Redecorating

I have decided that it's time to redecorate.
I'm not going to go overboard.  I just want some fresh ideas for the summer.

The theme to the full bath is Palm Trees and Beaches.  The shower curtain looks like a photograph of....a palm tree, water and an island.  But it's torn around some of the hooks because it's made of plastic.  I'd like to replace it with a cloth one for durability.  So tomorrow I'm going to Walmart, Target, Kohl's and JCPennies to price compare.  I'd like to stay with the same motif because I just bought new bathroom linens a couple months ago and they are still in great condition.

My bedroom is beige...."crisp cracker" actually, with one wall painted metallic purple.  I love it.  I don't want to change it.  So I've decided to get new bedding instead.  I already placed an order for a new comforter/quilt and shams.  It's old-fashioned stitching in the shape of a star.  Something that you'd find in a farm house.  It still has purple in it, but also a splash of light green.  As long as I'm going shopping, I'm going to look for some new sheets too.  Real grown-up sheets.  Solid colors...in light green.  It's time to put away (a.k.a. get rid of) childish things.  I still have my NKOTB and Tweety Bird sheets, although I can't use them because they're for a twin bed.

It feels good to cleanse the house of old, unwanted things and start fresh!

Cleaning House

I know I stated in an earlier post that my parents are going to have a garage sale in two weeks.  I know I have a lot more junk that I need to get rid of then just books and movies so today's project was to tackle the bedroom closet.  I have so much stuff stored in there than just clothes.  I've got bedding (sheets, pillows, quilts), suitcases, shoes (high heels galore, leather boots, flip-flops, sneakers), my tennis bag (rackets and balls), my softball bag (glove, balls and ankle braces) and old school stuff ( Immaculate, Heights and Hennepin Tech). 

A lot of stuff I know I could store downstairs (like my sports stuff), but it's a habit I can't break.  I still feel like I live at my parents because I store all my $hi+ in my bedroom.  That's something I need to work on.  Declutter and use my WHOLE house for storage.  But it's so convenient to have it in the same spot it's always been in.

Going through some boxes, I came across ribbons I earned for sports at Immaculate.  Volleyball and Softball pins from the award banquets and even the 8th grade graduation ribbons.  Immaculate's equivalent to a high school diploma.  One was originally blank but you filled it with signatures of your classmates.  Guess where it went....the garbage.  Remember....declutter.  I really don't care for the people that I went to grade school with.  Don't really need any reminders.

Then I came across some photo memorabilia from tennis in high school.  Now those were good times.  Most of the people that I still consider good friends, I met because of tennis.   Even if I don't talk to them every day, much less every month, or never, I would still stop them on the street and say hello and see what's new. ( FYI:  I posted and tagged them on FB just in case I didn't tag everyone right.)

Just under these photos was a Sam Goody ad that my sister found in a People Magazine the summer before Senior Year.  In the ad was a guy that was in my class.  (I'm 98% sure it was him at the time, but one can never be too sure.)  It was Adam.  At the time I thought it was cool that someone I had known was in a national magazine.  I can't believe I still have it after all these years.  It's been sitting in a box for at least 10 years.  I hope this doesn't make me sound like a stalker.  I just get attached to things. 

Take my shoes for example.  I still have so many shoes that I used to wear in high school.  They still fit; my feet are the same size.  I just don't wear them anymore.  But when the lining exposes the sticky glue that holds the lining to the sole is no longer held in place by said glue, in the trash they go.

And don't get me started with prom.  OMG!  I totally want to burn my senior prom pictures.  I was not the party hardy girl I am known for today.  I did not dance.  I did not have fun.  I was too self conscience to dance in front of other people.  Why go to prom when you're not going to dance or have fun.  I went with the wrong people.  They weren't my friends.  Well, they were friends at the time, but not anymore.  If KDWB has a Second Chance Prom, please vote for me.  Submit my name.  I'm all in.  If I get selected, I will have a date that I want to go with and am not forced to go with.  I told you to not get me started.  Ugh!

I can't take much more of memory lane.  I'm too exhausted.  I still have 1/2 of my closet left to go through.  Maybe I'll post some more about my next discoveries.

Reading List

I've always loved to read.  I try to keep some kind of book on the bedstand, even if I don't touch it for weeks or in one case, months at a time.  I've been on a roll for about a year and a half now and I owe it all to the Twilight Series.  I burned through those between Thanksgiving and Christmas of '08. 

What was I to do next?  I was itching for another series.  I happened to be at the Unique Thrift Store in St. Anthony and I found two Harry Potter books for $2 a piece.  And these were HARD COVERS!  What a deal!
Again, page turners and I was done with the series by the time the 6th movie came out, which was July "09.  I was a little sad to see the series end.  I pictured myself as an actual character at Hogwarts.  Leaving all my friends behind just like high school graduation; saying goodbye. 

I am now in the 3rd book of, dare I say it out loud, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  I know, I know.  It's a little immature for my brain, but the vocabulary is just right.  Not too big of words and not too small either.  I loved the movies so much I wanted to see if the books were any good. 

After I complete this series, I'm going straight into the Wicked Trilogy: Wicked, Son of a Witch, and A Lion Among Men.  Then we'll see about the Lord of the Rings.  My sister already has The Hobbit and I have the first book of TLOTR.   I might be biting more than I can chew with this but I've been told that if I make it through the first 5 chapters of the Hobbit, I should be fine.

I've also been thinking about doing the classics.  With authors like Emily Dickinson, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens.  But I'm a little scared of the old English literature.  Will I be able to understand it?  Or will it go over my head? 

 I've heard that The Time Traveler's Wife is a wonderful book, but I loved the movie too much. I think I'd be setting myself up for disappointment.  The same goes for Nicholas Sparks.  Movies made based on his novels are SOOOO much better.  I don't get any emotional connection with his characters.  And the ending of The Notebook (book) was horrible.  If you haven't read it, spoiler alert.  Do Not Read Any Farther.  Skip to the Next Paragraph.  In the book, Allie and Noah has sex in the last scene, roll credits.  Okay:  if she has amnesia and she only remembers who they actually are for only 2 minutes, Noah better get on, have an orgy, and get done quick because she'll lose who she is and start screaming bloody murder, rape....  The nurses will come in to see what the heck is going on.  Can you imagine the embarrassment of walking in on two old roosters doing the dirty deed.  Oh, my eyes!  My eyes!  But the movie was much more eloquent, much more sadder.  They pass away in their sleep, holding each other in their arms, holding hands.  Proof that they were soul-mates.  They couldn't live without each other.  How sweet!  <  Sniffle  >  Pass the Kleenex.  Now that's being emotionally connected with the characters.


Now then.  Any suggestions of books that are too good to pass over?

Lilacs

There is a Family Circle magazine at the dental office that has lilacs on the cover.  I've had many patients this week comment on how beautiful they look.  This event has made me reminisce about my childhood and growing up in Heights.

Our next door neighbor had 2 HUGE lilac bushes.  One purple and one white.   She would let Mom come over a couple times a month, clip a bunch, and then we would put them in a vase in the kitchen.  I love the smell of fresh cut lilacs.  I would place them on the top of my favorite flowers list.

Now that we all have moved away, that is one thing that I miss.  Lilacs in the kitchen.  With the windows open and a light breeze coming through to tickle the blossoms and the fragrance traveling to your nose.

Aaah!

( A house a couple of blocks away has a small lilac bush.  I've thought about sneaking over in the middle of the night and stealing a bunch. But that's the evil Julie and I don't listen to her much.  Maybe I should a little more ; )

Cold or Just Allergies

The last couple years I have come to realize that I may have seasonal allergies.  I've always thought they were colds, but now I think my eyes are just a little wider to the difference.  But now I'm confused and I don't know whether to take cold medication or allergy medication.

It started about 2 weeks ago.  I have this little tick of clearing my throat and popping my ears.  My sister yells at me to stop making gross-throaty sounds but sometimes I do it without realizing it.  I believe this is part of the seasonal stuff.  All that gross stuff draining from the sinuses.

On Wednesday I couldn't take it anymore.  I broke down and dug into the medication cabinet.  Benadryl....yes!.....but it's expired.  Oh well.  Took 2 pills and off to work I went.  Didn't notice if it helped or not.
 
Thursday I forgot to take something before heading into work so I borrowed 2 Sudafed from Tracy.  It helped a little I guess.  I couldn't be away from a Kleenex box for more than 5 minutes.

Friday I took 6 more Sudafed.  This time from my own stash.  But by the time I got home from work it was much worse.  I could definitely tell I had sinus pressure.  My eyes felt like they were going to pop out.

This morning was no different except it also felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest.  I could barely go downstairs without wheezing and being light-headed.  Constantly sneezing.  My eyes were red and watery.  My nose was running like I just saw tear-jerker.  You know the kind?  The kind of movies that you dread the lights coming on when the credit's roll because your eyes are blood-shot and you cheeks are moist. 
Did a Walgreen's run in the early afternoon to see if there was something else that would work.   Got some Kleenex, Claratin, more Sudafed and some Alavert.  Never tried Alavert before but it had all my symptoms on the box.  It was for Colds and Allergies.  I spent the whole day on the couch, sleeping most of the day away.  Being able to breathe through my nose is something that I always take for granted.  When it's taken away, I can become a snotty little brat.  No pun intended.

I've seen many posts on Facebook about people being sick.  Are we all spreading it around to each other or again....is it just allergies?  Hopefully tomorrow will be better, but just in case....I'm keeping my Super Soft with Aloe 3-ply's super close.

Flea Markets

I'll blame it on the way I was raised.  My parents are total freaks when it comes to garage and rummage sales or flea markets.  Every weekend when I was little, I would be held "hostage" in the back seat while we drove to Monticello or Taylors Falls.

It was always such a long, boring car ride.  But once we got there, it was time to shop for a good deal.  Monticello was my favorite.  It was held in what seemed like a refurbished horse stable.  The smell outside was that of farmland.  Stinky, stinky manure.  But once you stepped inside the flea market, the aroma of buttery popcorn.  Never had any, but always hoped "one day" mom and dad would buy some at the concession stand.  Why that stands out in my memory I have no idea.

This is also the place where I purchased my first CD.  It was "The Nutcracker Suite".  I bought a CD before I had a CD player.  I had to save up my allowance for weeks in order to even listen to it.  Geez, this must have been around 7th grade.  How things have changed....kids have ipods now.  I also purchased my first "slap" bracelet.  Remember those?  A piece of plastic that would be stiff as a stick and you would slap it against your wrist and it would curl around.

Now that I can control how I spend the weekends, I wouldn't mind a Saturday drive to do a little country shopping.  I don't even know if either of those flea markets are still open.  If they were, it wouldn't be the same.  Times change, people change.  But reliving those lost childhood memories are an adventure too.