Painting the stars....literally!

Our living room needs some love...and by love I mean money. Well, love of the monetary kind is being diverted to other needs at the moment so what's a gal to do?

Paint something, of course! Did you expect anything different from an artist?

While I like these stars, the red has gotten to be a bit much, lately. The leftover paint was raided and my trusty drop cloth came out. About fifteen minutes later, those red stars had become fresh and new again. Um, wish other things were that easy to update!

Why the sudden interest in "freshening up" our living room?

Some of the Hubby's fam will be joining us for Thanksgiving this year. The furniture is looking a little worn (we have kids!) and I've never really been able to pull the whole room together. I'm feeling some renewed inspiration and have decided to go for it in a thrifty kind of way....stay tuned for further projects and results!

"Pack it up, Pack it in, Let me begin...."

That's right, y'all! It's movin' day....um, so to speak. The workmen show up bright and early tomorrow to start the demo on our kitchen. Everything's going, right down to the studs.

And not a moment too soon. The goal is to have everything finished before Thanksgiving. For now, the microwave, the toaster and the coffeemaker are all in my living room on the kitchen table.

How many more days are there 'til the middle of November?

**My title contains the beginning lyrics of Jump Around from House of Pain.

Nature's splendor inspires a spiff-up...

This past Friday Dad posed the idea of all of us -he, Mom, Aunt D, me, and the Bubs (Hubby is away)- heading to the mountains for an overnight stay. I was all for it and delighted at the prospect of sharing some laughs and seeing some beautiful fall foliage. I wasn't disappointed on either count! We drove up after church, stayed overnight in a small motel, ate at some "mom and pop" joints, and took pictures galore along the Blue Ridge Parkway.....with Dad dilligently trying to ignore his vertigo at almost every overlook.

At almost every turn, fall's splendor abounded. Whether it was on the trees or on the doorsteps of the local homes, I was delighted with the warm colors and overall sense of homey-ness (homey as in a welcoming residence, not as in a dude). There were even pumpkin people on the downtown corners, left over from the weekend's Autumn Leaf Festival. I would have given money to know how those things were constructed, by the way! I don't think the locals would have taken kindly to a strange woman peeking under their pumpkin peoples' skirts...so to speak.

Looking around at all of that, it hit me that other than a couple pretty mums that Dad bought me, I haven't spread the cheer at our house.....or much of a cleaning rag, either, but that's coming, too. The Bubs has been asking about getting pumpkins for a couple weeks now and I kept forgetting about it or putting it off. He helped me pick out a couple today after school along with a couple of small, yellow mums to add to our porch. As soon as we got home, I quickly arranged our fall goodies and got the seal of approval from Bubs - "That looks good, Mom. I like the pumpkins we picked out." Trust me, for him to even notice anything like that near the end of the day is huge. If you're wondering what the pumpkins are sitting on, it's a couple of pots of gerber daisies that are a bit past their prime. I think the greenery underneath kinda makes the pumpkins look like they're still out in the pumpkin patch. Hmmm...now all I need is a little fall flag. I might be able to pick one up cheap at-- Oops, sorry! I went off on a tangent there for a moment.

I also wanted to spread the cheer in the house. I know that the Hubby particularly likes some of the pumpkin scented candles from Target so I grabbed a couple while I was running around today and set them out on some plates that I grabbed on the cheap from Ross's along with the tablecloth and runner on the right. What is it about getting pretties on the cheap that just puts an extra pep in my step? I'm not on a support group level or anything, I just get a little excited, okay?

Results of a Distracted Mom

"........get boxes mailed out, haircuts for the Bubs and me, head down to the library, clean the entire house, keep working with the Bubs on reading/writing, head to the store, remember stuff for Easter, practice my music, tackle the front and back yards, hang with my precious Bubs (repeat as often as possible), playdate this week,.........."

The above is just a snippet of what's been running through my muddled brain lately. Now I know why I write down so many lists....SO I DON'T HAVE A CONNIPTION TRYING TO REMEMBER IT ALL!! (yes, conniption is another colorful and local word for having a "fit")

To say I've been a bit distracted and unfocused lately would be an understatement of magnificent proportions. With both my beautiful mom and mom-in-law in different stages of battling breast cancer, a hubby who's deeply involved with a difficult job and a son who seems to be practicing for a bright future on a debate team I feel like a hamster running endlessly in it's wheel....except the hamster probably has a better butt. As a result of my unfocused state, our home looks like a hurricane hit it, with the odd tornado here and there. Yick.

I have a plan, though. Kind of. Since I tend to get overwhelmed when housework piles up I think I'll just focus on one small area at a time (like my Mom patiently tells me every time I bemoan my endless list of chores). It's the only thing I can think of that will keep me from plopping in the middle of a laundry-strewn floor and throwing an old-fashioned Hissy Fit.
Seriously, people. I could throw down right now.

So I was wondering if there's a habit or method you have that helps you tame the housework beast? If so, share!! (If not, all sympathetic comments are welcomed and encouraged.)