A Very Brady Kind of House with Flower Power

We have several unique features to our house, which was built in 1970. One of them is our "coke bottle" glass surrounding the front door. Oh, boy, was that gonna be the first thing I fixed! Nearly 13 years later, it still proudly guards sentry at the front. We have a cool wet bar with avocado green countertops, which I hear are back. The wet bar also boasts a lotus type light fixture. Groovy!

I have gotten rid of the swag lamps that once hung so gracefully from my bathroom ceiling. We have floored over the previous kitchen linoleum and tiled over "genuine Mexican vinyl" in the laundry room (wish I had a picture of that!). But our entry floor still looks like . . . avocado with potato chips in it. The avocado part is my description, but a visiting kid once said, "Hey! That looks like potato chips in your floor! Is it?"

An area rug kinda covered it, but I found another recently that I LOVE and it covers a little more. I don't feel the need to be rid of the floor anymore, especially when I think of walking on potato chips.

Do you like my new rug, too?

This and That

I could not resist the potted tulips at Kroger recently. I took them out for their photoshoot debut on Saturday, and they did beautifully, don't you think? I am in love with them. I almost did not splurge this way, but each time I glance their direction, they pay me back with loads of joy.

We had such a nice weekend, despite our weather turning chilly again. It was okay, just not the mild spring-like temps that we have been teased with lately. It was so fabulous that N got an invitation to go to a concert! Social opportunities are the best and we are just as excited as he is when they come along. Yay for friends, for getting out, for enjoying good things! We are thankful.

While at the concert, he ate everything that did not eat him first. I think his growth is slowing, but his appetite is not. While he is already taller than I am (5' 4"), this fast metabolism is not going to last forever, and what happens when he can't devour so many groceries anymore?? He has some habits in place that need to be tempered. But then . . . . so do I. (Like the 7 dark chocolate kisses that just disappeared while I have been sitting here.)

Happy Monday.

My Best Reads of 2010

As I said, my goal was to read one book per month last year, and I actually read 24 in total and portions of 5. See? A goal is good for me. I did not over-shoot it on purpose, I just got on a roll and was enjoying myself. In November I only read a short story, and I noticed something missing from my life during that month! A few of these books came recommended from Lesley’s Book Nook, but many of the 5 I quit did, too. (That chick likes sad books. I do not.) Ok, without further ado, here are my favorites, in no particular order, with many thanks and my undying love to the library.

Nonfiction:

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson

How to Really Love Your Teen by Ross Campbell

The Reason for God by Timothy Keller

Self Talk, Soul Talk by Jennifer Rothschild

The Little Black Book of Style by Nina Garcia

Fiction:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Fifty Acres and a Poodle by Jeanne Marie Laskas

Looking back, I see that I am really picky about my fiction. Half of the books read were fiction, but I actually think I prefer nonfiction. I want something pretty lighthearted and uplifting, and I don’t like a lot of violence or any trashy stuff . . . I do like a mystery, though. I like to read books that are clever. One I enjoyed that did not make it to my top 8 here was Sense and Sensibility.

I would love a good recommendation for 2011!

P.S. If you are a mom of a young child (especially one with special needs) and you think that you will never read a full book again (at least not one for adults), here is hope! I am proof that you will once again re-gain that time that you now feel is gone forever. It's not!

A Few of My Favorite Things . . .

What's better than taking down Christmas decorations? Putting up something new for January! Really, these crocheted snowflakes were Christmas ornaments awhile back, but I have given them a new mission -- to be cheerful in my breakfast room. Besides, we are expecting a little snow around here in a few days, which is very exciting in our part of the country.

Another favorite thing:This is my older son doing dishes. He lives in a campus apartment this year and has a whole new appreciation for a clean kitchen. There is nothing like walking in to his voluntary unloading and reloading of the dishwasher! I like it better than my snowflakes.

Tomorrow is his birthday and he is leaving on a trip tonight. Without me. I like this least of all.

It's Beginning to Look (Less?) Like Christmas

I have decided that I have changed with regard to my Christmas decorating approach. We have accumulated a lot of decorations over the years, and not all of it do I love anymore. Some of it gets drug out and put up out of nostalgia. Not this year. I actually took a peek in a box that Ted brought down from the attic and removed ONE thing out of it. When I told him I was through, he said, “That’s ALL?”. If I don’t love it, I am not putting it up out of obligation. What will I ultimately do with all the tired decorations? I don’t know. I’m not committing. One year I labeled a box “Ugly Christmas Stuff I don’t use anymore.” Seems that box is going to have company.

It is liberating to scale back. And not nearly as much work! I am focusing on the small things. Literally. Like red hots. I went to a few places to find the small candies for some candle holders. I thought the color would show up nicely. I wound up in Wal-Mart today and found some “Red Gems” for $3. I have been obsessing about this and now I am pleased with the results.

I also have some ornaments that were my grandmother’s and they are special to me. I usually put them in a bowl, but this year they make up a centerpiece that really makes me happy. Yes, less is more, I do believe.

Can you see the "Red Gems"in the globes?

Ornaments that belonged to Grandmother

Peace Out at the Library

Does this make you think of anything or make you feel a certain way? Oh, it does me! It pretty much takes my breath away , makes my heart beat fast and I feel giddy with excitement. It makes me think of the very first library I can recall spending time in. I must have been about 4 or 5 years old, and going to this place caused such a rush for me. I believe I loved books before I could read. Then, when the "decoding" began to happen, the library became even more of an exhilarating experience. Getting those books, carrying them home and poring over them became my joy and solace.

I loved to read so much that as the older sister, I imposed “read aloud time” upon Baby Sister. She appreciated it some. But not when I demanded that she warn me before she fell asleep, so that I “would not waste my breath”! We still laugh about that. Bringing my children into the hallowed stacks at the library was a great delight to me. I ADORE children’s books and did not mind reading most of them over and over again.

Because of my undying love for the library, it causes me no small amount of distress that my younger son does not love reading. Oh, he loves the library alright. He will pull great tomes off the shelf and beg to check them out. If I am in a generous mood, I let him do it, BUT they never get touched. He does okay with some of the “True Books” (nonfiction, interesting), but he never reads for pleasure. Sniff, sniff. I would love to change this. We have had silent reading time as a family, read aloud time, etc., but it just has not stuck. N is a good reader, but it is not his passion. Perhaps it is because of the push in elementary school for points and prizes (also known as AR) that did it. There was a lot of pressure to read a lot of books.

I feel at home in the library and hours can pass before I realize it. The magazines, the Consumer Report, the cookbooks . . . . ah, the possibilities are endless! I have also been known to secure a study room when I have too much to do. I can become undistracted here, make my lists, get my head straight, read a magazine, make a plan, and emerge a new woman.

In fact, I think I’ll go there right now. I think just sitting on one of those black stools would do wonders for me, but I rarely see one anymore . . .