I have been working on several different projects lately. I guess it's the chill in the air that re-energizes me to finish projects as well as start some new ones. It also makes me feel like spending more time in the kitchen. Honestly, in the summer, I spend very little time there. But bring on fall and winter and I'm constantly in the kitchen! Bad for the waistline but good for the soul. lol

So, one project I finally finished was my scrapbook room. Yay! It's not just a scrapbook room - I sew, paint, and do a lot of my hobbies in there. Anyway, here are some pics:

The french doors are right by the front door so it's a bonus that this room now looks good. ha

My desk with the lovely flat screen Bart got me for my bday. This way I can watch scrapbooking while I scrapbook.... yes, we already know I have ISSUES! LOL!

I had bought the curtains for the room a long time ago and had only purchased 2 panels, which the 1 very large window ended up needing. I was a little stuck on what to do for the 2nd window. I went to Pier 1 in hopes they still carried said curtain. No such luck. They had it in other colors but not any that matched.... so, I chose a red one.  It still needed a little something though. Well, I saw a little sewing bust made out of wire and got an idea.... hmmm....

I snipped off the bottom

Wired it to the back and spray painted the whole thing black

Then attached it to the wall

All done!

I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Yay! It's my happy place even if I only get to go and sit in there for a few minutes.

I also did a cake this past weekend. Now, it's NO Jennifer cake. =) But it turned out alright. It was for Clint DeFrance's bday so, of course, because of that it needed to be a 'unique' cake. lol I decided to do one of those tall, floppy, party hats and this is what I came up with:

(For the record his bday is not until later this month but he came and spoke for us this past Sunday and we had a dinner at church so, it worked)

And for this weekend I am doing a cowboy boot for Kayla's bday. Never done that before either BUT that is pretty much what I do... STUFF I'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE! lol I hope it turns out well.

Now, I will leave you with a little quote from Bart that has had me chuckling to myself for weeks:

(The back story) A few weeks ago something happened that we have to deal with a couple of times a year------ a MOUSE made it inside the house!! ick! I called Bart at work and told him to bring home tons of traps! We have several that we leave in the storage rooms or any unfinished areas in the house just incase a mouse gets in, but nothing had been caught in any of those. So, we set the traps and went to bed. I came down the stairs in the morning and found a little mouse caught in a trap. Yes!! I told Bart and he came down to remove the mousy corpse. After he disposed of it, and I was bragging on him for taking such good care of me ( I HATE MICE!), he looked at me and said, ' You know there's something I should tell you.' (Hmm, really?)  'The trap that caught the mouse wasn't baited like the others. It was baited with biscuit and jelly................ I think the mice don't like the ORGANIC peanut butter and TURKEY bacon in the other traps.' LOL!  Really? Is that how the mice feel or is that how BART feels?!?! LOL!!

Until next time. Y'all have a good weekend!

completely RANDOM post

I have been engaged in a battle all summer and part of the spring with some birds at our house. Why is this important? Because I need HELP!! Does anyone know how to discourage swallows from building nests where they are NOT wanted??? I'm willing to try just about anything. Here's what's been going on -

We noticed the beginnings of a nest in mid May. We knocked it down 3 times. The morning after the third time a tiny little egg lay smashed on our porch and we felt awful and they were already rebuilding their nest yet again. We decided to let them finish their family in hopes they would then move on. This was not the best idea. They would 'swoop' at us when entering and exiting our home. grrrr..... AND they were making an awful mess. Finally, the day came when the babies could fly. I told Bart I had a job for him - to power wash the nest down since they had flown away!! Yay! What a great day. Here is how it went down:

This was their mess before the wash:

The nest                                          The nest with the pile of poo. eww

the pile of poo. nasty. Why couldn't they build on the back of the house? WHY the porch?? ugh!

Then the wash!! Really exciting! I was so sick of looking at that nest!

The Bartman TCB! thank you!! I told Jennifer our husbands are so alike. (note the ear protection )

Then later that night....

They were all back and missing their home. *sigh*

They stayed away for 4 days and it was so wonderful. Then on Sat. one started building a nest yet again!!!!!!!! I knocked it down 4 times just on Saturday. These guys are fast!!!! Anyway - HELP. Bart has suggested I put a giant stuffed owl up in the corner to frighten them away.  I do not dig stuffed creatures hanging from anywhere sooo any other suggestions would be appreciated. 

Random, I know.