Thoughts From the Laundry Room

I have a scrap room. I love it. I'd love to paint it up funky. However, it's right in the middle of the basement. With only a half wall separating it. So, unless I want to do the entire basement funky (um, no), I can't really go too far with it.

However, my laundry room is another story. It is separate from the rest of the basement, and even has swinging bar doors. So, I can go wild in there. I've been thinking about what I wanted to do in there since we moved in 2 years ago. Right now it's a revolting red white and blue stripe with hideous cabinets. I was originally going to do it in pinks and purples and fairies and sunshine, since I don't get to do too much girly stuff with 4 boys. Then I redid Lauren's room. I think that fixed the pink and purple urges. I also have a purple stairway. Love it.

So, I got to thinking. I have a Cherry Arte earpiece. I was sitting in the bathroom at Borders yesterday thinking that if I replaced the fronts of those toilet paper dispensers with Basic Grey, it would look way better. You get the idea. If it doesn't move, alter it. If it does move, chase it down and kill it first. So, maybe I can model my laundry room after one of my favorite scrapbook lines! It would be easy enough to match the paint colors, and then I could frame the papers as art work. No more freaking out about cutting into it, as it would be right there! I'm really quite brilliant, wouldn't you agree? (Even though I so totally stole the framing paper idea.)

The big question is... WHICH line? My 3 favorites are Cherry Arte, Gin-X and Scenic Route. I can't really do Cherry Arte since they broke my heart last week. ;) I'd hate to have to cry every time I walked into my laundry room. I don't really want to be in there as it is! I love the new Scenic Route stuff, but I'm not sure it's as FUN as I'd like. So, it's going to be Gin-X.

Now I just have to settle on a line. Or should I wait til after CHA??? What if there's one I like better? I probably won't get this done til July, so it could probably wait til August if need be.

I think this is the one:



How fun is that????


I love this one, too.



I also love:



So, what do YOU think? :)

Crop Out of Style

I'm going to a crop tonight. This is going to prove to be quite a challenge for me. The last time I went to one, everything I owned fit into my Crop in Style XXL. Everything I own now doesn't even fit in one room.

I did discover, however, that my new sewing machine fits quite nicely in the XXL. As long as I don't really bring anything else.

So, I think I'm going to work on page kit examples for the store, since I can't really use anything that's not in the kit, I won't have to bring my entire house along for those. And my Croppin' Paradise DT stuff, which is going to be a little more challenging, but I figure I can finish at home later if need be. And, finally end of year teacher gifts. I just decided this morning that I'm going to make little accordian albums. Ideally, I'd go take pictures and put those in there, but I can't really think of an easy way to take pictures of 4th graders without being detected/arrested. So, the teachers will have to do that part themselves. What if they don't take pictures? I guess that means they don't want to remember the little brats they taught this year, right?

So, what do you think? 3" albums? 4"? Maybe 4. 4" seems like a good idea. Then I can make 1 from each 12x12 paper. I need 9 of them. Maybe I should start with a cardstock base and then decorate? I figured I'd do patterned paper. Wonder do I have that much 2 sided paper. Hmmm. Surely I do.

I know what you're thinking. Just buy the stuff at the crop. I wish. I pretty much already own everything that store has that I want, and even some stuff I really didn't.

Hopefully I will figure it out. Oh, and I just remembered, I have to bring a dish to share. Guess I better go figure that out, too.

Please check Medical Terminology 1020

off my to do list and never put it on there again ever. Ever. Seriously, ever.

I took my final exam on Thursday. It wasn't due until Saturday, but I seriously just could not take it anymore. Had to be done with that class.

I think I did pretty good. I studied for 2 days straight (that's a new record for me, by about 1.89 days). I only needed 95/115 on that test to get an A in the class. Surely I got at least 95? I won't find out til the end of next week, but there's no sense worrying about it, because it's done now. Right? RIGHT?

One time, in college (not band camp), I got a B. I'm still ticked off about that. In fact, I almost don't even care that some of my credits didn't transfer. I'll sacrifice those 10 credits to not have that ugly B on my transcript anymore. Be gone, ugly B! Only As will do!

(ETA: I found this in my draft folder - Guess I forgot to post it! I got the results back, and I got a B on the final. It was enough -- I got an A in the class. WOO! I also ordered the books for my summer class used and spent only $27 inc shipping for both, tyvm.)

We All Have Our Quirks

Mine is the telephone, or lack there of. I hate hate hate the phone. I hate answering it, and I hate making outgoing calls even worse. I will, under extreme circumstances, but I find it very stressful and upsetting and will make my husband or anyone else I can get my hands on do my calling for me whenever possible.

He, of course, finds this very annoying. I find his whiskers in the sink very annoying. I feel like we're even. He says I should get therapy for my phone issues. There's no therapy for messy shaving, is there?

I'm not sure exactly when my phone issues started. As far back as I can remember, I've never really had much of a love affair with the phone. Maybe it goes back to the time when I was about 3 and playing with the phone and inadvertantly called the overseas operator to Japan. I don't remember getting in trouble, but maybe I was beaten and don't remember. Maybe not.

So, through most of my teen years and into young adulthood, I avoided the phone. I'd call my friend, she had her own line and was the only one who would answer. I wouldn't call my boyfriend, because the idea of having to ask for him totally freaked me out. But, I managed to make it through. I even had a job in customer service, taking 100 phone calls a day, and making about 30 outgoing. I think only because I was "the company" and not really ME. Nothing that happened on any of those calls was about ME. I don't know, I'm no shrink.

Through my long and lovely marriage to the ex-h (that lovely part was a joke, for those of you who are new here), everytime the phone rang, it was a bill collector to yell at me for not paying this or that bill.

It started getting way worse after my mother died. I got that call at 6 in the morning. We were never that close, but that's still a pretty traumatic thing to wake up to. (She was only 40, and not sick. Well, death sick, anyway, her other issues are for another post entirely.) From that point on, anytime the phone rang while I was asleep, it scared the crap out of me. Didn't matter if I was sleeping at 1 in the afternoon, if the phone rang, it scared the crap out of me. In the meantime, my grandmother, with whom I WAS very close was getting older and older and sicker and sicker. So, then, everytime the phone rang, I became convinced it was someone calling to tell me SHE was dead. That call finally did come, and it came at 5am, however, we knew she was going. In fact, I'd just left the hospital 3 hours before that, after they assured me they'd call in plenty of time for me to get there when the end was near. She ended up hanging on til after 10, so I was with her, and never got "that" phone call, but still.

Everytime that phone rings, my first thought is "oh my god, it's bad news. someone is dead." Doesn't matter what time of day. Doesn't matter that we have caller ID. I don't even look at that until after my mini-stroke. At that point, I'll answer it if it's someone I know. (And assuming I want to talk to them, which a whole other matter entirely.). If it says unknown or private, I don't answer. It's not really ever a telemarketer, as we've been on the do not call list for 2 years, so we only get one through about once every 3-4 months. It's never a bill collector, since we pay those now. So, what's my problem? Who the hell knows. I hate the phone.

This morning, I was lamenting about the fact that I have to call Advantus and find out why the Heidi Swapp stuff I ordered 2 months ago hasn't shown up yet. Apparently, GWH found this very annoying, as I assume he started trying to seek an internet cure for me. (The internet has everything, you know!)

He stumbled up this. For those of you who don't want to click the link, the page is called "TELEPHONE FEAR: Treatment and Hope".

It says the following: To add insult to an already distressing condition, most telephone fear therapies take months or years and sometimes even require the patient to be exposed repeatedly to their fear. We believe that not only is this totally unnecessary, it will often make the condition worse. And it is particularly cruel as telephone fear can be eliminated with the right methods and just 24 hours of commitment by the phobic individual.

Even he found the following excerpt from above site to be amusing: The process usually requires no more than ten hours. In exceptional cases we can achieve a favorable result in two to three. But because we guarantee the outcome, we will work with you for as long as it takes - five minutes, five hours, five weeks. We work highly effectively by telephone. This allows our clients far more flexibility in scheduling appointments, and the results are every bit as good as meeting in person.


Right... Let me send that $1500 check.

Randomness

Not quite sure I can form coherent thoughts this week, so here's a summary of what is going on in my life and head.

Dh bought a power washer this weekend. Since he had a power washer, he decided he'd clean the garage. So, he emptied it and it looks lovely now. What can I buy that will make him decide to do that to the rest of the house? Is there a Guy Vacuum that might inspire?

Noah is 4 today. Still pooping his pants. But funny as ever. We took the kids to Macaroni Grill for dinner and they brought him a big ass piece of cake. He said I could share it. So, I had about 3 bites when he said "that's enough halfs for you." Then, today, I told him we had to go to Target. He sighed and said "I just HATE Target." LMAO Love that kid. When he doesn't smell like the ass end of an ass.

My cleaning lady is here! New one started today. She's rockin so far, even cleaning fingerprints off the wall. She's hourly, and I told her to stay "how ever long it takes". I'm going to owe her approximately $925 when she's done.

Just to make me sound even more pretentious than that last comment did, my new nanny starts tomorrow. I can't figure out what I want to do first. She's going to come Tuesdays and Thursdays. Only Tuesday this week though. I should study since this is finals week and I've totally faked my way through these last 3 chapters. But that doesn't sound like a fun way to spend my first Nanny day, now does it? I think I need to make some Mojitos and sit on the patio. And, uh, study! Yeah, I'm out here studying. Damn I have good ideas.

I got a Blackberry. Seems weird for someone who refuses to use the phone and never leaves the house, I know. It's more an appointment keeper than anything. I have it set to remind me of EVERYTHING. 8:55 am, don't forget the cupcakes. 11:30pm go to Target. Of course, it's beeping all damn day, but I'm totally on top of things! While at Target, I bought a bluetooth earpiece. Came with 33 different designs you can use on it. Dh asked me what the charge and talk times were. Who the hell cares as long as it matches my outfit. Men.

Speaking of cupcakes and Noah's birthday... I bought a huge spread of GORGEOUS cupcakes at Sams on Saturday for him to take to school (see how on top of things I am now?). Then, on the way to put them in the car, I tripped over the gate and dropped them. Had to go to Bakery at 8:30 am. Very annoying. Noah taking cupcakes to school ended up costing me $24. Hope they were good.

I think that's all! If there's anything else, I'll put it in my Blackberry and remind myself to post it!

Dear About.com

I hope you die. Lots.

#3 Buy a Wishblade

I need to start blogging these faster. I did this one earlier this week!

I can't wait til it comes. Today I handcut the title "Backyardigans" and was cussing with every snip. Damn annoying to hand cut knowing my WB is already ordered.