26 July 2014

SO MUCH GOLD

The people who built this house over 30 years ago completely bought out the Gold Fixture Store.
While I like a nice bit of bling here and there, this particular room full of gold has GOT. To. Go.



Notice the gilded ceiling fan in the bedroom back there... SO MUCH GOLD.

So far we've replaced the strange choice of blinds in the shower, painted the walls a dusty blue, gave the trim a nice fresh white coat of paint, changed out the light fixtures, installed towel bars + a toilet paper holder, and replaced the faucet (which Chris said was disgusting because, well, it's 30 years worth of toothpaste caked in the pipes. Excuse me while I gag). Looking back at these pictures, I forgot how bad it really was.

Today's goal is to get all of those gold knobs off of the cabinets (plus the doorknobs) and paint them ORB. We debated buying new knobs, but figured we'd try to paint first and save a few bucks. Either way, I think it's going to make a difference.
I also want to paint the gold around the shower, but I ran out of painter's tape. If it happens, great. If not, no big deal. I'll get it next time. No idea how that will actually turn out, but I figure it's worth a shot.

This room won't get the remodel treatment for quite a while (it's in line after the first priority, the kitchen), so I'm doing my best to make it pleasant, tub-less and all.

Tomorrow morning Ashley, Calvin and I head off to see SUZE for a little San Marcos day trip. Totes stoked!

23 July 2014

i heart garage sales

Sunday morning on the way home from the grocery store, Chris and I swung by an estate sale. There is always great stuff at estate sales. The variable is how the stuff is priced. The last one I went to was way overpriced, but this one was more reasonable.

We left with:

2 wooden bowls, 25 cents each. After a nice scrubbing and a little oil massage, they practically glow.


1 pretty wall hanging, 50 cents.


2 end tables. $25 each. Solid wood, beautifully intact and just a little bit ornate. Just needing a slight dusting, even the drawers slide smoothly. They went into that vast expansive space at the other end of our bedroom.

Please ignore that thing hanging out of the wall by a wire. I'm not sure what that is and I've chosen to ignore it. [Actually... I think it's a connection for a home phone.]


I want to put a big cushy armchair between them. Or something.

22 July 2014

all the help I can get

I recently stumbled upon this great little website, SproutRobot. You just put in your zip code, and it tells you what you should start planting.

For the ever-trying garden enthusiast with a brown thumb (me), this website is genius.

For instance, this week in my area it's good to plant Southern Peas, Okra, Onion, Watermelon, and start Cabbage indoors.

See? Takes all the guess-work (or in my case, randomly planting seeds every spring) out of planting stuff.

Now, it does have a little Instructions link next to each type of plant, but when I click it doesn't load.

On a related note, this past weekend I planted a small flowering cherry blossom tree, and a gardenia bush in the backyard, where the big tree used to be. I did leave them in that spot in their pots for about a week to see f they liked it, and they seemed to do okay. Regardless, I have not a single clue about whether or not they'll survive. I hope they do.

21 July 2014

undies?

I normally sleep in a camisole of some sort, and cotton "granny" panties-- of the Victoria's Secret variety.

I keep hearing and reading about how it might be a good idea to go panty-less when sleeping, or lounging about, or basically any time that going commando would be acceptable. The moral of these stories is: If you've got the opportunity, take those undies off!

So, even though I don't seem to be having any issues related to underwear, I decided to try sleeping without any for a week. Just to see what it was like.

And honestly? It's not much different.

I suppose if you happened to have issues created by wearing undies, it might be world-changing, but for me it just means a little less laundry to do.

19 July 2014

Patio Chair Covers DIY

It's been a rainy summer for us. The mosquitoes are loving it, and we all have evidence on our bodies to prove it. Hubs could not be more pleased about the rainfall because the grass and new sod seem to be doing well. Yes, we're slowly being sucked further in to suburbia...

Speaking of-

We found a standard little table + chairs set for the deck. (The umbrella is actually an old beach umbrella. Yay for improvisation!)


Due to the random changes in weather, we've had to move all the chairs and cushions quite a few times.
Yeah, we could just let them get wet, but we'd like to keep them looking nice for as long as possible.
For a while they went into the garage or under the small bit of roof coverage near the gate and the back door. Which got real annoying, especially when the stacks of chairs would stay there, perfectly in the way, for several days or weeks. Even after it stopped raining. Who wants to move them back and forth all the time?

It was time to come up with a more convenient solution.
Purchasing chair covers was not an option, because after hemorrhaging money when we first moved in, we are definitely back on a budget. Even at $15 for a cheap cover, $15 x6 is more than I'd like to spend.

So I went to the dollar store (woo!) and bought 2 vinyl shower curtains.


All I did was sew 3 sides together to create a very large sleeve. I used clothespins to keep the edges together instead of pins. Took about 10 minutes.

Then I stacked the chairs, put the cushions in the top seat, and slid the cover over it. Done. For $2. Seriously budget friendly and totally functional.


It's not the most exciting or beautiful thing in the world, but it's rained a couple of times and nothing has gotten wet AND it has not blown off. That last part is important.

If I ever feel the urge, I could make covers for each chair, tailor them a little bit more, and maybe choose a pretty patterned shower curtain. But for now, this works great.

12 July 2014

Nexplanon Adventures- 6 months in

This little hormone toothpick has been in my arm for about 6 months.

The main side effects I've experienced have included some spotting, fatigue, and lack of libido. Womp wommmp.

To elaborate a tidy bit more, the spotting was less like spotting and more like... smudges. I've noticed kind of a cycle where I spot/smudge, and I break out like crazy for about 2 weeks, then it all calms down for a few weeks. Lather, rinse, repeat.

The exhaustion was so bad that I actually saw my primary care doctor to make sure I didn't have anemia or liver disease. I was dragging ass so bad every day. I doubled my coffee intake. The lack of sexy time urges may be related to the exhaustion, but either way it's definitely noticeable.

So my gyno ran some hormone levels and ordered a super-awkward ultrasound. Not surprisingly, my testosterone was low, but they generally refrain from giving testosterone products to non-menopausal women. Instead he prescribed Wellbutrin. Said it would solve all my problems and make me feel awesome.

To be clear, he prescribed this drug solely to offset the side effects of a different drug. That I take to prevent pregnancy.

If I'm being honest, I'm a little terrified to take this drug. While I'm very comfortable with hormone toothpicks and various other tummy drugs, I've never taken any kind of antidepressant and the side effects kinda freak me out. [If I'm being a little honest-er, maybe this will help lift me out of the little funk I've been struggling with for years.]

My gyno also said that generally after the first year, the hormones kinda calm down and these symptoms will go away. If that's true, awesome. If that's not true, I'm not sure how I feel about the long-term manipulation all of these hormones in my bloodstream so that I can remain a normal, childless human being. Drugs upon drugs? Not sounding like fun.
-- Unless they really do solve all my problems and make me feel awesome. Then that might be fun.

wee hours

Up at 4am with heartburn. I'm pleased to say that THAT hasn't happened in a while.

The cat thinks it's pretty awesome, and is clamoring all over everything to get these extra special, stolen 4am bonus pets on the head.

I'm just glad the Tums are starting to kick in and I don't need anything stronger. Yes Pepto is awesome but it gets everything all stopped up and in the long run makes things worse.

Yes, it's been quite a while since I've spend the wee hours curled up around a bottle of Tums. Oh, how far I've come.

However, it seems like I'll need to start taking some kind of acid-reducer again, at least on a PRN basis. Kind of sucks but my body's been doing all sorts of weird things lately. I hate to blame it solely on these hormones sloughing off of a stick in my arm, but they've caused a wide range of other symptoms lately, which I'll get into at some other point.

It may just be that I'm approaching 30, and my body would be gradually making some changes regardless of this hormone toothpick. Who really knows where this tummy crummy monster comes from? Just as miserably as it appears, it slips off and I don't have to deal with it for another few years. Hopefully.

To kitty's dismay, I think things have settled enough to climb back into bed. Ciao.

08 July 2014

bits

Of course, you don't meet happy childless couples in suburbia in the bible belt! You go to New York. Damn. It's so simple.

Chris is off hitting baseballs so that means that I had completely free reign to eat cookies & chips for dinner. Instead, I actually made food. Well, and 2 cookies. But no chips!

Been fighting one of those gnarly headaches all day and I'm hoping I can beat it off until bedtime. Also I hope I poop. It's been 2 days, man.

Chris being gone also means that I get to control the remote for a couple of hours! Off to take full advantage of that.