Day 75. Antiques.

If this chair is as old as me (33 yrs.), does that make it an antique?  Well, I don't know... but that's how old it is.  I loved having this old-style chair when my kids hit that toddler stage, because I could easily scoot this up to the table with the rest of us, and it took up much less room than the big highchair.  I have no need or use for a highchair in my house anymore, but I can't seem to part with it!

Yesterday, at a friend's house, I saw this adorably decorated bar stool, and I was inspired to start a little project today (and avoid my house chores... which I'm horrible about doing!!!)

Obviously, the poor, ragged thing has seen better days!

And so it begins!  A coat of primer.

First coat of paint!

A few finishing touches, and voila!!!  A new corner piece for my dining room.

Here's how it looks in the room.  I don't know what I'll use it for.  Previously, it was being used to collect all of my rechargeable stuff (cell phone, iTouch, camera battery, etc.).  And it's kind of 'homemade' looking, but I kind of like it.  And that space isn't used for anything anyway!  :)

And there's another, little story from the random life of ME!  :)

Day 74. Session.

I had the pleasure of doing this sweet session on Day 74.  :)  Aren't they darling?  I've written before about how much we appreciate the talents and care given to my children by the outstanding teachers they've had in their lives.  Well, this is one of those wonderful people!  She was my son's speech teacher for over two years before he started elementary school.  Let me just tell you, that she was an absolute blessing in our lives!  My husband and I were amazed the way she helped our little boy, and how she helped US to help him as well!  The unexpected blessing, was that we became friends throughout those couple of years, and we've remained in touch since.  :)  When I met her, she had just gotten married.  Time flies!  And now, she is a wonderful mommy to two, beautiful children of her own.  This is the most recent addition to their family:  a brand, new baby boy.

Day 73. Yuck.

Isn't he disgusting?  I know he's one of God's creatures and all, but if these guys get inside my house, they are fair game to be destroyed.  However, if they're outside, I leave them alone.  And this guy was minding his own business, climbing on the outside of the back porch.  I needed a subject for Day 73... so here he is!

Day 72. Baseball.

I've brought some teasing upon myself this week, in the fact that I've openly admitted that baseball season is just not really "my thing."  I mean, most folks who know me well are already aware of this shameful truth.  However, posting it on my Facebook status brings about a bit of controversy.  :)  I will confirm it here as well, that I am not ANTI-baseball.  And I'm certainly NOT, heaven forbid, ANTI-CARDINALS!  I'm just bored by the sport, in general.  I know, I KNOW!  How can a girl grow up in St. Louis, and not live, eat, and breathe Cardinals baseball?  Well, I will tell you... It's very simple, really.  I grew up in a family who could NOT have cared less.  I've already explained the passions of my the males I grew up with in a previous post:  Childhood Memories.  You may note that baseball was never mentioned once!  Baseball was never on our television.  Cardinals t-shirts were not owned, let alone worn.  It wasn't taught that there was a problem with it... it was non-existent, really! 

My surroundings completely changed when I married my wonderful husband, who passionately adores Cardinals baseball.  He's fine with the fact that I don't get into it.  We are secure enough in our marriage to not have to SHARE every interest one of us may have individually.  And it's a good thing, too, because we certainly do have different interests (don't worry, we agree on the things that matter!).  But to make matters more complicated, I gave birth to three sons, and like their father, they enjoy a good baseball game.  I can't win for losing.  I will, however, play along.  After all, who can turn down a good ol' fashion trip to Busch Stadium?  The sea of red brings about a bit of excitement for me.  My favorite color IS red.  The field of green is a sight to behold, and nothing matches the peanuts and cotton candy you buy at a ballgame (also a good thing, because you will pay a fortune for the experience).  I did not hesitate when my oldest child asked me to decorate his room in a Cardinals theme, and I very much enjoy the sight of my little ones all decked out on the day of the home opener.  :)

It's all really just another reminder of the irony that is my life....  This is a pretty good picture of what it's like to be me... a spot of pink, in a land full of testosterone.  I assure you, I wouldn't have it any other way!  :)

Day 71. My Ever Changing Hair!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I get bored WAY too easily.  I change things often.  I will spontaneously change the paint color of a room just as easily as I change the color of my hair.  This particular post is about the latter, because I'm currently BORED with my hair, so change is abrewin'!  :)

I've compiled a "few" pics from over the years.  If you're still bored enough to be reading this post (and it takes a "special" kind of person to truly care about reading about my hair style... and, by the way, I LOVE a good hairstyle conversation!), then rest assured that I've spared you my lifetime of "do"s and I've only scanned through the last five years.

This pic is actually of me with my sisters and my mom.  It was taken about five years ago.  We've got some strawberry blonde going on, with a few golden highlights.

Shortly thereafter, I decided to add in some layers.  I don't know what's up with the joker lipstick smile, but someone should have told me to do something about it, for real.

Here, we've let the layers grow out again.  This is about as long as it EVER gets.  (My kids took most of these candid shots.  Can you tell???  Haha!)

The problem with my hair when it's long, is that it commonly looks more like this than actually "fixed" and presentable.

So, I will usually convince myself that in order to "spice" it up a little, I should go short again... as I did here.  And apparently, I went darker at this point as well.

It got about this long, when I did the next do:

Lesson to learn:  If you really do NOT like change, do NOT change stylists!  And NEVER, EVER tell them to "do what you want."  I don't know when I'll learn this lesson, but I've gotten more bad haircuts this way than I can count!  Ugh.  Looking back, I guess this wasn't so horrible.  But I HATED it at the time.  I didn't want it this short... but it grew!

At this point, I was letting it grow out... not only in length, but also to its natural color.  Honestly, I hadn't seen it in YEARS, so I was curious.  Well, this was it... the real deal, God-given color... while it lasted.

Here we are, still growing out, with some layers stacked in the back.  I may have added some highlights at this time, but I'm pretty sure the base is still natural.

Let's do a bit of red to match the fall weather, shall we?

How 'bout some curls?  This was just an experiment.  I hadn't curled my hair since... oh, probably highschool.  :)  I think we'll keep it that way.  Shirley Temple isn't really in right now.  :/

Are you bored yet???  Haha!  Red never lasts long.  It's hard to maintain, and it fades so easily.  So, we'll try dark again!

As is my trend, as soon as I get any length on it at all, I tell my current stylist, "Be creative!  Do something new!  I trust you!" ...and this is what I get.  Can you see the crown of my head?  That hair was probably about an inch long on the top of my head.  Oh dear.  (Incidentally, this was the last time I went to that stylist.  It wasn't her fault.  But I needed to move on.)

Once again, it grew... a little.  And the color faded... a lot. 

I started seeing a friend of mine, and she does a wonderful job!  She listens to my requests and actually DOES as I ask. 

We're nearing the end.  I know you're thankful.  This was just last summer.  I decided that a Kate Gosselin look might be cute.  My sister warned me not to do it.  She said it was one of the ugliest haircuts she'd ever seen.  Well, I didn't listen.  This is what I lived with.  I actually liked it for awhile... not long enough to let it stay, though!!!

Don't worry, we're nearing the end, folks!

This was at Halloween.  We cut the top to match the rest... and I'm still trying to get the brown to stop fading back into red.  So, I keep going darker and darker!  I think this is a level 3! (for those of you who have any idea what I'm talking about!  :)  My stylist-friend taught me some color tricks that are working beautifully!

And this is the last time I got it cut... January 2010. I haven't had it cut since. Here, I've gone shorter and spikier again. Lots of texture and lengths.

This was taken just today.  I've trimmed my own bangs and sides just a bit, because I don't want to have it cut until I know for certain what I'm doing.  Should I stay short?  Should I let it grow?  Oh, what to do.

Yes, it's silly, I know.  But it's entertaining for me.  And fortunately, I'm not married to a man who could care less how my hair looks.  He gets a kick out of my changes, and has been known to say things like, "Yeah, I never know WHO I may come home to in the afternoon."  I think he finds it an endearing part of my personality, as opposed to a flaw.  Lucky for me!  Then again, maybe he's just thankful that my boredom gets taken out on my hair, because I certainly have no desire to get rid of my hubby!  :)  He's stuck with me!... funky hair, and all!!!

Day 70. Weekend Breakfast

For years, on Sunday mornings, I've served my kids cinnamon rolls for breakfast.  Since our recent food changes, I have not bought this canned product to serve to my kiddos, and tried to replace it with something new.  One week, I tried English muffins with several choices of toppings.  They didn't like any of them.  Another morning, I tried waffles, which they enjoyed, but nothing has come close to the cinnamon goodness they were accustomed to!  I think I finally found a winner.  The point is, it has to be something quick and easy, but different than what they'd eat through the week.  This is a modified version of "monkey bread," since I don't have a bundt pan.  These are canned biscuits from Trader Joe's, but they have whole ingredients instead of preservatives and hydrogenated oils.  Never mind the fact that they're 10 grams of fat per biscuit!  At least it's natural, and their bodies know how to process it.  After all, it's a "treat" once a week, so I think we can make allowance for it!

Day 69. Bed Time.

A few entries ago, I posted a photo of this same bed, with Superman hanging from his feet, off the side.  If you don't remember it, you can take a look here:  Superman Photo

Only a few nights later, I went into my youngest child's room to check on him before I went to bed myself.  He was sound asleep, with all of what you see above him.  What a goof.