Favorite Projects of 2009

I was just over at Rhoda’s and saw that she is having a linky party for our favorite projects of the last year.  Sounds like fun!

Here we go, with some of my favs:

Back in March, I used garage sale shutters as art in my master bathroom.

In April, I created a homemade version of ceramic alphabet balls using ping pong balls.  Can U find the one I made?  Do U need a hint?

April still, and I painted these numbered locker baskets.

In June, I redid the chair that sits at the computer desk.  Full disclosure:  the linen fabric has not held up well to constant use, and is in shreds.  I’ll be replacing it again soon.

In July, my sister reupholstered a couple of chairs for me using drop cloths.

In September, I helped my friend Dixie create a display of white dishes.

In November, I made apothecary jars.

 

And some pillows from thrift store clothing.

Finally, in December I made monogrammed vases.

And hand-tinted vintage prints.  (Some have questioned why you would bother to do this when you could just print it out in color.  Well, for one, I rarely have colored ink.  Secondly, I think it looks very cool hand-done!)

It was fun to go back and realize how much I have done over the year.  Can’t wait to see yours!

A Post About Nothing

Well, after all that, I’m at a loss for material today!  I think still having the Christmas decorations up is dragging me down.  Normally we would have packed it all up this past weekend, but Craig volunteered to paint, so I sure wasn’t going to hinder that by asking him to haul all the Rubbermaid bins up from the basement.

Hopefully before too long I will have a powder room makeover to show you; there are still several things to finish up.

Okay, I’ve seriously been sitting here in a half-stupor for the last hour and a half trying to come up with something for you.  All I’ve come up with is a question that’s been haunting me for years:  if possums are nocturnal, and they sleep hanging in trees, how come you never see possums hanging in trees in the day time?

Clearly it’s time for me to hit the sack.

I will leave you with a picture that’s got my wheels a-spinning, which may be a bit of a hint of things to come.  Maybe.

source

Recap

Thanks for all your comments yesterday.  I really wasn’t just fishing for compliments, but I appreciate them!  The consensus seems to be keep on doing what I’m doing.

For those of you who said something along the lines of “your blog should reflect you and your interests”,  I do agree (though I still hope to be of interest to somebody else, I guess).  And I suppose my blog does reflect me:   we’re both kind of mixed bags. 

So there you have it…nothing radical content-wise is going to change around here.  I’m good with that.

Back to regular programming tomorrow.

BTW, I’ll still take suggestions, criticisms, etc. if you’ve got ’em.

I’d Love Your Input!

The beginning of a new year is the traditional time for taking steps to making improvements in one’s life.  In that light, I have been thinking about what I can do improve and grow my blog.

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors did a post recently with a similar premise, and asked for input from her readers.  There is some really good insight over there, particularly in the the comments.  It’s worth a look-see.  Once you’ve there, I guarantee you’ll go back for her mad skillz!

I’m going to do something along those lines as well, and ask for your thoughts on my blog in particular (is that too selfish?).  I’m going through a bit of a blog identity crisis right now.

Am I a decorating blog?  I do some of that, but I’m no Nester, and I’m not very original.  Even when I think I am, I find out that somebody has already done it!



Am I a crafting blog?  I’ll answer that:  no, I’m not.  Again, I do some of that, and  My Thrifty Gifty series was pretty popular, statistics-wise.  But as before, originality is not my forte.  I’m better at being able to recreate something I’ve already seen.



My main thrust seems to have evolved into thrift store blog.  It was unintentional; it was fun to show some of the stuff I found, but I really didn’t mean for it to be all about that.  I’m not going to stop going to thrift stores, but I’d like to try to focus more on what I can do with the things I find, and how thrift stores can be one way to stretch your dollar.



I do add some family stuff  into the mix, and according to the comments on Funky Junk, some people don’t care for that.  It’s too off-topic for them.  I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter.  Myself, I like a bit of the personal touch when I’m reading a blog.



So, here are some questions for you, to help me make this blog a place you like to visit:

1. What do you come here to see?
2. What do you like most about my blog?
3. Dislike? (don’t worry about hurting my feelings!)
4. What would you like to see more of?
5. Less of?
6. Keeping in mind the general feeling of my blog, what kind of linky parties would you like me to host, in which you might participate?
7. Any other constructive criticism?

I would so appreciate any input you may want to give!  After all, if it didn’t matter what you thought, then I might as well make this a private blog.
 
To all my readers, thank you...thanks for coming here in the first place, thanks for your comments, and thanks for coming back!

2010!

Two-thousand ten?  Twenty ten?  I wonder which will turn out to be the common verbiage.

Have a wonderful New Year’s Celebration! 

See you back here Monday.

Decade in Review—Part 2

2005

• First half of the year is uneventful, in a good way
• Homeschooling going well
• Craig’s clinic job hours are hard on young family (he gets home at 8:00 every night)
• Craig is offered and begins a new job as head (and only) chiropractor for a new business backed by investors
• My real estate hobby leads us to sign a lease/purchase on a house
• We move in July (Parade of Homes #9)
• Love our new neighborhood

Christmas card photo 2005

2006

• In the spring as we begin to look into the purchase part of our lease/purchase, things don’t go well
• In June, the whole family travels to Duluth, MN for my brother’s wedding; we all stay in one big house
• In July, we move again, back to our old neighborhood (Parade #10)
• Summer vacation at Lake Michigan
  
• In the fall, Firstborn goes to public school for the first time, 3rd grade
• Skippy is homeschooled for kindergarten

Split Rock Lighthouse, Minnesota

2007

• After the first of the year, we put Skippy in public school kindergarten
• In January, my paternal grandmother, and last grandparent dies, almost 3 years exactly since my other grandmother
• We all meet in Detroit again for the funeral, again on my birthday/Superbowl weekend
• In March I travel to Phoenix and meet my siblings there for a celebration of my Dad’s 50th year of preaching
• We do not move this summer!
• Pinkerbelle starts kindergarten, public school
• We go to Phoenix for Christmas

Pinkerbelle’s first day of school

2008

• In January, we put a contract on a house to be built
• We drive out every weekend to see the progress
• Move in end of April
• Summer vacation in Chicago/Lake Michigan beach
• Craig is given part ownership of the business
• Kids start new school
• For the first time ever, I am kid-free for 8 hours/day
• I start a blog!

In progress

2009

• Lots of decorating
• Lots of thrift stores
• Lots of blogging
• My sisters visit in the summer
• Firstborn is homeschooling again for 6th grade
• We have no plans to move!

Posing with my sistas!

Looking back, I would say the one big lesson of the decade for us is that no matter what kind of…pardon me…cr*p you go through, God can use it for your benefit. But I should have already known that, right? It's right there in Romans 8:28: "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God..." (NLT)

Craig would not have the job he has now if he did not have the experience he gained in the school of hard knocks in Kentucky.

If we had purchased a house when I wanted to, we wouldn’t have built our own, and we would have bought at the top of the real estate bubble. We would probably have ended up being upside down on the mortgage; as it is, we are pretty much holding steady, which isn’t too bad these days.

Praise God for his merciful care!

Decade in Review—Part 1

My friend Lucy did this on her blog, and I thought it would be fun, so I’m copying. Of course, for her the decade started when she was in 8th grade, so she’s had some pretty big happenings in the last 10 years. When you’re my age, 10 years doesn’t seem like that long!

2000

• I remember watching TV as the new year arrived around the world, a bit relieved to see that the whole Y2K thing turned out to be a non-issue.
• Living in a rental house, Parade of Homes #4
• Skippy was born in July, my first homebirth
• Finances were bad and getting worse, contributing to…
• Emotionally, I was in a big funk (depression, really), especially after Skippy’s birth

2001

• The first half of the year was spent looking for an existing, profitable chiropractic practice to purchase and trying to get financing
• Moved to Louisville, Kentucky in July to take ownership of said practice
• Salary tripled over night
• Felt relieved, and happy, but homesick
• Surprise pregnancy
• Bought our first house in December, Parade of Homes #6
• Made once-in-a-lifetime (business) trip to US Virgin Islands in December

2002

• Unremarkable first half of year…things finally seemed “normal” for our family
• Pinkerbelle born in June, homebirth
• Right about that time, things began to get weird with the business (read about it here)
• by Christmas time, it was really stressful and uncertain what would happen with the business

2003

• By late winter, everything was crumbling around us, the lender called the loan on the business
• We began preparing to move back to Missouri and start over
• Made the move in May with the help of our old church, lost our house, back to renting (Parade of Homes #7)
• Salary effectively zero, overnight
• Craig began practicing again, with a handful of his old patients from before KY
• Began homeschooling Firstborn for kindergarten
• Declared bankruptcy
• Glad to be back “home”, everything else pretty much sucked

2004

• My maternal grandmother dies in January, we travel to Detroit to meet the rest of the family for the funeral
• Because her death was within 6 months of the bankruptcy, my inheritance is confiscated
• Craig is hired to run a clinic for his alma mater; we are getting a regular paycheck again
• We remodel and then move into the church house in May (Parade of Homes #8)
• I love the house, I’m happy with the paycheck, the rollercoaster is on the upswing again
• Summer vacation at Lake Michigan beach for the first time
  
• Between Christmas and New Year’s most of my family gathers at my house for a rare family Christmas…great memories

To be continued….