What I've Been Up To...

I've been a complete and total slacker when it comes to blogging here lately.  And it's not because I've been out living it up with summer fun things. We haven't yet been on any trips, not even to a pool or lake, and the boys have turned into major night owls, staying up late and sleeping until ungodly (and dang near embarrassing) hours of the day.  It's just in their blood I'm afraid since I am also drawn to the life of a night owl.  I do, however, insist on forcing myself out of the bed hours before they ever crack open the corner of an eyelid.  


I often think of waking them before noon but the peace, quiet, and sense of sanity I experience in the time they are sleeping almost always wins out.  It's like a win-win for everybody right now. Though when school starts back in just a month, due to the shortest summer in the history of our school system, we will no doubt have an intense adjustment period on our hands.  


It's not like I haven't been doing anything at all though.  While the second coat of stain for the deck rails has been put on hold indefinitely, due to the ridiculously insane temperatures we've been dealing with (I don't so much as sit in 100 degree weather much less work a paint brush), I have been working on a few projects inside my air conditioned house. 


I have...


* Been keeping my plants alive which is huge for me, especially the commitment to daily watering in this hell hath no fury-like heat. I don't even know what to make of it.  I've suddenly discovered a love for growing things in the dirt and I have no idea where it came from.

* Made a river rock mat for the deck. I got this idea from Pinterest of course.  I started out with just the shelf liner, like the instructions said, but realized right away that I was hot gluing the whole thing to the piece of cardboard underneath.  Not to be outdone, I went outside and got this old black doormat that was stained up with red dirt, cut the shelf liner the same size, placed it on top of it and began gluing the rocks that way.  Worked like a charm, unless you count the number of times I burned the fire out of my poor fingers.  I'm dangerous with a glue gun.  

* Colored some glass candlesticks with Elmer's glue and food coloring.  Martha Stewart would be so proud of me.  This was another idea I got from my good pal, Pinterest. I had serious doubts about this claim to give clear glass the look of sea glass with nothing more than school glue and food coloring but I reluctantly gave it a try on the candlesticks from our family unity candles we used at our wedding, after locating them and digging them out of a basket in the garage.  I thought I had really flubbed up in the beginning but after they dried, I was quite impressed with myself.

* Organized my jewelry after being motivated by my new chair from Overstock.  I had been eyeing this chair online for my bedroom for quite some time and finally broke down and ordered it.  It was a steal for the price because although it required a little assembly which, by the way, I did all on my own (or as Dracen used to say, "I do it myself!") it is everything I thought it'd be.  And it motivated me to organize my jewelry that had become one heck of a hot mess.  Funny how something like a new chair can have that kind of motivational effect on a person.  I spent the entire day last Saturday moving things around and straightening up in our bedroom.  And actually enjoyed myself!

* Just about perfected my fly-killing skills.  I don't know if it's the heat outside or what but every single time one of the doggies goes in or out the back door the flies seem to make their way into my house at record speed.  WE DON'T LIKE FLIES! All three of the fur babies start doing their nervous yawns and licks and flock to me for protection when a fly starts buzzing around the room. And I go a little insane with the flyswatter...even more insane when I can't find it...   "I AM FLY-KILLER. HEAR ME ROAR!" 


Don't you just love my decorative flyswatter? They handed them out at church on Mother's Day.  I have a red one too and yet I still manage to lose both of them frequently.  

* Finally got around to hanging my Promise Cross. I wanted this cross from Signals for what seemed like forever and finally got it as a Christmas gift after Charlie took good notes from one of my "favorite things" blog posts last year.  I just couldn't find a good spot for it though.  Until the other day, after spending all that time working on the bedroom, I decided to place it in the hallway so that it's the first thing I see each morning when I walk out of my door. Makes my heart smile. 

*Started a rooster/chicken collection for the space above my cabinets.  The whole chicken thing just kind of happened the way that those things sometimes do.  I can't even explain it but somehow, not too long after we moved into this house in the spring of 2010 I became drawn to them for my kitchen...

I have those type of cabinets that don't go all the way to the ceiling and have debated for two years what to place up there.  And then one day a couple of weeks ago I was checking out the daily One Kings Lane sales when I spotted this spirited little duo...

And I knew it was fate.  I ordered them on the spot for the above the cabinets space and vowed right then and there to start me a chicken collection up there.  They are expected to arrive in a couple of weeks and the anticipation is killing me.  


But yesterday the boys and I were in TJMaxx (Yes, I'm a glutton for punishment taking two boys into TJ's with me!) when I spotted this little cutie and scooped that clucker right on up, making it the first member of my chicken clan. 


The conversation I had with Devin went something like this...


me: Oh, look at this cute little chicken!  I think I'm gonna get it to put over the cabinets in the kitchen.  I'm starting a chicken and rooster collection up there.  


Devin: Uh...Why?!  People will think you're some kind of crazy chicken lady with chicken stuff all over the house.  


me: Sigh....Why do I even try to talk to you?  

~Spray painted our black futon frame a lovely shade of Satin Nickel. I don't have any photos of that yet though because Charlie has to get some new bolts to put it back together. But I was amazed at the transformation. I debated on getting rid of it or putting it on the opposite wall of the bed in the extra bedroom we made upstairs and I am so glad I decided to keep it now.  I'll hopefully have that all put together next week and will post pics of that along with the bonus room soon...


Happy Friday!