How I Like to Shop

For years, I have been buying things from expensive stores for....a lack of better word.. cheap.  I refuse to pay full price and sometimes I refuse to pay the sale price.  Sounds crazy, right?  Well, it really isn't.  For many, many, many years, I worked in retail.  At the time, I was able to get the inside scoop on when sales were happening and when the best time was to buy practically everything in the store.  So my love for shopping for next to nothing started back in the mid 90's.  Fast forward to 2017, I now have items in my home that others have paid more than they should have.  How do I do it?  Well, there are a few ways to do this.  It can be tricky and time consuming.  So if you have patience, this is the best thing for you.  If not, then thank you for visiting 😄 .  But, no really.  I find it takes a lot of time to look for the very best deal possible.  There were months I would stay up until midnight just waiting to see what the sales were going to be for that day.  I know...hardcore.  I would even have my coupons, gift cards, and rewards all ready just in case the sale was that great.  But, there are times I do miss out on something because of my frugalness (is that even a word?  Spell check says no, but I think it works).  Yet when I do find what I'm looking for, you better believe I'm a happy camper!  So let's talk about one of my favorite stores.  Pottery Barn.  When my husband hears that name, his insides cringe haha.  Not because he hates the products.  No, he hates the price.  At one time I did as well.  I used to look at the catalogs that would come in the mail and dream about having something from Pottery Barn.  There was a baby boats set from Pottery Barn Kids that I wanted my son to have when he was a baby.  But at the time, I didn't think I could afford it.  If  back then I had the knowledge I have now, he would have been sailing away to sleep with that nursery set.  But now, if I really wanted to, I could easily find it on eBay.  However, now that he's almost 12, I doubt he would want to have that in his room.  I did, however, find the quilt and plan to have his name and birth date embroidered on it.
  So going back to my frugalness (I'm using that word from now on).  I have found some ways to get what I want for a fraction of the cost.  Credit card.  Don't let this word scare you.  If you use it correctly, it can become your bestest friend in the whole wide world!  The trick is to pay it off as soon as you use it.  We were doing this for a while until there were some big ticket items we couldn't pass on....but that's a whole other story!  Using the credit card can be ever so useful!  They have a rewards program that does add up very quickly.  For every $250 you spend, you get $25 back.  Sometimes throughout the year, they have double points.  So instead of getting $25 in rewards, you get $50.  You can also receive other perks with this card.  The last one I got was $25 off of a purchase of $50 or more.  This happens 2-3 times a year.  One year I got one of these every quarter.
  If you're not comfortable with the credit card, then go for the email.  Periodically, they will send you coupon codes where you can get 20% off your order online or in the store, but most of the time it is 15% off.  Use them!  The 15% you get when you sign up can be used for ANYTHING.  NO EXCLUSIONS!  Did you see that? NO EXCLUSIONS!!!!  You can use it on furniture, clearance, sale items, your first born...okay maybe not that.  But you can use it on everything they sell.  Now here's the catch.  If you're an online shopper like me, because the nearest store is over 2 hrs away.....(ahem, bring a store down this way please so I can work for you), you have to be careful in how you use these.  I personally use these codes ONLY with free shipping items, and preferably when they are on sale.  Because you can only use your email code or their code on the website.  Never more than one.  If there is no free shipping, then all you're saving on is that cost in most cases. But with the rewards they send you, you can use those along with the coupon codes.  Those are used like gift cards.  Which is SWEET!
  If I can, I like to use all of these perks at one time.  Sometimes if what I want is already in the free shipping category, it works like a charm.  But there are other times there's a promotion going on along with free shipping.  So there is no need to use the email code at all.  I will give you an example of how I used my rewards.  Last year at Christmas, they had free shipping almost for the whole season.  It was beautiful!  A while back, we had bought my son his new bed from PB Teen.  His old bed had been in our family for over 30 years and needed a lot of work (which now those beds are going into my mom's new house! YAY!).  Anyhoo, we had gotten some rewards from that.  I also had a gift card from a different points program, that no longer has gift cards for these stores.  I'm still not happy about that.  But that's neither here nor there right now...Moving on! I had about $100 in gift cards and rewards.  I wanted to get a Christmas bedding ensemble for my daughter, since my son already had one.

Pottery Barn Kids

 Fun, right??  I was afraid that when it first came out, I was going to miss out because those things go lightening fast.  But I think everyone else was holding out for the sale of the century like I was.  Because it was still there until PBK had a 20% sale off of everything including sale and clearance items.  And it just so happened that this bedding set was part of that sale.  I bought a duvet cover, 2 pillow shams, and a sheet set.  The total cost after all the discounts?  $124.00.  What did I spend?  $24.00.  Yup!  I did end up buying the quilt later at a really great price too.

 Another example is this beautiful urn.

Pottery Barn

 I bought the smaller one when I was in the store during one of my family visits.  Of course I paid full price, only because it was sold out online.  I didn't want to risk losing out on getting it.  Silly me, I should have known it would have been in stock later! Oh well, lesson learned.  Anyway, I watched this one like a hawk and then one beautiful day...it was on sale AND! there was free shipping!  At this time, I had the other rewards perks from being a card member and I think I had a gift card from My Points as well (I used to use My Points quite frequently until I found out about ebates).  This was on sale for $79.  I paid a whopping $9.17.  It's sitting nicely in my living room as I type.
  These are just a few examples of how I saved online.  I have been able to do the same at the store, too.  Our family room used to house my old coffee table and the kids played on it constantly.  You can tell it has some wear and tear on it, poor thing.  After all, it is over 13 years old.  But it was one of the furniture pieces Target used to carry that was made out of real wood.  Soon, it will be getting a much needed makeover.  Over Christmas break last year, we were at my sister-in-law's house.  I noticed she had an activity table for her kids.  My husband and I thought it would be a great idea to get one for our little munchkins.  So we did.  They had just opened up a pop-up warehouse close to her house, and we went a huntin.  The table they had was the wrong color, but the carts weren't!  We almost passed them up because we were told the wrong price.  Thankfully we had enough sense to ask another employee about the price.  They ended up being $80 for the set when it was all said and done.  Since they didn't have the table at the outlet, we were able to call the store and get one held for us.  We bought a $219 activity table with short and tall legs for $139 (they had an awesome sale going on).  How much did we pay???  Only $80 for the carts.
  The thing is, it is so easy to shop at these stores.  Especially if you are patient and have the rewards.  Right now, I have 150 in rewards as we speak.  Throughout the year I buy small things, on sale, with coupon codes, and rack up the points that way.  Most of the time I buy my items from the outlets and am still able to get points from there.  I could go on and on about what I have in my home that is from the outlets or eBay.  But I won't because this is long enough hehe.  In all seriousness, though, I wrote this because I know how intimidating shopping at places like this can be.  I used to be one of those people who thought because I wasn't rich, I didn't belong in places like that.  Not true.  I know this was a long blog, but if it helped one person...then this was totally worth it!  I believe EVERYONE has the right to have nice things in their home, no matter where they come from.  Shoot, I could even talk about Target!  I have gotten so many things from there for a fraction of the cost too.  If I can save money, you can too.  If you would like more tips or more information, leave a comment or send me an email!  You can also follow me on Instagram: msliss96_77.  I look forward to hearing from you all!

I am not affiliated with Williams-Sonoma or any other store.  I just love to shop and save money 😁.

Today is the day....

I finally decided that I was done being fat.  For far too long, I have allowed myself to become an out of shape, not what I used to be, big fat slob.  And I hate it.  I hated it when I saw the pounds coming on.  I hated it when I was rejected by dates in the past.  I hated it when I would just sit on my couch making excuse after excuse.  I hated it when people would silently judge me.  Some time ago, friends of mine joined the BeachBody revolution.  They tried so hard to get me to join with them.  I would tell them, "Oh, I'll just go to the gym.  I don't do well with at home workouts."  Which I did go to the gym, however, something always seemed to come up.  Then I wouldn't go for another week to a month; and then start the cycle all over again.  In my mind I knew why I wasn't seeing any results.  Yet, I still couldn't believe that the effort I was putting in wasn't showing a thing.  My clothes were fitting tighter and tighter, to which I was forced to buy a size bigger than the last time.  Slowly but surely....myself as I knew it was no more.  I was no longer the size 8-12 I used to be.  Instead I am now the 22-24 that I absolutely hate with a passion.  It has crushed me in more ways that I can even describe.   Friends who knew me from before look at me as if I have a third leg sometimes.  And others look at me like they just want to give me a sympathy hug.  Some just act like nothing has changed, but the looks on their faces tell a different story.  I see right through every.single.look.

I'm done.

I'm done feeling lousy about myself.
I'm done making excuses
I'm done feeling like the odd ball at family functions
I'm done putting myself last.

I'm simply done.

So today, I did something I normally wouldn't do.  I bought a dress.  Yes, you read that right.  I bought a dress that I want to fit into in the near future.  I'm sure this is something that is frowned upon.  But at this point, I don't friggin care.  When I laid eyes on this dress there was something in me that clicked.  Now, I have blogged and talked about losing weight before  and talked with family and friends.  But today, on this day June 2, 2017, something clicked like never before.  I really wanted to wear that dress and could see myself in it.  I mean really see myself in it!  You ever had one of those flashes of how your life could be in the future if you just put forth the effort?  Yup, that was me in that instant.   I sent my husband a text with a picture of the dress; telling him I found my weight loss inspiration dress.  Part of me was hoping he would say, "Why not wait until next month to get it".  And then I knew I'd be off the hook to really do something about my ever growing body.  But when he told me to get it, I almost burst into tears.  It was then I knew the time had come.  Would you believe that when I went back into the store, my heart was racing and my forehead started to sweat?  I mean, I've bought clothes I wanted to fit into before.  But not like this.  THIS was epic to me.  Because I knew....I just KNEW! That this was the beginning of no more excuses.  No more sitting on the computer wasting away my day.  No more letting my kids be the reason I didn't do what I should have done.  This wasn't just any dress.  No way.  This was the beginning of the end.  It is kind of funny that the dress is black.  So I guess you could say that when I do get to wear it, I will be going to the funeral of who I used to be...and celebrating who I have become.  Hopefully the next time I come here to talk about my weight loss journey, I will have actually lost some.

Here's to the tough road ahead.  May every day be one step closer to the greater goal!

Happy Friday everyone!

Side note...I wrote this yesterday and forgot to publish it.  Ha, oops!

It's been a while

  For months I have thought about blogging, but haven't because...well...life.  We are still in the process of remodeling our home, and let me tell you...it's been interesting!  The latest project has been our bathrooms.  Just last month after we returned from our wonderful vacation in South Carolina, we got right back to work; switching bedrooms and living rooms with my mom.  Right after that fun move, my hubby and I got started with painting our bathrooms.  Yes that's right.  Bathroomssssssss.  We have two separate master bathrooms IN our bedroom. Go ahead...read that again (devilish smirk).  He painted his a grey (that is in our kitchen but will soon be changed..that's for another blog) and I painted mine a dark blue.  
    Ladies, have you ever wanted to have a room that was all yours and no one else's?  This is what that bathroom is for me.  That and the closet are the only spaces in the house that's completely mine.  ALL MINE!!!!  So I went for it with the color.  I'm not sure when it happened, but the gold fixtures have grown on me.  Soon, I was looking at everything gold.  However, I didn't take the plunge.  Now I wish I would have. I still have a chance with the faucet, but that won't happen for a while.  Don't get me wrong, I love silver.  It has that classic feel to it.  But there's something about the brass/gold that says "bold" to me.  Maybe next time I will trust all of my instincts.  Thankfully in a couple of years we are going to gut our bedroom, bathrooms, and closet and put actual dry wall in; never having to deal with that icky vinyl crap they put in these homes. So maybe at that time I will go with all brass ☺!  Ooooooo I can't wait!  But until then, it feels good to have it painted. I no longer have those leaves looking at me.  Why these companies think we want "wallpaper" like this in these homes just boggles my mind!  I mean, seriously.  There is nothing comforting about crappy vinyl walls with even crappier designs.
   I know there is a stigma when it comes to buying a single-wide or double-wide home.  But let's be real.  Unless we have tons of money in the bank, many of us cannot afford to buy those beautiful homes we long for.  I'm not putting anyone down who can.  Kudos to you if you do and can! For those of us who can't or just don't want to have the hefty mortgage to go along with it, we try to spend our money the best way we can.  Sometimes it's in a home that is smaller than we need, and sometimes it's in a home that is a manufactured home.  I will be completely honest.  At first, I didn't want to buy my parent's home.  I wanted something that was new and almost state-of-the-art.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that living here was not the end of the world.  It was our chance to put our own spin on the house, make it ours.  Now that I have been here for almost three years, I can't imagine living anywhere else.  I joke about moving, but only because I miss shopping.  I mean, you can only do so much online shopping ha.  But really, we have beautiful views of the bluffs in our back yard.  The front is lively with green grass and trees to go with it.  Later on in life we will have the opportunity to get our house lifted and put a basement underneath, along with adding a second garage. The existing garage will be my husband's work area, which he is very excited about! Wanna know the most exciting thing about this??    Of course you do!  By the time we do these wonderful things, our house will be more than partially paid off.  In my book, that's not too shabby for a couple living on one income (for now).  Now if I'm able to go back to work within the next year, many things will happen sooner than later.  But for now, I'm happy with the progress.  Another plus is my mother is putting her house on the land and will be right next door to us.  Our kids will literally just be able to walk across the lawn and go over to her house.  

  So going back to the bathroom...!  One of the things I love is that it doesn't feel like a manufactured home.  The strips are still in there (for now), but it feels like....home.  Even this living room I'm sitting in feels like home.  Just real quick, we took the strips out and painted this living room for my mom.  It was before we made the bedroom switch with her.  She wanted it painted a sage green, so we did.  There's a fireplace in here as well and she put up "shiplap".  The only thing that really needs to be changed is that doggone mantle.  It is hideous to me.  Again, thankfully that will be taken care of in a matter of months or years.  ANYWAY...Sitting in here is just so cozy.  My hubby recently put up the curtain rods we got from our wedding registry and I proudly put up my Pottery  Barn (got them on sale) curtains.  It really pulls the room together.  The only thing I'm missing is my cup of green tea.  So I guess what I was trying to say in the midst of all of this rambling is this.  The more work we put into this house, the less it feels like a manufactured home.  I'm very excited to see what else transpires with our other projects!  So! Until then, here are some pictures of the house so far. These aren't the best pictures, but that's okay.  I was just so happy to take them.  I promise better pictures when everything is all said and done!!  Hope you enjoy!

My bathroom

My hubby's bathroom

The cozy Living Room

The lanterns are there because I'm getting ready to decorate for Summer.

Product and color list:

My bathroom

Color: Archipelego - Sherwin Williams at Lowe's
 Mirror: Target
Light: Wayfair
All Fixtures: Gatco Latitude 2 - Lowe's
Towels: Kohl's from many years ago

Hubby's Bathroom

Color: Pussywillow - Sherwin Williams
All fixtures: Caldwell - Lowe's

Living Room

Color: Soften Green - Sherwin Williams
Curtains: Pottery Barn Cameron (no longer available in Ivory)
Curtain Rod: Target
Lantern: Pottery Barn (got it on clearance!!!)
Mantle:
Picture: Pottery Barn (honestly another steal)
Candlesticks: Kirkland's
Lanterns: Pottery Barn Outlet (but still available on their website)
Cone: Hobby Lobby

Back in business!

Tonight I finally got to do something crafty.  It has been waaaaaaay too long!  Last month, my husband and I were involved in a craft fair in our hometown.  It was his second time and my first.  Let me tell you, it was definitely an eye opener! I saw first hand what it was I needed to be prepared for, what to bring, what not to bring (a very curious toddler).  But it was a lot of fun!  So I have a plan for next year.  Each month I am going to devote my time to one craft and one craft only.  Hopefully it'll work out!  But going back to tonight, I started looking at Pinterest while I rested.  Yesterday my husband and I traveled a couple of hours with our toddler to return some things.  I didn't want to wait until after Christmas to do so....since I will be going shopping then :D.  So, even though the trip was successful, today I was extremely tired!  Anyhoo!  I saw a lot of fun ideas for pictures for the holidays; Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Valentine's Day. Yup Valentine's Day!  Most of what I found was either done on the Cricut or Silhouette.  I own a Silhouette but still am quite the amateur when it comes to operating it.  So I decided to go old school.  Ya buddy! I broke out the Microsoft Word.  I have to say, I'm quite pleased with the result.  Now, I don't have a tutorial on how to make it, but I'm sure if you all really wanted to know I would be able to tell you :).

They aren't quite done, but I'm proud of them nonetheless.  I will be so glad when I get the hang of my silhouette.  I really wish there were classes I could take.  But that's alright.  We will be better acquainted soon :D! 

So now that my children and my hubby are asleep, I guess it's my turn!  Goodnight all! Happy Crafting :).

Daughter's Room Reno

I just wrote about my son's new room.  Now I get to write about my daughter's!  I have to be completely honest.  When we learned we were having a girl, I had no idea how I wanted to decorate.  My son is almost 10 so I've had nothing but boy stuff for the last 9 years.  Doing a girl's room was just foreign to me.  I knew what I liked, but it wasn't necessarily "in" for little girls.  I was lucky enough to find a bedding set on Craigslist for $45.  That was a bumper, three sheets, crib skirt, a bunch of changing table covers and a huge safety pin...which I still don't know what to do with.   So again, I relied on Pinterest....except I was let down.  It took me many months of shopping around, returning things, and shopping around some more.  But finally! After a trip to Hobby Lobby, I found some fabric.  By that time, Emma was here and we had just moved into my mom's house.  All she had for room was furniture and bedding.

I just have to say, I have always loved Potter Barn Kids but never took the plunge and bought anything big from there.  This time I decided "why not".  I first bought her the light pink twill curtains and was very excited.  However, after having them up for over a month I realized it wasn't the color I wanted.  There needed to be more of a pink color in her room.  Sadly, the ones I wanted to exchange them for were all gone...sad face.  So I looked at the fabric I had gotten from Hobby Lobby months ago and thought...hmm those would make great curtains.  AND! they go with her bedding!  Six yards later, along with blackout panels, her curtains were made.

Isn't this fabric lovely?

Voila! Blackout Curtains!!

The other thing I struggled with were decorations.  I couldn't find anything that didn't have elephants, owls, or any other animal in a picture for a girl.  I did love the idea of kites and hot air balloons.  That's where I found this.  I had already bought a couple of pictures from Hobby Lobby.  While I loved the colors, it just seemed too ornate to me.  I needed to keep her room sweet and simple.  Again, while looking on Pinterest, I stumbled upon Caravan Shoppe.  Immediately, I bought the prints, got them printed at Staples, and bought some picture frames from Target.  Love, love, love!!

Another place I love to shop is Ebay.  Oh yes, Ebay is my friend.  Not only have I scored a lot of Pottery Barn/Kids items, but it hasn't hurt our budget one bit!  That's where I found her letters.  We didn't take the strips off of her walls this time.  I wanted to get her room done and at that time, she wasn't sleeping through the night.  When she's older, we will go back in and take them down.

Again, I apologize for my lack of photography skills.  I'm starting to learn again.  

I knew there was more I wanted to do in her room, but wasn't sure what.  I saw a saying that fit her perfectly.  Though she be but little she is fierce.  And I also had a lot of left over fabric.  So I put it to good use.  This was my first time using the silhouette, but I'm still proud of it :).

Now we have a huge wall that has nothing on it, but soon will have some shelves.  When those get put up, she'll have these.

Every girl needs some flowers, right?  I did have a picture frame on the night stand, but took it off.  There isn't a picture in there yet.

So there's another room almost done!  Like my son's room, we have shelves to put up and then they will be completely done for now.  Later on, we plan on putting up new trim, baseboards, and new flooring in their rooms.  Until then, I'm very happy with what we have done thus far.  Next up?  The main bathroom!

Where everything came from

Fabric and canvas: Hobby Lobby

Bed and Dresser: Given to us, but can be found at Pottery Barn Kids

Letters: Ebay

Pictures: Caravan Shoppe "Fly Away"

Picture Frames: Target

Bedding: Craigslist (Pottery Barn Kids Sophie from 2009 or earlier)

Lamp shade and Base: Pottery Barn Kids

Flowers: Michael's

Son's Room Remodel Take 1 Update

Here is the update for my son's room.  I wanted to give him more of a soon-to-be teen room, or I guess a "tween" room (I'm so behind the times).  Since he'll be 10 in a couple of months, I wanted to do a more "grown up" room, so we went with a sport's theme.  I gotta say, I'm lovin it so far!  And bonus, most of his things were on clearance or given to us.  So that helped with the budget.

 

His room isn't very big, so we had to come up with something creative.  Pinterest is my best friend.  We spend many hours together!  It was there I found this from Shanty 2 Chic.  I used the same storage bins they used.  Those can be found at Ikea for $4 each. You can find the plans here and the bins here.

  As you can see, the storage bin isn't finished.  My hubby made this during the summer heatwave and we decided we will stain it when the weather cools off!  So until then, we have a blanket on the top to protect the wood.

Here is the updated closet! I'm loving all of the storage.  Sorry, I don't have any plans for that.  He pretty much put the measurements together and went from there.

So there you have it! The lovely update, with still so much more to do.  Maybe one day I'll have a room completely finished :D.

Disclaimer:  I am aware that my photography isn't the best, but that's okay :).  And I didn't try to make the room look like it just came out of magazine on purpose.  It is well lived in and it shows :D.  That's just how we roll!

Project Details:

St. Louis Cardinals Wall Art: Target

Baymax, curtain rods, colored storage bins: Target

Bedding, curtains, and basketball hoop: Pottery Barn Kids

Basketball Lamp: Pottery Barn Teen

White storage bins: Ikea

Feel free to leave a comment! I would love to hear some feedback.

Memories!!

So I just have to express my excitement from today.  I took my oldest to the library to get his own library card and some books.  While he was trying to find his favorite book, which happens to be Diary of a Wimpy Kid, I found some of my favorite books growing up.  The Babysitter's Club!  Yes, you read that right....and now I am showing my age :D.  I almost brought some home to read, but I didn't.  Only because I'm in the middle of reading a book from one of my favorite authors, Sandra Brown.  Now, I can't promise that when we go back that I won't get one of the books I haven't read.  I think I ended up stopping at #40.  So I guess it's time for me to catch up hehe.  Man, I forgot how much I loved going to the library!  That might be my new hangout this summer.

Son's Room Remodel Take 1

Hello everyone!  Ever since we moved back down south, we have been extremely busy.  Our new home is a manufactured home that only needs some cosmetic work (yay!!!).  We have put in a new garden, gone through some things so we could have a yard sale, planned for remodels, and now we are doing just that.  We started with our son's room and it has been fun :D!  Now of course, some of you who have manufactured homes know how beautiful those walls are...you know, the ones with the strips.  Thankfully, my hubby is very handy.  He took them down so we could mud the walls.  Now.....we are completely new to all of this so it is definitely a "learn as you go" process.

This of course was the start and as you can see, the walls were so beautiful...I almost didn't want to cover them up (ahem).  One thing I we didn't do, but should have, was prepped everything.  I'll admit it.  I was so gung-ho about starting this project, that I didn't want to take the extra time to fill in gaps in the trim or caulk.  Now, thankfully this room has the old trim that came with the house.  Later on, not much later, we are going to replace it with real trim.  So when that happens, I will take my time and do it right.  Back to the room.  After a lot of sanding and wiping, we finally got the paint up.  It took two coats (this was paint and primer).

See! Isn't it pretty??  This isn't the final picture, but that was the wall with two coats.  I think the hardest thing for me during this process was waiting to put anything up.  I hate cure time!  But anyway, I digress.  It took us about a week and a half to get the room painted; trim and all.  And then it took a little bit longer for me to get the closet finished.  Which by the way, I STRONGLY suggest you work on the closet first!  It was hot and dark when we painted it, however it got done.   
Here's another "work in progress" picture of the closet.

 We plan on expanding the opening down the road.  The closet itself is a really good size, but the doorway isn't.  Before we started painting, we decided the closets needed to lose their doors.  And oh my goodness did it help!  IF we decide to put doors back on, we will be looking for some alternatives.  But until then, no door is fine with me!

We had been eying this lamp for months!!  I finally got a pretty good deal and went for it.  And I'm not sorry!

So there it is for now.  Next we're going to work on this cool toy storage thing I found on Shanty 2 Chic! I'm so excited.  Because ALL of his toys will be able to fit in there, and he has A LOT!! Of course before we moved the first time, his toys were divided between households, mine and my parent's.  Then when we moved, all of those toys came with us.  So he has tons!  And soon, he'll have some storage :D!! I will be putting more pictures up again, just not sure how soon. You know how that goes :)!

So, until next time!  God Bless!!




Paint color: Walls - Behr - Oat Cake
                    Trim - Behr  - Weathered Sandstone
Closet: Hubby Diy
Lamp: PB Teen

Back at it....kind of

Back in December we found out we were going to have a baby!! Yay!!!  And then a few months later we found out we're having a GIRL!!!!!  So of course I got to rub it in my husband's face...I'm so glad he loves me :D.  I wasted no time in trying to find the "perfect" theme for our soon to be girl.  Sadly, everything I liked turned out to be expensive or it just wasn't my taste.  So, I started thinking of what I could do.  I was stumped for a while until one of my trips to Michael's.  I decided to make a name plaque!  Of course before making this decision, I had done some research on Etsy and Pinterest.  Some weren't my taste and some were very close. So once at Michael's, I thought I would try something of my own.  I bought some wooden letters and this thing below (not sure what it's called).

I don't have a picture of the letters before I painted them, sorry.  But I loved the pink and green idea.  However, the pink just wasn't bold enough for me.  So I mixed some colors and voilà! 

I loved how the letters stood out more.  My plan to hang it up was to find some ribbon and secure it on the back.  But the more I looked at it, it seemed as if something was missing.  Unfortunately, I put it up for a while.  Fast forward to a few months later, while visiting my mom, we went to Hobby Lobby.  I was looking for ideas to spruce up her name plaque.  We, well I, waddled over to the scrapbook selection and my son, of all people picked out some paper.  And inspiration hit me!  I bought the paper he picked out, a picture frame and a little something else to go with this new idea.  It was time to go home and put it all together! 

This was just too cute, I couldn't pass it up!  I didn't go for the princess theme, but I had plans to spray paint it turquoise later on. 

My son did a great job picking out paper for his soon to be sister!

With paper and a picture frame, her new name plaque was reborn!  And the best thing was, it only took about a half hour to put together!!  

So without further ado, here is the final product!

To make the letters stay, I used Elmer's Glue. It's still sticking to this day

As I said before, I was going to spray paint the carriage a turquoise color, but her room is going to be a soft turquoise.  My mom and I put it up against one of the walls that is done, and the pink stood out even more than against the wall in this picture.  Therefore, it's staying bright pink!  

I can't wait to finish her room...but that won't happen until after she's born.  Because...drum roll please....we're moving soon!  Many would be freaked out about this, but I'm loving the adventure!  Well, now that I'm done with as much as I can do with her room, I'm onto the next project.  Making a name plaque for my son using Star Wars fabric.  Once I get that done, I will be sure to post that on here too!  

Until next time! Happy crafting :D!!

Pregnancy at it's finest

Well hello everyone, long time no see!  In the recent months, I have not only moved back around my hometown, but I have gotten married, found and lost a job, and now I am almost 4 months pregnant.  Yup! That's right!!! I'm pregnant with my second child; husband's first.  And while we know what we're having....I'm not going to reveal it just yet :D.  But instead, I want to talk to you first time fathers.  If you happen to stumble across my blog, please please PLEASE read this.

I urge you to read articles and the book "What to Expect When Expecting".  It will not only help you understand what pregnancy does to the female body, but it will help you connect with your significant other.
So, let's start this bad boy off by talking about cravings.  They happen all of the time!  The food may be in the house, it may be at a restaurant, store, what have you.  But expect them to happen.  If your wife/girlfriend mentions what may sound good, offer to go get it for her.  DO NOT WAIT TO BE ASKED.  Not saying she won't ask. However if she doesn't, please just go get it.  This will squash a lot of the fighting.  Now, I was nice when I had my cravings.  I didn't wake my husband up in the middle of the night and ask him to go to the store for me.  Mainly because he had to get up early for work the next day, and I wanted to be considerate.  Yet with my experience this time, my husband would not go to the store unless I actually asked, even if he knew I wanted something specific to eat.  Do not do this!

 It is EXTREMELY important to realize that your wife/girlfriend is not being lazy.  And yes, being that tired is normal.  Even the doctor will tell you.  As long as all of her levels are on the right track, there is nothing to worry about.  Unfortunately this has been a sore spot for the both of us.  When I was pregnant with my first child, I was a single mom and I had to work.  I had no choice.  All I had at the time were my parents since I had moved away.  So staying home when I felt sick to my stomach, or had been up all night because I couldn't get comfortable wasn't an option.  I had no one to lean on.  I do now, so my thought process has changed and so have my circumstances.  However, that hasn't stopped me from wanting to do work around the house and outside of the home.  So with that being said, if she was a hard worker before pregnancy, trust me, she will be a hard worker after she's gotten over the fatigue.  Give her time!!!   Which leads me to this.  If she is extremely tired....do not under any circumstance ask her what she got done around the house, or say you feel she's been lazy.  Those are fighting words!!  I promise you!  This is where the book comes in handy.  The baby literally wipes us out.  Not only do we have morning sickness (sometimes we throw up, other times we just have the nausea), but we have a baby who is growing and feeding off of us.  The placenta is growing...and..ya...just read the book :)!  It's just enough for us to go to the bathroom some days.

Ah...cleaning the house.  Men...you helped make the baby, you need to help with the chores, and possibly take over for the time being.  That means, clean the house.  Don't just half-ass it.  She doesn't have the energy.  Imagine if you will, that you are 500lbs, trying to go up the stairs.  You get up maybe half-way but then, your heart beats so fast, and you're out of breath and all you want to do is sit down.  Suddenly, you get dizzy and are afraid you're going to fall down the stairs or worse, pass out.  That's how it is for most of us in our first trimester.  We can start to do something, but about 2-5 minutes into the chore, we can hardly breathe.  Be patient, that too will pass.  So back to cleaning.  Let's think about this for a moment. How exactly did you keep the house clean before we moved in with you?  Did you let the dog hair pile up in the crevices of your home to where it stank so much...and THEN you finally cleaned it up?  Or did you clean up the house after you came home from work, or even on the weekends?  JUST DO IT!  Don't let everything pile up and then get mad because we haven't helped.  If there's laundry, wash, dry, and FOLD the laundry.  If there are dishes in the sink, clean them.  If the floors need vacuuming...and the bathroom.  OH MY GOODNESS the bathroom!!!!  Do not let the germ-infested room become more germy all because you're trying to prove a point.  Clean the damn thing!  Listen, we know you work hard and you're tired.  However, just because you have a woman living with you now, that doesn't give you full reign on selectively forgetting  how to pick up a mop, a bucket, wash cloth or sponge, and clean the house.  You become the "maid" until she is able to get back on her feet and take over the house dutites.  That is, if that is the arrangement you two have.  Either way, work with her, not against her.  She is already having a tough time with her hormones going up and down like the Screaming Eagle at Six Flags, or one of those twisty roller coasters.  And it's not something that can be turned off.  Oh no...it's constant.  One minute she's fine, the next she's biting your head off, to crying.  It can't be helped, it can't be stopped, but it can be diminished.  Is it fair for you men?  Hell to the no!  Do you want to bitch slap us??  Oh I'm sure you do.  But just remember, you helped with the baby making process :).  BUT!!! Don't despair.  If you start off by helping because you know she just can't do it right now, the hormones may not rage as much.  If they do take over....then I don't know what to tell you, except good luck.  That hasn't been my experience where the hormones took over no matter what, yet every pregnancy is different.  But take my word for it.  If I'd had that kind of support from the beginning, my reactions to things would have been completely different.

Last pointer.  Do special things for her.  Bring a flower or two home for your honey.  If she's too tired to go somewhere, don't pressure her.  But if she's not too tired, take her someplace special.  Of course this should be done whether she's pregnant or not, but now is the best time to show her some extra appreciation.  Men, you gotta step up your game.  And to those who already do this....I applaud you!!!  Keep up the good work.  But men who have no clue what they're getting themselves into, trust me on this.  I do promise that things will get better.  Especially when you're holding your new bundle of joy.  Everything you fought about, worried about, stressed about during the pregnancy will melt away as you're holding your new baby.  Just remember.  Be patient :).  This will most definitely work out and fall back into place.


* Please note that I am not a professional at all.  I am only speaking from my own experience.  I welcome any comments or questions you may have.  Thank you for reading!

Time to get real

At 195, I have decided it's time to do something about my weight.  Growing up I always had meat on my bones.  But I mistook it for being fat.  Therefore I never enjoyed who I really was.  I was always afraid of how others saw me.  Now years later, I am still in that same fear.  Worried that someone won’t want me because of my size.  And with the media, how can I not be self-conscious?  Being a busy mom, college student, and a part time worker, it is hard for me to take some time out and do what I need to do.  I love to exercise and I love to work out.  But the time just isn’t there it seems.  I tried out Weight Watchers for a couple of weeks, but that seemed to hurt me more than help me.  By that I mean I was constantly getting on the scale and obsessed with the points, whereas before I wasn’t.  I would only get on the scale the first thing in the morning, but that was it.  With Weight Watchers, it was more like three times a day.  And when I say obsessed, I was worried of using all of my points before the day was over, so I wouldn't eat much of anything.  Having a prior history with anorexia, I knew that was not a healthy way to look at things.  I feared that eventually my disease would come back, so I knew I had to quit the program.  Once I did, a weight was finally lifted. My eating has never been the culprit of my weight gain.  It has always been the lack of movement.  I’m not saying my eating is perfect, but I do not have a problem with portion size or over-eating.  It’s simply the exercise part.  Now if I had the money to hire a personal trainer, then I’d be golden!  Alas, that is not the case.  So as a pledge to myself, I have made small short term goals that will have long-term results.  

Goal 1:  Get back to the gym.

Even if I only get there once a week, that is progress.  Just doing nothing won’t help me, it will only hurt me.  There have been many times I have told myself reasons not to go, or that I could do it or something else later.  But once later got here I was always too tired or just didn't feel like it. 

Goal 2: Stay off the computer. 

This is a horrible, horrible, horrible habit of mine.  When my son is outside playing or if we go to my mom's house, all I want to do is relax, watch tv, and get on the computer.  I don’t want to be bothered to do anything.  It’s been a long day and/or week and shoot I deserve it, right?  Well instead of getting on the computer, I can be doing some exercise DVDs, clean, or even cook.  There is something I can be doing that doesn’t require me to be on the couch.  8:30 pm is his bed time and the time when I should be sitting on the couch in preparation of going to bed.  Which leads me to my next goal…

Goal 3: Go to bed early.

I have a horrible habit of going to bed around 11 pm or midnight.  Not exactly the best time to get some shut eye for a busy person like me; especially since I have to get up at either 5 or 6 am.  

Goal 4:  Drink more water

Another bad habit I have.  I will admit, I have a huge sweet tooth and I don’t always want to drink water.  I like my juices and kool-aid…scratch that…LOVE them.  But I also remember when I was drinking a lot of water, I felt more energized.  Time to go back to that.

Goal 5: Play with my child more.

This goes along with Goal 2.  I know I’m not the only guilty one of this (not pointing any fingers!).  So I feel okay with admitting this.  He has asked me to play with him less and less.  Mainly because I have been too tired and suggested he do something else.  The way I see it if I keep this up, one day it’s going to bite me in the behind.  The song The Cats in the Cradle comes to mind.  

So those are the first of my goals.  I’m sure many are saying “How simple, why couldn’t you just do that already?”.  I’ll tell you why.  I haven’t been ready.  I could give you every single reason why I wasn’t ready, but I’m not going to.  The point is, I am ready now and I want to change, now.  That is the most important lesson.  Anyone can say they want to do something and say how they are going to do it.  But nothing will be set in motion if they aren’t ready to make the change happen.  

There you have it.  My time of realness :).  I am now going to enjoy the rest of my busy week.  I hope you enjoy yours.