Black Belt Living

Long Overdue

Yeah... Long time no blog. I guess I've been pretty wrapped up in working out, losing weight, learning to play golf and end of the school year festivities that it just hasn't been a big priority. But I want to get back at it, so if anybody is still reading, I hope you stick around. Lots to say, will be updating a lot this week. In the meantime, I'm trying to figurem out how to blog from my iPad and add photos.... Let's see how this goes. Back later, I promise!

The End of 2010

I've been a bad blogger in 2010. It's been a bad year, what can I say. It's even ending badly, which is basically why I haven't updated in two weeks. 

I am looking forward to seeing them parade old Dick Clark out there like a puppet on New Year's Eve. 2011 can't come too soon. 

I've been working on putting together some of my favorite shots of 2010, and I've got some great ones that have never been seen before. I'll put that up on New Year's Day. 

Shannon and I are going to Festival of Lights tonight assuming that it's not pouring down rain, and I'm looking forward to some great fun with photographing Christmas lights before they're all gone. 

I'm still hoping to put up a new blog early in January (it got sidelined for a few other projects and sometimes life just gets in the way), so I hope you'll follow me when I move!

Canine Misconceptions

I've had dogs for the good majority of my life. But today I realized that I was still holding on to some old canine misconceptions.

1) Dogs shed in the spring and build their coats in the fall and winter.  WRONG!  This dog sheds all of the time. 

2) Black dog hair is way more obnoxious than white dog hair. WRONG AGAIN! 

3) Westies don't shed.  WRONG. Westies might not shed, but Westie mixes sure do. 

Right?

RIGHT!

(got a new phone yesterday, so I have been testing out the camera. Not too bad for a phone camera!)

 

Paper Christmas Ornaments

I can't believe how long it's been since I updated. The dreaded cold virus caught up with all of us here and really brought us to our knees for a solid week and more. Ugh. It's good to be back feeling decent again, and feeling like I want to do more than just sleep and watch television.

Our house is all decked for the holidays and it looks so pretty. I was considering leaving my large Santa collection in storage for the year ~ it just seemed like such a task to haul them all out ~ but I was talked out of their extended hibernation and now I'm really glad. I have one new one this year, a Cincinnati Cyclone Bobblehead Santa. A friend told me that he looks stoned, and I have to agree!

I think he's fun, though, even if he looks too old to make the NHL someday. 

This year we have three trees ~ the gold and crystal tree in the family room, the big tree in the living room with all of my glass ornaments, and the paper tree in the dining room. The paper tree is fun, it's got homemade ornaments and paper chains that Shannon and I have made over the years. In the past, the decorations on it have been pretty sparse, so this year we worked on making it better. Shannon made more chains, and yesterday I spend a chunk of time with my craft supplies making more ornaments. Here is a photo mosaic of some of the ornaments that I made yesterday. 

It was so much fun getting out the craft supplies yesterday. I haven't done that in a REALLY LONG TIME. I might have to make a few more today. I promised myself that if I finished my chores (laundry, bathrooms, clean the fridge, and mop the hardwood floors), that I'd let myself play with paper and glue for a little bit longer. 

Some were easier than others to make, but in general, they were all pretty easy and fun. It was a great way to spend a really cold, snowy day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year has pretty much been a turkey for us. Actually, we love turkey. Turkeys get a bad rap. But this year hasn't been rosy, no matter how you look at it. On the flip side, bad times always give us the opportunity to take stock in our lives and count our blessings, and our blessings are many.

I am grateful for so much and I try every day to not take anything for granted. Life sure has a way of putting things into perspective, doesn't it?

I hope that this Thanksgiving, you have many blessings in your life to be thankful for. And for my friends and loved ones who are dealing with grief during this holiday season, may you know peace of mind and know that I am thinking of you. I care, and please let me know if I can help. 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody! 

Other People's Parenting

I got sucked into a conversation several days ago with two other women. They were discussing their two older teens/young adults, ages 18 and 19.  

Both were complaining that their young adults were unmotivated, didn't care at about school or their future, got failing grades, refused to work, and basically didn't give a damn about anything but partying. They didn't know what to do. The one is probably not going to be graduating from high school this spring. 

Both of these young people live at home, completely supported by their parents, and have little to nothing expected of them. There are no consequences for their actions. The moms had a million lame excuses for the bad behavior too. The one woman needed some serious car repair, but because she's paying her daughter's college expenses, there was no money for her car, and now her daughter is flunking out and doesn't care one bit. They both seemed completely baffled and clueless as to how they got where they are.

They asked me for my advice.  That's a tough spot, for sure. Heck, I don't have an older teen/young adult, so who am I to tell them what to do? I ended up not saying anything, but I don't understand how they could be so befuddled about their kids' lack of motivation when they (the parents) demanded/expected so little and enabled so much. It seems SO clear to me. They have set the bar so low, and now they're surprised when their young people aren't interested in anything more than getting drunk and screwing around. It seemed to me that if the parents wanted to regain control, they had to make the decision to take it back. 

Parenting is tough, but sometimes tough love is absolutely essential. Isn't that our job?  

I bet I just pissed off a whole bunch of people with this post, but I had to put it out there. 

 

Solitude...a Rare Event

So here I am on a lazy Sunday morning.  I went to church last night, I slept in for the first time in literally years (when I haven't been sick), and I have the house to myself again for several hours. 

I'm pondering my options. I can do any or all of the following:

• cut down my roses
• drink coffee and read my kindle (currently reading The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo)
• watch football 
• paint more trim in the kitchen 
• plan an upcoming holiday event
• do some digital scrapbooking

I think I'm opting for the reading and scrapbooking, but I really should trim the roses because the lawn junk pickup is tomorrow.  We'll see.

If you're in the mood to get some scrapbooking done because your family is gone and your football team also sucks and is blacked-out this Sunday, then why not get some inspiration over at The Digi Dares today? A new dare is up, and this week we're making you show us your curves! Here are some of my recent DD layouts. I know that some of they are a bit out-there, but that's half the fun, right?

  
 

One Thing Leads to Another...

It all started with a door that wouldn't close properly. For more than two years the door between our kitchen and the garage wouldn't close right, or when it did, it wouldn't open. It made me crazy...made all of us crazy.

Last week it actually dawned on me that HEY! Maybe if I buy a new doorknob, the door will work again. (Yeah, I know...DUH!) So within one hour, I was off to the Home Depot and the new doorknob was installed. It works like a charm. I feel stupid for not realizing ages ago that it was just a doorknob that needed replacing. 

That doorknob replacement got us to discussing the hardware on our front door. It's always in the sun and over the years, the hot rays have taken their toll. The finish was not looking good at all. Andy suggested that we replace that hardware with a new opener and deadbolt.  

So today I headed back to "le Chateau Depot" for new door hardware.  Oh...and a new exterior thermometer because the one we had blew away in a windstorm while I was in Dallas. Of course once I was there, I forgot to buy it. I knew there was something that I was forgetting. That was it. 

Several of our kitchen cabinet doors haven't been hanging right either. Some don't close right, some are crooked. After all these years, the hinges have gotten bent or warped or whatever. So I figured that while I was getting the other stuff at "le Chateau" today, I'd get some replacement hinges too.

When I got home, I took the old hardware off of our front door and installed the new set. Looks nice! Then I took two of the cabinet doors off, removed their hinges, cleaned them up, put on the new hinges and re-hung the doors.  Wow, what a difference! I was on a roll at this point. 

The problem I found in removing the doors, however, is that I got a very up close and personal look at just how bad our painted cabinets are looking. Dirt, chips, stains...oh my. It's probably been ten years since I had our cabinets painted, and they are showing their wear and tear. I try to ignore it most of the time, but today I couldn't ignore it. So back to the hardware store I went for new primer, some sandpaper, and some new brushes. It looks like my next two weeks are going to involve giving my kitchen cabinetry a brand new coat of oil-based enamel. 

And of course, since I put the new hardware on the front door, the paint has gaps where the old hardware was. So that will be getting a fresh coat of paint as well. And since I'm repainting the front door, I might as well do the back door too, right?  Yep. 

And since I'm freshening up the cabinets, I might as well take this opportunity to change out the door and cabinet pulls. I've been wanting brushed nickel, so now's the time. Before I buy new hardware, I'm going to try to use brushed nickel spray paint and change my existing ones. Hopefully that will work (because I need 40 something!), but if it doesn't, I'll get new ones. 

Can you see how this is going? 

Finally, I figure that after the holiday decor comes down, and since I'll have already crossed that line into the world of primer and oil based enamel, I'm finally going to paint the natural woodwork in my family room (as well as the brick on the fireplace) so that it matches the rest of the house. 

I'm not kidding. One thing leads to another. I guess it's no coincidence that the band who sang this in the '80's was THE FIXX.  

Projects never end, do they?  Well, at least the list never ends. It's kind of like the "if you give a mouse a cookie" books.....

Dallas Observations

Okay, I've been here in Dallas for about 24 hours now. I've been here before, but it's been a while. Some observations....

1) the airport is bigger than I remember. It should have it's own zip code. It probably does.

2) I've always been good with directions, I've been here before, I've got a map, I've got a Garmin, and I've taken so many wrong turns already. Driving here is not for sissies. I also got pulled over last night, but the cop was great and let me go. He was great, and helpful too.

3) The food here rocks....no debate! Had dinner at Babe's Chicken House tonight and I think I've died and gone to chicken-fried heaven.

4) Churches are massive here. What's that all about?

5) JerryWorld....the new Cowboys stadium looks like it's own planet or alian spaceship. I can't wait to see the inside. The Bengals are so bad this year that I could be a Cowboys fan again, but they're sucking too. Go Texans!

6) I'd forgotten how much I like country music, line dancing, and cool cowboy boots. I've been away too long. And I miss Garth Brooks.

But no matter where you are and why you're there, it's great to be with your family and see friends who live far away. That's what it's all about, and we never have enough time.

More later. If this looks goofy, it's because this is my first blog post via iPad.

Big D

We lost my Uncle Big D today to the Big C.  Big D trumps Big C any day.  Big C sucks. Big D rocked my world. 

On a positive note, I'm off to the Big D (as in Dallas) for a few days. I even get to hook up with my partner in photography crime, Andie Smith.  Family and friends in a funtastic city. Throw in a funeral and that's a whole bunch of F-words that will end up equalling fun. Yeah, I know. It's a funeral, but we do them right in my family. A few tears, a few beers, and it's all good fun. Big D would not want us shedding a whole lot of tears unless his Ohio State Buckeyes really blow it this season (and as a big Michigan fan, I can only hope that THEY DO!). 

If I've learned anything at all in this miserable excuse of a year 2010, it's that with every tragedy, there is an equal and opposite blessing. I know that Big D's passing will be no different. 

So Dallas, here I come. I sure wish I had my Mike Modano Red Wings jersey to wear to the Stars/Ducks hockey game on Tuesday night. I'm supposed to be getting that for Christmas. Yeah baby. 

Billy Joel had it right....Only the Good Die Young.  That's the God damn truth. 

Love ya Big D! You may be gone physically, but you'll always be here with me.