So I Could

do everything I want with new flooring and all if I change everything in my house to various shades of brown.

I'm not a fan of living in brown.

Brought home quite a few samples, carpet, some composite tile stuff, and nothing really works well.

I'm a few hours into a 'choose your attitude' experiment and at least I'm out of the 'just give up and live in filth and ugly broken stuff' phase and in the 'I may just have to wait until some other color trends show up' phase. Which sucks, too, actually.

So, may still have the guy come and take off some wallpaper and just paint white that can be painted over later.

And I can clean out the garage. Or something. I have some woodwork that needs to be sanded and touched-up.

And my new glasses really aren't right. But it's hard to describe why and how, but sometimes my eyes feel strained. Like it takes work to see.

Still not in a good mood.

It will be nice again tomorrow. I'll take back all the samples and sit outside and read. Usually a safe thing to do.

Because the Real Question of the Day Is

Red?




Or White?

Halloween Scrooge

Is it possible to be a Halloween Scrooge?

We've always done Halloween with the good candy to give out and when he was little the kid had pretty darn good home sewn costumes. A couple of years, even parties.

This year no one else will be home and I work all day.

Plan to come home, keep the lights off and hide out.

Just can't get into it.

The only comment needed is 'Duh"

“My impression is that parents really believe these videos are good for their children, or at the very least, not really bad for them,” Ms. Rideout said. “To me, the most important thing is reminding parents that getting down on the floor to play with children is the most educational thing they can do.”

Baby Einstein, ah

So do you think parents will get off their phones and interact with their children in the library?

For me, this is Vacation

Was able to see a friend receive an award!
Have had some consultations on new flooring. Will be doing things in a different order than I originally thought, so it's been good to actually start working on a plan.
Still waiting to hear from a painting person.
Played with some friends.

And totally unexpected - am playing on a new computer. Had thought about a new one as a Christmas thing, but ours died and a somewhat rushed, but not totally out of the blue, decision was made for a whole new experience. I'm typing on a Mac. Miss some PC things, but some great advantages and fun things on this one.

Still looking forward to lunch out tomorrow with a friend and a hopefully fun and productive work related dinner.

And making some new covers for kitchen chairs. At least designing them.

A partly sunny weekend. Maybe?

Vacation and still cleaning

I'm trying to maximize my enjoyment of the last few beautiful days. While I like to have outlines of plans for my time, they usually aren't as specific as they are for this week. I have lots of things I want and need to do and am trying to save the indoor stuff for when the rain comes. Including a movie or two.

Have done:
Re-purposed and spray painted a small table
Ordered new glasses!!
Cooked some food which required chopping and more than 3 ingredients
Outside stuff - some yard work, walking and just sitting on the patio
Finished three books that were in progress

And, yes, that is what I call fun.

Cleaning is still not fun, but it's much nicer when walking around the house barefoot. It is easier to use a chunk of a day off to get things like all the vacuuming done at once so working a weekend throws things off. The two half-days mess things up.

To stay motivated I looked for something on making habits and found this. Interestingly enough, the experiment thing comes up again in number 13. I am losing momentum and it's the two week thing (#4) so am writing down what I want to do each day (#2). Have discovered some areas that need major decluttering, but not this week. And a sofa is gone. Big empty space for now.

So here's a lovely story about cleaning. Once when I was in therapy, my therapist, trying what some would now call the 'choose your attitude' method, said I should be happy and fulfilled cleaning, even be joyful. I was creating a wonderful home for my little family. Right. I'm sorry, but cleaning bathrooms is not fulfilling nor need it be. And why, then, aren't men happily fulfilled cleaning bathrooms? Yes, it was a male therapist who probably wanted to live in some fantasy version of the '50s, and I didn't last long with him. In fact, I started seeking out and preferring women professionals in all areas. It works better for me.

Me, Judgmental

Was reading an article in the paper about the falling birth rates due to the economy. They interviewed a woman who said she has a 1-year old and would like another baby, but can't afford it. Her Pampered Chef business is suffering because her friends are looking for work and/or are barely scraping by. She didn't want to bring a new baby into a stressful situation. Have to appreciate that.

Oh, and, by the way, she is 19.

19!!!!!!!!!

They could have chosen someone else for the lead-off paragraph.

Just my opinion.



I will now try to choose a more positive attitude. Well, after the next post which was actually before this post. You know. . . .

Dream On

I do like what the Dove people are doing, and I especially like that they have kept up this campaign for several years. It wasn't just a one year marketing plan to sell more products. They seem to mean it. And they have a fine line to keep - they are, after all, now trying to sell a deodorant that reduces stubble. It's very tricky.

So I guess there is always the 'but' for me. Maybe I should just be glad they are trying. Can we really help young girls in this world where teen boys are still buying the images they see? Will that ever change?

And my cynicism actually surfaced again when I saw a commercial this week for a prescription medication to help grow eyelashes. There are side effects including darkening of your eye color. But, then, there are contacts that will change your eye color so that may not be a problem. And the spokesmodel is Brooke Shields. Because if she has bad eyelashes, what hope do I have? It's $120 a month which is less than extensions and transplants.

My sellout for lashes is $5-7 for mascara every six months. The brand varies depending on what coupon I have.