a new file in PSE.

Step 2: Bring digital elements into your Editor workspace.

Step 3: Use your Text tool to add text over your graphics.

Step 4: Merge Layers once you are satisfied with your composition.

Step 5: Save your file as a .jpeg or .png.

Step 6: As a part of the saving process, choose the relative size of the .jpeg file.

Step 7: Open your blog and choose Customize on the toolbar.

Step 8: Click on the Edit button on the header element.

Step 9: Select From your computer and browse to find the file you created. Open the file and then choose your placement. Be sure to save your changes. Preview or view blog to see the results.

Step 10: Evaluate and adjust the size of the header, as needed.