Friday, January 28, 2011

One of them has to go...

I am either going to run out of money of energy...at this point I don't know which...I have been VERY frugal and VERY productive.  Maybe, just maybe, this is the new "me" I have been waiting for this whole time...?!
You know the "me" you envision yourself being as you sit on your ass on the couch surfing thru cable hell?!
We got rid of extended cable, I got a part time job, went home to Florida for 2 weeks to recharge, put my youngest into EAK (early admission Kindergarten...read as FREE daycare 5 days a WEEK!!!!) and began to start AND finish projects!

Yesterday's project - putting together new gazebo type thing for back patio (reg. $154 @ Target and I snagged it for $99)  This way the kiddies and puppy won't get too fried in the SoCal sun...at least in the backyard : )

After the house, I will reorganize and make pretty with the blog!

Monday, January 24, 2011

next!

So I high-tailed it over to Home Fabrics again this weekend since the store location hasn't closed yet and the discounts are even bigger...got 4 yeards of this cute little stripe for $1.50/yd!!!!  My friend that just moved had an ottoman she wasn't using and ala-za-zam - presto chang-o my oldest has a cute little place to put her butt when helping little sister on the computer : )  My mother, who is the Queen of ALL things fabric would have done a better job drunk and half-blind, but I thinks it's pretty good for my first "slip cover". I've made clothes, pillows, blankets and the like but never anything for a piece of furniture that didn't involve me just plugging in about a million staples (covered some barstools and dining room chairs)

We also instigated a new policy in our house after a 2 day long overhaul in the kiddies room...first of all I made them help (which is why it took 2 days) this way they realize that cleaning/purging/organizing their rooms is work...the second part of my plan is "put it away or I will throw it away"  we'll see how it works, if it's on the floor when you crawl into bad for the night my little darlings...it will be gone in the morning.  Right now they are right where I want them - running scared and picking up thier crap!  Mwa-haha!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Time to call in a Haz-mat team : (

Just picked up antibiotics for family member #3...this is starting to get old...do they sell hand-sanitizer in 50 gallon jugs?  I figure if I can pick up one of those and hook it up to my pressure washer...I may stand a chance...

Monday, January 17, 2011

the crud keeps creeping

So I have been coughing for one reason or another since the first week of December, closely followed by the four year old, then we gave it to the ten year old right before Christmas and now the hubby has it...we should start our own band...we are almost harmonious. 

The noise is driving me crazy...it never stops....the poor 10 year old has bronchitis and is on antibiotics and an inhaler, the little one and I just have head colds now (after ditching the chest colds) and the man refuses to go to the doctor.  He probably has bronchitis too...it's what he does.

Thank God I froze some lasagna when I made the last batch...I may feel like crap, but the organization..must...go on...stopped off at IKEA on the way home from taking my monkeys to visit the zoo.  I am on a roll and not stopping to cook.  I know that once I stop moving forward with all of this, it will just stay like this for about 4 months...it's what I do.  I run around crazy, moving stuff around, making more room and I leave one little spot undone...for about 4 months...I get so depressed and bummed that I didn't finish, that I just leave everything else to go to shit and then hit up into a frenzy again.  Trying to break the cycle this year...so far, so good....at lease I have more shelves and some cute little storage bins : )

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Gotta keep this ball rolling

It all started with a set a shelves in the shed, then a set in the carport...did I indicate singular?!  Oh no...loved those shelves in the carport sooo much and had wood from the crate left over...so...I made another set!  They are flippin AWESOME!!!!  They would not win any beauty contest or be featured in Wood Working Magazine, but they are all mine and they are holding my stuff.  Floor to ceiling organization in 3, count them 3 much needed areas. 

Now the hard part begins...

We only have 1,323 sf in our place so it is time for the creative organizational shuffle to begin...Now that there is room in the carport, I will move stuff from the shed to the carport...then I will move stuff from various areas of the house to the shed.  Then I will attack the IKEA pantry I built in the laundry room and tackle the walk-in craft closet...THEN and only then will I head upstairs to the bedrooms.  Of course, the token trip to drop off at the local thrift store will occur as well....actually loaded up my little CRV and drop off about 7 bags/boxes of stuff yesterday!

After all this is done I am going to redo the kitchen chairs.  Our 14 month four legged old monster decided that when he was just a babe that it would be fun to chew the front part of the fabric and all of the corners off of all 6 dining room chairs/cushions.  Went to Home Fabrics yesterday (to the location they are closing) and grabbed about $300 worth of 2 fantastic fabrics...one has a tapestry look and feel ($7.50/yd) and the other is a chenile with a bit of a rectangle print ($2.50/yd!!!!!) got 10 total yards for $50 bucks!!!  I am going to be able to redo 6 chairs, 2 barstools (got the goods, might as well do it) 4 large toss pillows and 2 small toss pillows...we have an open floor plan and it would be nice to coordinate some fabric colors.  Just have to go buy a boat-load of staples for chairs and get the timing fix on my heavier duty sweing machine.

I am going to get this place together...I am!

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

moving right along...at a snail's pace...but moving

Ok, I didn't take pictures, (the "before" were to Sanford and Son looking and the "during" was just embarassing)  but I do have to say that my repurposed shelves in the shed ROCK!!!!  Floor to ceiling organizable heaven.  I tore that old IKEA shelf to bits and then bent it to my will!

Now that I have decided to do the same thing out in the carport things could get a little hairy....First I needed some wood that I could use and I started eyeballing the crate that my dad made to send out daughter #1's cedar chest...I am going ahead and saying it now - I will NEVER take apart anything that my dad made again!  That man knows what he is doing and he likes to use wood screws...I must have take 75 screws out of the damn thing, (did I mention that it is only like a 3' x 2' box?) but I now have a very lovely collection of plywood and 1 x 1's for the braces.  Hope it doesn't rain this weekend : )

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Under Construction...so far...

Ok, so one of the things that 2010 wouldn't give me was some decent home improvement.  When you have 2 adults, 2 growing kids and a super active puppy in a 1,323 sf townehome you have to get creative with space...all of my attempts thus far have been part trailer park engineering, part balance and the refusal to spend any money on more organizers.  Well, I am done with having to remove 14 boxes and bins that are on top of the container that I want so...let the destruction begin.

I am still broke, so I will be spending very little money, but since I did save $300 bucks on my car repair Wednesday, I decided a little trip to Home Depot was in order.  I never remember to take a "before" picture, I always remember "during" (maybe I will take a quick today before starting up again) and I have already started the shed project, but here is what is on the current agenda

1)  install new sink and faucet in downstairs bathroom
2)  install new doors for shed outside
3)  refab/reconfigure shed so that more crap (including new sink until my man can install, right now it is in dining room)

Not too bad...small list...big effect...

I attacked the shed yesterday, pulling everything out and totally ripping down my Ikea shelving unit - and I do mean tearing that sucker down...no 2 original pieces are left together
I took shelves that were 35" long and 3 planks deep and they are now 29" long and 5 planks deep
I also took the side braces, cut them to size and used them as the new braces on the studs in the shed to hold new shelves up

Only had to buy some new woodscrews...although I did cheat and go buy a new DeWalt corded drill...yes the powertools in this house belong to me - my work ain't necessarily pretty, but it does get the job done!  My little 6 year old, battery powered Black and Decker drill just wasn't cutting anymore...and I mean that literally...the batteries also power my B&D chick-sized circular saw...one hour of charging would only cut 3 boards or drill 2 screws...project would have taken a week!

Waiting for the hubby to wake up and help me make sure everything is level on the braces for the second side...don't want any crap falling down/shifting  on me during the next set of tremors/earthquakes.  Besides, can't let him feel completely lefy out...and I did let him cut some of the boards last night...I just don't like using my jigsaw and my batteries kept dying.

pics soon

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Gonna get everything out of 2011 that 2010 wouldn't give me!

So, back from Florida after a two week vacation...or perhaps I should say family trip.  I cooked dinner, I cleaned house, I grocery shopped, but...I didn't have to drag 2 kids along and never had to do the dishes.  My mom followed me around like a Dyson vaccuum cleaner.  It takes a little getting used to, but we have a pretty good system : )

So for this year I am going to...

Work more
Stress less (possibly by taking more prozac?!)
Make a budget and stick to it
Save for something before I buy it...if I want it bad enough, I should save for it...period
Be a better parent (Miss M, we can do this!)
Be a better wife
Get off my ass and lose it!  Get me fit, eat healthier, better all around health stuff
Finally get this house clean, organized and then LEAVE IT ALONE!  If I quit messing it up, it will stay nice!
Work on "me" time so I can be better for others
Take a "me" trip...somewhere...anywhere so that I can miss others and they can miss me

That's it so far.  I reserve the right to change, alter, revamp or otherwise shitcan this list in part or whole.

Watch out 2011...I'll cut a bitch!