Waste Not Wednesday

Items I'm donating to the local thrift store:

• 7" TV/Radio
• 2 dishwashers
• 1 garbage bag full of small/med clothes (teen girl)
• 1 garbage bag full of small/med clothes (male)
• 1 box of craft items

I'm hoping to have a lot more in the next couple of weeks. The plan is to go thru my "little house" in the back and tossing things we no longer need or will use. (Sadly, this is a yearly thing because my hubby thinks EVERYTHING can be used at a later time...lol)

After A Long Hiatus

It's been so long since I've posted over here I had half a mind to remove it...but then thought NAH!! I've too much invested to just get rid of it.

So let's see if I can remember everything that has happened over the past year...

• Liz and Shea got their car back from us, only to have it immediately towed away for non-payment to a loan/title company.
• Matt bought an '88 Ford Mustang.
• The holidays were lonely without my younger son, Robert.
• Kat & I left FCCC church to go to our former church.
• Matt bought a second car...a '93 Nissan Altima.
• I was made youth director/drama leader at our former church.
• We now have 15 youth members!!
  
• Kat turned 18.
• After a year away from anything scrap related, I started designing again.
• Other than a few probs with my arthritis, my health is good.
  
• Hubby went to Wisconsin to visit his sister for 3 weeks.
• While he was away I spent entire time spring cleaning and rearranging furniture.
• I've lost more weight. Since last year, I've went from a size 20 to a size 14.
• I knew I was allergic to my cats, but now have developed an allergy to my dogs.
• I can't bear to part with my animals so have learned to deal.
• My washing machine broke down for the 4th time in 4 years. Either I'm too hard on my machine or it is just poorly made.
• We're STILL working on my bathroom remodel...lol

Here's one of the pages that I've created so far...

JOURNALING READS:
There is nothing
more beautiful
than the bond
between a
mother and
daughter

Kit: For The Girls
Designer: Angel Delites
Program: PSP-9
Font: Tall Paul

Oops...I Still Have One Room To Spring Clean

The fridge has been in place since 9pm last night. (Hubby got a late start moving it inside due to him working on his truck and then having to search the neighborhood for Jack-Jack because he wandered off!! -- will go into THAT in a bit) He hooked up the ice maker, attached the new bottom cardboard panel and then I spent the next 3 hours decorating. (Hung more commemorative church plates, and a few vintage serving plates and bowls...brought my pie safe back in filled with some of my tea sets and vintage salt and pepper shakers...then placed my table and chairs back in the middle of the room.) It's starting to look like a kitchen again!!

Today, the plan is to put away dishes in dishwasher, hand wash a sink full of dirty pots and pans, dust all shelves and tops of cabinets, wipe down counters and cabinet doors, clean window, clean stove, clean microwave & front of dishwasher, and finally scrub floor.

Only AFTER all of that has been completed am I having hubby take me to purchase groceries. OH, and I need to find 2 throw rugs...a small one in front of fridge and a long, narrow one in front of sink and stove.

*********

Jack-Jack has discovered female doggies. *sigh* The neighbor's Pomeranian behind us is now in heat...Jack-Jack went missing for 3 hours and I freaked...Hubby drove around neighborhood but couldn't find him...Jack-Jack finally came home, bringing his new girlfriend home with him, while hubby was gone to pick up Kat form work...I put him in his crate for his "punishment"...I'm making an appointment today for him to be fixed.

Waaa Hooo!! My Spring Cleaning Is Done!!

• Kat's furniture has been rearranged and dusted, carpet vacuumed and steam cleaned, bed stripped and new linens put on.
• My furniture has been moved and dusted, carpet vacuumed and steam cleaned, furniture put back (since I really liked my furniture arrangement), bed stripped and new linens put on.
  
• Dining room furniture has been rearranged and dusted, carpet vacuumed and steam cleaned.
• Piano now along dining room wall and BOTH French doors are able to open again.
• Den carpet vacuumed and steam cleaned. Both sofas vacuumed and steam cleaned. Pool table cleaned. All den furniture dusted.
• 3 loads of laundry has been washed and dried...3 loads left to go.
• Dishwasher has been loaded and unloaded.
  

I think I'm ready for a nap...

So Many Things Left To Do...

So why am I lounging around instead of doing them? I have a perfectly logical explanation...I'm watching one of my fave movies!! SECONDHAND LIONS!! It came on TBS this morning not long after I woke and I just couldn't resist watching it!! *grins*

Just as soon as it goes off, then I'll be back into Kat's room finishing up what I had left from yesterday. Hopefully, I'll have enough time to get to my room...if not then I'll get to it tomorrow afternoon.

We haven't seen any signs of bugs for nearly a week, so we're hoping they are all dead!! Later today, Hubby is plugging in the fridge to see if it works. It will stay plugged on the backporch for at least 24 hours and then he'll move it indoors, attach the icemaker and then we can go purchase a mountain of groceries!! WAAA HOOO

My Plans For The Weekend...(UPDATED)

THURSDAY:

• Move MO's cage to Kat's room (DONE)
  
• Clean MO's cage (DONE)
  
• Clean Edward & Bella's cage (DONE)
• Vacuum Kat's room (DONE)
• Vacuum dining room (DONE)
• Wash all birds' cover (DONE)
• Rearrange dining room furniture (DONE)
• Steam clean dining room carpet (DONE)

FRIDAY:

• Rearrange Kat's bedroom furniture (DONE)
• Steam clean Kat's carpet (DONE)
• Go with hubby to take Matt to work (DONE)
• Cash Matt's paycheck (DONE)
• Pay on lights & gas bills (DONE)

SATURDAY:

• Vacuum my carpet (DONE)
• Rearrange my bedroom furniture (DONE)
• Steam clean my carpet (DONE)

Waste Not Wednesday...01/07/09

Because of my 75% off Christmas shopping spree this past Saturday, I needed to sort through my own Christmas decorations to make room for everything. I spent yesterday and today going through my totes and this is my list of what's going to the thrift store:

8 1/2ft, 3 sectioned, umbrella arm styled Christmas tree
1 Christmas wreath
4 Christmas hand towels
2 Christmas pot holders
1 Christmas oven mit
1 lighted, window frame with painted Santa scenery
2 Christmas hand painted eggs
2 Christmas decoupaged eggs
2 boxes of burgundy, apple ornaments
1 Christmas pillow
1 Christmas rug
3 Christmas vinyl table cloths
4 Christmas Winter Village houses

Kitchen Before Remodel...

BEFORE SHOTS OF KITCHEN:

These photos were taken July 11th, just prior to beginning my redecorating/remodel of my kitchen.

Monday Mayhem...

For those that missed it, I spent half an hour throwing away close to $400 in frozen groceries yesterday at lunchtime...not because of faulty freezer, but the fact that someone unplugged it. (From the temperature of melted water, thawed food & SMELL...I'm guessing at least 1-2 weeks) Due to yesterday's humidity and my lack of iron stomach, I put draining & sanitizing off until nightfall. However, plans tend to change so quickly in this house and it was put off again. (Lid is closed TIGHT and awaiting me to clean...though I might be investing in a gas mask now)

I was already taking the day off from the kitchen due to stiff muscles. By the time I was finished throwing all of the gross food out, I was really hurting. Spent most of the day lounging, rubbing lotion on my legs and trying to massage the cramps away, and applying medicated heat patches to my back.

Kat made it home around 9:30pm. I feel my baby girl slipping away from me. She no longer talks to me about everything going on with her. We never spend any time together since she started working full time and traveling every weekend with the drama team. Though I'm proud of what she's doing and the hard work she's putting in to it...I'm feeling somewhat neglected and ignored. Used to, if you were looking for me, it was automatically assumed that Kat would be near. I know I've whined before asking if this is what it's suppose to feel like when you are no longer needed, but this feeling is heart-wrenching.

I rode with hubby this morning to help with directions to the place for his drug test. Turns out he didn't need me. He had to go to Wal*Mart first to pick up the paperwork to take to the hospital, but while there he had another "small interview". (Dang...how many times must someone be interviewed to work in a garage?) Nearly an hour later, hubby comes back to truck sans medical paperwork. I asked him what was up and he said they decided to put him in another position making less money that what he was making at the Truck Stop so he said he was sorry he wasted their time for the past 6 weeks and that he would have to decline. It didn't sit well with the guy in charge, but he did leave it open for hubby to return at a later time.

Hubby was disgusted. He was told the reason they were giving him less money is because of his work experience and history. Hubby asked what he meant since he had managerial experience at AutoZone, Napa, and the Truck Stop. He then was told they wanted more years than what he listed. *sigh* For what they wanted to pay him, he would have been making LESS than what OS is making now at Costco changing tires. So we stopped by a couple of places on way home for him to get aps.

Hubby has been on the phone ever since we arrived home nearly an hour ago. Unsure what will happen now...especially since we thought he HAD this job and was quoted a certain amount 2 weeks ago and it didn't happen that way today. Something more for me to worry about and try not to let it get to me.

A few minutes ago, I received a message through my MySpace from YS saying that he was coming down with his Dad and Grandma to get pickup his other sister Somer. Would only be here for the weekend and would be able to spend Saturday with me. Now I'm really freaking since my entire house is turned upside down and my kitchen in shambles. How am I suppose to be relaxed and play gracious host to Grandma Joyce when there isn't a clean spot to sit? ROFL!! Guess I better get off my hiney and bust tail to get the kitchen halfway completed.

Losing Time...

Eeegads!! It's been 3 1/2 weeks since my last post here and I find myself feeling deeply ashamed. Not only because I haven't scrapped much, but because I haven't posted about what is going on in my life!! *sigh* So, let me see if I can give updates without putting you to sleep with boring details...lol

Hubby & I went on an all expense paid vacation to Marco Island, Florida with hubby's best friend and his girlfriend. Won't go into details, but hubby and I came home after a week instead of almost 2 due to unforeseen complications between me and the best friend's girlfriend. *eyebrow raised* Did take lots of pics though, during the more pleasanter times and even managed to scrap most of them. (Will share in a future post...here is a photo of me and hubby on our first night there.)

Not sure if the Spring Cleaning Bug hit me or I found myself so bored that I began looking for things to keep me occupied...but I actually CLEANED my house. NO...I'm not talking just the regular, run of the mill cleaning. I'm talking MAJOR PURGING here. Hubby's sister and her fiance' came for a surprise visit a couple of weeks ago. Stayed for nearly a week. While here, they helped hubby get motivated enough to clean off our back porch, do some major yard work...and that led me to do the major cleaning indoors. It's been 3 weeks and since then I've purged/cleaned & redecorated my den, my kitchen & turned my unused dining room into a livingroom/office for me!!

Didn't realize how much of a pack rat hubby & I were until I started donated all of this stuff to the local thrift store. So far, I've removed 8 pair of curtains, 1 box of kitchen utensils, 8 boxes of country decor, 4 boxes of kitchen chef decor, 15 pictures, 60+ salt & pepper shakers (collection started with my mother) 2 chairs, 1 coffee table, 2 end tables, 1 lamp, 3 decorative glass bowls, 4 candles, 5 complete sets of plates, bowls, coffee cups, 2 sets of cannisters and the list goes on and on!!

While hubby's sister and her fiance' were here, OS, hubby & I got tattoos. (I'll take a brief pause while you pick your mouths off the floor)......................................

SIL's fiance' owns his own tattoo shop and brought a lot of his equipment with him since he was already planning on giving hubby a tat. The last 3 nights they were here, we ended up having a tattoo party. OS invited all of his friends and everyone sat around and watched as OS got his first tat. (Something OS designed himself) Bless his heart, took 3 hours because he passed out a couple of times due to lack of food for much of the day, and the fact he kept holding his breath from the pain he said he was feeling.

I received my tat the following day around lunchtime...I chose one of his original black & gray scale faeries, but tweaked it and had him add color. For the most part, it felt like someone had taken a ball point pen and was drawing really hard on my back. It was only when he was doing the tip of the wing and the water it felt like someone sticking me with a needle.


Hubby got his later that night...because he took ALL DAY combining the Elliott Clan Crest & the tartan colors. Afterwards, he gave Kudos to OS for being able to stand the pain on his chest, because where he received his on his forearm, he said it felt like someone was taking razor blades across his arm. EEEK!!



OS just celebrated his 21st b'day!! Hubby and I hosted the party. At final count there were 15 guests not including our family...and yes...each of them were getting plenty intoxicated. The rules were if they planned on drinking they had to give me their keys upon arrival, stay the night and then get keys back the next morning. For the most part, everyone stayed on the back porch and kept the mess to a minimum. Only once did I have to put my foot down and make a group leave due to it being 3am, beer long gone, OS off to bed and this group wanted to continue the party until dawn. Sorry, but my tired butt was heading to bed and I wasn't leaving anyone unattended. They left, those that had made plans to stay went to bed, and I locked up. (Will share photos once I get them uploaded.)

I'm sure I've forgotten something among all of this...but that's how it goes when you go so long without blogging. OOOPS!!