Sunday, October 30, 2016

My Fingers Are Bleeding Crafts!!

Whew!  Had a weekend of crafting to get ready for the bazaar.  Ended up with 20 bottles, 10 glass tray things, a statue, driftwood coatrack hanger, a Seahawks lighted glass cube, and some other odds and ends. Just finished cleaning up my mess in the kitchen so it's time to relax!


Saturday, October 29, 2016

Gone Glue Gone

You can tell how crafting obsessed I've been by looking at my glue. Yesterday I purchased a new, larger size tube of E6000 glue, which works best on the bottles. Today it looks like this.  Wow. Guess I have churned out a ton of products!!


Just A Wee Bit of a Vent!

Here are a few pet peeves of mine that are worth sharing because you may just be able to relate.

Discounts At The End - Some stores, notably Joanns, Safeway, and Sallys, enter the discount at the end of your transaction. Now, I may not be able to remember what I had for breakfast this morning, but without fail I can remember the clearance price for something I'm purchasing.  I like to watch the registrar to ensure I'm receiving the correct price. Well, if they wait until the end it totally messes with my ability to see if the price charged was correct. Invaribly, I pay then stand on my way out the door to make sure the right price was calculated.  If it wasn't,  it means a return trip through the registrar!  And don't get me started on registrars that don't have a screen for the customer!!

Rudeness - If you need to get past me, just say "Excuse Me", "Pardon Me" or any other nicety.   Don't just barge past me, shoving into me, without any sort of apology.  Manners were invented for a reason and a little kindness is good for the soul.

Vent over. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.  ðŸ˜Š


Car Wash, Crafts, and Chopped

Stayed home Friday and nursed my freaky eyes. Fit in a little crafting in preparation for the holiday bazaar.  Although I took Benadryl last night, it seemed to have the opposite effect as normal which meant I was up until after 1am.

Eyes were much better today; crafted until about 2 pm when I couldn't stand my stinky smell any longer and had to take a shower.  Ran over to Sallys to pick up some ridge filler and polish to make my nails presentable.  Done with that, my next stop was the car wash and vacuum. Man was my car filthy!!  Cleaned out the car, vacuumed, and Armour Alled the inside.  Time for the wash.

I rolled the car into the washing station, hopped out and inserted many quarters to the slot, which gave me about 7 minutes. Now, have you ever watched Chopped?  Where there is a very small amount of time to finish the job?  That's what it was like - my own version of car wash Chopped!

I pre-washed, rinsed,  soap sprayed, then on to the brush. The whole time I'm craning my neck to see how much time was left. Seven minutes in a fast food drive thru is a long time but the same can't be said for washing a car.  I was rushing around like a screaming banshee to get that car washed, especially during the last few seconds when I was sure I was on the losing end to rinse the damn car!!

In the end the car was washed, the inside was clean, and I made my way home. Getting out of the car, I glanced over to view it's gleaming shine. Uh not so fast. Perhaps because I didn't towel dry the rig, there were a lot of patchy areas that didn't exactly gleam. More like flatly dulled. What else can one expect from a beat the clock car wash?

Tonight I'm relaxing watching Chopped, a six disk collection from the show. Relaxing may not be the right word. The disks didn't work in my older dvd player so I'm watching the show on my smaller tv/dvd player. Problem is, there is something wrong with it so the volume is cranked to 100.  I've added duct tape to the speakers and wrapped the lower half with a blanket. Hasn't made much of a difference so if all my hearing goes, chock it up to the Food Network.


Thursday, October 27, 2016

Today Was Not For The Weak At Heart

Some days are a struggle. Today was one of those days.  Super busy, tasks falling all over me, and people annoying the #$@% out of me. It was a long day and on top of that I was dealing with a swollen eye that made me look like Mike Tyson after a losing battle. I think I'm due for a good cry but even that isn't happening. May be time to watch The Way We Were and fast forward to the end when Barbra brushes Robert Redford's bangs from his eyes. Gets me every time.

Boss told me to take tomorrow off, obviously as my eye had morphed into something resembling a domestic violence victim.  We shall see. Days off seem to turn on a guilt switch within me so not sure I can deal with that so may just go in. Arrgggg what's a girl to do???!!

Tonight I got a Facebook message from not only a dude I met in 2012 who apparently has been holding a torch for me but also some strange man from Tennessee trying to hit on me, offering to give me a massage.  Really??  Enough already!!  Me thinks I need to forward my swollen eye pic to these romeos so they can know just with whom they are dealing!!!

Rant over. Just popped some Benadryl so hoping it will give me a restful sleep with the promise of a better attitude in the morning!!




The Good and the Very Bad

The good - saw this rainbow on my way home from work yesterday!



The very bad - woke up like this with allergy eye this morning!   No need to call domestic hotline unless you want to charge Stubbs with parental abuse!!


Bonkers for Bottles

Been really into repurposing the alcohol bottles from work. Signed up for a table at a Christmas Bazaar in November so kicking it into high gear to have enough goods to sell. What am I saying.....I have crafts coming out of my ears!!




Saturday, October 22, 2016

Saturday Evening at House of Diva

That shower?  Yeah that never happened. But the front yard did get mowed!  I then ventured out for a quiet respite to Willow Grove. Was in search of a driftwood base to go with a bench seat I found last week. Alas didn't find a suitable piece of wood but did snag a few more pieces that will work themselves into art in the future.


Here are a few more items I made today, including a 40's repurpose of a ceramic bust.  I also received a surprise visit from Sam and Jimmy as they made their way to a costume party. Goofy kids!!






Saturday and the Sewing Machine

Saturday is here, it's almost 3, and I still haven't taken a shower!!  Too busy crafting, painting, and doing laundry!!

One of my finished projects this morning was the sewing machine cabinet. Used chalk paint in shades of black, teal and cream with silver lettering.

Next project is to mow the yard before taking a shower. The rate I'm going it could be around 8pm!!


Friday, October 21, 2016

Friday You Da Bomb!!

Oh Friday my favorite you are finally here!!

Haven't done much crafting this week, although I did paint a couple jars along with a driftwood Santa.  Ran across an ad for Christmas Bazaar participants and I may just go for it. Have an abundance of craft art at home that I'm verging on the edge of craft hoarder!

Gave two of the gals at work Seahawk bottles and another one, who isn't a sports freak, some painted jars.  Also picked up two more boxes of empty alcohol bottles, including several Crown Royal and Petron, which are perfect for design. Between those and painting the new sewing machine cabinet, my weekend should be pretty full!






Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Clatskanie Adventures

Ran across a vintage sewing machine cabinet on a Facebook sales site that was a big bargain so I snagged it.  Heard back from the owner yesterday so made arrangements to pick it up last night. In Clatskanie - ugh.

Wanting help to go with me I reached out to Sam and Jordan. Nope both busy so could not assist their dear old mama. Decided to take Stubbs with me for backup.

Took off about 6pm with doggie in tow. He was overly excited - bouncing around, whining, and generally in a bit of a freak out. Car rides normally mean we are going to Willow Grove  (fun!) or the vet or Petco to be groomed (torture!)

It wasn't raining when I left my house; as we neared Clatskanie it began sprinkling. The house was fairly easy to find; coming upon it one could tell a collector aka hoarder lived there.

Under the porch overhang and open garage there were tons of vintage items and decor. Spiral railings, metal stars, an old stove - on and on.  Made my way to the door and a very pleasant lady - Karen - came out to greet me. She showed me the cabinet, it looked perfect, gave her the cash and the next step was getting it into the car.
Thankfully she had a son-in-law who could help carry and load the heavy item.

At this point it was getting pretty dark and the rain was becoming a gusher. We carried the table to the car and attempted to fit it in the trunk. My Camry has a trunk for days but was no match for the cabinet.  As we tried to remove it from the trunk it became wedged, which meant gently rocking it side to side, lifting, and fenagling to get it out. Meanwhile it's cats and dogs raining on me. Oh and did I wear a coat?  Of course not!!  The thought of a new art project sent my common sense out the window!!

Finally removing it from the trunk, we slid it fairly easily into the back seat.  Issuing my thanks and gratitude, I returned my soggy self to the car to return home, fidgety dog in my lap.

At that point it was dark and buckets of rain were coming down. Back on the road, I missed my turn and began traveling on a back road when I realized 'this doesn't look right."  At that point lightening shattered through the torrential storm followed by supersonic thunder. All I'm thinking at this point is that this appears to have all the makings of a Stephen King novel with me as the character in peril.

Turned around, found my way back to Hwy 30, and began the trek for home. Stubbs had realized he wasn't going to die so he quietly  snuggled up in my lap for the ride home. It was very dark outside, it was a high speed wiper rainstorm, and the lightening and thunder surrounded me.  This damn sewing cabinet project better be worth it in the end!!

Made it home, extricated the table from the car and brought it inside for assessment. Good bones and will look super once painted. Or it better to make up for the effort it took to obtain it!!


Sunday, October 16, 2016

Sunday At The River

After church I made my way to Willow Grove beach, in search of treasure washed ashore from the windstorm.  The river was pretty quiet as only a few others were there in the chilly weather.

Walking, walking, most of my time was digging through the washed up debris in search of unusual and craft worthy items. Along with a few walking stick sized pieces of driftwood, I also snagged a large rectangle piece of worn lumber that is the perfect size for a bench top.

Found a few other small items including the biggest treasure - a Buzz Lightyear figure!  Couldn't pass up bringing that little guy home!

Back at home, in the spirit of today's winning game,  I painted and decorated two Seahawk bottles. I also fit in a little nap, cleaned the kitchen and - hold on to your hats - began cleaning my room!  All my clothes are sorted and ready to be hung. Nope, didn't finish the task but Rome wasn't built in a day!






Storm No Deterrent to Crafting

After waking up at 4:30am, yesterday was a long but fruitful day. Crafted, cleaned up, browsed a few stores, then returned home to craft some more.

Made a lighted jar from a glass Goodwill nozzle pitcher. Tried to remove the nozzle and ended up breaking a bigger hole in the side. This didn't stop me!  Taped up the hole then covered it all with black and white newsprint from a vintage Fredericks of Hollywood catalog. Once dry, added black ribbon and a sequined high heel, inserted the lights and bam!!  Cool light that went into my master bathroom. 

Also picked up some more GWL plates and candleholders and put together two more tray sets.

The storm ended up being more bark than bite although we had wind and rain aplenty. In the middle of it all a rainbow sprouted up and was a nice surprise in the middle of the day 

Done with the projects, I treated myself to a night at the movies, seeing The Girl in the Train. Read the book and the movie followed it pretty well.  Entertaining.

This morning I cleaned the last of my liquor bottles. Painted two neon green; waiting for them to dry so they can be transformed into a Seahawks theme.

Thinking I may throw on some warm clothes and venture to Willow Grove today to discover what treasures the big storm may have left on the sand. 





Friday, October 14, 2016

Odds and Ends Filled Up My Friday

Made a couple more craft projects today.  Seahawks lighted glass decor and an ode to Wizard of Oz driftwood piece.  I end up taking pictures from a Wizard of Oz book I purchased a few years ago. Well as I browsed through it tonight I discovered an envelope in the back filled with pictures and posters from the movie. Such an awesome surprise!!

Also strung together some driftwood to make a ladder. I strung some beach netting on it but haven't quite decided if it is done.

On Thursday when I went grocery shopping I picked up the cutest, tiniest corn tortillas. They are called street taco size but I couldn't resist them!!






Wilson on Friday

Been a long week so took today off to recover. Finished my pumpkin for my work's pumpkin decorating contest. Wilson!!

Awaiting the big storm today. Started last night and this morning it was major thunder and lightening!!  Praying my electricity stays on!!


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Star Struck in SoCal

One more day down and just a half day to go before I'm on my way home!!

Another busy day followed by an extensive work tour before changing for dinner. We all met in the front of the building to gather before catching a ride for dinner.  While waiting, we watched a very famous actress (whom I will refer to as JG), her friend, and one each of their children disembark from their car. She was casually dressed in mom attire and held a glass of wine. Of course I was stealthily taking pictures. Unfortunately they came out a little fuzzy.  Can't post them publicly as I have to respect her privacy especially as a guest of my company. But it was exciting to see a real movie star in the flesh!!

We then left for dinner at Bubba Gumps, which I've only been to once years ago.  Big group but dinner was surprisingly fast. Even wound up with a souvenir glass!!

Now I'm back in my room, watching Chopped, and settling in for my last night in SoCal.




Monday and Martinis

Monday in Cali was busy but fun. Spent all day in session with a break in between for lunch - a Mexican themed lunch with homemade tortillas and salsa. Tried nopales, that cactus cooked thing.  No thanks - icky.

The day over, the group of us (about 20) loaded up in a bus and made our way to Tech One Cooking School in Long Beach.  We broke out into groups and prepared an Italian dinner, complete with salad, stuffed chicken, homemade fettuccine alfredo, and tiramisu.  Plus some nummy lemon drop martinis.  Bus ride home evolved into a song fest either due to those martinis or simply our personalities. Was a fun experience!!


Sunday, October 9, 2016

Sisters and SoCal

Even though I'm still battling my cold, this weekend was pretty full.  Saturday met up with sisters Erin and Julie, niece Ella, and step-mom Arlene for lunch. Was a great time catching up with everyone and breaking bread at local Castle Rock hotspot Parkers.

Today I headed out for California for work.  Arrived around 730pm, met up with some more work pals, and made our way to the lodge. Checked in, found my room, and discovered a nice card from the So. Cal GM along with a fruit and cookie VIP platter - plus milk in the fridge!!  Hung up my clothes and now I'm relaxing watching the boob tube before my nighttime cold medicine kicks in.

Will be a busy three days before returning home on Wednesday evening.  May also include a trip to Disneyland, a place I've never visited. Hit Magic Kingdom in Orlando years ago but never the CA location. It's always great when a work trip includes a little fun!!




Friday, October 7, 2016

TGIF!!

Ahhhh finally Friday.  Yesterday I tried to make it through work but only lasted until 11am when I drug my sorry, sick ass home.  Slept all day and returned to work today, which was better but still coughing and congested.  Ugh!

Taking off for sunny Cali on Sunday for work so this crud better be gone by then!!!




Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Cough, Cough, Grumble, Grumble

Yesterday I spent surfing the couch all day. Have been battling nasty congestion which I believe is due to bleach overload on Sunday cleaning those bathrooms. See what cleaning gets a person???



Slept a lot and watched a lot of old movies - The Strange Loves of Martha Ivers, Of Human Bondage, and Anna Karenina.   Good times but I'm ready to return to the living today. Actually have a regular doctor's appointment set up this morning which is good timing for being sick.

Here's to better health in the future!  Good news is I lost 8 lbs since the start of the competition!!


Sunday, October 2, 2016

Stinky, Sweaty Sunday

Oh Sunday you have worn me out!  This morning I woke around 600 and began cleaning the boys, now my, bathroom. Could not bring myself to take a before pic as it was so bad.  Kudos to a new tool I ran across at Ross and grabbed - a pumice stone toilet and shower scrubber. Could never have gotten the job done without it.

Once done cleaning, I then redecorated, adding a fresh shower curtain, drapes, and pictures. Moved my makeup,  hair and shower products over from my bathroom.  Done with first bathroom I then moved onto my master bath.  Again the pumice came in handy as I cleaned and scrubbed.

It all turned out great but I am beat. No shower, no brushing my teeth, sweaty and stinky!  But definitely accomplished a lot today!!




Saturday, October 1, 2016

Nest May Be Empty But Life is Full!

October is here along with the rain. Guess on the bright side of things it means mowing of the lawn won't occur today.

Baby boy Sam is moving out today. Got his own rental house and is packing up and leaving thus an empty nest. And you know what?  That's okay, in fact awesome. Happy both boys have become independent and have left mama's house.  Will be quieter here but if you know me at all, you know I will keep myself busy!

Today my first born Jordan and his wife Candy and I met up for lunch at the cow deli. Was great catching up with those two.  Afterwards we hit a few thrift stores then I scooted on over to Goodwill then Ross.  When done, made my way to Sam's new pad.  Oh the memories it gave me from when I moved into my first apartment (well, after my college apartment.)  Cute little house and he should have it set up soon with Batman decor.

So now my mind is moving toward creative possibilities for the house. Will do some serious deep cleaning on the boys bathroom and move my makeup into there.  Do some painting and create a serious craft room in one bedroom: the other bedroom may just be my "dressing" room.  Will keep me busy with all the possibilities!

Speaking of busy, I've learned from personal experience the signs of a true craftaholic are as follows:


  • The tips of your fingers are always healing from glue gun burns;
  • Your floor is always sparkling from the remnants of glitter;
  • Your form of muscle building is scrubbing the kitchen counter to remove paint drips and E6000 glue;  
  • That cute t-shirt is now a splatter painted rag because you were so anxious to begin crafting you couldn't stop to change;
  • While shopping your eye no longer catches the latest fashion but instead bargain basement baubles that could be repurposed into an amazing art project.

Here's to new adventures awaiting me in my empty nest!!