When It's Not All About You

Weddings are a funny thing. They can bring out the very best and the very worst in people. Lately I have seen both. I am reminded in each situation, that weddings are the one time it's not all about you, and this time, I couldn't be happier! On Saturday, my brother will marry my best friend. I am filled with emotion just thinking about it. I feel lucky and privileged to have the honor of being Jaime's Matron of Honor. Jaime is one of those hyper organized, super crafty, non-procrastinating people with an enviously clean house. In short, she is the complete opposite of me on all of those levels! Ha ha! But, on the other hand, I know that she can finish my sentences, she is almost always thinking the same things I am, she is the first person I want to hang out with for "girl time," she will drop everything to help a friend and she always puts her family first. We have been friends for over 11 years and I am thrilled to finally be able to call her my sister-in-law on Saturday.

So, being the hyper organized person that she is, Jaime has made it hard to be a bridesmaid. She has thought of everything, taken care of everything, every single little detail ... even the typical "last minute" things were done MONTHS ago! So, there isn't a whole lot left to help with! Me on the other hand??? Well, I waited until the final few weeks to take care of everything I need to before Saturday.... why? Because, no matter how hard I try... I just can't seem to change that side of me!

This past week I have ordered Jaime's wedding gift (which I had a last minute change of plans on), I have purchased undergarments for my bridesmaid dress and a back up (still looking for something better) pair of shoes and I have made my appointments for my brow wax and my hair. Yes, I'm getting my hair trimmed and blown out on Friday so that it can be straight for the rehearsal dinner. The future me will thank the present me when I see pictures!

And then there was the rehearsal dinner DRESS! After a particularly rough couple of days around here, Jaime and I headed out last Friday night in search of a rehearsal dinner dress for me. (She, of course, has had her dress for MONTHS) We started at Marshalls. I tried on 4 dresses. Liked 2 of them. Loved 1 of them. And so, I bought it! Done! Couldn't believe we didn't have to go to 800 stores. Went to the mall. Tried on undergarments at the department stores. (Ended up finding what I needed on clearance at the Maidenform outlet for $5! Whoop!) Had to exit the mall at closing time on the OPPOSITE end as our car. Hoofed it at least 5 miles around the mall. Went home. Hung dress up in my closet and about fell over laughing.

Why? Because I had the almost as close to identical dress possible hanging in my closet already... in navy blue instead of green. That's right. Me... who barely has any clothes, let alone DRESSES... forgot that I even had this dress! In a current size that fits me. With navy blue pumps to match. I have never felt so dumb! (well, okay, so that might not be true)

Bu-ut.... happy ending, right?! I could return my $40 Marshalls dress!! (would like it if that credit would hit my bank account sometime soon, but whatever...)

Okay, so on to clothing/shoe hunt #2! Black dress pants and dress shoes for my 2 year old son who is supposed to walk down the isle. We'll see how that goes! I think there's just as much of a chance of that happening as there is of him sitting quietly through the entire 45 minute service. But, we'll see....

Okay, so I went to the outlet mall... went to all the standard kid stores... no dress pants. Went to Goodwill... no dress pants or shoes. Went to Once Upon A Child... BINGO!!! Dress pants $3.50 and dress shoes $3.00!!!! I couldn't beat that unless they were free! We are renting his ivory shirt and lapis tie from Men's Warehouse. This should all be very interesting! I've already asked Jaime if it is okay to let him eat lollipops in the church during the whole service. As of right now, that is literally my only game plan. Failproof! Right? I have a friend on stand by to take him out of the sanctuary if needed. I'll be standing up with the bride and groom and my husband is a groomsman, so he can't just walk out.... could get tricky!

I also went and purchased a bridal shower gift for our friend Liz who is getting married in two months. Jaime, Liz and I used to all be roomies back in the day! She had a beautiful bridal shower on Saturday and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Tis the season around here!... For weddings that is! I think I'll wear my rehearsal dinner dress to Liz's wedding... so no need for last minute shopping there! So, this post turned out to mostly be all about me, but this weekend most assuredly will not! I am so excited to be there for Jeff and Jaime on their wedding weekend. I am excited to take care of Jaime as much as she will let us! But mostly I'm excited to spend much needed time with all my family and friends. (If I could do that little heart emoticon like on Facebook here, I would)

How To Make Custom Beverage Bins

For a wedding shower gift, I made my friend Jaime and my brother Jeff some personalized beverage bins to use at their rehearsal dinner. I had so much fun making them, that I think I'm going to make one for myself! They really were very easy, and the possibilities are endless as far as design and personalization! Here is the step by step for how I made them.

First I purchased two 15 gallon galvanized metal tubs from Lowes for $15 a piece.

Next, I used painters tape to tape off any parts of the bin that I wanted to keep the original galvanized finish. I chose to do that for the handles and the insides of the bin, including the upper lip. I wrapped tape around the handles, and then I cut two trash bags open and used painters tape over the top lip of the bins to secure the plastic.

Then, I sprayed each bin with two coats of a metal primer. I used the Rustoleum Professional Primer that specified it was for use on bare metal.

After the primer dried, I used a brush to paint each bin with two coats of my base color. I chose to use a white semi-gloss interior latex paint. After letting it dry for 24 hours, I used painter's tape to tape along the ridges on the bins where I wanted my stripes to be. I brushed on my stripes using turquoise and coral colored interior latex semi-gloss. After after two coats of paint, I removed the painters tape and used an artist's brush to touch up any areas of imperfection where the paint leaked behind the tape.

After letting the paint dry for 24 hours, I sprayed both bins with two good coats of a crystal clear varnish.

After letting the clear coat dry thoroughly overnight, I again used the painters tape to mask off a rectangle on each bin. I then applied two coats of chalkboard paint... and voila!

Each bin can be labeled however they want! I think it makes for a fun way to customize their beverage bins. All in all, this was a relatively inexpensive way to customize large beverage tubs for the bride and groom.

Soul Searching

I'm sure that many of you reading this had begun to think I had given up on my blog and finishing my resolutions.... I don't blame you... I did too. I have been procrastinating writing this post because I wasn't really sure what I was going to say. I've just been doing some soul searching for a little while. You know when you know you have something simmering just under the surface, but you're not really sure what it is? Well, this was going on for me ... for weeks. I couldn't put my finger on it and I had my suspicions that maybe it wasn't just one thing. I felt like I couldn't focus on anything. I didn't log on to my blog for quite a while. I didn't want to look at my list until I could decide why I was feeling the way I was feeling. My husband and I seemed to be on COMPLETELY opposite schedules for several weeks in a row and our relationship was suffering from the lack of time spent together. When everything finally came to a head in basically one big explosion of emotions, I realized that I needed to do what I could do to clear my schedule and make time to spend with my husband. If it wasn't necessary (like work) I wasn't doing it. Including my blog.

I deleted my blog's Facebook page (so, sorry if you were a Facebook fan) ... and then went to delete my blog... and found that I wasn't ready to do that yet. My husband pointed out that my blog was a positive and effective tool for me when I was actually doing what I set out to do.... which was one thing every day. What I had gotten in the bad habit of doing was leaving several things to the end of the month and then cramming them all in. I was also seriously neglecting my daily chores in favor of one time projects around the house. Our house was constantly cluttered... to the point where it was starting to have a negative effect on Matt and on me. Matt felt like I was creating an illusion on here that I was very productive and on the ball because I was neglecting to point out that while I was accomplishing all of these things every month, I wasn't keeping up with anything around the house. So, I'm sorry if that is the impression I was giving, because that is not the case around here... IN THE LEAST!

I have a hard time balancing because we literally have 5+ years of un-started or un-finished projects.... bins of stuff that need to be sorted through and dealt with.... a house that we want to paint walls in, and add character to, and furnish .... with second hand furniture that I am usually re-finishing.... so, I feel like sometimes I use all of my energy trying to take care of those projects and I always think I'll clean later... or I'll do laundry later... or I don't have time to put this stuff away now.... I'll do it later... and of course, you can guess what happens next... I'm too TIRED later to take care of all the other stuff.

So, I've taken some down time while I've been re-evaluating. Here is what I have decided:

1) I am going to keep up with my blog again. I'm also going to be ambitious and combine my unfinished list from August and add it to my September list and get back on track. BUT...

2) My monthly resolution for September is to do 30 minutes of cleaning per day. Here's the thing... when my house was a completely cluttered mess, I didn't feel like I had time to clean because it would take FOREVER to get things cleaned, so I just kept putting it off. I should have realized that if I just tackled a little bit at a time it would get done. So, now, the downstairs of our house is clean (thanks to major help from Matt) and the upstairs is mostly clean. I'm intending to keep it that way with 30 minutes of cleaning a day. It doesn't even have to be continuous. I think just 15 minutes after lunch and 15 minutes in the evening would do wonders!

3) I'm going to be more aware of my schedule. I'm going to try to be hyper aware of not letting too many things get scheduled for several days in a row. Matt and I need that time together throughout the week to stay connected. I don't want any members of my family to feel that I'm not putting my family first. I am truly working on NOT feeling like I need to meet other people's expectations. I need to do what is best for my family and myself.

Deep breath...

So, there it is. I'm so glad I didn't delete my blog. I think I'm going to need a place to get my thoughts out in the coming months! I'm going to get my September list together tonight and get it posted tomorrow. Thanks for sticking around through my lapse in posting. I'm glad I took a step back though, and worked through all the things that were bothering me. I felt paralyzed from doing any blog posts when I couldn't get my head straight.

Instant Streaming Netflix is Evil

I don't really have any good excuse for why I haven't been blogging. I have gotten things done off my list and I did start my new job and I have been really busy. But, truth be told... I've been spending all of my free time and a good chunk of time that should have been spent taking care of things around the house... watching all three seasons of Veronica Mars on instant streaming Netflix. That's right... the UPN channel's hit show about a teenage detective. I'd say I'm ashamed to admit it, but really, I'm not. I thought it was a great show! The problem? I have ZERO willpower when it comes to turning off the television if the next episode is readily available for me to watch! I mean, if every single show ends in a cliff hanger, and all I have to do is select to 'watch next episode' to see how it turns out, then how can I NOT watch just one more? (and then one more... and then one more) It's a vicious cycle! I have the same exact problem with books... which is why I hardly ever read. I LOVE reading, but if it's a really good book (or God forbid... a SERIES...) then I can't do anything BUT finish reading. I forget that anything else exists in my life. It's bad. I'm pretty sure I get this personality trait from my Mom. Actually, I know I do.

Ah... so... thankfully I've made it through all three seasons and can finally take my life back! No joke! My house is cleaner since I wrapped up that series, I've stayed more on task and I've spent more time with my husband. I've also instructed him NOT to get me hooked on any more series of shows on Netflix. I am a person who NEEDS to stay within the confines of normal television ... where I can watch a show one week, and (gasp!) have to wait a whole week to watch the next episode! ha ha!

Moving on.... I decided not to have a daily resolution for the month of August. Why set myself up to fail? There was just no way I could take on anything daily this month. So instead, this month is going to focus on my future sister-in laws' wedding shower tasks, yard work, and debt. I'm moving right along on the shower projects. I have to... considering the shower is next weekend! I'm going to do a post when it's over about all the little projects on my list (including making the favors, which I did tonight... check!)

The other day I weeded the yard... so that is one yard work item down! Yaye! Tomorrow I'm going to work on cleaning up the back yard. We have had some CRAZY thunderstorms this summer! Like... almost every other day! Our yard is a mess with small tree limbs down everywhere, camping chairs blown over and half way across the yard, etc. Not to mention the whole yard is like a swamp with all the rain we've been getting! But, we have family and friends coming in to town several weekends in a row and we're hosting a little cook out here at the house for Andy's second birthday. I definitely want the yard cleaned up before all that, so I figure I'd better start soon.

And last, but certainly not least.... I called Shark about my stick vacuum battery. Let me start by saying that I have hardwood floors throughout the whole downstairs of my house and I am in love with my Shark steam mop. I used to use a Swiffer Wet Jet, but it always left a film on the floors, not to mention the EXPENSE of buying the pads and the solution. I eventually bought a steam mop and never looked back. Then I bought a Shark cordless stick vacuum. It had enough power to get through the whole downstairs and I didn't have to mess with a cord. I really truly did heart Shark. Then my re-chargeable battery started to last shorter and shorter and shorter amounts of time, until most recently I only get about 30 seconds of good power out of it. I've only had my stick vac for about six months, so I called Shark. Guess what? It turns out that the battery is the only part NOT under warranty! Huh! Imagine that! But, wait, what's that you say?! I can BUY a replacement battery?! Awesome! How much? Oh, FORTY DOLLARS???!!! Really? FORTY DOLLARS???!!! Hmmmm.... let me think that over... the whole vacuum costs $60 and if I buy it at Bed, Bath & Beyond with a 20% off coupon, it's only $52... but you want me to pay FORTY DOLLARS for a battery???!!! That's okay, I'll look around and find the battery from somewhere else. Oh, wait, what's that?? YOU are the only ones that sell it? FANTASTIC! Then, instead of buying a FORTY DOLLAR battery, I will now be buying a $30 Dirt Devil stick vac that plugs in ... because, honestly, is moving the plug THAT big of a deal??!! It just so happens that it's NOT! This new stick vac also has a gazillion times more suction and guess what... I don't have to charge it. So, thanks, Shark for making such a quality product. I still heart my steam mop, but I'm super disappointed in the $52 I wasted for 6 months of use from your vacuum.

July Wrap Up... Five Days Late

Well, this is officially the most behind I've been at the start of a month. I feel like I'm going to do much better keeping up with things in August than I did in July. I think I'm over my half way through the year hump. I'm getting back on track. Although, I have to say, I can waste time like nobody's business! I have to get better about that. Here's the thing... and I know you are going to read this and think...uhhh DUH!!!!... but the more disorganized I am, the more time I waste. That seems SOOOOO simple, right? So, if I was actually let's say... more organized then it would take me less time to get things done and then I would ACTUALLY HAVE more time to "waste" online or watching TV or reading a magazine... big sigh... if I could only get my act together...

Seriously though, I'm going to put more of an effort into the organizational thing this month. (my husband is totally reading this and thinking ya RIGHT! right about now... aren't you honey!) But really, I am. I need to be. In addition to taking care of Andy all day (which becomes increasingly more FUN and FRUSTRATING everyday as we approach the big TWO YEARS OLD), my Thirty~One business is starting to take off... AND... I got a job! Yeah! BIG YEAH!! Remember at the beginning of July when it was on my list to apply to five jobs? Well, it paid off... and the best part??!!! I didn't have to settle for something I didn't want to do. I got the exact job I wanted... the job I was waiting to open... and on Saturday I start work back at the same place I landed my very first job out of college... ten years ago! Yes... my life is already coming full circle and I'm only 32. Ha ha! Seriously though, it's the perfect schedule for me, it's the perfect mix of job duties, and since several of my old co-workers still work there, and many new friends, I already know I'll fit right in. It's the place I met my husband ten years ago... so it will always be special. And now I'll have one to two shifts per week... only nights and weekends, so I can still stay home with Andy, but not have EVERY night or weekend away from Matt. I'm really excited to start. Tonight I finished filling out the 10 pages of pre-employment paperwork to take to my orientation tomorrow.... so that is getting crossed off the list.... although what I should have put on the list was keeping Andy entertained for 45 minutes in the waiting room while waiting for my drug test a few days ago... THAT was an accomplishment! Ha!

Okay, what else did I do? I set up an appointment for a tree removal company to go give me a quote on removing some branches that are overhanging the roof of our rental house in North Carolina. I actually already did do this about a month ago. I called three companies... no one ever called back with a quote. So, this time I got a recommendation from a friend of a friend and I think these guys will actually show up... let's hope... in the mean time I'm knocking on wood that branches don't crash down on our roof in a storm... because that would totally be something that would happen to that house!

I also returned two Netflix movies that we have had out for almost two months. The only problem? I forgot to update our cue, so two new movies we didn't really want are headed our way. I'll have to get a quick turn around on those so that we can get the ones we really want in.

I also finally framed a 12x12 picture of Andy and me from his six month photo shoot.... yes... as in a YEAR AND A HALF ago. It turns out that 12x12 frames (or frames matted to 12x12) are hard to come by. Couldn't find any at the big box retailers... not going to pay for custom framing... looked at ordering online but didn't want to pay the high price plus shipping... Enter a very ill advised stop at Ikea on our way back from camping last weekend... You know when you know a decision is a really bad idea, but you do it anyway? Like when your kid hasn't napped in three days, has spent some part of three days in a row strapped in the car seat of his car and is SUPER over tired and has TONS of pent up energy... and it's a rainy Saturday... and it's IKEA... but you think, Sure! Let's stop! He'll be FINE for like 45 minutes in a cart! Ummmmm.... try ZERO minutes! So, we tried opening a package of $2 stacking cups for him to play with, he wanted no part of it. After 10 minutes, we realized that yes, we were those parents, and cut our losses. Matt took Andy to the back of the building to run around in the empty parking lot in the rain while I walked approximately 2 miles through the ENTIRE store to get to the check out line to pay for the stupid $2 stacking cups... when something stopped me in my tracks!

Ah ha!!!!!!!!!!! All is not lost after all!!!!! A frame. Matted to 12x12. For only $19!!!!! Whoo hoo! Who cares that it's black/brown and not black! Not me! Yaye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But seriously, with the black and white photo, the frame really looked brown... so, no biggie, I spray painted it black... and... viola!

Now my biggest issue with this picture is deciding where to hang it! Hmmmmm..... And LAST... but not LEAST... uggghhhh this month felt like it would never ever end... I made a chore chart. I think we'll eventually upgrade to a bigger dry erase board, but we already had this one... who knows for what... but we did. So, I used it.




Chores are on the left separated by day and by "C" and "M" (for Colleen and Matt) and then basic stuff is plugged in on the calendar to the right. We'll see if we can make any sort of effort to stick to it. If we do it 70% of the time, that would still be an improvement over how often things get done now, so I like our odds.

Goodbye July! Welcome August! Month of my future sister in-law's shower AND bachelorette party weekend... my FIVE YEAR wedding anniversary... and my not-a-baby-anymore's TWO year birthday! It will be a good month... I can feel it. If I could only get organized!

Planning Sessions

This past month I tried out something new. Every week, on either Sunday or Monday, I spent some time planning my week. I clipped coupons, planned grocery lists and meals and thought about errands that needed to be run. I felt a little more centered and a little more organized doing this. I think that I'm going to try and make it a habit.

I had felt pretty scatter brained by not planning out my weeks. I felt like I was running errands almost every day (I still do feel this way... although I'm improving). Errands that could definitely be combined with just the smallest amount of planning. I know I'm wasting gas, and wasting time. The other issue that this causes is that I'm dragging Andy with me to run errands. He usually does fine, but what two year old wants to spend 3-4 mornings a week running errands? It was just so easy when he was a baby to take him with me while he napped in his infant car seat. I guess that two years later I just haven't gotten out of that habit.

Well, I'm working on it now. Better late than never I guess... right? One of the other problems I seem to have is thinking of things to do with him during the day. It was a little easier in the spring, because we just played outside a lot, but now... it's SOOOOOOOOOOO SO SO SO hot and humid out. He doesn't even want to be outside! So, a lot of the time, when I can't think of something to do, it's easier to think of an errand I need to run. Sigh. I know that's not really good, but I suspect I'm not the only person out there like this. So, I spent some time finding fun activities to do with a two year old online and I printed them all out. I'm going to put them in a binder and flip through it when I have my weekly planning sessions. As long as I am better planning my shopping and running errands, I need to start planning activities to do with Andy in the mornings.

I know it will get a little easier in the fall when the weather cools down, but since we aren't ready to send him to any kind of pre-school yet, I want to make sure I'm providing a good environment for learning AND having fun! :-)

How To Organize Earrings

I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time keeping my earrings organized. I have little square compartments in my jewelry box for earrings, but they are all taken up with the studs. Any long earrings seem to be ALL over the place! So, the other day, I worked on a little solution to this problem. Actually putting this together took all of 10 minutes... if that! It took me more time to collect the things I would need for this project!

First, I purchased this old picture at Goodwill for $1.80. I picked it because I liked the look of the frame and didn't feel like I had to alter it in any way.


Then I stopped at Lowe's and picked up a roll of window screen for around $4. When I got home, I took the glass and the picture and mat out of the frame. Then I cut a piece of screen to fit the back of the frame and I used a staple gun to secure it to the back. I hung it up in my closet above my jewelry box, and hung all of my earrings on it!

I love the way it turned out!!!! The rest of my jewelry was also a mess....

So, I straightened everything up and now it looks much nicer. I use two velor covered neck tie hangers that I found at Walmart to hang my necklaces from. It works out well for me.

Now, all that I have left to add is a small mirror on the adjacent wall so that I don't have to carry various necklaces and earrings into the bathroom to try on with an outfit. They usually get left in the bathroom and not put away, so it would be nice to be able to try things on right in my closet!