Ginger Giggle

Oh the creativity...

>> Tuesday, April 13, 2010 – craft, crochet, farmer, furniture, grandparents, Jeremy, market, painting

The creativity bug is biting once again. This past weekend, the opening of a small farmer's market was held in Goldsboro. Out of sheer curiosity (and because my MIL told me they would be selling crafts there), I went to check it out. Not huge by any means. There were probably only about eight vendors, but the items they were selling were soooooo good! In addition to my SIL selling some plants from their greenhouse (and making about $120), there were people selling handwoven baskets, pottery, photography, dyed silk scarves, handmade jewelry, and lots of sewn bags. I was in a momentary state of euphoria. Not even sure what to use these for, but I just couldn't leave without buying them:

Now I just need to open up my brand new sewing machine (that I bought a year ago and never opened), and watch some youtube videos so I can figure out how to make some of the cute things I saw. I realize that my "goals" list is getting annoyingly long, but I'm hoping to finish up some paintings, crocheted items, and maybe some sewn crafts that I can sell here before the summer is over. Almost finished with my little blue stuffed animal:

Doesn't take nearly as long when I use a larger needle. Not a bad evening/weekend project that might actually recover some of the hundreds of dollars that I've spent on supplies.

In other news, (insert flashy headline and dramatic music here) Jeremy might be getting a new job. :) <----Happy face!!! It's a position with a company that installs granite counter tops. Not exactly what you might choose for a music major, but as long as it pays the bills and keeps Jeremy from stressing out about money, I'm all for it! We also might be getting new furniture. I use the term "new" loosely. For anyone who knows me well enough, you know that I ADORE old furniture. There's nothing like a piece that has history behind it and you can tell a story about. That being said, my grandparents are purchasing new furniture and getting rid of some that they've had forever. I'm not talking about the stuff that they purchased a several years ago, I'm talking about the covered rocking chair that is so iconic from my childhood. It's the one that was always reserved as my grandmother's place that sat next to my grandfather's recliner. It is seriously mind blowing to think that she might even consider giving it away. Especially since she had it reupholstered around the time I left for college and it really hasn't been used since. We're talking pristine condition here. Soooo if she does, I plan on taking it if for no other reason than to preserve that little part of my childhood from getting tossed out with the trash.

By the way, while visiting them yesterday, I snapped what might be one of the only photos in history of their living room without the deer heads and bobcat that has graced the walls for the past 40+ years. This phenomenon only happens when it's time to paint the room white and ONLY white (since my gma will never consider using color in the house. This probably explains my obsession with crazy colors in mine). It also happens to include the rocking chair I was referring to. Excuse the blurriness and enjoy :)

I'm a lucky girl...

>> Friday, April 9, 2010 – bills, cat, family, friday, friends, home, house, spring, thankful

Normally my time is spent venting about various things that annoy me. Today's different though. Today, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for all the wonderful aspects of my life...

Family. Biological and by marriage, my family (for the most part) is fantastic. Words can't express how thankful I am to have Jeremy in my life. Sure, he can be a jerk...a self-professed one, by the way...but he has a supportive and nurturing side that takes my breath away. His talent, hunger for knowledge, and discipline amaze me and make me incredibly jealous simultaneously. His willingness to let me have my way (most of the time) never ceases to surprise me. I'm forever in debt to his family who have been our safety net. Always willing to offer any type of help or support, they are our backbone. No one could ask for better in-laws. While my family situation is more complicated than that of Jeremy's, I'm thankful for everything it's taught me. The rest of my life will be spent in constant gratitude for the last conversation I had with my dad before he died. I only wish it had come sooner. But the people that really should be thanked are my mother and grandparents. Although I wasn't the easiest child in the world to contend with at times, they were always there for me and stood behind the decisions I made. And just ask Jeremy, it's no small task having to deal with me!

Home. As much as I like to complain about the issues of living in a 109 year old house, it's really quite wonderful. I love being able to mold and make it into something that is a reflection of me and makes us feel like we belong. It's much more than a lot of people have. In fact, it's more than I ever thought that I would have. While it's still a work in progress, it's slowly starting to feel more like home.

Opportunities. Everyone knows that this economy...well, sucks. We are extremely fortunate to have jobs that bring in at least enough money to get us by. We're not getting rich by any means, and our bank accounts have been a little heftier, but we're able to pay the bills and be content in the mean time. There are a few prospects on the horizon that hopefully will put us in a better situation, but for now, we're just thankful that we're not on welfare.

There's so many things missing from this list, but I could really go on for days: the sound of a purring cat on my lap, laughing every evening with friends, smell of clean laundry, being able to open the windows and let the spring breeze fill the house, crocheting something new, freshly painted walls, the lighting at dusk, 5:00 on the clock at work, curling up under a blanket with Jeremy while watching a movie, and my personal favorite...having nothing planned to do on a Saturday afternoon but sit at home with my hubby :) Makes me look forward to tomorrow.

It's all coming together...

>> Thursday, April 8, 2010 – camera, cleaning, hubby, painting, porch, sale

The list is dwindling down and yet there's still so much to do! Next on the agenda is clearing out the junk. Among the items that are getting sold: 2 paintings, foosball table, camera (getting a new one), Taylor guitar, hotdog cart, clothes, and a lot more! I'm not even sure why we keep some of this stuff around.

Whenever I sell these items, the money will just go to purchase more stuff to replace them. The front porch has been pretty bare ever since we moved in. I envision ferns, rocking chairs, and a cozy swing to make it like another room that we can go to in order to enjoy the beautiful (and sometimes non-existent) spring weather. Hopefully, I'll make this happen this year. Keep your fingers crossed. My penny pinching hubby will have to approve first. Thank goodness he's around because I would go in debt just to make my house look nice...lol. He keeps me in check.

Tonight is reserved for cleaning out the old office, working on art for the living room, and/or rearranging/cleaning the bedroom. After that.......time to RELAX!!!!

By the way, enjoy this little gem of a video I found about Glenn Beck. Absolutely worth watching...quite disturbing actually. Here it is.

Wordless Wednesday...ok, well TWO words!

>> Wednesday, April 7, 2010 – bathroom, painting, wednesday, wordless

Before:

After:

For more Wordless Wednesday posts, click HERE!

Spring (cleaning) is upon us...

>> Tuesday, April 6, 2010 – bathroom, cleaning, craft, crochet, kitchen, painting, sale

Hope everyone had a nice LONG Easter break. Somehow, I spent most of mine cleaning and realizing that I have way too much junk. But before that, I did find the time to finish the bunny I was working on for my niece's birthday:

Not sure how well it will hold up (seeing how I'm not the world's best seamstress), but the end result is pretty close to what I had intended.

Back to the hellacious amount of work on what was meant to be my day off. It was long over due, so finally my hardwood floors were mopped and polished yesterday. I couldn't cover it up after all that hard work, so the large rug that went in front of the refrigerator is being tossed out and I plan on purchasing a smaller one to put in its place.

Some of the other little chores that were accomplished yesterday include: scrubing the sides of the house and back porch, mowing the lawn, laundry, cleaned appliances, washed cars, vacuumed, and prepared the bathroom to be painted. There's still so much left to be done though. I am seriously considering having a yard sale. There's no reason to keep all the artwork, clothes, rugs, etc. that I hate and know I don't really even want. An added plus is that if I sell them, there might be a little extra money to buy the stuff I really want to have. I do have the luxury today of going to pick out some new accessories for the house. The time has finally come to take down the laundry door and replace it with curtains. May sound cheesy to some of you, but the door that's there now is pretty, but polish a turd and it's still a turd. The bottom section where the hinges are is completely busted out and I would rather just take it down and make that area a little more accessible. In addition to the new curtains, a new paint color for the bathroom has to be picked out. Now I've gone through a long list of paint colors that I would love to have and I think this is the one:

The floors won't look nearly this good since there is a vintage basketweave black & white tile in there now, and I won't have that gorgeous sink, but I think this color will turn my little "hole in the wall" into a sootheing oasis. Ok, that might be a stretch...but at least it will look good! If the paint bug is still biting when the bathroom is finished, I might even paint the hallway, bedroom, and exercise room as well. Either way, wish me luck. There's a lot of work to do.

Good Friday

>> Friday, April 2, 2010 – animal, car, dog, douche, friday, mustang

Yes...I work at the Free Will Baptist Press and I don't have Good Friday off. No worries though. They gave us Monday instead and I would much rather sleep in on a Monday!

I'm gonna take one moment to vent this afternoon. While driving to work this morning, a dog starting to run across the street. Now, bear in mind that I'm in the left lane so I notice it first and immediately decelerate. The dog has almost completely crossed when this complete DOUCHE beside me speeds up and tries to hit this poor animal! Really, fool?! What could possibly be going so badly in your life that you intentionally try to injure a defenseless animal? I was livid. Luckily, the dog was unharmed, but still...my blood was boiling. So, as a public service, I took a picture of this poor excuse for a human-being's car to share with everyone. I suppose I really shouldn't expect anything classy from someone who writes "MUSTANG" on their back bumper with a Sharpie marker. Just surprised about how intentionally cruel some people can be. And yes, I did take this photo with my phone while driving....don't judge me. FYI, if I see this car in a parking lot, I'm keying it: