Painting -- again!

No one likes to change things up more than Jessica. Given half a chance, she paints, and re-paints, anything in sight! Several years ago I painted her bedroom myself, and thought it should last her at least 5 years. But no, she already has tired of it and wants a new color. Now, I'll grant you that she probably is very bored, sitting around with nothing to do much of the time. So it gives her time to think and plan (some might say "scheme"), and before you know it, things are different.

Anyway, here's my confession. I promised her I'd re-paint her room last year for her birthday. Actually two rooms were involved and I did actually do the other room. But her bedroom has been torn apart and ready to paint since last August. And since it's now May I'd say I'm WAY behind on keeping that promise. I know that part of the delay was realizing how much work it was doing that other room, and since I'm doing it by myself, I was just feeling way too lazy.

So, here's what her room looks like now. Dark blue on the bottom, light blue on the top of the walls and ceiling (yes, what was I thinking, even the ceiling!). There used to be a wallpaper border in the middle. It's kind of a small room, and there's junk in the way, but I think you can get the idea.

At work the other day, someone mentioned hiring a painter. To be honest I'd never even thought of it! I think I'm so used to not ever really having enough money, actually spending money for something like this never even crossed my mind. In a whole lifetime of painting experience, it has always been a do-it-myself project. But when we were talking at work, I realized I just am not up to it, and I could actually afford to hire someone. So, I hired a painter, and he's hard at work as I write this post (I even turned on the A/C for him; I know how hard a job it is). I've taken these "before" pictures of the bedroom and the hallway he's going to paint today. I'll add the "after" shots... well, after.

Here's the stairwell. I had painted part of it a few years ago, but too late realized I'd never be able to do the upper part of the stairwell. Although I did stand on a ladder for the higher parts of the walls, there was no way I was going to stand on a ladder on the stairs. I'm not that brave (or foolhardy)!

This is the hallway upstairs. The same chalk white paint that was in the house when I bought it 11 years ago. You know, the kind that comes off if you even brush against it.

So this is it for now. More later (hopefully looking much better). Stay tuned for Part 2.

Happy Birthday at D-Land

Just couldn't pass up the chance to go to Disneyland for free last month on my birthday!

































They give you this pin at the beginning of the day. All day long, everyone says "Happy Birthday" to you, even little kids. It's kinda fun.



The weather was great, sunny and cool--perfect Disneyland weather. It was a bit more crowded than I'd hoped. It seems every private school west of the Mississippi was on Spring Break. Every one of those kids had the same idea. As in, "What are YOU doing for Spring Break?" "We're going to Disneyland!"


Our friend Claudia went with Jessica and me. (Needed someone to help keep Jessica out of trouble!)







The "Celebrate" parade was cute. I have a soft spot for the old Main Street Electrical Parade, though. I always miss it. I hear it still goes on at California Adventure, though, so one of these days I'm going to have to catch it there and reminisce.


As this sign at the end of the refurbished It's A Small World ride says, it's always a good time to "come play" at Disneyland!

STAR OF THE WEEK!

A couple of weeks ago, Erin told me that Tyler was going to be "Star of the Week" at his school, starting on May 11. She asked me if I'd like to make the "all about me" poster he needed for the event. Are you kidding? This is nothing but a giant scrapbook page! I'd love to!

It gave me a chance to use my new Cricut machine. I used it for this Mickey Mouse; I think he looks so good you'd think I just bought a Mickey sticker or die cut. But no! I cut it with the Cricut and pieced it together. Gotta love my Cricut!

Tyler is a Star Wars fanatic, so of course I had to include some Star Wars stuff! I was shocked to discover that there are no Star Wars scrapbooking supplies. I guess I'd never looked for them before. Rotten timing, since I was told they should be coming out by the end of this month. It just would NOT be Tyler without Star Wars! I finally found a Star Wars sticker book at Toys R Us, and adapted. Just in case you were wondering, his favorite character is "Jango Fett--and all the Jedi."

The pictures at the bottom are from last Halloween--he was Darth Vader, and later made up as Darth Maul.

The final product:

It probably took way too much time, but it was oh so fun. How could it not be, since it involved my two favorite things--grandchildren and scrapbooking! Thanks for letting me do it, Erin!

Tagged

I was tagged awhile ago and never followed through. The assignment is to post the 6th picture in the 6th folder on your computer, and tell about it. This is mine. My picture is of this sunset over the lake in Honeyville, Utah. This was taken when we visited in the summer of 2007. I'm planning a trip this August, and this reminds me why I'm excited to go; we always have so much fun there, and especially enjoy seeing what's new at the lake.

I have no idea who to tag, so consider yourself tagged if you read this and want to do it.

Confessions of a Peanut Butter Cup-a-holic

I've gone through phases where I enjoy frozen yogurt as a fairly sinless treat. Usually at Golden Spoon, I choose the Peanut Butter or Pistachio, or one of the fruit flavors. But recently I read online--don't ask me how I came upon this--where someone was raving about Peanut Butter Cup. I'd never tried it, so a few weeks ago I stopped in and tried it. I am a believer! I doubt I'll ever order anything else--oh my gosh, it is yummy! Those first couple of bites are just like biting into a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

By the way, for anyone interested, the Regular size is only 3 points on WW (176 calories).

A New Fridge

Okay, I admit it. This is a fairly boring, mundane subject. But, I'm happy about it. My current fridge is 16 years old (I'm pretty sure--maybe 17). I know it could probably last longer, but I think it's pretty much lived its life. It freezes anything that gets pushed too far to the back, and the freezer door does not close tightly any more; I'm sure it wastes lots of energy. Not to mention the door handle actually fell off a few months ago, and is impossible to replace. Here it is, in all it's glory....

I've been eyeing some replacement prospects for some time, and have decided I want one with a bottom freezer. Just seems nice to have everything you want most of the time at eye level, rather than having to bend down to peer into the mysterious frosty depths to find what you need. And lately I've been looking at the models with French doors.

Sooo, last weekend we went to Sears to investigate; I've shopped a lot online and had tentatively decided on the model I wanted. It pretty much had everything I needed, and Sears was advertising a 20% sale on appliances, so it seemed to be the time. We'd barely seen one or two when Jessica started having a seizure, so of course everything was put on hold while I dealt with her. I grabbed a nearby camp chair and plopped her in it, and after checking her blood sugar discovered it was very low. So that was the reason for the seizure, not one of her other many problems. Once I got her sugar up, we just got her to the car (with a lot of help from numerous sales people) and went back home. So there went the shopping expedition--it seems nothing is ever as simple as it should be.

However, before leaving I found out from the saleswoman (while waiting for the glucose tablets to work on Jessica) that there was going to be a "friends and family invitational sale" this weekend, which would give me an additional 10% off the appliance of my choice. 30% off sounds good to me! I'll wait to finish this post with pictures of the new fridge--I know y'all would be disappointed not to see it here.

5/8: So, here it is! And, as you can see by Jessica's Vanna White impression, she's fine too.

Happy Birthday to me!

How lucky am I to have my own private pastry chef?! I could get very spoiled, I have to admit. When I came home from work one day last week, I found this adorable basket cake waiting for me. Not only was it the cutest thing ever, it was yummy! White cake with fresh strawberry filling. Thanks Erin--I loved it, and so did everyone at work!

Lee & Carol - Happy Anniversary!

My oldest and best friends celebrated their 40th anniversary last week. I've known Lee & Carol since 1976. In my opinion, they are the ultimate example of a good marriage--truly partners who respect and support each other in all things. Together they have raised 4 wonderful children and now have five grandchildren (with more, surely, to come). They're each unique, but I can see their parents' influence and good example in all their lives. I have been honored and blessed to know Lee and Carol all these years, and to count them as the dearest of friends. The quality of my life has been immeasurably enhanced through this friendship, and I am absolutely grateful for them both.Their daughters and mine are the same ages and were such good friends when they were all young, and although they have scattered to different areas now, they have reconnected over the last several years, through the internet and especially through each of their blogs. Natalie and Sabrina asked Erin to make the cake for their family get-together this last weekend, and here is the result. They supplied this photo of their parents on their wedding day--are they not just the cutest? (I can hardly imagine Lee this young and beardless!)


I was happy to get to see Natalie and Sabrina on Saturday, when they met Erin at my house to pick up the cake. I haven't seen either of them in years, and it was a fun, though brief, visit.

Erin, Jessica, Natalie, and Sabrina, with two of Sabrina's four children, adorable Isabel and cute baby Hazel.




I am constantly amazed at Erin's ability to produce great cakes, and it has been especially fun for me a couple of times when I've been able to watch the process. She is SO talented, and I love watching her in action!

By the way, if you'd like to see more of her cakes, they're at: ecakes.blogspot.com.

Before and After

Yesterday was grooming day for the dogs. There's not a big difference in Bella after the visit; she just smells better, and her coat is softer. All she gets is a shampoo and toenails cut. So what you see is pretty much what you get--before and after.

But Cocoa--now that's another story. HE is a completely different dog. This is how he looked on the way TO the groomer...

And here he is afterward. Does this look like the same guy? I don't think so. He got kind of a weird cut this time, but still it's a huge improvement. He smells better, and he's soft and "touchable" now.

He's such an old man! He's 12 years old now--look at all that white hair on his muzzle. His hair used to be all dark. (But then again, so did mine!)

The Cricut

So, here's the Cricut Expression machine I've been raving about to everyone who will listen. (I'm sorry if I've bored you to death; just tell me to stop and I'll try.) I first saw the earlier version of it at a scrapbook expo a few years ago, and I've really wanted one ever since. I spent a pretty penny for it, as they say, so I'm counting on it to motivate me to get back working on scrapbook projects, which I've so neglected for the last year or so.

This machine pretty much does it all! There's no need for die cutting devices any more, and in fact I should get myself organized and sell all of my other die-cutting equipment on e-bay. This bad boy will cut virtually any shape, any size, and almost any texture up to 12 x 12 inches, and even, I hear, 12 x 24 inches (although I don't know how to do that yet). In fact, there's a lot I don't know how to do yet. I think I'm going to have to spend some serious study time with this machine, before it gets practical for me to use on a regular basis. I've tried some things out, but am not really good at it yet. I've been watching how-to videos on the internet, and reading the instruction book. But, I think it's going to be just spending time working with it that will do it for me. I was hoping to have actually made something to include with this post, but I haven't even done that yet. I've just tried a few random things, nothing I'd want to show off yet.

I've been following a great scrapbooking blog for the past few months, and am including some things from it to show what the Cricut can do (for any of you who are interested in this stuff). I want to give proper credit to the blog I got these from: thanks and credit to Robyn at thepinkstamper.blogspot.com. If you like scrapbooking and paper crafting, check out her blog.

Here's a cute little purse gift bag with a matching card; should be do-able even for me.

And wouldn't these make cute baby shower favors? Or a larger version could be a great gift wrap for your shower gift. There are just so many possibilities here. Again, from Robyn at The Pink Stamper.

Here's another cute thing that I really like--these little gift boxes with the flower on top. It's cut all in one piece, and you just fold it and put it together. I have to admit, though, I kind of tried it myself and, well, let's just say I wasn't quite as successful as Robyn. Mine didn't come out looking quite this cute, but I'm going to keep trying. I know I can do it! Next time I post something about the Cricut, it will include the projects I made, not Robyn's creations.