Thank You

Thank you all for your well-wishes, they are much appreciated! It was a really tough time, especially right before Thanksgiving. But things are starting to look up now. I realize that doggies can't really compare with children, but when you don't have children, and you've had the same dog for 16 years that you got as a puppy when you were only 19 - it's feels like they're your child. So it was really difficult.

I'm so sorry I've been gone so long, it wasn't intentional. Life just sort of got in the way, with Thanksgiving and Christmas shopping and work (everyone wants their stuff before Christmas, wouldn't you know it!?!).

But I'll be back with those pictures from our kitchen (finally.)

Hope everyone is doing well :-)

Time off

Sorry to be so silent the last week. Just need a little time off to catch up with work and life.
Thank you for your comments - they have been brightening my days recently.
Be back soon... promise!


*photo from Reclaimed Blog

St. Patty's Day Green

Unfortunately, it was ME that was green today! Chris was really really sick on Monday with some sort of virus, and guess what? Yeah, I caught it too. Thanks for sharing, sweetie. Luckily, I wasn't as sick as he was, but it's still no fun to be sick.

Hopefully, I'll be back to normal tomorrow.

My Five Things

I was featured on the Lil Bee today, with the five things I'd like to do in this lifetime:

1) Restore and live in an old historic house.
2) Travel all over the world (really, there are very few places I'd not like to see).
3) Open up my own home/decor/antiques shop.
4) Have children.
5) Reach the age of 85 and be happy with my life.

That's my five... what are yours?

That's my list. What's yours??

I have a guest coming into town...

... for the weekend, and she's coming in tonight! So I am sorry that I don't really have much to post, I have been cleaning like a mad woman trying to get things all ready for her.

We're going to have a fun weekend, and I hope y'all do too!

Short Blogcation

I know I've been busy and not been around too much the last week or so... This week is shaping up to be a doozy, and there are some things I really need to take care of. I'm going to try to get around to say hello, but I'm going to take a little vacation from my blog this week in hopes of getting some things done.

I really really appreciate all the kind words last week. Those words really mean a lot to me and help to cheer me up. Thank you.

I'll be back next week!

Fall colors

It's finally starting to feel like fall around here.
It's too bad we don't get quite the color show that other parts of the country get.

Right now, this is my desktop wallpaper - I love it. Can you imagine driving down this road like this?

You don't really see covered bridges in Texas. This one is beautiful. Maybe this is what the one in Sleepy Hollow looks like.

Snow mixed in with fall leaves?? This is definitely not Texas.

This is what I feel like doing today, when it's rainy and kind of cold!

I found this cuteness over on Etsy. My chihuahua would love it.

Thank you for your kind words yesterday. I feel better today as last night I was able to sort out, organize, and de-clutter our medicine cabinet, as well as under our sinks! That gave me a big sense of accomplishment. I know everyone gets down once in a while, but I try to remember how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. And some of the internet connections I've made on here are part of why I can feel so lucky. Thanks :-)

Dumpsville, USA

I normally try not to use this space as a venting ground, where I just take all my frustrations out on the world, but I'm going to make a little selfish exception today because I could use any good cheer that's sent my way. I'm kind of down in the dumps.

You know when you see something (like, say, a plaid piece of fabric used as a blanket?) that you really like, but try as you might, you can't find a stylish and affordable way to recreate it?? And, because you obsess, all you can think about is how much you wish you could just afford to go out and buy the object of your obsession?? (Did you know that plaid flannel sheets are a dying breed?? They are almost impossible to find.)

Does anybody else have pets (more specifically dogs) that do not like to go out when it's wet??? Cleaning up after your pets every single day, usually in a few places, is not fun.

And how frustrating that they need baths, but since it's supposed to be raining for the next couple of days it's useless to attempt to bathe them because they'll just go out and get all muddy!?!?! Of course, there's always the one that won't even go out on the back COVERED porch because it's wet outside...

There are like 4 bushes I'd like to transplant. But it was too hot, and now it's been too wet. Pretty soon it'll be too cold, and then I'll get frustrated because I can't finish what I'd like to get done out in the garden!

Does anyone else find it almost impossible to cram in errands and chores into the 4 or 5 hours you have after work and before bed?? Is it me, or does it seem like you come home, change and go run errands, and next thing you know it's 9:00 PM??? And you haven't even eaten dinner??

Which brings me to my next point: do you have these big chores that you just keep putting off because you know they will take a long time?? Does that depress you too, that you can't seem to find or make the time to tackle them?

Does anyone else's husband inadvertantly sabotage your drive to get things done on the weekend because they just want to "relax and watch TV"??? Relaxing and watching TV is all good and fine, but when Monday comes around and there's a bunch of things I didn't get done on the weekend that I really should have gotten done (like clean the office, clean the house), it just starts to pile up and bother me. Which then goes back to the fact that I am finding it impossible to accomplish much in the 4 to 5 hours after work.

Is anyone else out there feeling really fat? Just me?? How about dowdy?


Okay, okay, okay.... It's just hard to always be so damned perky all the time! ;-)
In all reality, I'm just having one of those days. You know, the days when you realize that you're not Martha Stewart, your house isn't perfect, you're kind of lazy, and you don't have all the money in the world?? Yeah, one of those days.

Tonight, though, I swear, I'm going to get the medicine cabinet all organized and put up. And that will make me feel a little better, one thing I can check off my list.

Go Go TCU!

Yes, I am a fighting Horned Frog! Probably one of the worst/weirdest mascots ever, but whatever... TCU is a great school. At least we're not the Ducks.

This weekend I'm looking forward to seeing my #11 TCU Horned Frogs cream the SMU Mustangs! Since TCU is in Fort Worth and SMU is in Dallas, we've got some cross town rivalry action going on which makes it fun (especially because I know we're going to win!) I'm going to go to the game with my sister and a couple friends, so it should be fun. Just hoping to not get rained on!

Oh, and for those of you still asking what exactly a Horned Frog is? It's a small lizard/reptile that's native to Texas (and probably other areas in the Southwest). It's about the size of your palm. Sometimes they're also called a Horny Frog or a Horny Toad. We don't really see a lot of them anymore, which is kind of sad, but I remember seeing them all the time when we lived in Abilene TX over 20 years ago (shut-up).

Hope you all have a great weekend!!

Go TCU!!

Breather

I think I am finally kind of catching up. After last week furiously trying to get the guest bedroom finished, the entire house cleaned, and everything ready for guests to come in and stay - as well as get prepped to host a party Saturday night to watch the Texas Tech/Texas game - I think I'm finally catching my breath.

I had a wonderful time with my friends this weekend! The only spoilers?? Tech losing and my Cowboys (more specifically Tony Romo) delivering a less than stellar performance on their first regular season game at the new stadium. 4 turnovers?? Really?? Ugh.

I'm going to be trying to catch up with everyone soon. Our network at work has really been spotty and gone up and down this week. So frustrating! And at home I've had some errands and small things to do that have eaten up my nights. I'm sorry I haven't been around as much, but later tonight (after going over to my sister's for dinner) I'm looking forward to cozying up with the 5 dogs and my netbook and surfing around! Oh, and there may be some wine involved, too.

*I'm not sure where I got that picture of the boat dock, or even what lake it is, but wouldn't it be so nice to be there right now???

An ode to blogging

Oh blog, why is it that you vex me so? When I come to write on you, my mind goes blank of all original ideas. I feel like I have nothing interesting to say on you. Why?? I see interesting things on other people's blogs, and all I can think is "Why didn't I think of this?".
Argh!

So, hopefully soon, I'll be working on here to make some changes - updating blog lists, offering and showcasing my work, and just generally making things look a little fresher.

Thank you all who have kept coming by and leaving me messages, it really means a lot to me. I think the best thing about blogging, and the reason that keeps me doing it, is the friendships that I've fostered out there.

My new toy

I got a new phone this weekend that can call, text, email, take pics, get on the internet, set appointments, has a to-do list, has GPS.... I feel more organized already!

It's the HTC Snap, and while it isn't a touchscreen, it's very easy to learn and use (and with the buttons is just as fast as the touchscreen), has a nice sized keyboard, and was about $100 less expensive than the touchscreen phones. As someone who's had smartphones for the last 3 years or so, Chris welcomed me to 2009.... ha ha.

Don't you love getting new practical things that are also fun????

RIP you 3-year old flip phone. You served me well.

...to be better organized

I don't understand how some people do it. I just don't.
How can some of my fave bloggers work full-time, manage a couple blogs (I'm talking about you Ami and Bekah), keep them all up to date with the blog rolls and new designs, etc., and still find free time to do other stuff - like clean the house, give the dogs a bath, fold and put up laundry.... you know, all the boring things that I've been neglecting over the past week!

I am *kinda* done at my client's house. We still need to hang the curtains - which is a BIG part of the room, hence no "after" pics yet- but other than that, we have everything else arranged! It feels so good to have gone through this process and come out the other end with a sucess on our hands. Her budget was tiny - around $1000 to $1500 total - so we didn' t do the dream makeover you see in magazines, but I will say that I think it looks great! Big change from where she was before. And most importantly? She likes it.

So, now, from here, I am working on my sister's new appartment. So far we have walls painted and things moved in. This will be a much slower paced project as she's going to be buying things along the way instead of all at once. That's great because you can really take your time looking around. But it's bad because depending on how slow you take, by the time you're "done", you'll be ready to start over! Anyways, most importantly for her is a console table piece that we're going to use for her little bar. I'm so excited about her place - it's really going to be a fun and cool bachelorette pad!!

On top of that, I've been slowly pulling my own house together. And trying to get better at sewing, as well as come up with some creative ideas for a side business.

So I fear that my blogging has suffered. Last week I literally didn't have the mental brain power (or much free time, to be honest) to really come up with anything that I thought was interesting for EAD Living, and I so wanted to contribute. But the juices were dried up. With Chris out of town this week, I don't know how to gain access to our wedding photos which are stored on an external harddrive. Yes, he's shown me before, but I am a total novice with computers (I only look semi-smart on this blog). So a wedding recap being finished is out of the question for this week. Which also brings up my point that I've been thinking of updating the look of my own blog.... but how to incorporate the things I'd like?? And exactly what IS IT that I like, anyways???
There are so many beautiful and fun blogs out there that the writers put so much work into, and I just wonder sometimes how it is that they get it all done. Do they watch TV at all? Eat? Sleep? Go outside? I'd love for my blog to be that awesome, but I fear that sometimes my brain is simply empty of any unique or interesting ideas. Rather than just throwing stuff up that I feel like anyone could know ("Duh"), I would like to post on some interesting topics - or at least on something that's unique to me.

At least with the closing of this project, things will be slowing down for me. I'll have time to clean house tonight. I'm sure I'll only get part of it done, but at least the fur-bunnies will stop chasing me as I walk down the hall!

Any ideas from out there? How do all you super-women do it?

Bloggy Meme

I saw this Q & A over on Linda's site, and thought I'd steal away!!

1. How long have you been blogging? Since May '08.

2. Why did you start blogging? I started reading tons of blogs while planning my wedding, and wanted to join in the fun! Also, I started blogging over at Elizabeth Anne Designs Weddings around the same time.

3. What have you found to be the benefits of blogging? I've met some awesome people through this blog. I've been exposed to so many different ideas. I've been able to express myself so much better. (ditto!)

4. How many times a week do you post an entry? I try for at the very least twice a week. Sometimes I fail miserably, and sometimes I post more. It depends on my available time in front of a computer, and if I have anything interesting to share!

5. How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis? About 5 to 10. On a regular basis.

6. Do you comment on other people’s blogs? Yes, I try to. Unless they have like 100 comments, and then only if I feel strongly about whatever it is. Generally I comment to stay in touch with my other blog-sisters out there.

7. Do you keep track of how many visitors you have? Is so, are you satisfied with your numbers?No, but Chris wants me to. I don't know how - seriously! But I probably wouldn't care about my numbers.

8. Do you ever regret a post that you wrote? No.

9. Do you think your audience has a true sense of who you are based on your blog? Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm probably a lot more "serious" in real-life.

10. Do you blog under your real name? I use my real first name. I try to avoid using my last name, but I think I've slipped before. (ditto!)

11. Are there topics that you would never blog about? Intentionally bad-mouthing somebody, the specifics of my work. And probably Michael Jackson.

12. What is the theme/topic of your blog? My life with some design bits thrown in along the way.

13. Do you have more than one blog? If so, why? I guest blog over at EAD Living. But I've been as lazy over there as I have been here! Time to get to work!!

*Oh, and you're welcome for the gratuitous picture of my dog Riley. Just in case you haven't seen enough of him.... Just thought this post needed a pic!

Friday updates

So, #1 on my to-do list is almost done.... Riley and Murphy got trimmed, but the group is still in need of baths. That fun comes tonight and tomorrow morning!

Here is a "before" of Riley, who is trying to tell you here that no, he is NOT a sheepdog. He is a miniature schnauzer, thankyouverymuch!





And "after"! Fur on the floor? Just about 1/4 of all that came off. Now we're all ready for summer with our short trim! Riley's telling me here that he's ready for his treat for being such a good dog. JJ's doing his best impression of a crazy chihuahua...

And GUESS WHAT came in last week (but I didn't know about it until yesterday!)???

Something I've been waiting a veeerrrryyy long time for...

My wedding pictures and albums!!!!

That's right, we got 2 "mini" albums for our parents. I was worried a bit that the size would be too tiny, but they're actually really nice!

Their albums look just like ours!

Inside this box is a very big and heavy book... that I'll share with you later.

Here is one of the 8 x 10's that we got. This one is now hanging on our wall. They were printed on metallic paper - so cool. If you have the option, use the metallic paper. It's beautiful. Especially on black and whites and sepia tones.

I'll be working on a big recap with photos for EAD. I'm hoping to get it done over the weekend/early next week, but we need to save the photos to our hardrive first. But I'll post some photos here too, it's so exciting to finally have them in hand!

So this weekend we're just planning on laying low. Cooking out for my parents for Father's Day on Sunday, mowing the yard, cleaning the house, putting stuff up in the attic - you know, the exciting things you get to do when you own a house and are "old" and married! ;-)

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

the Good, the Bad, and the Busy

The Good.
Laura Bush came into our showroom on Wednesday, which is pretty cool actually. This is the second time I've gotten to (very very briefly) meet her. She wasn't working with one of my clients, so I made do with a "hello". I will say though, evidently the Secret Service get to dress more casually once the President they are guarding is out of office.

The Busy.
Work has kept me really busy the last couple of weeks. Have you ever felt like a juggler?? Like, "here - I'll work on this now.... oh wait, there's someone on the phone.... ooooooh, I need to do this NOW, or else..... " Whew.
Last weekend was FINALLY the garage sale!!! We did it! Yay!! We didn't make a whole lot of money, but we did get a lot of junk out of the way. Chris has been gone this week, so the going-through-of-his-stuff has been put temporarily on hold, but he's back tomorrow morning.

So that's the busy. The bad is that I found out a couple of weeks ago that our company is going on 4-day work weeks, ever other week throughout the summer. It sucks because as much as we were on a budget before, we are really on one now. Having your paycheck cut is no fun at all. On a positive note, though, I'm going to try and use these "days off" as time to work on getting some of the stuff done that I've been thinking about for so long - an Etsy shop, maybe a side business, clearing out the office, repainting the guest room..... I can't say I don't have the time now.

Hope everyone is doing well! I'll be catching up soon.

Mid-Year Resolutions

To me, this view is really inspiring... can't tell you why, but it is. Love it.

Now that we've all forgotten about and gotten over our New Year's Resolutions, and summer is finally upon us (well, it is here in Texas), it's time for some Mid-Year Resolutions. I realized a couple of years ago I could start a new "resolution" at any time - if I wanted to do or accomplish something, there was no time like the present. So, in honor of that, I thought I would share with you all some of the things that have finally pestered me enough to want to make a change.

1. I need to start exercising again. This whole come home from work and park it on the couch isn't working anymore. Even doing chores isn't enough. My pants are tight. My rings are tight. Time to get moving.
2. I really want to find a creative outlet. I've thought for a while about starting an Etsy store selling accessories for the home, pillows, etc. I've wanted to start experimenting with fabric printing and stamping too. I need to just go ahead and do it. What am I waiting for? Why am I so nervous and scared?
3. Organize Organize Organize! From where we have our mail, to our office, to our bedroom, to the garage. Piles of stuff do not = good way to keep things.

With the change of weather, the end of all those season finales that we've just gotta watch, it just feels like a good time to me to pick some of these new and better habits up. I think I've just put a lot of things on hold indefinitely, waiting for the "right" time.

Is anyone else feeling like this? Is there anything you're changing for the summer? Anything you're doing differently?

A little honesty...

Damn. My dogs ate my wedding dress painting. Not this dog in particular, although I'm sure he joined in the fun a little. But the little chihuahua who is hiding from me in this picture because he KNEW he was bad.

Luckily for me, Sabrina has agreed to redo my dress painting for me. And this one will be hanging on the wall. Not artfully propped up and displayed against my mirror on my dresser next to the bed where the dog can climb up and get to it.

I'm also kind of bummed out this morning because our weekend wasn't really as productive as I wanted it to be. I've come to realize more differences between the 'huz' and I. For instance, when I say that I'd really like to go through and organize the office which is full of (his) stuff, it really bums me out when over a 3 and a half day weekend we can't manage to get it done. Or, when I say that we really need to go through and organize/get ready the stuff for a (long put-off) garage sale, and it doesn't happen, it really bums me out. I hate not feeling "productive" and like I just pissed away my weekend. I'm not trying to say that I don't enjoy relaxing and taking it easy, but when you've got stuff you really want to do (and have for a long while), it's frustrating when you don't even make the effort. Instead, you sit your butt down in front of the TV and nap. I mean, dude couldn't even mow the yard.

I know I'm guilty too, and I think my frustration is as much with myself for allowing this to go on and bother me like this as it is with him for not getting up and actually getting anything done. We've had our discussions on this type of thing before. It doesn't bother him. It doesn't bother him that things are messy, dirty, out of place, cluttered, or shoved in clear plastic tubs in no particular order and not to be looked at again. It doesn't bother him that every flat surface in our small house has become a catch-all for "stuff" like our mail, his work bag, his plug-ins and cords, his medicines, his random papers, his change, his baseball hats, his magazines..... It doesn't bother him, and I know this. But it does, however, bother me. A lot.

So, on my work this morning I decided that instead of fuming about my unproductive long weekend, I was going to own up and do something about it. Even if I have to go through all his junk and risk his anger at possibly throwing away something that he might have someday used for something... I don't care. I mean, our office is so full of stuff, you can only walk to the chair at the desk and that's it. The rest is piled up. I might be having a garage sale by myself this weekend, but it's going to happen. And so what if it's all just laid out on the concrete driveway?? I'm donating whatever doesn't sell so it won't come back into our house.

I'll add to all of this that I'm not the most anal person in the world about order. But I do like a somewhat clean and tidy house. Plus, he's been saying that this is something HE wants to do. He wants to go through his stuff to make "room" (probably for more stuff). I don't mean to sound like a mean ungrateful wife, but this has just been eating away at me since Sunday afternoon. Why do I have to "nag" to try and get things done?

I am so glad that I have this place to kind of "vent". But more than venting, this is an action plan for me. I was supposed to take pics this weekend of our "work" for a Make-under Your Life post. Yeah. That didn't happen. But it will now. I've let him be like this because it's "his" stuff, because the office is "his" space (to decorate), and because I thought that he would eventually do something!! But that is not looking too likely at this point, so.....???

(Thank you for letting me rant a little)

ABC's of me

I saw this over at Jenny's site, and thought I'd play along:

ABC's of Me
A - Age: 23... oh wait, I'm supposed to erase Jenny's answers and use my own?? But I like hers so much better than mine (33)
B - Bed size: Queen
C - Chore you hate: Mopping the floor
D - Dog's name: Rascal, Riley, Murphy, JJ, and our foster dog - Charlie
E - Essential start your day item: Diet Coke and a shower
F - Favorite color: Orange is the front runner.... but I pretty much like all colors - purple, turquoise blue, green, yellow....
G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: White Gold??? ;-)
H - Height: 5'8"
I - Instruments you play: Do piano lessons from 3rd grade count?
J - Job title: Sales Representative
K - Kid(s): See "D"...
L - Living arrangements: Husband and I live in our own house in the 'burbs.
M - Mom's name: Charlotte
N - Nicknames: Rach
O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: None
P - Pet Peeve: The blowing of a nose in public - especially at a restaurant. Gross.
Q - Quote from a movie: I'm not good at remembering quotes from movies.
R - Right handed or left handed: Right
S - Siblings: 2 younger sisters
T - Time you wake up: 6:45-ish
U- Underwear: Like as in do I wear any or what kind do I wear? Lacy boy-shorts
V - Vegetable you dislike: Peas. I hate peas. (me too, I'll second that!)
W - Ways you run late: Sleeping in, or playing with the dogs
X - X-rays you've had: Dental, lungs (pneumonia), right knee
Y - Yummy food you make: A bad-ass stir-fry. Also, I'm really really good on the grill.
Z - Zoo favorite: Don't have a "favorite", but I don't like the snakes!!!

Check out my "new" vintage chair

Yes, the upholstery is ugly. It kind of reminds me of a time when Duran Duran were big... but that is of no matter! With a few coats of paint (or dark dark stain, we haven't decided yet), and some new prettier fabric, this chair is going to be gorgeous!


I'd been kind of keeping my eye out for a smaller side chair that I could use for extra seating when we needed it. I wanted it to be 1. inexpensive 2. comfortable 3. able to be moved around easily. In fact, I had been imagining a kind of a barrel-backed chair with caning as what I wanted, so when I spotted this, it was perfect!






My weekend went really well, we had a great time with our friends in from New Orleans! Friday night was a poker party (which I did not win any money from... boo), and Saturday we grilled out and played Guitar Hero: Metallica. One word - hard. Much harder than regular ol' Guitar Hero, not that I'm ANY sort of expert. But when you have it on "Beginner", and you're having a hard time just strumming fast enough, you kind of have a clue!!

By the way, I think I now have carpal tunnel in my wrist from playing so long! Has anyone else had this problem??