The Walls Come Tumbling Down...

This is a bit of what we've been doing around here. Lots more photos to come.

The Passing of Bea Arthur

In Honor of Bea Arthur. Her Talent, her comedic abilities. I salute you, Ms. Arthur. Thank You!!

Peaceful Sundays

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart 

and lean not on your own understanding

Take Your Child To Work Day

Yesterday was take your child to work day. Thomas came to work with Bryon and I. He loves to come to work. Here are some highlights from his day.

As you can see I have rescued my camera from the evil husband who was holding it hostage for so long.

Lots of photos to come soon!

Make The World Go Away...

Okay, well now that the dogs are running (yup, can't sing)...

I am so tired of riding on the merry-go-round. This work thing is really getting in the way of my life. It's seriously bringing me down. I need a break! Now you'd think cuz I'm sleeping with the boss that he'd be a wee bit nicer to me, but NOOOOO. UGH.

So I'm off to another 5 day work week again. And I'm feeling like I'm coming down with a cold. Of course just to make me feel even more attractive and energetic, I'm bloated and feeling run down. Well, aren't I just a bundle o' love right now.?

On an up-side, I managed to get the housework caught up and the laundry is done. Not just done and lying around, but actually folded and put away. Yup, just call me Hazel.
We picked the hardwood flooring for the upstairs - yee ha! One less choice to make.

Of course, as the renovations continue and we begin to work on the pocket door, I realized that if we do that, then it really makes sense that we fix the upstairs coat closet too. My poor husband, this one tiny project has turned into a mammoth mess. LOL. It's that if you give a mouse a cookie problem. Because we were going to paint the empty bedroom, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to bump out the linen closet like we had wanted to. Well, since we were doing that, then we really should replace the drywall since it's 30+ years old and has not been well maintained. Since the drywall was down we might as well replace the windows because they are original to the house. Then my husband had this awesome idea of putting in a pocket door to separate the bedrooms from the great room which will be wonderful for noise. So, if we're going to do that, then we probably should replace the coat closet door (which is an 8 foot tall metal - yes, metal- bifold door). So, I'm kinda starting to think that we may never finish this bedroom. LOL. See what happens when you buy an ugly house?!

I'll leave you with a chuckle.

I finally went to the eye doctor. I tried a new one. He discovered that I have a cataract. Being only 42 I was a bit upset by this so I called my husband. He asked, "What's wrong?" I replied, "I have a cataract." He replied, "No you don't, you have a Chevy."

Sorry ladies, he's all mine.

Color Me Proud!

Right now I'm beaming with pride and my heart is filled with gratefulness for those who said a prayer for my daughter today.

We JUST got the news. She made the squad!! Oh my goodness! I am so excited for her. She is so excited!! This means one

heck of a busy summer. She'll be in camps and practices all summer long. We have to fork out an insane amount of money.

But this is FOOTBALL people! This is HUGE! I am literally so excited and proud that I have tears. My daughter, my baby girl,

set her mind to achieve a goal and she made it a reality. It's been a long long day, but this is definitely the very best anything

that happened today. Buckle up! It's gonna be a W-I-L-D summer.

Crazy Days

Somedays I make myself crazy.

I can only imagine what I do to others.

I was never an indecisive person, but lately...

UGH. I don't like not making up my mind, not knowing what I want or wanting too many things.

Frustrating. Fraying Nerves.

But, sometimes it's being simple that works best. Compare photo A to photo B. A or C? C or D? and so on.

I discovered that I have to step out of my box. Out of my "safety zone. So, I'm going for it. This is difficult for me.

I'm a planner. I don't like change. I like lists and routines.

I'm taking a chance and making a change.

I'll share more in a few days.

In the interim, please say a prayer, or make a wish, or whatever it takes to make this a reality. My daughter is trying out for cheerleading. She is a constant inspiration to me. She just goes for things. She takes chances, something I would never do.
She wants this spot on the squad so bad she can taste it. So, please say a tiny prayer. A BIG prayer.

Go TEAM!

My Predictable Life...

I recently realized that my day is completely predictable.

The alarm goes off in the morning and jolts me out of my peaceful slumber into the harsh reality of the morning.





I fall out of bed and crawl to the kitchen for coffee.





I make my way to the bathroom where I have to shower, do the hair and make-up thing. Then I run around getting everyone ready for their day.



Get in the car and drop off Mr. Big, my niece and nephew at the elementary school.




Head on over to the Starbuck's drive-thru and grab a venti peppermint white chocolate mocha, no fat, no whip.



Jump on the expressway and head on out to work.

Get to work and handle the business of the day.

Then it's back home to dinner, homework, housework, etc.

When did this happen? How did this happen? I guess no one will be calling me exciting any time soon.

Hostage Situation & Other Tales from the White House

My camera has been taken hostage.

I have been desperately trying to capture some photos of my renovations and my stitching and I cannot get my hands on it.

So, here is what's been going on...

The drywall is down - we're looking at studs (okay, not THOSE studs, 2 x 4's)

We only found 2 dead mice in the walls - Yahooo!!!

The new windows have been ordered and will be here within 2 weeks.

I have gotten all of my cross-stitching charts organized and cataloged and I only have to kit them all up and figure out what to do next.

We have chosen the hardwood floors

I am working on dealing with my issues and feelings of failure in regards to my mothering and my son's choices




I am learning to embrace "me" despite my faults

I am so proud of the way my daughter has been working diligently on her gymnastic/cheerleading skills

I watched the most amazing movie tonight - Slumdog Millionaire. If you haven't seen it, please do so as soon as possible!

I am gearing up for a very heavy duty workload through the end of the month and I thank GOD for the blessing of work.

I am still searching for the perfect quilt for my new "room"



I have picked out my new front door.

We are installing a pocket door in the perfect place that will alter the entire function of the upstairs.




We have made a decision on the layout of the upstairs

I got my hair highlighted (finally) and my new colorist is WONDERFUL!

My husband and I are doing our very best to fall in love with each other day after day - FIREPROOF




I do have one very big QUESTION...Do I paint the trim WHITE? Do I paint the trim CREAM? Do I stain the trim? HELP!!!

Happy Easter!

I just wanted to hop in to wish everyone a Happy Easter. I hope your day was wonderful. Mine was calm and peaceful and almost perfect.

He is RISEN!

I'm Baaaaack!

Well, it's been a rough couple o' weeks in my world.  Yikes.  We are finally all healthy again (ya-hooo).  Hubby surprised me with a new laptop and it's soooo pretty.  My little Thomas is most excited to have his own mac-book now (he received my old one).  My new one is pretty silver just like my i-pod.  Now to get my i-phone and I'll be all mac, all the time.  

So, around here...

We've been working on a few house projects.  We made the linen closet bigger which made use of some dead space behind the door in my new room and that made a perfect spot for a built in workspace.  I'm quite excited!  We've been tearing down drywall and adding some electrical outlets (back in the 70's they didn't have as many outlets as we need today).  

Things are calm and much less chaotic and I'm feeling so much better.  Thanks to everyone who send along such kind comments - you have no idea how much it has meant to me.

I've been stitching quite a bit and now that I have my new laptop, I hope to take some photos of my stitching to share.  Now if I could just get a new camera (I'm hinting to hubby nearly every day).

Lots o' decorating going on here.  Lots of decisions to make.  I need to go and pick out and order a new window for my room, we have to do insulation and re-drywall too.  I'm doing the ceiling in pine planking and I need to choose a ceiling fan too.  Yes, I know, ceiling fans are controversial, but I love them.  I love having the windows open and the breeze from the ceiling fan is somehow comforting to me.  I'm working on choosing the right paint color and I'm designing the workspace/desk area too.  Lots of fun stuff!!  I've been taking photos so I'll share the before and afters very soon.

Easter is rapidly approaching and here in Chicago we are dealing with the snowstorm we got hit with yesterday and more nasty weather is on it's way.  Ya gotta love the crazy Chicago weather!

Gotta run along now and do some housework and stuff.  Can't play on this new computer all night ya know.

Rough Terrain

This picture depicts my life these days. Rough. Steep. Rocky.

On top of all my chaos I am faced with difficult choices.  Choices I thought I had made, but discovered I had not.  For example the color of the trim?  Initially I wanted it stained.  Then hubby wanted it cream.  I liked the cream except it's difficult to find a color that looks amazing with it.  Then it was white.  Simple.  I was okay with that.  What was cream would remain until I could repaint it white.  My room is done and done in white.  I love my room.  Then we painted my son's room in BM Shaker Beige.  His trim was already cream and looks amazing with the new wall color.  Hubby wants all the trim cream now.  My head is spinning.  I'm overwhelmed with having to think and re-think all of my choices.  

My son Vic is a never ending situation for me.  No, he's not back home.  But, that doesn't mean I'm not his mom and I don't worry.

The economy.  Oh the economy!  

So, maybe if I hide no-one will find me.

Maybe if I hide, my troubles will disappear.

Maybe if I hide, somehow everything will look clearer over time.

Maybe if I hide I can complete a thought.

Maybe if I run up that rocky hill I will come down on the other side a stronger person.