I love this picture. It reminds me of my boys. Ben loves frogs and collects stuffed ones. When the boys were little, I saw them hug each other like this more than once. It always makes me smile. Peter picked them early today so I'm missing them a little extra. It warmed my heart to hear them both say that they weren't quite ready to go back to Dad's. It's good to feel loved and I know my two loves have the biggest capacity for love. Not just for me (and Dad) but for each other. They really are each other's best friend.

I've been thinking a lot about friendship lately. Last year, I made it one of my goals to be more open and to take risks when it came to friendship. I'm not sure that I actually did that. Friendship seems to be hard for me. I'm great at random meetings. I can (and often do) talk to anyone about anything, anywhere. People seem to like me on first meetings. The problem is, that's where it ends and I'm not totally sure why.

An example -- Rob and Nickle from when I lived in Buffalo. I first met these two wonderful people at a dinner thing back about six months after I moved to Buffalo. I thought they were great from that first meeting. The thing is, other than bumping into them at different events, I never saw them again. Imagine my total surprise, 18 months later, when Rob told me that he was sorry I was moving back to Michigan and they'd miss me. What? Really? I guess I figured that since they never contacted me outside of the group we were all part of, they didn't care one way or the other about me.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't blame them for this. It's more something I'm pondering. Why do I do great first meetings but they never go from there? Were Rob & Nickle waiting for me to make that next move while I was waiting for them? Is that what happens? Am I missing out on friendships because I'm not being assertive enough? Are people waiting on me as I'm waiting on them?

Justin and I were talking about this the other night. He's totally baffled by the fact that I don't have any friends that I can meet up for coffee or anything like that. He says that I have more friends than I probably realize, but none of them are local. He actually thinks that people hint around me that we ought to do something and I'm just totally missing the hints. I don't think that's what's happened but I'm not ruling anything out.

The truth is...I'm always amazed when people are nice to me. I know that's a bit ridiculous since I know I'm a smart, nice person but it's true. When Rob said we could stay at their place back at Halloween, I was really like wow...seriously? You wouldn't mind. When Janice & Susan from 5 Minutes For Mom stopped by the blog the other day, I was amazed that they would stop by my lowly little space on the web. When I see bloggers tweeting back and forth, I'm envious, but I never believe that these incredible women would want to be friends with me. I swear I treat them like celebrities...incredible, wonderful beings who have done just what I want to do but I could never ask their advice because why would they talk to me? Sheesh. Can we say insecure?

So, what do I do about it? I want friends. I want to be able to meet up for coffee or crafting or heck, just about anything. I'm looking forward to having the house totally put together because maybe then I can invite people in. The house isn't ready for that quite yet but progress is being made every day.

I guess the real question is...How do you make friends?

Since last week's tip on how to lower your electric bill seemed to be a bit of a hit, I thought I'd give you a few other ways to help keep it down, especially since a good chunk of us have our furnaces running which always runs up those winter heating/electric bills.

1) If you have a computer at home (and I'm guessing most of you do, otherwise you're blog hopping at work..shame, shame..*grins*), turn off the monitor when it's not in use. This could save you over $50 over the course of a year. This also works with your coffeemakers and TV's.

2) Set your thermostat to 68. If you think 68 isn't warm enough, consider this: for each degree you raise your thermostat above 68, you can expect to pay about 5% more in heating costs. In the summer, the optimal temperature is 78.

3) Since you just can't help having to have the furnace on, consider lowering your draw on your household power grid, by cooking your meals with small appliances. Microwaves, toaster ovens and crock-pots all use much less energy than stove tops or electric ovens.

To help you get started, I'm including one of my favorite crock-pot recipes:

Home-Style Chicken and Dumplings

Prep: 15 minutes Cook: 7hr + 35 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 can (14.5 ounces) chicken broth
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (2 lbs)
1 package (10 ounces) frozen green peas, thawed
1.5 c bisquick
1/2 c milk
Paprika, if desired

Directions:
1. Place potato and carrots in slow cooker. Mix broth, flour, salt, marjoram and pepper and pour into slow cooker. Add chicken.
2. Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-7 hours or until juice of chicken is no longer pink when center of thickest pieces are cut. Stir in peas. Cover and cook on high heat setting 15 minutes.
3. Mix Bisquick and milk until Bisquick is moistened. Drop by spoonfuls onto chicken mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and cook on high setting about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of dumplings comes out clean. (4 servings)

Woo! We made it, folks. It's Friday. How did all of you do yesterday on taking care of you? I hope that more of you found a way to do something nice for yourselves than those that left messages. Taking care of yourself is seriously important, not just for moms, but for all women out there. Ok, and you men too. ;)

Since it's Friday, it's also the day I get to go get my boys from school to have a weekend with them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the van doesn't give me a single fit. I'm leaving a bit early because I want to do a quick run into the grocery store. I loved that turkey so much that I want to pick up some more. Plus, I need to pick up some ham for tonight's homemade pizza. Yum!

My Finish It Friday goal is to get this couch cleared off. I started tackling some of the boxes in the wall yesterday (condensed 6 boxes down to 4) and just realized how much random stuff is sitting here on the couch. It was all left out because it can be put away in other rooms, but I just didn't get to doing all of it. So, today I'm going to do it.

How about you? What are you going to get wrapped up? Drop me a note below and let me know!

Happy Thursday, all! Another week has zoomed by and before we know it, the weekend will be here. Have y'all taken time out for yourself yet this week? I confess that I really haven't. I've been fighting technology to get stuff done and working on getting my poor living room in order. I'm happy to report that the only boxes in here are the holiday item storage totes that just today received another round of items as I unpacked them from various boxes.

I need to take time for me. It's been a great week so far, but have any of you noticed that when you have day after day of highs, your body gets tired out? I know there's a chemical reason for this. I remember learning about it while I worked on my degree, but honestly, it's probably long and drawn out and my brain is just plain tired. So, we'll just say that I'm tired.

Now, don't get me wrong, this is the best kind of tired there is...well except maybe the tired you feel after giving birth or after having..well, we'll leave that to your imaginations. This is a family friendly blog after all but I know that all of you moms didn't get to be moms by immaculate conception. *wink* Anyway...hehe...This is a good tired. It's the tired you get after really great news (which I've had some this week) and after you've been really productive.

The problem is that when I get this tired, it sometimes turns into a bad thing unless I take care of myself. A couple of years ago, I was diagnosed with clinical depression. For me, that's something that will probably never go away. Once your brain learns a chemical pattern, it's hard to unlearn it..not impossible, but tough. So, when I get super duper tired or worn out, my brain goes ah-ha! and tries to put me into "the bad place." Well, I'm not going to let it. Today, I have two take care of me tasks. I'm going to drink all of my water (something I'm trying to get back into the habit of doing for my own health) and I'm going to turn on some of my meditation music and I'm just going to sit and let my body relax. This is something I actually learned how to do in a Psychology class and it's wonderful for my mind, body and spirit.

So, now that I've revealed my grand master take care of me plan for today, what are all of you going to do to take care of yourself? It doesn't have to be anything big, but it does have to be for you.

Whew! The laptop finally cooperated enough that I could get in here and post this. I did make the mistake of watching A Baby Story on TLC (it was what was on when I turned on the tv while the laptop figured itself out). Now, I'm having a huge case of baby lust. It might also have something to do with the fact that my baby, turned 9 today. I can't believe how fast the years seem to slip by and before I know it, they're officially boys. I'm not even sure I can say he's a little boy. He's now officially boy. Happy Birthday, Roger. I'm so proud to be your mom!

Ok, I think I've got myself back under control enough to write this post. *grins* The theme for this week at Sunday Shutterbugs is Birds. I had to do some thinking on this one since the birds up here have pretty much gone South. Actually, I don't know if that's true. I've heard a lot of them outside, but I never see them. So, I took some pictures of birds that I actually do see. Here we go...

Note to self: Wipe down the towel cabinet. It seems the kitties have been up there with dirty paws or something.

And as a surprise treat, I have a third picture for all of you! When I told Justin what the theme was for this week, this was his idea for a picture. I loved the idea and couldn't disappoint!


That's the turkey that I bought from the grocery store deli yesterday! Speaking of turkey, it's lunchtime so I'm going to hit post and go make a sandwich out of that delicious bird!

Wow, it's only just before 4 and I really want a nap. I think it's a combination of the cold and stress and shopping. It's chilly here, but really that goes without saying. I live in the North, it's s'posed to be chilly. I'm stressed because on my way to the boys' school today, my van stalled out at a stop sign and I don't have a single penny (ok, maybe a single penny) to put towards any repairs it might need. And well, shopping just makes me tired. Today it could be because I made the mistake of going to kmart because it's in the same shopping plaza as the grocery store and well, I was trying to save on gas and driving more in my poor van. The problem is that they don't put things in logical places so I ended up walking from one end of the store to the other more than once to find something.

But, I'm home now, all safe and sound. I had a delicious lunch of deli turkey and swiss cheese w/ some horseradish mustard (and bread..it was a sandwich) and I spoiled myself by buying myself some daisies and carnations and putting them in a vase on my kitchen counter. I love flowers and since they're far too expensive for anyone to send to me, I decided it would be a nice once in a while treat to myself. Luckily for me, I can be just as happy with daisies and carnations as I can with the more expensive roses. I am considering picking myself up some potted tulips on Friday. The grocery store had some gorgeous red ones and I could replant them come spring.

So, that's been my day so far and I still have to tackle something. Today, I know just what it's going to be. It's going to be unloading the groceries from the van and getting them put away. On a cold day like today, it would be much easier (and far more tempting) to stay here in the house. Plus, I must have slept funny the other night because my knee has been bothering me for the past couple of days. That makes hauling bags of things up our small front porch set of stairs, not as much fun as it might be otherwise. Ok, who am I kidding? Hauling bags of groceries isn't fun, but I am thankful that I have stairs to bring them up and groceries to bring up.

Well, I'm off to haul in those groceries. It's not going to get any warmer out and there isn't a magic grocery bringer inner fairy, so it's time to don my coat and scarf and start hauling!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

How would y'all like to enjoy an exclusive Italian Culinary Weekend right after Valentine's Day? I know it sure sounds wonderful to me. From February 26th-27th, the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel is bringing Italy to Branson, Missouri. The weekend will include a reception featuring antipasto and hors d’oeuvres paired with great Italian wines, on Friday night. On Saturday, participants will experience a hands-on cooking demonstration. The evening wraps up with a 5 course dinner.

I think this would be a great couple's weekend and I've seen the pictures of the hotel and it's fantastic. I love the fact that they're pet friendly, as well as being close to so many of the great places that Branson has. Personally, I would love to stay an extra day or so to check out the theatre district and the museums.

Now, I won't be attending this event, but you never know when another one might come up that I'll be able to go to go to. I've never been to Branson, but I've heard great things about it. For those of you who are interested in this event, check out the "fine print."

Package costs are based on double occupancy and start at $429.00 (excluding tax and gratuity) for two people. It includes deluxe king or double queen accommodations Friday and Saturday night, Friday evening reception, Saturday cooking school, Saturday evening five-course dinner, and a goodie bag filled with items for the home chef. Reservations must be made prior to February 23, 2010.

If any of you do go (or have been to Branson), I would love to hear about it. Is it a couples retreat or more of a family destination?

What is it about cold days that make you sleepy? Is it some minor version of hypothermia setting in? I don't know but yesterday was a beautiful nearly 50 degrees and today it hasn't gotten above 32..brrrr! They're talking more snow which isn't surprising since it's still January, but honestly, I could live without it. It's so much easier to clean and organize and unbox when you can haul those boxes out to the barn without getting your feet and pant legs soaked. Right now, you can't get out our back door because of the big pile of empty boxes in front of it. Oh well, at least they're empty!

This week I'm going to be tackling our living room. It still has 4 or 5 boxes in it plus all of the totes stacked up from where I've been sorting Christmas things in as I've found them. I know there are still Christmas things hiding in boxes, but now that I emptied out one of the giant grey totes (my weekend project), I can store at least part of the Christmas tree in it, which means that tote can go into the closet and these other ones that are full can join it. Come Spring (and when I have some help), I'm going to move all of these Holiday decoration totes out to the barn.

Other than the living room, I don't have any other big plans for this week. Tomorrow I'll be driving into Hastings to join the boys for their birthday club lunch at school. They both invited me and Ben reminded me numerous times to make sure I left here by 10:30. Lunch is at 11..heh. I need to come up with $2.75 to buy myself lunch. That shouldn't be too much of a problem.

But, speaking of food, I need to figure out what I'll be eating this week. I know what we'll be having this weekend, so that's two days taken care of!

Monday- Whole wheat pasta w/ natural red sauce
Tuesday- Steak w/ broccoli & tatos
Wednesday- Chicken Wraps w/ Coleslaw
Thursday- Burgers w/ Salad
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday- Lasagna
Sunday- Chicken and Dumplings (Crockpot)

Ok, I just made myself hungry. It's a good thing it's not long until lunchtime! Keep your eyes on the blog, folks, I have a giveaway coming up!

I want to send a big thank you out to those of you who stopped by last week and left comments. It makes me feel good to know that my posts are out there and helping people.

This week, I'm going in a totally different direction. This post won't help you clean your house, but it will help you lower your electricity bill. Did you know that your video game consoles are energy vampires? And not the really sexy, sweet Twilight vampires, either. These are the evil, suck your power and raise your electricity bill kind.

Did you know that your Wii, PS2, PS3 or Xbox can use as much energy as two refrigerators? Holy cow! Now I know I'm going to make sure I get after the boys to remember to turn the PS2 off when they're done with it. Just by turning off your console after you rescue the princess (bonus points if you catch that reference), you could shave about $100 off your electricity bill in the course of a year. If you're like me, every penny counts.

So go ahead, rescue the princess, rock out with your guitar and race your dirt bike, but remember to turn off your system when you're done!

Woohoo! I did it! I finished cleaning the boys room today even though my back was trying to be naughty. I have to say that I am so proud of me and I am feeling so good right now. I knew I was capable of doing this and I've done it. This just means that the only space still to be done upstairs is the landing and it will get tackled in total next month when this zone rolls around again. Of course, it will also lose about 3 trash bags of papers and cardboard box pieces come the next recycling day. I just know that within a couple of months, this house is going to look fabulous.

Now, I'm pretty sure that I promised everyone before/after pictures of the boys' room. If I didn't, well I'm going to post them here anyway. I'm so darned proud of myself that seriously, I just have to share. So, here is the before..partially this bad because they'd hauled their Christmas presents upstairs and didn't know where to put them, so they just put them down. Usually, they're good about keeping their room tidied.


I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but the boys don't have a closet in their room and there isn't any room for a dresser, so that giant piece at the end of their beds (left by the owners) serves as their bedding, clothes and toy storage. Maybe one day I'll open up the doors and snap some pictures of what's inside.


And there it is. Doesn't it look great? I'm so proud of it and I cannot wait for the boys to be here next weekend to see it. By then I should have also tackled part of the living room and I'm so excited to see how my house is starting to come together!

So, how did all of you do today? I'm a little disappointed that more people aren't participating but it's not slowing me down! I can't wait for next week!

Wow, it's Friday already. This week flew by! I guess that's what happens when you keep busy and productive. I feel really good. It always amazes me what a clean space can do to my mood. It shouldn't. I mean, after all, it really is my dream job to teach people exactly that. I would like to have a therapy type practice that combines therapy with being a professional organizer. The first session would be in my office, talking to the person/people involved. Then, after that, the sessions would be in their home or office as I teach them how to purge and organize and show them how clutter around them affects the clutter in their heads. Now, I just have to figure out how to make all that happen. I'm seriously considering looking into becoming a professional organizer once I finish getting my house organized.

So, speaking of organization, my Finish It Friday for this week is to finish up in the boys room. Yesterday, I went in and stripped the boys' beds and put fresh bedding on them. I also cleaned out from under them. Now I know where some of the missing socks went to! Sheesh, the more cleaning I do, the more clothes I keep finding. I already gave away a garbage bag full of mine and I have a shopping bag full to give to my sister for her youngest.

Today, I'm going into their room and working hard on toy organization. They're going to need some shelves for their room but I'm going to do the best with what I have right now. I already went through and organized all the new boxes of Legos that Roger got for Christmas. I took them out of the boxes and put them into individual ziplock bags. I labeled each bag with the name of the set and the model number that was on the box. Then, I took one of their Spongebob popcorn tins and filled it with the ziplock bags. All the Legos organized and out of sight.

So, that's my goal. It's going to be so great to see their faces when they come in and see what I've done. Now, I want to see what you're doing. Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to open up one clothes closet or drawer and go through it. Do you have clothes that are too big? too small? too old? I want you to take them out, put them into a bag and take care of them. You can list them on freecycle, donate them to a shelter or other charity or even take them to a consignment shop. I'm only asking you to do one drawer or closet, but if you're feeling motivated, feel free to go ahead and do more!

Now, I know all about busy schedules, so let me give you a little tip. If you're going to take clothing or anything to donate or to a resale shop but you don't have time right this minute, bag up the items and take them and put them in the back of your car. That way, the next time you drive by those places, you have them with you and you can make a quick stop and drop them off. I list my things on freecycle twice. If they're not taken, I put them into the back of the van and the next time I'm over picking up the boys, I donate them at the Goodwill store there. It's quick and easy and I don't have to make a special trip.

I can't wait to see and hear all about what you've done!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Dr Oetker. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ok, my Canadian friends, this one is just for you. How would you like to have an eleven-day Italian wine tour for two, complete with romantic meals, sightseeing and more? Heck, if it were me, I'd be jumping all over this one. Since the contest ends on February 15, 2010, you could even use it as a slightly late Valentine's getaway. Hmm..except I just read the rules and it actually ends June 30, 2010. Well, how about a lovely summertime getaway then?

Now, I can hear all of you now, "Katie, what you would do is all fine and dandy but get to the details! How do we win such fantasticness?" Ok, ok...here's the scoop:

All you have to do is register now to become a Savoury Moments member, and get a bonus PIN to enter the Dr Oetker Adventure Romantica Contest. That will get you one entry. After that, you'll just have to go out and purchase specially marked packages of Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizza. Yep, it's as simple as that. I don't think it could get any simpler, really. Now, keep reading to find out all of the "fine print."

There are 100,008 Instant Win Prizes available to be won as follows:

• 100,000 - Ristorante Pizza Coupon (good for any variety where Dr. Oetker Ristorante Pizzas are available) with an expiry date of December 31, 2011– (APV $4.75) – Approximate odds 1:21

• 5 – “Ristorante for a Year” prize pack – which includes 52 free Dr. Oetker prize packs and 24 bottles of custom labeled wine. Winner must be of legal drinking age in jurisdiction of residence or winner will be substituted with a prize of equal value. (APV $700) – Approximate odds 1:430,400

• 3 – Tours for two at a local winery / vineyard near the winner’s residence. No transportation is included. (APV $300) – Approximate odds 1: 717,333

Ok, now I'm all hungry for some pizza. For my Canadian friends who enter, good luck! For those of us here in the states, let's go call for some delivery. ;)

I finished my bedroom yesterday, like I mentioned, and honestly, I got so excited with how it looks that I took pictures to show all of you here. I think this is the cleanest my bedroom has been since I moved in and I just love how it looks. I slept so well last night. I can't wait until every room in my house looks this good.


This is my alcove. It sits right between two closets and I have no idea why it's there, but it was crying out for these shelves. I'm proud to say that I hung them all by myself..and it also reminds me to add a stud finder to my household wish list. The other picture is my dresser. It's an antique that belonged to my great-grandparents and I love it. The suitcases stacked beside it act as a night stand for that side of the bed. I want one more to bring it up but haven't spotted one in a thrift store in a while.


And it's been a bit since I've shown you pictures of my babies. As you can tell, the kittens were thrilled that mom was cleaning the bedroom. As soon as I finished tidying the bed, Mittens curled right up in the warm spot behind the laptop and went to sleep. Her brother, Hemingway, on the other hand, chose the corner by the closet and took a nice long nap.

I still cannot believe that this is my bedroom. I swear it's like walking into a hotel room and I'm loving it! Now, I'm going to go find those candles and enjoy the tranquility. I hope all of you are finding time to take care of yourselves today.

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Allison Maslan, author of "Blast Off!". All opinions are 100% mine.

Allison Maslan has been a successful entrepreneur for the past 25 years and now she's written a book to tell you how she did it. In the book, she talks about her failures, her successes and what it took to help her become the woman that she is today. In Blast Off!, Allison gives you the encouragement and skills you'll need to make changes while eliminating any roadblocks or obstructions. Blast Off! also gives you step-by-step strategies to achieve your ultimate life visions. Now, who wouldn't love to reach those goals?

This book just hit the shelves about two days ago on January 19, 2010, so I haven't had a chance to get my hands on a copy yet, but I'm thinking that I might like to. As I've posted here recently, I want to make some changes in my life (and in this blog) and I think that $24 is a low investment for something that might be able to help me to do just that. Since this book is available on Amazon, Borders and the Barnes and Noble websites, it certainly shouldn't be hard to find. Now all I have to do is find $24. I've been cleaning hard this week but so far only found about 25 cents. Who knows, maybe I'll find a forgotten birthday card with some extra cash tucked inside!

I'd love to hear if any of you have read this book. Go check it out for yourself and let me know what you think! I just discovered that it's only $16.47 on Amazon, which is an even better deal.

Wow, why didn't anyone tell me that being productive made you sleepy? I spent the past two days working on my bedroom and I am thrilled to say that it's 97% done. I'm still tackling the laundry monster and I need Roger's help to get under the bed. Everything else is done and I have a beautiful tidy sanctuary.

Today, I'm totally going to enjoy all of the work that I've done over the past two days. I'm going to take some candles up to the bedroom, light them and then I'm going to relax on my lovely bed. While I was cleaning I found some wonderful books so I may take that time to relax and read or I might write in my paper journal. There's also the option of just turning on some music and relaxing while I listen. So many options and I'm so glad that I now have my nice clean room to enjoy them in.

So, what are you going to do for you today? Are you going to dig out that special lotion? Relax with a book? Let me know! Taking care of yourself makes you more able to take care of the people you love.

Life is a matter of perspectives, I've found. I received a note this afternoon from Peter requesting that I take down my post entitled "A Different Kind of Birthday." I won't be taking it down because for me, it needed to be written. I will, however, write this post. I don't know if it will sooth his anger with me, but these are my feelings.

Peter doesn't feel that he was ever cruel to me during our marriage. I can understand that because again, life is a matter of perspectives. I won't rule out the possibility that what I took as cruelty was simply a way for him to release some of the hurt and pain that was buried inside of him. Even those who bottle up emotions must have a release valve and perhaps this was his. It is also very possible that because I was in so much pain, I took his comments and actions far more personally than they were ever meant to be taken.

All of this happened 11 years ago and as I said before, neither one of us is in that place anymore. Peter and I have been divorced for 3.5 years now and it's a good thing for both of us. I don't resent him for ending our marriage. In all honesty, I'm thankful that he did. He did what was right for the both of us. Neither one of us was happy. Maybe he doesn't know this, but I've often given him a lot of credit for having the courage to end it and start a new stage of his life (and mine). I know how hard it is to step out of your comfort zone and ending a marriage is way outside most people's comfort zones. He did both of us a favor.

And, I'm lucky in more than one way when it comes to him. He's a good father to our boys. Do I always agree with how he does things? Of course not, but that's not unusual. I know married parents who don't always agree on how the other parent handles something.

The honest to God's truth is that I miss his friendship more than anything else. When the divorce was actually being processed, he actually came to me more than once and said that just because we weren't married didn't mean he didn't care and that we weren't friends. He's right. I still care about him and I'd actually like us to be friends. He really is a good man, he just wasn't the husband for me. I'm happy that he's found someone who makes him happy and I hope that we can continue to be at least friendly, if not friends. After all, we share two of the greatest miracles.

Wow, am I sleepy today. I'm not sure why other than the fact that being productive when you haven't been for a while takes some getting used to. Yesterday, by doing just a quick skim through my clothing, I got rid of an entire garbage bag of clothes. I know that as the week continues, there will be even more added to that. I'm still tackling Mt. Washmore which means making room for more clothes, which means getting rid of more clothes. After I finish writing this yummy post, I'll be headed back upstairs to see what I can get done today.

Have any of you checked out Sunday Shutterbugs this week? I have and now that we're on to the letter B, this week's theme is Blue. This is a great choice for this week because over the weekend, I reupholstered 4 dining room chairs in this lovely blue fabric that I got from another freecycler. Actually, now that I think about it, the entire project didn't cost me much. Two of the chairs I got from a freecycler and the other 2 were given to me by my great-aunt years ago. I received the fabric from a freecycler so the only thing this cost me was time, a pair of scissors (which we had) and a staple gun and staples. I did have to buy the stapler and staples but they're something we needed around the house anyway. I love projects like this!

So, without further ado...I give you blue and chair. Please pretend you don't see the disaster surrounding the chair. We're very much in a cleaning/organizing phase around here so lots of things are laying around while I sort through them.



So, there's one of our "new" chairs. This picture really doesn't do it justice. Maybe I should have added figure out how to use my camera to my commitment goals for this year. I'm taking a lot more pictures and I know that this camera is capable of awesome things. It's totally a user issue for why my pictures look like that.

Anyway, this girl is off to tackle more of her bedroom. I'm hoping to actually get it finished today (minus the laundry I'll be working on all week) so that tomorrow I can move onto the boys' room. Make sure you come back tomorrow for this week's pampering mission!