Shut it, Dora!!!

You know your day was a bit hectic when you realized you did not yet brush your teeth and it was 5:30...PM. You also did not feed your dog until 5pm and did not step outside until you left for the evening at 7pm. Now I want to say there are a lot of blog posts where bloggers use this format to complain and want you to know about how busy they have been and how tired they are and want you to join them in their misery. This blog post is....just that. I am going to vent. Why? Because it's my blog and I can vent if I want to.

The Hubs has been in a lot of pain lately due to carpal tunnel. We have been counting down the days until his surgery date...which was on Monday!!! Today I get a text from him stating that they changed it to Tuesday:( Which is a bummer because 1)that is one extra day of pain...poor guy...2)Shane has his first big Preschool Halloween Parade that I have to go to....and 3)we had already moved another important event that was suppose to be on Monday...but changed it so he could get in as early as possible. I feel so bad for The Hubs. The only thing I could think of to relate to having to wait another day for surgery was....having to go pee and finally making it home...to find someone in the bathroom!!!! Ok...that probably isn't at all close to how it feels to have to wait another day for surgery...but it is all I could come up with:).

By about mid-day it almost became comical about how many times something did not go the way I planned. I felt like I was moving in slow motion all day. It was a non-school day for Shane and he was very needy. My mama guilt had arrived in full force. I then realized that I had so much work that I was going to have to put in some over time. Again, feeling guilty for ignoring Shane all day...I now just added two more hours to my work day. I just kept thinking about the three days that I will have off. I am taking Friday, Monday and Tuesday off. (Now you probably don't feel bad for me anymore). Some of you might be thinking...get over it...this is my typical day!! Feeling a little guilty I turned the tv back on after a few hours of turning it off because I could not take Dora's voice any longer. She was trying to wake up the map...and then finally after yelling "Map wake up" 100 times the map wakes up and then I am like "go back to sleep map"!!! Callate Dora!!!! Needless to say I was completely out of patience.

 I get overwhelmed super easy. I am totally laid back and try not to let too much get to me....but when I can't do it all I know that I haven't been relying on God for that extra support. Isn't it great to have someone you know will always be there for you and completely understands what you are going through? Even though I have an understanding husband and friends who lend their ear. God gives me a peace like no other. Love the verse, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest". Matthew 11:28. If you are feeling guilty for ignoring a child or two, not getting work done, skipping a few cleaning days or not spending time doing things you enjoy...find comfort in this verse.

I find myself constantly having to recharge myself. The best way to do this is to spend time with God. We all know it, but it seems like it is impossible to fit in another thing. Again, God's word reminds us that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phil 4:13 Does that mean we need to over exert ourselves and then question why we are always so tired??? I don't think so. I think God will give us the energy we need to do the things that please him. My life is full of so many wonderful moments. My prayer is to try and stop and truly enjoy them and be thankful for each new day God gives me. 

My name is Summer and I love Faux Bamboo

I have a strange obsession for faux bamboo. There is no help out there for this rare condition...so I scour Craigslist and FB groups looking for any signs of faux bamboo pieces. I did take a little bit of a break after my last purchase which I wrote about here (which I just realized was almost two years ago...oh my). When I found that dresser I made the Hubs and a friend drive far far away to the ghetto, risking their lives to pick up the goods. I can tell you I may have even dreamed about that dresser. It haunted me! I saw it redone like this(below) and was like wow...I need one of those and so it began.

Once I got it home though..I could not decide if I wanted to paint it. It had this light yellowish vintage color that kind of grew on me. I also found some nightstands for my master bedroom on Craigslist that were another score(not faux bamboo)!!! They had the most amazing handle pulls(another obsession) and really great legs! I painted those white, ...come take a look here. Anyways, after painting those white I thought my dresser would look amazing a glossy white??? But...I really like this dark grey. I was also undecided on the colors for my master so that was an issue as well. I knew I wanted grey, white and gold...but the pop of color was scaring me. I thought yellow..but that might compete with the gold. Then I thought navy..then turquoise or even coral(hubs wouldn't like that though). So, for now it remains in it's natural vintage 70's yellow.

Guess what??? I was added to a group on  Facebook (thank you Mrs. Degrado) called Everything but the Kitchen Sink. Oh.My.Word.....love it. And what did I find??? My matching nightstands, mirror and a dresser(not a highboy like above, but a lower...longer one). And for how much you ask??? 100 smackeroos for all 4 pieces!!! Oh happy day!!!! And this time they were located in riverside. So, I only have the two nightstands because that is all we could fit in our car. But soon I will be united with my dresser and mirror..I coming for you I promise!!!! I decided to use the nightstands as some desperately needed storage at the foot of our bed. I am just going to place them side by side. I painted these a lovely "Granite" grey by Rust-Oleum. I did sand them first as they have a laminate top and some of the paint was peeling. They turned out gorgeous. I can not wait to put them into our room. I will wait though because last time I spray painted my other nightstands I was impatient and put them in our room way to early and the smell of spray paint nearly killed us all!!!! So...whata think??? I am in love.....

Before...not bad but could use some sprucing up

Primed...looks good in white too:)

Finished! Love this Granite color. Once I get a few more items for my master I will do the big reveal!

What I've been up to....

It has been awhile since I last posted. I have been so busy with little things here and there. Shane had the flu two weeks ago and then got a bad cough last week...oh the joys of Preschool and Nursery! It is my pet peeve when people bring their sick kids to school or church. Shane's Preschool will send the kid home so that is good. Anyways, I have been stuck at home, so we have had many movie marathons and I even finished a few projects! Scott has also been away on business for the last few days so I have really had some free time to do things I have been putting off. Not that he doesn't allow me to do them...but when he is home I want to spend time with him and don't get to my projects like I should. He has that effect on me:). I can't stand to be away from him!!! But, a little time away is always good...can I get an AMEN?!?!

Ok...so one of the projects I completed was actually for my wonderful hubs. Tomorrow marks two months since Gary went home to be with the Lord. There is such a big whole in our lives. It is hard that we can't share all the Shane stories with him. It is hard that we can't get together and have him cook up some good ol' BBQ. It is really hard that his chair is empty and that we can no longer learn from him and no longer touch, speak or just hang out anymore. But, the great thing about knowing someone so memorable is just that...his memory lives on. His stories, advice and love are still with us. Scott spoke about his dad at the memorial and told stories about how much he taught him. That is one of the best qualities in a dad. A friend of mine posted this on her Facebook about Motherhood but I changed it to Fatherhood because it is true for both(I think the nurturing part is more for mothers though):

"And the fundamental mission of fatherhood now is the same as it always was: to nurture, protect, and instruct children, to create a home environment that enables them to learn and grow, to help them develop a heart for God and His purposes, and to send them out into the world prepared to live both fully and meaningfully. It’s up to us to embrace that mission as our own, trusting God to walk us through the details and to use our willing fathers’ hands as instruments of his blessings.” 

Fatherhood was something Gary did well. Scott was very equipped to take on the world..both as a believer and as a man. 

Gary loved knives, along with many other things, and in fact had three knives on him when he passed:). One was a 503 Buck knife. Scott has kept that in his pocket since his dad passed. He had mentioned that he was afraid of losing it and wanted to display it somehow. So, of course, being that my love language is to buy people stuff and one of my gifts is listening to what people need and making it happen, I decided I needed to make something. I went off to Joann's and picked up a shadow box. It was actually one that had a place for a photo and to display a graduation tassel. The knife fit perfectly into that spot!!!. I added a picture of Scott and Gary when Scott was about 6 months old and the verse: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17.  I thought this was perfect since it was exactly what Gary did, not only for his sons, but for everyone he met. He was a teacher. Also, I thought it was a great verse to go along with the knife. I finished it up one night and handed it to Scott. He said it was the best present he ever received. It filled my heart right up. When someone you love so much is hurting it is hard to find the right words to say. Thankfully God already had them all written for me and blessed Scott and I with that verse! I also purchased him a new 503 Buck knife so he could still have a knife to carry:)