Gosh Anj, I'm sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Couldn't you postpone the zucchini breads for one day? You are just always so busy, with so much on your plate. Don't know how you do it. Too bad I don't live closer and maybe I could be of some help. We could do the work together and then have time to "play" together with our paints. LOL

I did a couple loads of laundry and dusted all the family room furniture today. Then I went out front and finished trimming my roses in the planters. We have a patio out front with an L shaped planter all around it full of shrub roses. Darn spiders had webs in them, so I decided to trim them back and open up the centers a bit to get more light and moisture in there. Hopefully it will encourage the spiders to move on.

The weather right now is so nice, nice breeze and not so hot. I'm really enjoying being outside in the late afternoons. Got a couple bushes in the back that have gotten too tall and are blocking the sprinkler water from the other plants so that will be what I will be working on next.

We took the motor home over to another town to have that Banks Power system installed. It's supposed to help get better gas mileage as well as more power for the hills. We left it overnight, then went back to get it the next afternoon. Nice part is that we've had either breakfast or lunch out three days this week! I like not having to cook! LOL

I am barely keeping up with my housework, and haven't worked on any projects this week. Can't believe it's Friday already! Tomorrow, we are going to order our
Select Comfort bed and DH said since we will be at the shopping center, we might go to the movies while we are there. Not sure what he wants to see--maybe Dark Knight now that the crowds have thinned out.

Hope you got your stuff all done and were able to just lay down for a bit to try to get rid of that headache. Take care of yourself. TTYL

Luvs

Hi Luvs... I must have a little touch of something or I'm just run down. Feeling a little better today, but still have a headache. I tried to take it easy yesterday and napped away most of the day since DH was home to watch the kids. Been a long time since I've napped in the middle of the day and it felt good. ha Haven't been taking my vitamins for a while cause with all our running around I forget and I need to get back taking them. I'll do better when we get back on schedule. I'm gonna start back on my Flylady schedule on Monday too....or my version of it. ha DH told me yesterday I'm my own worse boss and I need to enjoy my freedom in being home more. I will try! ha I think I have too high of expectations for myself.

I did get 4 loaves of zucchini bread made Friday, but only 1 got frozen. The family ate the rest. ha

It is starting to cool down here some. It's in the 60's at night and getting down to the 80's some days. I can almost smell fall coming. I'm gonna try to enjoy it this year and not hate it for being the precurser for winter.

I'm glad you are getting your RV all fixed up for travel. And I was enjoying our vacation cause I think I only had to cook a few times in 2 weeks! It was great! I like not having to cook too! It's not actually the cooking, but the deciding what to cook that I dislike....plus the cleanup after.

You'll have to tell me how Dark Knight was if you saw it. DD went with her friends to see it and advised us not to take the other kids cause she thought it would scare them. In general my kids have never been scared of any movies because we've always taught them the difference between real life and actors playing a part and computer generation so for her to say that makes me wonder how bad it is. ha

Well, I am trying to get a few things taken care of for tomorrow like writing out lunch checks and copying class schedules and locker combinations for the kids, and getting their backpacks loaded so I need to get back to it and get some bacon fried up for BLT's for lunch. Got a bunch of tomatoes from the garden. mmmm

I'm so excited to get some painting done tomorrow! Need to decide what I'm gonna work on first. I need to get a snoman finished up and the spring basket with it's last few touchups and both sprayed with sealer. Maybe my scarecrow sign and a pumpkin will be next. I bought a reindeer wood kit and a wooden tray on my last trip to the TS. DH told me I need to get a system in place so I don't have all these things in the office. He asked me if I could put them in containers and label them and put them out in the garage. Out of site out of mind is my opinion on that so I just want to work on getting them done and put away or given away then. He never uses the office anyway so don't know why he cares. ha Better go charge my camera before I forget so I can post something tomorrow. Talk to ya then. ~Anj

Just wanted to let you know that I've been busy today getting my space all organized for tomorrow. Went online and found a free room design site so I moved my furniture around online until I got it the way I liked it, then had DH help me move things around to match the picture. ha It looks like there is way more room in my office now. Remember I was going to try to rearrange things a while back, but the plugs weren't 3 prong so I couldn't get my surge protectors to plug in. DH replaced my plugs today too so now it works. My painting table is now in a place I can leave it up all the time. I'm gonna like it this way.....for a while anyway. I'm never one to leave my furniture in one place for long. Runs in my family I think. ha We don't feel like we've deep cleaned unless we move all the furniture around. ha I've made up my computer plans for my bedroom next! ha Anyway, just thought I'd let you know I've made progress in getting myself ready to paint! I'm so excited!! ha ~Anj

Wow! Two messages from you in one day--I hit the jackpot! LOL Glad to hear you got some much needed and deserved rest. It is nice to be able to just close your eyes in the middle of the day for a little snooze--such a luxury for someone as busy as you always are. ;o)

I'm sure this morning was pretty hectic. Hope the kids were all anxious to head off to school again. The little one may feel a little lost without them though. But then again, maybe she will like having Mom all to herself for a few hours.

That was cute about your loaves of bread--I'm sure they all enjoyed it. And the bacon and fresh tomato sandwiches sound yummy too. Nice you are able to raise some nice fresh vegetables, they always taste so much better than the ones from the store.

DH has a routine doctor appt this morning, and I'm going to try to get allot of housework done today so I can play the rest of the week.

I read allot of the Flylady topics several years ago. Couldn't really follow it because all those emails drove me crazy. I was working lots of hours then and when I got home and signed on to the computer--it was overwhelming. So I just took some of the ideas like getting dressed in the morning including the shoes, and picking up and cleaning the sink before going to bed. It is true, the house "feels" cleaner if the sink is clean (and empty) and my bed is made up. I've slacked off some now, I get up, let the dogs out, fill their water and food dishes, make the coffee, then unload/load the dishwasher as needed. Then it's time to enjoy a cup of coffee while I get on here and check mail and the forums. Next, I'll go get dressed and get my housework/yardwork done. I've learned that if I just tidy things up first, then pick a room/project to deep clean works well for me. That way, if I get tired and want to quit, everything still looks pretty good! LOL

I'm so thrilled that you were able to find a way to keep your painting table up. So much easier that way because you can have a project laying there and just walk in and work on it a little bit when you have a few minutes.

There are so many projects I want to paint. Just need to make a choice and get a surface ready for it. I need to buy some more of the thinner wood too, I only have a small piece left.

Okay Gal, I'd better get going. I'll look forward to seeing your projects. Hope your plan works out so you will have a little time each day to enjoy working on your projects. I think your DH is probably right, our own high expectations is what puts so much pressure on us.

Luvs

Hey you! How'd your day go? Lots faster than you expected I'll bet! LOL You know what they say about the best laid plans?????

I am exhausted. How does the house get so dirty all the time? Yikes! Seems like I'm always cleaning and yet it's always needing more cleaning. I have mirrored closet doors on one whole wall in our bedroom, so I did those as well as both bathrooms, dusted, cleaned some of the floors, then since I had the ladder out, I decided to do all the ceiling fans in the house! Then I wanted to sit a bit, so I did all the ironing and got it put away. Also ran two loads of laundry and now I'm baking a chicken for tonight's dinner. Oh, I also sprayed inside and outside the house with bug spray to try to keep these stupid spiders out. That's it, after dinner I'm just gonna sit and watch a movie or read a magazine, or play on here the rest of the day! I'm just getting too old for all this crap! LOL

Tomorrow,I'll try to get the kitchen and family room floors mopped and the yard work done, then I should have time to play and paint the rest of the week.

So will your laundry increase now that the kids are back in school? Do they change into play clothes when they get home?

Hopefully, they won't have much homework for awhile. I can't believe all the homework some teachers assign. I can see a little of it, but they should get to do most assignments at school where the teacher is there to help them IMHO. Besides, I don't think I would even remember enough to be able to help if I had to! Sure glad DS and DIL will be doing that and not me! LOL

I'll catch you later.

Luvs

Hey....things went fairly smoothly yesterday. I did my cleaning until lunch (very productive when I have a timeline)and then painted until the kids got home. I baked chicken for supper too with brown rice (in the rice cooker), salad and french bread. Got 2 things finished that I'll post today and started another project which I'm almost done with. Nothing too fancy since I'm way out of practice, but at least I'm getting to practice. ha I will try to do the same today.
The kids had some homework yesterday, but I only had to help the youngest with his. But....they brought home lots of papers to read and sign and DD forgot until 10 last night to tell me she needed a particular gym shirt. She had one from last year, but couldn't find it so I had to go dig around in the attic until I found it when I was so ready for bed. Getting up at 6am makes for a long day. Especially when for some reason I usually wake up sometime between 2 and 4am and don't get back to sleep until 5am. I took a Tylenol pm last night just so I could get some good rest with my back hurting and I still woke up from 4-5am. We'll get all the bugs worked out eventually I hope. I'm a little more laid back about it all than I was in years past. ha
Well, it's time to run DD to school so I'd better sign off. I'll post the 2 pics when I get back from taking the boys at 9am. ~Anj

Hi Anj, I imagine you are a little nervous about oversleeping and having the kids be late to school. Hopefully, you will relax and rely on the alarm clock in a day or so. No fun laying in bed wide awake while everyone else is sleeping.

Glad your plan worked out for you. Your projects sure turned out cute. Your painting always looks so neat and precise.

It's gotten really hot here again, so that really zaps my energy. I did cut out a wood piece today and started painting on some wood blocks I've had waiting for awhile. Funny thing is that I'm using a Terrye French design on them, and I think that may be the same designer as the pattern on your basket. LOL You know what they say about "great minds". Ha ha

I ran by the TS this morning. Didn't find much, just a cute book of five puzzles of kittens for little GD--looks like it has never been used. Also picked up a couple of Christmas decorating books and a darling mug for a friend. That was it--they also had a really nice wing back chair for only $14.99 that was perfect--but I couldn't think of any place for it.

Well, I'd better get ready for bed. I'll chat more tomorrow.

Luvs

You are probably right about the alarm clock. I slept thru until it went off this morning so that was nice. My plans for today have taken a sharp turn. ha My mom and dad asked us out to lunch around 11 so I guess we'll go with them so I may not get any painting done.
And the basket did turn out to be a Terrye French design so you are right. There are a few more of her's I'm tossing around to paint on some Christmas gifts.
Sounds like you found a few cute things at the TS. Since my day is already off anyway, I might as well run by mine while I'm out. ha They always have lots of cork boards for $1 and I can't see paying $7-10 for one at Walmart when I can get one there brand new. It's right across the street from Michaels and I need to go there today too. We are having our church ladies social in Sept. I'm on the food committee this time but I volunteered to do a candy corn jar (guess how many-win the jar) for one of the little games. We are having a county fair theme. I'm going to find a fun jar (I think I've seen some pumpkin shaped jars and decorate the lid with scrapbooking papers and cutouts, wrap a little ribbon and raffia around it with some things hanging off the side. That's what I envision, but need to stalk the Michaels aisles for ideas.

What have you got going on today?

Oh, the time is getting away from me. I'd better get the little ones shoes on so we'll be ready to go when they are. Talk to you later. ~Anj

Good Morning Anj, Hard to believe it's Thursday already! Had to get up early and get cleaned up so we could take my Jeep back over to our repair shop. When he put the new window in it a couple weeks ago, he neglected to hook my side mirror back up. Since DH and I both drive it, we need to be able to change the position of it. He had said to just come drop it off anytime, so we decided we'd better get it over there.

I got my yard mowed yesterday and deadheaded the roses in the back yard. Made a quick trip to the grocery store too. Then I rolled out some homemade noodles and made some chicken noodle soup for dinner. Later we splurged with some ice cream with strawberries on top.

I painted on my little blocks some too. I'm not liking them. I think I need more shading on them and maybe to sand off some of the color and stain them so they look more rustic. I just painted designs on some 4x4 blocks I cut from a left over post. Just been trying to use up some of the stuff I have laying around here.

Hope you found a few goodies at the TS. Don't blame you a bit for opting for lunch out instead of painting! I'd do the same.

Your jar of candy corn sounds like a fun game. I'm sure you will make it look cute. Do you also have to fix another jar or box for people to drop their guesses into?

Be careful on buying the cork boards. I had picked up a little one that I thought would be the perfect size for next to my computer desk, and the darn thing was so thin the push pins wouldn't even stick into it! I ended up re-donating it. LOL Told myself that next time I would actually find a pin and try it out first.

Better get going, need to see if I can accomplish something around here today. We're going to be heading out for the Midwest in a couple of weeks, so I'd like to get a few things painted up to take along for gifts to my niece, sisters, and a couple of cousins. I have a few things already painted in the garage so I'll probably take some of them too. They are mostly items with roses on them.

TTYL

Luvs

Ok I totally admit it......I have a TS addiction!!!!! It's insane!! Yes, I did do a DI dash, as I call it, yesterday. (DI is the name of the TS) We could only run thru for a few minutes before I had to pick up DD from school. And then Today....I had to run some errands for myself and took my DM too. We had to stop in again!! We could not pass it up! ha And I bought a bunch of stuff....again. Well, here's a rundown of what I bought yesterday and today. One Painting mag .25cents, a Paula Deen Cooking mag, a country decorating book and a few other books for the kids totalling $1. A brand new red Christmas cookie jar with white snowflakes still in the original shrink wrap (original price $12) I pd $3, a prim TP/mag holder for my bathroom $3, a couple of wood cutouts to paint $1ea, a Santa sign $1, a new corkboard still in wrapper $1, A really nice big book...The History of George Washington with lots of cool old pictures (DH loves American History)$5, and one small glass block $1. Did I also tell you that DH and I both have an addiction to books? ha One day we both hope to have an old fashioned Library room in our house with bookshelves from ceiling to floor.
Ok, no more leaving the house for me for a while. Obviously I cannot control myself when there is a bargain!! And we ate out again today....to appease the 4 yr old.....we caved immediatly when she asked. ha Oh and I did buy some containers to store some of my projects out on a shelf in the garage to appease DH. Thought I'd better since I just bought more. ha

On the candy corn thing I just made up a cute sign up sheet with candy corn graphics on the computer that I'll put on a clipboard. There is a place to write their name and guess out to the side. That way I can run down it pretty quickly and maybe it will eliminate same guesses? I bought one of those old looking square cracker jars today that I'll decorate. Bought some fun fall scrapbook papers and things to decorate it up. Never done anything like this before so hope it comes out like I picture it.

Also got the ingredients and jars to make pickles with today too. Never canned anything before so we'll see how this works out. Have cucumbers coming out my ears here. My DM is going to show me how to make plum jelly with the plums off our tree this year. Probably next week. Once again....far too many things I want to cram into my too short days. ha Maybe I should just get up at 4am when I wake up.

Don't you hate it when you put all that time into a project and it doesn't turn out like you want it to? Had that happen with my little washboard not too long ago. My b-day is Saturday (the big 4-0!), but DH is taking me out tomorrow night. Saturday he is taking the older kids and my parents crawfishing so it will just be the 4yr old and me at home!! I'm gonna try to paint some more!

Well, the day has flown and I need to get supper going. Have no idea what I'm making. Have a good night. ~Anj

Gee whiz, I am green with envy. You always find the best things at your TS. I know what you mean, I am so addicted too. I already have several projects that I need to work on. I've bought some little jars to decorate and put pearls in with a tag that says Pearls of Wisdom, just because I saw them and thought they would be cute. I have an overnight case that I want to paint roses on as well as redo the inside with some pretty rose fabric. Don't NEED it for anything, just saw some so I thought it would be fun. I also want to sew some fabric hearts out of some roses fabric and decorate them with lace, ribbons, and flowers for the same reason. All of these projects are meant to use up some of the supplies I already have on hand. LOL I'm telling you this so you will know that I already have lots to do with previous finds--but at least once a week I HAVE to visit at least one or two of the TS in the area! ;o)

I love books too, especially craft type books. I've collected several of the Christmas decorating ones at the TS for just a couple bucks or less and I also look for garden or decorating books. I like the ones where you decorate a jar or basket and fill it with some type of goodies for a gift. Some of them have really cute ideas. I need to purge some of the ones that I'm not so crazy about so that I'll have room to add more. LOL

I also want to try to make some of those "rosettes" where you cut out a cardboard circle then glue and pleat ribbon or crepe paper around it then put another decorated circle on top. Have you seen them? I've seen some on blogs, and they look so cute to put on packages, cones, or even tops of jars. If you don't know what I'm talking about, let me know and I'll try to find a link to one of the blogs where they show them.

We did fish and chips tonight--just frozen fish and fries that I baked. They were pretty good, but sure not H.Salt or Long John Silver good! LOL

I worked some more on my blocks today. Added some shading, stitch lines and even a few checkerboard squares. They are looking better. Will sand them down a bit and stain them to see if that does the trick. If not, no big deal, since I just used scrap wood for them. I've got to quit doing my own thing and start following the pattern in the books more closely. This will teach me. LOL

Okay, I'm outta here for now. Glad you had a fun day and that your 4 yr. old "convinced" you to have lunch out. ;o)

Kay