Spring cleaning, clown wigs, and jars

I'm taking a quick break from spring cleaning the laundry room. I have way too much going on in that small space and not enough organized stations to make it work.

-over flowing recycling bins

- unusable changing table piled with outgrown baby things

-paper goods (paper towels, tissue, kleenex)

- arts and crafts, easels

-board games, play dough, microscopes, moon sand, lite bright, etc..

- vacuum, broom and shampooer

- things I need to garage sale

- huge pink ironing board that we never use, yet Honey won't part with it. (Only he could have an ironing board with sentimental value lol)

- Tattoo supplies

-light bulbs, extension cords, batteries

-bubbles, dart guns and other various toys that have been confiscated

-laundry stuff (duh), but get this, no hampers! Just a couple of baskets that are currently holding unfolded clean laundry.

So far I've sorted laundry into colorful piles, washed a couple of loads, crushed some boxes to recycle, and started a button jar. I have a whole 2 buttons, but it's a start and I always wanted to do one, so yeah, my priorities in there are totally straight.

Fun fun fun.

Speaking of fun, I was checking my e-mail a minute ago and thought I was seeing the Iranian President in a clown wig.

I was hysterically wrong. Ok, not hysterically, but I've been in a tiny room that smells like feet for most of the morning. I'm easily amused at the moment.

Oh, and while I'm thinking of it, I have a bunch of empty glass jars that are virtually impossible to recycle in this sad, non-recycle-friendly town (new word alert, write it down) and I'm trying to repurpose them. I've found a few neat ideas online that I'll let you in on later, but if you have any creative ideas please share!

I'm off to the dungeon again. If you don't hear from me in a few days, send the dogs.

About Me

My name is Angel, and I'm 33 years old. I'm a wife to a wonderful husband, and mother to 3 equally (if not more) wonderful children. In my spare time you'll find me elbow-deep in thrift shop "treasures", or with a paint brush and glue gun, ready to bring out the hidden beauty in a Goodwill purchase. This blog is not dedicated to my hobbies or my family, but I write what I know, and as a SAHM, those two topics take up a good 90% of the content here.

My home is my office and my backyard is our playground. I spend a LOT of time at home and have slowly, over the years, become a bit of a hermit and am currently working in (tiny)baby steps to remedy that.

Hang around! I hope to inspire you to create, laugh when you relate, and to make a new friend.

Ah hail... (teehee)

Yeah, I know. It's been awhile. I wish I could say I've been busy, but lazy seems more appropriate. I've been on Webkinz. I need to make a post showing off all my rooms. Maybe tomorrow (<--my latest favorite phrase). It's an old one but a good one lol.

Lets recap Easter weekend. It hailed! And boy did it ever. It sounded like a machine gun. We all stood in front of the glass door (we ARE rednecks) with jaws hanging open watching in horror and awe.

Honey: "Wow."

Scientist: "Can I go outside?"

Miss Thang: "I want one!"

Me: "MY VAAANNN!!!!"

Luckily I just have a few little dents that really are not that noticeable, and Honey assures me they will pop out with dry ice. I'm sure they will in 2015 when he finally gets around to doing that. Our plastic gutter is shot to hail (sorry I can't help myself). Ugh, the joys of home ownership. Here are a few pictures:

Really that is about golf ball size. My honey has big hands.

It all happened in about 2 minutes or less.

It caused quite a bit of damage around town and to many vehicles. The drivers mirror is shattered on Honey's work truck and my exhusband had his windshield shattered like a lot of others in town. We got pretty lucky.


That was Saturday, so the Easter bunny had to hide eggs inside this year. Did you know it is hard to hide a bunch of eggs in your living room? We had to get creative and many were left in obvious places, which made the kids like sharks at the scent of blood! They eyed their baskets with slight interest as they drooled over eggs in their peripheral vision, then eyeing each other in that sibling challenge squint. lol
It was fun loading the plastic ones up late at night with my Honey, making the baskets and hiding eggs. Those are some of my favorite times together. :)

Speaking of baskets, remember my "no bunnies or baskets" rule? Well, I did end up getting Cutecumber a pink bucket (for like 50 cents I couldn't say no) but I got a little creative with the other two. Miss Thang got the movie "Marley and Me" so I put hers in a popcorn bucket, and The Scientist got his stuff in (you ready for this) a trash can! He wanted it and loved it so shut up! lol

Here are a few pics of the house in all its post-bunny/pre-kids glory:

(an arrow for the dense)

And here is the table in my best "Martha Stewart" impression and some cookies in my best "Walmart Easter aisle" impression. They taste like crap but they look so pretty! There were more eggs, but these were a few of my favorites. The kids got really creative this year. I loved it.

And a few bonus pictures that are on the cam cause everybody loves a baby!

My Cutecumber

Peek-a-boo!

"One more ok, I've got things to do"

That last one really shows off my new floors, but I love her little pose there (close up to the left). We still need to christen that floor Risky Business style. Maybe tomorrow.... har har.

Day who the heck knows...

I am so very easily side tracked. It only took a birthday party one weekend, a bbq last weekend, and a visit from my grandparents, to put me right back at square one.

Well, actually my backyard looks a bit better still, but inside is a disaster. The laundry is bad enough that my Honey wore black socks to work. I'll pay for that later when he takes his boots off after work. *bbbarf!* and dishes that won't all fit in the dishwasher at once. Man I dread those two load days. I'd have never made it as a pioneer woman.

I hate how unbalanced I am. I hate that I can only maintain so much until an unexpected TINY thing like a visit from my grandparents (which I did enjoy and loved, don't get me wrong!)throws my entire routine off. I can look back and see where it went bad. I know my grandparents totally heart me, so there wouldn't be any judging toward my pile of dishes. I just stacked them a little neater and opted to use the saved time chit-chatting to my mom on the phone. "Procrastination" and "Poor priorities" are a hermits two best friends lol. Actually, I usually spend the night before detailing the house, and the day-of making everything as perfect as possible, with insane self set standards. At least I've learned to chill out on that a bit. I was even relaxed before the b-day party. I do like that I'm not working myself into a frenzy anymore before guests show up.

But today I still feel inadequate as a human being. I can't keep up everyday tasks and take time for me. I can't do outside projects and maintain the chores inside. I find myself yearning for one week of no social interaction or surprise visits so I can get back to "normal" but that is the "normal" I am trying to leave behind. That is the hermit shell I am trying to break out of. It's so hard for me to deal with life's minor inconsistencies and yet that IS life.

I love Easter and I will be so happy that day, and doing the projects like coloring eggs with my kids, but right now, the idea of it being this weekend makes me want to crawl back in bed. I feel defeated that yet another "something" is happening this weekend. I wish I didn't feel that way, but I do. My gut reaction is to feel like "Why clean the kitchen when we will just dye eggs on Sat.?" or "Why sweep the living room floor when it will be covered in Easter grass on Sun.?" or "Why diet now when there will be candy on Easter?" (right? lol) And although I know most people think these things at times, I feel as though I fight these feelings everyday.

I know. Woe is me. Poor poor Angel. It's pathetic. I wish I knew how to turn it all off, build a bridge and get over it, but look at my house:

Ok ok, it's not my house. It's some chick in Houston and you can see more of the mess here. Apparently someone really likes Whataburger. YIKES! I guess it's true what they say. There is always someone worse off than you.

Siiiiiigggghhhh. Pity party is over. I'll go do the dang dishes......

Week 3

Quick weekend review:

* We met at my Honey's uncle and aunts house for a quick bbq and saw some out of town relatives. Had a good time!

*My grandparents are coming tomorrow to visit while my grandpa is getting his hearing tested nearby. I'm anxious to see them.

*It's been windy and cold. I'm ready for the warmer weather to stay!

*Watched Slumdog Millionare and Role Models. Both get 2 thumbs up. Neither are for kids. Slumdog had parts I had to turn my face, and Role Models' excess use of the F-bomb and crude humor were funny but over the top. I'll own Role Models soon I'm sure.

Minivan=Megafun

Well we got the 07 Odyssey. At first all the bells and whistles seemed pointless, but as I play with them, I am really starting to enoy it!

A few that I love:

*buttons on my door and key chain that open the doors and sunroof automatically

*Extra mirror up front to view EVERYONE in the back.

*pull down shades and tinted windows

*The ability for each of my kids to have their own personal space with plenty of storage.

I knew I was destined to be a minivan mom, but I held out for as long as I could, and honestly I don't know why. I'm still NEVER going to be one of those moms with the bumper sticker that says, "This is how I roll" or "You laugh at my minivan, and I laugh cause I passed you". And although I was tempted to get the family sticker for the back window (You know, the ones with a stick figure for each member in the family, including the dog, with their names below) I decided it was dangerous. I'm not sticker crazy, I'm crazy over protective. I'm not thrilled with the idea that any stranger can see my kid get out for school and then yell their name and wave.

Now for a little minivan humor with a few things I found on the internet...

Miss Thang was hoping for the convertible model:

The scientist was hoping for this one:

Let's just hope this isn't him in about 10 years!

And finally, Where there is a kid in need of a ride, When a soccer team is stranded, when ever a vacation must be taken and taken now.... I'll be there!

*The wind is keeping me from doing much in the backyard today, but I have a bit of cash and really want to cruise the strip in my new ride. AKA go to Sonic. You know I love those Javachillers, but I've heard the Moolatte at DQ is better. Dare I try it? Is it even sane to want to sample something MORE addictive than a chiller? Ooooh yeah...

Easter basket alternatives

I went into the garage to retrieve the Easter baskets from last year and like every year before, they were either broken, lost or unsanitary from laying in the garage too long.

This year I say (in my best Mommy Dearest voice) NO MORE CRAPPY BAKSETS! And while I'm at it, no more stuffed bunnies either!

I'm going to ask some friends, do some googling, and see what alternatives I can come up with. If you have any ideas, give em to me!

*A wagon (use a large wagon and fill it for two)

*Dump truck (boy)

*Beach pail (only I have a million of these as well)

*Purse or make-up bag(perfect for the tween to teen!)

*Flower pots (add a packet of flower seeds too)

*totes or storage bins/baskets (reusable and great for all kinds of things, especially if you're from Wisconsin and say "tote" like a Yankee) :P

I'll add to the list as the day goes on. Tomorrow I may post gift ideas since most baskets are filled with things that break or fail to entertain for more than a few hours like the plastic watches with a ball maze where the face should be. You know what I'm talking about!

**I'm staying in to clean today. Cutecumber is teething too. Not fun. My nipples look as chewed as Tara Reids. <--naughty picture

Day 10

Well, I didn't do a fantastic job outside today, but I did work on the flower bed.

Before:















Now:















Ok, I cheated and got everything wet for the picture, but I did do quite a bit to improve the area. I weeded, and planted a few daylilies along the inside of the brick. I had to dig a new groove for the brick to lay right on that far corner too. I also threw a quick wash of craft paint on the planters because they were looking pretty faded and sad. I'll look for better paint later. I just worked with what I had. I need to get some potting soil and some flower seeds from the Dollar Tree to put in those and I think it will look fairly decent until I know what I really want to do with it. It will really look nice with GREEN grass. Hopefully it will start coming in soon.

I'm preoccupied by our decision to buy a minivan. We just can't fit comfortably in the Stratus when we are all in it. Long trips are impossibly cramped and we are thinking of going to AR in July to see my dad's new place. We looked around yesterday and are torn between an 08 Toyota Sienna and an 07 Honda Odyssey. I'm going to test drive today and see which I like better. I didn't have time yesterday.

08 Sienna- Exterior looks better imo, and has less miles and about $1000 cheaper.











07 Odyssey- Nicer interior and an extra seat that can be removed (Will be removed so the Scientist can get to his seat easier).











Both have side doors that open with the push of a button on the key chain. Niiiiice! I just hate the idea of driving around something so big. I wish I could pack the kids into my old Mazda 323 clown style, but apparently they think that sucks.

As a side note to all this crap posting, and actually on the topic of this entire blog, I am feeling great! The interior of my home needs some serious TLC. I need to balance out big projects like the backyard while still maintaining the inside. I'll see if I can't get in sync by the weekend.