A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing

One of my most favourite computer tricks is capturing pictures of cool things off of the internet.
A little trick I learned from The Irish Geek Squad was that you can press your SHIFT key and your PRINT SCREEN key at the same time, and capture the entire screen of your monitor.

To the average person, this may not seem like an amazing trick, but you must remember that I am quite artistic and learning this trick opened up a lot of doors for me as far as creating cool stuff on my computer.

But now, I have a PC. I ADORE my PC. But it has Windows 7 and I am still learning how to use some of the features. And in that respect, I'm a lot like a guy. Am I going to take the tutorial of how to run my PC? Hell no! I like naps, but that would be a total snooze-fest!

Instead, when I need to know something, I get on IGoogle (not just Google, because I've advanced to the really COOL format of IGoogle) and I ask "Windows 7 capture screen" or whatever else it is that I am looking to learn, and viola! There is my answer!

For Windows 7, the feature I was needing is "The Snipping Tool".
I had to do a quick search to make it appear, but now that I have it in my options tool box,
you'll be seeing many more pictures here on my blog!

For example, Hubby and I have recently swapped bedrooms with our young son. He got the better end of the deal. Our room was much larger and is in better shape. And sadly, now that all of our stuff is out of there, it is even more cozy! The sun shines in there all afternoon and it just has a very inviting feeling about it.

Our new room is... small. Our new bed is oversized, and there's not a lot of room to move around. But I've got some plants in there now to make it more homey. I couldn't do that upstairs because it can get awfully cold up there (mattress warmers are an amazing thing for a cold room). A plant can't snuggle up in a warm bed.

I still need to fix the ceiling in our new bedroom. Maybe this summer. And the room needs a paint job badly. But I love the sunny yellow it is right now. It just needs a fresh coat. However, if I am going to go to that trouble, I'm going to do something cool with it as well.

I want 3 of the walls sunny yellow, and I want one wall royal purple and lavender. Only in THIS sort of design:


I've borrowed this picture from Jennifer Greenberg's web site. You should browse it!
But in the mean time, try to picture a bedroom wall with diamonds of lavender and royal purple.
Cool, eh?

You see, I want to keep the mouldings the colour they already are. I figure a good washing will do for those. Hubby and I spent hours making them 3 shades of berry to bring out the architectural beauty in them. I don't want to erase the love that went into doing that. And I think Purple will only enhance it more.


I have also learned other cool computer tricks lately. I bought a zip card so that I can snag pictures off of my phone and put them on the computer. And the cool thing is that it also works with our son's DSI! So I can post some of his better works of art here as well!

Be very grateful that he deleted the picture we took the other night. Long story short, the Kid left a turd in the toilet as long as my arm! I kid you not, it looked like an alien tentacle coming up out of the water searching for a human! So.... we took a picture.... to send to Uncle Marty. Uncle Marty appreciates such things.... and when you edit pictures on the DSI and then hit the 'Restore" button, the picture quivers.... well, you can only imagine.

Yes, we are sick people around here. But hey! We need to keep the laughter happening somehow! If we don't, we cry... but that's another story.

Red Leather

I don't know what I was watching on television, but someone somewhere was wearing a Red Leather Jacket and I thought "Hey! Now that look never goes out of style if it's the right jacket!"

And since then, it has almost become an obsession for me to find just the right one.



The Cripple Creek Red Jacket is very cute, and would probably look okay on a fluffy person like me because it has a flair at the bottom.

The Scully Jacket is way cute! It doesn't scream "Wisconsin Winter" but it could be worn indoors with a cute sweater. And it is less than $200!

The Frozieri Red Leather Jacket is so cute they didn't even use a model for it.
But of course it is the most expensive one I have found, well over a grand!
So I am just going to tell myself that I would look fat in it and let it go....

This obsession has lasted about a month. If it persists, I may need to act on it.
That is the frugality in me speaking. Of course I don't NEED a Red Leather Jacket.
Heck, I just ordered myself a new jacket as a Gift from Hubby (He has no idea he has such great taste!). I can't post a picture of it here because the site I got it from has an adjustable picture of it that I can't simply copy - and on my lap top, the "print screen + shift key" does not work as a copy- screen feature (I could cry! I use that all the time on a normal computer!). So I certainly don't need a red jacket as well. But sometimes a gal just needs to go with her instincts ... if they last long enough.

Cuz Amy won't Call me

I haven't been posting for a while.
There's just too much shit going on here at our humble abode that I don't feel is
appropriate to blog about on the net.

However, right this moment I need to vent.
I spend my days helping patients. I listen carefully to their requests and the entire team that I work with does their best to accommodate the patient.

Right now the shoe is on the other foot. Hubby is the patient.
Trying to manage the long list of meds he is on is one hell of a job in itself.
I try to be mindful that he won't run out just in case there is a 24 hour wait for the doctor
to fulfill the RX. But that doesn't always happen. With so much else going on, sometimes we miss the train.

Today for example, Hubby called his doctor and asked if they could fill 2 of his prescriptions.
I am so tired of standing around the pharmacy I could just scream! Am I asking too much to have them just send the fucking prescription to the pharmacy instead of making me go all the way across town to the doctors office, pick up a written prescription and take it to the pharmacy and wait a fucking hour for them to fill it? Gawd! I could just rip my hair out!

This is supposed to be my afternoon off work. This is supposed to be "Free ME time". I used to get naps on Tuesday afternoons. I can't remember the last time I actually got a nap on a Tuesday. Instead, every Tuesday I'm messing around with pharmacies and prescriptions.

It's not like I'm picking up a controlled substance. There is no reason why they couldn't just send these electronically to the pharmacy near me, But NO! They have to make my life more difficult than it already is!!!!

Do I sound bitter? Sorry, I just had to purge.

As an added note, I've sent 2 messages to Amy. Call me, girl! We need to talk!

Memory Lane

Now and again I will come across a photo that reminds me of my first apartment.























It was an Upper apartment with a quirky layout and odd storage space.
But I didn't have much back then, so it didn't matter much to me.
Rent was only $250 a month, so I was willing to put up with the tiny living room, and a heater in the kitchen that didn't quite reach my room with warmth.

And the bathroom was SO bohemian! This picture below reminds me of it because the ceiling was steeply slanted, and it was all clap board. Who would have ever thought that something that rustic could actually be in style right now?





















I remember hating the way it looked so much that I cut up my collection of Rolling Stone Magazines and created a giant collage of celebrities faces above the bath tub. It actually looked pretty darn cool. And I always chuckled when company would come over and comment that it was just too odd having Madonna and Springsteen watch them pee.

Would I ever go back? Hell no! I have way too much stuff now. We'd never fit! But it would be fun to just go back and furnish it in modern style to see how cool it could really look.

The master bedroom had a lot of potential. I felt rich because the previous owner had left behind a wardrobe which gave me so much more closet space. And I loved the double doors entering the bedroom. They had glass pained doors with lace curtains.
If I'd have had money back then, it would have looked quite posh.

The living room was just plain hopeless. I had an over-sized console television set that took up far too much space in that tiny room. And the curtains were actually bed sheets sewn to fit. They came with the place, and I'm embarrassed to say they sort of matched my couch. Yikes!

I've come a long way since then. But then again, that was 25 years ago. If I haven't grown in all that time, I never would!

I think the best thing about my first apartment was that because it was so small it was so easy to keep clean. Nowadays we just have too much stuff and too much space for me to keep up with.
It makes me wonder why we grow physically weaker as we grow older when we actually need more energy to keep up with what we've gained.

Leather Dreams

I've become a very big fan of Chesterfield Sofas in the past few years.
Now and again I log on to their web site and just browse and dream....

For example, the Chesterfield Mustang (above) is so amazingly Deco and yet it screams modern at the same time. But I think what makes it so alluring is the fact that this company really understands traditional upholstery techniques and is able to look forward in style and purpose.

Sigh!



















And the Phillip Stanhope Design (above) - Classic yet extraordinarily gorgeous! Just look at the quality of that leather! You find that at a furniture store in my neighbourhood!




















The RW Emmerson Collection - VERY Classic Chesterfield. Check out those sexy feet.
Any Chesterfield builder or re-upholsterer can tell you that the feet are just as improtant a feature as the sofa itself.



















The Samual Johnson is classic with a modern twist. What's not to love? Makes me want to fetch a good book and just lounge away!























This Stamford Model makes me drool as well.

And last but not least... who could refuse the opportunity to sit in THIS!


























It's not just a Sofa Company. It is a style built on tradition that will never ever go out of style.

So how did I stumble upon Chesterfield Sofas? Well, I went through a phase in my life when we had a very ugly sofa and I wanted to try re-upholstering it. Where does one begin to learn about upholstery? Why the interweb of course. Naturally, I learned that the couch I was attempting to cover should really have been chucked to the curb. The rule is if you remove fabric and batting and you find cardboard anywhere in the original insides, it was a cheap factory model to start with. But then I stumbled onto a now defunct web site called oldsofas from the UK where this company not only sold the supplies I needed to attempt covering my old couch, but they also had a groovy little business where they revived only mistreated Chesterfield Furniture. Why Chesterfields? Because they are so finely built. It was amazing to see the before during and after photos that Ruth would post of her latest projects. Some looked completely rotted and hopeless until she poured her love into them. I was so sad two years ago when they made their final web post saying that Ruth was hanging up her tack hammer for good. She was my hero!

Some day I hope to own one. When the child has grown and no longer spills. Unfortunately, this may also mean that Hubby would have to be granted his wish of having a recliner as well. It'll look like the set of Frasier. Sigh.

P.S. My first attempt at upholstery was a bust and ended up on the curb months later. But one has to start somewhere!

Dang! I think Elvis Left the Building!

I probably have more blogs bookmarked than a normal person ought to. But I never did claim to be normal.
The sad thing is, our internet went out at about the time MJ died. I was left with only a few resources to follow that entertaining tale - limited access to the internet at work, and watching Celebrity News shows on television. My poor brain!!!

But now that we're back up and running, I'm surfing all of my favourite blogs, and have found that many of the features that made me love such blogs have been changed by the hosts. The fun part about visiting It's Lovely, I'll Take It was actually looking at the listings she found the humorous photos from. Now, she no longer provides a link! Why bother?

And it looks like Anna over at Door 16 is taking a break from major home reno chores and has instead chosen to accent the things she has already completed. Wah!

And YouTube removed my Most Favourite Andy Gibb video! (Don't laugh! He was DREAMY! LOL!)

At least The Superficial hasn't let me down. He's still filling his blog with wisdom and grit. Good man! He urged a good guffaw out of me when he mentioned that Kate of John and Kate Makes Eight is now sporting the Divorced Woman's Reverse FeMullet! Aptly put! That is one hairdo you will never see on my head!

I did a lot of beading while the net was down. And I'm still beading whilst catching up on television shows that I'm missing due to Hubby being home mending. Trust me. It's easier. Oh so much easier. Not the beading, the watching shows on the net part. The beading comes in play because I just can't sit and veg while watching a TV show. I have to keep busy. Or maybe I just need a refill on my Lorazepam. Yeah. That.

Meanwhile, my house plants had been worried that I'm going to re-pot them all out of boredom. I have a veritible jungle started. When I water on Saturdays, I go through 3 gallons of water on them because there is somewhere around 15 plants vying for my affection. And now that we have the net back, I can actually try to identify my latest horticultural acquisition. It had lots of flowers when I got it. Now, it's going dormant, whispering "put me in a bigger pot!" And I'm always starting clippings just because it's fun to do so. Anyone need a Pothos? I have some ready to plant.

I guess it's time to visit the hardware store next weekend for more dirt and bigger pots. And maybe now that the growing season is ending, I'll bet I'll see prices fall a bit.

In retrospect, I guess going without the net has helped me to become less obsessed with it. It's still fun. Don't get me wrong. And I could still spend hours on YouTube. But it's not so feverent.

I read today that kids who put in too many hours playing video games are more likely to become more susceptible to addictions in adulthood. I suppose I ought to stop mixing The Child Jim Beam and Cokes while he's building stuff on Roblox! (Joking!!!! I would NEVER waste my Beam on someone who wouldn't appreciate it!)

Such a Journey!!!

Hello, faithful readers!
Just wanted to let you know that we're finally back on line!
It's been a long journey these past few months.
I don't really have time to catch you all up right now.
I'll just give you the highlights for now...

1. Hubby had his surgery. He's still progressing. What a journey!
2. I'm going to be a grandma! Baby is due March 6, 2010.
3. School has begun and The Child is having a tough time with it.
4. Work is racing at an amazingly fast pace what with the flu season beginning early.
feckin swine flu! I'm up to here with it!!!!!
5. We have some very amazing friends. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Hugs to you all!
More updates to come!