New Giveaway!

I'm addicted to online shopping.  Ever since I discovered how easy Christmas shopping was from the comfort of my couch, actual store shopping hasn't been the same.  One click shopping while drinking a beer and watching old reruns of 90210?  Yes ma'am, sign me up!

I've been browsing a lot more lately since deciding on redecorating room by room.  As I stated in my last post, I'm starting with the office but sometimes my finger gets a bit itchy and I start looking at items for other rooms like modern duvet covers for the bedroom.  Considering our current comforter is camouflage with fish on it (What? It's comfortable...), I think it's about time to update. 

(Hey Mom, Christmas is right around the corner. I promise shopping from your couch with a beer in hand is more awesome than you think. In case you want to practice your online shopping skills, I'll take this one. Don't forget the cute birdie pillow! Thanks.)

I would also be content with a Philadelphia Eagles blanket.  And pillows.  And sheets.  And curtains.  And sofa.  And recliner.  Is it weird that I'm nearing 29 and would be perfectly happy with a decked out Eagles room?  Don't answer that.  I love football.  It's another addiction of mine.

To get into the upcoming football season (that I have been oh so patiently waiting FOREVER for), CSN Stores is once again sponsoring a giveaway!

This basket would be perfect to take tailgating!  It would be perfect to take many places but I've got football on the mind.

Just leave a comment (one per person) stating which color you would prefer if you were to win.  Make sure to include your email address if I don't already have it.  I will pick the winner using a random generator on Friday at 11 AM CST.  Unfortunately, this is only open to US Residents at this time.

Good luck!

File Cabinet Transformation

We moved into our house back in the middle of January.  I swore to everyone that I would post pictures as soon as I had finished decorating.  Do you know how expensive decorating is?  We were moving from a small 2 bedroom apartment into a rather large rancher.  I also never decorated the apartment since we were only supposed to be there 6 months.  6 months somehow turned into 2 years and yet, I never hung one single picture.  I never even bought one single picture.

Upon moving in, I had ideas for each room in the house.  Unfortunately I didn't have the money to make those ideas happen.  I gave up after about 2 weeks and the house has sat nearly empty all this time.  Sure, we have some furniture but that's about it.  Take for example the guest room and office/guest room.  The only reason those rooms have beds is because Howard's mom and grandmother visited in April and we didn't think it would be polite to ask them to pitch a tent out back or crash on the couches.  I know!  We are THAT  nice.

So after 8 months of living in a barren house, I've decided the key is to go room by room.  Attempting to decorate a whole house is intimidating and expensive.  I wanted to start on a smaller scale so I chose the office/guest room.  I just finished my first project so I figured I'd share. 

As ugly as our filing cabinets are, we need at least one.  There was nothing technically wrong with either of them.  But talk about an eyesore.  I chose the one I thought was less offensive and gave it a makeover.  The other one will go downstairs in the basement in storage for the time being.

BEFORE

AFTER

Howard, who was at first skeptical of my creative talents, even admitted he loves it.  He wants me to do the other one.  It was extremely easy.  I just used some spray paint and vinyl wall art panels. 

Sometimes I even impress myself.

This morning Howard and I ate at a diner in Greeneville, TN.  I overheard a conversation between the cashier and a customer while the customer was checking out.

Cashier:  Thank you.  Have a great day!

Customer:  I plan on it.  Had a bad one back in '84.  Didn't much like it so I decided not to have anymore.

Seriously. Awesome.

Olive To Sew Giveaway!

My friend and sorority sister, Kere, is having a giveaway over on her blog!  The best part is you get to choose the prize =)  And there is so much to choose from.  Just visit her website to browse around and find something you love, then head on over to her blog to enter.

Be Nice To Me Karma...Please?

This past weekend, Howard and I agreed to do nothing.  No adventuring into town.  No grocery shopping.  No leaving the house at all.  On Saturday morning, he slept in.  On Sunday morning, I slept in.  I woke up around noon and made my way to the kitchen.  Howard was standing at the fridge packing a mini-cooler with beer. 

WOW!  Already? 

If you had my morning, you'd be doing the same.

Oh? 

There was a snake in the garage.

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Why are you laughing?  It's not funny.

Yes.  It SO is.

I laughed as he proceeded to tell me all about finding it.  I laughed as he described creeping across the garage to get the shovel.  I laughed and laughed because I was imagining my experience with the already dead snake I attempted to kill.  My laugh turned into more of a nervous chuckle when he began describing hosing all of the blood out of the garage.

Blood?

Yes, Dana, blood.  Take a look at the picture I took to determine if it was poisonous.

Insert a ton of bleeps here and then finally...  That is not a snake.  That is an anaconda!  What the hell is in it's mouth?

A frog.  (As my face crumbles and he knows I might cry...) But don't worry, once I hit it with the shovel, the frog happily hopped away.  (Shut up and let me believe what I want.)

I have put off writing this until now because Howard's been out of town.  I couldn't help but believe Karma was going to leave a snake in my bed as my punishment for laughing hysterically at a situation I may not absolutely no freaking chance would have been able to handle.  And we all know I would be on my way to Northern Virginia the nearest hotel for the night.

And why not Northern VA?  Because of GChat conversations with people back in Nova from the past two days that start like this:

Amanda: took me 2 1/2 hours to get into work today

AND:

Kathleen: DMV since 7:30am didn't get out until 10 am

If you read my list of reasons why I like living in KY, you will find:

c. Absolutely no traffic...ever

AND:

g. No lines or taking numbers at the "DMV"

I WIN!  Snakes and all.

 

Pour Some Sugar On...My Teeth

I really hate the dentist.  Not the dentist himself, but the whole idea of the dentist.  I strongly believe it is a form of legal torture.  Yet I submit myself to the pain every 6 months for my pearly white whitish teeth.  Bad teeth genes kind of run in my family so it's no surprise the dentist finds at least one cavity during each visit.  Once he found 14.  But let's not get into that right now.

Last week I noticed what looked to be a black spot on one of my back molars.  I, of course, freaked out.  I figured my tooth was rotting.  I called my mom near tears.  I called my dad and blamed him for procreating.  He, in turn, made jokes about me trying to fit in with my toothless employees.  I harassed my friends over GChat with disturbing mental images of my decaying tooth.  I made promises to myself to floss 4 times a day for the rest of my life.  To never drink another soda.  To cut sugar completely out of my diet.  To never drink another beer (bahahaha).  Then I called the dentist.

My appointment was set for this past Friday at 4 pm.  I had a little more than 48 hours to go.  I couldn't stop thinking about how much my tooth was rotting with each passing second and I made sure whoever I was talking to at the time was thinking about it too.  I checked it every hour in the bathroom mirror.  I received a call Friday around lunch that the dentist was very ill and had gone home for the day and she needed to reschedule me for Tuesday at 11:30 am.  Cue my emotional breakdown over the phone with the receptionist.  DON'T YOU GET IT?  MY TOOTH WILL BE GONE BY THEN!  And then I thought that maybe if my tooth did fall out, I could sue.  And then I would be rich enough to get new, perfect non-rotting teeth!

Today I went to my appointment.  I drove over 30 minutes to get there.  I was very nervous the entire time.  I kept thinking about how the dentist had told me in March to make sure to floss everyday.  And how I flossed like once...in 6 months.  When I checked in, the receptionist told me that my insurance wasn't covering today's appointment and that it would be $50 plus 20% of any service the dentist needed to perform.  Dollar signs bounced around my head.  What does a rotting tooth cost these days?  I settled back in the chair and showed him the problem.  It took him, oh, about 3.7 seconds to tell me that what I was seeing was just a small reflection of an old filling I had between my teeth.  It was casting a small shadow on my tooth.  My tooth is fine. 

Huh.

He said he appreciated my proactive attitude about my oral health and said he wouldn't even tell the insurance company I was here today.  Instead he will charge it to them in September when I come back for my cleaning.  I'm not sure exactly what 3.7 seconds of scanning my mouth costs but I'm glad I'm not the one paying for it. 

Oh, and then I went to Quiznos which made it all worth it.

In conclusion?  Screw flossing.  Hand me a beer.  My teeth are badass.

Elrod's Fine Liquors

We discovered the very last liquor store we can go to before crossing over into dry country on the way home from Paducah a couple months ago.  We knew from the very instant we walked in, that this was a special liquor store.  Our first hint was the man behind the counter.  Long, brown mullet.  A lit, Marlboro Red hanging from the left side of his mouth.  A tattered, old flannel vest hanging open, no shirt underneath leaving his rotund beer belly exposed.  In his hands, a wooden bat.  As Howard and I approached the Bud Light cooler, I whisperered, "Where are we?"  His response?  "Kentucky".

When we got to the counter Howard asked what the bat was for.  The guy, let's call him Elrod, said he had just chased two thieving punks out.  Howard then asked to use the bathroom.  Elrod says, "Sure.  You're in luck, it's not in use right now."  And then points over his shoulder out the window towards a clump of trees and bushes. 

Howard coming back from the "bathroom".

Since then, we've been in a few more times.  Each time we get a little more comfortable.  After looking over his weapon collection behind the bar, Howard asked him where his shotgun was.  Elrod didn't waste any time explaining to us that the police took it when he was arrested back in October and charged with a felony.  His court date is in late August and he has to sell the liquor store before then or it will be taken from him as it is illegal to own and operate a liquor store with a felony on your record.  We haven't asked what he was arrested for yet.  Maybe next time.

He has several signs hanging around the store.  Most are handmade and warn of the dangers of stealing.  This one is my favorite:

He obviously has no dogs on the premises.  And that electric sign?  It says "Y'all Come Back".  Except he doesn't spell come that way.  Let's just say it's a little more explicit.  Needless to say, I'm going to be very sad when this fine establishment closes down or trades ownership.

On the Front Porch

Meet Bella =)

My newest niece, Bella!  Congrats Karen & John!

Spice Jenga

Howard and I usually end up standing around the kitchen island talking on weekend nights when drinking.  This past weekend, Spice Jenga was born.  Our spices are on the center of the island on a lazy susan.  I'm not sure who started the game but it was highly entertaining.  We made sure to take out all of the glass jars (after the first one fell and luckily did not break).  I posted a picture on Facebook by accident.  I was trying to email the picture to Howard's brother and hit the wrong button.  The responses I got were varied.  I think most people were wondering what Kentucky has done to us but this is nothing new.  We have always made games out of the most random things in an effort to entertain ourselves.  Don't judge us.

July Freebies

Check out everything I received for free in the mail during the month of July!

Who said nothing in life is free ;)



PS.  This is my 200th blog post.  Go me!