From Drab to Fab!

Not too long after I had re-decorated Isabella's bedroom, Michelle and Shawn made the decision to move in together and start their life as a family and that family included Isabella.  So, I was left with a rather large bright pink and orange guest bedroom.  I didn't want to repaint it as they were going to be close and we thought that Bella might be a frequent visitor, and it was still 'home' to her.  I made the best of it and bought an inexpensive comforter set for the bed we had, found a small dresser to buy that didn't cost too much, and generally pulled the room together with things that we had or had to purchase without spending a fortune.  One of those things that I bought for the room was a lamp.  I found on for about $15 a Taget that matched the room and suited our purposes.  It was fine, but a little plain.  I forgot to take a before picture of the whole thing, but here is what the shade looked like:

Nothing special, pretty color but rather drab.

It had been driving me crazy.  I knew that I had to do something about it and it would't take much time, I just had to do it.  Sometimes getting down to it is half the battle.. 

Saturday as I was walking by the room the lamp caught my eye and I walked in the room and grabbed the shade off the lamp and went to town.  A little while later and, voila!

Drab no more.  Hello Fab!  Isn't it cute!   So much more interesting to look at and Oh! so much more me!

A couple of yards of ribbon, 3 ribbon flowers a glue gun and there you have it.  Easy Peasy!

One Step Forward...

Two step back.  Just when I feel like I'm getting somewhere something always stops me in my tracks.  Here I a chugging along finally making progress again, feeling like I am getting back into a groove after the business of the last few months.  I've made some progress in my craft room, been able to get some organizing done and I've even been able to get moving on some crafts.  The weekend came around and I had some momentum going.  I was rocking and feeling good. 
So I spent much of Saturday catching up on some house cleaning.  It was a beautiful day out and I threw open the windows, and just cleaned.  I got the Easter decorations put away-finally, even going through everything and packing things neatly and getting rid of things that i haven't used in a few years.  Then I just went from one room to the next and really got a lot done.  I even cooked a very nice meal for dinner.  I know!  A real Betty Crocker type, can you believe it?!
Sunday we were expecting Tim and Esther to come over and pick up a few items of furniture that Tim had been keeping here that he was going to be moving into their new apartment.  So we went shopping for some groceries since we asked the newlyweds to join us too.  We also stopped at Home Depot to look at some storm doors that the Mr. wants to put in and got some picture hangers and headed home.  I did have an ulterior motive in mind when I had agreed to go with him shopping, I wanted his help in hanging some pictures in my room when we got home.  So since we bought the hangers and had what we needed, we headed upstairs and got to work.  I have a few pictures to add still, but it is almost done!  Yipee!!  I've been waiting for so long.  Can't believe I was finally able to wrangle him into it!  Then Tim called to say he wasn't coming because it was pouring rain and he had rented a pick up truck so that was that.

Then along comes Monday.  I hate Mondays anyway, but this Monday was going to be busy because I was working on another move.  That's right, our build out was finished and now it was time to move in furniture and re-arrange and shuffle other furniture and other items and it was one busy day!  I was on my feet for the whole 10  hours.  Just as I was finishing up and running to get my things and get out of there, Bella called.  I asked how her day was going and she said 'Awesome'.  When I asked her why she was having such a good day she said that she was at the pet store and her parents were getting her a new pet.  When I asked her what kind of pet she was getting, I was not expecting the answer that I received.  'A snake!'  You're kidding me, I muttered into the phone.  She excitedly assured me that she was in fact serious and that her parents werre buying her a ball python!  Why!  Oh, and have I mentioned that I am deathly afraid of snakes?  Perhaps my son in law doesn't like me nearly as much as I thought he did.  Hmmm.  Are they trying to tell me something?  Then the parents got on the phone and asked me if I'll still come over to the house. 

So, this is the Little Miss with her new pet 'Sarah'

She is extra excited because she gets to feed Sarah tonight, and what do you feed a python?  Why frozen mice of course!

So, I collapsed when I got home Monday and fell asleep at 8:00 and never even heard the Mr. come home.  Tuesday was the final move in day, we were scheduled to have the movers there for two days and so we were hoping to get as much done as possible.  I got in early (around 6:00) and was ready to go.  Somewhere around 9, someone said my left eye was red and from there it went downhill.  My eye kept watering and getting redder and then it began to itch and seep and swell and it soon became apparant that I had pink eye.  I left shortly before 3 and headed to the doctor who said it was in fact pink eye and gave me antibiotic drops and sent me home.  By last night my eye was so swollen and red that I looked like a Cyclops and my eye was only open a mere slit.  This morning the eye was sealed shut with goop and the swelling was down to my cheek and now the right eye is infected as well!  Needless to say, I am home from work, putting drops in my eyes, taking naps and washing my hands frequently!

Of course my mascara and the eye makeup that I had used was brand new and I had to throw it out-bummer.  

So, I'm hoping that tomorrow is a brighter, but less pink day for me! 

Ribbons & Pins

Each time that Isabella goes to a dance competition and her team competes they win an individuall ribbon or pin and the team gets a trophy.  At last weeks' copetition they had two dances for which they received a Platinum and a Gold and a Judges' Award which was called the Purely Precious Award.  They didn't each get a ribbon for that last one, but you can see how the ribbons might add up.  On the way home Bella was showing me her ribbons and I commented that she needed to find a place to put them all and she said Yeah.  Later on she suggested I make something and an idea began to take shape.  (Cue the music.)

Anyway, I started working on it the next day.  I thought what she needed was something that could  hold either a ribbon or a pin.  Something that was easy and fun, something that could 'grow' with her and most important, something that wasn't too complicated for me to make.  I had just brought home an old white board thing from work that was being thrown away because it was broken and I started with that.  I cut it down to a good size and then topped it with cardboard. 

I used some styrofoam that I had from packaging around the edges and to stabilize the corners more cardboard.

I put pink ribbon along the whole outside to cover up the edges of the whiteboard, styrofoam and cardboard.   Next, I glued down a layer of cork.  That was messy and a bitt difficult I must say.  As I would put the top part down and then try putting going further down the top would pop back up.  I finally took my Big Kick and laid it on top of the cork to hold it down! 

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I wrapped cardboard cut to shape in fabric stuffed with polyfill, added ribbon and buttons and then glued into place.  Bottom,

Top, and sides.  Added some embellishments (this is where Bella helped!)

And there you have it!

It's a good size to hang on the back of her door if she wants or on her closet door if she prefers, or on a wall in her room.  Lots of options.  She can stick the pins through the ribbons and put the backs on and put her ribbons on the cork with a push pin or a clip pin.  She can even use the ribbons to add photos of she and her friends from dance class!  So, what do you think?

Weekend Entertainment Update & What's a Grandma to Do?

I've had a heck of a week and I'll tell you about it if you like, and if you don't like you can stop reading and find something better to do.  The choice is yours really. 
Anyway, I haven't been feeling well.  I must have gotten a bug of some sort, it seems to be going around as Michelle had it a few weeks ago and lots of others as well.  Stomach problems, dizziness, headache, body ache, the whole flu kind of thing.  I missed a few days of work and when I went back, I just wasn't myself.  Towards the end of the week I began to feel better and was hoping to have the weekend to rest up and kind of take it easy.  Bella had a Dance Competition on Saturday and I was going to miss it, it would be the first on that I would have missed.  Michelle had told her on Friday morning that I wasn't feeling well and probably wouldn't be able to go, but when Jim picked her up from school she was feeling a little put out.  When he asked her what was wrong she said that 'everyone was dumping her'-Shawn had to go to Aiden's baseball game, Grandaddy had to work, Oma & Pop were going to one of their other grandaughters soccer games and I was sick.  I had gotten a heads up about how she was feeling from Jim before I Bella called me at work (Like she does each afternoon.)  When she called me I asked her how her day was and then she asked me how I was and how I was feeling and I told her I was feeling better.  She said really?  Are you better enough to go to my competition?   Well, what's a Grandma to do?  Of course I said yes!  It made her day!
So when I got home we put together a gift for her 'big sister' at dance and I helped her to stamp a tag and she colored it in and I showed her how to use Gamsol to blend it and she just had a ball.  And they did a great job on Saturday and got a Platinum award for one dance and a High Gold for another.  Overall their team took 1st and 2nd place in group.  Hooray for them!

It was a long day and when I got home I cooked a turkey breast and ran a few errands and did a few other things, so I was pretty tired.  Must have been because according to Jim, I had a pretty active night and I had no memory of it at all.  From what he said at some point during the night I began to talk in my sleep so much and so loud that it woke him and he began to listen.  Whatever I was saying must have been pretty funny, because he said that he was laughing and thinking that he wanted to remember to tell me about it in the morning.  But I never shut up and later in the night I made him laugh out loud when I started saying that 'my body was going to break up into hundreds of pieces and every piece would talk and you would want that!'
I wonder what my dreams mean, or maybe it is best not to know...
I'm afraid a psychologist might have a field day with me!  Or put me away for my own protection.  Either way. 

Well, I'm tired off to dreamland...

Easter Blessings!

I love Easter.  I love the season of Easter, the renewal of the Earth as it burst into bloom, the renewal of our Spirits as we remember and Rejoice in our Saviour and His Mercies.  What was given up so that we can be free from Sin.  It makes my heart leap with happiness! 

Then you add in adorable little girls (grandaughter) in cute little dresses and candy?  Things just don't get any better than that?  So because Michelle and Shawn had Aiden for the weekend and he had to go to his mothers' Saturday night so he could wake up and have Easter morning there, they decided to wait and tell the Easter Bunny to hold off until after they got back from church when they would have Aiden with them again.  Mr. W really didn't like that idea and asked if they wanted to bring her over here before church, so they came here at 7:00 and Bella got to hunt for eggs and we got to have some fun too!  She delights in everything and was just tickled with her little treats.  She even found a special wooden egg that was left for her from The First Dog:

The back of the egg has Bo's paw print!

Later that afternoon I had them over for dinner.  Tim had to work and was not able to join us, so it was only Michelle and Shawn and the kids, and us.  I made a ton of food!  A glazed ham, potatoe salad (my husband's favorite-his mother always made it.), egg plant for Michelle as she doesn't eat ham, carrots & onions, broccoli & rice casserole, apple sauce and rolls.  Like I said, a TON of food!   We'll have leftovers for days despite the fact that I sent a bunch home with Michelle. 

After we cleaned everything up and the kids had gone home, we sat down and watched the end of the Masters on TV.  It was a great Easter.

Hope yours was happy too!

Spring Break

Bella is on Spring Break this week.  I'm so jealous.  When Mr. Wonderful picked her up from school on Friday she asked him what they were doing the next day.  He told her it was Saturday and he was working.  "Oh, okay" she replied, "Then what are we doing on Monday?"  On Monday he took her to D.C. to the Smithsonian Museum to see a new exhibit that they had called Titanboa, a giant snake that was shown in the exhibit eating a crocodile.  Then they went to the National Arboretum to see all of the beautiful flowers and finally to lunch at 901 with Uncle T.  She called me when they got back to the car and she sounded exhausted, but of course would never admit it!

Tuesday's plans were up in the air as Mr. W had hoped to take her to Fells Point but when he checked to see what time they opened he found out that they didn't open until April 15th.  On to Plan B-but when I left for work there was no plan B worked out yet.  Bella called me to say Good-Morning like she often does and tod me that they were going to Woody's for some Mini-Golf.  While they were on their way there, Bella recognized that they were near Tyson's and that happens to be the home of the American Girl Store and asked her G-Daddy if they could go there again someday.  He surprised her by telling her that they were on their way there!  He had always wanted to take her to lunch there, but since their opening the wait had always been too long.  Well, on Tuesday he was finally able to take her to lunch there.  When he told her she said that she didn't bring one of her dolls along to have lunch with and asked if they would have time to go home and get one of her dolls before lunch.  (It's about 45 minutes away!)  G-Daddy told her no there was no time to go home and get her doll, but he would buy her a new doll.  Well, she was just in heaven!  She knew exactly which doll she would choose-McKenna because she is only out for a limited time.  So, Bella, G-Dad and McKenna all had lunch together.

Is this a happy little girl or what?! 

She even had a special little chair for McKenna to sit in at the table and the whole room is pink-a little girls delight!

After lunch the went to the Reston Pet Farm and to Woody's for Mini Golf.  Bella had the camera and took about 100 pictures, many of them of McKenna!  She has also learned how to take a self portrait, so there are several of those as well!  ha.  She's a hoot.

She spent the night at our house that night because in the morning she was going to work with Grandaddy.  I wound up home sick for the day, but she went to work.  While her Grandaddy worked, she spend the morning in Junior Golf Camp.  It was fun for her, a friend of ours had his little girl Gracie, in the camp and she and Bella hit it off right away.

So cute!

When she got home though, she wanted to gather up her stuff and get right home to her Mom.

Mom had called and said she was home from work and Bella was ready to see her Mom and tell her all about her adventures.  Again, I was feeling a little jealous.  Hmpf. 

Guess I'll just have to pull up my big girl panties and deal with it!

And it was only Wednesday!  From there, Shawn's parents were picking her up and she was spending the night at their house and then spending the day with both of them on Thursday.  Oh, to be 7 and have the world at your feet!

April Already?

I can't believe that it is April!  Where did March go?  This year is just flying by way too fast.  I have every intention of posting and then before I know it another week has passed me by and I've still not put anything up.  I don't know if it is the perils that come with age or just a busy, hectic life.  I choose to think it is the latter rather than the former.  Ha! 
Anyway, I have been quite busy.  The good news is I have finally completed my inspection at work and now have that behind me for another year.  Thank goodness!  That is a HUGE load off my back.  I've been putting in 50 hour work-weeks in preparation for this inspection and I am so glad to have it finally be over.  Normally I would not have to have so much work building up to it, but because of a lot of things that have happened within the company over the last couple of years, there have been a lot of changes and such, all of our paperwork has changed and everything had to be replaced and updated.  A gigantic undertaking!  That is in conjuction with all of the normal, everyday tasking that my job requires of me; so needless to say, I've been kept busy at work. 
Thursday was the day of the inspection and I arrived at work at 5:15 am and left at 5:45 pm, it was a long day.  When I left I got in my car and headed straight for Ocean City.  As part of my birthday gift from my friend Durinda, she was treating me to a weekend in OC at the Stampin' by the Sea 2012 Convention!  What a great gift for a craftaholic like myself, a weekend of fun, classes, vendors and shopping with a friend!  So on Friday morning we started out with a class on embossing folders which was taught by a self confessed stamper with a case of untreated ADHD.  It was a blast!  She was a great teacher who was all over the place and she spoke about a mile a minute, so if you could follow where her mind went-and I could- you were in great shape!  She was really a lot of fun and a great source of inspiration.  We couldn't wait to get to her booth the next day and see what she had to offer in terms of stamps and such.
Then we had much of the day free, so we went for a drive up to Fenwick and other places and shopped in some great little places that Durinda knew about.  Now, I am now too much of a beach girl.  Meaning, I don't go to the beach often.  I love it, but I don't get a chance to go too much.  Mr. W hates it!  Anyway, the weather here had been really warm and beautiful, and I had heard it was supposed to hold for the weekend so I just brought capris and T's, plus I didn't have a lot of time to pack so I kinda just threw stuff in my bag.  Well, let me tell you, I about froze down there!  It was so cold!!!  I had to borrow a jacket from Durinda and then buy one when we were shopping.  I only had sandals and me feet got chapped!  And we were only outside the one day.  But it was fun, none the less.
Friday night we went to a make and take and dessert thing that was put on by the Convention.  It was kind of a cluster if you know what I mean.  I would not do it again.  If you've ever been to a convention where they have make & takes and you have to stand in line to do them and you just wait and wait, that's what this was like, but you paid for it.  There were 11 make & takes and while you were standing in line for the thing to open the woman who runs the thing came around handing out tickets.  No explination was given for what the tickets were for, but were were all given six.  Turns out they were for the make and takes, so you had to choose which ones you wanted to do.  There were no boards or anything advertising what was being offered, just tables in a SMALL area where 3 people could sit and do a make & take at each table and about 150 people with tickets to do them!  One make & take was you were given a big flower stamp and stamped and punched out the flower and put a Rolo candy in the center of the flower.  Really?  Bella could do that!  Another was a gift card holder & envelope.  Clearly some were better than others.  But it was not well organized and too many tickets were sold.
Then on Saturday was the vendor fair and another class.  Vendors all day!  Woot!  That was fun.  We just got to go from vendor booth to booth checking out everything and purchasing if we choose to.  It was fun!  Everyone was nice and having a good time.  Durinda and I got some fun treasures that we can't wait to ink up and play with!  It was a terrific weekend! 
Saturday after work, Mr. Wonderful drove down and joined us and we all went to dinner together and drove around a bit.  Then we went back to the house and chatted and had a glass of wine.  It was great.  Sunday morning we got up and went to breakfast and after breakfast we took a nice long walk on the boardwalk, which I always enjoy.  It was early so very few people were out and about, it was still peacefull and sleepy.  I like that time of day.  Then Durinda and I went back to the show to pick up anything we had missed before we all left for home.  It was a great weeked! 
Thanks Durinda!