This Is Me or {Being Naked Is Scary Part 2}

Hey Friends!

It's that time of month again, Amy's This Is Me linky party, and I'm really excited (even more so than normal) to link up this month. Ok, I'm really nervous too, I don't normally show my vulnerable side to most people. I'm just not comfortable with it, but it's a bit of relief to take off that "everything is perfect and I have no issues" mask.

Ok so now that we know Michelle has some serious issues (lol!) here's the picture:

It's technically looking towards the ground BUT it was looking down my camera, plus it just connected to me so emotionally I HAD to go with it. I know most people would say "ok this is a total normal let's post to facebook and show people what I'm doing" picture. But not to me. To let you in on how m brain works this is what I see, and what truthfully went through my head, BUT it was fleeting, came in and went out. And truthfully y'all Amy's linky parties have been so wonderful for me, so liberating and the feedback y'all give me well, it has boosted my confidence so much that I can tell myself, 'No Michelle THIS is enough, this moment, this place, these things, these are enough. You don't have to do/be/say anything to be better you *ARE* good enough just being. Right here, right now, right this way - YOU ARE ENOUGH! A very dear dear friend, you know those kind that you might not talk to for a couple months but hen you do u pick up right where you left off like you were talking to them yesterday, yea that kind, well she planted the "enough" seed and started watering a while ago, then Amy came along and this wonderful linky party and she gave me some fertilizer and food and then y'all are watering me with your feedback. Please do NOT misunderstand and think I don't have this support at home because I do and always have from my family, adolescence just wasn't nice y'all, it wasn't. It's just different when you hear it from people that aren't your momma, daddy, hubby or son. I hope and pray everyday that I raise my son and future children to always ALWAYS A-L-W-A-Y-S think of how the person you are talking to will receive the message you are saying. And to always stick up for people even if you don't know them. It's hard to go against the grain, but if you do and you get splinters we will ALWAYS be there to pick them out., be that person that helps pick splinters out.  People just don't realize how deep scars really run, especially when you're young.  Ok so now that I got totally off track, here's my first thoughts.

1) Um, no this will not work because
     a) look  - my belly's protruding into the picture
     b) um ever seen an elephants foot - no? well just look at my heels it'll be a great reference point
     c) yea i'm ssssooooo not linking a picture with the stuffing coming out of the cushion - damn squirrels
     d) I can't see it now, but I'm sure there was a D then.

So all in all, it wasn't PERFECT.

 The belly represented my umpteenth failure at weight loss - even a GASTRIC BYPASS surgery didn't do it.

The elephant hide heels well I don't know what it repped but it just doesn't fit with perfect.

The chewed up cushion, again it wasn't perfect.

What will people say? What will people think? Oh my look at how fat she is she's a failure. Why did she take a picture of her scaly feet? Why hasn't she gotten a pedicure? Oh my word look at that stuffing coming out - why hasn't she replaced it yet?

Remember I forewarned y'all about the way I think, LOL!

All this played like super fast forward in my mind, lasting about two minutes max. Wanna know what then immediately popped into my mind?

ENOUGH

Yes, I am enough, my world is enough, my everything is enough!!

 

I looked at that picture again, and this is what I REthought (yes it is a word even if it isn't ;)

 

I AM going to use this picture because:

a) my belly - well it housed, fed and protected the most wonderful little being ever in my world that we never thought we'd be graced with.

b) my elephant heels - yes I still want a pedicure (who doesn't!?) but I haven't wanted to spend the money or time on it for a while because I've been spending that same money and same time doing amazing adventures and making the most marvelous memories with the most wonderful BIG being in my world that helped make that most wonderful LITTLE being in our world and that same little being.

c) the cushion - it's a freaking cushion!! and it helped a momma take care of her babies during the winter months, be it a squirrel, bird, whatever. it helped another thing survive. I can buy another cushion.

 

This picture also represented that I was starting to take time for things that I enjoyed again. I love to read but had pretty much stopped doing it except for blogs because it took too much time from CLEANING, (aka PERFECTING things). Umm, sorry but that is crazy, (yes I sometimes need a hammer to donk me upside the head). I was just so deep into and surrounded by the trees that I couldn't see the forest.

 

Ok I know that was deep LIKE really really REALLY deep, I don't normally do that but you know sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone.I hope you will continue to come back and I didn't scare you off! I thank God everyday that He has made our paths cross and that we are encouragement to one another.

 

Thank you for watering me!

 

And Amy thank you for fertilizing and feed me AND us!

 

Much Luv,

Michelle

 



 



Coffe Table {Round 3...I think...}

Hey Friends,

Sorry so late in the day, but I wanted to get this up since I said I would have a post and I'm so darn tooting excited about it.

All but one set of our furniture has been hand-me downs, some good others...not so much. Anyways it all served its function. This last set we currently have is our new to me set, and.....I hate it. There I said it. I really do, but I'm stuck with it for a while. A LONG while. Except the tables I can change those babies out one at a time and I have. The two end tables I have done nothing to, they were and are perfect. The coffee table was ok and it would have sufficed but I wanted color. I've always been the 'play it safe with nuetrals' gal but has I'm getting older I'm starting to realize that my tastes are changing, or maybe they've always been there I just followed others lead and wouldn't speak up because it wasn't concurrent with others views. I'd bank on the latter of the two. Plus it was 1980's Goodwill special, the bones, structure and texture are spectacular. I forgot to take before pictures of the actual table but I found one that had the same finish. Mine is a little different, the bottom is just like the top and add some brass balls (no commentary from the peanut gallery - I already giggled like a 5th grade school girl when I wrote it, lol to the 10th degree).

source: unknown

 



Anyways, I bought the most FABULOUS Joel Dewberry fabric from his Deer Valley collection, for living room draperies. Oh My Word y'all these have some color, now I just have to make them but I got about 2 months before I'll have had the fabric for a year so I kinda feel ahead of schedule, HA! I wanted the table to match the aqua green in it so I took it to my ever so helpful Lowe's (not I'm not getting paid to endorse them they are just the most helpful of the two chain and the one sorta independant home improvement stores around us), and had them color match it. I was in luck and got the lady with years of paint experience and matching since cloth is uber hard to match. She matched it to a T! I took it home and it sat....(are y'all starting to notice a trend here??? I'm beginning to think we think everything is like wine and the longer it ferments the better it is - LOL!). I won't say for how long (if I were a betting person I'd say 9 months).

source: unknown

 

This is the fabric that I purchased, the deer fabric pillow is for the front of the drapes, facing the living room. It allowed me to have masculine yet pretty drapes with a hobby that Bubba Hubster and Buckeroo love. The lattice quatra foil fabric is the matching back of the drapes so it looks pretty from the window. I spray painted the brass Goodwill lamps the orange color a while ago. The blue is more greenish in life, that's the table color. Here she is:

 



 

What do you think? I love her. I do think I will have to have two pieces of clear plexi glass for the top and bottom to protect the caning. I distressed it because I really like that look and I used primer and didn't sand it. Quick tutorial: I spray painted primered it, two coats of paint let each one dry in between, distress with sanding block, spray paint sealant. One thing I learned I will ALWAYS sand every piece before painting. It was a good thing I like the distressed look because it was already knicked up after one day of moving it from the garage to the driveway to finish. I learned that sanding allows the paint to grip much better than kust primer.

 

What do you think? The brass finials and feet are just marvelous! I luv it, and she only cost me aprrox $17 with tax, here's the break down:

 

Table: $19.99 w/ 30% off (color tag of the day) $15.29

Paint: $13.00 but still have enough to do 9 other projects with - $1.30 worth

Total: $16.56 with tax

 

Much Luv,

Michelle

 

 



A Little Snippet or {one of Many Overdue Projects}

Hello Friends!

Yes, please do not faint this will be two posts in one day AND that makes three posts in two days!! Shut the front door!!

Anyways, y'all know we live in the country, as Buckeroo says, 'Wear cuntry peeple.' Yes I know that's all jacked up on the spelling but I spelt it phonetically how he says it. Well we've lived in our current home for a little over seven years and we've never had house numbers. Yes, my friends you read that right! Seven years - no house numbers.

Now in hubster's  our defense, no one delivers to our area or at least not until recently and we don't really care for those places that do. And the original homeowners put the driveway on the other street, we have a corner lot. So I figured what the heck why worry about numbers people will be confused anyways and I'll have to go and wave them down as it is. But then, well pinterest came along and I looked at all the houses with these gorgeous porches with the number right under the dental molding. Well SWOON right there! I have a humongous front porch WITH dental molding AND columns. Ace Hardware almost lost their doors I ran so fast! Then they sat....and sat.....and sat. You see this girl right here *I'm doing the fonzie hitchhicker thumb toward myself*  don't do ladders (and yes I know that's grammatically incorrect but I want to prove a point)! I don't do the third step on the three step step stool (wwooooeeeee that was a tongue twister).  So Bubba Hubster was kind enough to get them put up this Spring Break (along with our other matching flag pole that needs a Texas flag - what? did u really think I wouldn't leave another little tidbit to do later :D lol).

What do you think?

 

House without Numbers

 

 

House with Numbers

 

 

I know the angles are different but it's the only before/after pictures I had. Plus that's how I roll peeps, I tell you living on the edge.

 

 

What do you think? I think its like the last little tweak that finishes it, kinda like that fly away hair you gotta hold down with an extra squirt of hairspray.

 

Much Luv,

Michelle

Liebster Award....or {SQUEEL!!!!}

Hello All! I took a break at blogging, visiting and reading while on Spring Break and a business trip. No I'm not a teacher, but we (Bubba Hubster and I) took off Spring Break to spend it all together as a family with Buckeroo. IT was amazing, refreshing and such a wonderful breath of fresh air. But it did come with being a back log of reading and posting. One such great jewel I opened my computer to was finding out that the lovely Rosie @ The Frugal Freshman Homemaker had nominated me for the Liebster Award. SCA-WHEEL!!!!!

So you may be asking what exactly is the Leibster Award? Well it's really awesome, it's a nice little award for smaller blogs with less than 200 followers. It's a little pat on the back and some fuel to keep you going when you think you're the only person reading your blog. You answer the eleven questions posed to you by the nominator, add eleven random facts about yourself and link back to your nominator.

Here's the questions posed to me:

1. What is the purpose of blogging, to you? hmmm, it's a little of everything really. It's my space to vent, to throw ideas around, to allow me to connect with amazing people that I would probably never have been able to connect with. To show off my wonderful family (yes I am biased and yes I show them off alot),
2. Satin or Lace? lace is my thing lately - as a matter of fact this weekend I'm gonna do pin that has lace on the bottom of the capri pants. altho I'm so short I'll have hem the capris higher so that when i add the lace they'll hit the longer length capris
3. Twine or Leather? both - really I'm jonesing on twine right now - it is so versatile! but come on leather who doesn't luv the smell of the real deal???
4. Sequins or Pearls? again both - altho the next thing that truly pops in my head for the next question is "Whips or chains?" HAHA. Sequins because if it blings i want it - my blog name was 'all that glitta and blang' before heart made. and pearls fancy ANYTHING up. kinda like black when you're decorating a room. all rooms need a touch of black
5. What has been your hardest learned lesson in Blogland? that i didn't have to post ALL the time, I don't have a monetized blog so that's ok and works for me. and i stopped worrying about the numbers. i have found some AH-MAY-ZING people that have become great friends thru this blog and that my friends is what it's about for me, CONNECTING. true i can call or text or email when i need something and know that they'll be there connecting.
6. What's one suggestion you have for new bloggers? same answer as #5, and that although sometimes it may seem like you're the only one reading your blog you aren't there are other people out there that are, or maybe they just haven't found it yet, but if it's been put on your heart you need to follow because even if you ARE the only one right now - it's what your soul is telling you you need
7. Situation: The house is a disaster, you walk in the door and your phone goes off. Company will arrive in 15 minutes... what do you do? OY! do u secretly live at my home?? lol. well it would depend on who it was family and friends that know me - nothing but shove the stuff off the couch so they can set and a quick swish of the toilet brush. if more like an acquaintance shove everything into the master and close the door and 'forget' to give them the grand tour, HA! 
8. What's your favorite thing to put on the table when company comes over? food. food makes almost everyone relax and feel comfortable
9. Do you enjoy being a guest or being a host more? hmm, i like when i get to be both - you know when you go to a great friends house for a shindig and you help finish things up. yea that, those are the best!
10. If you could grow any plant in any quantity, what would it be? plants - it's a tie b/t roses and hydrangeas. roses because it reminds me of my grandparents who are both gone and i miss so much every single day that its still hard to think about them, hydrangeas because they are beautiful, crafty and you can change the other with a simple nail! vegetable - oh man that's a hard one. but I'd go with green beans as they are the only veggie that our little family can all agree on!
11. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? flute - I've always wanted to play it it is so whimsical, beautiful, relaxing. just....i don't know, almost fairy tale-ish.

Ok now for 11 random facts about myself.

1. My favorite movie of my childhood is Sound of Music.

2. My favorite movie of adulthood is Pretty in Pink, yes I was an older teen when it came out but I SSSOOOOO connected with Molly Ringwald. The underdog girl got *THE* crush guy, who turned out to be an amazing person. As I grew older it still applied to my life I got an amazing guy that turned into an amazing husband and daddy.

3. I met, dated, engaged and married my hubby within 9 months TOTAL!

4. We will be celebrating our 16th anniversary this year.

5. We were married on September 13, I've always thought that 13 was a lucky number. I'm superstitious but usually the opposite way, LOL!

6. I got married 6 days after I turned 21, and we celebrated our marriage and my turning 21 by honeymooning in Lake Charles and the boats (free booze) LOL!

7. My hubby is 9.3 years older than me, and our birth years are flipped numbers of each others, 67 and 76.

8. I want an entire house full of kiddos, we are almost certified to foster to adopt and we don't care their gender, race, nationality, sibling groups, just young 5 and under so our bio son, Buckeroo never feels like he's being replaced.

9. I've always felt led to be a stay at home, home-schooling wife and momma, I unfortunately do work but it is for our family business so I still get to do alot of stuff that I would be doing if I didn't work.

10. I have a deep seeded fear of having Alzheimer's. My grandmother had it extremely bad, and before I became pregnant I had an excellent memory I could recall anything even years after it happened, a picture memory. Then I developed baby brain....and it never left. It's such a deep seeded fear I made my regular doctor send me to a neurologist after she said it was just being too busy. It all came back as good, so I've learned to live in the day....and take lots of pictures (just in case).

11. I've just now started to learn how to become comfortable in my own skin thanks to Amy at While Wearing Heels. She's one of a few amazing people that I've meet through blogging and have become great friends with.

Now I must nominate 11 other new or under 200 followers blogs, please go and give them some blog love.

1. Barefeet on the Dashboard
2. Loving and Living Life with My Boys
3. From Overwhelmed to Organized
4. Little House on the Prairie Living - I couldn't find how many followers she had and more than likely she has over 200 but she is AH-MAY-ZING with alot of her know how and shares SO much information!
5. Mish Mashed Momma
6. Our Eventual Homestead
7. Our Little Orphanage
8. Queen B and Me - Again couldn't find how many followers she has but I lover her projects and they don't break the bank - and OMW check out her kitchen remodel!!
9. Robb Restyle - Ditto on the count - I'm not the most tech savvy so it maybe something with me - but these are still great blogs with fabu ideas!!
10. Seven Alive All Living in a Double Wide
11. Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers - Ditto again on the count - I'm beginning to think it is me - I'm all ears for any pointers.

Now for the 11 questions for my nominees to answer:

1. Are you married and for how long?
2. What is your favorite crafting tool?
3. Who is your celebrity crush?
4. Who would be the one person you could meet that you haven't? (can be anyone a bloggy friend, a celebrity, a person you look up to, etc)
5. Pinterest or No Pinterest? If ye, please list the link.
6. How did you and your SO meet?
7. What is your dream vacation?
8. Is there a particular craft, genre, etc that you are really into right now?
9. What is your funniest or duhiest crafting or DIY moment? Little extra sumpin sumpin - mine was at Christmas this past year and I was making a new front door wreath and my hot glue gun ran out and I proceeded to reload it with a glue stick.....whole I was olding it at an akward angle and proceeded to burn the bejesus out of my wedding and pinky finger webbing. The minute it happened I asked myself outload - what in theworld were you thinking?!
10. How many states and countries have you been to?
11. What is your deepest, darkest secret?....JUST KIDDING!! What's your favorite flavor of snowcone?

Please come back and leave a link to your post on this post (OY!) so that I can read your information. I love to find out more information about people I read about, get ideas from, etc.

Again, thanks so much Rosie - I love your blog too!! I'm so glad I found you via Amy !

Much Luv,
Michelle

Menu Monday {Just Skimming By}

I know I needed to get back to posing Menu Monday after we ate out almost two weeks straight. No, I am not kidding and I only wish I were. It was just too much after a whole days worth of work, homework, chores, playing, etc and then it was 6:30; I hadn't even thought about dinner much less thawed anything. So back to routine it is. Why do we break the habit that is good, I mean seriously it's not hard or anything.

Anywho, here it is:

Monday:  Chinese food - I had two bags worth frozen beef stir fry that needed to be used. So I threw them together, boiled some noodles and made a lomein stir fry. I also had some vegetable dumplings and cooked those really quick. It was a great dinner, Buckeroo said it was better than a Chinese food restaurant. I totally love that little dude! We, by that I mean Buckeroo and myself, even used chop sticks (yes I have real chopsticks).
Tuesday: Baked Fish, Roasted Potatoes, veggie from pantry
Wednesday: weenies and chili for Bubba Hubster and Hot Pockets for Buckeroo and myself - we don't really care for weenies and chili
Thursday: Pork Chops, Green Peas,
Friday: Steak,okra and corn
Saturday: cheeseburger and fries

So what does your menu look like? I like anything that is quick, easy and good, seriously like start to table within 30 minutes. If you got anything like that I'd love it if you would share!

Much Luv,
Michelle

Collage O Projects or a {Enticement to Come Back}

Hello Friends!

I wanted to give you a little tidbit of posts to come this week. I hope I give you enough enticement to come back!

Come back tomorrow and the rest of the week for more details, memories and a tutorial or two!

Much Luv,
Michelle

Giddy Up Pardner {or Buckaroo's 1st Rodeo & Concert}

hello luvies!!

sorry it's been forever since i've posted, it's been crazy lately! we had blue & gold banquet for cub scouts, it was awesome. all our boys graduated to wolf cub from tiger cub, now our meetings are strictly fun (of course the hidden want to be a teacher in me will always make some learning happen in every situation, LOL).

we're on spring break this week and Big Daddy and I took a week vacation to stay home and do things with Buckaroo. we've all enjoyed the time. buckaroo has constantly been asking me, "don't u just luv spring break? we get to spend all our time togather." yes, melt my heart! he will make an amazing hubby one day.

one of our special outtings was the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. they were putting on a class for cub/boy scouts about horses that helped them earn some parts of a badges and belt loops. it was alot of fun, my boy was enthralled with everything. the animals, the birthing center, the learning centers, etc, i really believe that he will be a veternarian one day.

here are some pix from our day. i hope you are/will enjoying/enjoy your spring break as much as we are!

These little cutties luv one another like they are siblings, they both have complete love and adoration for one another.

Sorry if it's pix overload, but i luv pix over load. :D

Much Luv!
Michelle