Another Week, Another Coat of Paint

Before I say anything else, let me draw your attention to my new "like" button to the right.  I'm still playing around with this - but here's the gist of it.  If you simply want to let me know you like the blog, just click "like".  Easy.  If you want to follow this blog on Facebook, go ahead and click "like" on the facebook box and feel free to visit my new page I created on Facebook.  I'd actually like to see the facebook page become a place for comments about the blog and also have it serve as another way for anyone who is interested to follow the blog since I'll be posting links to my posts on there. Done.  Won't say another word about it.

Wait - yes, I will.  I'm also interested in finding out who is reading the blog.  I'm especially curious about all you people in far-flung places like Russia, China, Australia, etc. who apparently have somehow stumbled onto this blog and are reading my innermost thoughts.  Read away - I'm just curious as to who you are and how you came to find me.  Welcome to my brain.  Ok, now I'm done.  Moving along . . .

Ditching Scraping, Embracing Sanding 
I have realized now, after months of scraping, scraping, scraping the ugly paint off my kitchen cabinets, that I really don't need to be scraping after all.  I got tired of scraping so I decided to lightly sand the cabinets instead.   Well, I could have saved myself tons of time, not to mention backaches and sore shoulders, if I'd just SANDED the cabinets and skipped the scraping. Of course I realized this after already completing three sets of cabinets. I'm sure my dad was laughing at me the whole time I was scraping, gouging the wood in areas where the paint would not come off.  I'm sure my husband is thinking to himself  "I was going to call a painter, but I'm afraid to tell her that because she might totally lose it."  He'd be right.

I was especially motivated to move ahead with the project when my next door neighbor's daughter and her friend popped in for an unexpected visit.  John and I were drinking some beers in our messy kitchen when they knocked on the door. It was kind of funny because they were both holding glasses of wine so naturally I motioned for them to come join us.  Then I cringed.  My kitchen, I thought. My horrible, messy, unfinished kitchen. Half the cabinets have yet to be painted, two cabinets are missing their doors, and the walls, which have been hastily stripped of wallpaper, are splotched with various paint colors since I can't make up my mind about which one I want to use. Yikes. We had a nice visit but as soon as they left, John looked at me and said "Our kitchen is so embarrassing." I realized at that point that we have not had anyone over in months, probably because we are subconsciously mortified over the state of our house.  Time to get cracking. If only I had more time, that is.

Mud Run, You Scare Me

In two weeks my sister and I will be plodding through mud, muck and other yucky stuff. For some crazy reason we signed up as a two-person team to "run" in RunAMuck, which is exactly what it sounds like.  I've decided to make shirts for us with our team name on the back.  Our team is called "The Mud, The Blood and the Beer" - after a line in the Johnny Cash song "A Boy Named Sue", which is actually written by Shel Silverstein, a talented writer of silly poetry that I've always loved to read. My dad also based his speech at my wedding on that song.  So it has a special meaning for us all.  I think he would think we are totally NUTS for doing this.  I think we're nuts.

I've read that people use duct tape to adhere their shoes to their legs so that they don't lose them in the mud.   My dad would have loved that part, since he used duct tape to fix everything.  I've also seen some photos and videos from previous mud runs where people have worn goggles to keep the mud out of their eyes.  Not a bad idea, considering I wear contact lenses.  Duct tape, goggles, covered in mud - I hope someone will be taking pictures because I will need some serious proof that we participated in something like this.

Well, it's Friday, I'm drinking a Rolling Rock and my husband the grill master is making salmon for dinner.  Life is good.  Plus we are celebrating Easter again, so more meat, eggs and bread on Sunday. Yum.