A Time For Everything

The bulk of the work for my writing group's new contest (more on that Wednesday) is done.

I spent the weekend worried that there was something I should have been doing. I kept pondering what that might have been. I kept up with questions and judges acknowledging receipt of panels, but other than that, there wasn't anything that needed my undivided constant attention. Whew.

Instead, I puttered around the house. Something I haven't done in ages and it felt good and nice and a tad bit indulgent. I still kept thinking that some task for the contest needed doing, but I couldn't think of what aside from what I was already doing (see above).

Of course, I did the usual must-accomplish weekend chores: grocery shopping and laundry.

I also cleaned out a closet. It's practically empty now. Some stuff went straight in the bin, some went into the donation pile, one box had an assortment of old VHS tapes. I'd been wondering what had happened to Gone With the Wind! There were some other movie treasures in there that I think I can make some money from at some point, but that's a post and project for another day.

 The house still needs a good going over, though. Once I'm working part time from home, I plan on getting back to my old method of cleaning house (another blog post for later).

As for my future, a few weeks ago, I mentioned DD had talked about moving out by May when Sonshine graduates from high school. Then the plan sort of stalled for a few weeks. But it appears to be on again and the move-out date has been moved up to no later than mid-March. I mean, she packing her room up and making lists of must-have things for her new abode...

So soon I will have a bedroom to decide what to do with and then redecorate!

Here's what it sort of looks like now:



Sonshine has requested a guest room, though I'm not sure why since we rarely have guests that stay overnight. Well, except a random friend of his, but they usually end up crashing on the couch.

I guess it's time for a trip to Lowe's to look at their paint cards. I like the ones that show the rooms painted already rather than just the cards with variations on a shade.

Any suggestions for my new room?

As planned, the molding in my spare room received its second coat as did the wall and the door.

WOOT!

I also DAPped along the top of the chair-rail molding and around the window. Ooohh...it looks so nice. :)

Next up on the agenda: install the door knob and paint the molding around the door and DAP it as well.

I also found a desk and a chair today--though I have to order it online.

And I'm going to buy another faux wicker chair so I have a pair.

My son, not me.

For his efforts of unpacking/stocking the fireworks we can't sell this year and for which he will not get his usual payment as if we were open and able to sell, we bought Sonshine a skateboard.

He was up and out of the house at 6:45 this morning to skateboard with his buddies. YAY!

As for me, I finally got the last wall in my spare bedroom, which we have decided to turn into a computer room/study, painted. One coat, but it looks so much better. My plan is to add the second coat tonight, as well as work on a second coat to all the trim. I also started painting the wooden four-peg rack I bought and the wooden shelf brackets.

Once the wall and molding are done, it'll be time to work on the floor. I've decided just to paint a rug. I'm going to leave about nine inches of the current flooring showing around the edges and paint the middle like a square rug. It'll be white with a colored stripe about 4-5 inches in. Or I was thinking of splattering the colored paint for an abstract pattern, but I'm not real sure about that yet.

I'm excited because I'm almost at the end of this project--the urgency has hit again now that Sonshine's home. See when his friends spend the night they are all over the living room, and when I get up early on Saturday & Sunday mornings, I have no place to sit and drink tea and read or write. Plus hubby wants home office space. He may get it, but it's going to be on my terms and look a bit girly. :)

...the cleaning.

June is just around the corner. And of course so is July. Specifically, the 4th of July. Independence Day comes early at our house. Usually starting with D-Day.

I've got you scratching your head now, don't I?

Well, it's like this:

My men go to Oklahoma to play the annual paintball scenario called D-Day. It's usually the second weekend of June. They leave Friday, come home Sunday.

Then...the following weekend (usually) they leave for Elm Mott where the fireworks store is located, and where they will stay until the 5th or 6th of July.

Along with getting them packed up and ready to go, I clean house. A really thorough job of it so that I can enjoy the clean while the men are gone and not waste the time to clean once they've left. Of course, there'll be a bit of tidying up to do once they've cleared the driveway, but not much.

Not only have I been cleaning, I've been cleaning out. Drawers, closets, surfaces, etc. If I can't remember the last time I wore it or looked at it or read it, it goes (mostly). Trash or the donation pile. It's a good feeling to reclaim the space and to see the house look tidy.

On Saturday, I helped a friend paint a couple of walls in her apartment. She chose a lovely yellow-orange color called Golden Chime. It looked really awesome and looked good all day. I say that because she only has a west facing sliding glass door for light. So it looked good without direct sunlight as well as with it. It looked good with her burgundy leather furniture. And it didn't make her apartment look any smaller than it already is. After that, I helped her sort through several containers of stuff and by the time I left, it looked like a completely different place.

I was motivated to work on my own painting project and finally applied the second coat to the upper walls of my spare bedroom. I pulled off all the painters tape and it looks wonderful. I've decided to do everything else white. My color choices weren't the brightest so in order to not make the room look any darker, I'm going with white. Last wall, all the molding, and the floor. So now I have to buy white paint. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the gallon of green I have or the quart of turquiosey blue, but I'll figure something out.

Add laundry and floor mopping and I'm officially bushed. But hopefully I burned a lot of calories along the way. :)

Apparently there's something still on the hard drive. The official "C: format" has been tried thrice. To save us all the hassle of jargon and explanations no one will understand, it's not working. So hubby thinks there's still something on there preventing the operating system from installing properly. Grrr, grrr, and triple GRRRR!

I hate not having my own computer with all my things right where I know to find them.

Well, on to more interesting stuff...

DD and I watched the last four episodes of season two of Grey's Anatomy last night. Pretty powerful episodes all, bringing us both to tears several times. It's quite a feat for DD to tear up. She's usually pretty stoic.

I'm working on the 4th Harry Potter book again, HP and the Goblet of Fire. It's one of the longest books in the series.

In lieu of visiting my jail bird, who's not allowed visitors (along with the rest of her block) for 20 days, I went to Lowe's and bought another gallon of the paint I needed for my spare room. I didn't actually paint, mind you, but I'm ready for the weekend. Baby steps, baby steps. I am so ready to have this room finished. You'd think that would spur me on to work faster, but I have a limited amount of energy. Last week when I painted the lower half of the walls, my poor legs ached for two days. A good kind of ache, but still. :)

And so, back to work I go...

Girls Writers Weekend (really, just an evening/following day) was a success. Marty and I successfully navigated our way to Dallas and found our friend's apartment without any trouble. We chatted, ate, and wrote on Friday. Saturday, we ate, chatted, wrote, and took a walk around the complex walking trail, around a small lake/pond thing with a fountain and turtles and coi. The trip home was a little dicey out of Dallas (sorry, Marty!) as traffic backed up on the way we needed to go and cars were flying across lanes in both directions to get were they wanted to be, so we had a bit of close shave. Once we got past that, though, the rest of the trip was relatively quick and easy.

Sunday was very productive. I got the second coat of paint on the paneling in my spare bedroom. YAY. My upper legs are very sore today from the crouching--the real, solid-wood paneling is on the lower half of the wall rather than sheet rock. Next step will be . . . hmmm . . . I should probably put a second coat on the ceiling and upper walls. Which means I have to go buy more of that color. I'm also waffling on whether or not to actually paint the one solid wall the lighter green color or leave it/paint it white. It also has paneling on it, though it's not the same as the other walls. We put up this wall to create this room from the dining room so rather than sheet rock, we used thin sheets of paneling. It's already white, but a bit dingy. I really wanted an open, airy, light room, but forgot how dark paint will dry. So I think I'm going to paint the wall white so as to help keep the room as light as possible. I'm also debating on leaving the chair rail molding/window and door trim white as well, rather than the lovely turquoise-y blue I bought. (I am taking pictures, so we'll see before and after.)

Then yesterday afternoon, as part of Sonshine's punishment for fibbing last week, he had to work on cleaning out the garage. So we got about half of that accomplished. It'll look much better once the local charity advertises its next visit to our neighborhood as we'll be able to get rid of the large pile of stuff we have for them. That'll help tremendously, too.

The kids and I played a couple of games, which was nice. And DD and I watched a bit of Grey's Anatomy while Sonshine tried to build something from all the scraps he cleared out of the garage. First it was going to be a dog house, but then he decided to build me a little step stool. That ultimately failed as he really didn't have the right kind of wood for the job. But he he was outside and using his brains and his brawn for a change. :)

So overall, a most excellent weekend.

Reading and more reading. I've burned through the first three Harry Potter books and started the fourth one last night. They're getting more and more interesting. I struggled to get through the first one, less struggle with the second, etc. I also told myself I couldn't move on to the corresponding movie till I finished the book, so there's incentive. The movie took a huge departure from the book, but I can understand why. The fourth book is about twice the size of the first two, so I imagine I'll see quite a few more changes next movie.

Writing and more writing...I've been participating in the Robin Hood InterComm competition again this year. Posting ended last night and I was able to squeeze two more fics in yesterday afternoon. All in all a good writing week, somewhere between 1500 and 2000 words. I wasn't counting, just writing. :)

Arithmetic...and so it's Monday which means I am back at work and updating our financials. Not my favorite task, but one I must do everyday.

I had planned to get some painting done this weekend, but the temps dropped a bit and I got wrapped up in getting those last two fics written. Maybe I'll do a bit this evening, just so I'm making progress...unless Harry Potter starts calling my name....though it would be nice to have the room done so that when sonshine and his friends take over the living room, I have somewhere to retreat to.

Hope you had a good weekend...

Week number two with little or no words written. It feels good. I have a story to finish and I've been given a weeks' reprieve. Maybe I'll finish it in time, maybe I won't, though it will get finished soon.

I think I mentioned I watched all the Harry Potter movies with my family last week and the week before. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is my favorite so far. Daniel Radcliffe has a new fan, so I'll be checking out some of his other work soon. I've also started reading the books. Only 60 or so pages left of the first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

I painted this past Saturday, too. My spare/guest room. I'm taking pictures as I go. And it's all very thrilling. It's gone from a stark white room to a room that's half white and half "Cream of Mushroom". Yes, laugh, Mom. It's quite funny since I hate the soup. But the color's quite nice and matches the bed spread. My DD and I only got one coat up as a) the room took a really long time to dry b)we need to buy another gallon as the room soaked up the paint like a sponge and c) I was really sore from all that rollering over my head. Plus my legs were really achy, although whether from painting or not, I don't know. Hubby had to give me two hard-core massages and the knots are not gone yet.

The weather here is great, again. I slept with the windows open again, too.

TTFN

It's been a really long year. Between financial hardships and drug-addicted-daughter woes, 2010 has been dubbed the year from hell. I suffered with mild depression for most of it. It (the depression and the year from hell) probably all started back in November of 2009 when my daddy died. Then it all went down hill from there.

All that to say that I am finally ready to re-enter my life. For the past year I have escaped to/hidden in the Internet and fan fiction. I've made online friends I don't want to lose, but I am definitely ready to live in the real world again.

Tonight, when I got home from work, I actually worked on the spare room--not just thought about it. It was our oldest daughter's room till she moved out and it has been sitting empty (dog beds and water bowl aside) since her departure last June. Part of it was that if she decided to come home, I didn't want her to think we had been eager to be rid of her. But I'm ready to move forward, whether she returns home or not after her stint in jail/drug rehab. So...I dug out the primer and finished painting the chair rail molding and the window trim said daughter started painting and never finished. I still have to paint the bottom portion of the wall where the baseboard molding used to cover and the small sections from behind the outlet covers she didn't take off.

And you know what? It felt good to be active and moving. I've been so sedentary, really sedentary, that I just generally felt weak and lacking energy.

On top of that, I have had an epiphany of sorts. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really want to be a writer. That I don't want to pursue publication. Oh, I enjoy writing and I enjoy learning about different aspects of writing, but getting published is hard and I really don't want to put in the effort and hard work.

I've been trying to figure out what it is I do want to do. And I've come to the conclusion that I want to be a housewife and do whatever the hell I want. If I want to read or write or bake or play a computer game all day or sit in my yard or play with my dogs, then that's what I'd like to be able to do. I really have no grand dreams of being this or that or some other thing. Someday...

Speaking of computer games, I got the second version of a game I had several years ago and have been having fun playing and not putting pressure on myself to write.

It was a good day.

Well, while the hubby's away, the wifey will...redecorate!

Yes, that's what I've been doing since Sunday. I had to keep my initial efforts on the Q-T since hubby was going to make one last trip home Monday to take care of Monday morning staff meeting and a must-keep appointment. But now he's in Leroy for the duration unless an emergency crops up.

Anyhow, he's been lamenting the sad state of our home--it's been in a holding pattern on various projects for many years because our business and our employees require so much maintenance. And by the time hubby has dealt with all of that, he's too tired to tackle much of anything else. Our living room, specifically, needs an overhaul--especially since the kitchen now looks soooo nice.

So I decided to tackle the living room project while the boys are out of the house and as a surprise and part early anniversary (7/19) gift for hubby. You know that show that used to be on HGTV--the one where a room was redecorated for $500 or less?? Well, that's my goal.

I've picked out a color scheme, which conveniently ties into the kitchen. I've removed moldings and washed down the walls. I've moved everything out of the living room I could move by myself. I've removed wall plates. I've removed nails.

I'm just about ready for the next step--getting the front window finished on the inside. I need my father-in-law for that. After that's done, it'll be time to paint! Woo hoo! That's my favorite part of any project. I'll need my FIL again for putting up the new molding, and possibly louvered doors, and possibly shelving.

But whatever I can do by myself, I will, I just don't have the upper body or arm strength to use a power drill or air gun. But hey... my girls do! Believe it or it not, my oldest daughter is quite procient in the use of power tools--a must for any modern woman, no?? ;)

After all of that--and I wish it were going to be as quick and easy as it sounds here--it'll be time to re-hang wall decorations, add a few new plants, and re-arrange the furniture. And wa-la--a brand new living room.

Well, one day, and one task at a time.

I hope he likes it...

We're getting closer...

the kitchen ceiling is done. And boy does it look nice. The trim around the light fixture is painted, too. The only wall left is the skinny sections above the cabinets. But that will take maybe thirty minutes from start to finish, including prep and cleanup.

Then I'll be in a holding pattern until DH can purchase and cut the baseboard, chair rail, and crown molding. His grand plan was to take half a day off work to do that, but it's turned into one of those days...

I did finally buy some new dishes so that I could dump my Ivy-patterned Corelle dishes. I was very excited--at first. Then, as I was unpacking the pieces, I discovered the serving bowl was broken. And I'm 99.99% sure *I* didn't break it. Bummer. Then as I washed each piece before putting it away, I discovered it really was a cheap set. But rather than be overly upset over either event (the broken bowl or the cheapness) I figured I could use them for now until I get something nice and with some quality, and then I can use this set as a backup if I ever have sooo many people eating at my house that that the good set just won't accomodate.

I also did some Christmas shopping this morning. Gotta get those gifts bought so I can get them mailed before we leave. I've got less than a month now, as we leave 12/22.

Well, gotta get back to work...