I've Been Neglectful. Please Read On!

I have been so neglectful with answering this one award. I received it while away in California and apologize to Gina for not catching it in a respectful time frame. Please go over to her blog and register for her Giveaway, chicks! You don't have much time so goooooo!!!! Gina and I are kindred "spirits" and only she knows what I mean. Now to the award.

I am giving this award to all the sweet bloggers! I've given it much thought and am just so simply stunned that I've gotten any award from anyone! My heart is full with the love I've received from all of you who've left comments. Each one of you deserve an award. I've seen all kinds of blogs: creative, beautiful, shabby, decorating, just plain talking ones, ones from the heart (I've even gotten a "special" invitation from one blogger who wanted me to read a very personal blog which wouldn't let me leave a comment because it wasn't allowed, so I emailed her and asked her if she needed someone to talk to and see if she was "okay"), ones from teens who've said I've made their day(!) if you can imagine that, and then one from her mom who emailed me for giving her such encouragement, blogs where personal feelings are shared, our "arts" are shared, ones that break my heart, ones that lift me up, ones where we learn how to do different skills, even one man left me a comment about wanting his wife to read my blog(!). They've all left me stunned with the sweetness and heart-feltness (Is that a word? If not, I'm making it one!) So my heart is full and I'm truly blessed in more than one way for knowing y'all chicks! Now, go visit my friend, Gina........

The Remodel Is Starting!

The contractor will be over this afternoon to start the remodel. We had him give us the estimate several weeks ago and since then he has taken a job with the state because of insurance so this is going to be a part time project for him. It's not a big project but we've given him our time frame (Hah, as if that makes any difference to contractors! In Calif. we had a second story put on our home there and it was supposed to be a 3 month project. It took 5 months!!!! Hubs was sitting on the toilet one day and the men started coming up from the crawl space while he was .........well, you know. A traumatic experience to say the least!) Anyway, he has to be done before Hubs has to go to Orlando middle of august. Nuuuuuuuu, I ain't goin', chicks, I don't DO airplanes, remember?!?!?! I know, I know, I'm missing this great opportunity to go see Disney World, but I've seen Disneyland! So why would I want to go to a humid place in the middle of summer to see little mice running around mischievously?? Nuuuuuuu, ain't happenin', chicks!

Anyway, I'm seriously digressing here. First off, these are 2 little shelves I got for 99¢, yessssssss, ya heard that correctly, 99¢!! Squeeeeeeallll!!! One was already white but had some black felt pen marks on it so I repainted it and painted the other bigger one and voilà here they are - good as new! I'm so thrilled!! Can'tcha tell, my little doves?!?!?! I'm feelin' like the Spritzing Queen with my little spray can of paint! This is sooooooo easy to do - take cap off of paint can, point to object to be painted and press top tab! I'm loving it! No clean up except maybe for the index finger.

Here is the wall getting the remodel. (Read carefully; you will be given a pop quiz at some point!) I hate pass throughs from living room to kitchen and do NOT like people seeing in my kitchen from a living room. (Yes, we might have been able to get it done when being built but it was beyond that "easy/quick" point, would have taken much more time and we HAD to be out of other house very, very quickly. Thus we knew that someday we'd redo it.) On the photos you see where it says 12" out from existing wall. Well, we've decided it is to go out 30" on each side leaving an archway of about 5 ft. We will then have a little more "defined" living room, no view of my dirty dishes and squeeeeeealing with deeeeeeelight........more WALL space!! I'm so happy I could walk barefoot over pink nails!! THIS means I can move our lovely grandfather clock to that wall along with "other" things getting it out of my family room and put a new fireplace........squeeeeeeeeeeeal again...........in there!!! Get my drift here? More fabulous shabby, chic, frou frou looking stuff in family room!!!

But the downside is we're living like pack rats for a couple of weeks. Unorganized is not one of my favorite states to be in! But I promise "progress" photos daily if you want to travel along this "remodel" with me, my little blogging buddies. So stay tuned!

This was taken last night as we started taking down stuff. It's a mess this morning! *Sighhhhhh*................