So my smarty-pants friend is, among many things, very good with words. He compiled this testament of a book as a Christmas gift for friends and family and asked me to do the cover. I can’t wait to see the final product!
I picked up a new client from California and was asked to help out on the interior and the cover. They pretty much had everything already how they wanted it, they just needed someone to professionally lay it out in the correct software. It was a fun (if long!) job and it seems I made a new friend along the way. I love when I have nice clients who respect my time and efforts. It makes for a win/win all the way around. Now, back to unpacking boxes for a few more days — all in an effort to avoid the boys’ clothes closet, I can assure you.
I certainly hope to not repeat this past month. Or year. I am aching for a change of scenery. I thought I might start to like Texas over Christmas but it didn’t last long enough for me to actually like it. It’s too hot already now. Too many bugs. My kids are inside too much. Isn’t that reason enough?
So, on to more positive things. Oh wait, I don’t have any. Let’s just have fun satisfying my OCD and making a list of the things that have broken since Don left:
1. His car (technically this was before he left).
2. My computer died for a day - mid HUGE project. I could not get it to reboot and it is very much on its last leg.
3. The chandelier in the entryway (there are 3 of them but this one is what allows me to see the dirt on the floor…wait…maybe this *is* a good thing after all).
4. The box fan.
5. The dvd player. Ben shoved a dvd in the wrong place and now we can’t get it to work at all.
6. Gabe’s 3rd backup pair of glasses is broken leaving him with none.
7. My Dad’s hip - does this count if people are broken? I was supposed to be in Nebraska and I’m stuck here (see issue #1) until Don gets back from Philmont and we can resolve the car issue.
8. Towel rack in the master bath.
9. Toilet paper holder in the powder room.
Is that it? Really? It feels like so much more… I know, I know, my problems are tiny compared to some. I will admit that. I guess I’m just too tired to deal with them appropriately. No more reading until 4 a.m. for me!! But that Hunger Games book was so good, I just kept reading and the time it took to read it just flew by. I had only started at 11 p.m. and I just couldn’t put it down. It’s violent but I thought it was a really interesting premise. Lots to discuss. I think it’s equally an adult book as a young adult book. Very thought-provoking, anyway.
From Chez Beeper Bebe and it’s just adorable! And I vaguely remember having enough extra time to create something like this…so cute. My kids are (mostly) too big for this but I’m keeping the adorable idea, just in case.
Book club at my home was approaching. All the other book club ladies have such nice homes and nice furniture to go with them. I was aching for a coffee table and perhaps an end table or two so that people wouldn’t have to put plates on their laps. It is a tight week for us this week so I also wanted to make nice things to eat without going to the store. Which meant no fresh fruit. Hmmm. I made a blackberry coffee cake streusel and a bundt cinnamon coffee cake as well as a hash brown bake. No going to the store also meant no paper plates (at least not sturdy enough ones to use)…no problem, I don’t mind doing dishes, and using real plates is always nicer than paper.
I was trying to clean stains off the couches, stains off the carpet and feeling bad for myself that I didn’t have all new-matching-beautiful-perfect furniture. I could quickly see everywhere the dog has been…but would I give up the dog? Definitely not. She is worth the stains and hair. Then, I quickly got a grip and realized none of those things are important.
The house looked so nice from midnight to about 10 minutes AFTER book club was over. I was very thankful for Cole - one of the BEST KIDS EVER - who was more than willing to stay up and help me clean. He even manually picked out leftover red M&Ms from the Christmas bags I stocked up on after the holiday when they went on sale (he did the same thing with candy DOTS! What a kid!). The red looked so cute in my valentine heart dishes and nobody knew how frugal I really was.
I had been at Kohl’s earlier that day and had a clearance banquet tablecloth in my hand for $19.99. Mind you, I have two white banquet tablecloths that I can’t seem to locate since our move. I searched. Don searched. No such luck. I put the purchase back on the shelf at Kohl’s and walked out empty handed. Even though I felt like I desperately needed that tablecloth. So, I went home and took a cream colored fabric shower curtain and washed it and laid it out on half the table. Then, I took another cream colored tablecloth I had (smaller than banquet) and put it over the other half. Then, I took a small square tablecloth my mother made for me and put it over the seam. I can honestly say that I doubt anybody even noticed and it looked so good! I really AM learning how to make do and it felt pretty good! Give it about 3 days and I’ll find my white banquet tablecloths somewhere…isn’t that how it always goes?!
When all was said and done, I was so happy with how everything looked and tasted and the company was the best of all. I learned a couple of things: 1) if you refrain from the impulse to buy something just because you think you need it, DON’T DO IT!!. You’ll feel better in the long run. You and your home can shine with what you already are or have. 2) Women who don’t care about those things, anyway, are the best friends to have. If anybody would have cared in the least, I really wouldn’t want to have them as a friend, anyway!!!
Rule #1: This book club is not for kids. Do not bring your kids. Find a babysitter. So — I broke rule number 1 already and since I was the only one doing it, I arranged in advance for the hostess to have Lightning McQueen at the ready. She had better toys than we do (dinosaurs and cars do the trick!) and Ben was super quiet upstairs…for the first hour and a half. Nearing the second hour, when he had enough, Ben devised a surefire way to get me to exit Book Club quickly: come downstairs naked. A high school friend reminded me that, yes, indeed, this is how we roll in Nebraska. Unfortunately, my day was not over yet!
I promptly went to Barnes & Noble to purchase September’s book. I figured if I bought the book they’d have to let me come back, right? So….sitting in Barnes & Noble, I purchased a sandwich and cookie. I ate the sandwich. Ben ate the cookie (lunch=cookie when you’ve had the morning that he had entertaining book club ladies). Our conversation went like this:
Mom: “So, Ben, do you even know that you live in Texas now?”
Ben: “Yeah.”
Mom: “Do you like Texas?”
Ben: “Yeah.” (Boys are such great conversationalists).
Mom: “So. Are you a Husker or a Longhorn?” (At this point, I’m just fishing for info).
Ben (mouth full of cookie): “A Longhorn!”
Mom: “Well, that’s not gonna fly! You are a HUSKER!!! You ARE a Husker, right?!“
Ben: “I’m a Husker. Do they fly?”
20 minutes after blog entry: I had to remove the word “naked” from the title and the tags because within this short amount of time I have had too many hits from freaks in this world searching for “naked boys” and getting my blog. Unbelievable. What is this world coming to?! I am actually physically ill over the thought. I didn’t even consider such sick things when I wrote the article. I will take your IP address and send them to the police. Disgusting. May God have mercy on your soul.
I do love this magazine out of Idaho…Mary Jane’s Farm. She has a new addition to her extensive website where people can barter for really great things! Check out Farm Girl Barter and you’re sure to find something you would like to have or use it to simplify and clear your own {precious} clutter!
And the winner is…Danielle! Yeah, entrant #2 is the winner chosen by the number generator at www.random.org. Thanks for entering - hope you love the cookbook! Send me your new snail mail address and I’ll get it off to you ASAP. Congrats!
We have two raised garden beds that we build for square foot gardening. Having thought we’d be moved to Texas by now, I have ignored gardening up until now. I have the itch. Even if it’s just a few plants. When we moved to Nebraska from Utah, we had planted a beautiful garden full of tomatoes and zucchini and other wonders and the people who moved into our home there didn’t even like tomatoes. C’est la vie! Since we’re not so sure we won’t be here sans husband (he might have to travel back and forth), I might as well get my garden on!
These gardening books by Mel Bartholomew are fantastic (we have the original but I hear the revised version if great, too!).
Here’s a link to a blogger - My Square Foot Garden - with some other great resources and insights into gardening. Thanks, Diana, for the link!
Speaking of getting my garden on - did you see that $5 Dinners has a giveaway right now for a $50 Home Depot gift card? Be sure to tell your friends & good luck!
It’s finally time for an online giveaway! Your comment could win you Rachael Ray’s 2007 cookbook called “Just In Time” and she includes recipes that cook in 15, 30 or 60 minutes. Looks like a great collection. It doesn’t appear to have ever been used - just stored on a shelf. Some of the 15 minute recipes that I saw as I was leafing through the book looked so yummy and easy to make that I was tempted to keep it! Enter by leaving a comment on this post. The winner will be chosen from all comments (one per person please) by random.org. Comments accepted until April 30, 2009. Good luck!
He’s so darn cute. Just wanted to share something simple since I’m really under the weather today. That’s what I get for bragging that we just hadn’t got sick like everybody else around us. I should know better by now. Plus, I’m thinking it’s time for a giveaway - gotta think up something good to share!
I have a thing for magazines. Even if I never get all of the projects done! This new Knitscene magazine looks interesting - I love the cover project! Wish I were 18 years old again so I could wear most of the stuff!
Never been done before. Stephenie Meyer takes the top 4 slots of the Top 100 Books of 2008 from the USA Today’s best selling books list (photo courtesy of USA Today). You can check out the article here. Personally, I’ll admit that I started reading them skeptically - I was pretty darn sure I would hate the books. I mean, come on, vampires?! As I turned each page, though, I kept annoying my hubby by saying, “Wow. This is really good stuff.” I couldn’t believe how much I liked the books! They’re not really good vs. evil books. More about free agency and choice. Loved them. Even hubby has read them and likes them as much as Harry Potter. Surprise! Other books on the list that I have read this year: Wrobleski’s “Edgar Sawtelle” and Grogan’s “Marley & Me” — both great. Now, off to read some of the REST of the top 100 books…I’m sure some of those are even better…without the teenage groupies.
I am loving this Christmas break. Lots of staying up late playing games and then sleeping in and staying in bed and reading. There is nothing better than reading for an hour after you wake up but before the day really begins. Normally, I would read scriptures and then hurry off to start the day but this Christmas break, Don and I have been waking up late and catching up on our fiction piles — such a nice treat. I am thoroughly enjoying the 2000 edition of the Best American Short Stories edited by E.L. Doctorow and Katrina Kenison. My favorites so far are a Utah author Ron Carlson’s “The Ordinary Son” as well as Amy Bloom’s “The Story” and Percival Everett’s “The Fix”. You can see more reviews at Goodreads . I do think it’s ironic Don is reading Twilight and going to donate blood to the Red Cross on his birthday. Makes me chuckle. He says he’s going to take it to read “in the chair” on-site. He’s closer to 50 than 30 today but I can guarantee you he doesn’t act like it. He will always be a boy at heart and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
TeresaB who said, “I just found your site through the City Farmgirls Blog. Fun fun!” Yes, it is fun! I think I like offering giveaways even more than winning (who’d of thunk it - I only wish everybody could win)! We had a peek at her etsy site here and she has some great ideas for your swiffer or sh-mop so be sure to take a look. Prepare yourselves for the next giveaway - it is going to be FANTASTIC and I’ll announce it tomorrow. Really. I-was-gonna-keep-this-one fantastic.
