Friday, February 27, 2009

Mississippi Tea Party

Bear and I met up with my husband today at noon on at the Mississippi capitol building. We took part in the nationwide tea party to protest Obama's stimulus package. We had a merry little band turn out. Below are some of the pictures I took today.

Thanks to Rick Santelli for getting angry and speaking up, and to Smart Girl Politics, Top Conservatives on Twitter and Michelle Malkin for organizing the events and spreading the news.









Bear's first political rally!! He was the only baby there and really got into it, hollering out a few chants of his own.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Praise Baby

I'm happy to be able to take part in a bit of blogging for Praise Baby, the CDs and DVDs that have saved a parent's sanity more than once! We love the sweet music in our house! Go check out the fun new blog! Here's my entry:

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

I draw the line at discarded food, though.

Every girl grows up swearing she'll never turn into her mother, and then there's that inevitable moment when she realizes that dadgum it, her mother has taken over her body. Don't deny it.

I realized this about myself a few months ago when I took a few extra streets to get home after choir practice, just so I could listen to a song I liked on the radio. As providence would have it, I drove past a house that had just been moved out of, with piles of junk at the curb, waiting for the trash men.

My mother's spirit entered my body (despite the fact that she's alive and quite well, thank you) and forced me to slow down. I saw something amazing there on the curb and raced home to get the stroller out of the car and breathlessly tell my confused husband that I'd found a treasure and would be right back. And then my mother's spirit made me do the unthinkable: I drove back to that house; pulled over; stopped; got out; raised the hatch on the back of my station wagon; and there, in the dark, hoisted no less than 50 pounds of abandoned mirrors into my car.

I drove the short distance home with a huge grin on my face and my heart pounding. For me, other people's trash (literally) is often my treasure. I couldn't believe somebody would throw these gems away, because I instantly knew what to do with the two smaller mirrors. The huge, heavy one is still in my garage, untouched. I think these must've gone on top of a dresser. Beats me why they were thrown out.

The two side mirrors, plain and with an oh-so-80s discount furniture store patina. But they're HEAVY, so they're real wood. They also have sweet beveled edges on the glass.

I started by using newspaper and painter's tape to protect the glass. This was by far the longest and most tedious part of the whole process.

Then I got out a cheap girl's best friend: black spray paint. I don't live at Morticia Addams' address, so these certainly weren't going to stay black. But I needed a base color, so I let these dry until the next day.

And then, be still my shabby heart, I spray painted them white. I could barely stand the nearly 24-hour wait to make sure the black coat was dry.

Here's where several steps are missing, because I get excited about these things and forget to take pictures. I let the white paint dry for about 45-ish minutes, until it was nearly dry but still a bit tacky to the touch. I went to town on it with some heavy-duty sandpaper. I attacked all the edges and the corners and it really did end up looking like an old piece of furniture that's been moved around and beat up and loved for years.

I waited two long, torturous days for them to dry completely, and then! THEN! Here's what I did with them!


Pretend there's no pumpkin there and that I didn't take these photos back in the fall. (Oh, here's a tip: the pumpkin got lost in the bottom of the compote dish, so I gave it some height by standing it up on top of a baby bottle cap. Fancy.)

Scruffy, shabby corners!

I like to pretend these beauties' former owner is reading, all sad she threw them away and didn't see their potential. Sorry, sucka! They're mine now!

Kidding, kidding.

My mom paid them a high compliment and said they look like they belong there. She should know, since it was her conniving spirit that forced me to dig them out of the trash in the first place.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Are we sure we know what's in the bottle?

I had to get antibiotic and cough syrup prescriptions filled for Bear this afternoon. He's got a sinus infection and a cough bordering on bronchitis, though you'd never know it from his energy level. I swear the liquid is laced with speed.

Anyway, this instills loads of confidence, no?

Whatcha got cookin'

What did I get up to on Valentine's Day? Cupcake baking!



If the way to a man's heart is indeed through his stomach, then my man's heart is made out of all things cherry. (That made better sense in my head). He LOVES anything cherry-flavored, and these preserves, from a nearby fruit and veggie stand, do not disappoint.


Doesn't that batter look great? I had to remind myself that it contained three raw eggs and wasn't really good for me to eat raw. Boo.


OH YES I DID. I stole this idea from the awesome Jen Lancaster, who stole it from Martha Stewart. Martha probably stole it from somebody else.


I'm pretending to put a spoonful of preserves in my mouth, but it looks like I'm kissing them. I promise I did neither.


It's blurry because it was time to EAT. Mmm, these were yummy. The preserves all ended up on the bottom of the cupcakes, stuck to the papers, so next time I think I'll let them bake a little while before adding the preserves. Still, they're delish! (I don't have a recipe to offer, because any old fool can figure out how to work a Duncan Hines cake mix and Betty Crocker frosting. Ahem.)


Stains approves!


So, what'd you do for your sweetie on the big day?

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Wanna be startin' somethin'

I'm listening to my son beat on the kitchen window while my husband corrupts him with some kind of techno version of a Michael Jackson song on the TV's music channels. If that doesn't say love and romance on Valentine's Day, I don't know what does.

Actually, that's okay. That's how we roll around here. It's an overcast and chilly day out there, so it's fun to be inside with my favorite fellas, one of whom is not Michael Jackson.

(In case you're wondering, and I'm sure you're not, the rest of the word LOVE is spelled out up there on my mantle. Unfinished letters from Hobby Lobby, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge and an X-Acto knife. Voila.)