Valentine

 

This was just posted on facebook by a cyber-friend of mine.....  I completely agree....

 In honor of Valentine's Day, here are some things I love: baseball, Motley Crue, reeses peanut butter cups, wildflowers, red shoes, dangly earrings, the beach, beer, scented markers, lip gloss, vintage bottles, handmade quilts, turquoise, post its...

 I would add:

aviator sunglasses, hooded sweatshirts, red wine, dark chocolate, porch swings, good books, down pillows, muck boots, baby ducks, pizza, daisies......

Mixing craft, design and ranching....

So over in this post I wanted you to guess what I was using for knitting stops.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elastration

Are you horrified??

Gun Control

For years I've resisted posting much of anything about guns or gun control.  But this one... this one you must see.  This is my bedside table.  Yes, I am armed.  But it is an "automatic" so you have to cock this weapon.... I kinda wish it was a revolver so I could just pull the trigger......

(Yes, it is for the damn cats that scritch and claw at the windows in the middle of the night.)

Yes, it really is 5:48 AM.  And, yes, I need to either get a new table or repaint this one.

Grammy Review

I liked the Grammys this year.

I did.

I think it probably dates me that I liked the "old school" vibe. 

LL Cool.... love.  And the performance.  So classic.  And still looking so good.

Prince....love.  Wish he would perform.

Mumford & Sons.... Why do I love them so?  Must be the folk thing.

FUN.  Ok... I admit... I've, ahem, made fun of them in the past.  And capri pants on a man?  But the music is... well... kinda fun.  Oh.  And I think I want the blonde girl's hair.  Can anyone find a good picture of it?  I can't.

Jack White.  That might have been my favorite performance of the night.

Carrie Underwood was looking a little like a barbie cake in that dress... but it was a pretty clever display of technology if nothing else.

Mavis Staples.  Need I say more?  And that performance was completely ON.  You know what I mean?  Sometimes you can tell they didn't practice or are drinking or whatever but this one was so great.

Who the hell are Alabama Shakes?  That chick was totally rocking the metallic gold 80's shoulder pads.... and she can BELT a tune.... I will be checking them out later.

And to all the strong female role models... Kelly, Alicia, Beyonce, Carrie, Miranda, Adele.... my girls were ROCKING your music....

Rhianna.... ditch the dead weight (You know who you are....) and you can be on the strong female role models list.

Elton.  Sir Elton.  I love you.

Ok... I didn't quite get Frank Ocean and his performance.  (Is he Billy's son????)  But I'm ok with him... especially if he doesn't like Chris Brown.  That makes him good people in my book.

I have always loved the Lumineers.... yes, someday that song is going to get old and drive me nuts but for now....

You know I love Bob Marley.  And I love a good tribute.  That one got me.

Did I miss anything?  I was folding laundry in the kitchen and running around so I missed some of it.

Friday Clean Me Bedrooms

Bedrooms are a challenge for kids.  You can't tell a kid "go clean your room" or, 30 minutes later, they are just up there playing polly pocket meets dinosaur.  So we have a very set series of things we do to clean our bedrooms (hey... what works for the kids works for me....)

For the girls (ages 3 & 6) I give them category assignments:  First do this.  Then do this.  The categories are:  Bed, Books, Desk, Laundry (Dirty downstairs, Clean put away), Dress up, Kitchen toys, Dolly stuff.  Sometimes I say, "Go upstairs and put away the books, then report back."  Sometimes I give them tictacs. 

The boy (age 8) likes the "clock" method.  Due west is 12:00 (and his desk).  I say, "Clean from 12:00-1:00." Away he goes.  Then 1:00-2:00.  3:00 is his bed and book stack.  Ugh.  And on as he works his way around the room until it is all done. 

And what about me?  Well.... at least I don't have a closet to clean.  I sort/organize drawers under the bed (2), dresser drawers (2 big and 3 narrow jewelry ones), organize accessories (scarves/jewelry).  I tidy my night stand.  Dust maybe.  Wash sheets.  Vacuum/sweep.  And.... that's about all it takes.  I guess there are some advantages to a tiny bedroom.

The Basics (this is the 5 minute stuff that should happen every day/night)
Make the bed.  (Are we the only family that doesn't believe in a top sheet?)
Put clothes in the laundry.
Empty the potty chair.  (What?  It is a long, dark way to the one-and-only bathroom in our house.....)

Deep
Empty bed.  (Seriously.... so many toys and hair clips....)
Put away books.  (Also... turn spines to face the correct direction.)
Put away clean clothes.
Put away dress up clothes.
Put away kitchen toys.
Put away lego.
Put away games.
Put away dollies.
Put away art supplies/desk stuff.
Put away imagination stuff.
Clean the various forts.
Dust.
Shake the rugs.
Vacuum.

Deeper
Wash sheets.
Steam clean.
Wipe down the door and light switch.
Sort some closet items.
Go through some of the various boxes and bins and shelves that contain certain categories.... like does the kitchen box have a bunch of puzzle pieces?  This is the time when I find all of my lip gloss in toy purses.  And right now my blue eye sandbag thing is missing and I KNOW it is in a toybox somewhere....

Deepest
Wash comforters.
Wash pillows.
Wash windows.
Empty closets/wipe/clean/declutter.
Paint.
Clean closet.