January in Review

I'm reposting this from one year ago today.
I KNEW January jilted me last year too.
I have a confession.
The upstairs bedroom remains the same, I'm still not out of debt, still having dental issues - I swear - nothing has changed in ONE WHOLE YEAR! 
Except I've lost 80lbs and now only use about a half a pound of butter a month.
Hey - that's a great change - I'll take it.

Get this.
Aaron might be coming back to homeschool.
We are calling a family meeting.
If you could see my face right now...oh if you could just see it.
I'm Beaming with a capital B.


Oh - and rest assured that there shan't be any culling or killing up around in these parts.
Foolishness talking yesterday!  Foolishness!

And now - the repost from one year ago today.
Warning - drivel ahead.

Refill your coffee cups...this might take a while.

I know the majority of you are ready to kiss January goodbye...

I on the other hand, am not.

I feel like January jilted me.

It barely got started, and it was over.

It laughed at my plans and made plans of it's own.

Stupid January.

Did I take one photo outside the house this month?

Nay.

These are pages from my 2007 scrapbook phase.

I'm a phase kinda girl.

Look at Aaron's teeth in this one.

I miss those teeth.

I'm planning on doing a post about the boy child this week - it's been so long since I've updated you with all of his shenanigans and devilment.

Oh I had big plans for January.

Big plans to finish up that upstairs bedroom.

Remember that mess?

(if you don't, you can click on the label 'Decorating with the Coop Keeper' and view the related posts)

I got a few things done...here's a bit of a sneak preview...

The bed skirt falling off and the tag on the quilt is a nice touch, isn't it?

Mmmhmmm.

And what's that you say...that picture hanging over the bed looks awfully high, and 'sideways'?

Why yes, yes it is.

I have plans to fix the bedding...of course...

And the bed is going up on risers, to be higher, ergo, I hung the picture where I wanted it to be when the bed is up....and I'm planning on doing an embroidery stitchery in the frame of that old print I no longer want.

I did get the bed painted though, and I'm oh so happy with it now.

Sorta kinda.

Stupid January.

Here's another view...

I'm not really big into Teddy Bears anymore - but I bought this mohair one during my

Teddy Bear phase (do you see a pattern here?) and it was so expensive, I haven't the nerve to discard it.

So here he sits, mocking me - reminding me of my dysfunction.

Stupid January.

I had plans of working on my dollhouse.

I finally got it put in it's final resting place.

I found a neat old dresser - beat to heck - on Craig's List for next to nothing back in November.

Finally got it painted, and the dollhouse fits perfectly.

A little elbow grease......

A little paint I had in the basement....

And bingo...

the dollhouse has a spot, and I have more storage

I'm realizing the dollhouse will be a life long project.

I didn't bother fixing the chips off a couple of the drawer corners, I felt it gave it character

 (translate - I was lazy).

I have no idea what I'm doing with the things on the wall there.  I'm just trying to use what I have-I thought some flowers in the basket would be pretty.

I'm not really inspired yet for the walls.

Stupid January.

I've made two rugs this month, and Saturday, I took all the warp off the loom to restring it - it was a tangled mess.  I'm new to this, and I know there's a learning curve....I also hadn't realized what a dusty affair this was, and I feel like I have a good case of Weaver's Lung.  I'm going to have to start using a dust mask when I weave.

Stupid January.

That wall there looked plain.  That's the side of the bed I've slept on for the last 20 years.

I can't be trusted near the alarm clock, I will just turn it off and go back to sleep.

We learned that the hard way.

Since the clock is on the dresser - I got the wall side.

Due to some hormonal fluctuations during the night - it's become a bit of a burden to sleep next to the wall  - oh, not for me!  For Glenco.

I had a couple of cans of spray paint to return to Lowe's and I exchanged them for the brackets.

I'm not completely in love with it, but it'll work.

I got the mirror at a yard sale for $2 years ago.

I love old beat up stuff!

Onward...

The Pink Chicken Update....

Well, in case you didn't notice - or figure it out - I have the Internet at home again.

I'm sorry if I've disappointed you!  I tried - Good GOD I tried.

I was fine the first week.  I loved not having it - I loved the library.

The second week - my schedule was all catty-wompus and I got to the library on the wrong day, and it was a mess - the third week, I found a rogue wi-fi signal in the house and spent the better part of the day contorting my body to keep the signal as it roamed through the house like a ghost taunting me with it's connectivity.

Last week I called AT & T.

Law.

Total spent on groceries for the month:

$216.78

This included cat food, toilet paper, and various toiletries, iceberg lettuce heads for the chickens, and we had people over for supper twice.

I cleaned my pantry and freezer out.

I can't say that I have any great 'money saving' tips for you right now - other than to eat less.

Ha!  You think I'm jesting.

I really cut back on the snacks....and I didn't buy any sodas.

I shopped sales and we had a few meatless meals.

It's just the two of us, most meals would last a couple of days for us.

For the entire month of January - I only spent $14 that wasn't essential.

On what?

A fancy latte and a margarita.

They involved social situations, and I deemed them worthy.

The dentist bill was an unexpected expense of $900, but I was still able to reduce our total debt by 8% this month, and I'm happy for that. By this time next month I should have ONE bill left to pay off.

Being vigil about the finances has been eye-opening.

Even when you 'think' you are watching - little leaks spring up everywhere if you aren't careful.

Being a Pink Chicken doesn't mean that you are a tightwad, or a cheapskate - it means that you put a value on things - and perhaps you value a family vacation more than spending $100 or more a month eating out.

Perhaps you value your time at home more than you value a new car or clothes.

It's all about choices people.

And now a confession.

In the month of January, I bought 10 pounds of butter.

I just checked and I have one pound left.

I feel like I could throw up thinking about it.

I'm calling the cardiologist as soon as I finish this post.

I had NO idea I used that much butter.

Move over Paula Deen!

I spend more on butter than I do my wi-fi!

So, I shall try to do with five pounds for the month of February.

I. will. try.

I will just have to kiss my dreams of a Butter Benjamin Franklin sculpture good-bye.

Are you still with me!?

What a trooper.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about the chickens.

This is "Tales from the Coop Keeper" after all....

The girls are bored y'all.

B.O.R.E.D.

This is the gloomiest January in my memory, and for some reason that will absolutely not come out of the chicken run unless it's sunny out - so they just sit there.

Bored.

I've been putting heads of lettuce out there for them to play with - and next I'll tie some CD's on strings to entertain them.

They like shiny things - just like we do.

If you do not have chickens, and you want chickens...you might not want to read this - cause you will probably NOT want chickens after you do.

Remember Sissy?

My favorite banty hen eva?

OK - this isn't as UNCOMMON as you think...

well...she was the only banty in the coop....

and they used to pick on her....

well...

*gulp*

they picked on her to death.

And then ate her...halfway.

I know I know!

I can't say anymore about it.

It's horrible.

Chickens are animals people!!

Even though I try to humanize them, and give them names and teach them to knit and help them memorize poetry, they are omnivorous cannibals!!

With that lovely thought - I shall end this post.

Be happy today.

More Bootcamp Drivel...

I think it's so funny how we all have such different opinions on that wall.

Now that it's good and dry, and in different lighting, it's not that bad.
Parts of me love it red, other parts of me hate it red.

Love all your suggestions, but I do know I shan't go with blue.

I tried painting my bathroom robin's egg blue a few years ago, and the house rejected it.

I know that sounds crazy - but it blue just looks so out of place in this house!

I'm thinking of sanding it down some, and the art work is really going to cover quite a bit.

I think the color of the chairs are throwing me a lot.

I'm just not going to be in a hurry with it.

If anything, I'm just painting it the same as the other walls and calling it a day.

I really shouldn't be thinking about it at all - I'm so mentally preoccupied with other things.

You should see the state of my garden.

It's shameful.

Bootcamp is over a week from today.

I still have just over four pounds to go.

I'm fighting thoughts of being a loser if I don't make it.

I have a tendency to throw the baby out with the bathwater - heck, I'm known to through the tub and towels out too.

The fact that I've lost 44 lbs in 4.5 months is pretty darn good - and if I'm not careful I'll discount it all for not reaching my goal.

Here's a little video montage I did - getting ready for the end of Bootcamp -

Today I get my hair done, (I haven't had a haircut since January!) and tomorrow at 7am I meet my photographer friend for photos on railroad tracks with vintage suitcases as props.

I wanted photos that symbolize that I'm not done - that there is still a journey ahead of me.

I've made myself crazy trying to pick out clothes.  What I want to wear - still doesn't look 'right' on a gal my size.

Aaron will take my two piece pictures on Friday - I don't want to traumatize anyone else with them.

It's funny that I have my mind set that I can breathe a sigh of relief in one week, because truly nothing will change - it's not like I'll be eating pizza and laying on the couch.

I want to reach my ultimate weight loss goal by my 50th birthday in January.

I can slow things down a little after bootcamp is over.

I'm going to continue working with my Coach until my final goal is reached and beyond.

I'm in this for good.

I shan't put this weight back on again.

It's my time to shine.

Speaking of shining - look at the girls in this shot.

I didn't end up shoe shopping yesterday - I invested in Victoria's Secret Bombshell bra.

This is some serious armor, y'all.

I feel bullet proof in it.

It can double as pin cushions when I sew.

No need for air bags in the car now -

It's all smoke and mirrors.

Not

Welcome to La Carreta

Your table for four is ready.

Not!

Back to the drawing board.

I tried red first because I was afraid of red.

There's no creativity in fear.

I can't abide with the red.

Next!

We Don't Need No Education...

That's the song that keeps rolling through my mind since I'm OCD obsessed over a brick wall at the moment.

I adored all of your ideas!

THANK YOU.

Now I'm in more of a pickle, cause it just adds more to my brain...

I'm still thinking.

I was surprised by all the suggestions for blue - because Aaron told me blue, and I looked at him like he was purple - I still 'don't get it'.

My matchy matchy mind can't wrap around it.

Oh how I wish I could think out the box!

As you can see - the Boychild does.

fake lip ring!

Yesterday, the BoyChild's back was out and I took him to the Chiropractor, by the time we got out of there, I needed to eat - hence - I needed to come home.

I just knew if I stopped to get paint, the next thing I'd be doing is eating out - or coming home a raving lunatic.

I chose the safe route and came home and ate a proper lunch, albeit paintless.

All I know now is that I will be purchasing this print as a 'good job girl' reward for Bootcamp.

I've loved it for a long time, and I think it will work out there....

do you?  I plan on putting it on that brick wall, and moving the four pictures in a two over two formation elsewhere on the porch.

I'm really not sure what style I'm going for out there - but sorta like a coffeehouse, PotteryBarn, country, modern, shabby, serene feel.

Got it?

this picture still flat out cracks me up!

Speaking of Bootcamp - it's almost over. 

Three more weeks, and I'm aimin' to lose 10.4 more pounds.

Light a candle, say a prayer, send a good vibe.

Thank you and amen.

Help!

Trust me, I'm all done whining.

I realize now, I could be homeless - or worse - Glenco-less or Boychild-less.

All in all - the only things I've lost permanently is a patio table and a nice oak leaf hydrangea.

Y'all were right, the perennials are bouncing back.

The tree peonies were demolished, and I do declare they are so fleeting anyhow that next year, I'm putting a lawn chair there and I will sit and look at them from the minute they bloom to the minute they are gone.

I wanted to clarify - the tree that fell did not belong to me. It belongs to the neighbor to the west of me, an elderly man.  That's why I was calling the county, because I was hoping that they would consider the tree in the county easement and take care of it.  They agreed with me that it was a hazard, but said it was too big for them to handle.

Moving on.....

This is what I was working on when the storm hit.

I painted my front porch, and now I need your help.

Seriously - like now - because in about an hour, I'm leaving to buy a paint color, and I need to know what color to buy!

Ok, see the paint color on the clapboard part of the wall?  That's what I just painted.  The brick wall is the old color.  I love that color - and I'm realizing that I'm much too close to my menstrual cycle to be doing things like this.  I'm still having a hate/love relationship with the color I just painted the walls.

So NOW - I want to paint the brick wall an accent color.

I'm thinking burnt orange, cause I can't seem to get enough orange lately.

I know it's just an hour's work and a quart of paint - but I don't want to make a mistake.

I thought of chocolate brown, but that doesn't excite me, other than the name.

Then I have to do something with the chair color, cause that's not right, and then that old crappy table needs something too.

And of course, I'm painting the floor, but I don't know what color that will be either.

I do have a nice statement piece on the other side of the porch - and old buffet I picked up on Craig's List for a song, repainted - you guessed it - orange.

 So this is what I need to know right now...

What color do I paint the brick wall?  I thought of red - but that frightens me.

The table?

The chairs?

ANYthing y'all got - let's have it.

I need this space done.

I'll keep you posted with what I do!

My No Cost Office Renovation

This office makes me all kinds of happy.

It's warm, it's organized and well merchandised.

A gal can dream.

My office has been a pin in my ass for twenty years.

I'm sorry to swear - I am - but in this situation, there is no other word for it.

A pin my friends.

It's always been half done - haphazard, piled.

It's the place to put something when there is no other place to put it.

One of the many joys of an old home is the lack of storage.

Guess what? I reckon they didn't need so much back then.

We could perhaps learn a lesson here.

My office is my pantry.

It's my utility room.

It's Aaron's school room.

It's my sewing room.

Here's a candid picture of it last week.

Nothing was removed to portray a blog fantasy world.

Not too shabby.

But wait - it gets better.

Here's what it looked like when you first walked in.

An old chimney cupboard I bought for $50 ages ago.

My vacuum, sewing machine and all of Aaron's schoolbooks are housed in here.

Landsakes, I really hate for you to see this.

But here it is.

Some built in shelves that were here when we moved in. They don''t look too bad until I go grocery shopping, and then it gets out of control. I try, most times to keep it tidy. Then I go through a spell where I don't care.

Obviously.

An old chair I picked up a month or so ago at a yard sale for $4.

Nice and sturdy.

There was just 'something about it' that I liked.

For about two days I thought - OK - I'm redoing this hole of a room. It's so uninspiring. It's so dark. I'm going to repaint and get a new desk. I'm going to make a desk. I'm going to cobble things and make a huge project out of all this.

Then I realized that I didn't want to spend any money.

Hmmm.

Then I realized that I'd decided in January not to buy anything new - 'member?

(there will be updates to my Quest for a Simple Life very soon)

So - I did my best and this is what I came up with.

I repurposed what I had.

Did I get you?

Any of you!?

Probably not.

This is the view going in the office now.

I moved the desk.

That is a story in and of itself.

Most people would disassemble the L shaped desk.

Most people would wait until they had help in the house to move the L shaped desk.

I ain't most people.

Bugs get up my butt and I can't wait for help or take the time to disassemble.

I'll spare you the details, but thankfully I had my cell phone on me, and my neighbor was home to help me. I got caught behind the desk, in the corner, in my nightgown.

Let's move on.

It was very hard for me to keep this desk.

I'm so over it.

But guess what? There's nothing wrong with it, other than my hormonal finicky fit.

I stole the rug off the front porch.

I didn't paint.

Again - I need to stop the madness.

I moved the cabinet over to the other side of the room. It's much easier to access it.

I'm not IN LOVE with all my white boxes, but it is what it is.

I feel whiney.

I brought up some stuff I had in the basement, and cozied it up a little.

I used to decorate very primitive, very 'clutterery'. I got away from that, and now I'm feeling the need for a little more clutter than usual.

I call it 'merchandising'.

Must be from my Pier One days.

I'm really not sure what I'm doing with hanging pictures under the map.

Really, I don't - not sure if that will stay, or I'll add to it. I got that picture for fifty cents at a yard sale, and my cousin painted the one sitting on the floor. I just like them.

I framed one of my old Woman's World magazines. I have one for each of the seasons, and I'll change them out accordingly.

I recovered the chair with fabric I had.

Another hard one.

I really wanted new fabric.

But I had this - but I wanted new - but I had this -

For some silly reason, the lamp is driving me crazy.

Loved it when I bought it - ten years ago - and now - not so in love with it - but I have it.

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.

That's my motto, and I'm sticking with it.

No, really. I am.

Really.

Upstairs Bedroom - Take Two

Let's try this again, shall we?

Should have done this yesterday, but I was too eager to post pics.

Last night whilst lying in bed, I thought of this arrangement.

What do you think?

I tried to do a panoramic type view of the room.

I'm not totally in love with the chair in there, but I am in love with the chair. One of my first curbside treasures. I could recover the cushion, etc...with no chair there, it looks rather plain. If I don't keep it in this room, I have to get rid of it. There is absolutely no where else in the house for it.

See how the ceiling curves? I think it's cool..but I'm going to have to repaint the ceiling, because you can still see some yellow over the taupe.

The room is really bathed in light. My house faces south. I have all wood blinds on all of my windows in the house. I like them (waving at Cheryl). I gave up curtains a few years ago, but now I'm thinking, that some fabric on the windows might be a nice touch. When my house was all primitives, it all seemed so cluttered to me, so of course, I went for the exact opposite when I redecorated.

The loom in the corner, on an angle. It seems to welcome you to sit and weave. My grandma-ma's old sewing machine in front of the window. If it weren't a family heirloom, I wouldn't care if it stayed or left.

The ceiling fan is an eyesore. Can't believe I've lived with it this long. Staying true to my 'nothing new' this year....spray paint will fix it.

I decided to paint my circa 1980 bedroom set a distressed, antique cream. I thought it would pop nicely with the bed on the wall here. This is the only place the bed can afford a nightstand as well. The old lamp, can go or stay, but it will be painted and re-shaded if it stays.

I want to make a new bedskirt. Something with color. I want to redo the pillows on the bed....

The bed on this wall bothers me somewhat, I keep thinking of a decorating 'rule' that I read somewhere, where the headboard should be the first thing you see when you enter a bedroom.

The chest of drawers is going to have to stay. I just plum need the closet space. The only closet in the house is that doorknobless one in the corner. It's filled with rug making supplies and scuba gear! I think once it's painted, and the knobs are different, it might be ok. The space heater. Don't ask. Glenco isn't taking it out. It's kinda cool when we do sleep up here in the winter, it's like a little fireplace.

Ok, let's talk about that floor. I just KNEW I would evoke alot of comments when I talked about painting it. Ladies...I'm almost 50. I want to play in the dirt, and camp in The Squirrel. I don't want to spend my time stripping and refinishing things. I painted the hall floor.....see?

The door to the left in this picture is my workout room. Can't show you that now, cause it's a bit piled up with all the stuff that was in the bedroom :-) But, the floor is painted in there too, and me like.

Here is a photo, showing the three room merging. Just seems that the floor in the bedroom should be painted so it all 'flows'.

From a far, in the pictures, the floor does look lovely.

Let's take a closer look at it.

Mmmmhhmmm.

Lookie here.

I was sloppy when I painted, assuming the floor would be painted.

The jury is still out on the floor. I can't imagine what I could do to it to make it look good enough. Then the whole floor not matching thing would get to me.

I can't thank you enough for your comments! I have quite a few ideas tucked in my head now. I'm thinking the first thing I should do is to get the headboard and dresser painted.

Keep the comments coming. Let me know how you like this arrangement. I can move things again and take more pics.

I can't wait to start the painting, the layering in of junk and cool stuff, to make this room come alive!

(Mirjana...send me an email!)