Wallpaper and Whine Don't Mix

And so we come to another Tuesday!

Here are ten things you don't want your husband to hear you say when you are removing wallpaper and he is in the other room within earshot:

1. Uh oh!

2. ooooooops!

3. Wow, that scratch looks pretty deep..........................

......For the rest of this list, please pop over here. It's my day to blog at the Five Mom's. Hope you'll join me!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING: Making Your House A Home

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

There is a big difference between those furniture show-rooms you see and a real home. It's the people that live in it, laugh in it, and love in it that make it a home. Without the family, all it is is just a show-room. All show and no "life."

Our friends, our family, ourselves......these are the people who bring a home to life. Otherwise it is just a room with furniture.

Does your home welcome you when you get there? Does it feel like a haven or a horror?

Do you feel rested and relaxed in it, or is it so chaotic that you can't wait to get out of it for a few hours?

Is there a quiet place for your eye to rest, or is there so much disorder that you feel uneasy?

Are you waiting for your children to grow up before you attempt to clean and organize it? Are you waiting until you are rich before you decorate it?

What're you waiting for?

This week I encourage you to stop waiting to be rich, stop waiting for the kids to grow up and move away, stop waiting for company to come over so you have an excuse to clean.

Take your home back and make it work for you. Remember that you don't have to be rich to have a warm, inviting home. You don't have to wait until your kids move out before you can have an organized home.

You don't have to wait for company to come over so you can clean it. You don't need an excuse to clean. You can clean it for you and your family and you can work at maintaining it every day. That way you can spend your weekends enjoying family time instead of digging yourself out of the mess. Been there, done that!

You deserve to live in a home that is beautiful. And you can make it beautiful without spending a ton of money to do so.

You can make it clean without having to hire a cleaning crew and a wrecking ball to make it so.

All you have to do is decide that you are done waiting. All you have to do is decide that today you are going to put one item back where it belongs, instead of leaving it out. Then do it again, and again......

All you have to do is decide that you can light a couple of candles, or a fire, or bring in some greenery from the outdoors to make it comfy and cozy. You can move furniture around and rearrange the knicknacks that you have. You can open the windows (clean them if you must), get rid of the clutter, dust off the tables and enjoy!

When is the last time you were all able to eat at the dining table without having to move a dozen things off? When was the last time you were all able to sit in the family room without having to move laundry and toys off the couch first or kick them out of the way as you walked? When is the last time you were able to sleep in your bed without having to find it first? (Do you see my raised hand here today?)

All you have to do is stop making excuses and stop saying "when" and start saying "now!" Make your home sing this week instead of waiting for something or someone to do it for you!

If you want to use your blog header or profile picture, use the "from the web" button on your right (after you click to link up). If you want to use a picture from your computer use the button on your left (unless the picture is on your blog). Please let me know if you have any problems with linking up.

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own "Making Your Home Sing Monday" Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

Save A Fridge, Feed A Teenager

Will someone please tell me why my children open up the fridge and stare inside at the food?

Will somebody please tell me why they let all the cold air out while they stand there and wait for inspiration?

Will somebody please tell me why they open up the cupboards and stare at the food? Then close the cupboard, and then open it and stare at it again?

I mean, do they seriously think that the food will have moved? Do they wonder if there is a party going on in the cupboard, and are looking to see if they can catch the chips dancing with the salsa?

I just don't get it.

You can open the fridge or the cupboard ten times in a row, and I promise you that the selection is not going to get any better.

I promise. What is there is there, and it's not going to change no matter how much you want it to, and no matter how many times you open and close the door.

Wishful thinking does not a subway sandwich make. You can't make a pizza out of saltine cracker.

Sometimes I think they are trying to figure out if the light in the fridge stays lit when they close the door.

There is no other explanation for the opening and closing of fridges and cupboards in this house and the blank stare.

Well, make that the blank stare and a kind of a glazed expression in the eyes. Although, can you have a blank stare with a glazed expression?????

Make that a sort of desperate expression on their faces, and toss in a growling tummy or two.

I mean, after all, they haven't eaten in at least five minutes. Frankly, I'm surprised they have the strength to drag themselves to the kitchen.

It's A Bird, It's a Plane, It's My Beagle!

It's Tuesday again, and my day to blog over at the Five Mom's blog. You can learn a lot at our blog over there, for example:

Do you know that dog hair floats? It floats!!!! (Please don't ask me how I know that.)



I no longer feel superior to cat owners. Instead, I just hope that they will avert their eyes in pity whenever I walk by them. However, I know that they are turning around and staring at all that dog hair on my back.......

......please pop over here for the rest of the post.

MAKING YOUR HOME SING: The Same Old Routine

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

Do you often find your time disappearing, and you don't know where it all went? I can't tell you how many times I've wondered what I did all day.

Sometimes you know you were busy all day and yet you feel like you have nothing to show for it. That's because so much of what we do is repetition. You cook one meal, clean up from it, and eventually you cook another - which you then clean up again.

You wash laundry, fold and put it away only to have more clothes in the laundry that night. You sweep and mop floors only to have dogs and children track in the rain, mud and leaves, sometimes while you're still mopping!

You clean off a table top and minutes later you walk by and somebody put a bunch of stuff on it so it's cluttered again. But if you ask who did it, "nobody" did it, right?

You clean the bathroom and kitchen sinks and wonder how something so close to a water source could get so dirty. You clean the toilet and wonder how such a big opening could be "missed." You clean the bathtub and wonder how one small child could have so much dirt on them.

You go grocery shopping and keep buying the same things week after week and wonder if maybe you should buy a cow and perhaps a chicken or two.

Because there is a certain "routine" to our lives, it is easy to think of things as boring. It is easy to get annoyed when people mess up "our" clean home. It is easy to forget that they live there too.

It's easy to forget that our home is their home, and to get frustrated when our children don't seem to value order as much as we do. But that's what training is for, right?

This week, when you are doing your 10,000 load of laundry give thanks! Some day you'll only be doing laundry for one or two. When you are mopping up the footprints or clearing off the table yet again, pause and put a smile on your face (and a quick prayer in your heart) before you go find the culprits! Some day you won't have little feet running through your home and it will be as clean, and as quiet, as you want.

When hubby drops his shoes and socks on the floor in front of the door, and you trip on them yet again, don't take it personally. Take a moment to reflect before you react. Remind yourself that you love him, and ask yourself if you have any habits that may annoy him, remember the things about him that he DOES do that you appreciate. Remember that some day he may not be there anymore and ask yourself if shoes are worth fighting over.

Instead of being bored with your routine have some fun with it and challenge yourself. Make a game of cleaning by racing the timer. Instead of setting the table for dinner put a blanket on the floor in the living room and have a picnic. Have a candlelight breakfast or have breakfast for dinner.

Just because you have a routine doesn't mean you have to live a routine. Have fun and make your home sing this week!

If you want to use your blog header or profile picture, use the "from the web" button on your right (after you click to link up). If you want to use a picture from your computer use the button on your left (unless the picture is on your blog). Please let me know if you have any problems with linking up.

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own "Making Your Home Sing Monday" Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

Raindrops keep falling on my mouse....errr....mousse

Sometimes when we want or need something, our first thought is to go out and get it. There are many times when I heartily applaud that. For example, does anybody really want to not have a diaper when you need one, whether it's cloth or disposable? Do you really want to run out of toilet paper? I think not.

I have to admit that if my hair dryer died tomorrow, I'd be out shopping for a new one tomorrow afternoon. Uh huh. Why yes, it is a big deal. Yes, I am that shallow.

My hair is flat enough without having to go without the small amount of perkiness that my dryer adds. Well, that and a little dab of mousse. Not the chocolate kind, or course, although that is a thought.

By the way, is anybody else slightly disturbed that mousse is just one letter away from being mouse? I'm just sayin'.....

Anyway, mousse or gel, either one will do. Just a little bit of that stuff and my hair can rise to any occasion. Just a little bit of it and I suddenly believe that happiness comes with a little heat and a whole lotta gel.

Until Ms. Gel-head meets Mr. Rain. Then it is all over. Don't tell me that your gel/mousse/head can stand up to anything rain can throw at you. Well, not unless you are willing to prove it, and then I might have to pull something.

Do not judge me until you have walked a mile in my hair.

Nobody Likes A Sore Tuesday

"I think that Tuesday and Thursday get a raw deal.

I mean, think about it. Everybody talks about Monday, even if they dread it. They always know when Monday is because for many people it's the start of the work week. Nobody forgets about Monday. Monday even sounds better in a song. "Rainy days and Tuesdays...." just doesn't sound the same, does it? It just doesn't cut it......."

For the rest of this post please pop over here to the Five Mom's blog as it's my day to blog!

MAKING YOUR HOME SING: A CLEANING PLAN FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Welcome to the Making Your Home Sing Monday meme! Every day you are doing something to make your house into a home for yourself and your family (if you have one). My point with each Monday post is, what are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing?

It can be an attitude or an action. Motivation, our attitude, baking, encouraging our husband or children (if we have either one), organization, cleaning, saving money....the opportunities are endless.

Does Christmas always take you by surprise every year? Do you always find yourself waiting until the last minute to get ready? Do you stay up until the wee hours cleaning the night before or madly running around buying last minute items or groceries?

Organizedhome.com has a Holiday Grand Plan that helps you begin to get organized now. It breaks everything down so that you can get your shopping done, your home clean, your cookies baked, homemade gifts ready, some canned/boxed food ready to donate to the hungry, and a few extra freezer meals for when company comes.

They also didn't forget about making sure that you have extra batteries, tape and blank video tapes on hand. They also allow time for you to work on making homemade gifts if that is your "thing."

The sidebar also contains a link to all the individual rooms, if you want to clean on your own schedule. This started on 8/29 with making a notebook and writing up your lists of what you think needs cleaning in each room. But you can still start now as this is the first week of actual cleaning, I believe.

This week they are starting on the entry way. Each week they give a link to a page with suggestions on what you should clean in each room of your home, as well as a link to a blank cleaning checklist that you can print out. Be sure and check out the link to the room of the week, as that is where you will find the tasks broken down for you.

They also allow time for you to work on making homemade gifts if that is your "thing."

Christmas is about the birth of our Savior, absolutely. But during the holiday season we often have friends and family over, and many times we can get stressed out preparing for them. So check out this website if you're looking to get organized now!

In case you're wondering, I wasn't paid or even asked to give a link. I just had a busy weekend and forgot to do a post for this meme. So, since I was looking to get "organized," I thought you might be looking too. Great way to make your home sing this week!

If you want to use your blog header or profile picture, use the "from the web" button on your right (after you click to link up). If you want to use a picture from your computer use the button on your left (unless the picture is on your blog). I have put my own header and profile picture links below as an example for you to see. Please let me know if you have any problems with linking up.

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own "Making Your Home Sing Monday" Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

Beauty and the Beast

You know, some days I feel like Beauty and some days I feel like the Beast.......you know?

Some days my hair and makeup (or lack of it) is working for me, and other days I scare myself in the mirror.

I don't know about you guys, but I don't like to use expensive beauty products. I grew up watching my grandmother and my mother frequent those counters in the fancy department stores. That's what they did back then, and probably what some people still do today. But not me. Once the kids came, I just couldn't afford it anymore.

My mom bought me a lipstick for $16 many years ago, and I nearly died at the cost. However, it was a lovely color and she wanted to buy it for me. The thing is, I almost never (and I mean never) wear lipstick.

I suppose not wearing lipstick on the mouth is like an unmade bed. It sticks out. But I don't care. I don't wear it. Once or twice a year I put it on and then pretty much wipe it off. My hubby really doesn't like it much, so I guess that's why I don't wear it anymore.

I used to love Mary Kay in my early days, but after we had kids....well, it was Mary Kay or diapers. Guess who won?

I flirted with Avon for awhile, then settled in with Almay for the long haul. I just can't stand to spend money on expensive facial creams, no matter how good the hype says they are. However, I watch some of the infomercials and I just know that my skin is dying to be soft and fresh and dewy.

I don't wear makeup every single day, so it lasts awhile. I usually buy Covergirl, Maybelline, or Wet and Wild products for mascara, eyeliner, makeup or nail polish.

I don't buy makeup remover but use baby shampoo to remove my eye makeup instead. It's a lot cheaper and it does the job just as well, in my opinion. Right now I am washing my face with Cetaphil cleanser, and I use Almay moisturizer.

Is this to much information? Are you bored yet? Because I can tell you the brand of blush I use right down to the exact color......oh, and I use an inexpensive foundation too.

I just can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on beauty products anymore. Matter of fact, after I quit my job to stay home with my firstborn I gave up my "fancy" hairstylist (you know, the kind that you can afford when you're working) and went to a place that was much cheaper too. Before kids I told my hubby I couldn't part with her, after kids I couldn't part with the money!

Just as I used to be brand-loyal in my grocery shopping, I used to be brand loyal in my beauty products. Now I'm cheap but hey, maybe I'm missing something wonderful out there that's worth the money!

I know some of you don't wear makeup but for those of you who do what are your favorites? What are you all using to clean and moisturize your face? My face usually gets moisturized when the dog gets too friendly or it rains outside.....

MAKING YOUR HOME SING: Complain or Train, Singing or Screaming?

Once I went to a laundromat with a friend of mine, so that she could wash her huuuuge comforter. While there, we had the "pleasure" of listening to a woman complain and curse about all the laundry she had to do. I mean, she went on and on.

Do you think her negative attitude was doing her any favors? I can tell you that it sure wasn't bringing joy to all those within earshot. Especially since they were all in the same boat. Everyone was there to do their laundry. Why was her laundry any more difficult than anyone else's? Were we all to feel sorry for her?

It got me to thinking, if she doesn't mind complaining like this in front of strangers, what do you think she is like at home?

When you have something unpleasant to do, does it help you or hinder you to whine and complain about it? I know that it sure doesn't help me any.

There is a lot of "sameness" in our day to day responsibilities. Some of them aren't fun but they've got to be done. Maybe we can't change what we have to do, but we can change how we do them. We can choose our attitude.

Does your husband complain every morning about having to go to work? I assume, for the most part, that he doesn't. He just gets up and goes to his job. He knows that complaining is not going to help him any, it's only going to bring him down.

There are some things that are going to bother us. If the kids are not picking up after themselves the way we expect them to, don't do their chores, or leave a wet towel on the floor to ruin the hardwoods, etc., they are going to hear about it. But how are they going to hear about it?

I'm pretty sure that if he a student doesn't do his homework his teacher doesn't whine, moan, or burst into tears. I'm pretty sure that his teacher doesn't let it ruin her entire day. I'm pretty sure that a police officer doesn't burst into tears or stamp his foot when he gives someone a ticket for speeding. He doesn't take it personally.

We tend to take things personally when someone repeatedly fails to pick up after themselves, or forgets to call that they aren't coming home, etc. But what are we to do?

There is a difference between complaining and training, right? Do you notice that complaining is just me expressing my feelings or dissatisfaction or resentment? But training is imparting information or instructions to improve your knowledge or understanding of something. I know that I have done my fair share of complaining that is not constructive because it's not instructive, so what good is it?

Might I suggest that complaining without training is almost guaranteed a repeat performance? Complaining may give you some relief for the moment, as you unload all your emotions, but training and laying out your expectations gives them an understanding of what it is that you really want. When an issue comes up, we can complain or train.

We can choose our attitude. We can choose to complain and tear down, or we can choose to train and build up. We can train our own attitude. We can choose how we go about our day, and how we choose to look at our homemaking or work responsibilities.

We can complain about making dinner, or we can be thankful we have food to make dinner with, and a family to make dinner for. We can have a singing home or a screaming home. I know which one I want to have. Do you?

If you want to use your blog header or profile picture, use the "from the web" button on your right (after you click to link up). If you want to use a picture from your computer use the button on your left (unless the picture is on your blog). I have put my own header and profile picture links below as an example for you to see. Please let me know if you have any problems with linking up.

What are you doing or going to do today to make your home sing? Please go here for instructions and/or ideas and come back here to link up to join us today! Please do not put your own "Making Your Home Sing Monday" Linky on your blog. As always, please don't forget to link to this post. Also, please don't forgot to leave me a comment!

Dear Diary.....Mind Your Own Business!

Dear Diary,

Day before yesterday I went to the store and bought a roast. After I got home I dropped the roast in the street (as usual I was trying to carry too many things at once). While I bent over to try and pick it up, I noticed that some lame person had set off their car alarm and it was really loud.

Then I realized that the lame person was me. Apparently, when I bent over to pick up the roast, I accidentally pushed the button and set off my car alarm. I am sure the neighbors were highly entertained watching me as I looked around and tried to figure our whose alarm was blaring.

Next I unloaded my groceries and went to the laundry room to start a load of laundry. When I was finishing up, I noticed that my hand was bleeding. Obviously since my hands had been sorting the laundry I managed to get the blood on it. Good thing I was doing laundry anyway, huh?

When did I cut myself? Did I somehow manage to do it while sorting laundry? Just how dangerous is laundry sorting anyway? Hmmmm? How many m's are in "hmmm" anyway, hmmmm?

Did I tell you, Diary, that they have these little tiny cars called a Smart Car? Honestly, they are so cuuute! They are sort of the Justin Bieber of cars. Or maybe the toy poodle of cars because not everyone is into Justin Bieber.

'Course not everyone is into toy poodles either but don't tell my poodle that. She thinks she is IT.

Then, dear diary, I went to a meeting and ate four chocolate chip cookies!!!! But I had to, on account of somebody went to all the trouble to make them and I didn't want to hurt their feelings, right? Right?

Mind your own business, dear diary.