Rainy Days and Mondays

Do you remember the lyrics of the old song sung by the Carpenters, Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down? Well I think that I could very easily substitute those words with Stressful Days and Januarys Always Get Me Down.
Our family has experienced a bit of stress over the past few months. With the downturn in the economy, my husband was forced to close his business and find new employment. Our #3 son broke both of his legs. Fortunately he is healing well. But in a mere three weeks he will leave home to learn the Chinese language so that he can serve the Chinese people in New Zealand. Two weeks later our #2 son will leave for China to teach English there. I am excited for both of my sons. They will be experiencing things that I can only dream of. They will have adventures and their encounters will ad layers of character to their already wonderful personalities. But as a mother, their leaving tugs strongly at my heartstrings. Between the stress of lost and new jobs, broken bones, and leaving sons, I am more emotional than usual. Add to that the stress of the holidays, the heartache of dear friends who are having their share of hardships in life and the dreary, smoggy, ugly days of January and I find myself a bit downhearted. Which brings me to my last post.
I find that the older I get, the more I question the value of where I choose to spend my time and talents. I realize that while I asked you what direction I should go with my blog, the better question is, does my blog have value and purpose? After reading all of your beautifully uplifting comments I now know that my blog does have value and purpose, not only to me but also to you.
Thank you for not judging me. I did not write these last posts because I want your sympathy. Nor did I write because I have a goal of gaining more readers or receiving more comments. On the contrary. I wrote because I feel a sense of obligation, to myself and to you. I want my blog to serve a useful purpose. I do not want to be writing posts that leave you feeling inadequate or make you want to spend money on things you can't afford. I want my blog to be an instrument for good in your life and mine; a place for inspiration, motivation, beauty and fun.
I am humbled and honored and grateful to know that it serves this purpose. Thank you for your love and kindness, support and understanding. I am so happy that I can be here to serve you. I truly appreciate your words of encouragement and inspiration when I was letting those stressful days and January get me down.
I will be back tomorrow and for days to come with more to share.
Thank you again for your love and for taking the time to express your thoughts!

2009 In Rear View

Looking back through my blog is similar to looking in a rear view mirror. It allows me to see where I've been. It's fun to remember the projects I've accomplished over the past year.
I made a few monograms.Painted some furniture.

BeforeAfterBeforeAfter

Did a makeover or two.

BeforeAfterBeforeAfter

Created some items.Built some garden elements.It's been fun looking back. But I've noticed that I've left a few projects undone. So as I look forward to this new year, I am determined to finish a few things in my rear view. And I am excited to see a vision of many more projects ahead!

Did You See It?

Did you see glimpses of it in my Christmas photos? We've made a few changes in our family room.

Remember my post about The Beast? You were all so kind to remind me that

comfort isn't always about
good looks.

I was even beginning to accept The Beast, perhaps even embrace it. And then one day it happened! Son #2 plopped on the couch (as boys/men tend to do) and we heard an odd sound. The sound, combined with the sight of him sitting a bit lower in the couch, was the tell-tale sign that
it was time to release The Beast.
Yes, it was clear that it was time to replace our couch.
I began my search in thrift stores and the on-line classifieds.
But I discovered that I couldn't find anything that I loved more
and was a better price than The Beauty. We love our "new" couch!
It's smaller scale is a much better fit
and the colors truly compliment the room. Yes, I'm worried that my men will eventually destroy The Beauty.
But it will be worn out in serving my family---
what better way to be worn out, right? After all, my

home is meant to house
loved ones and good memories,
not showroom furniture.

With the addition of thrifted down-filled pillows
and a throw (to cover a small hole),
The Beauty is so comfy! And now I love my family room again, flaws and all.

Mama Needed

On Friday son #3 was in an ATV accident. He broke his left femur and his right tibia. Yes, that's right, two broken legs. We feel incredibly blessed that it wasn't worse! He's doing well but he needs his mama for the next few days so I'll be taking a blog break. Hope to see you soon.

A Peek

Here's a sneak peek at some of the items I'm working on for
the room with the gorgeous lamps.

And yes, I'm working on them in my driveway!
No it's not pretty,
but this time of year it's warmer out in the sun
so that's where I work.
(I know what you're thinking...
you're happy I'm not YOUR neighbor)

I Tried

Recently I saw these gorgeous lamps

at the thrift store.
I tried to talk myself out of buying them.
I told myself that they cost too much.
I reminded myself that I already have an
inventory of lamps that could rival
any lamp isle of a department store.
I pointed out that I was only
searching for shades, not the entire lamp.
I warned myself that if I put those pretty things
in my shopping cart it may become
too difficult to take them out.
And then I realized that along with
all those admonishments,
I was also designing an entire room
around those beautiful lamps.
A room that I've struggled with,
a room that needed those lamps for inspiration,
a room that would no longer feel like a cast off
because now it would contain
these beautiful jewels.
And so I rolled my cart up to the cashier
and purchased them.

The Beast

I've shared bits and pieces of my family room.
You've seen the fireplace. The entertainment center that we built.There's a few walls of my collections.The thrifted side table that I painted.And the door sofa table that we built.But there is one piece of furniture that I try to avoid showing.

It's my well worn, well loved, often napped on sofa.

Let's call it "the beast!"

The beast is one reason that I don't love this room.
Sure I could replace beast with this beauty.But I know that the beauty would soon become a beast because of the habits of my wonderful family (okay, mostly my hubby).
Their bad habits have caused the death of three couches. Fortunately, for our pocket book, two of the three came from the thrift store in like-new condition. But after the harsh treatment they received in our home no thrift store would take them ever again.
I know that it will be easier to search for another gently used sofa to replace the beast than it would be to change my family's habits. But I also realize that I let my feelings toward the beast take over how I feel about the entire room. Even to the point of not finishing other projects, like hanging the drop-cloth window treatments I've had for almost two years on this 10 foot wide window.So I thought that maybe if I unleashed the beast for the whole world to see, it might motivate me to make a few changes. I've even given myself a deadline of the day before Thanksgiving. And as much as I love the red walls, I'm considering a new paint color----maybe chocolate brown or charcoal gray.
What about you? Do you have a beast that's preventing you from loving a room in your home? Are there other improvements you could make to help tame the beast? Would setting a deadline help? Why don't we form a club, we could call ourselves the Blogging Beast Bashers (it's not just a motivating title but a tongue twister as well). Come, join me and tackle your home's beast!

In Comparison

Two years ago I discovered design blogs. It was an awesome discovery for me! It's like opening up the pages of a new magazine every day. Every photo is nearly picture perfect with inspiration galore!
I've been thrilled to read of some bloggers who've had the opportunity to actually have their homes photographed for magazines. What a dream come true! I have also been amazed to read just what these photo sessions entail: make-up artists, lighting experts, caterers, wardrobe specialists, and prop designers with loads and loads of beautiful accessories. All these people come in and turn the average pretty home into photos of a home that we drool over and long to have. And we look around and compare our home to what we see on the glossy pages---a home that has now become more of a gorgeous set design than the lived-in, real home it was before all of the specialists swooped in with all of their magical effects.
As I looked around my home this morning I thought about all of the things that would have to be changed in order to have it photographed for a magazine.
The remains of homework left on the dining room table.Birthday sacks strewn across the floor, remnants of a wonderful family celebration.A bounty of toys to entertain my beautiful granddaughter.Doors to our entertainment center left open wide from late night veiwing.A crumpled up heating blanket deserted by a preteen in the early, chilly hours of the morning.And stacks of books piled high beneath collections of pretty pottery.Is my home ready for a magazine photo shoot?
Not at all.

But it is picture perfect to me.