Casa of the Happy Sun: The Nursery

Another week, another room at Kelly's Korner Blog!

This week is my absolute favorite because we have put so much work into this nursery. Our first kiddo is due in ONE DAY (read all about it here) and everything is ready for D-day!

We have decided to keep the baby's sex a surprise, so we did everything as gender-netural as possible. Which works great for me, because I'm not a fan of pink decor and I think all little girls love green and blue just as much as little boys! So, here's the pics of our nursery. . . .

Hubs and I painted all the stripes and Hubs did the chair rail all by himself when I was out of town working one weekend. Isn't he amazing??



This is the view as you enter the tiny 10 X 10 space. The crib, which I love, was a Craigslist steal. And although there is bedding on the crib, if the kiddo happens to be a girl, I have the perfect girl bedding all picked out at Target and I'm stripping this down and going to town with magentas, greens and browns. If the kiddo is a boy, this stuff stays and I have a brown polka-dot bumper to use.

You know, looking at this picture, I think the curtains really don't do the room justice. Any good ideas on how to spice up these boring curtains and make it kid-fun??




This is a close-up of one of the plaques on the wall. They are from Scotland, where my Hubs was born, and were used in his room when he was a kiddo. They are all plaques of nursery rhymes and I think they are so unusual - have you ever seen anything like them? They're wonderful!!




Another view of this tiny little room. You can see the glider and ottoman tucked into a corner, and the dresser/changing table across from it. On the wall are my hand-painted letters and picture frame. Bjorn is the kiddo's name while he/she is in utero and when we find out if Bjorn is a boy or a girl, I'm going to make prettier painted letters. This was just a trial run. You can also see the mobile hanging on the crib.




We had to have the Texas Tech fight song playing in a lullaby. Go Red Raiders!



This was another Craigslist steal. We both wanted a dresser that would last beyond baby-hood all the way to college (hopefully!). The hutch part comes off, too, which is great, because we might decide to put up shelves instead of having that. I'm always in the process of decorating, so it could change at any time. Hubs refinished the top and made sure that the changing pad was secure.

And that will be Bjorn's world when he/she gets here! We feel like we have everything we could possibly need for the kiddo, but can't shake the feeling we're missing something. . . . . spot anything that I absolutely have to have???

Thanks for visiting my nursery - maybe next week I'll have pictures with a newborn baby in it!!!!

Casa of the Happy Sun: The "Dining Room"

This week on Kelly's Korner Blog, she is highlighting dining rooms. Since I have never had a dining room and I missed the blog on kitchens a few weeks ago, I'm gonna cheat and add pics of our "dining room". Otherwise known as the "extension of the kitchen that holds a table".

The picture of our dining room should really be our couch, because Hubs and I LOVE to make gourmet meals and then veg in front of the tube to Law & Order. We're very classy.

*** Full disclosure: my kitchen is not always this clean. My in-laws are coming in town Saturday, so I had to clean before they arrive. And, after the first set of pictures, I realized that I had waaayyy too much clutter on my counter tops and I finally cleared most of it. Thanks, Kelly, for making me see my house through another's eyes - I'm getting rid of the clutter! Besides, I'm due to have my first baby in one week (ahhhhh!!!!!!), so I'm trying to get the house in perfect shape before I deliver - because I know it will never be that way again. . . . . . ***

Now, without further ado. . . . my dining room:




This is the view looking in from the living room area. You'll notice that none of my appliances match and I say - good for you for noticing! Now, forget about it, because do those things really matter? What matters is the paint color that I love (yellow should always be in kitchens, I think!) that we painstakingly fauxed after tearing down the 1970's wallpaper. And notice the ledge - we have these ledges in every room in our house and although I can't figure out what to do with them everywhere else, I love my kitchen ledge. I think I need some more greenery up there, tho. What do you think??



Close-up of a piece of the kitchen ledge. When I first started antiquing, I fell in love with old coffee grinders. Maybe it's the Barista in me. But for $65-100 a pop, I had to be choosy, so I only have two. This is actually my Mom & Dad's coffee grinder that they registered for for their wedding!!! Barely 50 and their wedding gifts are "antiques" - just think what our kids will have! And, yes, we love our spirits. From Lubbock to Denver to Lewisville, NC we have growlers, wine and other bottles that show we know how to have a good time in any state!




A little bit of a dark pic, I know, but I'm not fancy with cameras like Hubs. Squint a little. It helps.

This is the "dining room" part of the kitchen. The table and chairs are real oak and were $20 (!!!!) from a garage sale. Hubs refinished and stained them. Laborious work, but I love the messy look of them. The hutch is my fave find because I spent hours looking on the Internet and in antique stores for the absolutely perfect hutch.



And I found this absolutely perfect one on Craigslist for only $75 (!!!). Amazing, huh? I'm such a yard-saler. I can't help it; I'm cheap. :) We don't have that much space, so a smallish hutch was needed. And what did I find? A smallish one that helps complete my hodge-podge of country eclectic charm. I don't keep china in it, really. Just a few key pieces and then alot of booze. It's our china/liquor cabinet.



One of my other fave things in my dining room is this: a gift from my mom to my Great-Uncle when he became a priest. He has passed away, but I got to keep this remembrance piece. My mom made it out of some kind of scratchy cloth, using the felt letters to remember the most important part of the mass. It's always been one of my favorite things and now it hangs, in a place of honor, in my dining room.

That's it for my dining room. I can't wait to have you come back next Friday and see our nursery - especially since our first baby is due next Saturday. Maybe I'll cheat and post early? Anything for you to see our adorable space!! See ya next time. . . and if you're ever in the neighborhood, stop by and see us!

***Why the Casa of the Happy Sun? When we bought this house, it came complete with a sun-baked clay figure in the front. Complete with big ol' smile and all. And since we always welcome guests and friends that are passing through Phoenix. . . . you have the Casa of the Happy Sun!***

There's no accounting for accountability

Once again, my responsibility is no longer to just myself and my family, but to all the screw-ups out there who can't manage their own lives.

Yes, I'm ranting again.

A few weeks ago I blogged about the mortgage industry and the government; namely, how I could have gotten into a larger house and I could have lived in a nicer neighborhood and I could have gotten so behind on my bills that I needed a bailout - but I didn't. Hubs and I bought a home reasonably and responsibly. Yet I did not get any thanks from the government ($8000 tax credit, refunds, incentives) even though my buying a home helped the industry, then and now.

Ok, enough about that. You can read the blog if you're interested in my rant on housing.

This is a completely different rant - on government and the credit card industry.

Let's start at the beginning.

When I was in college, walking across campus was a mine field of credit card offers. Everywhere I turned, a booth was set up with an attractive frat boy asking if I wanted a free shirt/one month's room and board/university blanket and all I have to do is sign up for this credit card!!! I didn't read the fine print and soon became saddled with too many free t-shirts that didn't quite fit right and a stack of credit cards with annual fees and high interest rates. Perfect for a college freshman away from home for the first time without a job.

I learned my lesson quick and by my junior year in college carried only one credit card with no annual fee and a low interest rate. No, I didn't pay it off each month. But I always paid more than the minimum balance and was never late on a payment. I was what the credit industry liked (I thought) - a customer who racked up interest each month, but paid on time. They could count on me and my wasted money!

The card - acquired in 1999 - lasted until early 2006, when I received some disturbing news. I had moved across the state, having my former roommates forward my mail to a friends place until I had a permanent address in my new city. I used my card often in those first few months after the move; as is often the case, my new job didn't pay as well as expected and my new city was much more expensive than the last. My balance began to slowly accumulate again. Unfortunately, in the midst of moving and changing careers, I had forgotten to change my address with the credit companies (this was before online banking) and I missed one payment. One. ONE.

I had never had problems with my credit company before, and had become accustomed to opening the bill, looking at the minimum payment and doubling it. I blindly paid the card, never bothering to look at the rates or disclosures. Big mistake. After about five months of this (late 2005 and early 2006), I realized that the large number under "Total Balance" was not declining. Turns out, my one missed/late payment over 7 years had caused the company to jack my interest rate from 13% to 27%. Yes, they more than doubled my interest rate!!!! Many angry calls later, I discovered that they were not willing to lower my interest rate. Not a bit. Not even after 7 years of on-time payments.

But I didn't cry that the credit company should coddle me or take care of me. I was ticked off, not beat down. So I did what any responsible, pissed off person would do.

I transferred that balance to a different company offering 0% interest for 1 year. And I paid it off in 1 year. I still have that card, too, with an interest rate of 7%. At least someone thinks I'm a good customer.

But that situation could change after this weekend.

There is a bill that just cleared through the Senate, landing on Obama's desk today, concerning the regulation of the credit card industry. In this bill - which was overwhelmingly voted for, from both republicans and democrats - credit card companies cannot raise interest rates on customers until they are more than 60 days late, thus eliminating the nastiness that I had had to go through when I was just a misunderstood twenty-something. Ok. Everyone deserves a second chance to get things right, right? So, you miss one payment? Let's let you make it up and not miss another one, or then we'll have to do something about it.

Oh. . . but that's not all.

This bill also helps clear the way for all credit card owners to become equal. Across the board. So, even though I pay my credit cards each month, doubling/tripling/quadrupling the minimums in order to pay them off completely in time, my card would carry the same interest rate as someone who does not pay them off each month. Someone who just keeps racking it up and not caring about bringing down the debt.

Not to mention that all cards may soon have annual fees. And, there is some speculation that credit card companies will begin charging interest from the moment of purchase, so even if you pay your balance entirely each month, you will be charged an interest rate for that month on each transaction. No more using your cards just for free airline miles - those miles aren't so free anymore. There really is no such thing as a free lunch anymore.

In the article that got me ranting and raving this morning, the publisher of the Nilson Report David Robertson says "Customers who pay in full each month will have "to start picking up the slack, to start pulling their weight.""

Whhhhatt?!?!

Let's say that I use my card responsibly, the way credit cards were meant to be used. Emergencies only, or for everyday expenses that are paid in full at the end of the 30 day cycle. Either way, I pay off my debt. So, since I pay in full each month, I am not contributing to the credit industry at all and need to have some regulations put in place so that I can start "pulling my own weight".

I think paying my credit card off each month is pulling my own weight. What David Robertson, the government, and the credit card companies want me to do is start pulling the weight of everyone else. Pulling the weight of deadbeats and irresponsible spenders. Pulling the weight of those who get in over their head and decide that instead of being smart about it and paying down their debt, they will just continue to accumulate more and more. After all, the government will save them from themselves, won't it? It did with the mortgage industry. Who was helped by the regulations there? Not I, a responsible homeowner.

There is no accountability and no personal responsibility anymore.

I am sorry that you are over your head in credit card debt and mortgage debt. But don't take it out on me. I didn't cause you to spend that way, and I bet that if I paid off all your bills for you, you would do it again. Because as you learn when you're a kid, it's easier to spend your parent's money than it is to spend your own. Don't let the government be your parent. Regulate yourself. Take accountability for your actions. Because I'm sick of taking responsibility for you.

Casa of the Happy Sun: The Guest Room

This is the first week I'm participating in Kelly's Tour of Homes, and I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to show any of my other rooms that she already exhibited on her blog. (Maybe I'll sneak back here and post some pics of those rooms later!!) After all, the guest bedroom really is the most boring room of all in the house. Although we have guests (our parents, siblings and occasionally a friend that passes through), we don't pay much attention to that room, so it looks a little neglected compared to the rest of the house!

So, here it is - the Casa of the Happy Sun's guest bedroom. . .



Ok, so maybe it shouldn't be called 'The Guest Room' because our Dog thinks its her room, really. Don't come over if you don't like dogs (or dog hair, or dog toys. . . . )!! This was my Grandma's furniture, so I will never ever ever get rid of it, but although it's not my style at all, I'm getting used to it. And I LOVE the colors green and orange together (my wedding colors, too!).



We have this gorgeous ledge at the top of the room to decorate, but I'm horrible at figuring out what to put up there! So I just put a few choice items up there and hope it looks 'eclectic'.




I LOVE old, antique window frames. I don't like to fix them up at all - I love them with cracks, chipped paint and peeling. We have them in our bedroom that we have used as picture frames and I would have them all over the house if I could find enough!!! This is supposed to be hanging on the wall (not leaning on the dresser) but I am waiting for Hubs to get around to doing that. Being as I'm 8 1/2 months pregnant (check me out here) he won't let me hang or lift anything, so I'm stuck to waiting for him. And I am waiting. . . oh so patiently. . . . .



Since I am a flight attendant, I know how nice it is to have a few extras in a hotel/guest room. So I have swiped a few things from hotels here and there and keep a little stash for guests. Here are some hand towels, lotions, eye mask and linen spray and a purty-smelling candle. Just a few things to say 'Welcome to our casa!'

Simplify, simplify, simplify

A few months ago my computer died. It sputtered a little, blew smoke out of its ears and rolled over on its back, all fours straight up in the air. After a short funeral including some hymns and a cardboard box in a hole, I began my search for another laptop.

Only to realize that laptops are expensive (especially the ones I want!) and although the budget would stretch, I didn't want to make it have to.

Ok, I would just have to do without. Hubs and I are happily married; we could share one computer between the two of us, right?

Then, last week, I sold my car.

Between the two of us, where there was once two computers, two cars and a motorcycle, now stands one computer, one car and a motorcycle. Slowly whittling away at the things that are in our life.

Know what I found out?

I don't miss them. I don't need things.

Yes, it was nice when I had a laptop. But what did I do with it? I sat on the couch while Hubs and I watched a movie and played solitaire or searched the Internet. I told myself (pre-laptop) that when I got my own personal computer, I would begin to write seriously. I would start free-lancing, and I would make the laptop an investment in my writing future.

No. The excuses kept coming. A laptop won't make me write. Only I can make me write. And I just wasn't ready.

When I sold my car, surprisingly, I wasn't upset. I didn't feel much, actually. Maybe a little sad and a little relieved, but even those emotions were minuscule. There was no crying, no tearing my hands away from the door latch as I sobbed and kicked at the tires. We just got in Hubs' car and drove home. Am I just un-feeling? Do I just not have a heart?

Nope. I think I just know where priorities lie. I don't mind not having a car. I really don't think that we all need to be two-car families. What do I need a car for? It takes a little more effort; sometimes I have to wake up early (gasp!) to take Hubs to work and sometimes I have to stay at home while Hubs takes the car out. And?

Big freakin' deal.

It's just a car. It's just a computer. It's just a thing.

And what are things good for?

Absolutely nothing!

And a crazy thought hit me. Maybe all these things that I have been gathering - these clothes, shoes, antiques, dishes, books even - maybe all of these things are just that - things. Things that I don't need and things that I am making a part of my life which are actually complicating my life. Maybe I don't need half the things I think I do. Maybe this whole recession thing is a blessing in disguise, a cloud with a silver lining - to use a few worn-out cliches.

Maybe it is all happening to show us that what is really important can't be lost or taken through a loss of income. Maybe now we're finally able to see the trees, not the forest.

When Pigs Fly!

A few days ago, amidst the craziness that is 'piggie flu', Hubs and I heard a news report that the Catholic church had stopped giving communion in the chalice, and requested that church-goers take the body (non-Catholics call it the wafer) in their palms instead of on their tongues.

Whoa. I have a big big problem with that.

First of all, as a Catholic, I firmly believe in the transfiguration. I believe that when I receive The Eucharist, I am not eating a wafer and drinking some wine. I am taking the actual body and blood of Christ. Not a symbol. It has been transformed into the body and blood of Jesus.

I am eight months pregnant and everytime I go to church, I take communion - both body and blood. Someone who was not Catholic might think 'But you're not supposed to drink at all when you're pregnant. And inside the chalice is wine!' I don't think that way. I am not drinking wine, but the blood of Jesus, and any more of Jesus I can have in me is a good thing. And my baby is getting part of Jesus, too.

So I have a big problem with the church deciding that swine flu is too dangerous and too contagious to have the communion chalice at mass. The flu might be passed on through the entire congregation. In my thinking, though, there is nothing stronger than the blood of Christ. So I don't see a problem still having both the body and the blood still given at mass. Do you really think that the blood of Jesus is not strong enough to kill a few strands of a virus? It sure as hell conquered sin, but it can't overcome a little piggie flu??

I did a little research on the web these past few days, and while I was relieved at what I found when I typed in such google searches as "Catholic church swine flu" and "Vatican swine flu", I was also a little upset.

Apparently, the local news story we saw that reported this got a few facts wrong. I have not seen a single memo or pamphlet from The Vatican or The Pope that says we should no longer receive from the communion chalice during mass. Nothing official has come from Rome, except reports that Pope Benedict is praying for thos who are suffering. Sounds good enough.

But there are archdioceses across the world (Chicago, Baltimore, Mexico City and New Zealand to name a few) who are putting these restrictions in use. A few churches have taken these precautions against the swine flu not by Papal edict but through their own decisions. Although I vehemently disagree with them, I am releived to discover that it was not The Pope nor The Vatican itself who chose to enforce these decisions.

Because I will always believe that Christ's body and blood is strong enough to overcome any contagions. At least, I'll believe it. . . . . until pigs fly. . . .

Hit the road, Winnie. . . . . .

I bet you didn't know this about me, but I am sooooo trendy.

(Say it with me now. . . "How trendy are you?")

I am so trendy, that if I had to go back and be '17 Again', Zac Efron would want to date me. I am so trendy, that everyone from Madonna to Britney Spears is copying my style of dressing. And, lastly, I am so trendy that 16 year old's with Mommy and Daddy's money want to buy my car.

Or maybe it's just that last one.

See, in the spirit of being frugal, Hubs and I decided that two car payments was not, in fact, frugal at all. Mine was the newest, held the most value, and would be the easiest to sell (we thought), so there you have it - my car was on its way to being sold!

And what happens?

My beautiful first car - that I drove brand-spanking-new off the showroom floor - this car, my first new car that I worked very hard for and got at the age of 25 because it was a very safe, reliable, non-gas guzzling vehicle perfect for the children we would have in the future. This car - this car - is being sold to a girl (a very nice girl, but a girl nonetheless) who is not yet 16, but whose parents want her to have a car she can drive the day she actually turns 16.

I'm sorry. . . . what recession?

I'm not really complaining, as I'm glad that Hubs and I will be rid of the payments. And, until this car, I never cared at all about what I was driving. Hand-me-downs are fine for furniture, clothes and cars. I'm not a car person, and anyone who saw me in my old mess of a truck (named Queenie, if you remember) should know that about me. I look just as good getting out of a jalopy as I do a Mercedes. Maybe even better, in fact - a jalopy gives a person character.

Then I got this pretty, red new car and I realized that cars can be more than just a means to get from one place to another. And I obsessed and babied this car. . . . for the first two months. Until it went to just a mode of transportation. So, I can get back to the way of thinking that a car is a way to get you where you need to go safely and efficiently. I really can.

I just can't get over that this not-quite-yet 16 year old girl will be driving what is essentially a new car. 2 years old, 20,000 miles and no problems. And 3 of the other 4 people interested in the car in the last month were also buying for their 16/17 year old children. Apparently, what I thought was a family car is actually a teenagers car.

I shouldn't be surprised. The features that drew me to the car was not the towing capabilities, variable transmission, or even - really, lets be honest - the safety features. I liked the 6 CD disc changer, the drop-down speakers perfect for tailgating and drive-in movies, and the pretty boxy shape reminiscent of original Jeeps.

Should I be surprised that I have the same taste in car features as a 16 year old girl?

Since Winnie (Yes, I named my Jeep. After Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years. My car and Winnie are very much alike - the girl next door, but smart, reliable, fun and gorgeous. Winnie Cooper. ) - anyway, since Winnie is going to be gone (hopefully!) to a lucky almost-16-year-old on Saturday, this is officially my farewell post. Someday I will have a Jeep again. And hopefully it will be a rugged 4 x 4 green Jeep Wrangler with a soft top and a great stereo. But, for now. . . .

Goodbye Winnie. It's been great. But all great things must come to an end. . . . .