New Beginnings

I found a dime today...............

Yeah, well I've got to be positive. That's a good start, right? Who am I talking to? I have but one wee follower and he doesn't read this stuff. How can I , no I will find the....the excitement in positive writings and expression. Back at the blogsville ponderings.

I curled my hair and put on make up.

I have been crying all morning, my stress and sadness is through the roof. Today, today only. I'm sure it's an imbalance in one of my medications. Losing so much weight and my meds haven't been adjusted. I have a new doctor now and have an appointment tomorrow at 9! That's positive! 

Now my make up is mussed and I'm having horrible flashes, so I put my hair up. I tried to keep it cute.....no, it's still cute. Seeeee, I can do this positive thing.

Stay tuned for my new palace, organizing, decorating and general cooooolness that only I can bring.

I will get the money so that I can have a pedicure! my toes have started bleeding from lack of proper attention. Ick....

Today's agenda, make lists, do writing assignments for career counselor, pick up new script (ie get out of the HOUSE!) and smile. Cleaning my room a bit too.

Hugs, kisses and best wishes to all!

funky, freaky and frazzled....de-capitalized

I used to be a huge blogger with Yahoo 360 and Multiply. I knew those sites like that back of my hand and created some really lovely posts. They're all gone now, in a poof, with the demise of the websites. I bring this up because I've never had any followers on blogger or the desire to learn how to make my site and posts special. I feel a horrible pressure in my blogs current mediocrity. It's all that I have at the moment though. Reminder to relax, it's the best that I can do at the moment.....

I still have no readership.....sigh

I really have been busy lately. My 15 year old son is a hot mess and so is his bedroom. I ask him to clean it but his best effort extends to taking the dirty dishes down to the kitchen, putting his dirty clothes in the hamper after a week long accumulation and maybe if I'm lucky he will pick up and empty his trash. Otherwise, everything remains on his floor, a hot mess. My son, Malik actually has Christmas clothing that he has yet to wear. I found it in a pile under many bed linen things on the side of his bed. G-r-r-r.

We moved to this town home, two years ago and I find that I need to re-organize and tweak almost everything. The basics are coming together but now I need to add the details and that sure takes time. Everyone knows how it is. You may want to finish a room, find that perfect decor item or furniture and you just can't find it or afford it. Sometimes, frugal creativity is a drain.....

My son is almost 16 and I feel he's at a new precipice, of young adulthood. Malik is a bit of a hoarder, so it's hard for him to let go of things. Two years ago, even though he wasn't playing with toys, he was reluctant to get rid of them. Hallelujah, now he is. That's a great thing because there isn't enough room
for a young adults clothing and toys.......

I've had a mood board since before Christmas for my son's room. I am addicted to creating mood boards. It's so fun with an app I purchased for my IPad called Moodboard! Check it out for some easy fun. I want more than anything to bring my ideas to fruition. Here's my mood board:

As you can see, because we have 15+ ( whatever, they're really tall) foot ceilings upstairs, I'm taking 

advantage of that with a loft bed, which is also a nice change from a twin to a double. I'm also hoping to keep my son out of his bed more and in a living room situation. With a couch or futon, he can have friends over, play Xbox, watch TV in a cool environment. His favorite color is yellow and he's a skateboarder and surfer. It's a lot of IKEA, but I'm on a real budget with this one. ( I did find a comparable duvet cover at Target which is only $39, a $60 savings! whoooot! As it is I will have to do this in stages. 

C'est la vie.....real life.

As an accountant, I also have an Excel spreadsheet with the budget broken into three stages. Hopefully I will find savings in other areas as I go along.

It's really dreadful.....sigh. He has a nice duvet cover and is too lazy to put it on...OY

 

I love a happy ending and for the most part this story does have a happy ending. I used a rake to put all the junk in a pile in the corner. The closet is organized and done except for the family games which I will remove when I have a new spot ready for them. Now my son has lots of room for more clothes and other "manly" things.

 













Not Enough Time in A Day.....

Such a busy time, I'm trying to reorganize my home, redecorate a little and also get my daughter ready for college. Phew! I have to work too......?

Most importantly, I'm taking an online course in interior design styling. I was late in posting my first two assignments and I have another due today. Sunday's projects due where styling the coffee table and sofa. I'm not ready for either one but I did my first installment anyway. I will probably change everything when I feel more inspired. I still need to find my white throw and I need to find a cute vase for my little plant or maybe I'll be lazy and purchase an orchid! I dunno, I always have to sit with it and think. I haven't had time to do that. Anyway......I few pictures for your enjoyment!

To get into the mood, I purchased some new Moroccan music and dressed appropriately.....haha

No time for makeup.......

Interior Design Class with Justina Blakeney

Good morning everyone! I'm taking an online interior design class about styling and I wanted to share my process and progress. It just started Monday and I had my first assignment due yesterday. I was so gung ho, that I wanted to have my project posted that first day. Fate had another idea in the form of program glitches within Skillset the class online host. I tried all day to download a multitude of my decor and home photos as "before" photos which was the first requirement. Around midnight Monday, I was able to almost complete my first submission minus one photograph. The dreaded before photo of my bed......you see, I work from home and I have an IPad, which in lulu terms means I'm in my bed with my two darling dogs a lot! It's where I do my best work. I have always been a huge bed lover. I wash my linens often and I'm very lazy to iron them and make the linens "photo ready" and since I'm very single, I have stuff on the empty side of the bed sometimes. With the photo assignment due within a few hours, I snapped away at the reality of my wrinkled mess of a bed. Shame of shames, my secret is exposed......sigh. My bedroom is my mess. (Insert whine-y-y excuses, you see I get up really early and move to my office in my chic pjs, hot mess hair and a cup of tea ( hot or iced depending upon the weather which today I can't decide, so I have nothing. It's overcast in SoCal today) Need tea.....now!

I digress.......crap, part of the down side of being over 50, I ramble in text as well.

Ohh-la-la Friday!

It's Friday and I have oodles of things to do this weekend. The mad  holiday rush begins......

My X-husband arrives from Morocco, what day?....what time?.....I dunno, he never has the details....sigh. I think the 19th.....and he will sleep alot after, so my weekend will be......

I missed out on another vintage dining table that was all the way in San Diego. I just didn't want to drive 1 1/2 hours and not know if I could get the table in the Rav4. I have to have a table for Thanksgiving. I think I will hit one of my old plaster home decor studios for a table base, I hope I find what I love. I also want some small capitols and columns for display purposes.

I have cruised the Pottery Barn online and felt that there was nothing for me. Last night, I was at the mall and ran into Pottery Barn after I picked up my Willaims Sonoma brining 'stuff'. I actually saw a lot of things that I would really LOVE to have. I think they have a few glitsy-er items that will suit my house. I am also dreaming about an 'ethnic' bar with embossed metal on the top. I gotta, wanna....have it. Too bad it's $899.00.....sigh. I've been thinking that I can't have everything and I need to be more creative. I will still frequent Home Goods and Marshalls for items after the holidays but in the mean time, I need stuff up. I still haven't found a console table that I love for the stairs (I'm ruined because I saw the perfect one at Marshalls, I had no money and when I went back it was gone.....CRY!) I'm going to put up an old modern white shelf that I have becasue I need to get my pictures up in the stair well, get some great flowering twigs in my new fabulous turquoise vase, and call it a holiday day!

I need to stop trying to be perfect and choose my battles. I can't afford everything and I'm stressing myself out!

My mother is having a garage sale this weekend. I should join her becasue I have tons of stuff. I just can't do it this weekend....too much to do. I have been 'instructed' to remove the kids bikes and scooters from her garage tho'.....gotta do that tonight.

I'm not sure if I will make the Long Beach antique sale either.........Vintage shopping may have to wait until after the holidays......we'll see.

For now, I'm off to write lists for the weekend and I'll cross my fingers that I accomplish everything.





What do I say?...........

As usual, I'm busy, my mind is very scattered. I would so like to be organized for the upcoming holidays. If thinking about it all counts, then I'm on my way! HA!

We got one of the new puppies last Sunday. Lucy now aka Princess is a tiny chihuahua and rather clingy and needy. She would prefer if we hold her day and night. I am hoping that this is just a phase and she will become more secure and confident soon. I adore her and enjoy being with her always.

Unfortunately, on Monday, the dog that my son was going to adopt, died. She was a four month old puppy with all of her shots, but she got parvo and didn't survive. Whew, Monday was very sad for me. My son was very sad too but thankfully Princess can abate any bad/sad moods quickly. I would be very content to just have one dog but we'll see if we get another.

Both of my kids have been sick with colds/flu. I'm feeling rather funky today myself. Just very tired.Well, I'm keeping things short and sweet today........

Jittery-y and TOTALLY Stupid!

So.....I have never claimed to be anything less than....well slightly crazy. Crazy in a good way most of the time, but nonetheless, crazy. We all have a loony side (nods head), I know it.

Last weekend, I went 'around the bend'..........

All the steps have been in place, day after day. I have gained back 'my life', my dolce vita actually. From a good job, a home, to furniture and appliances, much of it is in place. One of the last items that my children have been clamoring for?......yep, a D-O-G.

I LOVE dogs and I was an idiot to go to Petsmart last Saturday and then send pics to my daughter. What was I thinking? They had a lovely little bitchy chihuahua ('Lucy'), Camille's wish list dog. I didn't hold her, but I sat there watching all the dogs for a few hours. Personally, I feel in love with a strange looking dog named 'Camille' (weird huh?). She has crazy big ears and very short legs. Think Welsh Corgi. They claim Camille is poor in-breeding of chihuahuas but she is crazy big for a chihuahua. I didn't hold Camille either. When I arrived home, my daughter demanded that we return so she could see Lucy. Camille held the dog and I was doomed. I couldn't say no, she is a great option, to adopt and save. Lucy was on death row at a shelter because she's a year old. She let Camille hold her but didn't like me much. I am also aware that Lucy doesn't like men much. Hope she likes boys...........I arranged to pick up 'Lucy' next Sunday. I'm sure a name change is in order. We stopped at Homegoods to shop for a bed, we found a black fur one for $10. We didn't find an elevated furniture style one yet, but we'll keep looking.

I will need a baby gate to enclose her in the kitchen until I see if she's housebroken.

My son Malik had a fit that his sister got a dog and he didn't. What's a crazy woman to do? Of course, take her son back to Petsmart the next day and show him the adoptable dogs. There was Lucy's cage mate and death row partner, Hope, a Whippet mix. Hope was quite the adorable dog that can climb a 5 foot cage or jump the 5 feet, which ever. I watched her do that three times. OY. Malik didn't like her. Phew! Then I showed him 'Camille' and it was love at first site. All the crazy rescue ladies knew that I was taken with Camille and offered to let me have her for 1/3 the price. My son held 'Camille' for hours as well and I signed the deal. I pick up Camille next Sunday as well. (BTW - Camille was one of 15 dogs that was removed from a hoarder, she's 4 months old.)

The crazy part, I don't have the deposit monies paid to have a dog at my town home. I'm thinking I will hide the TWO dogs for a month or so....there's the jitter. I'm an idiot......sigh.