Realization

I've made a shocking discovery. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Probably. I don't know too many people who use the computer standing up. I digress, but what else is new?

My discovery: My life is pretty mundane. Let me see your shocked face! Don't get me wrong. I love my life. I love that I'm in a position right now to not do much of anything. It just makes for a boring time in the blog world! As I catch up on blogs in Google Reader, I just sit in amazement that everyone seems to have some kind of decorating project going on. How does THAT work? Maybe I should sign this blog up for Adsense. Even the other "life" blogs I read update almost daily without a day-to-day run down of what the writer ate for breakfast (I didn't) and how often they frequented the bathroom (about 3).

What's the point? I'm not much of a writer, so I choose not to blog day to day. We haven't done taxes yet, so we're not swimming in extra money, so I can't do a lot of projects I have cooking up in the ol' noodle. Therefore, please excuse my long absences.

Service

I know many people's thoughts are rightfully with those currently in Haiti. It's hard for anyone this this country to even imagine what's going on there. How do you lose nothing? Ask those suffering from the recent earthquake. Even the poor in this country can't really imagine the poverty in Haiti.

I just wanted to post briefly if any readers feel so lead to donate their time or money, Week of Compassion is a great organization in which 100% of your donations will go directly toward those in Haiti. Other blogs I follow support Compassion, and judging by the number of times I see this mentioned, has to be legit as well. If you have some time and money, Church World Service supplies emergency kits for those in need. If you've never heard of these and are more comfortable, the Red Cross is always a good choice as well.

That's all for now, as I'm subbing tomorrow and it's definitely bedtime.

Snow-Pocolypse

Last week we were hit with an earth-stopping snow storm. Is it a requirement for weather forecasters to think anything beyond 72 and sunny is the end of the world? If you're in the Huntsville area, ask Dan. Y'all know what I mean.
Sorry. Anyway, apparently the end of the world includes a whole 4 inches of snow. I know. Wow! To my little Alabama heart, this is a whole lot. I didn't leave the house for a full 4 days. At least I admit I can't drive in snow!
This is what the end of the world will apparently look like.

Day 1: Out front.

Day 3: Out back

End of day 3. 4 inches!

I will say, the kids in the house behind us had a blast. I'm looking forward to one day playing with my kids on snow days, making snowmen, making snow angels, sledding, eating snow cream, and coming inside for some hot chocolate. The best part is, we're far enough north that it would be a more regular occurrence than when I was a kid. But all of that will wait a little longer. I'm selfish with the snow cream like that :)

Update

I fixed it! I had to export, delete, and import. But it's fixed to my liking! Unfortunately I lost my followers in the process, so if all 3 of you would be so kind as to re-follow, I'd be much appreciative! If anyone else would care to follow as well, I'd let ya. It'd make me feel special!

FYI

There's a remote chance I will be switching blog hosting sites. If you actually come to the site regularly (instead of just reading on Google Reader), you may have noticed a background change. That was accidental. I don't HATE it, but it's not was I was intending and I canNOT figure out how to fix it back. I'm also missing some gadgets, which upsets me. I have a question posted on the help forums and if I can't get it figured out, the web address will be changing slightly. I'll be sure to let everyone know.

The Post You've All Been Waiting For!

I finally got my act together and made my bed juuuuuuuust enough to make it presentable to take pictures. You wanna know a secret though? Come in reeeeeeal close: There aren't sheets on the bed! Thus, our real pillows aren't on the bed (the pillow protecters are also in the laundry and our pillows are from a time before protecters). We also have 2 Euro shams, but no Euro-sized pillows. I have a birthday in March...just sayin'.

Anyway, enough talk. I've promised pictures and here they are, complete with step by step instructions in case you ever have 3 days to kill and some sanity to lose.

Step 1: Apply base coat. We decided on Valspar's Orient Blue and the base coat is in a flat finish.

Step 2: After base coat dries, mark stripe length. Our stripes are roughly 14 inches. Towards the end, I was going to have about 3 inches left over, so I just spread those out over the last 4 or 5 stripes. Now, the game is figure out which stripes are wider!

Step 3: Tape. I used an old-fashioned level (since the laser level tore up my wall in order for me to have both hands) to draw a line down the wall, but drawing marks at intervals and taping from mark to mark would work too. By the way, you have to alternate which side you put the tape on, otherwise you'll end up with pencil marks in the middle of each stripe! Left, right became my mantra.

Step 4: Go for coffee and lunch with the girls. But I didn't want the paint to dry (since I had a little time in the morning to work), so I wrapped my paint pan with Saran wrap and covered it all with a plastic tarp. This is a CRUCIAL step in the stripes as one could completely lose all sanity.

Step 5: Paint the "wider-LOOKING" stripes in eggshell finish (and mark touch up spots for the flat finish...you could save yourself that step and paint a second coat, but I was on a time crunch).

Step 6: Begin taking down tape. And curse Duck Tape brand painter's tape. The stuff adheres well...a little TOO well. My thumb is still hurting from scraping it with my fingernail. However, Shurline (at Lowe's) comes off magically easily, yet still provides a crisp line. And no, I am not being paid to say that.

Stripes are taking shape!

Step 7: After touching up necessary spots, move furniture back into place, wait about a week, and take lots of pictures!

Obviously the stripe is very subtle in these pictures, but it's a little more pronounced in person. It still totally depends on the light as to which is darker and how well you see it. This is one project that turned out EXACTLY like I had envisioned! That NEVER happens!

BONUS PICTURES!!!! No, no massive paint projects, but the guest room is beginning to look more like a second bedroom and less like a nursing home.

The picture was originally in the master, but the blue didn't quite work and the one originally in here worked better. So we pulled a switcheroo and I love it! The duvet cover and shams were a Christmas present (Thanks Mom and Dad!), but we now need a duvet and some pillows for the shams. A white bedskirt wouldn't hurt either. Again, my birthday is in March. Just kidding. Unless you really want to get us that stuff ;)

Another Christmas present: a quilt stand (Thanks Mel!). Now my grandmother's quilt can be properly displayed, without being USED.

Happy New Year

It's a good thing I didn't resolve to post more regularly! The bad part is, I plan on starting the Couch to 5K running program (I ran 5Ks every Saturday in the fall in high school...not so much now!), but it's currently 21 and feels like 8. I'm not exactly swimming in the cold weather exercise clothes, so I may have to find a few substitute resolutions until, say, March!

We had a pretty great New Year's. On New Year's Eve, as soon as Husband got off work, we high-tailed it out of town to get down to Nashville. We stayed up until midnight Eastern time (but Nashville is Central...does that still count?) and went to bed. Early early, alarms went off and we got up and hit the road to New Orleans! My dad's alma mater, Cincinnati, played in the Sugar bowl. My parents were definitely going to go and the calendar fell in a good way for us to make it, too. Very quick trip as we were in town for less than 24 hours, but we had a GREAT time...even though we lost :(

Husband and me in front of the Superdome

My mom and me getting accessorized on Bourbon St.

U C!

Cincinnati band

I PROMISE pictures of our master bedroom are coming. The painting is done and initial pictures taken, but I need to make the bed so I can take some of the furniture back in place for the finished product!