sOliTuDe

I owe my solitude to other people.
There are days when solitude is a heady wine that intoxicates you with freedom, others when it is a bitter tonic, and still others when it is a poison that makes you beat your head against the wall.



Having a large family, an adequate group of acquaintances, a small group of friends, howbeit, we all walk alone in this world.
 
Is it what we expect? Not usually. Is it what we hope for? I'd like to believe no. Only so much solitary confinement is healthy. It's a slow process. It starts off a good idea:
I think that I cannot preserve my health and spirits, unless I spend four hours a day at least - and it is commonly more than that - sauntering through the woods and over the hills and fields, absolutely free from all worldly engagements.  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that's where I renew my springs that never dry up. 
 
Solitude never hurt anyone.  Emily Dickinson lived alone, and she wrote some of the most beautiful poetry the world has ever known... then went crazy as a loon. 
 
It's good in small doses I assume. Only so much at any given time and it has to be YOUR idea or you'll completely drive yourself mad. It's like absinthe or any hallucinogen. ::: snickering to myself::: (((nobody is around so laughing at my own jokes is an absolute must when trying to enjoy my seclusion from the rest of the world)))

I suppose I would consider myself a "people person" (and often a people pleaser) so having complete silence and being enveloped in nothingness around me (no kids laughing, nobody in the house asking for anything in particular, just the sound of the washer and dryer doing what it does best) is quite a shock compared to the actual grind on any particular time and day. 


As often as I need a break and being able to sit in my completely still home with nothing going on around me, it made me realize how much my soul is fed by the family life, by being around people I enjoy, like sunshine to a flower when the petals have begun to wilt and you've lost all hope that it can continue forward but it struggles through the rays, absorbs the vitamin E and starts to rise against the impossible and stand tall, basking in the glory. I suppose my demeanor may have resembled this the past couple of days while my family has not been around. I am looking forward to the weekend, engaging in those events that keep us going, keep us busy, and mostly having my son return from vacation. 


I want to start a women's group in my community. Surround myself with positive uplifting empowering woman that do the same as the sun does to the flower. Fills my entire being with much needed information and goods to continue down a solid path. Its a Seed that Grows into something bigger than oneself and I believe fully in it. I believe that woman can do so much in groups when they band together and focus on a similar goal or destination. One day.... I will make all this possible. 


While in my "time-out" I jot down notes, reminders, anything I can do to take my mind off actually being by myself and soon will implement everything when I get over the hurdles I am currently jumping. Only so much can be on the plate at once and I suppose that getting through my education, moving the entire family into a new residence, all while finishing out this pregnancy is enough for the moment. 


So many things to do, so very little energy to do much of anything. Keep trekking and pushing on... always something to do (alone or not)

~Today's Tidbit~

Who knew?

Contrary to popular opinion, there actually is rhyme and reason to ever-fluctuating hem lengths. In the 1970's, a psychologist found that skirt lengths actually move with the Dow Jones. As stock prices surge, ladies show more leg; as they plummet, we cover up.



You could call this the real reserve

.

*..*..Spring ~into~ Staging..*..*

springtime- [spring-tahym] –noun

1. Also called: springtide the season of spring

2. the earliest, usually the most attractive, period of the existence of something

"Rise and put on your foliage, and be seen to come forth, like the springtime, fresh and green"
 
Springtime brings sunshine, showers, and plenty of opportunities for home staging. If you're selling your home in the Omaha area, it is time to brighten things up with these fresh updates that are sure to attract buyers.
 
The first and most important thing to remember is the first impression. You wouldn't want to continue doing business with a person that did not keep up with their appearance. Why shall buyers be attracted to your home if the outward appearance is not appealing to them? Get outside, roll up your sleeves, and spruce things up. Raking up anything with traces from winter such as anything brown and no longer fortunate enough to be living on this earth with us, power washing the house (and deck or outside spaces) gets rid of any grime that those harsh winters leave behind.
 
If you are feeling risky, you can get into gardening. Something simple such as adding mulch or rock to flower beds or lining the walkway and drive for added curb appeal. If you are not a green thumber, think about inviting friends, family, or even neighbors over for a garden party. If they are not up for offering the extra hand, offer some lemonade just for some tips and techniques. Who knows?! It's almost certain that people are looking for ways to assist and having an excuse to get out in the beautiful weather is an added bonus.
 
Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  So get outside, look around and be optimistic about how you can transform your listing into a fresh, light and bright, pleasing house that anyone would want to call home.
 

 
Walking into the entry...let your home make a statement! If your old doormat is rugged and ragged from the long winter season, pick up a new one, sweep off the stoop, maybe add a spritz of febreze before a showing or Open House, and bring in those buyers. A clean, pretty doorway will set the stage for the entire showing.
 
Next...scrub! Cleanliness is next to Godliness and everyone will appreciate walking into a shiny clean disinfected space that welcomes them with open (purified) hands. Scrub away. A sparkling home will impress buyers and make your home more appealing.
 
Get rid of clutter. Box up anything you don't need (winter coats, extra blankets, etc). If you empty out the closets, cupboards, drawers it will appear larger and more welcoming to the potentials. And trust me...they snoop. They look for closet space, extra storage, places to put their stuff. The less of YOUR stuff that is in their view, the more their imagination runs wild with all the things THEY could use that space for.  Buyers will be impressed with all that space.

Bring spring aromas indoors. Spring is not only a colorful season, but a fragrant one, too. Bring the aroma indoors. Scents have a profound effect on mood, so infusing scent into your decor with diffusers, candles, fresh cut plants/flowers, or incense can change the overall feeling of a space.

Bring out the bright colors. Tuck away the heavy, winter flannel comforter and pull out crisp linens with accent throws for color. Bring in the spring with floral-designed spreads or colorful solids. Don't forget accent pillows for added style and comfort.


Use glass in your decorations whenever possible. Glass decorative items, like vases, glasses, attractive or unusual bottles and clear glass jar collections, will make your spring home decorating look lighter. Shiny glass decorations increase the amount of spring light, reflected from light sources and windows into a room. Nothing says "light & airy" like clear reflective shining glass.


And remember!...nothing in excess. Just because you love the way the bookshelf in the library looks with all the collections you have accumulated over the decades, does not mean that the potential will be able to imagine the size or space usage with all the distraction.
 
And when potential buyers give feedback on what they thought of your house, you want them to say:


  ***followed up rather quickly with an offer :)

Happy Spring to all of you!!!

 

~~~Make Room for Baby~~~

It's no surprise that I am completely dominated by design. Not just design but classic design, good "all the way to the bones" design, changes your entire mood design. I jot down notes in my journal about things that I come across or see, I take mental notes when something reaches out and snatches my attention, I lay in bed thinking about it until I doze off to then dream about it.

It consumes me and I do my best to keep it at bay. But those of you that LOVE something should love it unconditionally, thoroughly, at all times. This is me with ANY love I hold near and dear to my heart and design is no different. (It tends to love me back so that assists in our relationship).

I take my classes at the local community college, eventually hoping to get a degree in it, but knowing its not necessary to hold a degree to do what you love (aside from such things as practicing medicine-you may want a degree for that). I take any workshop that I come across that can assist and let my imagination run wild. I avidly watch HGTV and DIYnetwork. I read all my magazines from Architectural Digest to Flea Market Finds. I am constantly thinking of ways to arrange and rearrange and revamp and give new life to either the rooms my family lives in OR bookshelves that line the walls of the rooms my family live in.



However...

(and this is not be taken lightly)

We currently live in an apartment and it's not as though I have adequate amounts of space to make room for baby. I have succeeded in accomodating the rest of the household. But baby?!?! ....

It's not my first rodeo (nor baby) so I am completely aware that infants do not come with the load that some might deem necessary. (That load comes later on and we are hoping to be in a house by then). I am organized. Obsessively organized. I love orange, green, brown, golds, dark reds. Colors from the old country (hehehe)


Nothing strikes panic into the heart of a decorating diva like the arrival of a little brood of chick(s) and ensuing bushels of plastic that seems to ooze from every container. Little plastic, big plastic, munchkin-size plastic furniture and playground equipment-there's no end to the size and variety of the kiddie accoutrements. And the primary colors they insist on coming in clash horribly with every tasteful color scheme I am trying to maintain here. Just how does the playmat dangling with farm animals incorporate into my electic Old World meets French Country living room?

I have done a good job of maintaining my homes--enough so to appear that Elle Decor and the photography team has just left upon my visitors entrance. I have heard remarks like, "I am amazed a toddler lives here" or "How do you do it with the kids?" Howbeit, when cramped for space I am assuming that bins and crates and storage cabinets are now highly placed on my "things I cannot live without" list.

I suppose I can manage. As soon as the arrival I will bend (instead of breaking) to ensure that every base is covered (and hopefully not consisting of spiddle or that ever present stickiness that comes with little ones).

Our lives are museums of private experiences and at worst, a house unkept cannot be so distressing as a life unlived. :)

The next couple of months, while entertaining the "nesting period" of the pregnancy, I look forward to coming up with new, inventive ways to continually maintain a clean, streamlined, happy home full of "stuff" and love :)

In the meantime...I must bake some brownies

Love: We can't give it if we do not have it



Unconditional love is a term that means to love someone regardless of the loved one's qualities or actions. The paradigm of unconditional love is a mother's love for her newborn.

~*~*~*~

Unconditional love is often used to describe the love in an idealized romantic relationship. It may sometimes also be used to describe love between family members, comrades in arms and between others in highly committed relationships.

When the word "happiness" is used, it is not meant by the fleeting pleasure we get from money, sex, & unconditional approval. Nor does it mean the belief or even relief we experience during the temporary absence of conflict of disaster. Real happiness is not the feeling we get from being entertained or making people do what we want. Genuine happiness is a profound and lasting sense of peace and fulfillment that deeply satisfies and enlarges the soul. It doesn't go away when circumstances get difficult. It survives and even grows through hardship and struggle. True happiness is our entire reason to live and that kind of happiness can only be obtained as we find real love and share it with others.

"With real love, nothing else matters; without it, nothing else is enough."



It simply does not matter how smart or pretty or successful you are. You don't have to do anything to impress those that unconditionally love you or get them to even like you. They don't care if you say something stupid or make a mistake. It eventually occurs to you that it's impossible to be embarassed or ashamed-they love you no matter what. That is undconditonal love.

We are made by love, we are made of love, and we are made for love!

I believe the very first instance of unconditional love it at the time of birth. Both parents and newborn receive an overpowering sense of love. Parents are in shock in awe and over-taken by a sense of relief. So patiently they await the arrival of the baby. Upon first glance, it's love.

While baby gets to snuggly envelope in the womb, feel the vibration and beat of the heart from within, hear the voices from the distant outerspace unknown world they also await upon and then they are welcomed into a world where familiar sounds and smells will greet them with open, loving arms.

---True, Complete Unconditional Love---



"Unconditional Love is love for no reason. It is linked to your heart (in your heart) and doesn't depend on (is not directly linked) the object of your love. It's there for you to share." ---Marci Shimoff

Unconditonal Love can come in so many forms and be the definition of many relationships in our lives. It could be the feeling you hold in your heart for your child(ren), your spouse, your parents, your family, your friends. It's easier to have the relationships in your life full of love if you, yourself is filled with love.

Our hate is love turned sour, our jealousy is love turned bitter, our fears are love standing upside down, our greed is love gone overboard, and attachment is love gone sticky.

Find the love within and all other will fall into place. Write yourself inspirational post-its and hang them around your environment. Perhaps place one next to the alarm clock so it's the first thing you see in the morning when you wake up. Place "you are loved" on the mirror in the bathroom so you are reassured that the love you feel inside reflects on the outside to those around you. Anything you can do: meditation, nature walks, praying with your children. Bring happiness into your heart where love can live and lead you down your path.





ReAl EsTaTe ReNdEvOuS

It has taken a tremendous amount of time to get here. I am not certain what took me so long or why I have hestitated for so many years. I often come up with excuses to put off doing almost anything. Regardless of my skills or education regarding certain subjects, my confidence is often overbearing and riquochets thoughts through my brain, always doubting my true abilities.

Dating back as long as I can remember, most kids in elementary school were getting letters from the teachers sent home for passing notes or even riff raff taking place during recess. Neatly written (all elementary teachers have great penmanship. I always took notice of this. It's like one of the classes they have to pass in order to get the degree) and slipped into the backpack to warn parents that their children aren't living up to their end of the bargain.

I, on the other hand, didn't get letters for passing notes (I never got caught) however, I couldn't stop my mind from wandering. But in my mind: floorplans. I would come home with that note in my denim backpack with keychains and charms hanging from every possible corner of fabric and filled with Trapper Keepers (to store all my notes passed in class).

It all started with Mrs. Nelson. She was my absolute favorite white haired teacher with pearls adorning her neck and floral prints from head to toe. She usually smelled of gingerbread and I often fantasized that she worked with Santa Claus, if she was not in fact actually married to the jolly man himself. Growing up in a small town, we knew where everyone lived. Her house was white as snow, built of brick with a bright red door and black shutters. It just screamed North Pole.

She was a pleasant old lady and even after graduating from the 2nd grade and moving forward in my education, I often went there during the mornings to visit, apple in hand and a smile on my face. She knew all my secrets. Sunken great rooms, open atrium foyers filled with antique rosewood furniture upholstered with red velvet cushions and the greenest of plants that the owner of any house would be proud to brag about, hanging from vintage hooks by macrame in a rusty orange color that reminded me of my childhood.

I am not certain why this memory stuck with me. I wasn't born in the 70s, nor lived through any of the years that macrame was in fashion. I don't remember actually ever seeing it in my entire life. I just imagined this fabric, woven together and I could describe to you the texture and smell as though I was dressed in it from head to toe like some sort of a hippie flower child.

Not me (or of any relation)---but possibly could be :)

Granted, at this time of my life, I didn't know that actual names of such things ie: sunken living rooms, atrium foyers, macrame. This was the time of "Ice Ice Baby" and Barbie Dolls. I didn't know that such things had been thought up and created by masterminds decades (or even centuries) before. I was, by my own definition, an absolute genius.

My father, whom I assume I get this quality from, is also very interested in my same tastes. He differs in the aspect of his ruggedness, which I am not so much in tune with the wild within me. You can find him in some small quaint cottage made of cedar filled with treasures that he collected from his travels while scooting across the country on a motorcycle when the idea of wearing a helmet wouldn't possibly exist, when rebellious men had Pert Plus hair that waved in the wind while "Bad to the Bone" played in their heads down the open highway. He grows goatees, smokes from a wooden pipe that I am certain he received from Moses once upon a time on a fishing trip where they told jokes and laughed about the "good ol' days."

My style is eclectic. I love anything with good structure and form, solid bones. I find as I get older I take such pride in older things *cough* that some might refer to as antiques. Nah. I appreciate the quality, the time it took for the man carving the wood to complete. His rough hands smoothing over anything with sandpaper and then staining the masterpiece for what seems only my eyes to flicker with appreciation. Now: such said "furniture" and even "houses" are built with assembly lines. Just set the sides together and find something ANYTHING you can get your hands on to make those pieces stand up together. Doesn't matter how long, so long as it gets sold, then its the owners obligation. *wiping my hands, freeing them of the "hardwork" that I wish was actually done*

I live for arts & crafts. It's like a melody that floats through my blood stream and keeps a bit of a skip in my step. Battered columns, beveled glass in built-in bookcases, ceramic tile fireplaces and hearths with built-in banquets that you could just imagine a family playing games or reading books around on cold winter nights. And possibly my favorite: amber laterns. I think that amber glow that reflects off the warm wood and fills the home with a romantic ambiance is just so special and lacking in todays flourescent filled boxes we call rooms.



Seriously?!?! Need I say more?!?! Why don't we build like this anymore? Why not take PRIDE in the things that are being manufactured for our lifestyles? I mean, c'mon. Nowadays while instructing friends on the exact location of your new place, the one you took a small fortune loan out on to help finance, the one you imagine your kids growing up in, thinking back years and years later when they have children of their own, collaborating all their memories into a photo album or slideshow playing images of their childhood in this spectacular house they were so lucky to call home for so long.

The house you want to move into while still young enough to chase the kids up and down the stairs and move out of when arthritis has set in as empty nesters and you can't barely get out of bed without some sort of support. The house you took time to plant the trees on Arbor Day with the kids and you have progressively watched as they turned into massive maples that shades the entire yard, making dinners in the hot summer sun relaxing and pleasant while enjoying the breeze that whistles through the leaves like an old train making its way down the track and onto its next destination.

We are building memories, lasting memories here. And yet: "Come over for dinner friends. We are the 12th beige house on the left. You might want to pay attention to the number hanging outside our door. Its like a corn maze in this place."

No distinctive oak tree or rose bush yet, no trees or shrubbery at all for that matter. Pshh...greenery?! Who needs it. Our house is beige for crying out loud! What more could you ask for? And no shutters or houses painted green or a mustard color with white trim. Here: we have convenants and they don't allow being original.

And again, 3 floorplans so you can you can be almost certain that you and your direct neighbor do not have the exact layout. Phew! Only you and the guy 2 houses down, and across the street, and behind you, and 2 doors down from him, and the guy 2 doors down from him.

And the insides? We take no bragging rights for these boxes that couldn't possibly be assembled better than the biggest Star Wars Lego apparatus known to man by our 7 year old spectacle wearing whiz kid that even has the brain to GLUE the pieces together to withstand the test of time. I shouldn't knock the homes (they might fall over) in all actuality. Given the economy today and the way Omaha builders are "building" nowadays, this is most likely where we will end up. Cracked foundation because they build them at such a fast pace they don't give the dirt the time to adjust or settle. Brand new house, cracked foundation. Sounds just lovely.

Anyhow...I have lots of ideas. I have images of greater times in the past and even stronger times in the future. A time when we didn't appreciate picking our houses out of a catalog like we are ordering an answering machine from the Finger Hut catalog.



Meanwhile, as I am enrolled in real estate school, I take a good look at the text I am to study and learn and get tested on. I do my work diligently and am so very excited to get out there and see what I can do. I want to place families, couples, singles, whoever into someplace that fits them as well as they fit there. Someplace that they can come after a long day at work, take off their shoes, pour themselves a drink to wash away the worries of the day, and kick their feet up and be proud to call the place home. (Even if it is the 9th beige house on the right) :) It's all in what you make it anyhow.

A house is not a home until it is filled with happiness and love.

So? In conclusion, I am so extremely excited about this new endeavor. Although the economy is not where it once was, I have total faith that with compassion and a little hard work, anything is possible. I look forward to making a living doing what I love.





~The New Family Dynamic~

The family structure today has changed more in the past 30 years than at any other time in history. Gone is the tradional family unit where the father works, the mother takes care of the home and children (although personally I am working to bring this aspect back into play), the kids obediently toil at school until they leave the nest soon after adolescence. And it hasn't been replaced by another basic structure-instead, families now come in a variety of combinations that pose new challenges to parents and children alike.

Today, almost 50 percent of parents are single. Often, both mother and father will commit to co-parenting, with the children spending periods of time with each. Although it's certainly not the perfect solution, children do adapt when they know that they're loved by both parents; and also step (parents and siblings).

Obviously, divorce has played a significant role in the development of "the new family." But there are variations to even the divorced/single-parent style of modern parenting. Many woman whose biological clock is ticking away are now deciding to go ahead and have a child without the support of a partner at all.

And then we have "patchwork families" - or "blended families."

blend·ed family (blĕnˈdĭd): a social unit consisting of two previously married parents and the children of their former marriages; A stepfamily.
 
Patchwork and/or blended families, where stepchildren and half-siblings come together to create a new family unit. Keeping the continuity of family is difficult in these situations, but crucial for the stability of the children.
 
Because of all these changes, the pscyhology of the family is venturing into new and unknown territory. However, the basic challenge remains the same: how best to raise a healthy, happy child. There are lots of theories out there, but there are no hard and fast rules, except to use your best judgment possible and treat your entire family-children, stepchildren, parents, and partners-with love, respect, understanding, and kindness.
 





~~~Spring is in the Air~~~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Has winter abandoned us? This voice not coming from a sad place inside but a place long remembering and longing for open-toed wedge slingbacks and short summer dresses (perhaps paired with a wide brim hat and excessively large sunglasses). Hanging halfway out the window of the car, sunroof open and reflecing rays upon the natural highlights rooting from the season, singing loud and smiling. It seems everyone is happier when it's sunnier. Is it the sun that controls our mood entirely?



Did winter pack it's bags and head to the south for some fun in the sun? A long sought after vacation it just so happened to get a steal on with priceline.com? I've been having that feeling all winter long. The feeling of escaping, getting away, heading for warmer weather regardless of where. Just take me there!!

We haven't had it tough. It's been a fairly mild winter and we must consider ourselves lucky. I mean Nebraska winters are NEVER any fun, let's be honest. I believe it's also a combination that clashes with our age. When we were younger, and as I see the kids playing in the snow and not minding the chill whatsoever. However, I am shaking to the core and my bones are frozen solid. I feel I wasn't this bad when I was younger. I could build snowmen with the rest of 'em and go in to warm up to a hot cup of chocolate (with marshmallows of course). It now takes me days to warm up...suddzy hot bubble baths included.



However, is this the end of the cold and the beginning of breezy and sunny days ahead? Shall we pack up the coats and winter attire and get ready for the SPF and bathing suits? I am just not QUITE convinced yet.

What do you think?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~Remember me?!?!~

Ta da... tis me :) Back and better than ever. My apologies for neglecting all the (un)wasted thoughts that float about me. I haven't had much time to compose myself enough to get a solid thought completed thoroughly enough to follow it through. Just one more thing I have started and not finished huh? Lol. 


~Tsk tsk Ashley. Tsk Tsk~

Meanwhile...Sooo many new & extremely exciting things have occurred and basically I don't even know where to begin. It's difficult to put into perspective (even for myself and it happened to me) the amount of things that happen in such a short period of time. And with Dimitri and I, that is no surprise. We are known as being extremists in our own definition.


First and foremost...
We are combined to an eternal life together, for richer or poorer, till death do us part. We are married!!! :) Its all so exciting. Finally we have closed the door on all the biased opinions that were peering in on relationship with a magnified glass. We have always been a team and our love is deeper and more complex than the oceans that make up and cover this world. It was just bound to happen and it did and I continually count my lucky stars for having such an amazing husband by my side. Its like being a part of a winning team and hitting home-runs to boot ;)

Since then we have been moving steadily along (side by side of course) with a solid sense of security and guidance for one another. 


It's been absolutely amazing (for lack of a better phrase)


Then....(as if that is not exciting enough)

we heard news of our newest addition that will gracing this world with its presence around the 24th of August xxxxxxx


How absolutely amazing and blessed I am to have all these things happening just like they are supposed to. Everyday I take a good look around at what has been given to me and I smile with pride. Its gratifying to know that I may not have my professional affairs in tack, I may not have the slightest clue in regards to what I want to do when I grow up or the exact path to take in order to get where I want to be. 


However, sitting here, reflecting, studying, smiling, enjoying my life to the fullest in regards to personal aspects of my life, knowing that things are finally going as I had planned is so extremely satisfying and gratifying that I know that the rest will all play out how it is supposed to in the end. 


For that, I am continually thankful and feel fully blessed. 


I have missed writing and will do my absolute best to keep everything updated (for peace of mind). No thoughts should go (un)wasted. 


Until next time....

The ONE- The ONLY- Augusten Burroughs

If you have not yet been fortunate enough to induldge in the dessert so sweet it could only be named Augusten Burroughs...you need to ask for the menu that follows dinner. I won't tell and it could be our little secret.

I was out and about (before I started working full-time again-when I actually had a life and could be just out and about in the middle of any given day) at one of my favorite thrift stores (I can't tell you---it's a gem very far from my house and I don't get there nearly enough.) I have been thinking of these hand-carved wooden masks that I left behind and have regretted it ever since. I really had a nice home for them and I am certain some middle aged cat lady picked them up and decided they would look lovely on her rattan shelving unit with her macrame flowerpot covers holding cacti she talks to in the middle of the night while performing voodoo on her long lost loves) Ugh. Just the thought brings a tear to my eye.

So anyway...I am scoping out the books (like always because when you find something for 59 cents and it ends up being worth thousands of dollars to you and your heart...let me tell YOU...it's a DREAM) I have scored an entire collection of brand new Harry Potter leather bound books with dust sleeves for the kiddos for like 2 bucks. Honestly...people just don't understand the satisfaction one can get from such a find. It's like gamblers hitting a jackpot. Only they spend and spend and I count out change to the clerk and smile the entire time. Sometimes I even use my really shiny change just be certain I am giving my full heart to the purchase.

I came across this book. It had an interesting cover. Something blue and something a bit artistic. I read the back. I put in the stack of books I had already collected on my venture and proceeded to the next item I could conquer and destroy.

The book is/was....

"I myself am made entirely of flaws...stitched together with good intentions" 

It is amazing. Since reading the book in 2.2 days (I put it down momentarily to fetch a drink of water or tear the wrapper from a granola bar to get nutrients needed) and then immediately got on amazon.com (LOVE) to order more and more from the absolutely HILARIOUS author.

I since then have devoured them one by one (and not slowly). If I could actually consume them and make them a part of me, I would most likely do so. One at a time...laughing my @$$ off the entire way through. They are like my own little dirty secret that I can laugh at the vulgar humor and not have everyone know entirely how corrupt my mind is.

Next I read...

Which most likely you have heard of from the Major Motion Picture I am dreading seeing because I know it will fall so short of what is portrayed in the literature that it basically is a waste of my time...and during that time I could be off reading yet ANOTHER gem by Augusten (and I call him by his first name because we are TIGHT like that)

Now I am reading...

and I find myself tucking the little ones into bed early, getting my house all ready for the night, snuggling up into bed, and opening up the pages (glancing at the clock and realizing it is in fact 8:30 on the dot and I am in BED) ready to consume :)

If you have not yet experienced the humor, the wit, the all around hilariousness of this knowingly gay, Manhattan living, dog loving, college t-shirt wearing, absolutely effed up childhood adolescent whom somehow grew to be an amazing writer without ever actually knowing it, please take the time to do so.

He's awesome

Augusten...this is for you. YOU ROCK and I absolutely ADORE you! :) Keep it up...

New living room furniture??? For me????

It's a rather funny story...you do remember what my family room and living room looked like before right???

Here's a reminder...

Well Dimitri calls me at work in the middle of the day and says, "You didn't like that old black leather furniture did you?"

I said, "No, why?!"

He says, "Good...you have to go get new stuf because the furniture from the house is gone."

I found out he wanted to use it at the new showroom and it worked out perfectly for me since I disliked the black leather bachelor pad furniture with a passion :)

Well...the wall color has NOT changed yet ---BUT the furniture and some things have...

(notice the lampshade? I painted it)

And check out the new tables...

Don't you just LOVE them???

Pretty snazzy huh?

But WAIT...THERE'S MORE...

You didn't expect me to go shopping and stick to my original shopping list did you?

...nah...

I had a budget and although I went a little above what I was orginally told we could spend...I made out like a BANDIT!

Remember the old family room? The old couch that had been handed down and was basically broken at the bottom???

Look what I scored for 50 bucks :)

Makes my family room almost complete...It's soo comfy. makes me want to snuggle up with a good book and sip a hot tea on rainy day

(All I need is a new lamp---but that will come with time and heheheh more $$$)

Like the ottoman? $5 at a thrift store. Along with the rattan chair $1 at a thrift store. You just can't go wrong with that. I love shopping around. What is one's man trash is another woman's treasure :)

Next up...painting...need some motivational words. Although not a big task...I can always find a reason to put it off.

Updated Guest Room

So..I know I have neglected to write much lately but honestly...with the new job, and the kids, and the house...who has time? Oh...and Dimitri is opening up his show room tomorrow for Mr Granite. (We've been busy--although I will not take credit for that. He has been super busy with getting things prepared)

So...the new colors? They are not pink any longer ;)

Now granted...it looks much more pleasing without the tape. And the top portion of the room is now a lighter shade of green. I am going to accent with gold and red. The colors have that old world feel and with the accents it will remind me of a study set off in the west wing of some estate where the masters of the house go to read leather bound books and smoke their pipes.

(All we need is  a globe---but I think I will get an old world map and have it framed for above the granite desk)

Stay tuned...

I will have curtains up (already purchased) next week sometime.

and...

It's coming together quite nicely :)