Before & After

Turns out, that before & after projects are way more fun to look at when you actually take before photos.  I instead had to do it the hard way and dig through old pictures to see if I might have captured the items in some random photo.  Waste time much?

I have been on a spray painting frenzy.  If there is a condition for this, then I most certainly have it.  *mental note to Google that later*

My latest project was a kitchen set for Lucy, that has been sitting in our basement for several years now.  It was originally Jake's.  *sigh*   Look at him, all little and wearing a bakers hat.  I melt.  We bought him this from Target, and it was a hit with the daddy because it was blue and red and made him feel better about me wanting to get him a kitchen set.  (which Jake totally loved by the way.;)

Before

This picture must have been 2006 or 2007.

The little kitchen needed a make-over.  

Thank you Krylon.

After:

I decided to make a curtain for it (a cheap dishtowel from Target did the trick.) Originally the "curtain" rod had hooks on it to hang utensils and pans...which never actually made it to the hooks.  


Lucy loves it.  I love it.  And all her little girlie friends love it.  Even Jake has had some fun helping his sister play.  Don't tell him I told you.

Up next was her little doll highchair that I bought at a thrift store for $5.  


Before:  

Try not to be freaked out by the enormous doll.

A little red paint...

Super fun.

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They'll Call Me Back...

Sometimes life gets so full, that I don't know where to start.  And then I wander around aimlessly.


My blog has become that.  There's so much stuff to write about, that I end up not writing at all, because narrowing it down seems like too much work.  


And then I miss the point.  I miss capturing the moments.  And that my friends, annoys me.  Greatly.


As I sit here, I keep thinking...just pick one thing, ONE thing, any thing and write. it. down.  


Carpet Installers.


That's right.  Our upstairs is ready for the carpet to be laid, and I cannot get an installer to call me back and set a date.  For real.  I've called several.  And they are so nice on the phone, telling me how they can get to it "this week" and they'll call me back "right away" with a date...and then nothing.


The weird thing is, I really truly believe them every. single. time.  Did I mention how nice they are?  They've forced me into stalking them.  And I hate stalking by means of the phone.  If only they had facebook...


Anyways.  


We're going on the 3rd week of this.  So this morning, I decided to have Ben call instead.  Maybe they'll like him better?  Maybe.  So Ben called the guy I spoke with yesterday, ya know, the one who would "call me right back."  And Ben explained who he was and the guy was shocked that his installer had not called us back.  He reassured Ben he would talk to him, and "call him back."


I chuckled when Ben told me what he had said.  "You believed him, didn't you."  Ben sheepishly smiled, and admitted he did.  Me too, my dear...me too.


Suckers.


I'm starting to think I could just do it myself.  I mean, I'm pretty handy with a staple gun, and if we never move the furniture around it should be good to go, right?  *cough*

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No Title

Obviously, time has gotten away from me.


I blame it on all the painting.  


Let's bullet-update, shall we?

• Remodel should be done by end of week.  WHAT?!?  I know.  Carpet will be laid sometime soon and then we are done.  Well sort of done...the old kitchen will begin a face-lift in June-ish.  
• New Ladies Bible study begins tonight.  We are doing one of my FAVORITE books, Crazy Love by Francis Chan.  It's my third time through the book, and it slays me every.time.  God uses it to cut my heart right open, laying it bare...often showing me things I do not want to see...but need to.  He's changing me, and that hurts sometimes, but it's always in Good Hands.
• Lucy likes wearing "pretties" now.  "Pretties" are piggie tails, and I'm not gonna lie...she's stinkin' adorable.
• Our new kitchen is completely done.  We moved into it last week.  I already cannot remember what it was like to live without the space.  It's divine.  There is room to breathe.  And that is good.

I'll post pictures...of any kind...soon.  Promise.

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Around Here...

The remodel project is coming along!  

And upstairs...

...just little sneak peaks. :)  I promise a whole walk through once it's done.


Right now I should be painting...


Anyways.  


My organization spree continues.  Again.


I started using a plain old planner from Target this fall.  Just to see if I would actually use it.  And I did *insert clapping for myself*


So, when I found a coupon for this planner that I've been dreaming about.  I jumped on it.


Thank you www.erincondren.com 

The. Cutest. Planner. Ever.


On another note...

• I went to vacuum out my van today, but then decided it was too windy.
  I'd likely get a ticket for littering once I opened the van doors and the wind got a hold of all the garbage in there.  Now, instead, it can just blow out when I pick the boys up from school.  Nice.
• Priming drywall is hard work.  And I am a wimp.  
• I stood in Target for several minutes trying to find the best deal on ground coffee (by the pound.)  Because lately, I've been a little picky.  And cheap.  I finally decided on one that was $7.99 (Archer Farms Caramel.)  Oddly, I didn't think twice about the almost $5 I paid for ONE grande iced caramel macchiato that I giddily bought from Starbucks on my way out Target's door.  At least I'm aware of my discrepancies.
• Lucy thinks Curious George is a dog.    
• I watched The Bodyguard twice this weekend.  Once, on Lifetime, while there were ten hours of commercials...but I did get my whole ironing pile done.  Then last night, DVR'd, so I could skip commercials.  I have no shame.   

Happy Monday!

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Hair Cute

Every time I write the word "hair cut"  I first write "hair cute" by accident.  Seriously, every time.  

Because in my brain, hair cut = cute.  I love getting hair cuts.  I've been growing mine out for awhile now.  Just for something different.  I'm also planning on donating to Locks of Love, so it's gonna have to get longer before I can chop it off.  Oh what fun that day will be!  But that is not the point of this post...

Back to the point.  I had been trying to grow Lucy's bangs out.  But no matter what I did, she wouldn't not leave the "pretties" in her hair.   So she ended up looking like this:

 I surrendered this battle to bangs. 

Lucy now goes to her own salon (because it's cheaper than mama's ;) and her own stylist...which is a girl.  Named Randall.  

She's quite pleased with her new look. ;)

The go to an Aveda salon, so most of the stuff I use comes from there because I looooove the smell of it.  But, on the day that I took Lucy in for her hair cut, I was having a particularly bad hair day.

I had straightened it, but it wasn't really straight.  So the girl at the salon hooked me up with this stuff:

I LOVE IT. 

It turns my hair from this (dried naturally)

To this:  

Miraculous.  

Also, enjoy the view behind me.  Kids, toys, cartoons & laundry on the floor.  That's us.

The End.

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Wretched

I so enjoyed your comments and emails on my last post.  Thank you.  It's good to be understood. :)


Last week I had one of those weeks where I just couldn't shake my bad mood.  The fact that I couldn't pinpoint what was causing it just made my mood worse.     That saying, "If mama's not happy, nobody's happy" couldn't  be more true.  


It was even more annoying that I knew my mood was terrible.  I knew it was affecting my family, I just couldn't break free from it.  


Until this weekend.  


It had been a couple of weeks since I've been able to run outside.  A couple of weeks without my running buddy.  


Months of remodeling.


Kids with sickness.


A husband, whose already crazy schedule, was made even crazier by working on the remodel.


Cabin fever. 


I needed a break.  But sometimes, amidst the chaos, there just isn't time for a break.  


Saturday I was able to run outside.  4.75 miles of therapy.  I came home feeling better already.  


On Monday, it ended up that Ben didn't need to help on the remodel project, and a dear friend took Lucy for us so we could just hang out.  


I snapped this picture before we left.  Happy?  Yes.  Dork?  Yep.

We got groceries, used a gift card to Subway, and then sat at Starbucks for a couple hours.  I worked on my Bible Study, pausing way too often to share thoughts and other random stuff that we just haven't had time to share lately.  Ben read his book, and patiently put up with my interruptions.  


It's funny how something that simple...and short, was so refreshing.  It was a gift.  And a lesson.


God has hardwired me a certain way and I need to be aware of it, before the "Sarah that no one wants to be around including myself" emerges.  


 - I need to run.  Physically and mentally I need it.  
 - I need a break from my kids.  I love them dearly, but the constant-ness of                it all can be overwhelming.  
 - I need time alone with my husband.  Even if it's just a few hours.  
 - I need to not live on a diet of sugar alone.  

I made a pact with Ben.  I told him he needs to help remind me of these things, BEFORE I end up in the place I was last week...the place of the wretched mood that won't go away.  


You might notice that the list is void of the spiritual things I need.  That's on purpose.  I'm completely aware of the spiritual things I need.  It's a lesson I had to learn and relearn a million times.  I need to be in His Word, I need fellowship through prayer, I need to worship through music.  It's my given.  Last week all those things were present.  And that's good.  The above list, specific to me, was sort of God's unique personal touch on the other things I need as well.  


How about you guys?  Do you know what you need?  Or, like me, do you easily forget?


I need internet too.  I should have added that. ;)

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Get a Real Job

Anyone remember that song, "Get a Haircut and Get a Real Job?"  It's a classy one, for sure.  Anyways, it's been running through my head this week.  Let me refresh your brain about  the chorus.

Lyrics www.allthelyrics.com/lyrics/george_thoroughgood/ 
Get a haircut and get a real job

Clean your act up and dont be a slob

Get it together like your big brother Bob

Why dont you, get a haircut and get a real job

Being a stay at home mom and a pastors wife sometimes feels like being on a treadmill.  And we know how I feel about the treadmill.  In that, I'm putting forth great effort...one could say busting my butt ;) and still, when I hop off that treadmill, even if the little dashboard says 3 miles...it was 3 miles in ONE spot.  Which never quite feels the same as 3 miles of actual trail or pavement behind me.

Kinda like staying at home.  And ministry.  It's feeling a bit like a hamster wheel.  At the end of the night, I sit down and I'm exhausted.  You'd never know I ran the dishwasher, vacuumed, did 3 loads of laundry blah blah blah because at that moment, there are dishes to be done, cheerios on the floor, and  dirty clothes awaiting.

And that feeling of the treadmill creeps in.  That feeling of wondering if I really am making a difference or just working my tail off without going anywhere...without progress.

I stay at home.  Certainly I should be able to keep up.  I mean, what do I do all day?  (I hope you read that with sarcasm.  If not, go back and do it...it's fun.  Trust me.)

I think I'm realizing that I can't keep up.

There, I said it.  I can't keep up. Because even with staying at home, it's more work than one person can do.   At least with my (ridiculous) standards it is.   

And that's O.K.  

So, to all the stay at home mom's out there who also can't keep up:  *fist bump* or *knuckle bump* or whatever they call it, to YOU.

It's this season of life God has placed me in.  And it's good.  Very, very good.  And it's also totally fine to not keep up with all of it. 

So here's to not keeping up.  Because dang it, it's still a REAL job. ;)  

But I really could use a haircut...

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