Independence Day - 2011

Or otherwise known as my favorite holiday ever.

Even if there isn't any gift giving.

In the many years since we moved to Arizona, back to our extended family, we've always celebrated the 4th of July in one of two ways; 1) At a local park & fireworks show or 2) At my Aunt Anita's house & pool.  This year, I had the honor of hosting my peeps at my house.

Joy!

The husband, kids and I cleaned up and decorated a bit - gearing for our 4th (er, 2nd) of July party!

I realized I don't have enough 4th of July decorations on hand.

Maybe I need to remedy that. I am sure the HobLob has some sales going on tomorrow. =)

We made do with what we had.

Here's a pic of my "mantel." I realize it's not a REAL mantel.

But I think I will use it as a place to dress-up for each of the holidays & seasons.

It may look different from last time. Or the time before that.

I like it this way, much better.

Here it is again - this time with more treats on it!

Like my licorice bouquet?! Name that movie.

And darn it - I think I ate 94% of those Hot Tamales.

And every.single.time I got a really HOT one, I told myself I wouldn't eat anymore.

The bowl is empty.

:(

On the menu?!

Hamburgers, Hot Dogs, potato salad, jalapeno coleslaw, chips and dips and dips and chips, and a green salad. Now, I will note that the salad bowl hardly had a dent in it. My peeps need to eat more greens. Oh well, the man I said "I Do" to and I had leftovers last night for dinner. We love us some ensalada.

Besides all of that food, we had an array of canned soda, water and bottles of crush.

My cousin also brought a few bottles of wine.

We don't drink - and I do not have a wine bottle opener.

Fail.

She's a clever one though - and she got the darn bottles open.

I do have some wine glasses in the house, she found those okay!

No need to guzzle and pass for those that opted to partake.

=)

By the way, someone needs to gift me a wine bottle opener.

Some more decor:

Finally - firecrackers.

You see, Arizona has had some HORRIBLE wild fires going on in the state as of late.

Our unincorporated county island decided to ban fireworks this year (our first 4th since the state law changed to allow them in the first place). We were bummed. But, since we already had a small pack of small-ish fireworks, we decided the kids could light a few.

The little ones loved the sprinklers.

I know. Sparklers.

But I couldn't get it right.

I took a few pics, but none really turned out. I am hoping the ones my cousin took look better -

and that he feels like sharing.

What I don't have pictures of is the pool time or the lovely desserts that followed.

People will probably thank me for that! ;)

All in all - the last of our guests left around midnight.

Isabel had a friend stay the night - we were all sooo exhausted, I am sure she was bored out of her mind!

Marcos and I didn't even wake up until 11:30 yesterday. Crazy.

What's crazier is the aftermath.

.... that's still waiting for me today.

I didn't lift one finger yesterday... unless it was to change the channel on the remote.

Thank gosh for leftovers and half grown children.

And thank gosh for our beautiful country, our rights, our freedom and for those that serve and protect it all!

Hope you have a beautiful day today!

Well... THAT didn't work.

And I will not blame Sherry or the tutorial. Instead, I will blame the ball to my chain. He rushed me on the second pic.
My FAVORITE pic. And now, it's a mess. I had to make some quick changes - to at least cover the screw-holes; I have people coming over tomorrow!!

So for now, horsey playing on the beach is put aside (I've seriously cried enough tears; no more!) and I've moved some things from our dining room to our family room and vice versa.

I moved the diamonds from the dining room...

and in their place I put the framed art that used to be on the family room wall.

I am not CRAZY about the outcome in the family room (looks too blah and bare),

but I love the art in the dining room - much better than the diamonds.

You can see the lost art in the mirror above. I have it sitting in the shadows so you can't see my failings it's flaws.

The sweetie pie (like how I changed my tune?!) said I could order the prints again, but this time we agreed to mount them on wood (an additional $60 per print, but probably totally worth it!).

P.S. Like my new star?!

I got two, one I mentioned in my master bedroom post and one for downstairs. Like my curtains?! - Just waiting for the husband to hang the ones in the family room - to the right of the star.
Come on husband... I've only been begging for like a week or so.

Hmph.

A Game of H-O-R-S-E

I told ya about the new artwork I purchased... I thought they would be posters... but they aren't. They are photographs. 30" x 40"s big.

I told you that I was inspired by Sherry of YHL... I even emailed her for advice. She responded. I love her for that.

The husband and I set out to follow her tutorial to a T.

Even still, it didn't go as smoothly as I would have hoped. There seems to be a bit of awkward overhang of picture in some areas. In others, the picture was just not sticking. I think the canvas isn't exact. Darn them.

After several hours, I took them for a test drive.

I LOVE THEM.

But there are a few things I need to do...

Like - get out a dab of super glue or a minuscule piece of double stick tape and get those little areas down.

We opted NOT to take an exacto knife to fix the little over hangs.

So, they are NOT perfect. But you have to be all up on them suckers to see the flaws.

There is still a chance - if I find the right frames for the right prices - we may frame them.

But for now - I am super happy.

The pics were $49.99 each, but I found a coupon code online - saved me $20 overall.

The canvas is 50% off at Michael's right now, so I got them for $24 a piece.

And the Liquitex Matte Varnish was $20 (I went for the big bottle, just in case I decide to varnish the front. I tried it on a post card - and it did look cool!).

The husband still needs to hang up the drapes on the left side of that wall. Hopefully I can convince him that tomorrow morning would be the perfect time to do that. As soon as they are hung, I will try to get a better picture of the entire room.

But for now...it's late... almost 2am. I am going to hit the hay. Pun intended.

P.S. A HUGE thank you to Sherry at YHL. If for nothing else, then for finding the perfect artwork and sharing her experience!

A tale of 48+ Hours

It all started on Saturday; the kids left us. Nic went to my mom and dad’s and Alex & Isa went my mother-in-law's. On Sunday afternoon, my mom and dad dropped Nic off at my mother-in-law’s house and he stayed the night with his brother and sister. On Monday afternoon, we picked up Nic, but the older two opted to stay until tomorrow (Wednesday). We were actually kid-less for TWO WHOLE NIGHTS! Guess how many trips to Home Depot we made during that 48 hour period?!!?!

I don’t know. I lost count.

For the record (and to admit a flaw) – I hate standing around waiting for my other half for things at Home Depot. Not that he’s bad about it – or takes super long... but drill bits and flood lights are not my thing. I got cranky. Thank gosh he’s super patient. He did also point out that he’s been the victim a time or two when I made him visit the paint or curtain department.

Oh.

Anyway – Nic came home last night and we decided to make a special dinner for him. We missed him MUCHO!

Chili-Dogs and French Fries.

Do you love my patriotic plates? They are for our 4th (er, 2nd) of July party on Saturday. I broke them out a bit early (translation - I was too lazy to do dishes).

After dinner - we had dessert: Banana Splits.Except they were in bowls.

And except for the fact that Nic had a cone. With no bananas.

But the majority did have banana splits.

Well, I don't like all that junk. Just chocolate, bananas and ice cream for me!

As I was going in to edit these pictures for this post, I found the following pictures that my dear Nic took some time this morning:

Crooks & Nannies. Wow. That there is my scrap paper that I keep on my office desk - I am a doodle-er. I was having a conversation with my mom on the phone - and mixed my words up - and then thought it was so funny, I wrote it down. I obviously meant nooks and crannies. lol...

Finally - last thing to share today... The husband has been hard at work while on vacation. He finished the outside flood lights today. And believe me you, it wasn't as simple as installing flood lights. He had to run wires (why, oh why, weren't they pre-wired?!?!). He had to make holes, cut chicken wire, re-patch, re-stucco, re-paint. I sat on the couch and watched DIY shows. Big helper, huh?

I can't wait to see what they look like tonight! There are two sets, so the whole yard should be lit! YAY for no more scrounging around in the dark for things. YAY for being able to now avoid bugs and scorpions!!

Let there be LIGHT!

So much other stuff to share, but so much to wrap my head around. We made a trip to IKEA... we got our drapes and artwork in the mail, we have 2 more paint colors to try for the master bedroom and we are having a party at our house on Saturday! I am tired just thinking of all that - I say it's nap time! For Nic. Of course.

:)

Paint Pickin’ Master

Please... I do not want to lead you to believe, by the title of this post, that I am a paint pickin’ master.


Instead, I am just trying to pick some paint for my master bedroom. Our master bedroom, sorry about that Mr. Roommate.

I’ve never done this before. With the other rooms, I picked one color and ran (man, those cans are heav-eey!).

This time I wanted to do it right, so I picked four colors and got little sample containers. And just now I slapped them up on the wall:

I think it’s important to add that I am looking for a blue/green/gray color – not to go beachy, but to have that cool element in the room. The bed is walnut with a dark leather (pleather?, did I get taken!?) inlay. The drapes are a beige-y gold color and they are staying that way. Eventually, when we get white blinds, we will swag a panel to each of the sides of the window.

We want to add built-ins that will match the baseboards and trip (heirloom, white?!) and the bedding will all be white. We would, of course, add color in the way of pillows and art.  I like this, but it may not stay in the room:

Here is what I think I like - It's John & Sherry's room - look at the walls, that's what I love:

Without further ado...

HELP!!

:)

Oh My [Vacation Day 2]

I don't know why I agree to some of the husband's shenanigans. Especially when he speaks geek.

But this helped:

And so did this:

(don't you love it?! it's from the HobLob! 50% off!!)

And now this is the new (not permanent, I hope) view of my TV niche in the family room:

Lucky gal, aren't I?

The husband's been mumbling about stupid spec home, and not enough lines, and the ever so understandable (not!) we need more CAT5.  He's making holes, running lines and spending dough like it's well, ...dough. But he promises that when all is said and done, we will have the speaker system (indoor and out) and flood lights (outside only, thankgosh!) all installed.

Secretly, I am crushin' on him. I love that he knows his trade so well. And, on a scale of 1to 10, his hotness goes up to a 12 when he steps onto a ladder. I'm just sayin'.  I am so glad that, besides the technical side of things, he also knows how to drywall. lol... He's going to be using that skill for sure during this vacation!

On the docket for the rest of the week?!?! Pick the paint color for the master (and actually PAINT!). I may need your help with that. The picking - of course you'd back out of the actual painting part. I know that! 

We have drapes and artwork coming this week! Yay, more hanging.

We have a garage to THROW OUT. We found another scorpion... so I told the man to get rid of everything. No more pack-ratting.

And finally, I've done a little make-over on desk that I am going to be moving into my office. The office is going to finally get the finishing touches it's been waiting for.  

So - our staycation is going to be jammed packed, but really - we wouldn't have it any other way! I'm lying of course, I'd much rather be on a beach in Mexico, San Diego, or elsewhere with palm trees. Oh well, there's always next year!

More Fun, Fun, Fun

Before I get into the meat of this post... I wanted to give a shout out to a sponsor... (you didn't know I took on sponsors?! what, what?!?)...

This post is brought to you by:

That's how many hours Marcos and I have left until we start our staycation! We will both be off of work until July 5. Yay us!

Okay - now to the meat! ;)  And speaking of meat - let's talk about the meat market we were at on Saturday; all of the fathers in my life were in one place (the pizza joint). Combine all that pepperoni and those hunky-hunks - it was a meat market for sure!

But, to bring this to a Rated G post - I will make mention of the all cute kids also in attendance. We spent a few good hours with food, fun, and all of the love we could handle.

Want proof?

We spent Sunday camera-less. lol... My parents came over, Marcos didn't have to work. The day was grand!

We had a lunch of Sloppy Joe's, Salad and Chips. I made the Pineapple Upside Down cupcakes.  (I evidently like Capital Letters) We went for a swim. I was kind of disappointed in the water temp... even though it was over 100*, the water was pretty cool. I think it was due to the wind - we get a lot of wind out this way.

The best part of swimming?! Getting out and laying in a lounge chair - letting the SUN dry you off. I LOVE laying out near the pool.  I think the Valium* I took just before hand helped me enjoy the minutes even more! I fell asleep while the rest of my family continued to play! I am happy to say that even though I slept out in the sun, I do NOT resemble a lobster today. Not at all.

(*Back pain, remember?! I don't condone prescription drug use before swimming. I waited at least 30 minutes after our meal and my pill popping before getting in the water. I had 5 lifeguards family members on duty. I survived.)

All-in-all, I think Marcos and my dad had a good time; on Father's Day, that's all that matters.