I love me some Pinterest, and I pin a lot. I just don’t end up doing most of the things that I pin. One thing I did end up doing was some art work. I’ve learned in the past that when I take a brush to canvas, things don’t end well. Thank God for vinyl letter stickers and spray paint!

I took a square canvas I had purchased for cheap at Big Lots and spray painted the entire thing green. Then I used masking tape to give me diagonal lines. Then I sprayed the entire thing again in this lovely persimmon color.

I spelled out what I wanted to say with my vinyl letters and then sprayed the entire thing, again, in purple this time.

Once the paint I had dried I carefully removed the vinyl stickers and voila!

I liked it so much I did one for my sister too.

I bought my vinyl letter stickers at Michael’s. I love them, but I wish they offered more fonts. Or some in all lowercase. I don’t know if that exists or if I just can’t find it here. And if you’re careful enough, you can use the stickers more than once.

Have you done any fun or new crafts lately?

I had the entire last week of the year off. So what did I do? I took down the tree, put away all the new loot, and I made laundry soap.

Now I’m not becoming some crunchy hippie type. I just simply look for easy ways to save money sometimes. Like how I always buy my toilet paper from the Family Dollar now instead of at the grocery store. The good stuff is so much cheaper there.

My only regret is that didn’t have any scented oils on hand. So my laundry smells like nothing when I pull it out of the dryer. Oh well. It made a lot of soap and there’s still plenty of stuff leftover to make a few more batches.

I was gifted some lovely things for Christmas. And also gifted some cash so that I could buy my own lovelies.

I have too many things. I love them so.

1. What did you do in 2011 that you’d never done before?

I went to Austin, Tx. I visited friends and family and had a wonderful time.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

Some I did, some I didn’t. I wanted a kitchen remodel and new appliances, which I mostly got. I wanted to save more money and be better with my finances. That didn’t happen. I also wanted to be more organized. I suppose I am a little bit, but not like I’d like to be. I will probably not make any resolutions for 2012. I’m just not good with them.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No, but I still got a fair amount of baby snuggles in throughout the year.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No, thankfully.

5. What countries did you visit?

I’ve never been outside of the US. My sister is always begging me to get my passport. Someday…

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you didn’t have in 2011?

Besides a baby and a boatload of money? I would really like to have financial stability. Money in my savings account. Bills that are always paid on time and me not living paycheck to paycheck.

7. What dates from 2011 will be etched upon your memory, and why?

I celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary on 8/5/11. That was pretty cool. Other than that, I can’t think of anything.

8. What was your biggest achievement of this year?

Probably all of the work I did on the house. There is still so much more to be done, but I’m happy with what I’ve accomplished so far.

9. What was your biggest failure?

I’d rather not say here.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

I’m happy to say no.

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My new appliances. They make me so happy. I also really dig my iphone and my kindle.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

My sister and my husband are the two people in my life I cannot live without. We don’t always get along, but I could not imagine my life without them. They are supportive and strong and an ear when I need to talk. So I would like to celebrate them. Warts and all.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

The whole Penn State thing comes to mind. And even though I don’t watch reality tv, all of the attention and fame given to the Real Housewives and the Jersey Shores continues to annoy me. But at least the people in my life aren’t bringing me down.

14. Where did most of your money go?

Bills. I took no extravagant trips or bought anything major this year other than my appliances.

15. What did you get really excited about?

The kitchen remodel. Even though it was only a partial remodel, it’s made a world of difference.

16. What song will always remind you of 2011?

I don’t know of just one song, but Adele’s 21 album for sure.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? b) thinner or fatter? c) richer or poorer?

Sadder in some ways, happier in others. But probably more sad than happy.
I don’t think I’m fatter, but I’m not thinner. It seems like every time I lose 20 lbs it goes back on slowly.
Poorer for sure. Which adds to the sadness.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Exercise. Saving. Cleaning. I’m really lazy.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Eating. Spending. Watching tv.

20. How will you spend Christmas?

I’ve never not woken up in Texas on Christmas morning. This year will be no different. But due to work schedules and whatnot, we’re staying less than 48 hours. Driving down on Christmas Eve and back on Christmas Day. I won’t get to see all of my family, but I’m doing the best I can.

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

I was already in love with my husband. I did manage, to fall in love with a lot of material things. Silly me.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

I watched a lot of tv this year on Netflix. Friday Night Lights was probably the best. Although I really enjoyed Damages and I love the new show Revenge.

23. What was the best book you read?

The Help. With the Hunger Games trilogy coming in second.

24. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Listening to country music again after years of not opened up a lot of new favorites for me. Lady Antebellum for sure.

25. What did you want and get?

Appliances, iphone, kindle.

26. What did you want and not get?

Pregnant.

27. What was your favorite film of 2011?

It sure wasn’t Breaking Dawn. Probably The Help.

28. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 34. I went back to work after being off almost a week for my Austin trip. But on my actual birthday, nothing fun.

29. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Having a baby. And not having all of the plumbing in our house go crazy.

30. How would you describe your personal fashion concept of 2011 ?

Black. And more black. I know I don’t have a great body so I do what I can to hide it without wearing tents. It usually involves layers and cardigans and not much color.

31. What kept you sane?

Am I sane?

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

I’m not political. So nothing comes to mind.

33. Who did you miss?

A friend who one was. And other bloggy friends I wasn’t able to see like Isabel and Sizzle.

34. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011.

Don’t flush tampons down the toilet. Your plumber will scold you. And hand you a big bill.

35. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

“My life is like a lemon drop. I’m sucking on the bitter to get to the sweet part. I know there are better days ahead.” – Pistol Annies

Well there it is folks. Sorry if it’s a bit depressing. Maybe next year will be better.

Sometimes, my husband fails. This year for my birthday he dropped the ball. I got no card. I got no gift. I got no romantic dinner. I know money is tight for us, which is why I wasn’t expecting some grand gift. But you know, a woman always wants something. Something from her man that shows that he loves her and cares about her. So yeah, my feelings were hurt and several days later I let him know this. He felt awful, but at that point it was done and I needed to get it off my chest and move on. I joked that when his birthday came around I just wouldn’t do anything for him. Easier said than done though right?

Today is his birthday. And since Monday isn’t really a fun day to celebrate anything, we did a little celebrating on Friday night. The most amazing and talented JD McPherson performed at Mercury Lounge and we were excited to see him live. Here, have a listen if you’d like.

Pretty great huh?

So before the show started, Thom came up behind me while I was sitting at the bar. I turned around to see him holding something.

“Honey, remember when you said you wanted a Sara Bowersock original?” (which yes, I’ve totally been saying that)

“Yes.” She says with this really crazy goofy grin on her face.

“Well I felt really bad that I didn’t do anything for you for your birthday. So this is for you.”

And then I died.

YOU GUYS! Sara Bowersock totally painted me! My husband must really like to look at my face, for this is the second time he’s had my head put on canvas. I just don’t even know what to say. I mean, just look at some of the other stuff this girl has done.

That Sara is really good at what she does. And she’s completely adorable.

I love that Thom really put some thought into this gift. Sure, it might have been late, but I think he more than made up for it. I suppose this means now I’m going to have to let him get an iphone for his birthday. Clever, that one.

Happy Birthday my love. Penguins.

My Thanksgiving weekend was splendid. I ate more food than I probably ever have ever and watched more episodes of Brothers & Sisters than should be allowed. Boy when Netflix has a show on instant, I waste no time in plowing through the episodes. I’m on the 5th and final season now and I’ve only been watching this show for about six weeks now. I love that I don’t have to deal with season finales and cliffhanger endings. Not like I do now with shows like Revenge or when Lost was on.

I avoided black friday shopping almost completely. Thom and I lazed around the house a bit until the afternoon. Then we went to Home Depot to buy a part for the furnace. Our pilot light wouldn’t stay lit and thanks to a friend (the same friend who installed my gas line for my new range) suggesting some things over the phone to Thom, he was able to buy the replacement part and put it in himself. And it only cost us $13. How great is that? Remind me to send that guy a Christmas present.

Saturday I went shopping with my sister and I finally got my hands on a white Christmas tree. I’ve been wanting a white tree for about four years now, but they’re so expensive. All I’ve managed to get my hands on have been tiny little one foot trees. And while this is a fairly small full sized tree, it’s pretty perfect for us. And it was only $25. I was finally able to bust out a huge bucket of sparkly ornaments I bought at Target a few years ago.

I’ve decided I’m doing super low key Christmas this year. In an effort to not stress out about money and the holidays I’m going to be making more gifts this year and buying from local shops. Sure my version of “making gifts” is like Sandra Lee’s Semi-Homemade cooking, but I’m ok with that. I won’t be buying gift cards this year or trying to rack my brain over what to get someone and then worry if it’s good enough. Besides, Christmas isn’t really about the gifts. It’s about being with people I love and celebrating the birth of Christ. Regardless of when Jesus was actually born, this is the day we choose to celebrate it. I had a bit of remorse over the weekend. Not because I didn’t go out of town to visit family, but because I didn’t volunteer to go feed the homeless. The local Christian station spent all week promoting the John 3:16 mission and asking for donations and I was completely humbled.

I know what it’s like not to have enough money to pay all your bills, but I don’t know what it’s like to go hungry. I’ve never had to steal food from a grocery store to feed myself. I’m so thankful that John 3:16 exists for those who need it. And there’s absolutely no reason why I shouldn’t be volunteering my time or donating my money to them. As I sit here and worry about the bills I can’t pay right now, I’m thankful for the roof over my head. For the furnace that was fixed for cheap. For the car I have to drive to the job I’m fortunate to have.

And instead of sitting around worrying about what bills I can’t pay, I should look for something I can do. If you need a blessing, be a blessing to someone else. You reap what you sow and all that jazz.

Happy Holidays folks.

In an effort to keep my stress levels lower this holiday season, I decided not to go anywhere for Thanksgiving. The family my sister works for invited us to join them so I said yes. Then I found out that there will be 50 people there. Man, those people know how to party.

Then I remembered that hello? I have new appliances this year. Why am I not cooking my own dinner? So I decided that I would cook a simple turkey dinner so that we could feast off of the leftovers for days. So we’ll have late lunch at the party house and then a nice dinner later at home.

Menu:

• turkey & gravy
• dressing (cooked outside of the turkey)
• cream cheese corn
• green beans
• mashed potoates
• banana cream cheese pie
• hawaiian sweet rolls

I might add a can of jellied cranberry sauce, but only if Thom wants it. I don’t eat the stuff.

So what’s on the menu at your house? Are you keeping it traditional, or trying something new?

It’s embarrassing to admit this, but I went many many years without going to the dentist. From the time I was about 14 until I was 29. The main reason being that I didn’t have dental insurance. Also, I didn’t have any issues with my teeth so it was kind of easy to forget to go. I think I was paying for dental insurance at my job for two whole years before I actually went. I was scared, but I knew I couldn’t put it off any more. My gums were bleeding way too much when I brushed. And I was worried I would have a cavity.

I got a referral for a great dentist who was close to my work and made an appointment. That first appointment was bad. Because it had been so long, the dental hygienist used some weird awful tool in my mouth to get rid of the plaque. It wasn’t the scraper, but a more powerful and super sonic piece of equipment. It made this horrible high pitched sound inside my mouth and I thought I would going to lose my shit. White knuckled and ass raised in the air, I managed to get through it. My hygienist, Julie, was very patient with me even though I could tell she just wanted to relax already and let her do her job. She distracted me by asking me questions about books and if I liked to read, and what kind. Which in hindsight always makes me laugh because it is very hard to have a conversation while at the dentist. You know, with people’s hands and tools in your mouth.

Turns out I did have a cavity and I would have to come back soon. And so I did. And I continued to go every six months like a good girl. Each visit got a little less painful and my nerves calmed down a bit more. She never tried to use that tool on me again though. She went back to using her scraper and keeping me entertained by asking me about blogging and BlogHer and again, talking about books. We sure did love to talk about books. I went in last year this time and she looked different. She had a cap on her head and it was obvious it was to hide her lack of hair. I didn’t want to pry though. However, she did end up telling me that at the beginning of the year she had been diagnosed with cancer. She had gone through chemo and was now in remission. It was so successful she never even missed a day of work from being sick. I was happy and relieved and hugged her before I left.

When I went back to my dentist earlier this year for my cleaning, I was excited to see Julie and tell her about the Kindle I had bought. I was curious to see if she was one of those hard core book only lovers, or if she would also embrace technology and cave to the e-readers. Except that she wasn’t there. A much younger girl I had never seen came and got me instead and began working on me. I asked about Julie right away, wondering if maybe she was on vacation or something. That’s when the girl informed me that Julie had passed away. Her cancer had come back quickly and stronger and she had died about a month prior. I was shocked and stunned and saddened. I’m a highly emotional person who already has major dental anxiety. Then the new girl, who replaced my Julie, pulled out that wicked piece of equipment that had been used on me the first time and I thought I was going to be sick. She mentioned she preferred this tool because it was faster. I, however, still hated it and was damn near crawling out of my seat the entire time. All I could think about was Julie and how if she were there she would calm me down and not torture me. And then I began to cry.

It was a silent cry, but the tears just wouldn’t stop. The new girl, whose name I can’t remember, stopped and asked me if I was ok. I couldn’t answer her for fear of sobbing hysterically. She asked if I was crying because of Julie and I nodded yes. She gave me a few minutes to cry some more and handed me some tissues before she began again. But the tears didn’t stop. I continued to cry for the remainder of the cleaning, up until the point when the dentist came in and did his final inspection. I told him how sorry I was to hear about Julie and tried to keep from crying any more.

I left the office that day in pain, nerves shot, and very sad for my twice a year book friend that I never got to say goodbye to.

I’m supposed to go back to the dentist on the 22nd for another cleaning. I don’t want to go. I can’t sit through another torture session that I know will only make me crazy. And then I will start to miss Julie and I will cry again. And then I will be “that patient” who cries every time. I just want my Julie back. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one.

I stole this from MauraLessa who stole it from others and so on and so forth.

While some think that a blogger only displays what is picture perfect on his or her blog, we know we are all filled with imperfections. I don’t feel like I’ve ever painted a false picture here on my blog about who I am, but I know we all leave out some of the worst things about ourselves. Just like how I crop and edit the heck out any photo I dare to use as a profile pic. So lest anyone around here think I have all my ducks in a row, let me knock a few of those ducks down for you.

• I almost never take my clothes out of the dryer as soon as they are done drying. It’s very common for me to leave them in there for almost a whole week, just going in the laundry room and pulling out what I need for that day. I hate putting away laundry. I also never iron. I have a shirt I’ve only worn once because pre-wash was the only time it was ever not wrinkled.
• I pay little or no attention to my dogs. My husband feeds and waters them. They have a dog door so they can come in and out as they please. I will occasionally bathe them myself, but only if I can’t talk my husband into doing it. I don’t like the licking or the barking or the jumping or the peeing where it’s not allowed. Basically, I’m not an animal person.
• I have issues with my ears. Multiple times a day I can found with either a q-tip or a bobby pin in my ear. It’s a little bit OCD. The over-cleaning leads to dry ears which leads to itching which leads to scratching which leads to this vicious cycle I can’t seem to get out of. Sorry if I just grossed you out there.
• My husband and I are not shy when it comes to bodily functions. We burp and fart around each other all the time. And while I do not want an audience while going to the bathroom, I often leave the door open when I’m going number 1. And we sometimes say we’re blowing kisses when we fart at each other. I know, you can go throw up now.
• We have a mail slot in our front door. Sometimes we let the mail pile up on the floor for days before we pick it up and sort through it.
• I don’t flush the toilet when I pee in the middle of the night. I wait until the morning.
• The George Bush turnpike (in Dallas) used to be set up so that you could stop and pay it with money. A couple of years ago they took away the toll booths. So now your only option is to be billed in the mail or use a pike pass. Since I’m an Oklahoma resident this means that they don’t bill me for using it because they don’t have access to my address. So what used to cost me $6 round trip to go from my grandma’s house to IKEA is now FREE! And I do not feel guilty about that at all. No one should have to stop and pay $1 six times for a drive that’s 40 minutes round trip. Not when I can drive the four hours from Tulsa to Dallas paying only one toll of $2.
• Last year someone rear ended me. It was the first time I’ve ever been in an accident. The damage to my bumper was minimal, so instead of getting it fixed, I used the money to go to BlogHer.
• My master bathroom was the first room I chose to makeover last year. The project got abandoned halfway through due to monetary issues. And while I’ve managed to move on and makeover almost every other room in the house, my master bath still sits unfinished. And only the toilet and sink are usable. This is kind of a pattern in my house as all the rooms I’ve managed to makeover have not been completed.
• Sometimes I delete things off the DVR that my husband recorded when it’s starts filling up. And then I pretend that the DVR did it. How many episodes of Hillbilly Handfishin’ does one really need to see?

I think I’ll stop here. I can’t let you know all my secrets.

I sort of want to skip the holidays this year. This is odd for me because I usually get really into Christmas. Well, Christmas spirit that is. I don’t go crazy decorating or listening to that much music. I’m lucky to get a tree up each year. This year though, I kind of just want to go to sleep and wake up and have it be Dec 26th. I don’t want to skip the last week of the year because I always get that week off work so it’s very important for my sanity.

As the years go by, the holidays get harder and harder. I’m reminded once more that I still don’t have kids. All the cousins around me are having kids or had kids years ago. And while I love these kids so much, they are not mine. I’m still left with a feeling that I’m missing out.

Then there’s the matter of gifts. It’s been a rough year for us financially and I know we are not alone in this boat. Several other family members are struggling as well. We already draw names so that we don’t have to buy for everyone, but then you’re faced with another problem. What if you spent time and money and put a lot of thought into your gift, but then the person buying your gift didn’t do the same for you. I’m not singling any one family member out because I saw several examples of it just last year. And while I know Christmas isn’t about gifts, shouldn’t be about gifts, gifts still play a major role. I think it’s less about the gift itself and more about the feeling that goes along with it. It’s as if we try to put our value and self worth into that gift. Aunt Julie loves Sarah a lot because she bought her an ipod, but Uncle Jeff must not give a shit about Robby because he gave him a broken knife that clearly came from the dollar store. Some family and friends have opted to have us do homemade Christmas this year. I think this was devised as an effort to help combat both of those problems, but I fear it will go very wrong. Not everyone is handy or crafty. And if you have to go buy all the supplies to make your gift, you could end up spending more money. I may appear to be crafty, but it’s all smoke and mirrors.

Then there’s the guilt that goes along with making sure you find time in your schedule to see everyone. Do you know that I’ve lived in Oklahoma for 23 years now and I’ve never once spent a Christmas here? Every single year of my life I have gotten in the car and driven the 4+ hours to Dallas to spend it with family. I’ve spent many Christmases without my husband (or then boyfriend) because I wouldn’t budge on Christmas. I’d forfeit Thanksgiving with my family in order to have Christmas. And now that my husband doesn’t have any family left to spend Christmas with, you’d think that would make things easier, but it doesn’t. Between divorces and family dramas, even my family is getting split up more than I like. And I just don’t feel like I can accommodate everyone. And just once, maybe I’d like to wake up in my own bed on Christmas morning.

Since I’m not able to jet off to Vegas like I did last year, I’ve decided that Thom and I are spending Thanksgiving at a friend’s parent’s house. So not only do I not have to cook a huge meal, I don’t have to drive 4+ hours to have the meal. I can make one thing to show up with and just have a good time. I’ll figure out a way later to cope with not getting any leftover turkey sandwiches.

I know it’s just now November and I really shouldn’t even be stressing out about the holidays yet. I should be eating leftover Halloween candy. Except that I didn’t buy any. I shut off my porch light and smiled happily at the fact that my doorbell doesn’t work. Bah humbug!

I love a nice, easy DIY project. And when I read about how Holly made the side tables of her dreams, I knew I had to do one of my own. The timing was great since my cousin in Austin has an IKEA a mile from her home. She’s super crafty so I thought it would be a fun project to do together.

Except that when I got to the IKEA they were totally sold out of the RAST mini dressers.

I had a feeling that might happen to me. I would imagine these dressers are very popular for those who like to create their own cute, cheap furniture. Then it just so happened that my cousin remembered a friend of hers had bought one and maybe she would sell it to me. It turns out her friend didn’t mind selling it to me at all. She was about to move and it would be one less thing she had to move. And the bonus was that she had already put it together and primed it. How lucky was I? Putting it together would have been the hardest part.

Then my cousin cut me out a cute stencil from some fancy little machine she has and I bought some paints. We ended up only having time for me to spray paint the entire thing before it was time for me to come home. Once I got home I started the stenciling process. Except that didn’t go too well for me. I’d never stenciled before and apparently I suck at it.

So I had to scratch the stencil, sand and repaint, and come up with a plan B. I went to Hobby Lobby, bought hardware (50% off), and found a peacock feather stencil. The I opted to use paint markers instead of actual paint. Here’s how it turned out.

I put it in my entryway, since I’ve needed something there for awhile now. I have plans to take down the rug hanging on the wall and paint the entryway and also the hall. But for now, it looks like this. It was a pretty fun project and I think I’d like to do another one in the future.