Two Posts in ONE DAY?

No wonder I consider myself a "SIDETRACKED HOME EXECUTIVE"!

Well in lieu of my painting frustration, I decided to veer off the path and do a little window mistreatment. I know the nester says "it doesn't have to be perfect" and no sewing needs to be involved but I ended up using some scraps of material and sewed them together to make them long enough to cover the window in my master bathroom. (This can be a future post) All I can say is that the former window covering put the word "mistreatment" to shame. Eight years with a pathetic temporary fix was more than I could bear. I'm still not thrilled with the new replacement but at least it's hemmed which is more than I could shamefully say about the former window covering.

Anyways... For now these will work. (famous last words...) I still need to shorten them a bit.

So after I did my little sewing project, I did a little baking project. I made some super "numlicious" Mrs. Nye sugar cookies and frosted them in our team colors. I'm sorry to say the entire DOUBLE BATCH was fed to a team of hungry hockey players. (minus the dozen I probably ate.) Sigh. Sometimes a little pure, unadulterated sugar is just what the doctor ordered.

On the way to the bus, Ryan called and said he was involved in a fender bender. He was okay and nobody was hurt except for the front end of his Pontiac Grand Am. The elderly man in front of him slammed on his brakes and Ryan slid into the back end of his car. No damage to the other guy's car, but he insisted on calling the cops anyway. Ryan was ticketed for driving too close for conditions.

Needless to say, he had to wait for the cops and couldn't catch the bus to our game in Mt. Pleasant. While we were on the bus, the phone rang and it was Jordanne who was absolutely hysterical, crying so hard that I could not understand her. When I finally got her calmed down, she said she was driving and was having a horrible pain in her neck shooting into her head. I found out that she was right near the Ambulatory Care so I told her to go there and I would call someone to be with her. Jennifer and Ryan both drove over there to be with her. Apparently they decided it was either a panic attack or some sort of muscular thing but they sent her home. Oh dear Lord, I was scared and helpless, trying to remain calm enough to pray for their safety. I still haven't seen Ryan's car and I just woke Jordy up to see how she was feeling. Thank God they are both okay. Phew. Makes a 7-1 Victory pale in comparison.

I got up this morning at 5:30 to take Jennifer to the train station. On the way home, I missed a turn and ended up in Flint. Oh dear. I just hopped on I75 and went North. Once again, a little sidetracked.

We are leaving shortly to take Josh up to Marquette to check out Northern's campus and to meet with the football recruiters to hear what kind of scholarship they want to offer him. I sure hope we have decent weather. They are putting us up for a night in a new hotel and I can't wait to just have a day away from the craziness of yesterday. I better go pack some stuff in a bag.

Let's hope the painting project is resumed on Sunday.

The Bathroom work in progress.

The ugly truth in my bathroom that is holding up production. I cannot finish painting until this area is patched and sanded and primed. UGH.

As you see another area that needs edging. I did repaint and distress this shelf and threw some of Jen's pottery up there until I can decide what kind of wall decor I am looking for. I'm still looking for inspiration and open to suggestions.

totally a work in progress. I would love to put some moulding around the bathroom mirror.

These well placed hooks end up full of bathing suits, hats, and jeans.

and voila...the ugly brass shower doors that I would love to hide/remove/replace. Any suggestions?

Stay tuned for finished photos.

GRRRR

The painting was going along just fine. I even painted the trim white and caulked around the toilet, shower, and the baseboards. All I had to do was a little edging and a few spots of rolling and Pat decided to come in and ruin my plans. There were a few "bad spots" on the drywall mud and he insisted they had to be done right then.

Well one of our lovely children used his drywall tools and mud and, well....let's just say things did.not.go.as.planned. It sounded like the Tasmanian Devil was in my bathroom cursing and slamming things around. When the dust settled I went in to see what the problem was- Pat scraped the crap out of my freshly painted walls around the light switch because he couldn't find the proper tools. He left it looking worse than those few "bad spots" he just had to fix. UGH. I was done. I dumped my paint back in the can, washed my brushes and put it all away. Now I have to wait for HIM to finish his stuff before I can finish painting.

Painting today

...And NO, this is NOT me, in case you were wondering...

But today I am finally finishing my bathroom painting because I've been going crazy wanting to get it DONE. Sometimes it would be nice if a sweet little fairy painter would finish it for me. Usually I enjoy these kinds of projects but for some reason I am not. Must have something to do with the cold weather, snow, and lack of sunshine.

...BACK TO WORK.

Game reports

The game on Friday night ended in a 2-2 tie...went into overtime and we ended up losing in overtime. What a great game, with unfortunately not such a great outcome. All I can say is our little class C school was matched up against a large class A school and we gave them a game. The team felt they had a moral victory even despite the loss. Of course, someone from the other team started talking smack and pushed one of our players, knocking his helmet off. A little skirmish ensued and our coaches sent our players into the locker room. Rivalries tend to make the games get a little emotional.

Our team played again the next day at 1:00 and we came out a little flat. I don't think the boys even had time to recover their legs... but the 2nd and 3rd periods were exciting and we ended up losing 4-2.

I read the book, "A Child called It" this afternoon. Oh how incredibly sad. It made me want to become a foster parent and save the world from child abuse. I feel so sick inside. I've already started reading the sequel "The Lost Boy".

I still haven't finished painting my bathroom. This weekend of hockey has sidetracked my mission. Let's hope tomorrow is more productive.

Josh is checking out colleges this week. Northwood on Monday, Ferris on Wednesday, and Northern on Friday. We'll see how this all unfolds. National signing day is on February 4th. He has already registered with NCAA clearinghouse so all he needs to do is make a decision. FUN FUN.

Now I'm off to make some burgers for the hungry crew.

The big game tonight

Josh was not in this "scuffle"...

As one of the captains, he came in to break up the scuffle and the kid with the white stick jumped on his back...

the ref jumped on Josh... and he fought to get the jerk off his back, still thinking it was the player who attempted to jump him.

notice the ref putting a choke hold with a hockey stick on Josh. NIIIIICE.

okay, I know that was last year...but in light of all that happened it would be sweet justice to win this year.

Our high school hockey team is hosting their across town rivals tonight in the biggest crowd of the year. Last year we had them on the ropes...we were beating them by 2 or 3 goals...and then Josh got jumped by a ref and it got real ugly. He got ejected from the game and our team lost their heads...they blew the lead and ended up losing the game by two goals. (one was an empty netter at the end) In the world of an athlete, it was heartbreaking.

So anyways...this team is good...but "This could be the year"... In all the years Pat has coached, we have NEVER beaten them. I sure wish Josh was still playing. He is only 3 months post surgery and cannot play for the rest of the season. I realize it's only a game, but in the world of coaches and players...it would just be fun to beat them ONCE in a while. Let's hope tonight's the night.

I was wondering if it's incredibly shallow to pray for a win?

Instead I will pray for the safety of all players tonight. I will pray for the winning team to be gracious and the losing team to be understanding. (and oh God, by the way...you know our coach would really like to have one moment of glory. ahem...and his wife would love to hear his excitement about his team.) After all...I am a very patient woman.

Laundry emergency

So my day started off this morning by discovering I had washed and dried a full load of Josh's clothes with an ink pen that he had left in his school shorts. Ugh. Apparently they were hung on a hook in the bathroom (which means he was going to wear them again, I guess?) and when we painted, the shelf came down, the shorts were tossed in the hamper...

I guess I could blame Josh for not emptying his pockets, I could blame Pat or one of the girls for tossing them in the hamper, or I could blame myself for not checking his pockets. It's all pointless now who's to blame. Unfortunately I spent two hours (6 am-8am) this morning scrubbing ink off of two brand new American Eagle polos, a pair of khaki Docker pants and shorts, 5 brand new white t-shirts, Pat's dress shirt for work, school polos (one I just threw in the trash because it had a few holes in it)... well you get the point. A few hundred dollars of clothing potentially destroyed. Thank goodness I'm a hairdresser. I used up 3 whole cans of L'oreal professional hairspray to remove the ink. The white t-shirts were the worst...I finally just tossed them in bleach water. I even threw the khaki pants and shorts in bleach water in desperation. (WHAT COULD I HURT?) The red/white AE polo was horrible. He wore it once. There is only one small spot of ink on the back. I cannot believe that I managed to save his wardrobe from a disaster. My hands are raw from scrubbing for two hours, but ah...what a feeling of accomplishment when they all came clean. Mama would be proud.

Needless to say, I've been doing laundry all day once I was on a roll.

random things that happened today:
Jake took a puck to the "boys" this morning at hockey practice. (ouch) I hope he learned his lesson that he must use a cup for practice as well as games.
Josh was offered a very large scholarship to the local University to play college football today. He is still checking out the other Universities and weighing out his options.
Jake and Josh had a doctor's appointment and both of them are on antibiotics. They thought Josh had mono which was negative (thank God) because his tonsils were so big they were blocking his throat. He's had tonsilitis for a month or more. (swollen glands, sore throat off and on, etc) Jake has a double ear infection causing him to have headaches and dizziness, a screaming red sore throat and a sinus infection. Ryan just was in last week with the same thing.

$100 in copays later, I am sent to the pharmacy to fill another $50 in prescriptions.

Painting on a holiday?

Well, after all...it is Martin Luther King Day ya know. Pat didn't have to work today but I was busy doin' hair. What was I thinking? Well my girls agreed to help me finally paint my bathroom today. They washed down the walls and just dove right in while I was downstairs cutting hair. Then I came up and had to make some dinner...by the time I got in there, they nearly had one coat in the entire bathroom. I cracked open the white paint and started painting the trim. It was getting late and Jen had to go back home so I closed the paint cans for the night and decided I'd finish tomorrow.

I was a little nervous because I didn't want it to look like that old fashioned blue/green from the 50's. (it's called Spa) It looks a little bit like the color of Crest original toothpaste. Well I must say, I totally love it. Especially when I threw some accessories in there. Now I need to go shopping for some nice wall art and some matching towels in chocolate brown.
Pictures to follow when I get it all done.

Weekend away

We just spent the weekend in Petoskey. The boys had hockey games on Friday and Saturday nights and won both games. It was a beautiful snowy weekend getaway in a new Holiday Inn. A day where I didn't have to think about bills, cooking, dishes, laundry, etc.

Unfortunately it was the first thing I had to think about when I walked in the door.

We got dumped on quite a bit while we were gone. Beautiful fluffy white snow. It looks like a scene from Currier and Ives outside my window. The sun is shining and reflecting the snow like the finest Swarovski crystals.

Time to get back to reality.

The first official Bridal Shower plans

I'm thinking about these invitations...

what a cute idea! I'm checking into this as a table decoration.

Oh dear...here we go. This is the year of the first wedding. July 18th to be exact. I am so nervous/excited all rolled into one. It's just because I don't feel competent to plan large events. I'm confident Jordanne has got all of the details worked out for the wedding (except the financing part which makes me shudder) but last night we got together with the Maid of Honor (MOH) and the Mother of the Groom (MOG) to hash out the details of the infamous Bridal shower. So it was the four of us: the BTB (bride to be), MOH, MOG, and MOB. (mother of the bride) Me, Jen and Jordy had done quite a bit of talking about the theme and our ideas. We decided we are having "Breakfast at Tiffany's" themed Bridal shower. It will be on April 11th which is the day before Easter. I sure hope people come. It's going to be totally fabulous Dahlings.

Of course we will capture the moment on camera when the time comes. For now, we are gathering more info. I spent the afternoon looking for ideas on the internet. I think Jennifer is going to do a photo shoot with Jordy dressed up like Holly Golightly (aka Audrey Hepburn). They plan to take some downtown shots outside of Tiffany's in Chicago too. We really want to knock it out of the ballpark. The guests will be asked to dress in black and white...we have 1950's and '60's wedding photos (care of Grandpa Stocker who was a wedding photographer) which will go with the vintage theme of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Oh, the possibilities are endless. Combine it with 3 talented and crafty ladies and voila`! Should be fun. My head is spinning.

How stupid can I be?

this is what my little quandry sort of looks like.

Who will put HUMPTY DUMPTY together again???

HELP!!!OMYGOSH! I have just decided I am as dumb as they come. First off, who on earth cleans their refrigerator out at 11:00 PM on a Monday? Of course, I'll admit I was kinda dumb for thawing a frozen block of hamburger in the fridge without putting a plate underneath it. I guess I should have known the Kroger plastic bag that it was wrapped in would not hold the bloody mess once it thawed. I should have known better, but I wasn't thinking it would happen. Of course it's going to happen. It does. Every.single.time.

So at 10:30 tonight I disassembled the entire refrigerator to wash away the evidence of the bloody massacre that apparently took place while nobody was looking. The only problem is...I absolutely CANNOT figure out how to reassemble the shelves. I have tried every configuration imaginable and it just does.not.work. It looks like I messed it up the last time I assembled it. Oh I remember that day oh too well. I had major back problems and was hopped up on vicodin. You ask, "who on earth cleans their refrigerator when they are having major back problems while taking vicodin anyways?"

Well, the same dipsh#t who cleans their refrigerator at 11 pm on a Monday night. That's who!

So here I am, searching the internets for a manual on how to put the shelves back in. Much to my chagrin, I was unsuccessful at locating any assistance. I suppose I am just going to end up putting it back together like last time (even thought it's not right) and vowing that I will NEVER take out all the shelves to wash my refrigerator EVER AGAIN! I think I'm going to polish off that bottle of margaritas and call it good. UGH! I feel like Charlie Brown.

Time to go to bed.

The first week of '09

This is the color palette planned for my bathroom re-do.

This muted "spa-blue" color will be the color I am painting in my bathroom.

So far, this first week of '09 has been relatively uneventful. I've been absolutely exhausted for some reason. I don't know if it's the afterburn from all the holiday excitement or if I've got a touch of the yuckies. Regardless, I haven't felt like taking down the Christmas decorations, even though the tree went out this past weekend due to the fact that it was becoming a fire hazard. I really must force myself to get off my butt and do something but the essentials (grocery shopping, cooking, laundry, dishes) have been all I've got energy for right now. (And doing my hair appointments)

I have all sorts of plans for this year. My first project is to finally paint our kid's bathroom. I only stripped the wallpaper back in September. It's been totally bare for months. I don't know why I am putting off doing it. The plan is to start on Friday. Let's see if I can actually set a goal and achieve it. I've been thinking about giving it that "spa" feeling. Of course I must research for inspirational ideas (which is a good excuse to do nothing again this afternoon).

First things first

Oh my goodness, how time flies in "Oh- NINE". I can't believe it's already the 4th day of this year...and what have I accomplished? The boys go back to school tomorrow, Pat goes back to work tomorrow and here I am in a pile of Christmas ornaments/decorations and pine needles, laundry, dishes and dust. We had two out of town hockey games on Friday and Saturday which seems to have stolen two entire days of our vacation. (and we came back empty handed...no big trophy to start the New Year off right.)

I know what I should be doing, but first things first. I must update the blog. I need to document my life periodically. I do this so I have a record that my crazy life truly does exist. Even when it appears to be mundane.

Oh how I love lazy Sunday mornings. Sometimes we go to church on Saturday nights and sometimes we go to 5:30 mass on Sunday night...just so we can have an occasional "lazy Sunday morning". I grab a cup of coffee, read the paper, lounge around in my bathrobe and slippers for a good part of the morning...eat bagels and cream cheese...enjoy the quiet before everyone in the house wakes up and starts looking for food.

...and on that note, the natives are all coming alive. I better go start some breakfast.