Movie Party - P52 Week 29

My movie party is a little sad...

I tend to watch movies in the summer by myself, usually on the nights that my husband is out of town for work. I will curl up on the couch, with my pillow, blanket, and laptop and find something in my queue on Netflix. There is also usually a dog lying on the floor beside me.

The Laundry Room - It is FINISHED

This weekend I finished up the reorganization of the laundry room. I vacuumed, dusted, mopped and finished pitching unneeded things. Enjoy the before and after pictures:

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After - I found this cute rug today.

Hopefully it will stay this way.

Next up the storage room...

Summer Treats - P52 Week 28

It's Wednesday...that means Farmer's Market day. These are the best Summer Treats to me!

Laundry Room - Part 2 Goodbye Latex Paint

Last week, I worked on part of the laundry room makeover that was time consuming; getting rid of all the latex paint no longer relevant to our house.

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After

I read somewhere on the WWW that if you mixed kitty litter with the latex paint it would dry it up and then you could dispose of it in your regular garbage. Great article here on proper procedure: http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/downloads/latex_paint_disposal.pdf

So I bought my kitty litter (Mallory thought it was pretty funny when I came home with it "Are we getting a cat?") No, I think not, the dogs would torture it to death in a short period of time.

I mixed the kitty litter in with the paint and poured it in to disposable paint tray liners. Then set it outside to dry up.

It worked perfectly, after 24 hours it was as hard as a brick, and ready for the garbage. (This picture is taken with it set vertical up against a rock.)

Now I only have paint that is actually on the walls in my house. Each can is labeled with a sharpie stating what  room the paint belongs in, so if (when) I need to do any touch ups, I can find it easily and get the job done quickly.

KaBoom - P52 Week 27

I love Sparklers...

They were my favorite Fourth of July firework when I was a kid. The fun of standing outside in the darkness with the Fireflies flittering about and adding my own magical light was the best. 

If you are wondering why there are no darkness photos with the magical light, it is because by the time it is dark enough for them I am in bed. Oh the hazards of growing old...

Laundry Room

Today was a good day for me to start on the major overhaul of the laundry room. First of all, it has been too hot outside to do anything, thus forcing me to stay in the house and work on projects. Second of all, I was in a "throwing away" mood today, so I wanted to take advantage of it.

The laundry room is just one of those rooms that everything gets dumped into, probably because nobody goes in there but me and the dogs. I readily admit it has gone too long without a major cleaning, so today was the start. I still have more to do, but I thought I would post pictures of my progress. I makes me feel like I am making a dent in it this way.

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After Day 1

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There is still more to do and more things to throw away, but I have made a really good start. I hope to finish it this week. I will post pictures once it is done.

The pile of dirty rags in the middle of the floor is almost gone too.

Technology

It is hard to get away from technology these days, even on vacation.

Early in June our family rented a cottage up in the Leelanau Peninsula area. This is something we do every year. The Leelanau area is my favorite place on earth. Well, the cottage we rented this year had Wifi. Even though we all claim that we want to get away from it all and relax. We were 3 very happy people when we discovered the Wifi.

Here is the list of technology items that we immediately connected to the Wifi:

1 iPad
1 MacBook
1 iPhone
2 Android phones (soon to be replace with iPhones)
1 Kindle Fire

A few other technology items we brought along:

2 Digital SLR cameras
1 Memory Card reader
3 iPods

I usually bring my MacBook whenever I go away, Wifi or not. I use it to download my pictures from my camera, so I can work on editing them while I have the extra time on my hands. I also use my laptop to play my morning Yoga workout DVD. The Wifi was extra nice, because I was able to work on my blog and post writing class assignments, so I didn't get too far behind. (I managed to get behind once we got home though.)

Our daughter was happy to have the MacBook, always better viewing of Facebook, better than on the phone. She also was able to work on her blog as well.

My husband had his iPad. He discovered Angry Birds while we were at the cottage. Not sure that was a good thing:)

Even though we enjoyed the access that the Wifi allowed us, it did not rule us. We still spent plenty of time playing games at night, exploring the local towns and wineries during the day, and hiking and exploring nature. It was actually a perfect balance. If only it could be like that when we are home.

*Day 17 of 31 Things Class with Ali Edwards 

*Note: I decided to leave 31 Things on this blog, otherwise it would feel unfinished and that would defeat the idea of "Becoming a Finisher".

What I Read in June

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain.

REALLY LIKED - As long as I have known what the word introvert meant, I have known that I was one. I hate big, crowded rooms of strangers, I dislike small talk. I would rather avoid you in the grocery store, unless you are an introvert too, because then I know it will be a short conversation. After reading this book I feel so much better about being the way I am, and it is normal for an introvert to be this way. I like small groups of people, deeper conversations and prefer reading to a party. If you have an introverted child there is a great chapter - How to Cultivate Quiet Kids in a World That Can't Hear Them - I wish I had read this chapter when my daughter was younger, it would have been so insightful.

Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge - Really Liked - It is amazing how easily damaged we are as women. We hold ourselves to such high expectations both in life and in love and when one or both of those goes wrong it takes years to recover from it, if we ever recover. But there is hope...
I would really like to read this book every year because I know I will get new stuff out of it every time I read it.

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge - Really Liked - A must read for any young woman, wife or mother. Even though it is written to the male audience. I learned so much about the hidden side of men. Boys were born to be adventurers and warriors, we as women have to stop squelching those desires. I would highly recommend for any mother with a son to read this book and the sooner the better.