It's Finished!

Before:

and TA-DA!




At this rate, maybe her room will be finished by high school, rather than college.

Tags

I just got tagged by On That Note.... She tagged me to post 7 random facts about myself and then I need to tag seven more people. I feel like my whole blog is random things about myself, so read up! (I'm a party pooper when it comes to tags, so I won't ask it of anyone else.) But thanks for thinking of me Tonja!

Economy

Is it just me, or is that suddenly a dirty word? Honestly, I have been getting a bit panicky lately over all the hubbub. And with the announcements from China today, it kind of pushed me over the edge. So in order to do my part and help the economy (and, let's face it - calm my emotions) I shopped. I realize this is unhealthy therapy, but it works for me so BACK OFF! Lucky for me, bad for the economy, my friend was having a great sale so I didn't pay full price for anything. I scored these little beauties:






And to cheer me up even further, Tonja is having a great Halloween giveaway on her fabulous blog. Check it out!!!

Sneak Peak

Almost finished with the infamous chandelier. Here's a little preview:



Don't these little babies make you want to go shopping?!

Happy Tunesday - Kari Kimmel

My latest iTunes purchase (and loving it).

So...Sleepy...

Too tired to re-cap the party. Went to bed at 4am. If you care, you can go here to check out the fun.

There's Gonna Be A Party Tonight...

WAHOOOOO!!!!! I'm SO ready to get my par-tay on. Details to come...

One Night Stand

I am officially drowing in a sea of literature. This is what my nightstand looks like.


I didn't add anything to enhance the picture, I didn't even dust. (Don't you DARE zoom in!) See, here's the thing: when I want a book from the library, I just put in a hold request and it just so happened that several became available at the same time. The problem is, I now have 3 weeks to read all these (I can't renew because other people are waiting on them too). In the meantime, my bathrooms haven't been cleaned, floor needs to be mopped, chandelier needs to be finished, gotta...get...to...the...gym, etc. And yet here I sit, blogging about it instead.

Happy Tunesday - In The Moment

This gorgeous weather makes me wanna crank-up the tunes. Here's what I am listening to RIGHT NOW:

To Make You Smile by Kari Kimmel
I'd Rather Be With You by Joshua Radin
Stop and Stare by OneRepublic
The Show by Lenka
I Don't Care by Fall Out Boy
Shine by Laura Izibor
Grace Kelly by MIKA
Fidelity by Regina Spektor
Better With You by Five Times August
Vanilla Rain by Alexa Wilkinson
I'm Yours by Jason Mraz
Magic by Colbie Caillat
Allow Me To Introduce Myself...Mr. Right by The White Tie Affair

The Neverending Book Quiz

I've said it before, but I LOVE the Goodreads website. Came across this quiz - yet another fun time-waster I can't afford to waste time on (but do anyway.) Try it out and see what you know about books.

Wanna Cry Your Eyes Out?

Then read this blog.


Carol Decker is a mom who had pregnancy complications. You can read the synopsis here, but basically, she had an emergency c-section at seven months and after many complications, ended up having both legs amputated, her left arm amputated, her right ring-finger amputated and she is blind.

Imagine having your world shaken out from under you like that. I am so impressed by her courage to keep fighting and also by her husband, who has updated their blog almost daily and my heart aches for what they are going through. On the sidebar of their blog are auctions and accounts set up where you can help them. There are some really great things up for bids so spread the word and help this family out!

Happy Tunesday - Two-Faced

Tanja posted about this song yesterday. I HATE it and I LOVE it. I want to hate it - I think it's horrible, but it's one of those catchy, stay-in-your-head ALL NIGHT songs. So I tell myself, "I'm a grown-up (sort of) and I can listen to what I want. But AJ will never hear this one." I realize this makes me the most hypocritical mom in the world, but again - grown-up (ha ha, feeling totally vindicated.) And it got me to thinking: What are some other songs I have on my iPod that I jam to but my kids will never hear? Here's my playlist of sin:

I Kissed A Girl by Katy Perry
SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani
London Bridge by Fergie
Naughty Girl by Beyonce
Candyman by Christina Aguilera
Cherry Pie by Warrant
Cream by Prince

What's your favorite dirty song?

'Tis The Season

Fall is coming - my favorite time of year. I know the heat's not totally over yet, but this week has been quite pleasant. And to completely convince me that the season is changing, I spotted these for sale at the store.


They were absolutely my favorite thing IN THE WORLD when I was a kid. Buying wax lips meant Halloween was just around the corner. Chewing up these (totally disgusting) cherry wax lips brought a joy nothing could touch. In case you're wondering - they are still as gross as they were 20 years ago. And I still got excited when I bought them. Glad I can pass this useful tradition on to my daughter.

Spraypaint Is Good For The Soul

I'm totally stoked about finding out about ReStore for Habitate for Humanity. It is a place where you can donate your WORKING appliances, lighting fixtures, etc. and it is open to the public if you want to buy anything. And everything is guaranteed to work. Need a door?


Or a light fixture?


Even a new bathtub?

And best of all, any money spent goes directly to Habitat.

I am (still) working on AJ's room and have been wanting to do a chandelier without spending a fortune. I found this treasure for $25:


What it looks like now: (I'm half tempted to leave it white - I love it)


What it's going to look like when I finish:

Wouldn't you like to know!? You'll just have to wait. Are you as excited as me? (No, but I'm excited enough for ALL OF YOU!)

Happy Tears

If you blog, I'm sure by now you've heard of what's happened to NieNie and her family. CJane updates the world on their progress daily. I have been moved by this amazing story, but I'm not really a "crier". (Yesterday was a freak show of emotion - that doesn't count. I refuse to turn into my mother who cries over everything, including every episode of Little House On The Prairie.) However, today, I finally let it go. Because I saw this video.

At the end, it shows different shots people from all over the world who have pulled together for this family and I was OVERWHELMED by the sense of good and love that still exists in the world. We hear too much of violence and war and sadness and disease and think the world is going to hell in a handbasket. But when I saw that video, it reminded me that this world is FILLED with loving mothers, close friends, close-knit families, caring husbands, tender children, and GOOD. There is so much good. And I was overwhelmed.

First Day of School

A.J. started preschool today {{sniff sniff}}. I love that little girl. She is so excited to finally go.


I did good too - didn't cry a drop this morning (probably because I got it all out last night when I was packing her first school lunch - I hope she doesn't taste my tears in her peanut butter.) Tears when I got home from dropping her off don't count either.





She has been my whole life for the past 3 1/2 years and I really don't know what to do with myself now. I guess I could write a four-hour blog post. Or better yet, I have two movie rentals due back this week. If I get started now, I could watch them both before school's out. I'm feeling less depressed by the minute!

Teacher Gift

I had so much fun making glitter cups last week, I decided to take it to the next level. Enter Jamba Juice mug.


And with a little mod podge, blue glitter and a clutter cluster, VOILA!




Here is the tag I attatched and I put a Jamba giftcard inside.


Can't believe my baby's starting preschool tomorrow?!!? I want to start crying now, but I can't. It's LABOR DAY and that means... LABOR. (Sorry Craig.) We are spit-shining this house from top to bottom.


By tonight, it's going to "Shine like the top of the Chrysler Building!"