It is time for you to leave.

Listen here you pesky 10lbs that have shown up on my arse.
I don't recall inviting you to stay.
Don't you see that elliptical in the other room?
It was purchased to run you out of town.
Please go take residence on some other skinny butt, they will appreciate you way more than I.
You are not welcome here.
You are making me crabby.
Summer is coming up fast.
And yes, I know you will look much better tan.
Because we all know tan fat looks so much better than white fat.
But still.
Nobody likes company this long.
Pack up and leave.
Please.

Carter Received the Mighty Oak Award

 Carter's class voted to give him the Might Oak Award. He didn't know that he was receiving it but his dad and I were let in on the secret.

 Here is the Principal placing the ribbon around his neck. He was so excited he could not stop grinning. Neither could his parents for that matter!

 His teacher, Ms. Higgins is reading about the characteristics that led Carter to receive the award

 Yes I took a lot of pictures. Yes I am posting all of them. I am mom and this is my son and I am so proud of him. Plus he is really cute and pretty sweet!

I love this picture. It just makes me smile from ear to ear looking at it. Cannot tell that he is very excited about it, can you?

Sam joins the National Honor Society

Sam joined the National Honor Society last week...Woo Hoo! He love all the attention. Can you see the excitement on his face?  Actually I did get a smile out of him, he knows how proud we are of him.

Martha is excited for him too. Can you tell?

There is the wood for my house that they have started to install today. So ready for this to be done with.

Relax Martha, go back to sleep.

Refinished Night Stand a Craigslist Find

This is one of my latest Craigs list finds.  It was down in Sylva, NC which was a little bit of a haul from my house. About an hour but that is OK because it was a beautiful drive AND I hit a few Goodwill's along the way.

I am starting to see a pattern in a lot of the furniture that I have been picking up. Burn marks. Cigarette burn marks. Some of them are worse than others and it only is a problem is if the top is a veneer. With a veneer you can only sand but so much. Over sanding of a veneer will thin the top layer of wood too much and you will see the glue that is used to adhere the veneer to the top of the piece of furniture. If this happens no amount of stain will cover it up. You will see the glue through the stain.

This piece of furniture was stamped fruitwood on the back.

The sides of the stand are also a thin veneer.

I just really liked the curves of this piece and it appeared to be fairly well made, solid. It was also in fairly good condition. Not a lot of scratches.

I stripped it down with stripper to minimize the amount of sanding on the top. The front is solid wood. I used steel wool to get into the edges but intentionally left a little of the original stain. Where you can see this is on the top drawer left side.  If you do not completely remove all of the original stain the furniture will not accept the new stain.

I stained this piece with a Minwax Mahogany stain. I decided to go darker because if I had used a lighter stain it would have looked a lot like the original finish. It would have also shown the variations in the wood of the drawers.  I liked the idea of the dark stain with the shades of the old stain underneath. giving it a distressed  or a rubbed finish.

I used the original hardware. Scrubbed them with a wire brush to get the crud off and shine them up a little.

The plan was to put it in Sam's room but I am liking it a lot in the family room. This means I need to keep looking for a nightstand for Sam. Oh darn.

Not too bad for a $40.00 purchase.

Ten things to know BEFORE you move to Duluth

Ya gotta love Garrison Keillor!

Bullying from the past

 Have you ever had something rolling through your head that you want to blog/write about but think you may be opening yourself up a little too much? Or maybe what you want to write about may offend someone if they realize who are what you are talking about. You know what you want to say but are afraid it may come across wrong?

 You think about it. Dwell on it a little too much. You know it is your own recollection and bad memories and others will not remember it in the same way. Things that have happened a long time ago and you have gotten passed it. Moved on. But it still hurts.

 School years are brutal. I cannot speak for boys but girls are retched. I have very distinct memories of some of the girls that I went to school with and how mean they were to me. Well not just me but a lot of other girls also. I hated going to school. I could not wait to move away after graduation.

 I left after graduation and never looked back. I would go home to visit my family but that was it. No class reunions, why would I subject myself to that? Some things I just could not let go of.  Things that I remember clear as if it was said yesterday. Never anything physical. Words. Words that were said that filled me with hatred for them. I could never understand how people could be so mean.

 Of course now as an adult I have a much better understanding of people and why they do what they do. I know also that these people have completely forgotten just how mean they were to me. Is that a flaw in me that I cannot forget.

 I went home for an all class reunion after 23 years after some serious encouragement from a dear friend, the only  person I kept in contact with from school.  My husband went with me for moral support. I had no high expectations. Just expectations of bad treatment from people that I went to school with for 18 years. Why was I doing this? Curiosity is probably the best answer to that question.

What I did get was a huge hug from a girl that hated me in school. The things she said to me back then were nothing but cruel. I can rattle of a dozen things right now. All I would like is to forget them. I was very confused by the warm greeting that I received from her. Did she forget just how bad she treated me? Or did she just not think that the things she said were mean or had an impact.

I have heard that others that I have gone to school with are dealing with bullying with their own children. She is now experiencing bullying with her daughter. No, I am not thinking Karma is a Bitch.

 What I am thinking is they kids have no idea that they are doing it. They think it is funny. They are just kidding around.

 Just joking around while saying very hateful things.

 These things have long term affects on people.  I just don't trust people easily. I tend to believe that people will do what they can to serve themselves.

 Having a teenage daughter has brings all these things so close to the surface. I don't dwell on others being mean to her. I worry about her being mean to others. Why isn't it the other way around? Is it that I know she is a strong, beautiful, smart girl. That she has everything going for her?

 I don't know how I would handle it if she were mean to others.

 I don't know.

 Maybe ignorance is bliss.

 I also have two boys. I am sure that I will experience some trials with them also.

 They are very different though. That is for sure.

 Much easier to understand.

 Sticks. Bugs. Building stuff, Taking it apart. Things seem to be very clear with them.

 Very little drama. No theatrics.

 And to think I was worried about having boys

What was I thinking?

Hey, if it works

Over Easy Cafe in Asheville, NC

The old saying of "Look what the cat dragged in" brought in our friend Sam from Alabama. Sam is up in our neck of the woods for a few weeks so she ventured over the mountain to hear friends play in the Blue Grass Festival.
My husband met Sam on the Internet.  A bunch of bad biker dudes talk on the Internet and then decide to meet up somewhere in the country. This really raises all kind of stereotypes, most of which couldn't be further from the truth with this crowd. The group is spread all over the country and get together formally once a year for the official forum reunion. When someone is traveling we always have a place to stay. Friends that go out of their way to make room for you. We have housed several friends that have been on the road and it is always an enjoyable visit.
Sam showed up late last night, her friends  didn't go on stage until 10pm so that meant she did not even get to our home until 12:30ish. We had planned on going to brunch  late in the morning...
I had the BEST breakfast EVER. The Over Easy Cafe is nothing much to look at. It is one of those places that would be very easy to keep walking past if you were to peak in. Eh, lets keep moving would be a likely thought. It is very casual, a dive look to it. Thankfully there was not a terrible wait, 20 minutes. The rain and the threatening storm had a lot to do with that.


Sam had the French Toast with fresh fruit and over medium egg.

I had the Zorba the Greek. An omlette with sundried tomatos, olives, feta and spinich. Kale and a biscuit. I cannot begin to tell you how delicious it was.

I am loving my camera phone. I can take pictures incognito and I don't feel like a tourist. The photos are not nearly as clear and there is a lot of noise but that is ok.

Sam the Auburn fan, shared with us a card that she has in her wallet. The Auburn University Creed..

I believe that this is a practical world and that I can count only on what I earn. Therefore, I believe in work, hard work.

I believe in education, which gives me the knowledge to work wisely and trains my mind and my hands to work skillfully.

I believe in honesty and truthfulness, without which I cannot win the respect and confidence of my fellow men.

I believe in a sound mind, in a sound body and a spirit that is not afraid, and in clean sports that develop these qualities.

I believe in obedience to law because it protects the rights of all.

I believe in the human touch, which cultivates sympathy with my fellow men and mutual helpfulness and brings happiness for all.

I believe in my Country, because it is a land of freedom and because it is my own home, and that I can best serve that country by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with my God."

And because Auburn men and women believe in these things, I believe in Auburn and love it.

-George Petrie (1945)

Dessert was in order.
For some reason Asheville has a lot of gourmet chocolate shops. Not complaining one bit but it seems kind of odd. I don't know if you have ever had Lavender Milk Chocolate but I will be indulging in it again in the near future.

Walking in and out of shops, dodging the rain we met the shop cat guarding the front door.

Mighty ferocious...not. I don't think she weighed 4 lbs.

Love the name of this concert series...I tease the kids that they ride the short bus. I know, not very politically correct and I shouldn't tease, don't lecture me.