Wow! What a week!

Hello Everyone!

This is going to be a combo posting.  I have had several things I wanted to post about but have not found the time to get it done.  You are going to get the Cliff's Notes here today.

First off, I had some wonderful friends come over last week and help me finish stripping the wallpaper off the wall in the school/game room.  Remember that project that I started oh so long ago.  Well, with school just around the corner and with the help of friends, I was finally motivated to get it done.  Anyway, after they left, I knew I had to finish because I was starting school in just a couple of days.  So here is the before and after pictures.  Please note that I don't have all my decor up yet.  No curtains, signs, pictures, etc.  I also haven't finished the chairs that will go around the table.  Just to give you a hint though, they are colorful and adorable!

A very messy school room.

The other wall.

Ahh, so much fresher, cleaner, and inspiring for scholastic excellence.  I can't wait to have more time to get the other added touches done.  I have some fun ideas.  Hopefully, we will be able to add some baseboard as well.  I tried to add captions to the after pictures but something was a little screwy and the pictures would get moved to somewhere else in the post.  So I'll say this.  The trim is red, was red and am not changing it for various reasons.  Maybe some day.  I repainted white where there was white before and then in the school room part, painted the walls a gray color.  I am accenting with red, yellow (chalkboard trim is already done), a light turquoise blue and an apple green.  I will reveal more as I get the rest done.

So then after this was done, we started school this last Monday.  So far so good on that, don't have a whole lot to report there.

Tuesday found me in town for piano, shopping and the oh so dreaded, " I've turned 40" doctor's appointment.  Yep, I had my first mammogram.  You know we always fear the unknown and I will say I was a little apprehensive.  I have to say I  found a little humor in the whole situation when they had me put on "The Cape".  I felt like Wonder Women or something.  I remember as a  kid, my brother and I would play Batman and Robin or The Bionic Man & Women or any number of the superheros of the 70's and 80's.  We would use bath towels tucked into the back of our shirts and run around the house and jump over the couch and such; yelling "Shazam!" or "Ka-Pow" or "Bam" or any of those other tough sayings they said back then.  In remembering all that, I giggled to myself and thought that I would have loved to have one of these cape thingys back when I was a kid.

Monday night, I had the neighbor girl come over and ask me if I could fix her homecoming dress by Friday.  It was a little lot low in the front and she needed me to add a piece in to make it more modest.  How many of you out there have a hard time telling others "No"?  I really didn't have time to mess with altering a dress in 4 days but I just couldn't tell her no.  So, I looked Tuesday while in town for some material to use to add to the top.  Do you know how many shades of royal blue there are?  Several!  Anyway, one of the clerks at JoAnn Fabrics gave me a great idea.  One of those, "Why didn't I think of that?" kind of ideas.  She suggested that I use the straps from the tie at the neck.  That is just what I did.  I had her come over and try it on.  Then I measured where it needed to be to hold it on her tightly.  I then folded the ends over to finish them off and overlap a bit.  To keep them closed, I added a pretty rhinestone button and a button hole.  Perfect!  Then I took the left over straps and filled in the neckline.  I added a thin strip of silver ribbon at the top of that and it now looks like it was made that way.  At least I hope that's what she will think.

Today found me meeting a woman in town to sell a Step 2 kids buggy.  I also had to go to the post office to mail two items that I sold on Ebay.  A very profitable morning.  However, the lady was an hour late meeting me.  I had left the kids at home to work on school and was now getting a little antsy about being gone so long.  It all turned out fine but I was wondering if it was worth the drop in price I gave her to sell the thing.  I still made a $30 profit so I don't feel too awfully bad.
Now, as I am typing this, it is rainy, my kids are dressing up the cats...

and I am trying to work on JBF.  If you don't already know, JBFhave to have a new outfit!  That is mandatory isn't it?

So, even though this may seem like a long post.  There really has been lots going on that I didn't mention.  I think this is just the way it is going to be now with school going on and wedding preparations happening.  Maybe it will slow down this winter.  NOT!  Us crafters are always busy, right?!  So until next time...

Have a blessed day,

maggie jane