It's Just Getting Funny

You know those people that always have bad luck?

Like Mandy Moore's character in Scrubs:

I'm inspired how well she embraced her misfortunes.

I say this because, just to pour salt on an open wound, my computer has a virus.

And what a virus it is....

Worse we've ever had...

So while I beg my I.T. friend to look at my computer, I may not be posting frequently. I was able to steal a few minutes on my mother's computer today since I just got done mowing her lawn.

I...just...need....a....toe....hold.....

lol.

I'm at the point where I can't help but to just laugh at everything that's been going on.

BUT hopefully it will be a good day today.

I got to go to church this morning. I haven't had a Sunday off of work in FOREVER, so it was nice being able to go with my family.

Anyways, I have a million things that need to get done today, so I had better be off.

Wish me luck that my computer gets fixed!

And So It Begins...

We are finally back home, and I couldn't be more happy.

Our eldest and his All-Star team ended up getting 2nd place in the state tournament, which is AMAZING for our small little town.

After the 4.5 hour drive home, I spent the remainder of the night working on a 15 page book report.

This morning, I woke up at 2am to finish my book report.

At about 4am, I began to study for a huge exam that I needed to take at 7:30am. (Which I got a 91% on!! Woohoo!)

Once I got home, I made lunch and then brought my daughter to the doctor's office for some shots (she didn't even cry! Tough like her mama...)

Now I am making supper.

I haven't stopped moving. Ugh....but tonight I'm shooting for bed at 8pm, lol.

Anyways, we had a great time in the quaint city of Dodgeville, WI.

The Cave of the Mounds was amazing.

Anyways, I'm deciding to get off my mopey (mopie? mope-y? lol) butt and start being my old self again. I'm trying to find low/no cost projects for the house.

I already have one in mind, so stick around for that!

Now to just find the time....lol

Sunshine in the Storm

Things have been a little rough, lately, for my family.

You guys already know a bit of our troubles, and your support and encouraging words mean the world to me!

I just want everyone to peek at what we've been doing the past few days.

We've been down state for my eldest's All-Star State Tournament.

So far, our shining city hasn't lost!

Everyone's morale is high, and we are having a great time!

We also got to tour a plane for FREE.

And soon (depending on the tournament schedule and such), we will be touring a cave!

You see, times are rough for us, REALLY rough....but when the kids were very young, my husband and I said that our kids will never be deprived of experiences because of finances.

I want my kids to have every opportunity that every other kid has.

So, no, we can't take an awesome vacation this summer, but with very careful budgeting, I believe we have given our eldest a summer vacation worth remembering.

And I couldn't be more pleased ;)

A Hard Knock Life

I'm so glad that most my readers are sticking with me even with my lack of posting new and exciting projects.

It really warms my heart, everyone!

It may be a while before I can post anything. I have a feeling that the next few weeks/months may end up being personal postings.

You see, we have lost our primary source of income.

While this is devastating to our family, we have been in far worse situations than this, so I remain optimistic that everything will turn around for us soon.

We have just been taking it day by day, taking advantage of every opportunity available.

Actually, this has been quite a learning experience for me. I am learning a whole new meaning of the term "thrifty."

I hope to "see" everyone again soon!

A Lemon?

I love browsing the "As Is" section of stores. Most flaws are either not noticeable or easily fixable.

For instance:

At Bed Bath & Beyond, I found these two matching stools:

Both were in the "As Is" section.

One was marked $12.98 because the pieces didn't align up properly, as in "Manufacturer's Defect," but in fact it was just the store personnel's fault. They put it together wrong. I fixed it.

The matching stool was marked $2.98 (Not a typo!) because it was missing the wooden plugs to go over the screws.

That's a 98 cent fix from Menards.

These stools are going for $29.99 a piece on BB&B's website right now.

They were originally $39.99

So...instead of paying $60 for the pair, I paid $17.

Moral of the Story:

Someone else's opinion of "broken" (whether it be objects or people) may be "perfect" in your opinion.

Work hard, Play harder

I like to think that I'm a hard-working individual.

With juggling so many things at once, I become a little ball of stress.

Sometimes it's okay to blow off some steam with some good pals.

Sometimes it's okay to put a bottle rocket in your good pals back pocket.

;)

Don't worry, we had his permission!

With our love of fireworks and our lack of regard for personal safety, I'm really REALLY glad my aunt gave us a fire extinguisher.

Now what to do with the 96 shot  roman candle...

Pooped.

Wow, can you believe it's been a week since I posted anything?

I'm extremely sorry about my absence. I just haven't done any projects to post.

School has been kicking my butt. I promised myself I would never take an accelerated course ever again, but here I am, taking another one.

I've become well acquainted with my school's human cadavers...

My boys are also in summer sports. Today was the last day for my eldest's baseball, but he happened to make the All-Star League, so now we are doing series of tournaments.

My youngest son is also in T-ball.

I've been also getting ready for our annual 4th of July bash. It's a big hit with friends and family, so much preparation needs to be done!

Most of my energy is spent just keeping my head above water.

I haven't gotten my fence done yet, either. I am in the midst of arguing with Menards about a $75 rebate that should have arrived by now. I'm not a happy customer right now, let's put it that way...

I have, however, transplanted some lilac bushes and hostas. Now I just need to split my rhubarb <3

So, I will hopefully start doing some projects for you, again, soon!

This is how I feel like lately:

Pooped.

Check For Cancer, You Bronzed Goddess!

If anyone's not aware, I've been going to school for nursing.

No, maybe it's not my dream job, but I actually think it's one of the most useful jobs ever.

My kids get sick, I know if I should bring them to the hospital or not.

I understand copious amounts of healthy-living choices.

So anyways, today I've got an important doc appointment.

Moles.

Yep.

Did anyone else tan like nobody's business in high school?

I did...

....a lot.

There's the "ABCD's" chart for mole checking to guess if it's cancerous.

This is the exact one in one of my schoolbooks.

I have two that are "uh-ohs."

I'm hoping that they are benign.

If it's cancerous, I'm hoping for basal cell carcinoma.

It generally doesn't metastasize (spread), and occurs roughly 73% of all cancerous moles.

Dig 'em out, and you're golden.

Anyways, I know this is an odd (disgusting?) post today, but I like every single one of my readers, and your health is very important to me.

Have you checked your moles lately?

Wish me luck!

Tomorrow!

The wait is almost over!

I have everything done in the living room, but unfortunately, I will be working all day today, and by the time I get home, the lighting won't be good enough for pictures.

So expect the grand reveal tomorrow!

Don't Believe Everything You Hear

I went to Menards yesterday to talk to a store associate about bamboo blinds.

I thought the bamboo would give a nice, breezy, beachy look to the room.

Like this dining room:

Photo Cred

Not in my size.

Bummer.

=(

So I found a store associate, and started talking shop.

"Can I special-order these in a different size?" -Me

"Yes, but no one has yet because instead of $20, you'll pay $300" -Menards lady

"Yeah, that's not going to happen. I see that you can cut down vinyl shades. Can you cut down bamboo shades as well?" -Me

"No. The shade isn't made to make adjustments." -Menards lady

"Thank you for your help!" -Me, thinking obviously you don't know what I'm capable of.

Silly girl.

So I took them home, studied it a bit, then cut them up.

And they work perfectly.

Moral: Don't believe everything you hear. Believe in your own capabilities instead.

I wish, wish, wish, I could show you my bamboo blind accomplishment, but it would give away the entire room, so I can't.

I haven't gotten a mailing invoice yet from Ebay, so I don't even know when I'm getting my box. Therefor, I have no idea when I can show you the room!

But as a little peek, I'll show you that I've been bringing in lilacs by the bucketload!

Cala lilies are my favorite flower to look at.

Lilacs are my favorite flower to smell.

I can't wait to transplant all those bushes!

Tomorrow:

-How to get wax out. (A decor project for the living room)

Really?!

Have you ever seen those soothing sound machines?

They play soothing sounds to get you to relax and fall asleep.

-heartbeat

-ocean waves

-summer rain

-white noise

-lullabies

-etc.

These would all make me pass out pretty quickly.

Then I saw this model at work yesterday. I took this picture with my camera phone, and it doesn't have a focus. Sorry for the general blurriness.

Dear Conair,
I would like to know who the person is that suggested that blaring horns and clanking metal would be soothing.
Please fire him/her immediately.
                                                                                A Concerned Customer,
                                                                                  Brittany

Mother's Day

I never knew how much you love me until I had kids of my own....

This is the woman that taught me that a woman can do anything just as well as a man.

She's also the one that taught me that it's also important to rock 5 inch heels, too.

My mom rocks!

Happy Mother's Day to all my Mommy readers out there! I hope you had a wonderful day!

Featured at The DIY Show Off (and an update!)

Hey guys!

I woke up this morning to an awesome email from Roeshel at The DIY Show Off!

She featured an old project of mine on her blog.

I'm sure everyone out there in the blog world has heard of her, but if not, go check her out!

On another note, our new dishwasher is in! It has many more features than my old Bosch, which is awesome!

My step-dad redid the plumbing and electrical. I'm glad he was able to appreciate the half-assed ways of the previous owners of this house.

=P

And the trim is 20% done in the living room. My mom is a remodeling expert, and she gave me a helping hand just when I was about to throw a hammer through the wall.

Maybe if this darn house was level....

Talk to Your Neighbors

My mom always said "Be nice to your neighbors. After all, they are the only ones looking after your home when you're gone."

Good advice!

I finally got my land surveyed for a fence.

That's awesome!

Though again, we're not sure if we will have the cash to actually erect it this year.

(This happens every year!)

Why?

While I was putting in our floors, Hubs was being a sweetheart and doing some chores.

He put in a load of dishes, turned it on, and left.

I came through the kitchen to get to my workshop, and noticed that my dishwasher was smoking!

I ran to the basement and killed the power to the entire house (not going to spend time looking for the exact fuse to the dishwasher!)

It was fried!

Here's my husband tearing out the dishwasher.

Which, by the way, took us 3 hours!

DON'T BUTT UP NEW FLOORING AGAINST OLD APPLIANCES!

I'm yelling that to the previous owners, not you!

Was it seriously that hard of a task to take out the dishwasher, then install the flooring underneath?

Ugh...

I had to cut a section of flooring out, and a bit of trim from my cabinets.

Nothing that a bit of trim can't fix!

=)

Oh, and no, it wasn't Hub's fault, our dishwasher has been acting cranky for the past couple months. I knew it would be junk soon, I just didn't think it would start smoking!

So today I am picking up our new dishwasher!

<3

So, like I said, we got the land surveyed.

In the survey, I learned that this tree is on my property:

I've always been a bit jelous of my neighbor for this tree.

It's a plum tree!

Pretty, right?

And it smells sooooo good when it's flowering!

The tree's little offspring is also on my property:

So I had to talk to my neighbor about what we were going to do about this.

Turns out, this was my tree all along!

And to think, I had been jelous of my own tree this whole time....

Moral of the story:

Talk to your neighbors. You might find out an interesting thing or two!

It's Good To Be Back!

Well, I'm back!
I see that we have some new people around here!
Welcome!

For those that are new, I was absent for a week due to my son's "Media Challenge" at school. No tv, video games, or computer for one entire week.
Let me tell you, that really is a challenge!

Since doing ANYTHING is better than sitting in front of a blank screen, we all exhausted ourselves this week!

My week:
1. Installed walls and trim in the playhouse. I can't wait to show you that!

2. Fixed our basketball hoop. A bolt loosened up and fell out sometime this past winter, and it was just begging to fall down off the garage and onto our vehicles!

3. Fixed my husband's tailgate trim on his truck.

4. Mulched my gardens for the first time after buying our house. Hehe, yeah, that's sad...

5. Planted a raspberry and blackberry bush for Earth Day!

6. Went to Milwaukee to watch a Brewers game (we got spanked!), then went to Chuck E. Cheese's on the way home!

7. Trimmed more kitchen cabinets.

8. Said "bye" to our very best friends who moved to North Dakota. =(

9. My husband cleaned our garage spotless! I didn't even ask him to! He rocks!



I learned a lot from this little experiment!
There's a lot more time in the day if you just shut off the tv!
The kids don't miss tv as much as you would expect. They had more fun flying kites with me!



Anyways, it's great to be back, I missed you all!
Stick around, I have lots of projects for you coming up!

Vacation; Heads Up For This Week

Wow, I've had an amazing day!

My sister-in-law gets us tickets to Six Flags: Great America every year (well, for the past two years anyways, lol!) through work. Thanks E!

Since I had to work until close last night, we wouldn't be able to start our vacation a day early.

So we got the troops up at 5:00am, and were out of the door at 5:45am!

The kids had such a blast!

And it's pretty much the coolest thing ever that I inherited a sister-in-law that has a passion for scary rollercoasters as much as I do.

Here we are doing what we love:

Pictured: random boy, Elisa, me, random girl.

We bombed it back home after the park closed.

I have officially been in 3 states today!

On another note, I'm sad to tell everyone that I will be absent from the blog-o-sphere for 1 entire week.

I'm participating in a Media Challenge for my son's school. For an entire week, we can't watch tv, movies, play video games, use a computer (except for quick school purpose.)

Nothing.

Not even a little!

So, though I won't be posting anything from the 19th to the 25th, you can bet that I will be working hard on tons of things to show you when I finally can come back on my beloved computer.

No Facebook?

Ugh....

My poor neglected email....

Not really looking forward to this.

On the bright side, I really want to start a Family Fun Night, and this would be a great way to start it off!

So until April 26th!

I look forward to "seeing" everyone soon!

 

Working Hard; Plans; Anniversary

Wow, fixing up a pint-sized house is a lot of work! Who would have knew?

I got the windows done, and I'll show you how I did those.

These were the old windows. Well, lack there of. It was two smaller pieces of plexiglass that would slide on a track similar to closet doors. With only 2 pieces of wood holding them in, it was quite easy for the kids to pop them out.

Not to mention that 2 tracks were broken...

This let tons on bugs in. Bees and spiders were the worst. I'm not a fan....

Anyways, so I made a basic from of 1x2's on the inside.

(yes, the screw holes still need to be filled. I'm working on the inside now, so it will be done soon!)

Then I put in my piece of (sturdier!) plexiglass. I made another 1x2 frame to sandwich the window in.

I filled in the screw holes and stained it.

It's starting to come together!

(Ugh...I really need to touch up this paint on the trim....)

The inside was the worst part of this playhouse.

I just added some 2x2 firring strips to the walls.

It's hard to explain the reasoning of why I did that. I guess you'll just have to see the end product!

I'm hoping, if everything goes right, that the walls should be done by next weekend.

On another note, I just picked up my first raspberry bush! So in between working on the playhouse, I'm FINALLY starting my berry garden that I've wanted so badly since we bought this house 4 years ago. I will have my entire back fence all raspberry and blackberry bushes!

It won't bear fruit for 2-3 growing seasons, but once they do, I will be in heaven!

And lastly, I just want to say, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO MY HUSBAND AND ME!

He's my world.

Photo Creds

What happened?!

Spring was in the air.

Buds were forming on the trees.

Flowers were bursting out of the ground.

I was starting my outdoor projects.

Then this happened...

Dear Lord,

I believe that you have mistaken the UP of Michigan for Alaska.

I forgive your mistakes, just as you forgive mine, but could you please bring back the birds and flowers?

Amen.

The Lord must have heard my prayers, because the roads are almost entirely clear and my hardy flowers can once again be seen.
What funny weather we're having...

Things and Stuff...

Okay, I know 3 posts in one day is pretty ridiculous.

Maybe if I stayed on track for my "31 Days" series....

Anyways. I just want to let you in on a few things that will be happening around here soon.

1. I've been doing wordworking. I'm building like crazy (that's why there's not as many little craft posts). I'm not done yet, so expect that in about a week.

2. I've been whittling. You'll get to see what I made tomorrow.

3. I've been organizing. I'm crazy smitten with this project. I saw it in a book, and I had to have it! You'll see this in a couple days.

4. I've been planning. Planning my new craft room, that is! We are giving the boys each their own TV instead of having a game room in the basement. That room is being converted into my own HUGE craft room! Better yet, it was my husband that suggested it. I love him <3

Anyways, I have a huge lineup ready for you, so I hope you stick around to see all the awesome projects to come!

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

...and a Happy Birthday to me!

As I promised myself, I tried to be festive this year...

Green wreaths on the cabinets.

Themed cupcakes.

(That ended up being made from scratch because I forgot to buy cake mix and frosting at the store >.<)

This guy hangs out on my bookshelf.

And my little guy made me a cake. We used kiwi as a garnish (hey, it's green right?)

I hope everyone has a fun (and safe!) holiday!