Home Work

The last three days have been fabulous as I have been off work. Today is my last day home and then it's back to the daily grind....

Having read 27 things to Feng Shui Your Home Monday night, I was inspired to declutter even more. I culled through my clothes in the closet and dresser. My husband now has more clothes than I do! I got rid of several purses and all of my clothes that either did not fit right, were too small, or I no longer find to my liking.

I also gave the porch columns a fresh coat of white paint and will do the same with the front door today. Soon I hope to get to the house shutters. I love working on my house!!

I found a lovely fabric that I want to use to recover the seats of my two cane-back chairs in the living room, along with make slipcovers for the large throw pillows on my sectional sofa. We have decided upon a lovely blue seafoam color to paint the living room...not to dark or light. A nice compromise I'd say.

Well, it's time for me to close for now. I promised the girls I would take them to the zoo today. It is already hot and humid....ugh!

Hope you have a fabulous day!







Life and Leisure

Kenzie and I did the grocery shopping this morning shortly after 7am. I wanted to avoid the crowds this afternoon (and traffic!) with it being the lasty day of public school here, plus the start of Memorial Day weekend! I was able to stock up on a few things and saved a little money with coupons.

Once home, Kenz and I unloaded the car. I put away all of the groceries then had breakfast while surfing the internet. All too soon it was time to leave for work. Work was super busy today for lunch rush and traffic was backed up for miles with everyone trying to get down to the beach!

When I arrived home from work, I changed into my swinsuit and joined the girls in the pool. It's so relaxing to just lay on a float in the sun while listening to the birds singing. I made up my mind right then and there that I am going to enjoy each and every second of my off days!

Yes, I have house and yard work to do, but I plan to mindfully go about my tasks instead of rushing through trying to get everything done in a hurry. I plan to include a bit of leisure time, too. Time in the pool, reading, giving myself a pedicure, watching a movie or two, maybe an outing with the girls to the zoo and naps. Oh yes, there must be naps!

Life need not be all work and drudgery. It is good and healthy to have regular doses of leisure time. All work and no play leads to burn-out and that is never a good thing. Life is too short to not be enjoyed.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! 

Cut Flowers

Each flower is a soul blossoming out to nature.

Gerard De Nerval

Our girls like to visit with an elderly lady up the road, Mrs. Hesse. Yesterday she sent this gorgeous bouquet of flowers home with the girls for me cut fresh from her garden. They smell heavenly!

The Master Bath

This is my bathroom. It is long but not very wide. It is wall-papered, but we would like to eventually take that down and paint. 

The sink/vanity holds much of my  Mary Kay beauty products. The wicker container is divided into two sections: Alfred gets one half and I the other (along with the rest of the space!:)

Another shot of the sink/vanity...I love the mirrors but not the gold tone. They will be repainted white when  we start redoing the bath.

And finally, my shower curtain with it's delicate embroidered pink flowers and cream tassels.

I hope you are enjoying the tour so far!

My Office

This is looking into my office from the dining room....

My desk where the blogging magic happens and where I visit with all of my blog friends and kindred spirits.

The sunflower picture was made by my 10 year old daughter, Kenzie, using acrylic paints on a canvas. Didn't it turn out wonderful? The picture in the pink frame on the left is my husband, Alfred. This was how he looked when we met. Absolutely dreamy!! I love Willow Tree figurines....can you tell?

At Christmas last year, I added the children figurines to my Willow Tree collection. They signify our family.

The one holding the cat represents Kayla (age 14) who loves animals. If you have a question about animals, she's your go-to girl! The other represents my spunky, sassy Kenzie girl, who is not afraid to rumble with the boys if need be. :)

The boy figurines represent my step-son Joel, who will be 19 in July and is currently away at military training (I hate the word step-son! I consider him my son and treat him as if he were my own!) and Kendall who is 18. He also wants to join the military.

This is my first Willow Tree figurine. It represents me and my husband, Alfred, and our love which has sustained us thus far. Next month we will celebrate 19 years of marriage!

Thank you for visiting!!

My Kitchen and Dining Room

I love my cottage kitchen! I have baskets to hold dish cloths and hand towels. The red cups in the windowsills are Kenzie's science experiments. I have two coffee pots - one for coffee and one for tea-making. And I love having a lot of cabinets!

This is my dining room. I have a gorgeous chandelier hanging above the table, but it's hard to get a good picture.

This is my centerpiece - a lace doily and a decorative candle holder.

I have also used it as a vase for flowers as well.

I am all about pretty practicality!

Thanks for visiting my kitchen and dining room! Tomorrow I'll share photos of my office.

A Positive Frame of Mind

I only worked an hour and a half today and was able to come home as we had too many people at work. Fine by me! I have all sorts of things on my to-do list and while I won't get all of them marked off, I can do one or two.

Today I want to finish cleaning my dining room, detail the interior of my car and tidy up the carport and front porch. They are all fairly easy jobs that won't take much time.

Several of you have expressed concern that I not take on too much along with reminders to take care of myself. I plan on taking a pleasant little nap this afternoon. I finished reading Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach last night (finally). And I am planning to fully rest and recharge after dinner while watching my favorite show, Biggest Loser.

Sometimes I do forget to take of me, so thank you for all of your kind comments and reminders!

I am finding myself in a much more positive frame of mind these days. I can't pin-point why exactly, but I like it! Partly I believe it is the acceptance that for now I must work part-time and my schedule is not bad at all. Also, I feel as if I am better balancing work and home. The decluttering and deep cleaning has helped tremendously in that regard.

Right now I am just feeling extremely blessed. I hope you are, too!

A Home of Peace

I have just returned home from the VA Hospital with husband. He has PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and a noticeably shorter fuse, so he is trying medication to help before his symptoms get out of hand. He is not a complainer and is a man of few words as far as discussing feelings, but he is a wonderful, loving man and I hope the meds do him good. There is only so much a wife can do, but the best thing is to make a peaceful home-life.

Me? I am off work today and plan to use my time cleaning and decluttering my home and being with my children. I have put a roast on in the crockpot and will bake a chocolate cake for dessert. I will make a pitcher of sweet tea for my husband to enjoy when he comes home this evening and fruit punch for the children.

When my love comes home, we'll talk about our days and then we, as a family, will gather around the table to eat a good homemade dinner. I will clean up the kitchen and go rest and relax with the family reading and watching tv and when our tummies have settled from dinner, we'll have dessert. Soon after that, it will be time for bed for morning comes early and with it back to work.

But tonight, there will be peace, love, and togetherness. 

Sunday

I have been quite busy lately. Not only am I working outside the home -  but I am once again decluttering and deep cleaning. I do a little in the morning before work and then again afterwards. I love the feeling of purging items we no longer need or use and reorganizing our spaces. It gives me a sense of peace and freedom.

On Friday, we got some much needed rain. We really need much more, but I am sure my flowers were thankful for the watering. Last night it was breezy and cool and I was so cold inside the house even. I had to put on winter pajama pants to go to sleep. I can not sleep if I am very cold.

The dogs woke me up at 5am to go outside and it was cool still. The sky is overcast (oops, now it is sunny!). I am hoping to get into the pool later with the girls and my sister, neice and nephew are supposed to come over, too, to visit and get in the pool.

There is always so much I want to do and so little in time in which to accomplish it! With that said, I will close for now and get back to my decluttering and deep cleaning.

Wishing you a wonderful Sunday!

A Day Off

Today I am off from work. Oh, how I look forward to those days! I had made up my mind that before my hair cut this morning I would browse in a couple of stores and pick up a few items needed here at home.

I found the loveliest pint of pink paint in the oops section at Walmart. I have a small dresser on my side of the bed that would look adorable with a fresh coat of paint. I spent $3 on it. Also purchased was a white exterior paint to paint the porch columns, front door and house shutters. Though I won't get to those projects today, it's nice to know I have the items already on hand when I do have time to tackle them. This weekend, perhaps?

For the yard, I purchased a garden hose and sprayer for the front yard - a very much needed purchase! - and a pair of pruning shears for my flowers. The roses in particular always cause me to draw my hand back in pain from their prickly thorns.

It was nice to be out alone browsing through housewares to see what the latest styles and colors are in home decor. I can't say I care very much for the very modern prints on the bedding. It just seems so aloof and cold to me. I much prefer cozy, casual, and comfortable with a little pretty thrown in for good measure.

I picked up a few paint chips in blues and yellows. Alfred and I can not come to an agreement on the blues. He wants ultra light colors and I don't. I suppose I will just keep looking until I find a shade we both agree on. Hmmph!

I am off to take a nap and then enjoy the rest of my day off. Hope you are enjoying your day, too!   

Swirly Goodness

Life has been full of swirly goodness lately. I have limited my computer time and have found myself enjoying more movies with my family and reading. I am currently reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time. I had tried to read it several times before, but just couldn't get into it. After reading an article in the latest Victoria magazine (May/June 2011), I was apt to try once more and have found myself thoroughly enjoying the book!

We spent a fair amount of money on the girls this past week, which we seldom get to do often, for no other reason than we love them and know these things will bring more joy and pleasure to our home-life. They received a pink notebook computer ($150), two Sing*a*ma*jigs ($4 each), a Magic School Bus Science Kit ($10) and Loopz game ($12.50) - all of which were at rock bottom prices and 25% off to boot for a total of $147.15! Plus we bought a swimming pool ($79) for the yard. 

I figure the swimmining pool will save us time and money spent going to the beach. Travel is horrible here in the Spring/Summer months for we live in a touristy area. I am all for less aggravation and making home an enjoyable place to be.
The girls stayed with my sister last night and Kendall was out with friends so Alfred and I watched The Karate Kid - the new one. While it was a good movie, it doesn't come close to surpassing the original one made in 1984 starring Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita.

We had gone to bed afterwards, missing the news about bin Laden's death. All I can say about it it is it is about darn time! I feel no sympathy for a person who can take so many lives without remorse. Good riddance!

 I am still working and selling Mary Kay cosmetics. And I am getting better about balancing home and work. I am ever learning and growing. Oh there is loads more happening in our shiny lives but I must go for now. I will try to pop in more often so as not to worry my dear readers and friends.

Wishing you a blessed week ahead...