Crap... sugar... what's the difference? Taming counter-top clutter.

For months, every day I would wake up and say to myself:   "Today's the day! Today's the day I am going to clean up the black hole of crap that is next to my computer!"

Every night I would go to bed and think, "...tomorrow... I'll do it tomorrow..."

The problem is that it isn't just paperwork... there are so many little items that don't necessarily have a place to go.  As a result, they become part of the flotsam and jetsam of the household tide.
A business card will travel from the dresser to the kitchen to the dresser to a pocket to the dresser again...

I few years ago I picked up some wooden kitchen canisters at Goodwill.  I realized that kitchen canisters can hold crap just as easily as they can hold sugar.
(Yes, I forgot to take a true before picture.)
These were a grass green color and had a basket weave design on the fronts with tea, coffee and sugar etched into them.  I painted them a light apple green.

Not wanting my Crap-canisters to say things like sugar on the front, I decided to break out the Mod Podge and make sort of a triptych across the front with a bird on a branch.
Oh yeah... in  leopard print.

I turned a sheet of scrapbook paper over and sketched out a branch that would line up across the canisters and cover their existing labels.    I cut out a bird as well.

I lined up the design across the 3 canisters and cut it into thirds where necessary.

I Mod Podged the paper into place and added some black paint to the tops.

Now I realize that it is entirely possible that Handsome Hubby will not appreciate my choice of leopard print bird and branch...  No worries!  Riggght face!

A simple turn and no one can see the leopard print anymore.
Also?  You can't see the eleventy billion receipts I have to enter into Quicken...

 

...or the cables, cords, wires and camera...

...or the worst offenders of the craptastic mess on the counter...

Now, it certainly can be argued that I did not actually clean up the mess on the counter, but instead put it in the proverbial spare room and closed the door.  Yeah?  What's your point?  The mess is contained.  

If I need to know where I can find a loose stick of gum, a bobby pin, a broken necklace or a watch with a dead battery, I know exactly where to find them.

I will sleep well tonight! 

Check the bottom of the blog to find buttons to weekly parties where I link up.


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We Want To Know Wednesdays #2

The ladies behind Seriously Shawn, Dandelion Wishes, Confessions of an Impulsive Addict and The Johanson Journey   have started a series of weekly questions to answer.  I appreciate that it is on Wednesday... the day I am most likely to be up to my eyeballs in laundry and have forgotten to make dinner.

This week's questions:

1.} What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Are you an eyes or a smile person? Maybe another body part?

I think mainly it's their smile.  Handsome Hubby has a great natural smile. I also love, love, LOVE his laugh.  Just thinking about it makes me smile.  On a day where I've heard him genuinely have a big belly laugh is a great day for me.

2.} If a movie was being made about you who would you like to see cast to play you? And would your movie be a comedy, drama, romantic-comedy, action film or a horror movie?

This is a tricky one.  I have gotten comparisons to Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts, but I think it is because we all have big  hair.   I think personality wise, the best person to play me would be Kathy Bates or Annette Benning.  And of course the movie would be a swashbuckling action flick.  (Or maybe a dramatic, romantic-comedy.)

3.} Does your senior yearbook include a senior comment section? If so share what you said about your future goals. Have you met those goals? If you do not have a yearbook just share an old picture and let us know what your goals where when you were 18 and if you have met them. If you're brave enough, include your senior picture!

My yearbook did have a comment section, but I used my comments to give shout outs to my girlfriends.

This was my senior picture.  (You can see why I opted for a nose-job, yes?  My boobs are real, so shut up, shut up, shut up.) I had planned to go to San Diego State as a journalism major... but I took a very circuitous college route and wound up years later at Washington State with a public administration degree... I did speech writing and worked on policy development, so I guess that counts as journalism.   I like the writing I get to do for The V Spot and for My Favorite Hate Mail much better than writing political speeches. 

 4.} What latest trend simply baffles you? 

Skinny jeans.  But also, any pants or jeans on guys, that are pulled up to just below their butts.  They can't walk.  They look like damn penguins walking down the street!  What the heck?! 

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(Want a really good laugh?  Watch one of these dorks try to run. hahahha!)

5.} When you walk into a room how do you present yourself? Do you walk in with confidence and command the attention of others or do you slink in and do your best to go unnoticed?

I haven't had to slink in anywhere since high school days when I had a curfew.  I walk into a room with confidence, but I don't know that I "command" attention.  (I'm confident enough that I don't need extra attention.)

Anyhow, go link up and meet some new bloggers.  Posts are always easier with a little writing prompt.



Thanks for the questions ladies!

Pink cabbage is just plain wrong.

So the other day I was in my local Goodwill  (Yes....  The one that sells rocks...)  and I came across this.

It clearly had a lid at some point in its life, but the lid was missing and there was a chip on the top of it.
Oh.  And it was pink.

Who has ever heard of pink cabbage?!  The only time I have seen cabbage that had a pink tinge to it, it was because I had left it to rot in the bottom of the veggie crisper drawer.  (Don't you judge me!  Everyone knows that the crisper drawers are where produce goes to be forgotten and die!)

Anyhow, I took it home, sprayed a primer on it...

At this point I am sure there are some of you feeling fairly uncomfortable with my choice, but that's probably because you think I am planning on using it as a bowl for food.  Never fear, I plan to use it as a springtime floral container or as a planter.

After the primer dried, I busted out the acrylic paint... and blooped a big 'ole dollop of celery green directly onto the bowl.

I used a small amount over the entire bowl, continuing to dry brush the paint in areas where it was a little uneven.  I wanted to make sure you could see brush strokes and imperfections.

From here, and even while it was still a little wet, I took it out to my spray paint area.  I balanced it upside down on another can of spray paint.

Here is where you need to forget everything you've ever learned about proper spray paint application. You're going to take a can of clear, gloss lacquer or sealant, and you are going to spray heavy coat upon heavy coat of clear gloss on this baby. Yes, it'll drip. Yes, it'll run... but since it's upside down, it'll be running up. Leave it for a day or two.

When it's completely dry, it will look like it's fired ceramic, not like acrylic paint on an orphaned Goodwill bowl.

I think it'll look really cute with little pansies planted in it, or some tulips... but all I have today are cuttings from my roses.   Anyhow, for a $4.99 Goodwill save and materials that i had on hand, I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Check the bottom of my blog for links to project parties, and please make sure to visit our other blog...
Tidy Mom 
Thrifty Decor Chick
I heart Naptime
Southern Hospitality

The Blue Twig Chandelier. (who knew?)

This is the project I did for last week's One Month To Win It challenge. It gave me so many problems that I almost included a "rest in peace" wreath when I sent it off to the judges.

Shockingly, this project won for the week. (In spite of my son telling me it looked like a blue alien that might try to grab him...)

May I just start off by saying that I normally don't have a tablecloth hanging from my patio cover, but I could not get my "Outdoor Craft" to show up in photos without creating a blank background of some kind.

That being said, I made a Blue Twig Chandelier. As the weather gets warmer, it's nice to be able to hang out on the patio, host brunches, etc. I like to pair the whimsical with the traditional when it comes to setting a table, so here we are.Gathering up sticks and branches, I spray painted them with Rustoleum's Lagoon blue. When dry, I used 28 gauge wire and hot glue to make a base with the larger branches, then began to layer on the sticks. Once I had a shape that I liked, (and got the darn thing level) I wired on votive cups and used Hubby's fishing line to hang little beads.
(Note to self: return his reel to the tackle box...)

I knew I wanted to do a chandelier for my challenge. I started several different chandys but couldn't get it right. Once I got "blue sticks" in my head I couldn't get them out. While this isn't photographing very well, it does look pretty cool. (Also, because it took me so long to complete this, I wasn't able to get a photo of it with the candles lit. Sorry.)

And seriously: you do believe me when I say there usually isn't a tablecloth hanging there, right? Right...?

Please head over to One Month To Win It to vote on the final challenge: Repurposing an article of clothing or an accessory.

Linking up with parties listed on the bottom of this blog. Click any of their buttons to link up or visit.
Tidy Mom 
Thrifty Decor Chick
I Heart Naptime

Some comments just deserve a good roast.

So the other day Halsey from Spunky Junky left a comment on an old post of mine saying she thought it was funny. It was so old I had kind of forgotten what it was about, so I re-read it. I cracked up, remembering the situation. I decided to re-post it today in the hopes that maybe some of you will find it funny as well.

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****originally published on The V Spot January 27, 2009****

Criticism is part of life. I expect it. I yap about whatever I want to on this blog and I figure most people
a) don't read it;
b) could care less; or,
c) agree with me.

Sometimes it is the person doing the criticizing that is a surprise.... I am being criticized by my (big, strapping, weightlifting) brother-in-law because I said in a post that the movie Bring It On has no plot.
I will respond to what I sincerely hope are his tongue in cheek comments. (I thought about putting his comments in pink, but that's just uncalled for. Italics will work just fine.)

As the former captain of a male Yell Leading squad ('88 CVHS), and who at one point in his own life could indeed do round-off's, cartwheels and splits (from my own Karate days no less)...

You do know this is a public site, right? Other people will find out about this past of yours...

I am stunned you say there is no plot to Bring It On. "Blasphemy" I yell in my gold and black megaphone!

OK, maybe I was a bit harsh when I said there was NO plot. I'll rephrase. There IS a plot. It's just that it is so tired, transparent and formulaic that it is easy label it as having no plot.
I stand corrected.

I'll have you know there are 4 movies in the franchise, with a 5th (Bring It On: Fight to the Finish) slated for a 2009 release!!

McDonald's is a franchise too. Just because there are a lot of them around doesn't make them innovative, exciting, thought-provoking or necessary. (And the fact that you are so generous with the use of exclamation points when it comes to writing about the 5th one... well, it has me a bit worried about you.)

The stories are chock full of high stakes drama fueled by teen angst as generally the under dogs have to overcome insurmountable odds to prove they are the best cheer team.

Remove the cheerleader aspect and you've just described the plot of every Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon ever made.

It's the tale of the unsung hero's...the cheerleaders and yell leaders of our communities. We never get credit.

Does the tale belong to the unsung heroes, or is it about them? Decide, adjust your punctuation accordingly, then get back to me. (Say hi to my sis and give her a big hug!)

****Updated to add: If you're interested in more of my responses to comments, search the label "Retorts" If you'd like to weigh in on comments other people have relieved, visit My Favorite Hate Mail.****

I'd answer your question... but you just. won't. let. me.

Dear Carmina,
Thank you for the comment on my post about how to etch your name into the bottom of your glass pans...

"Quick question, do you have any problems with the etching after it's been in the oven?"
I wanted to give you a Quick Answer! I wanted to tell you that "Yes! Yes! It can go in the oven with no problems...!"
But, alas, your email is not enabled. Your email is listed as "noreply-comment@blogger.com" It's right there... I. Can't. Reply. NO reply.

OK, so I will click on your name and (although I feel awkward when I have to do it) I will leave the answer to your question from MY blog in a comment about a post on YOUR blog.
Awwwwwk-waaaaard!

But wait! You don't have a blog! Or a public profile.

I hate when this happens!
I write up tutorials, hit publish and send them out into the blogosphere, hoping that they will help somebody. (Anybody..)

When someone has a question about one of them, I so want to answer it!! It bugs the snot out of me when I can't!

So Carmina, whoever you are, I hope you come back by my blog at some point.... and I hope you see that, yes, you can use the pans in the oven.

And then I hope you enable your email.

***UPDATED TO ADD***
The first person to leave a comment here, "Scrappy" is laughing at this post "OMG too funny!" Yet is also no reply/no profile.
tap tap tap... is this thing on? Am I talking to a freakin' wall here?!
People! Enable your email!
Oy.

We Want To Know Wednesdays #1

So 3 bloggy friends (and a fourth friend I haven't "met" yet) are starting We Want to Know Wednesdays. They say I can avoid laundry by answering a few questions... Avoid the laundry?! I'm in!



The questions they pose are as follows:

1. Do you make friends easily?
Yes, actually. I don't need to have someone talk to me first. I can strike up a conversation with (and hold my own with) just about anyone. I don't necessarily look very friendly... in fact, I have had lots of friends and acquaintances confess that when they first met me they thought I looked really mean, but I assure you I am as nice as pie.

2. What 3 qualities are a must in a friend?
Qualities in a friend are not necessarily personality traits. Do I enjoy fun, witty people? Of course I do. But in a true friend I expect to find loyalty, honesty and general strength of character. (And if they're also fun and witty, all the better!)

3. What makes you a good friend?
Hmm. I actually texted some of them and asked for one word answers to describe me. I got a couple of loyals and an honest/forthright and a supportive. I also asked Handsome Hubby, (he is my best friend, after all) and he immediately said: "Loyal... (brief pause) ...just like my dog."

My friends and my family are the most valuable treasures in my life. I would hope that I treat them in a way that they know that I feel that way about them.

4. Have you ever met a bloggy friend in real life? Yes? Tell us about your meet up. No? Who would you love to meet?
I have a friend who started a blog and encouraged me to start one too, but she doesn't count because I already know her. I have not met up with any bloggy friends in real life... Yet. In a few weeks I am flying to Austin for a long weekend with Shawn, Becca, Impulsive Addict, Jenny Kate and Jen. I can't wait!

5. Who is your best friend? Tell us about them.
I am fortunate enough to be married to my best friend. I've gone into great, sappy detail about how fabulous he is. (And because of the "loyal like my dog" crack, I won't tell you again in this post.)
Handsome Hubby is on the right, and on my left is Scott, who is like the brother I never had. (And sometimes didn't want!) We were all in 6th grade together. Scott's parents and my parents are great friends. In fact, I call his mom My Other Mother. He is Conner's godfather.
This is us at our 25th High School Reunion this past summer.

This is Eva, my best girlfriend.
I've known her since Junior High and I can count on her to always be there for me. She knows me better than anyone else and isn't afraid to remind me of that. She will also tell me when I have spinach on my tooth or toilet paper stuck to me shoe... or when I am screwing things up.
She's like a sister to me. You can read more about some of our adventures under the label Tales To Tell. (Read the Lucy & Ethel Go To Mexico: The Shark Story posts... part 1 part 2 part 3)
***updated to add*** I just got her reply to my text about 1 word to describe me as a friend. True to form, she couldn't use 1 word" Loyal. But that's boring... If it weren't one word, it would be "your go to, bail you out of Tijuana jail friend"!!! More descriptive.
And that right there explains why we shouldn't be allowed to vacation in Mexico by ourselves.

I have a handful of awesome girl friends that are right up there in the friends dept too.
My friend Chris holds a really special place in my heart.
We go on vacations together and she is my person I can always count on to give it to me straight.
I went to school with all but two of the gals in this photo. Old friends (and friends who feel like you've known them forever) are the best!
I love all my girlies. They are blessings.

So my bloggy friends, thanks for asking the questions. I did indeed skip the laundry! Thanks guys.

Go visit and link up if you want to play along.

****** Updated to add:***************
I can't believe I hit "publish" without adding in my Mom!!! Boy did we knock heads when I was a teenager, but she is a best friend to me now. We talk on the phone at least 4 times a week and I love, love, LOVE spending time with her.

This is an awful picture of me (hello, welcome to my nostrils...) but my mom looks so pretty in this one! See that gray streak in the front of her hair? She's had that since her early 20s. I have the same streak. Unfortunately, mine comes in on the top of my head, so I have to color it or I would look like a skunk!

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