One Man's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure

Have you seen it yet? I just found (hey, it's not 'found' unless you know it's there, right?) a great show called American Pickers on the History Channel Monday nights at 9/8c. It features 2 men who go picking (a new word for antique hunting... ok, sometimes it's junk but then it becomes treasure!) all over America finding great antiques to rehab. It's great! Fascinating! I have, myself, been known to tell Hubby on a Saturday afternoon that I need to get away for a bit and head to my favorite antique/junk store in town or even to Goodwill. Many things in my home that people comment on are from these stores! Sometimes I leave things as I find them, sometimes I spray-paint the heck out of them! So, go to American Pickers and get motivated!

I found the White House print at such a store in Solvang (our last name is White) and the small America the Beautiful box next to the cup is actually a music box I found in a shop in Pennsylvania!

When I go looking, I look for my favorite color (red) and for the scale I may need to fill a space.

I don't worry about something not being quite right if I can paint it or change it somehow to make it work! I have different things I love... Americana, cherries, roosters, and polka dots. If I find anything with these elements on it I am likely to make a purchase! Keep these ideas in mind when you go searching and you can't go wrong! And check out American Pickers!

Pictures: top, many things in our downstairs bath are from an antique shop in town like the towl hooks, small lamp and large glass container filled with travel toiletries for guests.

bottom, the White House print and America the Beautiful music box

The Mother of All Tantrums

We had Uncle Bradley over for the weekend and he and Hubby had just worked a few long hours cleaning out the garage after Tahoe and just winter life. You know, you come in from picking up a child at school, it's pouring rain, you shut the garage door and empty the contents of the car onto the bin in the garage with every intention to bring the bin in and put everything away. Then the baby cries, the nine-year-old needs help with homework and Hubby just called on his way home form work and he's starving... what's for dinner Love? So, after many times of this happening the bin had overflowed, coats, gloves, bags, books, toys, socks and shoes (Bethany takes her shoes and socks off in the car; drives me nuts) everywhere. When those boys said they were gettin' to the garage yesterday I just about whooped with joy!

The cleaning was done, it rained the entire day and was cold. Bradley is a die-hard vegetarian. We decided to head to Soup Plantation for dinner. Plus I had a coupon! Now, I love a good coupon but if you join Soup Plantation's Club Veg they email you the best coupons! I used two buy-one-get-one-free coupons! Now, if you're at all excited as I am about saving something then you'll know that most places only let you use one coupon ("this offer may not be combined with any other offers" blah blah blah) and it is rarely for 50% off people! But I got to use two!!!

Dinner for 3 adults, one nine-year-old and a free baby (ok, that sounds funny 'cause she was anything but free!) was $30! I love a good deal!

We had to run to Walmart because we are putting together our disaster preparedness kit (yep, Haiti and then other earthquakes and tsunamis and weird weather pushed Hubby over the edge and we are now planning for our own world to come to an end) and needed bottles of water and various other items. By this point Bethany had hit her wall. We were in Walmart maybe 10 minutes before she began to melt down. It was slow and easy at first. A fuss here, a bit of a scream there, till she just couldn't handle it anymore. She blew like Mount St. Helen's. We were almost done by that point and just needed to head to the front to pay. By that point she was screaming at the top of her lungs and squirming to get out of whoever's arms she was in. She didn't stop. People started looking. Not nice looking either. We got downright dirty looks. And this was in Walmart! It's not like we were in a fancy department store with a piano playing... this was Walmart! As we walking towards the checkout (ok, we were practically running) I was ahead of the rest of the group sort of leading the pack while Hubby held/restrained Bethany. This lady walking near me must've thought I was there by myself because she looked at Bethany and Hubby then at me and smirked and rolled her eyes. I had just had someone near me in the food section hear Bethany scream from an aisle over say, "that's loud, oh brother". I said to that person that yes, we are proud of her lungs. But by the time the other lady rolled her eyes at me I had had enough. I just looked over at her, smiled and said, "she's mine". I could tell she was mortified. Enough said.

Folks, what kind of world are we in that judges parents of a screaming toddler like they have any real control over the situation? These same people would then judge the same parents if they saw the child get the spanking she needed! Well, what would you like us to do? As soon as I could I took Bethany out to the car and "took care of the problem". But that wasn't before a lot of people judged us. We need to remember that we are all humans together! I'm sure all those people who gave dirty looks have never had a child act out in public. See? No judging allowed! PS, the above picture is the calm before the storm

Goodbye, Tahoe

Just when it's hopeless that I will ever get inspired to write again, life hands me inspiration.

My doorbell rang (no it wasn't HGTV telling me I'd won my house, that happens on March 14th, you can watch us on TV! I just know I am the winner...) and I had three very nice, humble hispanic ladies at my door. The one in the front said, "I think you have my little lost dog in your backyard." Yep, Tahoe the Terror Terrier had a home before he 'found' us and it seems that his family has found him. Hubby and I are thrilled (Tahoe is still here with us, we are waiting to see papers and for Hubby to be home Wednesday night). Savannah and Bethany will be a different story, I'm afraid. In our defense, we always told Savannah that we would keep him until his owners came forward. I believe they have. I do believe my house needs a break, though. He has 'christened' every room in his little doggie-boy way, he chews up anything and everything, my garage (his sleeping quarters, yes, with a dog bed) stinks to high heaven and he has driven our baby (a female golden retriever named Sadie with the most gentle personality and sweetest brown eyes) completely crazy.

That all being said, I think I will miss the little Terror just a little. Bethany says his name in such a cute way and I will miss that. I will not want to see Savannah's heart broken, but she will understand... there are 2 little boys who miss their dog. And don't worry, I already lectured the original owner, "He needs to have a secure backyard 'cause he jumps high, if he gets out he will run back here, you must put a tag on his collar because when we found him there wasn't one, he must be inside when it's cold (he's just a baby and he shakes when he's cold) or when it's windy or rainy or even too hot. The garage will be fine. You can't breed him 'cause we fixed him. Besides there are too many dogs at the pounds that need homes. We also got all his shots and the tags to prove it." My lecture went on and on until I could be certain she got the point. I think she did. Responsible pet-ownership takes work. They didn't do their job because we ended up with him even after we put fliers up and drove the neighborhoods. Hubby installed a very high gate enclosure so Tahoe couldn't get out. This lady said her husband was "very busy". So what did I say? I told her once we see papers and my husband is home to help with our daughters' tears then she may, of course, have their dog back. Plus I told her it would give her time to get their backyard secure and to get her house and garage ready. I will be sad to see him go, relieved to be a one-dog family again and praying for his best and his happiness. I'm glad we found him and took care of him. Someone else may have just called the pound.

Here's to Tahoe the Terror Terrier! Whose real name is something in Spanish I can't pronounce but he'll always be 'Tahoe' to us! photo, Tahoe with Uncle Brad watching the Super Bowl

A Hundred Howling Coyotes and the Hope of a Book Club

Well, like I said our weather would change, and it has. The wind is howling now like a hundred hungry coyotes outside our door. It's cold, too. This weekend will see us retreat to the indoors again much unlike last weekend. Oh well. This will happen several more times before we stay warm. Weather in the high desert is just like this... we get like, two seasons, summer and winter and they each take their sweet time getting here! But, alas, this is what I know and sometimes what we know is such a difficult thing to give up. I remember leaving Twentynine Palms Marine Corps base (in the high desert) to be stationed at Camp Pendleton (by the ocean). I had spent several summers already sweltering in the heat and winters in the cold and wind. Our first summer at the beach I was in sweats the entire time!! I just could not warm up!

Marines (and I'm sure other branches of the service as well) leave their hometowns and are usually stationed so far away. Being on base, you always heard everyone reminisce about home and how great it is, how they can't wait to get out of the corps and go home. What they fail to remember is how they couldn't wait to leave... wanted so bad to just graduate already so they could leave their small towns and get "outta here". They all had dreams of just how incredible the rest of the world would be. But, sure as the sun rises, those guys get away from home for a few months and all they can talk about is how great home is. Bless their hearts. Aren't we all the same way? As a couple, hubby and I have moved around thirteen times. I could cancel and start utilities and change our address is my sleep. I always felt at home in the high desert. It didn't even have to be my small hometown. I just always wanted the desert. We are just the most comfortable with what we know! Right now, I feel very acquainted with the wind!

I just finished a book. I enjoyed it. It's called the Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton. It's about five friends who begin a writing club during the late 60s. As they are raising families and going to the park every Wednesday, their world is changing around them. Women's lib, racism, the race to the moon, computer advances and Vietnam are all happening around their park in Palo Alto, California. During the novel, you're forced to ask if they change the world around them or if the world around them changes them. The last two books I have read are from the Bookmarked Club Pick from Target. I would love to be part of a book club with you all and we could chose books from this section in Target! The logo for all these books is in the upper left-hand corner of these books. I'll go this weekend and pick another one and we can get started! If you have a suggestion, leave it in the comment section for me!

Glorious

Glorious. That is how I would describe our weather recently. For all of you dealing with record snowfalls and coldblasts let me just describe for you what Southern California has been like. Over the weekend our highs averaged 70F. Yep, you read that right. Even in the High Desert. I got not a thing done because we were all too busy outside playing, riding bikes, taking walks, checking out the remnants of my garden, pulling weeds (that's not work to me in this weather) going to the park and basically getting all the vitamin D we could handle. It was, well, glorious. Now that we've gotten a taste of the end of our winter hibernation we must retreat. More rain is coming. Temps are expected to be back to normal, highs in the low 50s. We did enjoy our spring teaser, though.

Another blessing (but shh, Hubby doesn't agree) is that our downstairs TV has quit working! It's even a newer TV but it's on the fritz. Do we Americans have any idea how much we can get done without television????!!! I'm beginning to have an inkling... Hubby came home from work and wanted to go on a walk. We did. It was 5:30, still light out and about 64F. Then we came home, had dinner and Hubby found a movie to watch on the computer, our (mine and his as a couple) favorite... Parenthood with Steve Martin and Mary Steenbergen. We just love this movie for all of the craziness in this one, extended family. Before we had our girls we would watch it and say to each other, "someday we will have great, crazy lives filled with kids and noise!" Now that we're there we are still thrilled to watch this great movie. There's a part that always gets me crying. The grandmother tells a story to Steve and Mary about 'Grandpa' taking her on a roller coaster at a park. She liked the ups and downs, the speed, the twists and turns. Some people didn't like it. They went on the carousel. That just went around in circles. But she liked the roller coaster, "you get more out of it". By the end of her story I am always bawling. Yep, you do get more from the roller coaster. It's great to be reminded of this joy when I've got a toddler hanging off my legs, cooking dinner, helping with homework and laundry going too.

The end of the movie is perfect, too. No, I won't spoil it for you but it's also a tearjerker. The song that plays at the end (credits rolling) is my favorite too. It's 'I Love to See You Smile' and I'm not sure who sings it. Some of the words are, ' I was born to make you happy, I think you're just my style, everywhere I go, out of everyone I know, I love to see you smile'. There are so many wonderful life lessons in this gem... go, run, rent it now!

What? Doesn't Everyone Vacuum Naked?

We have something very exciting happening at our house right now. It's got me all in a twitter! I just love it when I see such progress being made! We are heading (much sooner than I thought for that matter) to the land of "no babies here, no diaper bag needed". Just Mom and Dad with our big girls! We are potty training!!!!! Last week, out of the blue, Bethany said, "potty, Mama" and pointed to her diaper. Well, I'm not one to miss an opportunity to head into "big-girl land" so we ran to the bathroom, all the while me thinking, "yea, right, potty training at 20 months" and expecting nothing to occur in the bathroom. Boy, was I wrong, wrong, wrong! She went, hopped up, let me pull up her pants and put a new diaper on. She just tottled off like she'd been doing this her entire life. Meanwhile, I sat there stunned.

Off we ran to Target for "big-girl panties" (Pull-Ups) and M&Ms (reward). She has had a few 'misses' but mostly 'hits'! She is so ready to do this! I wasn't even going to broach the subject with her till she was two but my incredibly smart, mature, ahead-of-pack daughter had other ideas! No, I'm not partial.

So, we've been spending a lot of time inside, naked (it's the only way to do this) and Bethany is getting it all down pat. She heads off into the bathroom pulling her Pull-Up down without even telling me! She has a cute potty-training potty but only wants to use the toilet! I've said all along that she'd be the child who will be doing everything fast. I will have to hold her back from growing up too soon! But for now, I'm just looking forward to getting rid of my diaper bag and carrying my stylish purses again!

We've had Savannah's BFF here this weekend along with Uncle Bradley. The weather was gorgeous... 65F! All the girls were outside at 10am playing (Bethany in her jammies still!) with Daddy and Uncle. We're about to head to the park. It's also Valentine's Day! I got an elliptical exercise machine!!!! I'm so excited to get started! I made Hubby a big card with poster board and candy bars as substitutes for some of the words (You are my Lifesaver, our marriage is Bliss, I'm gonna kiss you Now and Later, I was a Smartie to marry you). He loved it and I loved making it. I also got him a few other things...

Weird

I have decided we are a weird family. We do weird things. We find weird things funny. We take pictures of our weird family. We take weird pictures of our weird family.

We have a weird way of playing

We have weird fashion sense

We shop for weird things

We have weird fascinations