I got it!!! (and other updates)

I went with your advice dear readers and ordered desk No. 3!! I ended up getting it for a total of $137 after taxes and shipping!! Woo hoo!! It was ordered on Sunday the 10th with an expected arrival date of Tuesday (?) the 18th. I was a bit disappointed that it would take that long but hey, what can ya do?

To keep me busy, on Tuesday, my order of round tins came in for my spices!! Woo hoo!! I was so excited I tore open the box immediately...









I got three different sizes, though they had many to choose from...



And got to work. First I dug out my spices. These are just a few...



Then I labeled them with permanent marker...



And filled them up...



Next came the tricky part. Super glue. I hate the stuff, or rather my evident lack of ability to use it without gluing myself to... myself. I did ok this time though. I used a Q-Tip to apply the glue and only got stuck to something or other about a dozen times or so.

(*A* took this pic so it's a little blurry but you get the idea.)




I also glued strips to the inside of a cabinet to attach them to. It worked out beautifully, but the glue is not adhering to the cabinet like I want it to so I will use my staple gun on them later today. Remember the movie "Christmas Vacation" with Chevy Chase hanging his lights?? Pray for me...



I can not believe how cool this project turned out!! It is going to open up an entire cabinet for me!! Any spices that didn't fit will go in a tub to be stored else where until needed for a refill.

Here is a random pic of Bear, the puppy that was born in October..



While working on this project I got a call from my FIL saying that my desk had arrived all ready!! I hot footed it over there only to discover that it was just one of the two boxes. :( Knowing that with my luck, box two would wait until the 18th to get here.

Then last night I got another call from Dear FIL. That's right... the second box has arrived!! I'm supposed to go pick it up today, but I think I'll call him and ask if he can drop it off for me. I won't be able to lift it out of the truck once I got it home, and I'd like to get started on putting it together today if at all possible. Wish me "luck"!

I'm so very excited!

TTFN,
Me

I need your help!!

OK, so we didn't get into the camper on time. Things happen. :( However we have made progress since CHRISTmas. Things I HAVE accomplished are

~lining the cabinets and drawers
~all of the painting is completed
~ flooring into the kids room, and on the slide out floor
~the table is put together, but DH and I can not agree on how to fit it in. (It isn't going to fit where I had originally planned unless I don't want to use my best cabinet.)
~first roofing coat is on (though we have to wait for the weather to warm up before applying the second coat)
~bought a new refrigerator (at a discount I might add!)

So dear blog land, I now need your help with computer desks. I need something small, but not compact, with storage (if possible) at a good price. I'm going to put in a picture of the flooring where it will go and the table that will be (sort of) next to it. Then pictures, or links if that won't work, of my top three choices with the pros and cons I see of each one.

First, the table...



And this is where the desk will sit...



Now for the desk options...

No. 1~ It is the "right" color and price range, but has absolutely no storage capabilities at all.

No. 2~ Doesn't match, has no real storage but is on sale this week for 15% off.

No.3~ Has useful storage, good size, wrong color (but matches the bed I will be putting opposite of it). The price isn't "great", but my Father-In-Law gets a discount so that helps. This is my favorite option but DH thinks it is to spend-ie. *I* think that the price is within range given what you get.

So, dear readers, what do you choose?

The perfect Gift!!

Don't you hate when you ask something what they want and the reply is... "Nothing really"? Well here is the solution!!

TTFN!
Me

Re-Post from last year

Are you getting ready for next year??

I am!! I have to. If I waited until fall to start I'd spend WAAAAAYYYY to much and that makes my wallet hurt! I had seen something on a web site earlier in the year to help keep me going through out the year, but then I couldn't remember where I found it. Soooo, I decided to take what I could remember and run with it. This is what I came up with....


This is the front cover of my CHRISTmas notebook. I used a spiral bound note card book. Having started to use it I wish I had used a note card binder instead so I would have a little more flexability.



This page starts my first section.



Our Traditions.....



The next divider looks like this, can you guess what the section is??


Did you guess?? I know you did! It's "people to buy for". I only included a sample of the pages to give you an idea. The first page is a complete list of peeps. Then a couple of pages that look something like this. DH, the kids and Mom each get their own page. The kids pages have a list of those that they get gifts for as well, to help keep track.


Then we come to the next divider, "stuffer stuff"....
Stuffers are my nemasis. First, because they get expensive quickly, and secondly, I usually buy enough to fill 6 of them.



I have a "fabalus" arrangement with my BF where I get her stuff and she gets mine, and then we ship them to each other. I LOVE this!! Each stocking gets it's own page....



The next divider starts my CHRISTmas timeline...



My countdown starts in November...


and goes through the day AFTER CHRISTmas....



The next section is more or less "miscellaneous"...




I've included things not to forget (Santa brings a new tooth brush in our stockings every year). As you can see, I have a line for each type of battery. I just write the number of batteries for each item next to the appropriate type and mark it out when I buy them.


It seems every year I end up with a couple of things I changed my mind about later....


I'm going to add another page for gift ideas. That way if I see something for someone, but have to wait to get it, I can reference back later. It will have the item, price, where I saw it and who I think would enjoy it. I can also take the time to find it elsewhere for less that way! Win, win!

I love this idea and have already implemented it. It looks more daunting a task than it is. Start to finish it only took me about 30 minutes. Wrapping the pages isn't a must, but it makes for great dividers and helps keep the CHRISTmas spirit going. It's the perfect size to fit in my purse so I can keep it with me. I'll never have to try to remember what I've picked up where for whom again!! "Fabalus!!"

Me

Bean Bag Beds

I recently made three VERY large bean bag beds and thought I'd tell all of blog land about it!

First I needed to locate a bunch of beans for filling them. Now, if you look around you will notice that they are extremely expensive! E-bay has them for about $30 PLUS shipping for 11 cu ft!! I figured I would need 30 + per bag soooo. .. that price was NOT going to work! lol I did find a finished bag at WM for $60, but they only had one color and no outer bag. That means I wouldn't be able to wash it at all... not an option!

Then I discovered that I could contact a local foam manufacturer and buy them directly. They price them at $15 for 20 cu ft. The only stipulation is that your order has to be $100 or more. I talked to a friend and we decided that between the two of us we would need 9 bags, 6 being the minimum order. So, with her van emptied out and the back seat folded in we were off.

Let me start by saying that we seriously underestimated the size of these bags!! ROFL!!

Here they are filling the first bag...



This is my friend next to one of the bags. She's... 5' 10" I think...




Now... to get these suckers into her van!!! We had a heck of a time! At one point one of the bags got a hole in it and beans started spewing out like a water hose on full blast!! The whole roof of the van was covered in beans!



We were only able to stuff 5 of the bags in there. Poor Mrs. C had to go back to get the last 4!! Fortunately Mr. C was able to keep her company on the journey as I was not.

Now for the fun part! I went back to the dreaded WM and picked up 3 flat sheets. One for each bag.




I laid the sheet out, folded it top to bottom (right sides OUT) and sewed one short end and the long side...



I did a super-uber stitch to make sure it is good and strong. I also sewed the stitch on the outside so that if it does get a hole it will be easy to find and fix.

Now the scary.... I mean fun part! Filling them!!


Here I am contemplating my next move...



(try to ignore the surrounding garage mess)

Here I am trying to get the bag around the bag of filler without spewing beans all over the place... (I highly recommend NOT talking on the phone at this point)



Then I aquired the help of my DD, BR, and turned the whole thing over so I could remove the bag...



(She's the one behind the camera, btw)

Then I ever so gingerly sewed the remaining side closed and tested it out!



As you can see, we did get a few beans on the floor but nothing to bad!

For a cover I took another full sized flat sheet, folded it top to bottom (right sides together) and sewed it with a straight stitch on two sides. Voila!! All together each bag cost less than $35 start to finish!!

TTFN,
Me

The Philosophy of Ambiguity

The Philosophy of Ambiguity

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF ENGLISH:

Please enjoy and understand the following


1. DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS.

2. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR.

3. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.

4. IF MAN EVOLVED FROM MONKEYS AND APES, WHY DO WE STILL HAVE MONKEYS AND APES?

5. THE MAIN REASON THAT SANTA IS SO JOLLY IS BECAUSE HE KNOWS WHERE ALL THE BAD GIRLS LIVE.

6. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, "WHERE'S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?" SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE.

7. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?

8. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?

9. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?

10. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?

11. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO "GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?"

12. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?

13. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?

14. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?

15. WHY DO THEY LOCK PETROL STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM?

16. IF A TURTLE DOESN'T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?

17. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?

18. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?

19. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?

20. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?

21. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE.

23. DOES THE LITTLE MERMAID WEAR AN ALGEBRA?

24. DO INFANTS ENJOY INFANCY AS MUCH AS ADULTS ENJOY ADULTERY?

25. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?

26. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?

27. IF YOU ATE BOTH PASTA AND ANTIPASTO, WOULD YOU STILL BE HUNGRY?

28. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?

29. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD 'LISP' TO HAVE 'S' IN IT?

30. WHY ARE HEMORRHOIDS CALLED "HEMORRHOIDS" INSTEAD OF "ASSTEROIDS"?

31. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN'T SHOOT AT THEM?

32. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?

33. IF YOU SPIN AN ORIENTAL PERSON IN A CIRCLE THREE TIMES, DO THEY BECOME DISORIENTED?

34. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

Painting Stripes

I (finally) got the bathroom painted yesterday!! Woo hoo!!! It is called "Summer Camp". I thought that a light buttery yellow in a confined space would be nice. The color doesn't show up real well in pictures but I really like it in person. It calms me.....






After that, I spent half the day putting up tape for my stripe experiment in the kitchen. I put 1" stripes every 6". It was a tedious task to say the least! In a camper you have very little "open wall space" to work with, and the spaces that ARE there can be a bit hard to reach. I got it though. I was a bit nervous after taping thinking that it looked funny. But I told myself, "Maybe it's the tape."

So I put on the first coat of yellow paint and went to work on the bathroom a bit. When I came back I thought...

"Yeah, it must be the tape throwing it off. "

With a nervous look on my face and growing dread in a non-disclosed area of my stomach, I added a second coat saying, "I think I'll like it more with a second coat and the tape off. That tape sure is making it hard to 'see' it", and I went to finish the bathroom.

I worked on the bathroom a bit more, then returned to inspect my stripes. This was it... the big reveal... Checking that the stripe was mostly dry, I pulled off the first strip of tape... and then the second....

"Maybe it's the tape?" I thought nervously.

I removed more tape... "Please be the tape!?" The phrase started ringing in my head like church bells calling it's parishioners to service,

"The tape... please be the tape... it has to be the tape making it look wrong... the tape... please be the tape... it HAS to be the tape making it look wrong..."

as I frantically but slowly remove one strip after another. Finally... after what seemed an eternity... I had removed all of the tape.

"Groooaaannnn!!! It's not the tape!!!"

"Maybe if I step back and look at it??"

No such luck. The fact of the matter is that I spent half of my day painting what appear to be circus tent stripes on my kitchen walls only to discover.... I hate it...







So now I'm telling myself that maybe if I paint the window trim yellow and add some (real) curtains it will look ok?? Please??? I really do NOT want to paint over all that hard work and effort. I want to make it work. What do you think dear reader?? Do I paint over the circus stripes or make them work? How can I make them work?? I need your help!!

Yours on a tight rope,
Me