An Affair to Remember

Sometimes in life we do things we regret. I know I do. But it's okay, as long as we learn from our mistakes. In the past couple of weeks, I've learned a lesson.  <br /><br />You see, Big A has been working very long hours, and I've been six ways to Sunday.  I felt sorry for myself, and then, it just <em>happened</em>. I love my husband, but I found myself keeping company with Mr. Influenza. In the beginning, it seemed like it would be fun - a couple of days cuddling on the sofa, some R&R, drinking tea... <br /><br />But it wasn't fun. Mr. I (as I like to call him) was not fun. He was mean. I had to put on my big-girl boots and say "No more! You get out offa my sofa!"  You see, I realized that Big A is much nicer than Mr. I. And way more fun to cuddle with. <br /><br />Having learned this valuable lesson, I feel I'm back to my old self now.<br /><br />Due to that little bump in the road, the problem is that we now have less than 2 weeks until Christmas, and I seem to live in the house where time stood still. <br /><br />The tree is up. But only some of the lights are on it. (No joke - the lights are missing from the entire 1/3 bottom of the tree). <br /><br />Icicles hang from the roof line of our house, but nothing else does. <br /><br />The presents are hidden in the basement, but nothing is wrapped. <br /><br />You get the idea. <br /><br />I did, however, find a little something I wanted to share. If you find yourself in a similar situation, and you need a little Christmas décor help - this spray paint is awesome! <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE38RIoyVUv1oSpoLpJuGjA3DmXDJfkZRVHKO4TCCQ8TpBsFYL4lVCGrJVEgDnoliCZWCO5YBnDPMJU7m1IiJy-yCbfuqwc0seDxVE0RNA32zIfOXUMz61OsO5ZMCR8XwG53wpiTx3TbA/s1600/christmas13+017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="christmas decor, spray paint, glitter" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE38RIoyVUv1oSpoLpJuGjA3DmXDJfkZRVHKO4TCCQ8TpBsFYL4lVCGrJVEgDnoliCZWCO5YBnDPMJU7m1IiJy-yCbfuqwc0seDxVE0RNA32zIfOXUMz61OsO5ZMCR8XwG53wpiTx3TbA/s320/christmas13+017.JPG" title="" width="212" /></a></div><br /><br />It gives anything a pretty festive glow - and paint the heck out of anything in your way!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It goes on very light and leaves behind a sparkly, shiny finish.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gV59oxkV0SeonUfyuEzxi4x3lvGkdZ_wyH-TwttExvDgm1XZ7FS_PQ4UAbFM-VmidRGytfSQNG_VLVu7UzUng0eRqC0wgyO2Z0hGNoPq-rNKd1Lv-u3b_jddfsrjXa9DysKg7gu3Ql4/s1600/christmas13+018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0gV59oxkV0SeonUfyuEzxi4x3lvGkdZ_wyH-TwttExvDgm1XZ7FS_PQ4UAbFM-VmidRGytfSQNG_VLVu7UzUng0eRqC0wgyO2Z0hGNoPq-rNKd1Lv-u3b_jddfsrjXa9DysKg7gu3Ql4/s320/christmas13+018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">(If you click on the picture you can see how pretty it looks! In this instance, I sprayed an old grapevine wreath. In fact, I sprayed 3 of them. They're so sparkly but still natural looking.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In general, I'm actually loving the natural look of things around here. I'm almost glad I took up with Mr. I, and was forced to keep it simple. Almost. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the meantime, I'm getting this in silver too, and inviting Christmas in! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> </div><iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?t=fymoho-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=B00B4GQCLU&ref=qf_sp_asin_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe><br /><br />(This isn't a paid post, I just love this stuff!) What have you found lately that makes your décor festive?

An Affair to Remember

Sometimes in life we do things we regret. I know I do. But it's okay, as long as we learn from our mistakes. In the past couple of weeks...

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DIY Candle Holders

Hellooo! I made a couple of candle holders today, but it was a long morning before I got to them! <br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdUAiVyyippy-sYR4PteLyjxgfKO_-yzugKrgyUmlteldZygcZhKcpz4pMx8ddWnjPtOwt6kQ1e_BknbigUwjJw2egZLNwE-8XXAUnIgpO3ksQpM_DfADOweuhiWKqxwhkRvr1Sv2wdo/s1600/candles+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="DIY Candle Holder, candle holders" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdUAiVyyippy-sYR4PteLyjxgfKO_-yzugKrgyUmlteldZygcZhKcpz4pMx8ddWnjPtOwt6kQ1e_BknbigUwjJw2egZLNwE-8XXAUnIgpO3ksQpM_DfADOweuhiWKqxwhkRvr1Sv2wdo/s320/candles+013.JPG" title="" width="240" /></a></div><br />This morning was the kind of morning I know you all can relate to. It goes like this...<br /><br />I wake up vaguely aware that morning is imminent. But I fall back asleep.  <em>Bliss</em>. Those last few minutes before the alarm are <em>ALWAYS</em> the best!  <br /><br />As I was happily dreaming, Big A apparently hit "snooze", and I didn't wake up until 6:45 - which is fine, except I leave the house at 7:10.  We have two teenagers who attend two different schools, so we have an early start. I managed to slug down one gulp of coffee, and that's it.  Let's just say I don't do well without coffee, and wasn't looking my best at drop-off. Forget Soccer Mom, more like Horror Mom. This is what I look like when I don't have time for coffee:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a data-ved="0CAUQjRw" href="http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=top+10+memorable+movie+moms+scary&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&docid=NUGt197QbqEp5M&tbnid=iEZfjGkevscBEM:&ved=0CAUQjRw&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.screenjunkies.com%2Fmovies%2Fgenres-movies%2Fcomedies%2F10-best-horror-comedy-movies%2F&ei=6N5uUdiIBePt0gHHmIGQCQ&bvm=bv.45368065,d.dmg&psig=AFQjCNGV-BQyflnssbLknefeEe5j8S0A-A&ust=1366306884366564" id="irc_mil" style="border: 0px currentColor;"><img height="327" id="irc_mi" src="http://media1.break.com/breakstudios/2012/2/3/Beetlejuice.jpg" style="margin-top: 33px;" width="485" /></a></div><br />That might actually be a little generous, I think I looked worse than that... This is how the kids were looking at me: <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkjcbc2rFjZgDPSG0oYZGgw-HhkchOYKhzJrHGfoylJQdospvTOw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="rg_i" data-sz="f" name="YLFYgOWY28wHZM:" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTkjcbc2rFjZgDPSG0oYZGgw-HhkchOYKhzJrHGfoylJQdospvTOw" style="height: 179px; margin-top: 0px; width: 263px;" /></a></div><br />I skulked and slithered my way home, and managed to pull myself together for the day. (And by pull together, I mean  - drink a gallon of coffee.)<br /><br />It's our little ones birthday this week, so it was his party this morning at preschool, where the tradition is for the parent to cook the child's favorite food for his or her birthday.  Most kids choose cookies, or pudding, or cake. I am lucky enough to have a four year old whose favorite food is meatballs. You can imagine how easy it is to mix up and cook meatballs with 15 preschoolers! And, you know, nothing screams BIRTHDAY like a meatball.  Most of the kids kept asking "But where's the cake?". And who could blame them? <br /><br />Anyway, the morning is now over. I'm now looking forward to a better start tomorrow, and to the weekend! Saturday is my step-daughter's wedding shower! <br /><br />So, in my spare 3 minutes, I thought I'd quickly show you an easy and inexpensive gift you can either give to yourself, or to someone else. I made these cute prizes for the shower:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The dollar store really does have some decent glass candle holders, vases, wine glasses etc. For a dollar how can you go wrong? And with a few minutes of time, some glitter, bling, and some glue - you have a cheap and cheerful gift. </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">I use this glue - not only does it have a little built-in brush (handy), it also dries clear. Note that the hardest part of this project is opening the glue. </div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5QtJADE-CYyr_CbzRycr8WbHWD6dhejBOmtzX9lpHXXIXjNj5m9ZiqbpXxPlFBBXxrnuZAJS39zvkiF-9NY6X1Xk5ixLBDt9ZQMQXe5Se7pKhyksvLx934Sr1-CTyosOwpq9-_I_Urg/s1600/april+15+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5QtJADE-CYyr_CbzRycr8WbHWD6dhejBOmtzX9lpHXXIXjNj5m9ZiqbpXxPlFBBXxrnuZAJS39zvkiF-9NY6X1Xk5ixLBDt9ZQMQXe5Se7pKhyksvLx934Sr1-CTyosOwpq9-_I_Urg/s320/april+15+047.JPG" width="320" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><strong>To open glue:</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">1. Happily pull glue out of your cupboard/desk and try to open it. Notice that the cap will not budge.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">2. Think... Hot water.  Run top of glue under boiling hot water. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">3. Try cap again and notice that now it is "slippery when wet"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">4. Think... knife. Run the knife blade under the cap. (Careful!!!)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">5. Try cap again and notice how it is now mangled from the knife.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">6. Think...More hot water.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">7. Try mangled cap again. Rejoice!!!</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;">Next, I have all sorts of glitter and beads and <em>DIAMONDS</em>! </div><div style="text-align: center;">If you do not, try the dollar store, or Michaels, even WalMart.</div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiYxfZQwogXszFpMcwmxcWWSZmZqia1xnT4_Pz9_01XRTvLhZIO_vUJ4o1UdAHDu1ocqJt-VPRi7Q-DplWnTsY_qIr1wdUgedpyxg7GuqYCnQv5h0qAX644WjfivvfefWALLvF81SyGQ/s1600/april+15+043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiYxfZQwogXszFpMcwmxcWWSZmZqia1xnT4_Pz9_01XRTvLhZIO_vUJ4o1UdAHDu1ocqJt-VPRi7Q-DplWnTsY_qIr1wdUgedpyxg7GuqYCnQv5h0qAX644WjfivvfefWALLvF81SyGQ/s320/april+15+043.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />Take your plain Dollar Store candle holder. I had this one and I wanted to put the diamonds on it. To ensure a little of the candle showed, I just taped off some of the glass with painters tape, see below. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eYLwEi8Q_6hoqSftp3Fvhf4Xj0NZVWqeospJkxsxjp2pbB5TEVm1JwRNPWJ3Yp7vZBkSV5tF-X2ghtce-ugXf58RKF_TfL2lUxkinLwIXqANpHuSxUAqKaYjA6_Yv0e2a8fMP6FgvUY/s1600/april+15+044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8eYLwEi8Q_6hoqSftp3Fvhf4Xj0NZVWqeospJkxsxjp2pbB5TEVm1JwRNPWJ3Yp7vZBkSV5tF-X2ghtce-ugXf58RKF_TfL2lUxkinLwIXqANpHuSxUAqKaYjA6_Yv0e2a8fMP6FgvUY/s320/april+15+044.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuylh7CkcUZyekenBcSKeSLSOIR49YJ8gejcLBaI2XduNvVJptH0n8fxmq1Zxhqp8VbDl8yUhKThl3XkORoDtIq-E4K6QrN5CRLE7A0Yhy_8Swe80EPIHD9q0xgISpN2Z9b8dmT58QnZQ/s1600/april+15+045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuylh7CkcUZyekenBcSKeSLSOIR49YJ8gejcLBaI2XduNvVJptH0n8fxmq1Zxhqp8VbDl8yUhKThl3XkORoDtIq-E4K6QrN5CRLE7A0Yhy_8Swe80EPIHD9q0xgISpN2Z9b8dmT58QnZQ/s320/april+15+045.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Next I brushed on the glue (generously) and added the diamonds. Notice my very precise placement? Yeah, that was hard, but I try to persevere!  </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BEdEm1-e6rrAi5izd1ZL3hSpyAmlqtxwfshY7h17NvN6pZamstXAxUS_B6Wvv4lZh1XDcs9OcXb26MhGQzfFsjjs0YUOzFckd10Dij9-O25m4-8KEuVMa6Ibv1mr1hfyMJ9-LETzzwQ/s1600/april+15+046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_BEdEm1-e6rrAi5izd1ZL3hSpyAmlqtxwfshY7h17NvN6pZamstXAxUS_B6Wvv4lZh1XDcs9OcXb26MhGQzfFsjjs0YUOzFckd10Dij9-O25m4-8KEuVMa6Ibv1mr1hfyMJ9-LETzzwQ/s320/april+15+046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">When dry it looked like this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdUAiVyyippy-sYR4PteLyjxgfKO_-yzugKrgyUmlteldZygcZhKcpz4pMx8ddWnjPtOwt6kQ1e_BknbigUwjJw2egZLNwE-8XXAUnIgpO3ksQpM_DfADOweuhiWKqxwhkRvr1Sv2wdo/s1600/candles+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdUAiVyyippy-sYR4PteLyjxgfKO_-yzugKrgyUmlteldZygcZhKcpz4pMx8ddWnjPtOwt6kQ1e_BknbigUwjJw2egZLNwE-8XXAUnIgpO3ksQpM_DfADOweuhiWKqxwhkRvr1Sv2wdo/s320/candles+013.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPip9h2jiTVy71nfHSgccu2-8IqPitq2po3OAjXkD8W1lyt87q4ho3hGtnYsKhEgNwLWiGpZHMXamxcdCInLbeI-r40D9MSqiXdj3nalfPC1iS8nyhbLOKRSHdFDq8VlH3_9SUBxT7XCs/s1600/candles+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPip9h2jiTVy71nfHSgccu2-8IqPitq2po3OAjXkD8W1lyt87q4ho3hGtnYsKhEgNwLWiGpZHMXamxcdCInLbeI-r40D9MSqiXdj3nalfPC1iS8nyhbLOKRSHdFDq8VlH3_9SUBxT7XCs/s320/candles+012.JPG" width="240" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I also bought these dainty little candle holders and just brushed the glue inside, and sprinkled with gold glitter. After a few hours drying they looked like this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5QtJADE-CYyr_CbzRycr8WbHWD6dhejBOmtzX9lpHXXIXjNj5m9ZiqbpXxPlFBBXxrnuZAJS39zvkiF-9NY6X1Xk5ixLBDt9ZQMQXe5Se7pKhyksvLx934Sr1-CTyosOwpq9-_I_Urg/s1600/april+15+047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rSrPGeOS8m3djVo3gzJ_4lnIHVjHofWH2AwM7ze7q9MFNp5uL3S9ke0uDQLe3U9qj0Km2kHdRsg_4Nakc818z47ews-9u7CMJEOGScT99pW_RoZ6RA2MjJnK9rguYE1OYHRexqzLhRk/s1600/candles+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8rSrPGeOS8m3djVo3gzJ_4lnIHVjHofWH2AwM7ze7q9MFNp5uL3S9ke0uDQLe3U9qj0Km2kHdRsg_4Nakc818z47ews-9u7CMJEOGScT99pW_RoZ6RA2MjJnK9rguYE1OYHRexqzLhRk/s320/candles+010.JPG" width="171" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggdUAiVyyippy-sYR4PteLyjxgfKO_-yzugKrgyUmlteldZygcZhKcpz4pMx8ddWnjPtOwt6kQ1e_BknbigUwjJw2egZLNwE-8XXAUnIgpO3ksQpM_DfADOweuhiWKqxwhkRvr1Sv2wdo/s1600/candles+013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>I hope the girls at the wedding shower like them! Now I'm going to pick my kids up from school and try not to scare the children again. <br /><br /><center><a href="http://twoyellowbirdsdecor.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/g430/jshcroeder/Grab-Button-3.gif" /></a></center>

DIY Candle Holders

Hellooo! I made a couple of candle holders today, but it was a long morning before I got to them!  This morning was the kind of morning I k...

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