8.22.2005

It was a big PITA...

to switch around two girls' rooms!

I'm soooo exhausted! I have places that hurt that I didn't even know I had.

On August 11th, Alyssa asked Justin and I if she could switch rooms with Aislin. When we bought our house in April 2004, Alyssa got the smaller room because it had a bigger closet. She had a ton of Barbie stuff and horses and things that wouldn't fit in the other room's closet. Now that she has *outgrown* those things, she doesn't need the closet room.

I convinced Justin that it would be easy. Aislin only has a few pieces of furniture, so it would be no big deal.

I. Was. Wrong. There, I said it. I was wrong.

We started on August 13th, sure we would get everything done that weekend. We had every intention of doing something with the walls eventually, as we have laminated sheetrock. The most hideous laminated sheetrock. So I so naively tell Justin that I want to paint the rooms before Alyssa can hang anything. Both rooms have wall shelves, and I figured why not do it now? So after four days, two painful coats of primer, two even more painful coats of paint, and a lot of touch ups where the tape pulled off paint, the first room looked great. Even if I did feel like I could sleep for a week from walking up and down the ladder for four days. Did I forget to mention that both room's ceilings start at eight feet and slope to ten?

Setback number one: the builders forgot to put baseboard in the girls' rooms. Not a surprise because we have had nothing but problems with this house from day one. So Justin said he wants to trim the rooms. I say ok, but no more laminated crap like the trim all over the house. I want real trim. Four more days and four coats of paint and the trim is installed. It looks fabulous! Justin installed that stuff like an expert! Although he did have a bit of trouble holding the nails. Missing thumb you know.

Next we need to reinstall the shelve sets, but of course we have to buy another set because Aislin only had one set while Alyssa had two. Setback number two: does Lowe's have the three-foot shelves we used before in stock? Nooooooo! Because that would be too easy. We had to get six foot shelves and cut them down. Shelves are now installed on either side of the window. Looking good!

All of Aislin's furniture moves easily, except the crib, which has to be taken apart. No big deal.

Most of Alyssa's furniture moves easily. We had to take the bed apart, detach the hutches from her desk and dresser, and take her computer apart. No problem. Move bed into room...setback number three: headboard hits the wall as I'm attaching it to the bed frame. Yep, you guessed it. The latex paint peeled off the laminate like a big sticker. I swore. A lot. Good thing I had a styrofoam bowl of paint in the kitchen.

Setback number four: As Alyssa and I were moving her bookcase, I ran it over my foot and broke my toe.

Since Alyssa is changing her room theme from purple flowers to green frogs, we spent some time online looking for new bedding and accessories. We found things she liked quickly. Then I thought it would be cute to install matching switchplates and outlet covers. Setback number five: we don't have standard covers. They are of a snap-in type, and the only ones available are the ones that screw in.

But being the genius that I am, the girls and I went to Hancock fabrics and found a bright pink fabric with little green frogs all over it. I wrapped the fabric around the cover, cut out the center and hot glued it all down. Then I put three coats of Mod Podge over the fabric to give it that *laminated* look. Even though the MP darkened the pink to a more pinky-orange, Alyssa loves it and thinks I'm the coolest Mom ever!

Everything else went pretty smooth, and I even got two bags of trash out of Alyssa's room! Can that girl collect some junk! And Aislin is now sleeping in her own bed after sleeping between Justin and I--mostly sideways--for eight days.

So as of noon yesterday, the girls have brand new rooms. But I didn't bother painting Aislin's room yet.

Would you?

8.06.2005

We just got back...

from getting new pictures!

These are for Aislin's 2nd birthday. Alyssa is 11 and I'll be getting a portrait of her in her ballet recital costume soon. The rest of the pictures are in my Webshots album in the sidebar.

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Aren't they such pretty girls? Yes, I'm a very proud Mama. But Daddy was walking around like a peacock. I said we would get a few pictures because we don't really have a lot of money right now.

$204.00 later...

8.05.2005

I'm past due...

on the SBQOTW.

I really do have the best intentions on keeping up with this on a weekly basis. After all, this blog is supposed to be about stitching. But as my mother says, "I've slept since then."

August 3rd: Have you hand-dyed your own fabric? Why or why not? Would you like to try to do so?

No I have never dyed my own fabric. I would love to, and am envious of those stitchers I know who have tried this. C even dyed some with koolaid! It turned out lovely!

I think I'm worried about the mess. Or the fact that I'm such a perfectionist that I will hate every piece. Or something.

July 27th: What is your most unique/interesting stitching quirk? (This could be something concerning the way you stitch, how you organize your stash, etc.)

I don't know that it's interesting, but it is a quirk. I'm obsessive about how my stitches lay. They have to lay side-by-side, not twisted, and all the stitches have to be the same height. Meaning that if I look at my stitching from the side, there better not be any stitches sticking up higher or sitting lower than the others.

I even have several tools to help in this endeavor. I can't remember the name, but I have a stitch *tucker*. It is like a big needle that can be pushed down into the holes of the fabric and it *tucks* stitches toward the back. How's that for obsessive?

July 20th: Have you ever done a color conversion? If so, what did you think about your results and would you do it again? If not, would you like to try someday?

Yes I have done a conversion. I did TW's Knotwork Bookmark, which she designed with color conversions in mind. I was very happy with it, and used my absolute favorite colors. I'm going to enter it in the county fair this month.

Absolutely yes I would do it again! TW also has a dragon that calls for conversions, and I have looked at some colors for him also. The only problem I have is taking so long to find the *right* colors. But there is such a sense of pride when the colors I choose actually work!

I have framed my first piece for the fair this year. It's my first fair, so I am very excited and completely nervous. Since my sister Heather is so stingy and won't let me enter her gorgeous wedding sampler that will probably win a blue ribbon (I love you Sissy!) I had to find some other pieces. But I think I've picked some nice things to enter.

1. TW's Knotwork Bookmark. Not actually finished into a bookmark yet. I'm just waiting on the vinyl sleeve and tassel. I was thinking dark brown to match the brown in the border.

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2. An ornament. I just have to put on the hanger.

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3. Winter Blues by Just Nan under samplers. Needs to be framed but I will probably do that today.

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4. TW's Jeanne Love's Angel. The first thing I framed myself!

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5. Main Street Box. This was a recent finish for my mother, but she generously allowed me to enter it in the fair. It will be under perforated paper. It can be seen under recent finishes in the sidebar.

All the details for these pieces can be found in my webshots albums. Look under "My favorite links" in the sidebar.

Other things I'm thinking about include a piece of jewlery that I made, a silk gauze piece, a beaded ornament, and a beaded egg.

I'll post more pictures as I finish things. I'm so excited though, and I'm going to be selfish once again...

...and hope I win something!

8.04.2005

Today is the day...

that my parents are moving to North Carolina.

It's a long, hard, 2-day drive from New Mexico. I understand completely why they are moving. My mother has never liked the Southwest. She was raised in places like Washington state, California, and Alaska, and she was born in North Carolina, so it has been very hard on her here. She was stationed in this state twice while in the military, and she retired in this town in 2001. But she wants to be near her deceased father's family and get a teaching job out there.

I feel so alone. I am very used to moving. We moved every 2-3 years when I was growing up. That's the life of a military brat. But the older I get, the more I want to settle down. I want to have a "home." I've never had a place I could call home because I wasn't ever from anywhere.

And the older I get the more I want to be closer to my parents. I have seen them every day for the last 5 years. Now I won't see them but once or twice a year.

I feel very selfish. I feel like a big baby. But I still feel very lonely, even with Justin and my girls.

I will be busy this fall, with school and work and family. Will that make the time pass by faster?

Maybe Christmas will come early this year.