long time, no blog...

Sorry guys, it's been, like, fOREVER, since i even thought about blogging! Well - here i am and offering a link to a giveaway for a new Silhouette Cameo :) i'm sure hoping to win one and there are several giveaways right now - so get on it and maybe you will have an awesome New Year's present!

http://www.allthingsthrifty.com/2011/12/surprise-silhouette-cameo-giveaway.html

Work in Progress, well, sort of...

I know - it's been at least a month since I posted anything. That's really sad, but that's the way the cookie crumbles around here. I've been busy doing kid stuff, getting back to soccer and working on getting spring clothes cut out and organizing for the huge consignment sale coming up in a few weeks...it's been busy, but this past week I made huge strides in getting my living room a lot closer to where I would like it to be. I officially finished the couch slipcovers by the end of February - yay me! I was thinking I would move on to the chairs, but I've decided I need to find some different fabric, so that project is on hold until it's in the budget to buy some - hopefully by the end of the month. Here are a few pics to give you the idea:

this is from the foyer looking in. I did rearrange and I am very happy with the set up - great for hosting larger groups and intimate enough that people won't feel overwhelmed.

here it is from the fireplace looking toward the foyer. Again - I am happy with this furniture configuration, but as you can see I still have a long way to go. You can just catch a peek of the super awesome light my hubs just hung in the foyer - I like to think of it as my,"Yep - this does make me cooler than you." light - I love it!

And here it is from the dining room door. So give me your ideas on that coffee table right there. I am torn as to whether I should paint it orange(which was my original plan) or go for something a little more traditional - or crazy(like silver). Over all, I feel like the room needs to be toned down in formality - which will be helped tremendously by the removal of the Persian rug and replaced by a sisal rug. I'm just a little worried that it might be kinda cold feeling...thoughts, please! and now for the problems:

Here is one of the chairs...what is awesome about these is they have a round back and they are totally comfortable. What is not awesome is that I cannot make up my mind about what fabric to go with. I go back and forth between a neutral and something way crazy and out there. I'm almost wishing I could find a stripe that rocks my world. I've also toyed with an over sized hounds tooth print and over sized damask print (a.k.a the pillows). I also dig those neutral trellis prints that Serena & Lilly have in their catalog. Thoughts? Suggestions?

My Nana's chair. It really is totally the coolest ever. It's great quality and honestly doesn't need to be recovered - but I think the fabric is far too traditional - so I want to update it with a superfly slipcover. The question is - should I make it match the two "Lady Chairs" on the other side of the room? I'm thinking that might be good for unifying the two conversation areas. You will also note the over sized brass lamp on the side table. I got it at a garage sale for $10 - which I thought was a steal - especially considering all the lamps I like enough to buy in a store cost like $200...so the big issues with it are that it is brass - and the lampshade is dark and not the right shape. I'm thinking I might try to paint it white or robin's egg blue or something.

I really would like some thoughts and suggestions - I just got a bunch done and yet it feels like I have a really long way to go. SO - I'm all ears :)

My New Obsession

I have been away from my blog dealing with getting a slipcover made...lets just say I haven't quite finished it...which is very annoying and seeing as my goal for this week (again) is to finish the slipcover and get started on the next one, I probably should be sewing and not doing this. Oh well, nothing like a little procrastination! Don't worry, when I get it all finished I will post pics - seriously I am very close, just need to finish the cushions. Enough about that....

I have been having a design delima with my living room. It seems rude and almost mean to say, but it's a little too big for me to figure out exactly how the furniture should be configured and how much is too much furniture. I currently have a sofa and loveseat, with a large square coffee table,as one conversation area and 4 "lady" chairs as another conversation area. I would really like to get at least one of those super fabulous leather poufs from Serena & Lilly, as well as the enamelled garden seat from Ballard Design to complete the chair configuration...so I have been scouring design blogs, catalogs and magazines looking for the right inspiration for where I need to go with this space. I am almost sick of it, and definitely a little bit frustrated, but every time I think I have it figured out I second guess myself. It isn't like me at all - I'm just having trouble making a commitment and that royally stinks. I'm eclectic with a leaning toward modern minimalism, so if you have any suggestions I will gladly take them!

Seriously...Seriously?!!!

I have just spent the last hour cruising through my list of blogs and finding more great places to get inspired and figure out how to do things...but, Seriously? I mean, do these women really ever sleep or see their families or are they nice at all? Don't get me wrong - I am crafty, but if I made that many projects for every holiday - and recovered all my own shoes and furniture - and made all those Anthropologie knock offs for myself- I would NOT be a nice person, and my kids would never get fed. I don't get it. Am I missing some major time management skill? Sorry, just needed to rant a bit. I'm off to finish the outfits my girls are wearing to school tomorrow - cause that's how I roll, under a deadline and without a picture tutorial ;P

Ready, Set, Resolutionize!

Allright, so I know that it is already January 15, but I was thinking that I might should go ahead and do the long standing tradition of setting resolutions for the year 2011, after all, when I think about my resolutions for next year, I need to know just how far I fell below the expectations...right?! As I am a crazy person, with lots of interests, my resolutions tend to be all over the place, but here we go...

1. Fully fund the emergency fund ( yep, that's been number one on the list for the last 4 years or so...must be something about having 4 kids that makes achieving that next to impossible)

2. Start saving toward real estate investments - because I know we love the appraisal business, but it might be nice to have that extra stream of income

3. Get the kitchen, and bedrooms painted and decorated...COMPLETELY...like with art on the wall and stuff

4. Buy a new couch for Aaron's Man Cave...because my children have managed to kill the current one...

5. Run at least one marathon, hopefully two 1/2 marathons and even more hopefully complete 2 sprint distance triathlons...I can tell what you're thinking, she's really insane, but hey, you have to aim for something or you'll end up shooting yourself in the foot...

6. Get all the way to goal weight...also a repeat from several years...but I actually made it about half way there in 2010, so if I can keep up the momentum, maybe I can get the rest of the way there.

7. Replace the crapped up swagger wagon. It's paid for, and it is functional, but it is UGLY and french fry encrusted, and I am a little sick of it. Who knows, I might even go back to SUV land...oh man, those were the days...

8. Finish all slipcovers and decorating in the living room. Actually I would like to have all the slipcovers finished by the end of January, but seeing as it is technically the middle of and I haven't finished the first one (although I have a very good start), I'm doubting it'll be in January...

9. Buy new dining room chairs. Super modern and sleek - maybe even lucite...how cool would that be?!

10. Figure out the table situation for the breakfast room, and paint/recover the chairs.

11. Upgrade my embroidery machine to a "slap your momma" model.

12. Do something with the china cabinet and buffet - they are nice, but not cool enough, and they could be, it's just a matter of making them realize their potential...

13. Cover all the boxes in the sewing room, so that they look cute and are more than just functional.

14. Organize the Quazimoto rooms, hall closets and all the seaonal clothing...it's just a mess in and around all that, the seasonal clothing causes me great wailing and gnashing of teeth...there has got to be a better way!

15. Purchase and extra freezer, so that I can start doing once a month cooking again.

16. Start saving for the fence around the front yard...it's gonna be a major expense and I am ready to get it taken care of...these kids really need to have to outside time that doesn't involve me taking them somewhere (our backyard is basically a courtyard) or risking them getting hit by a car.

So I guess that's a pretty good list, perhaps you might have some suggestions? I guess it just wouldn't be the new year if I wasn't sitting around thinking about all the stuff I didn't get done last year and how much there is to do now...so, here we go again!

Chocolate Cake Fail!!!

So yesterday was the official beginning of yet another weight loss challenge. It's ok - I've dealt with the fact that I have to have competition in order to succeed (just like, I don't run for the fun of it - I have to have a race to keep myself motivated). This one should be good. We based it on "The Game On" which I have done several times with great success - but this time it is an immediate monetary loss/gain. You pay the pot if you don't drink enough water and you pay the pot if you don't accomplish two goals that you set for yourself - one Life in General goal and one fitness/weight loss goal. You are committed to a $5/week buy in and the pot goes to the person with the biggest percentage of weight loss. It sounds weird, but money and competition motivate me more than weight loss itself. I mean, the by product of weight loss is great (looking better, feeling better, running better) but for some reason the pain of denying myself isn't really worth it unless money or humiliation are on the line. Seriously, when I think about what losing another 20 lbs could do for my running abilities, I get excited - but for some reason I haven't been able to get my brain ready for it or something. So here I am trying to brainwash myself into getting serious about it. I did great yesterday. Seriously I was food journaling and measuring and being awesome at it...and then...I had a face off with the Aaron's leftover birthday cake...the cake won...so today I am all over this watching it close thing, again...lets just hope the miles I run tomorrow and Saturday make up for one huge fail...

A New Year and a New Attempt

Believe it or not, this isn't my first blog...shocking I'm sure...but here's the deal, I'm really busy and it seemed like the other blogs were just one track, and I have got my fingers in a lot of pies, so I thought I should start to do some ramblings on the things I am accomplishing - or not accomplishing, and I don't want to feel pressured about it. So you may see me a lot some weeks and never the next - I don't want to get any flack for it! The truth is I am highly inspired by all these super creative moms that seem to be able to do everything and write about it - but I want to have a blog that does more than just talk about how crafty I am ( which I honestly am, quite a crafty person and I'm sure there will be a good bit of craftiness involoved in what goes on here) - I mean I am constantly training for some sort of race or another, so I might want to talk about that. I am also a major couponer that needs to share my retail victories in some other way than just the occasional facebook status. I also am raising 4 kids that tend to make me want to tear my hair out- but are also incredibly cool and tons of fun, so I'm sure there will be lots of talk about how terrible I am at taking care of them - but hopefully I will get to share some milestones. There will definitely be ranting about my husband - who is super awesome and totally my best friend - but also knows how to push my buttons like a champ. I also am in a constant battle with my weight (again shocking I'm sure) - which was never a problem until I had 4 kids, but I'm very active and it drives me crazy that there are still fat rolls hanging out around here! The hubs and I are those crazy people who drank the Dave Ramsey Koolaid and so I think there will be a need to talk about how we are conquering our debt and struggling through budget meetings. This sounds crazy...that's kind of the point though...I want to get it all out there and hopefully some of you can help me get some perspective on the things I need help with, but also maybe I can brighten your day with some of my insanity. I'm looking forward to this...seriously...