Simply Altered

Here is another chance for you to take part of the things I love….and remember???  win a chance (or another chance) at a WONDERFUL giveaway!!!!

Just add your two cents worth.  Easy huh?

Here is something I …….LOVE.

The TV series Parenthood.

Have you seen it???  do you love or (since I refrain from the “H” word as much as possible)   dislike it???

You can not EVEN imagine how much I love it.

This show….TAKES ME BACK!!  to a place I want to be AGAIN.

The cast and setting highlights a  large family, VERY tight siblings, and a wide variety of personalities.

LOTS of imperfections….yet LOTS of love and compassion, and understanding, and overlooking etc etc etc.  They cover it ALL and then some.

Isn’t that what “family” is all about???

yes.  it  . is .

I went on a Parenthood marathon this weekend.  I actually purchased the entire set of Season 1.  I have watched them all when it was aired, but guess what??  I spent HOURS watching it again.  I used to barely watch TV, let alone BUY the digital edition!!!  Good Lord…… and I would have never imagined watching the same show TWICE.  I did this weekend, and if time allowed, I would start all over again and do it a third time.  I know.  Crazy huh??

I came to a conclusion this weekend while viewing it.

As happy as the show makes my heart feel, it also NEVER once fails to bring me to tears.  I am talking get a tissue, BIG heartfelt tears.  Every . single . time.

I want my parents back.  I want a “family home” again.  I have a large extended family and we are VERY VERY close, but there is just something missing when you no longer have parents or a “home” to go and see “Mom & daddy”.  I still struggle with this.  Alot.   More than I even thought.  For those of you that still DO have this???   count your blessings….life is short.

Parenthood can take me there, for one hour a week, and I can just reflect and soak it ALL in………

I can also almost pinpoint each personality in the show to a family member of mine.

One of the “families” is nearly a carbon copy of my family of 4.  Relate???  oh yes, I can relate.

This show makes ME a better parent.  I swear.  It also makes me a more appreciative family member to my siblings, spouses, inlaws, etc etc etc.

It is ALL good.

Even my tears are good.  They are tears of happiness and reflection on the wonderful family I can call my own.  When I cry, it is because I remember “those days” so well, and I am determined to hold tight to what to that extended family that I have left.

Now…..if Parenthood is NOT something you watch, let me know the shows you DO watch….and of course, love.

Who knows, maybe I will get hooked on those as well.  

Leave me your comments….and you are one step closer to becoming a winner.  :)

I am at a little bit of a standstill on the kitchen renovation,  just waiting for the countertop to arrive, the kitchen sink AND the contractor that is going to be removing a partial wall for me.  Unfortunately everything can’t happen at once, so I need to find something to occupy my time…..and take my mind off the mess I am now dealing with.  Ugh.

So…..

You get to hear how many SIMPLE things that I love in life.   I also want to hear YOURS!!   (read the incentive below)

Valentines day is approaching, and honestly we do NOT do “Valentines” day.   Personally (don’t flame me)  I think it is stupid.  An unnecessary  commercialized Hallmark holiday pretty much sums up my opinion.   You may feel differently, and that is fine, but since this is MY blog, I get to make the rules.  hahahahaha!!!!   JOKING.  (kind of).

I do not need February 14 to express my love.  I also don’t need it expressed to me by anyone specifically ON that day.  I have been with Glenn for nearly 30 years  (dating and married).   I can assure you, I have never given OR recieved  a gift on Valentines Day, even back when we were 15 and began dating.  Nope.  Notta. Never.    We both know better, and we are good with that agreement.  :)   it works for US.  You celebrate howEVER you wish, but we do not.

Now…it is a given, I love my kids, my husband, my home, my extended family, etc etc etc…..

Here are a few SIMPLE pleasures that always bring a smile to my face and a certain warmth to my  heart.  (and some others I am just plain obsessed with)   LOL

1.  Mc Donalds Iced Coffee.

Yes, I can make my own, but there is something about  treating yourself from a plastic glass at a drive-thru.  MUCH to my dismay though, I went to get one yesterday AND…..get this.  The price has gone UP about a month ago, and as of yesterday the SIZE went DOWN!!!!   what in the heck is up with that?????     I may need to boycott this idea.  Just sayin……

2.  Magazines.

I admit it,  I LOVE LOVE LOVE magazines.  I never go anywhere with out a magazine in hand (and usually five).  …and I gladly recycle them and pass them on to my sisters after I am done with them.  (I think they pass them on when they are done as well).  I also use them well in the salon for customers to read…..so, this obsession and splurge  is completely justified in my mind atleast.  :)   It is a GREAT day when I am at the grocery store and I see all new issues sitting on the rack. I can hardly think straight!!! So much reading and even MORE inspiration!!!!  I also have alot of “rules” when it comes to MY magazines, but I will leave those details for some other time.  Anyone that knows me very personally already knows how to follow these “rules” ….and they do NOT question them.   LOL

3.  Being a Libra.

Yep, this concept sent me a little for a loop when some scientist implied I may need to CHANGE my Zodiac sign.  Hellooooo….I think NOT.  I think that man just had too much time on his hands.  If you read the qualities of a Libra and how much they strive for balance….you are seeing what I am all about.   I am a Libra.  End of topic.  Thankyouverymuch.

That is all for today. I do not want to bore anyone.  { gasp }

I have a lot more in my mind, and I will keep posting them until we reach Valentines Day itself, or my kitchen is complete.  Which ever comes first.  I am betting Valentines Day will happen first.  :(

Now…..SIMPLE things.  What do you LOVE????  (or comment on the things I love)   post only those unexpected things.  Those things that just make ya wanna smile.   I know EVERYONE loves their spouse and kids…..or atleast SHOULD!!!!    Who knows?  if you share the little pleasures in life that you have come to love….maybe all the blog readers will give them a try as well!!!!

AND……..

The best part???  all comments from each “Love” blog post will  go into a drawing for a very special HANDMADE item from me, shipped straight to your door.   Guaranteed, you will LOVE LOVE LOVE it too!!!!  hopefully you will love it even more than Valentines Day.  :)

Ready, set……GO  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a glimpse of my kitchen.

Our first plan was to…

Replace kitchen countertop ( I know it looks nearly perfect here, but it is not. There are spots it is splitting, almost makes me wonder if it was defective (?) 14 years ago.  Little slits all along the edge as if the interior is like expanding or something???)

Paint all the cupboards white.

Paint the walls and the ceiling.

Paint the woodwork.

Replace the kitchen sink.

Then I snapped myself back to reality.

I just can NOT expect my husband to paint those cupboards.  I am not into work that does not really NEED to be done.   It would be HUGELY labor and time intensive and I think with all the changes, the room will transformed enough…..the cupboards I can certainly live with.   Can you imagine priming and sanding ALL those cupboard doors, drawers and front pieces.   Ugh…..I just know my nerves can not go through that.   There ARE better ways to spend the money on my budget.

So……..

We (meaning my husband)  will be painting the woodwork white.

My painter will paint the walls mint (Martha Stewart) green, and the ceiling and peg rack, WHITE.

Replace the kitchen sink from a standard divided boring stainless steel sink to a one piece farmhouse style WHITE sink.

Replace the coutertop.

Question is…….help me out here.

What color for the countertop????    White????   it will show SO much, but would look more original looking.   Brown???  nope, too much the color of the cabinets now that we are not replacing them.   I am a little undecided on that.

What I do know though, is I am not having that curved spill guard like I have now.   Yuck.   How often do you spill a gallon of milk on the coutertop???   not very often in my house…..and if I did???   that “spill guard” would still not keep it from pouring on the floor!!!   the spill guard is also a HUGE pain each time I need a LEVEL surface to work with.  This happens more than you would think…..and am also NOT going to have that ledge on the wall side of the coutertop either.   Yuck on that too.   I want a flat square straight edged countertop….the way it ORIGINALLY looked.

Yeah, that straight edged ORIGINAL countertop that is now in my basement, that my husband uses for his woodworking area.

{ sigh }.

Ok.  I can hardly make a decision of what to have for supper, or what time to take a bath at night.

Yet, here I am, trying to make a decision of paint colors for my kitchen.

Choosing the perfect tone out of about 500 30 paint swatches.  Ugh.

The last time I added much paint to our home,  I was in the mustard/sage/brown mindset.

I am VERY tired of those tired looking colors.

I have been looking through paint trends, and thinking I need paint colors more complimentary to my cottage / Nantucket feel of my home……

I am looking at blues and whites and maybe splashes of cherry red accents.  Yeah, that sounds uplifting.  Feels cottage-like huh?

Or

That signature Martha Stewart kitchen look.   Mintish or deeper greenish color and off-white.

Yep, I love that look too.    I love EVERYTHING Martha actually.

All I know, is I have the best painter in the whole wide world penciled in, so sooner or later, I have GOT to make up my mind.

Or he promises me, he will be painting EVERYTHING white!!!!!

hmmmmm……….