Before/After

Our bedroom was becoming a junk room/catch all.
And that picture was taken after I edited all the junk down to what you see.
So not inspiring.
I can't believe I was letting our bedroom become a scene from 'Hoarders'.
Bad. Very bad.
I decided to reclaim our space and tidy it up.
The first thing I did was price baskets that fit the bookcase in our room.
Ridiculous.
$20 a basket x 8.
Ya, right.
Too rich for my blood.
So, I went into cheap mode and decided to make my own.
I found the perfect sized shipping boxes at Staples for $2 and some cents a box.
Yup, shipping boxes.
I used a box cutter to cut the top flaps off

and then headed outside to spray paint the boxes white.

Once they were dry, I glued scrapbook paper to the front of the box and just to make sure L.J wouldn't rip the paper to shreds, I Mod Podged it.

It came out so much better than I imagined and now I can really clutter it up and no one will be able to see it!
Another great thing about these "baskets" is that it makes for less dust - and dusting.
I am now inspired to redo the rest of the bedroom.
Love it!

DaDaDaDa

L.J babbled for the first time today!

We were all in the kitchen when she started blurting out "DaDaDaDa".

I love hearing her sweet, angelic voice!

But, I know, once they start talking, they never stop.

Peach Pit Ring

I was eating a nectarine (are they the same as peaches?) when TLH mentioned that her book 'The Daring Book For Girls' has a tutorial on a Peach Pit Ring.
It says that if you rub the sides of a peach pit on cement, it eventually will make a ring.
TLH wanted to try it and we figured a nectarine pit is the same as a peach pit, so I finished my nectarine and gave her the pit.
She started scraping but after 30 seconds she found out that it was tedious work.
So, instead, she gave me the job while she played basketball.

After 15 minutes of scraping, this is all that I accomplished.
TLH had the right idea of pawning this project off on someone else.
I guess this ring will have to happen in sessions.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was spent with good quality family time.
Saturday morning, TLH had a soccer game and it was pretty exciting.
They were down by 3 but by the last 10 minutes of the game, they came back to tie the game 4 to 4.
Great job, girls!

While Mr. A went was out golfing with his co-workers after working overtime, me and TLH went to the River Walk.
It was such a beautiful day.
We packed up the wagon and TLH's scooter and we headed out with the sunroof open and the wind in our hair.
We joined the lot of bikers and joggers on the trail and enjoyed the sights.


Every once in awhile, I would turn to look at L.J and she would just be watching the wheels roll. I love her curiosity.

The Ocmulgee River runs next to the trail and we were able see some canoers enjoying their day. How cool is that dragon canoe?

TLH stopped to look for a four leafed clover (with no luck) while we sat and ate our snacks.

Across the Ocmulgee River is the Rose Hill Cemetery where one of the Allman Brothers is buried.
I haven't visited there but from where we were sitting, it was simply beautiful.

After walking the trail, we stopped at the playground before leaving.


We stayed out longer than expected so Mr. A ended up beating us home.
We were home just long enough to get a bathroom break before we all headed out to the farm so I could check out The Aung's new investments - which look sooo good.
TLH was able to feed the calf and the goats while we were there and she loved it.

We stayed long enough to have dinner and we headed home where everyone passed out
for the night.
Sunday was a bit more relaxed.
TLH and L.J spent most of the day outside while I did housework and an old friend of Mr. A's came by for a visit so he and Mr. A played catch up.
I love my time with my family.
I wouldn't trade any of it for all the money in the world.

TL-H Is For Happy

TLH met with a counselor today.
It was nothing big. Just an assessment.
He asked a bunch of questions and then gave us a treatment plan.
She'll have appointments with a therapist and a Dr. and be on a medicinal plan.
I'm very wary of giving her meds so I'm going to, first, make sure that the problems aren't just from normal growing pains.
I haven't mentioned this, but TLH's dad is bi-polar.
They say that it does run in families and that TLH shows symptoms.
This crushes my heart.
I'm not ready to pour out my feelings on this subject yet, so let's move on.
After her appointment, I took TLH, and a napping L.J, to Bass Pro Shops.
Not for any camping gear, or hunting gear, or fishing gear.
But for squished pennies!

TLH collects squished pennies and Bass Pro Shops happens to have a penny machine in their store.
Who knew?
So, after cranking that wheel 4 times, she was a happy girl.

To get my happy fix on, I stopped at a local thrift store before going home.
Two, actually.
At the first stop, I ended up finding a mini apothecary jar to go with another jar that I found at another thrift store I went to the other day.
I love how my colorful thread look inside of the jar.

But, I ended up scoring big time at the next place.
I found a cute, little child's chair

and a couple of items for the girls and when I went to check out, the woman at the register started talking to me about my tattoo and how she loved it and how she wanted one, too.
So, when it was time to pay up, the only thing she rang up was the basketball shorts that TLH wanted.
Which was only a buck.
This is where it gets good.
I never carry cash on me.
I left my credit card in the car, so when I asked TLH to run to the car and get it, the lady said not to worry about it and she let me walk out of the store without paying!
How awesome was that?!
Granted, the items didn't total more than 5 bucks, but I still felt like I was robbing the place.
I'm definitely going back there when she's working.
I can't wait to do my first before and after post with that chair!
Keep your eye out for it!

Proud Mumu

I decided to go to TLH's Beta ceremony today and I'm glad I did.
I was so proud to see her accept her award.
She looked so grown up in her pretty dress.

Her douchebag of a dad never showed up.
She got a text from him when we got home saying that he couldn't make it because her Grandma couldn't get off work and they were driving up together.
I hate that she can forgive him so easily but give me hell for not pouring her a drink.
But, he does live 4 hours away.
I hate that TLH has to ride that long.
I just worry about her.
Anyway, I am glad L.J and I made it to her school to support her.

I wanted to sign her our for the rest of the day but she wanted to stay and take the bus home to be with her friends.
Her friends thought she was crazy for wanting to stay so she ended up leaving a few minutes early from school to go with us to my Dr. appointment.

Speaking of which, of all the items I brought in for testing, I was only allergic to one of them.

Tide Free.

I've been using that detergent for a long time and I never knew I was getting any kind of reaction from it.

Now that I know, I have to rewash EVERYTHING.

If only my laundry room looked like this, I wouldn't mind jumping right on it!

Ribbon Belt

TLH came home from Spring Break with a new pair of shoes.
That girl has got some big ass feet.
They're bigger than mine!
By a size and a half already!
And she's as tall as I am.
She wants to be 5'll".
She'll be the tallest Filipino I know.
Anyway, TLH wanted a belt to match her shoes so I immediately thought of this ribbon belt tutorial.
We went to the store and picked out a cute ribbon that she liked and voila.

Another easy, simple project for me.
Just the way I like 'em.