The Weekly Loot

Yesterday DH and I went out yard sale-ing before I started work for the day.  It was probably one of the most abysmal yard sale days ever.  I found absolutely nothing!  Sometimes it's treasure, and sometimes it's truly just junk.  But this morning we went out and came home with a truck full of LOOT!  And dragging the kids around with us, at that!  He did much better in quantity than I did, but I came home buzzing off of my one great deal.

This chair was at our last stop of the morning, which we almost didn't even bother going to.  But we'd just been to a "dud" and didn't want to end the day on that note.  $5 price tag, I asked if she would take $3.  She did.  :)

Some other random stuff:

It's not all just about the furniture; I like little silly things too.  That flowery tea tin was 10 cents; the stack of plastic containers was .50.  I thought I could use them to store little sewing notions and stuff.  Two puzzles at .25 each...I cannot resist puzzles, even though I rarely do them and have no place to put them.  So help me, I can't resist.  A pack of unopened paper for .25 and a book for .75.  $5.10 total - great morning!

***

Oven Mitts, Revisited: My Sad, Sad Story

Wait till you hear THIS one!

This past March, just a few months ago, I got an email from someone regarding some oven mitts I'd made back in November.  Here they are:

The email said this:
Hi- I'm doing wardrobe for a commercial in LA shooting Monday for Zaxby's (it's a big chicken restaurant chain- sort of like Denny's maybe?).  The ad agency referenced your exact oven mitts from your blog.  Any way I can rent those or buy them from you?  I can paypal you money right away and give you a fedex number or however you prefer to do it.  They just have to be in the mail by Friday at the latest.  Please call me and we can talk, I'll be up by 10am EST.  thanks!!

At first I assumed this was some kind of scam.  (Why a criminal mastermind would want to steal someone's oven mitts, I don't know.)  But I checked out the lady's website, phone number, email, etc...and it seemed pretty legit.  Just not believable.  My specific oven mitts?...for a commercial...this had to be wrong.  YET I found myself calling the number at the bottom of the email.  Sure enough, the woman on the other end of the phone was the real deal, and I think she was just as surprised to hear from me as I had been to hear from her!  She kept saying, "They are not going to believe it when I walk in there with the actual oven mitts they wanted." 

Flattering, you say?  Read on.

She told me the Chris Kattan would be wearing them in a Zaxby's commercial.   I felt like such a rock star.  My oven mitts found their way from my dinky little western PA sewing "space" - not even a whole room, mind you - to glamorous L.A., where a famous person (OK Chris Kattan...but I'll take it!) was going to wear my Oven Mitts of Glory.

So, after getting a Paypal payment for postage AND an "oven mitt rental fee" (nice!), I stuck those things in a USPS overnight envelope, marched them down to the post office, and sent them on their way.

Have you already spotted the mistake?

Yeah.  I'm not particularly "anti-government," but I will tell you that I will NEVER AGAIN trust any government entity to deliver any more of my packages on time.  Long story short (and I will even spare you the details of my battle-royal with the supervisor at the post office), the mitts didn't get there on time.  They'd sent my package to the wrong zip code.  I just wanted to cry.  The fame, the glory, the chance to have a great story to tell....all gone!

And then a few weeks later, my sister called to tell me that she'd seen the commercial, and maybe I should be glad they didn't get there on time.

For your viewing pleasure:

D'OH!!!!

Bedroom Breakdown

I'm so happy to still have some readers here!  Thanks, guys!

So...the bedroom.  I actually have some "befores"...

before

What is with these cats???  Such camera hogs.  The "before"...eek.  Stark walls, leftover wall decor from when we had red bedding (not that it all has to match, but...).  ONE lamp, and not on my side, which was a pain.  Full-size bed...and I'm told that I kick.  No curtains. 

 After:
- I never realized that gray could warm up a room!  That is the Benjamin Moore color "Coventry Gray" - but I took the paint chip to Home Depot and got it mixed there in the Behr Premium Plus Ultra.  The kind with the primer in it. Looking back, I'd skip the Ultra and save a few bucks.  We still had to use two coats, and I wasn't blown away by the quality - I mean it's very nice paint, but I was expecting a miracle in a can.  I've used just the regular Premium Plus before, and thought that the Ultra didn't seem any different.  Not to mention, you really don't need primer on white walls.  Duh. 

- The bed: we got a queen-size bed and mattress set.  And there was much rejoicing.  Before we went shopping, I was under the delusion that we could probably get a good mattress set for about $300-$400.  But I was wrong, so wrong.  :(  And in an uncharacteristically UN-frugal moment, we bit the bullet, went to a furniture store, and bought the bed and dresser.  Even though we did not spend nearly what I know other people spend on furniture, I almost threw up as I paid the girl at the counter.

- The bedding!  I am in LOVE with the bedding.  Homegoods.  :)  And it came with the pillows - that's just one less thing for me to do!

Here's another before...

 
We were trying to cram too much furniture into the room.  The room measures 10'3" x 11'.  No joke.  So we got rid of that dresser and now instead, I'm using my closet for all my clothes.  I got a Rubbermaid closet system and there are lots of shelves in there now.  It's a ridiculous mess right now, or I'd post a picture.  It works pretty well, but I'm still getting used to it.  It's worth having the extra openness in the room.

curses upon you, radiator!

Now there's just a mirror, which I love.  It was $80-something at the Home Depot - Martha Stewart brand.  Not exactly frugal, but have you priced these mirrors elsewhere?  Most start at $200.  I might have to take it back, though, because it makes my hips look big.  It's faulty.

Another before/after...

before...not great.

after...well actually, still not great, but better.  Please ignore the bag hanging from the door and the hamper sitting there.  I didn't mean to have those in the picture...

Low budget item #1: the curtains.  They're actually sheets.  Twin size flat sheets from Walmart, $5 each.  That's $10 a window.  Not too shabby!

that's my daughter's head in the picture.  I tried to crop it out, but there were technical difficulties. 

Low Budget item #2: the lamps.  $7 each at a yard sale.  I didn't have to do a thing to them!  The lady would NOT bargain, though, and had no sense of humor at all, which made me almost put them down and walk away, but DH was there and he talked sense into me.  You can't get lamps anywhere for $7 apiece. 

Low Budget item #3: the side tables!  I wish, I wish, I wish I had a before picture.  You would not believe how crappy these things looked.  They're just cheap-o MDF, and they were brown, and falling apart.  They were originally $5 each, but I bargained and got them for....ready...$5 for the pair!  I sturdied them up by replacing the original dinky little screws with bigger ones...and then a little primer, paint, & polyurethane...and wow.  They could not BE more perfect.

So the last thing to do is to replace the light fixture on the ceiling.  I have NEVER liked it.

I'm going back and forth between spending $99 at Lowe's for a showstopper...

Or just getting a $10 basic, unnoticeable, sad, boring flush-mount one.  I'm actually leaning more towards the "who cares" one, just for the sake of not blowing any more cash.  I don't know, though.  But I do know this: the old one has to go.  The Addams Family called; they want it back.

***

Hello again!

Hi.  I couldn't resist.  :)

I have gone through my "trendy cutesy fakey craft blog cleanse" and I feel much better now.  I hardly did any blog reading at all, in fact - even the ones that don't annoy me.  The whole blog world is such a phenomenon...it's great because it gives you a chance to connect with people you would never otherwise meet in real life. And I've met some really neat people online.  But on the other hand, it's easy to get sucked in and get your "real life" and your "blog life" confused.  Kinda scary - like that book, was it 1984?  Or Brave New World?  Where the woman would talk to her "family" on the screen...clearly I need to re-read some of those books from high school! 

Well, whatever.  The important thing is, now that it's yard sale season again, the temptation to bombard my facebook friends with my weekly loot is way too strong!  And boy did I score big this past weekend!  More on that later...

First a few updates:

1. I made a couple of new years resolutions this year, and so far, have actually stuck to them.  It's a miracle!  I think the lesson here is to AIM LOW.  The first one was to learn how to crochet.  Did it.  Thanks, YouTube!  That was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I'm "working on" an afghan.  It's stalled right now because I ran out of yarn (from Knitpicks) and the colors I needed weren't available, and even though they are available now, I haven't gotten around to ordering them yet. 

My other resolution was to read 36 books this year - about 34 more than I read last year. That one was a little loftier than the crocheting.   But I got tired of not being able to have a semi-intelligent conversation about books.  So I joined a book club, and that has been a blast!  Not only am I reading more, but I've met some great new people, and the food is always good.  :)  Right now I'm reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  It's gut-wrenching, and I have a feeling I haven't even gotten to the truly gut-wrenching parts yet.  I found a site called Goodreads, which I really like.  Is anyone else on there?  Let's be friends!  Here's my profile.

2. DH & I have been working on gussying up the house.  We started with the sad, neglected bedroom, and now I just love it. 

Can you spot the low-budget items in this room?  :)  Leave a comment and we'll see!

It's not totally done; I want to get something on the wall above the bed, and a rug on the floor.  Oh and a new light fixture.  

3. I got a new hairstyle:

4. I joined a gym this winter...which has been going great!  I don't quite look like Jillian Michaels...yet...but I can tell that I'm so much more in shape than I used to be.  I get there 3-4 days a week.  I'd like it to be more. 

5. I'm still nannying for the "7 under 7" and that is going well.  They actually asked me to come back next year, so, great!  I'll have gainful employment, at the same place, for two years in a row.  That's probably going to break my record.  But I am SO looking forward to this summer, which I'll have off (the mom is a teacher, remember?)...just me, DH (when he's not working), and the kids.  Can't wait!

So speaking of the young ones, it's time to make lunch.  I must go.  But I am curious....is anyone still here?  Even if you're not the commenting type, just humor me this time.  Leave me a comment to let me know if anyone is still reading this or not!  Thanks!

Taking a Break

I'll be taking an indefinite break from blogging...just not really into it right now.  I will be taking up smoking, lying around on the couch and eating bonbons. 

Don't I wish.  Well, not the smoking part.

I'll be spending more time with my family WITHOUT the computer in front of my face...doing sewing/knitting projects WITHOUT taking a million pictures of them "for the blog", and generally just living life without feeling the need to document it here.  Not that I don't enjoy blogging; I do!  I just need a little time away.

Actually, I'm only waiting for the chevron/burlap/"Anthro-inspired"/fabric flower/subway art/chalk paint thing to blow over.  Then I'll be back. 

;)

Snippets from my day job

You may or may not know this about me, but this year I have taken on a "nanny" job.  My youngest in in Kindergarten now, and this job was an answer to prayer.  I was looking for something that wouldn't take me away from my family on nights, weekends, or summers.  Or snow days.  Or holiday breaks.  Or any day that my kids were sick.   And I didn't want to have to leave our new doggie in her crate all day long.

So you see, my demands were extremely reasonable and simple. 

My plan was to get an Etsy shop up and running.  I couldn't think of any other income-producing thing that would meet my list of "requirements" for my family time.  I had just been praying about what God wanted me to do...understanding that "unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain" (Psalm 127:1).  I wanted to stay home and build my Etsy store.  But I didn't want to do it if God had something else in mind.  And in August, a friend of mine called me to see if I'd be interested in taking care of her kids during the day; she'd just gotten a teaching job.  So that's...no nights, weekends, summers, holidays, snow days, sick days...plus I could even bring the piggie-doggie with me if I wanted to.  AND, it was a guaranteed paycheck, unlike the uncertainty of how much I could earn on Etsy, and how long it would take to even get that ball rolling.  So I agreed to do it.

(Did I mention that my friend has 7 kids?  Oh, and the oldest one is 7.  They got married and had a baby every single year for 7 years.)

It is probably one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had, actually.  I tell people what I do, and almost 100% say, "are you crazy?"  (which by the way I think is kind of rude...but I know they don't mean it that way.)  When I've been out with only a few of the kids, people ask me the things I hear actual moms of lots of kids talk about, like..."are they all yours?" and things like that.  And I think, ha.  You think 4 is a lot?  I've got the rest of them stashed away at school right now...just wait till they get home.  THAT'S a lot!

It did take me the better part of the ENTIRE FALL to get used to handling all 7 at a time.  My whole perspective has changed.  I now think that having "only" 3 kids in the house - the baby, toddler, and preschooler - is a piece of cake.  (In what kind of world-gone-mad is that a piece of cake???)  And being at home with my own two school-age kids?  Absolute luxury. 

Well anyway, I always enjoy having a job where I have lots of stories to tell over dinner.  With this job, I am never at a loss for a funny story.  Here are some snippets from the last several weeks...

[With a great deal of urgency] "Do you know what, Miss Rachel?  There's a kind of ant that can eat your skin."

***

[Amidst the din of 7 children running all over the house] "Miss Rachel, could you please be quieter?  I'm trying to practice my piano."

***

"WAAAAH!"  What's wrong?  "I BIT MY HAND, WAAAAH!"  Well, maybe you should take it out of your mouth.  [Indignantly] "NO!"

***

"MISS RACHEL!  CanIgooutsideandplayinGod'sbeautifulcreation?  Pleeeeease?"

***

[After seeing my little white dog run downstairs with several green marker lines down her back]...Um, [6yo], why did you draw on Maggie?  "I didn't.  I was leaning on her while I was drawing on a piece of paper and the paper slipped."  (Incidentally, the green marker also "slipped" onto her bedroom carpet, forming the words "I Love Maggie" with several hearts around it.) 

***

[While explaining why kids aren't invited to girls' night out]..."Is it because you need some chill time with other adults?"  Yes.  How do you know about that?  "Mom says that to Dad a lot."  I'll bet she does.  I'll bet she does. 

 ***

[Me, to the 2yo]: Did you get to sit on Santa's lap?  Yes!  And what did you ask him for, for Christmas?  [Forcefully, with great conviction] a PWESHENT! 

Highs and Lows: Midweek Edition

...Because it's Wednesday night already, but it feels like yesterday was Saturday, so this sort of counts as a Sunday post, if we go by how I feel and not what's on the calendar...

HIGHS:
1. This sounds like an incredibly lame "high," and maybe it is.  DH & I, on Sunday (the REAL Sunday), went to both church AND "Sunday school for grown-ups."  That's what I did all growing up, and it's always felt a little weird to me that we haven't done it since we've been married.  For like, a decade.  The class we're going to is really good and very interesting, and there are donuts, and it's not important to get there on time, because there's about 20 minutes of social time first.  Score!  Plus, the kids don't mind - they actually enjoy - being at church for that extra hour or so. 

2. All the supportive comments I got from my last post were really cool.  It is really great to know that there are people who are on the same page as me. 

3. Went to MOPS yesterday and re-connected with some friends that I don't feel like I see very much anymore.  Not as much as I used to, anyway.  This is my last year for MOPS.  If you have young children (kindergarten and younger, down to infant), and you have a MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) group in your area, you should definitely consider going.  You drop your kid(s)(ss) off with the childcare workers for free, and then go in and have some food and adult conversation with other moms.  It can be such a lifesaver!  Here's a link: Find a Local MOPS Group.  I don't work for them or anything, don't worry.  ;)  I just wanna pass it on!

LOWS:
1. My car hasn't blown up yet so that we can get insurance money to just get a new one.  I keep hoping that one day I'll walk outside, and find that it has spontaneously combusted.  What a piece of junk!  It has LESS than 40K on it and already we've had to replace the alternator, and now it's doing something else that sounds like it's gonna be expensive, too.  I'm so frustrated!  If you are thinking about a Dodge Caliber, just do yourself a favor and DON'T.  I just want to trade it in and get a new one.  But we would probably get more money for it if it just exploded.  Keeping fingers crossed...

2. My sister has not moved to my town yet.  Not that she has plans to.  I just wish she would.  She lives in another TIME zone, for the love of Pete.  13 hours away.  I miss her.  Thank goodness for all-inclusive cell phone plans. 

3. This was a few weeks ago, but I realize that I haven't griped about it online yet: I spent weeks knitting my dog Maggie a sweater.  And the blasted thing is too big.  It looks like a Snuggie, and she just walks right out of it.  Sigh. 

Well, I mainly just wanted to say "hi" to those of you who read & comment.  Hi! :)  I'm still here, just doin' my thang.  Maybe soon I'll have something pretty & ruffly to share...................  ;)