New apartment!

After spending several weeks searching for just the right apartment, I finally found it! My lease at my last place ran out, and even though I had lived there only a year and actually liked the place, I was unhappy that the landlord had never let me use the garage. This would have given me storage, and an extra bedroom or computer/music room for the boys as the garage had been divided up. Also, when my youngest gets a car this summer, there would have been no place for him to park.

I was really surprised at what I found out there while searching for the right place. The first place I looked at was my very favorite, and it would have been perfect for us, but they wouldn't let us have our dog. I found another cute duplex which was HUGE, but someone else had first dibs. There were other places I found that were terribly overpriced, and one was so icky, there would have been no way that you could have paid me to live there! Finally I found what I feel is going to be the perfect place. The boys really like it too.

Isn't it pretty?


What a cute little entrance. It's effective in keeping any draft from sweeping in when we open the door.


Here is the living room part of the great room, which also includes the kitchen. Looks so spacious!


I hated the light fixtures in my old place, but I love them here. I'm glad that there is a ceiling fan in this apartment.


I just love my new kitchen. Just look at all those cupboards! Look at all that counter space! What an awesome stove and microwave! I can even bring my own refrigerator. I had the option of using the landlord's, but wanted to get my fridge out of storage. I love the pot lights too. I have a window over the sink!


I love the light fixture too.


Somehow, I forgot to take a picture of my bedroom, but I made sure to show my closet. Not sure if it could be considered a walk-in, but it is definitely a step in! I can actually fit all my clothes in here!


I even have my own bathroom! Hoorah! After sharing a bathroom with my sons my whole life, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this. No more picking my towel up off the floor and putting the seat down all the time. No more whiskers in my sink!


There is even a linen closet in my bathroom. I grew up with a closet this same size and that was just for my clothes.


The boys have a cool bedroom. There is a patio out back, and they have sliding glass doors leading out to it.


They have their own bathroom too off the hallway, and it will also be the bathroom for guests, so they have to keep it reasonably clean.


My oldest boy picked out the shower curtain, but I found the accessories, and the boys really like them. This shell sculpture was from Big Lots for only $10.


I found this Paris poster at Goodwill for $3, but it will cost me $14 for a frame. Still not a bad bargain at all!


I was thrilled that there was a beautiful washer and dryer here! After a year of washing clothes in an apartment size w/d, I can't even begin to express how excited I was over this!


There were some other great features too, such as windows with blinds on the INSIDE! I also have a one car HEATED garage! I had never heard of such a thing, but I think that when my daughter and her husband come to visit, I am going to get a big air mattress and throw down a rug and a lamp and table and let them use it as their bedroom. She thought that was a great idea.

We moved in on Saturday. I am still getting things out of the old place and cleaning there, but will post pics of the new place all decorated.

We are loving it here!

Sunday Scramble....Late!

Looks like I'm a day late and a dollar short for the Sunday Scramble, because here it is Monday already. I have so much to tell you though!


I am most excited that I am going to be going to Chicago in April for a Women on Fire retreat! This is an event sponsored by my former babysitter Debbie Phillips, who after babysitting for my brothers and I, went on to graduate from Harvard, become a journalist, serve as a press secretary to Senator John Glenn, and now she is a life coach. Please don't interpret this as meaning that babysitting for us led to her awesomeness...but it would sure be cool to think that! lol

She was the best babysitter ever, so I bet she is the best life coach there is! I am so very blessed that someone has sponsored my attendance. I can't wait to see Debbie again for the first time in decades, and to fellowship and network with other women. It is going to be a fulfilling and enriching time.

A friend asked me to go to Cincinnati this weekend. I love Marriott hotels, and this one was so pretty! Check out the first two pics, taken from the Marriott website. This indoor gazebo is 7 stories tall. In the lower picture, that wall is made of marble, and is actually a water wall. I love water features and thought this was outstanding. The final is a view of the Ohio River and the Cincinnatti skyline from the Kentucky shore of the river.




My next big news is that I am moving again! My lease was up February 1, and I started getting the itch to move again. I am very disappointed in my landlord because I was promised the attached garage, and I was never allowed access. It would have provided me a 3rd bedroom, since it is divided into an office area, and storage. I would also have been able to lose my storage unit and it's expense, and be able to put my things in my own garage for storage.

That's just a little preview of something the previous tenant left at my new place! It is also a two bedroom, but a little bigger. I will have a small porch area in front, a really nice patio with fence in the back, a one car heated garage with some storage, a beautiful kitchen with a dishwasher, and my own master bathroom! That has always been my dream to have my own bathroom, but it has never happened. I was spoiled by having a half bath at the house on Bonnie Lane, but it wasn't off of my room, and we have all been sharing a bath in this apartment.

I am moving in just under two weeks and can't wait to show you all my new home!

In my house, there are always a few "things that make you go 'hmmm'." I came home yesterday and found the dog on my son's laptop. I hope he wasn't downloading any puppy porn!


I also found this oddity...my ceramic bird sporting lips. When did this happen? I didn't know birds had lips!

You never know what you'll find with my boys around!

To join in more Sunday Scramble, go visit Justine at Stupid is as Sister Does.

Late Valentine Tablescape/Pink Saturday

Well this post is about two weeks late for Valentine's Day! I had orginally planned to post it before the event, but life got in the way. Anyhow, better late than never, and you could use this for a fun, romantic dinner too at any time and not restrict it to just Valentine's Day. This is also a post with a double purpose...Tablescape Thursday and Pink Saturday!

Here was my preview photo, a picture of a little storebought cake.


This tablescape was designed for the purpose of celebrating the love of my children on Valentine's Day. It is more fun than the romantic setting I last posted.


I couldn't afford to spend money on placemats, so decided to use Dollar Tree tissue paper, and it works out just great! I paired my white Gibson dishes with Valentine paper plates. My every day tableware is being used, and the drinking glasses are hobnail milk glasses that my mother owned.


At the rear of the table, I used lace curtains to make up the difference of my tablecloth not being long enough. My son's stuffed dog that was a present from his girlfriend add some fun and pink color, and I added pink ribbon and a little red feather boa for some fun. The cake sits atop my painted cheeseboard, and more red feather boa curls around the base. I again used the heart shaped votives.


Thought I'd give you a closer look at the stuffed doggie. I thought it was hilarious that his girlfriend bought him a pink dog. He says that its not "pink,", its "magenta." Whatever. Looks pink to me! lol


Hope you enjoyed today's tablescape, and all the pinkness of Valentine's Day. To see more Tablescape Thursday posts, please join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. For more Pink Saturday posts, please join Beverly on Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

This might be my last tablescape for a few weeks. I have a lot coming up, and can't wait to tell you all about it in this week's upcoming Sunday Scramble!

Sunday Scramble/Musings of the Week

I am once again participating in Sunday Scramble, hosted by Justine of Stupid is as Sister Does. I love this because I get to be random, and try to sum up my week in one post.


I was going to post my second Valentine's Day tablescape this week for Tablescape Thursday, and also use it for Pink Saturday, but this was a crazy week and I didn't get it done. Here is a sneak peek.


I had a week of insane insomnia! I just could not sleep. No one else in the household seemed to have any trouble sleeping though. Ignore the messy house in these pics, please!

The dog slept.


My son Jared slept.


My son Sean slept...with his brand new guitar in his lap. The pic is still in his mouth. Heh!


And my son and the dog slept!

Just an aside...I hate that ugly floral couch. It was all I could afford when I moved to this town and it was only $65. It is supposed to be covered by the denim slipcover all the time, which makes it look pretty darn good. However, the boys don't really care how my couch looks. Grrr! I suppose I'll cherish these times while I can because someday I'll have the perfect looking house because I'll have an empty nest, and then I'll wish for the days of the ugly couch!

I belong to a couple dating sites. Recently, men with the nicknames "Nipplebender" and "Nude Greg" have contacted me. Greggie even had a pic from the waist up...hairy and nekkid and hefty. Needless to say, I did not reply. Though I was tempted. Just kidding, of course...but not about these men actually writing to me.

Part of the reason for my insomnia is that I have been actively apartment/house/duplex hunting. The beautiful duplex that I wanted so badly went to someone else, as they did not want me to have pets. Waaah! It was a little pricey for me though, but had some of the features I had always dreamed of. Maybe someday. Here is a picture of another favorite place: a three bedroom, two full bath townhouse in an apartment complex...at $200 cheaper! But we have to qualify as low income. I'll know if we are approved by mid-week.

I love this big kitchen. No dishwasher though, but I could get a portable one.


The second reason for my insomnia is that I signed off on my house in my old hometown. This poor house has sat vacant for three years. My children and I lived in it for 14 years. At the time I bought it, I was married. It was completely remodeled about 12 years ago, and I really loved the place. However, the contractors were not very good, and didn't finish off some things because we ran out of money, and they did a very poor job on the roof of my boys' room.


I used to really love my blue kitchen. I picked out the cupboards and designed the kitchen myself to make better use of the space. (The builders left my ex to finish up this pass through...he didn't know how to do it. Argh!)

My fridge was tucked into that nook to the right.


Please ignore the cleaning supplies on the counter in these and the following pics!

I also loved my pink bathroom, which I also designed. It was barely functional as it was before we gutted it from top to bottom.



Sadly, the builders didn't do a proper job on the roof over my boys' room (another room that had been totally gutted from the floor to the roof), and I didn't realize that water was coming in until a couple years later when it was too late to go back on the company. The idiots put the edge of the roof flush with the side of the house! Idiots. Where was Holmes on Homes when I needed him?


It makes me sick, sick, sick to see how it deteriorated over the years, lowering the value of my home significantly.(It was not like this when we still lived there.) The worst thing is that I tried to get a loan to fix these problems before I began searching for a new place to live, but because I had paid off my vehicle and my home, I wasn't building credit. No one would loan me the $12K I needed, but later I was able to borrow $100K to buy a house! Go figure.

This was the outside wall. Again, it makes me sick, and embarrasses me to show them to you.

However, I did find some beauty in this perfect tiger lily against the rustic background.


So what did I get for my three bedroom plus landing, one bath home with main floor laundry room, family room and big living room, and on a double lot?

Nothing.

I sold it for what I owed on back taxes and a lien, and closing costs, which added up to around $3800. That's one-tenth of what I put into this house, but with all of the things that were going wrong with it, a fair price in that neighborhood with the condition of the home. Heck, there were four replacement windows in that house that I paid about that same amount for!

At any rate, I am really grateful to the couple that bought it as they are going to fix it up and make it livable again and rent it to their daughter. I am very happy that it is going to be full of life again and well cared for.

I hope this next week is a little less crazy.

Sunday Scramble/Valentine's Day? Bah humbug!

I am participating again this week in the Sunday Scramble originated and sponsored by Justine of Stupid is as Sister Does.


Sunday Scramble is a weekly event that gives you permission to just be very random in your posting. I like it because I just don't have as much time to post these days, and I can get a week or two worth of stuff in one post.

Then without delay, and before I get to the juicy stuff of Valentine's Day humbugginess, please let me once again invite you to visit my business blog, the Primp and Pamper Blog.

There, two friends and myself will be telling you about Tahitian Noni International products. I swear, the Noni Juice and Nature Born vitamins are changing my life! And the beauty products are far superior to any other that I've tried...and believe me, I've been a brand-loyal person, but no more since I found this great stuff.

I'm psyched because I entered a contest at my local newspaper to write a caption for this picture of Lady Gaga at the Grammy Awards. Now those of you who have read my past critiques of red carpet styles no that I am am no stranger to snark, so I came up with the following caption...

"NEWS BULLETIN:Mattell recalls its famous toy after Lady Gaga becomes tragically ensared in a giant Slinky prior to the Grammy Awards show."

And guess what? The newspaper thought that I had the number 1 caption out of 23 entries. Woohoo! What do I win? Nothing! But just knowing that they thought it was the funniest is enough for me. If you want to check out the other captions, you can go to this link.

I still haven't taken down my Christmas tree.

I am looking for another place to live. My lease is almost up, and I never did get the garage that I was promised...which is attached to my apartment! It is divided in half; one part is an office space that I could use as a 3rd bedroom or as a music/office room for the boys, and the other half is for storage. We are a little too cozy here, and a lot of my possessions are across town in storage (hence the reason I haven't packed up the tree yet). This week I found the most incredible duplex apartment. Three bedrooms, two full baths, huge walk in closet, two car garage. Oh my! It made my mouth water and my heart flutter to see this place. Adding together the cost of my current rent and what I pay for storage, this place would be $90 a month more than what I pay now. They said they would get back to me on whether or not I can have my dog there. If not, then no deal. But oh! I want that place! It would be perfect.


Okay. Here it comes. I am uncharacteristically really, really pissed today. I am back to feeling very anti-Valentine's Day. If you missed last year's post, check it out at this link.

I had the potential for three dates this weekend, two that I could actually take seriously. The one that I couldn't take seriously was the man who would have been willing to fly here from Philadelphia if I would send him some deep cleavage pics so that he would know if I really had big boobs. Well he didn't get pics, so that was a no go. Then there was the artist from Toledo who has said he would like to meet me, but I didn't get back to him in time, mostly because I was finally going to actually get to meet a man I have been talking to for YEARS!

Arrangements had been made to meet halfway. We were in the middle of making plans as to where to meet, I had the car ready to go, was dressed, made up and perfumed. I was just waiting for his call to say where we should meet. We were both full of anticipation at finally getting to meet after all this time. I was waiting for him to call back....and nothing. I finally called him and he said he didn't think we should meet. WTF?

I am so beyond annoyed at the men that pull this kind of crap. Maybe I should say BOYS! These guys need to put on their big boy pants and quit being such chicken shits. If they have issues, then they need to get healthy before they get any notions about meeting up with me because I am SO OVER this stuff!

I don't think that love should be this elusive. I don't think that actually MEETING someone should be this elusive! I have looked beyond the internet. I'm not good with the idea of meeting men at church, because sadly, I have never seen that work out well. I have seen the very WORST marriages that come out of church matchmaking. Some have been child molesters! Yes! Sadly, the last church that I attended had higher divorce rates than the outside world, and an even higher rate of divorce among the church's elders and deacons.

Last week I went out to socialize with friends, but had nary a look from any men. I was dressed really nicely, but NOPE. I even got out and danced and that was a lot of fun, but it was interesting to watch the mating behavior. Case in point, I ran into a friend's niece who was at the club with her husband. She is slender and had on a V-neck sleeveless top that showed a lot of cleavage for her perky boobies. She was dancing for quite some time with another friend's adult son, but as soon as he moved away, she was absolutely mobbed by 4 different guys. She flashed her wedding ring and covered her mouth when one tried to kiss her, but they still all tried to dance all over her. Though she and I were dancing together, they didn't even look at me. Sure, I didn't let my "girls" all hang out, and I won't, but I wasn't covered up to my neck either. There was a mix of men of all ages too, so it's not like I went someplace where there were only younger men.

So anyhow...BAH HUMBUG on Valentine's Day! Maybe next year will be different.

Tablescape Thursday/Pink Saturday -- Pink Valentine's Table

This post is doing double duty today as both Tablescape Thursday and Pink Saturday.

This Sunday is Valentine's Day, a day when you should spoil your special someone (if you have someone! If not, spoil yourself.) Here's a pic of my current background on my desktop.


As an avid Goodwill shopper, I am always on the lookout for the perfect plate with which to do a tablesetting. I found some sweet plates with pink roses. They are edged in silver so I added silver chargers and a silver sugar and creamer set.

The table was set with a pink tablecloth layered over a white one. The placemats are the ones I have used again and again that I found in a vintage store.

Candlelight is always romantic, so I wanted to show the table in the dark with candles aglow.


Here is a closer view of the table setting. Forgot to add that the pink goblets are from Goodwill for less than a dollar. The plates were fifty-five cents each. The chargers were marked way down at Dollar General for about sixty-six cents. The pink heart candles were only thirty-five cents each from GW. The candlestick was less than a dollar at GW. The sugar and creamer were a dollar each from GW.


Here you can see the pink rose in detail. I thought these were just the prettiest and most romantic plates! I had never thought to use pink and silver together, but they sure do fit together...just like Valentine sweethearts!


The candles were so pretty lit...in light and dark settings...


...and even unlit.


I added my painted stand and porcelain pink rose.


Here is a close up of the wine goblet. I love the pink shades. So perfect for Valentine's Day!


Of course, a romantic dinner would not be complete without a bottle of wine. This is a bottle of Strawberry Patch dessert wine from a local winery. I've drank it before and it's very yummy.


I won't be celebrating Valentine's Day with a special someone, but do plan to create another tablescape geared toward my children who are my very heart! I'll post that next week.

To see more Tablescape Thursday posts, please join Susan at Between Naps on the Porch. For more Pink Saturday posts, please join Beverly on Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.

Happy tablescaping and enjoying all things pink! May you have a wonderful Valentine's Day.