A Morning of Manicures

I talked Bryan into getting a manicure.

A friend of ours is in beauty school finishing up her hours and she has been asking every friend she has to come in. She reasons that the more friends she works on the less random people she has to touch. Haha

AND for both of us to get manicures was $7.20. So it was worth it.

Bryan was worried that manicures hurt. Its amazing that he would think millions of women spend $15-30 on something that was painful. Its a relaxing treat!

Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed my manicure and I think Bryan was won over too. For someone that uses his hands (for guitar playing) he should take better care of them.

The rest of the day will be a full one! We are going to grab lunch, go to my father-in-laws girlfriends house to practice shooting guns, and then when Bryan takes off to Harris Ranch, Denise and I will head to the gym to work off our shame of eating Long John Silvers last night. Then its off to Kari and Adams house for puzzle night!!

It may not be much, but this has all the makings for a great Saturday. :)

Standing Still, Moving Along

It is amazing to me that I can sit here months and months after my last post and all I really have to say is that nothing much has changed. There haven't been any epiphanies, no babies, and beyond a few pounds, I'm still the same weight, wearing the same clothes, working the same job, and living the same life as when I wrote the last post. 

Maybe that is just me being a downer. Bryan seems to think I've been more downer-y lately. What can I say? I've lost my zeal. My zest for life. My joy. Where has it gone? Was it buried in the 50 pounds I gained in the first two years of marriage? Have the seven or eight pounds I have lost mean NOTHING? Because I can't really tell. My skin is tighter. My love handles are a little *less* pronounced. But its not yet at the point where I can be like, YEAH! Eating less crap, working out more is working! Woo hooooo! I'm still at the, I loathe the gym and damn, that Oreo cookie looks frickin' bomb right now. 

On top of that? My house is utter chaos right now. There is zero organization. No routine. Despite my attempts earlier in 2011 there is just no structure. When I try, Bryan fights against it with all he can because he doesn't want to be... I don't know... for lack of better words, "broken in". He wants to hold on to the spontaneity. He doesn't want to deal with the constants; Bills, home improvement, the endless mail, dishes, general cleaning or outdoor projects. 

And it makes me not want too either. That's bad right? It seems bad... typing it right now. Bryan doesn't want to, which makes me not want too. He doesn't want a nice house, full of DIY projects that we accomplish together at a fraction of the cost. He doesn't really want anything in the house. He would be fine with a couch, a TV, a bed, and his animals. And I guess, me. 

I want a nice house. Don't misread that as "I want a lavish house full of expensive stuff." no. No. I want a nice house. A lived in house. Comfortable, cozy. I want it to look like I didn't go to Ross to furnish it, but I want to pay Ross prices. I want a place where friends can gather, a place I can breathe and relax in. I want to be able to find things when I need them. I want there to be clean towels after I take a shower or when dishes need drying.

But when Bryan doesn't want that, I find myself not wanting it. Wanting isn't the right word. I still WANT those things. I find myself without the drive to ACCOMPLISH those things. Why would I have the drive to do something all by myself that won't even work if I don't have my husband backing me up, helping me? And somethings I can't even do on my own. Like hang things that are heavy... or hanging things that aren't heavy STRAIGHT. I have a crooked eye. Not literally, but figuratively. I'll hang something and be like OH look I am awesome. And then walk by it twenty minutes later to be like... Was there an earthquake or was that me? Daaaaang that kind of sounded like a fat joke. Sad face. 

Back on point, in a condensed version of this entire post, I'm stupid. I feel like I'm not moving forward in any way. Personally, professionally, spiritually. Maybe I'm just in that post-Christmas funk. Except I wasn't super happy during Christmas, so maybe I'm just being normal. 

I want to end this by saying that I may be all woe is me, I suck, but I came to this conclusion a while ago. And I'm already changing things. Not to prove it to anyone else but myself that regardless of what the people around me want, I can still be me. I can live for Jesus and myself and others all at the same time. So, I'm back in the gym, trying to eat right, creating jewelry, trying to quit wasting money at Target, getting involved with politics again, involved in the children's ministry at church, involved in a leading a life group at a neighboring church with my in-laws, and now I'm starting the long process of becoming a CASA volunteer. And I'm even slowly but surely working on my house. 

Fake it 'til you make it. Smile and the whole world will smile with you. Choose happiness. Whatev, yo. Just live.

Get Healthy Inspiration

Today, I read this article. It makes me want to weep. So, I immediately made this. I wanted something I could plaster everywhere to remind me. I need to see something that reminds me WHY I'm not going to eat another bite; Another chocolate; Another cookie. This is to remind me to step away from the soda and the sugar. To cook healthy, to eat healthy, to live healthy.

Choose health!

I've been...

Busy with life, and downtime calls for Ally McBeal. :)

If You Held Your Breath, I'm Sorry You Are Dead.

I have a love-hate relationship with my entryway. I love it because it allows me to enter my house. I hate it because it is long, narrow, and has no light, save for a ridiculous sunlight that gives a minimal light. It's a total waste. 

It also has a builders grade light - you can see it's weird round alien glow in the picture below. I just have to continually remind myself that slow and steady wins the race. Not everything can be tackled at once. I mean, it totally could, but when you are poor household renovations are few and far between. 

Oh, I know what you are thinking - this chick is crazy! She just went to the Azores. She's a baller. Well. I'll have you know that no, I am not a baller. I was lucky enough to get t-boned downtown in January of 2010 and the insurance settlement paid for it. 

I should have purchased a shirt that says "I got t-boned by a d-bag and all I got was this AWESOME TRIP TO THE AZORES."

That kind of sounds dirty. 

Which makes it even BETTER.

All that to say, is that I am po'. So, I did what any poor homeowner would do. I painted. 

Here is my crazy, cheesy friend Denise. She is my slave and I made her paint my entryway while I sipped a mojito and took pictures.

No, I'm totally joking. I cut in and she rolled the walls. I'm not THAT BAD of a friend. Gosh.

Then my sexy-pants husband did this:

Then, in preparation of my sister and her family coming to visit, Denise and my sister Kari helped me decorate... 

Before you scroll to see the pictures, I would like to advise you that there its kind of a mess. I like to keep things real. Then I cleaned up a little bit. So you get TWO before and afters. Super duper! 

So on this side, I'd like to get a little stool to sit right under the key hanger and then I'll get a little tray or low-sided basket to put shoes. I'm also going to put a little box on the top to make it look used and done.

This side is our catch all. Bryan's guitar, my purse, our fruit/veggie delivery baskets, the outdoor chairs that we use to sit out front, mail, etc. It gets a little crazy. 

Let's play a game. Can you find the missing drawer? Cause I freaking can't. Bryan lost it in the move. I have a plan for it, but for now, its ghetto-tabulous. 

Like I said, I cleaned up the entryway and took more pictures, but because this post has been sitting in draft mode waiting for me to post it, I'll just get this up. I'm pretty sure I promised it to you weeks ago....And I'm sure you sat at you computer this entire time waiting with bated breath. We've already established I'm lame. 

From what you can see, what do you think?

-Megan

Ps. I still love my floors.

Pss. That guitar is the bane of my existence.

Psss. That art was painted by Bryan's grandma Carol. I wish you could see it. Unfortunately I had to open up the door to get some natural light in there. Hate those windowless doors. 

Sometimes I Cheat

Sorry I've been MIA. Stress has been kicking my butt.  But I wanted to leave you with this: sometimes its better to mod podge recipes to their card instead of writing them.

It's good for the soul.

Lit Up

I'm gearing up for a huge entryway post - but until I get it finished we'll have to settle for looking at the lighting fixtures I am debating. Aren't you excited? I know I am!

First of all, when you walk into my house, you are greeted with a narrow-ish entryway. Its probably about 5 to 6 feet wide. Walled. It's like stepping into a CAVE. It doesn't help that my front doors are solid wood and therefore, give no natural light when the sun is out. Super duper.

The entryway opens up to a "great room." At first glance, you can see my dining area, living room and sitting area. I decided that to create a cohesive flow between the rooms, whatever color I painted the entryway would be the same color on the farthest wall that you see when you enter the house.

So... I did.

And I love it.

Hallelujah.

Then my hubs hung some stuff in the entryway... My sister, Denise and I decorated and it looks okay. Not finished. Just okay. It looks even better when there is not crap everywhere.

Moving on.

I have already picked out the doors I want.

I just need it fabricated for my double-door entryway. Cottage-y ain't it?

Sooner or later I'll have my doors, but until then I need a good light. Here are the ones that are in the running.

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I'm sure you have noticed a theme. These are all 'outdoorsy' and are pretty small. There is a reason. The space I have to work with is small. The ceiling heighth is only about 7 1/2 - 8 feet. I can't have a grandiose chandelier in there.


What I thinking is that I'll put a nice bright light in there and add four recessed lighting units later on. I'll have two switches, one for the outside lights, one for the main lighting fixture in the entryway and a dimmer on the recessed lighting. That way I have full operational control over what lighting is on, and how bright it is.

I already have my favorite... I just need to show Bryan, measure a few things and hopefully we'll pick the same one! :)