confessions of a paint-a-holic...

Ok...

Today I was scrolling through

'A Bowl Full of Lemons' blog

{great info by the way}

and saw that in a recent post there was

 one of those link parties going on.

I noticed one entry called

"Who paints this?"

They asked readers to not think of them
as crazy.



Then these two creative women explained
that the hot pink sofa was a prop
for a daughters birthday party.

{they admitted that it's stiff and crunchy}


They asked the question

"who paints this?"

Here's the confession:
And I answered
"I did."

Really.

I did.

I painted my sofa and love seat!

A soft creamy, leather like white.

Before you think I'm crazy
{maybe I am!}

and click out of this post,

please give me a second to explain:

We have 6 often messy kids.

We have 2 hairy drooling dogs.

We have 1 perfect cat.

And we feed our local high school's

varsity football team

{largest school in the state}

messy, drippy, Italian feasts weekly 

all season long.

{usually around 12 weeks with play-offs}

And there are about 65 guys
plus parent volunteers.
That's 780+ plates of food
consumed in the dining room, family rec room,
living room, den, back deck,
screened in area under deck
every fall.

{That's crazy!}

We have a sofa and love seat
that was covered in a
celery green micro suede.
I loved it when it was clean.
But several years later
it was getting harder and harder
to get clean.


"Maybe I'll just donate the furniture
and start over."
But that didn't make any sense:
*The kids aren't grown
*The football team was returning
for a new season.
*And my slip covers were tired.
Very tired.

Then an idea.


It came from my sister.
 
She painted a set of GW chairs
that she had in a
covered outdoor seating area.

She used a semi-gloss dark gray paint
and they looked like
vintage leather chairs!
Not crunchy or stiff.
Just leather-like.
Hmm.

My thought process:
I love the structure of the furniture.
It's the fabric that I have a problem with.
I could donate and $tart over...no.
What do I have to loose?

I got out my semi gloss white paint

I painted the loveseat
and hired one of our daughters
to paint the sofa.
She earned some cash.
No more cleaning furniture for hours for me.
We are all happy!

My 'confession.'

The pink couch is entry  #4

and my confession is #181

in the link party

over at

"A Bowl Full of Lemons."

 

Have a creative and happy weekend!

 

Xo deborah

abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com

for the love {like} of nature

{ good to know }

When I married my friend

23 years ago 

I thought I knew him

really well 

and I thought he knew me

the same.

And we have so much in common.

A few of our favorite things

to do together were:

go fishing

play tennis

play basketball

flag football

etc

or just watch the sun set

as we had a picnic dinner

on a hill or by a lake.

Well, years later here we are

{at my prompting}

fishing at dusk,

enjoying

{or so at least I was} 

the beautiful summer evening 

by the lake

 with several from our

little tribe of children

when I suddenly had an

'ah-ha' moment.

Here it is:

I LOVE the outdoors

during the summer

{and year round}

with camping, cookouts,

hikes, sunset watching, etc.

and my husband...

doesn't.

He likes to hunt

in the fall.

{there are no mosquitos} 

He loves to fish.

{when the mosquitos aren't biting}

And he is highly committed to

running and biking

especially in the afternoon

when the heat index is 112*.

{again, no mosquitos or flies that time of day}

But fishing by the lake at dusk...

Well, let's just say

 the Yard Guard 

wasn't doing it's job.

My kind and getting impatient

husband started stomping his feet

to get the mosquitos off.

{ 'Off' we used that, too}

He started to resemble a horse

in a stall stomping

and swatting at flies

with it's tail.

Guess I'd better get a

mosquito net...

xo deborah

In quietness and in trust

shall be your strength -God

When I create space for quietness

it always amazes me what I hear

 in the absence of visual and auditory clutter.

xo Deborah

wings...

{ Anna }

When our children were very young

I would sing them lullabies.

One of my favorites to sing

contained the words

"...Butterflies go up and down,

fluttering above the ground.

Butterflies soar through the sky.

Some day, baby, you will fly..."

Someone just got her driver's license.

She certainly seems to want to

exercise her wings 
even more now.

{ trust }

I'm always so surprised
at how fast 
a child's wings 
sprout...

 It amazes me.

deborah



.

 

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter. -Cummings

Laughing at myself today...

I saw a picture

of bingo cards

and it reminded me of a time

when I was very, very bored as a child.

Now, as a mom I don't allow the 

"I'm bored" whine at our house

and the consequences for saying those words results in

laundry folding, sparkling toilets, or an extra walk

for the dogs, etc.

But I wasn't a mom yet and I was bored
at bingo. 

Very, very bored.

I would have rather

scooped out the horse barns

or pulled all the weeds in the garden

{which I had to do anyway}

rather than sit in a hard metal folding chair

in a stuffy, very stuffy 

150 year old building downtown.

{LOOK I found a photo of the actual building!}
 

And just sit and wait
as gray haired women

looked at their cards

for N 43 or B 11....

Sigh... 

I would ask mom for gum.

That lasted awhile.

"I have to go to the bathroom!"

Even kids can only use the restroom

just so much in public,

then it gets old.

"I'm hungry."
"Here, have more gum."

I had a way of creating my own entertainment
when I needed to.
Most parents and most adults call this
'getting into trouble'
but I called it creativity.
{at the time}
 

One of my first 'treasure hunting' trips

was in that building.

But I was not really supposed be wandering around

if you know what I mean.

My little brother and I just 'disappeared'

through an old creaky door and climbed up

an old dusty staircase into a very dark hallway.

We couldn't see anything

except for an old, very old portrait

of George Washington
hanging on the wall
in a huge gold frame

 

and dust,
lots and lots of dust.

{dust usually indicates treasures could be near}

{well, not always... my home has dust}

Wonder if that portrait is still there?

L.o.v.e. the mystery of treasure hunting.

Back to bingo...

While we sat and sat and sat 
in those hard bunchy chairs
and watched as the intensity would build
as each bingo-er anticipated that they
could be the next winner of
Mrs. Soandso's dozen fresh baked
cinnamon rolls
{instant carb diet}
or the prize of a free round of
more bingo!
{sounded more like a punishment to me}

I would hear a loud resounding
"BINGO!"
Then the whole room would moan in disappointment
{talk about poor sportsmanship!!!}  
And then they'd clear their cards
and start the routine all over again.

As the emotion in the room began to crescendo
 it happened.
I got a terrible, wonderful idea.

I waited until just the right time...
Everyone was staring with beady, glaring eyes
at their bingo cards 
and whole room was silent as they listened 
for their numbers to be called.


G 52...

B9... 

O 73...

BINGO!!!
{I yelled  in my 'old lady' voice...}

Then the moaning "awwwww..."
and the sound of the cards being cleared.

I think I was the only one
in the whole room

that thought it was funny...

And I still think it's funny... :]

I have been writing this post sitting beside

my husband while he has had surgery to remove

skin cancer.

We have been here for 5 hours.

It was deeper than they thought.

We are off to the plastic surgeon now to rebuild. 

Laughter is good medicine~ God.
added note: we finished at the surgeon's office.
He will be back to his handsome and healthy self soon. :] 

blessings

xoxo deborah

 

creative composition...

{ Create }

Choose well what and who you listen to...

words can be seeds of destiny.

{ Share }
We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.
We are spiritual beings having a human experience.
Pierre Teihard de Chardin

{ Enjoy }
Sight, smell, sound, touch, and taste are all gifts.

{ Dream }
There is no man living that can not do more
than he thinks he can ~Henry Ford 

 { Inspire }
You have gifts to share.
Discover what they are
and go share them with the world.
 

Have a beautiful week.

xoxo deborah

{ images~flicker, Grange de Charme, and Rachel Ashwell}

sometimes it's good to {just be a kid}

 

I took little Seth for a famous

Eileen's Cookie

and while he ate his

blue frosted huge cookie

I played around with my camera

and caught a few expressive glances.

{I think someone enjoyed the spotlight}

Silly boy...

Manners?

Where's your momma?

Sugar overload...

But a delicious one.

Here comes the crash.

Sometimes it is good to

{just be a kid}.

 

Have a great weekend!

xoxo deborah

so kind

{I Found My Home~photo credits}

I just received

The Stylish Blogger Award

from Beth over at 

My Serendipity!

Thank you Beth!

OK, here are the rules 
for participation: 

*  I am supposed to list 7 things

about myself to help you get to know me better.

*  Then pass this award on to

15 inspiring blogs that I follow...

 

OK here we go...
   

7 Things About Me

1. I have enough books

in our family den to open a library.

I get confused at times: is it a den or a library?

I call it both.

{I often do lend out books to friends}

And the titles in my collection range from

building a great marriage, parenting,

gardening, cooking, interior decor,

and children's books, 

to how to train a dog,

issues on health and fitness,

Monet, Shakespere, and Picasso. 

I don't donate or give away good books...

I love to have them as references.  

2.  I am a licensed cosmetologist.

I save on our budget every month

by doing my families hair, etc.

With four daughters, that's a real benefit.

I even foil my own hair to hi-lite...

{That's pretty entertaining}

 

3.  My childhood home was heated

by a very old wood burning furnace.

That meant cutting wood, loading wood, 

unloading wood, stacking wood,

splitting wood all winter long 
when I was a child. 

Oh, memories...

4.  Our oldest son plays college football,

volunteers leadership with a youth group,

and is a good role model for his siblings,

and makes his parents very proud.

 {Am I supposed to be writing about me?}

5.   I love to grow a garden every year

but I have some serious pests to fight off

so that the vegetables  make it to harvest...

The biggest intruder of my garden

is our 110 pound yellow lab.

He is our oldest son's hunting dog

named Winchester.

He likes red ripe tomatoes...

must get out that dog training book...

{*%@!#%:+=}  :]

  

6. I have been the wife of:

a football player

a pizza dough expert

a lawn service boy

a claims adjuster

an insurance agent

a national software manager

a pharmaceutical rep

a district manager

a national trainer and administrator

a motivational speaker

a college and professional sport chaplain

a firefighter and EMT

and armed security...

All that in 22 years with the same man.

{If someone were to ask, "What do you do"?

I'd should say "Try to keep up with my husband"} 

And we still date every week.

:) 

7.   I avoid most addictions

but I confess I do have one...

I LOVE to paint!

I love to transform walls, 

furniture, etc.

with paint!

Like many of you,

I see beyond the appearance of

  before

to what something would look like

after.

{so fun}

{Maybe that was the appeal to cosmetology and hair design, too}

At least for my own hair...

And now for 15 {or so] of my most favorite blogs:

Grange de Charme  

Shabby Chic 

My Shabby Streamside Studio

The Ardent Sparrow

Little Emma English Home
 A Bowl Full of Lemons 

Glamarella Junk
The Musing Magpie
Sadie Olive
French Farmhouse 425
indobay
I Found My Home
greige
junk garden
Bonjour Romance
inspired design
Dreamy Whites
Fabulously French
Go Beyond The Game
{Hi Honey!}
{It's my husband's sports blog}

My apologies for not linking 
each one of these beautiful
and inspiring blogs to their url's.
To make it easier just 
look for each one on my sidebar...

I'm going to have coffee 
with that busy man now
and then go start my
HOME BINDER
and COMMAND CENTER
reorganization.
{see A Bowl Full of Lemons}

And then paint something!
:) 

xoxo deborah