Here’s the backstory: Sweet Guy has been working on the Boy Scout merit badge on Personal Finance. One of the requirements is that he keep a 3 month budget calendar with the thought of keeping track of how an allowance is spent. In our home we don’t give an allowance. Chores are done as part of the responsibility of living in the home and helping the family as a whole. However, opportunity is given in that extra chores can be done for pocket money.  I would like to say he eagerly does extra ... View the Post

Oh I love these curtains! I’ve mentioned before that the man cave is a very tiny space. It was probably built with an office space in mind or perhaps a nursery. There is just one very small window in the far corner of the room. (Why Mr. Contractor WHY?????) Given that the window is tiny and off set I didn’t really want to draw to much attention to it. The room is also very dark. Which makes taking decent pictures of the space a bit…difficult.   Given the ... View the Post

Ask any woman to tell you about herself and 99% will say WHO they are… wife, mother, friend. Ask any man to tell you about himself and 99% will inform you about WHAT they do… lawyer, teacher, engineer. During decorating consultations with most married couples I have found that the men tend to be VERY concerned about where their awards and antlers will be hung. They care NOTHING about paint color or fabric. When I give a man a moment to tell me about their awards and then let the man know ... View the Post

This was my Sweet Boy on Monday morning. This was my Sweet Boy Monday Afternoon. Look at those ultra straight pearly whites! We really celebrated his reveal. <img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/-2mvl_3szYE0/Ugt9R64eUUI/AAAAAAAAfm0/kjlPHnTGogY/video17ab2dad21ee%25255B2%25255D.jpg?imgmax=800" style="border-style: none" galleryimg="no" onload="var downlevelDiv = document.getElementById('2f654666-79d9-4a1d-ab1c-eec9dae80360'); downlevelDiv.innerHTML ... View the Post

Happy end of summer seashell wreath. To begin we have to go back to last spring when I made a burlap wreath with fresh flowers. Then it got boiling hot so I switched the flowers for faux succulents. Slowly but surely the blistering Arizona sun has transformed the lovely burlap into a rather orange mesh mess that wasn’t very pretty. I needed to take it down but wasn’t quite ready for a fall wreath. Going back even further, four years ago, in our old house, I had made a shower ... View the Post

Earlier this week I ordered the books for the next three classes I will soon begin taking. I found myself STILL irritated and bitter about last semester’s photography class. I don’t much care for being irritated and bitter. So I sought to change my attitude. I imagine that the wise people responsible for selecting the required classes for various majors strive to make sure that upon graduating a 20 something student will be a well rounded person. But perhaps if you are a 44 year old student ... View the Post