snow day!!!!

First a two hour delay, then school was cancelled. Paul still had to go to work, and of course there wasn't gas for the snowblower, so he had to shovel out. I went out and helped, but oh dear that snow is deep and heavy. The kids are going out there later and we'll get it done.

Abigail is taking Charlotte Claire and Camille to Connecticut this weekend to visit friends, and they're taking a train to New York City tomorrow. So this afternoon, I have to bring the girls to Ab's work, so she doesn't have to backtrack. I do not like driving in the snow...

Let's see...Lydia has spent the week here, pretty much. Her mama had a root canal done yesterday, and is working her last night shift tonight, then starts regular Monday through Friday next week. Yesterday, Kathryn took her to McDonald's to play on the playground there (indoors!), with Char and Cam. She also brought her to Walmart and bought her a Barbie:)

I picked Sonja up from school, and brought her and Jonathan for physicals. We then went to Home Depot for light bulbs, a door knob for Sonja's closet, and new drawer/cabinet handles for the bathroom, although I think I got the wrong ones. And spray paint for some door knobs.

Then to Aldi, for a pizza to put in the oven when we got home, and for some fresh chicken wings, as well as a few Christmas countdown calendars with chocolate behind the little doors, eggs, milk, cheese, bananas, and a cute little trash can for the bathroom.

Here is my tale of woe, concerning trying to lose a few pounds...a few, as in fifty or so, ha. So, I give up sugar, work out every day, mostly, avoid carbs like the plague, and slowly by slowly, lose five pounds. Up a little, down a little, down a little more, and wow, five pounds down. The, last weekend happened. Now, I'm not going to lie, I could have eaten much much more. I was careful, but here's the thing: my metabolism does not allow for cheating anymore. I had tortilla chips with my healthy Chipotle food, and with my healthy Moe's food...AND I had some Norwegian chocolate, as well as that yummy bakery visit. I had a small molasses cookie, and tastes of lots of things, equal to like a second cookie. That's it. No ice cream, no sandwiches. Oh, and I had one slice of pizza on Saturday night, the smallest one in the box. Five pounds came back. A lot must have been water weight, because this morning, four of it are gone. I'm the same weight I was three weeks ago. Ugh. I know this isn't the weight I'm supposed to be at, but oh dear, it's a battle. It seems like I give up so much for so little change, but then I think of how I would be if I didn't do that...:)

It's my lot in life, I suppose. All those pregnancies, and all the things I craved: oatmeal, Cheerios...toast. Tomato sandwiches. Pizza. The morning sickness, the fatigue. I would get one small child to sleep through the night just in time to welcome a new baby, and the total lack of sleep that came with him or her, and who cares about not eating a stack of cookies when they're exhausted? I have good excuses! Really good ones! Here's another one: I don't like to waste food, so I would eat things the kids didn't want. What? You can't throw away that ice cream cone! Give it to me!

Anyway. Here I am on a Friday morning, a snow day, no kids up yet to celebrate it.

Jonathan is all moved in to his new room. The room he moved out of has the carpet torn up, and the walls spackled and sanded. Today, paint the ceiling, the walls, the trim...then put down the new laminate flooring. We are having company next week, and really want to get the room done. A snow day will be the perfect time!

My bathroom counter...oh dear. I asked Paul to caulk around the sinks, and it looks sloppy, but when I caulked along the back of the counter, I realized how hard it is to do it neatly, and I apologized for critiquing him. After I put all of our junk back on the counter, it isn't as noticeable, and it IS nicer than the burgundy, but I am no picture-perfect DIY-er.

Although it is swirling through my mind to do the kitchen counters sometime...

And spray paining the bright gold door knobs black: I can't wait! It's too cold out, and I don't want to do it in the house, but yay, what a good idea!

Shelves to put up, and flooring to put down...the kitchen is on the list...and the foyer, new carpet on the stairs and new flooring, and the ceiling painted, and Paul is going to take the brassy gold chandelier down so I can clean it up and paint it...not sure if I'll do it a chalky old fashioned white, or a bronzy-black...the walls painted, it's going to be sweet.

See, I figured I'm not going to win the lottery. I'm not going to move into a brand spanking new house. I'm not going to hire the Property Brothers or Joanna G. to come here and VOILA, turn this place into WOW. So, I choose to make the most of things, and work on doing what I can to make it nice here. Not magazine nice, but comfortable nice.

There are so many exciting things going on around here. Thanksgiving at Ben's next week! Making pies! I am making apple, blueberry, and pumpkin. Tell me, how on earth am I supposed to lose weight? I will gain ten pounds just looking at those pies. And Grace's dad is making us a pecan pie, Margaret and Evelyn are making chocolate pie. Homemade whipped cream. Then the dinner...mashed potatoes with gravy? Stuffing? (with gravy, of course!) The rolls with butter? I am doomed. But nope, I'll drink a huge glass of water before dinner, and be a good girl. Oh dear....

pictures of a really nice weekend...

The baby cousins see each other for the first time since June...Wulf and Grant. (my two grandsons, and Wulf had on overalls that Benjamin wore, and Ben just turned 30! All of my baby boys wore them!)




Little Grant fell asleep in my arms...precious.


Babies crawling on the bed at our hotel...we spent a lot of time there, the pool was fantastic, and the babies loved going swimming. They were then wrapped in warm towels and got their little feetsies splashed with the warm water of the hot tub.


Grant with his daddy, Samuel.


Sweet baby Grant.


It was lovely in Virginia, warmer than here. We went to a little town called Occoquan, circa 1734, just parked and walked around. It's on a river, so it was a pleasant walk. I spotted this...

Mom's Apple Pie Bakery. "We're going there!", I told everyone...Sam and Grace, Grace's sister Georgia, little Grant who was done with the stroller and was in his daddy's arms, Margaret and baby Wulf, Evelyn, Suzanne, and Camille...with a larger group, there's always the indecision, no one knows what they want to do or where they want to go, and if someone does have an idea, someone else is sure to sigh and roll their eyes. But when I saw this place, we were going.

It didn't disappoint.

The minute I walked in the door, my new diet went right down the drain. I wanted all of it, but we chose only: a black and white cookie, 3 molasses cookies, two apple donuts (huge and dense, these probably weighed 6 or 8 ounces, drizzled in maple-y glaze...), and a million dollar cookie, which was oatmeal chocolate chip with pecans. We found a table in the sun near the river, and started passing things around and breaking off pieces. Evelyn also had a gingerbread cookie, and Grace and Georgia had some pie...it was amazing. In retrospect, we shouldn't have even gone in, but oh dear it was yummy. I didn't go totally hog wild, I saved most of that million dollar cookie and the second apple donut, and stuck them in Sonja's lunch today, she can share with her friends.


Suzanne, Evelyn, and Camille


Evelyn, Suze, Cam.




Have you ever stopped at a Crispy Creme bakery? They fry those donuts up right behind that glass, and the conveyor belt glistens with fresh yummies, and the smell is simply heavenly. We were traveling back from Virginia yesterday, and I was talking to Sonja on the phone, asked her if she wanted some donuts, and yes, she did. We had to stop anyway, so why not in Clark's Summit? The whole town smells like one big donut, to me. We picked out a dozen beautiful donuts, but I didn't eat any. I just got a coffee. We stopped at Moe's and got some healthier food...:)


Will I ever grow up?

Anyway, it's a long trip, we left at 10:30-ish, and got home around six. Evelyn is an amazing driver, she drove the whole way there and the whole way back.

So here's my bathroom renovation nightmare...it was a rush job, because that's how I operate. Give me a deadline, I'll start dangerously close to it, and forsake all else to get it done. I had it in my head to get the resin/topping on that countertop by Friday before we left for the weekend, because so few people would be at home, it would be easy to let it set and dry. So all else had to be done before this final step. So:

Ceiling washed and painted. (ceiling paint)
Walls spackled, sanded, washed, painted...edged, rolled, repeat. (Sea Salt in eggshell, Valspar Signature)
Cabinets primed and painted. (Zinser 1-2-3 primer, Sherwin Williams Pure White for cabinets, leftover from kitchen)
Wood trim and door primed and painted (Zinser and white enamel, which I went over with the Pure White because I was using too many different paints)

So I was juggling all these projects at the SAME TIME, washing out brushes in between because I didn't have enough for each different paint. I did have Paul get me some extra rollers so I could ditch the ceiling paint ones and use new ones for the walls.

Painted the countertop...first primed it, then painted it pearl essences white, and was going to glop it with some bronze and gray and try to make it look like quartz...but the white didn't cover it well, so I re-primed it and just painted it gray. I was running out of time, it was Friday and I hadn't packed yet, hadn't washed my hair, and the rest of the house was getting messy. I needed to just get to the point where I was ready to do the final topping, so I just found a jar of sample paint, and rolled on a coat, waited half an hour and rolled on some more. I NEEDED to top it off, so I did, 45 minutes before I had to leave to pick up the high school girls, so we could pack that van and leave, I poured on that resin.

If you've never mixed up Envirotex Lite, you haven't experienced anything. I was stressed, and in high gear. Jonathan, bless his sweet heart, told me to relax. You have to measure it perfectly, and since I had crossed "Outing To Town" off my list, I didn't buy anything to mix this stuff in, so I had to sacrifice two tall coffee travel mugs, and two nice plastic pitchers. You mix it together for two minutes, then transfer to a second container, mix for one minute, then pour! It's clear and thick, and you have to use a piece of thick paper or a flat sided object to spread it, and work fast! In retrospect, I had more time than I thought I did, and I should have done a better job, but I get frantic, and I am one of those I'm-cleaning-the-living-room-but-also-washing-the-dishes-and-wait-the-laundry-needs-to-go-in-the-dryer-but-I-still-have-a-broom-in-my-hand-which-is-soapy-from-dishwater kind of people, scatterbrained and doing all sorts of stuff at once...so I didn't know where to start, and I should have had a better method of spreading it. Jonathan's side came out way better. He wasn't as emotionally invested, ha, he just calmly spread it on, while I spread it here and there and went over parts that I should have left alone...I ended up missing a few spots, and the backslashes aren't covered very well. I don't love the color, and overall it isn't great...but hey, it's better than the burgundy! It has to be caulked before we can use the sinks, but here's something:

It actually hardened! It's clear and glossy with only a few dog hairs in it.

(Sonja texted me on Saturday night right as I was falling asleep...Mom, there's a huge spot on the countertop. (I was concerned it wouldn't harden up, because that's one of the issues a lot of people in the reviews had...the measurements were supposed to be so exact, and I rather tend to eyeball things, ha. So I was asking frequently for updates about whether it seemed still sticky. So Sonja sent me this pic:

Oh how frustrating! A spot, after all that work!

The next morning, I woke up and thought about that spot, and it seemed ridiculous to get so worked up about a spot on the countertop, in the big scheme of life, of all things that are important. So I let it go, and decided to just be thankful, and not silly about it.

Fast forward to last night...I got home, and yeah, went straight to that bathroom to take the plastic off the sinks and see how things looked. The counter was very nice and hard, and not too much dust in it, and then Camille announced that she had wiped that brown spot right off. ha.


Before!!!
and...



I wish I had taken a true "before" pic, with the old unmatching chrome faucets, all chipped and corroded, covered in hard water stains. (These will be wiped off more often, hopefully won't get like the old ones did.)

Anyway...here I am home again, bathroom almost done. I need to get new hardware for the cabinets and I want to remove the doorhandle and spray paint it, but other than that...phew.

Lydia is coming over later today and staying until Saturday, her momma has some night shifts then a root canal. Next week she'll be here Monday through Friday, which will be our new normal. If it gets really snowy she can just spend the night.

REALLY SNOWY? Yes, it's snowy...




The quiet morning kitchen, piles of dishes to do still, but so peaceful.



We never did cover the pool...oh well.

sad day, glad day...

Today is my brother's birthday. William James, Billy, my older brother. There were seven of us, two girls and five boys. Billy was a genius. Seriously, he was wicked smart, and snarky too, a sense of humor that was just right on point. A few of my sons remind me of him so much. The older you get, the more intense your childhood memories, the more it seems just like yesterday that he was acting all nonchalant about his birthday cake. I've posted about it several times, but Billy took his own life, he shot himself. And yes, it was a few years back, and no, I haven't gotten over it. Suicide leaves the family in tatters, what didn't we see? What could we have done? He could have talked to me. I would have helped him.

But that sadness aside, today is a glad day too. Because, roadtrip!!!! I do love a nice seven hour journey, one that takes me to see my little Sammy, all grown up and a daddy now. Our little red minivan will be packed and ready to leave in just a few hours...Margaret and baby Wulf are going, and Evelyn, Suzanne, Camille, and me. Not only am I excited to see Sam and Grace and baby Grant, there is a pool and a hot tub at our hotel. Aaahhhh. And, we're staying three nights! And, we might go sightseeing in Washington, D.C. I LOVE it.

Just a side-note, I am a house-wife, not a stay at home mom, or SAHM. I am married to my house. If I don't pay it enough attention, it gets me back. This past week, I have been renovating a bathroom. I'm not one to drag on a project, I want results, and everything else suffers as I spend every minute I can working on what I want to get done. So the bathroom project ugh...you know, you just want to slap on the paint and see how pretty it is. But there is spackle and sand, washing the walls, and the trim! That took forever and a day! Oh, and the ceiling, too. Now I'm on to the counter tops. Remember the burgundy?


This is with a few coats of primer, then some pearl white, which didn't cover enough, so I primed again early this morning, then decided to rummage for a different paint, and found a little sample bottle of this Valspar satin gray. There's not much of it, so that adds some excitement: what if I run out?!!!


This is just the first coat of gray. The waiting-for-it-to-dry time is agony, I just want to be at the point where I can pour that Envirotex Lite on it, and leave the house. Seriously. With a lot of us gone this weekend, it's the perfect time to have these sinks out of commission, and if I don't get to it before I leave, there will be some rocky days with teenage girls next week.

And today has a few more things to accomplish, as in I have to pack. I have to help Camille pack. I have to go to the bank, pay a bill in town, and get air in the van tires. I am picking the high school girls up at a bit after two, so I have five hours to do all of this.

It seems like a lot of time, but ugh, I have no idea what I'm packing, and have to shower and wash my tangly hair. It does indeed have paint flecks in it.

And here's the best news, news that's both sad and glad.

My daughter Kathryn is ENGAGED. Can you believe it? That's why she's been taking trips to the west coast. She is marrying Adrian's brother, Darius. A spring wedding is being planned...and yes, I have been with her to try on wedding dresses already, and couldn't say anything because they didn't announce it until last night. The sad part of this gladness is that Darius lives in Oregon! He has a house and a job, so it's not like they can just move here! Wah! The United States is a very big country, and driving from New York to Oregon would take four whole days if you slept at night. 2,800 miles, 41 hours. So four ten hour days of driving, or obviously less days with more driving, but still. It's too far to drive. Not that I mind a little airplane trip now and then, but, Kathryn is my good friend, and not to see her on a day-to-day basis is a huge loss for me. With Joseph moved out and married, and Evelyn planning to move in to Margaret and Adrian's place for the winter (they live in a small city north of here, and can you say, "Lake Effect Snow"?) It'll save her the commute to work in the winter weather.

So anyway, I'm obviously happy for Kathryn and Darius, but oh my soul...

Today we have no small children here, as Lydia went home last evening. Soon Mali starts a new job with regular hours, no more 12 hour shifts, night shifts, weekends...Monday through Friday. So that means I'll have Lydia here Monday through Friday. I don't mind, because of course I LOVE the Lydster. She's so funny. She asks everyone all the time, "What are you doing?" She prefaces it with the person's name, and yesterday she asked me a hundred times, "Grandma, what are you doing?" She hops and skips and sings through the day, never quiet, and never still, except for the occasional time she gets into playing dollhouse, but she is usually still singing.

Ah well, never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to a somewhat relaxing weekend...:)

47 days until christmas?! and a trip to norway!!!

So much going on, then I find out that Christmas is coming in a mere 47 days! That might seem like a long way off to the younger ones, but when you start to get old like me, you know how time starts going by faster and faster.

16 kids, some husbands and wives and grand kids, lots of gifts! But, we do a secret Santa thing that's really fun. I've told the kids there won't be tons of gifts this year. The ones that still live at home (Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jonathan (ha, poor Jon!), Charlotte Claire, and Camille) will get a pile, but Kap and Ev work, so what do I need to buy them? The ones who are on their own, I will get them a little something, and I already have gifts for the grand kids. I know their parents don't want them to get loads of stuff anyway. I want to keep it simple, simpler than in years past. I also reminded a few of them that the bedroom renovations are costly, and that is part of their gift. :)

I don't know about you, but I tend to think that a gallon of paint is cheap, then by the time you get the new roller covers and a new paint edger, and and and, it's like $80 bucks for two gallons of paint. Then you realize that you need to paint the ceiling too. I did the bathroom ceiling yesterday and let's just say that it's not my favorite, painting ceilings.

This morning, I made the mistake of sitting here in my chair after cleaning up and sweeping, now I need to move again, and get painting. I need to paint the walls, then do another coat of cabinet paint, then start on the counter top. I am so apprehensive, and I don't have a blow-torch, which is recommended for the Envirotex Lite. If anyone reading this has any experience using this top coat, please please please let me know! All tips and pointers are welcome!

Paul will be like, "I don't understand. Why do we need a blow-torch?"

Apparently it gets the bubbles out of the sealant/glossy top coat.

Anyway. I am hurrying to get it all done fast because that's how I am, I start a project, and want instant results. Plus, tomorrow we are leaving for a long weekend to Virginia/D.C. area to visit Sam, and it's the perfect time to cure that counter for a few days.

I can't go to the hardware store today, because yesterday Kathryn took the kids ice skating yesterday...

Kathryn, and Cam being silly...



Anyway, I was here watching little Anne, so I asked Kap to stop at Walmart after skating and get the ceiling paint and some half and half. Fast forward to this morning, and Kathryn is on a plane heading west to visit Aaron in Oregon, and oops, she still had my credit card. Evelyn drove her to the airport, and thankfully Kathryn discovered she had it when they were still in the van. But Evelyn drove straight to work, and alas, I have no card.

We celebrated Camille Anaya's 11th birthday just a wee bit last night, since she already had a party. Yesterday was here real birthday. We had a half price cake from the grocery store, but they said it was yummy.







This is Cam and Char from July when we rented that cabin for the weekend. Oh that sunkissed glow!


Sonja Kathleen lit the candles. Sonja is so funny. She is a delightful 16 year old, except for when she's being difficult ha.



Jonathan was hunting...isn't he huge for 14 years old?


This is my sweet daughter Mali (she's Lydia's mommy), with Lydia.


And the puppy with the kitty...I just love that they are friends.

And, I am going to Norway in March!!!! I am SO excited, going with three daughters: Emily, Abigail, and Mirielle, the girls who share a house together in town. They are so nice to bring their mama.

There's a lot of rambling on here today, and I am cozy and relaxed, but I know I have things to do, and Lydia will be awake any minute now...

running around and coming home...

Today, I stayed home. Yesterday, I did not stay home. I set off with Char and Cam to Hobby Lobby. We had a goal, and didn't want to be out shopping all day, so we only browsed and dawdled a teeny bit. Hobby Lobby is intense. Everything in the store seems to be 50% off, but it's still way too pricey. However, it's fun to look at. I did buy a warm fuzzy blanket for ten dollars, and only a small box of the Envirotex Lite I was looking for. I needed 32 ounces, there were only 8 ounce boxes, and I only had one coupon. So over to Joann Fabrics we went. In order to find a coupon, I had to download the app, and while I was trying to do that, I noticed that Samuel had called three times, so uh-oh, what was wrong? He called again while I was wondering, he had gotten in a fender-bender, but it was all straightened out. Someone pulled out and hit him in the college parking lot. Never a dull one, I tell you.

Jo-Ann's had the 32 ounce box, thirty dollars, but $12 off with my coupon. We look around in there a bit, but didn't buy any junk, ha.

Then to the grocery store quick, no coupons, just some chuck roast and butter and half and half and and and.

Home...I started right in on the painting!!!! The trim: it had to be primed, then painted with enamel. Sounds like a quick job, but oh so tedious! I painted right through dinner, Suzanne made Chinese noodles, chicken in orange sauce, and broccoli for the kids. I painted until after 9:30.

See the ugly oatmeal color chalk paint on the cabinets? They were oak before that.

Now with primer:




I painted for an hour this morning, gave the cabinets the first coat of nice paint (the Sherwin Williams stuff I used on the kitchen cabinets, still have some left). I also gave the door another coat. No more brown wood trim in the bathroom!

Then this afternoon while Anne napped, I painted the ceiling. I HATE painting ceilings. It hurts muscles I didn't know I had. It drips. It soaks in so fast, I have to keep dipping the roller, trying like heck not to drip on the newly painted door. But, it's done.

Now, I have to paint the walls, spray paint the counter, then...apply the Envirotex Lite...it's a thick shiny finish that needs a few days to set, hopefully making my ugly burgundy counters look like brand new gray stone ones.

We'll see. I love doing this stuff but it's hard to fit it in, and now it's dinner time, it's Camille's real birthday, Lydia is here, Anne went home...it's busy. Other things slip, I get ache-y, but here's some good news: I have lost five pounds since starting to get serious again a few weeks ago. And, I have only missed a few days exercising. It's been a wimpy sort of work-out, but still. Push-ups are improving!

Anyway, I'm keeping busy. Tonight I am going over to Emily's house for a gathering, even though it's Cam's birthday, since we celebrated the other day. Right now we're having roast and carrots, and baked potatoes (I LOVE my crockpot!)...and a birthday cake. None for me!!!

jumping in! diving! taking the plunge!

Have you ever bought supplies for a project, then never even started the project? me neither, ha.

Okay, I did. Grand plans. I remember a bumper sticker that said, "Whoever Dies With The Most Fabric Wins!"

Well, I HAVE the paint for the bathroom counters. Today, I'm going to Hobby Lobby to get the finish, the Envirotex.

The faucets are installed, thanks to my son-in-law Adrian, Margaret's husband. (He is amazing, he's the one who put our new metal roof on.) Those faucets rode around in the back of the minivan for weeks, because I was considering returning them, as they cost a bit too much. Then Adrian found out I had them, and kaboom, he installed them, and I am so glad I kept them.

Since I am going on a trip this weekend (Virginia to see Sam and Grace and baby Grant), and hopefully into D.C. for some sight-seeing!), I hope to get this project done so it can dry over the weekend...the kids left at home have plans and won't be here much, and can perhaps wash their hands in the kitchen or one of the other bathrooms, and maybe the kitty cats can please stay off the counter.

Anyway, I do have big plans, and most of the time, also small children. Today, it's just Charlotte Claire, Camille, and me. Jonathan went hunting with Paul, Kathryn and Evelyn went to work, the high school girls went got on that bus this morning (as opposed to yesterday when they were ALMOST ready, so I drove them).

But first, before he went out to the rainy woods with his bow, Paul took me on a special little date...


Honestly, I didn't feel like going out into the chilly rainy morning, yet in the midst of the grumbling attitude, I stopped short and realized how thankful I should be that I get to vote.

Anyway anyway, we are headed to Hobby Lobby. Lydia comes tomorrow, and Anne, so we won't get much done then, but today, we are free to roam about the country, and maybe even start some painting. I'll try to get better pics of the walls in that bathroom, I loved the color oh about five years ago. The bedroom renovation is in a process, as Jonathan is a busy kid, ice skating and playing hockey and Norwegian lessons, homeschool. He is in his new room, but his old room has a few hundred pounds of stuff left to be sorted. We are washing clothes and sorting what goes to the thrift store, what stays, and what can be given away. As the youngest boy, he inherited all of the Legos and Rescue Heroes, train sets and Tonka trucks, plus he has a collection of Hess trucks. What to keep? Where to put it all? ugh.

One of the girls was helping sort, and threw away some five cent deposit seltzer bottles. I said to please open the bags and take those out, and lo and behold, Jon found an x-box controller, which was NOT trash. oh dear.

Anyway. The early years, the middle years, the years where we had teenagers and small children and babies, all the years we've lived here, this particular bedroom has been in use, heavy use, and the carpet is just shot. My older kids had this creepy crawly machine when they were little, which you squirted these colored plastics into molds and made creatures, which was NOT supposed to be used in the bedroom...and markers, marker stains. It's just old and steaming and vacuuming won't help anymore, so it's getting torn up, thrown away, and the new laminate will be installed.

Little by little, we get things done.

I remember painting the kitchen years ago, when we had small children. The toddler woke from her nap, and I was finishing up...but not quickly enough! She put both hands in the paint pan...

Ah well...I have two animae-manga readers here, two girls who are doing some sort of marshal arts here in the living room. Time to go.

eleven years ago...

Baby Camille was born eleven years this Wednesday, the last of the babies for me, the caboose, the treasured one I didn't know we were actually getting, the baby I thought I had lost. We celebrated with her siblings yesterday, most of them.

Margaret made cupcakes and I helped her frost them...


I did not even taste.

We had pork chops, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, broccoli, and rolls.

She got some nice things, a pair of Levi's, two sweaters, a gift card, Monopoly Cheater's Edition!


(all the dog nose smudges showed up in this pic, so I washed windows today:))


With her friend Amanda.

This is why I like to shop with Sonja:


Suzanne is cute too!


Lowes Home Improvement, I should NOT go to that store. No sir, no how. I likes it too much. For example, we now have new bathroom sink faucets, they were on sale/clearance, but still too much, but oh dear, we needed them...? Ours were bad, corroding, they were cheapies, they leaked...I could have replaced them with more cheapies, but...these were just too cute!


(new faucet)


Those burgundy countertops though: all the rage back when we built the house.


I chalkpainted these cabinets a few years back with the color "oatmeal". What was I thinking? It looked better than the water-splashed oak, but... I am thinking to paint them white and replace the handles. And I bought paint for the countertop...just need the courage to jump in and do it. I also bought paint for the walls, and already have white enamel to do the trim and the door.
(see why I need to stay the heck out of Lowe's?)


But even without doing anything more, I love the new faucets. I wish I had taken "before" shots, the old ones didn't even match.


See the wood trim? Time for a change, some lightening up. And this is what I look like on a daily basis around the house. I did my little work-out, that's why my hair is so stylish.



Anyway...lots going on around here. Camille got a bookcase for her birthday, she is waiting for someone to help her put it together...ugh. Kathryn took them all ice skating today while I was here with Anne, now she has to go to work.

The high school girls are home, so I am going to talk to them...:)