I'm back!!!

Yay!  I am so excited to tell you that I am back.  Back here at learning as we go.  There are a couple of factors to my decision to return here.  First one being, I had too much trouble getting my new blog working on blogger and didn't really care for blogging at wordpress.  Because of that I sort of lost the desire to continue blogging.  But the truth is, I've missed blogging.  Which leads me to my second reason...I miss writing.  Or is this talking?  Journaling?  Typing random thoughts?  Whatever it is I have missed it.  And for whatever reason this feels like home.  This little special blog of mine. 
So, here I am.  I'm back and hopefully here to stay.  There will be posts coming, so please, if I haven't lost you yet, come on back.  Soon.  I think I've officially lost it.  : )

Saying goodbye, and starting a new adventure.

Hello to anyone who happens to be popping in at learning as we go.  I've a bit of an announcement to share with you.  I've decided to stop blogging.  Wait, before you leave you must know that I'm starting a new blog.  I am really excited about it.  It's a blog I feel a little more comfortable with and because of that I will probably be a little better about posting.

If you know me at all, then you know how much I love to make my house a home, and how much I love to decorate and all things that pertain to simplifying life and home.  It's a bit of a work in progress, so I hope that you will bear with me as I get it up and going.  The blog that is.  I am so excited about it, and I can't wait to really get started.

So, look for me at www.thisprimitivehome.blogspot.com.  Say hello and let me know you've stopped by.  I'm starting the blog with the December Photo Project.  What fun.

Just want to say goodbye from learning as we go and thank you for all of your support and reading through some of my "thoughts."  I'm far from done sharing, just done sharing here...I think.  : )  It's really not a good-bye, just a sideways good-bye.  See ya.

I've been a little busy.

You will pardon my lack of blogging as of late.  Some of it comes down to a sort of writers block, some to lack of things to say but mainly to lack of time.  I am not someone who can handle too many things at once, so the more important things take precedence over blogging.

We were out of town last weekend for a trip to the beach.  It was wonderful except for the $80 ticket my husband got for speeding through Delaware.  Though it was a little annoying she was actually generous and only charged him with a lesser speed than the actual.  *Note to self:  send in the payment.*  Ugh!

Was on my way to one of my cleaning jobs last week and I got hit by a deer.  Yep, you read that right, I got hit by a deer.  I was braking to avoid hitting one, when a second ran out and ran right into the back of my car.  I am so glad it didn't do any damage.  Only damage was to my emotions.  What a nerve-racking moment.  Do you ever wonder why silly things like those happen?  Strange.

Anyway, I've done a few small projects around my home that I've shown on my blog.  Well, we just embarked on a big project just last week.  We are knee deep in renovating my bathroom.  Who knew that one small room could create such havoc.  But I must say it is worth it.  My bathroom has been a mess since we moved into this house.  Clean, but a mess.  Mainly the floor.  The tiles were coming loose and the grout was looking a little...gross.

I will show you what we started with.  The first picture shows what the room looked like when we bought the house.  I must disclose to you that the tub (which is hard to see) was actually the turquoisey minty color.  Though very clean and in relatively good condition, the color was just not my thing.

I decided to put a band-aid on it until it was time to renovate, so here is the most recent photo of our bathroom.

As you can see, I did my best to work with what was there.  I removed the wallpaper and freshened up the walls and vanity with paint.  I placed those two rugs on the floor to hide the loose floor tiles.  What you can't see in this picture is the pee stained rusted out floor heater right by the toilet.  It was nas. Tee.  Nasty.  (Did I just write the word toilet on my blog?)

Anyway, since the majority of this renovation would fall on my husband it was up to him when he wanted to get started.  Well, he wanted to get started and I was in full agreement.  So, we are down to one bathroom.  One woman sharing a bathroom with 3 boys and a dog.  It's proving to be a challenge at times, but we'll get through it.  (No, my dog doesn't use the bathroom to do her business, her food and water bowl is in there.)
Not to mention the fact that my washer and dryer are also in that bathroom. 

Well, here is what my bathroom looks like now.

Nice huh?  Well, you will see I like to keep my rooms decorated during renovating.  ; )  Why not?  Makes me like to go in there.

I will keep you posted as to how things are going.  Aside from the toilet lid getting busted everything has been going smoothly.  I only hope it continues that way.  I can't wait to get to the putting it back together part.  Soon.

Guest posting today!

Happy Monday morning.  It happens to be an absolutely beautiful (perfect) day here!  I love Monday's.  There's just something about getting a chance to start over with a new week.  And we get to do that 52 times a year.  Just remembering the quote from "Anne of Green Gables." 

**Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."

Love that.  I hope you'll use your Monday as a fresh start.  And don't worry, if you blow it, you always get a fresh start tomorrow, or the next Monday!!

***Today I have the priveledge of guest posting on my dear friend Bevy's blog.  I feel so honored.  I hope you'll pop on over and read what I have to say about anxiety.  Anxiety can be a dark topic, but nevertheless it's a real issue for me.  I hope you'll feel encouraged.  Say Hi to Bevy and be entered to win a giveaway!!!

To read my guest post go here. 

Thanks for stopping by!!

A little home improvement

I just wanted to show you what I've been up to as of late.

Last Saturday I had a whole day all to myself so I took advantage of that time and decided to paint my kitchen cabinets.  It's only phase one of the whole kitchen makeover, but so far I'm pleased with the results.

To get a real appreciation I'll show you a picture of what the kitchen looked like before.  This is what it looked like when we bought the house.

This next picture shows what it looked like after we took out the prison bars and painted the walls.

That's about how it has stayed since we moved in.  It's not that I hated the blue, it just wasn't the color I chose, nor would it really be a color I would choose.  And after living here for over two years, the paint was beginning to chip and the cabinets were getting a little on the dirty side.  So, I decided it was time to change.  And with no one around it was the perfect opportunity.

Part of the reason it took me so long to paint them was because I struggled with what color I wanted.  My dream was to paint them black.  Oh I love that, but with black appliances I thought that would be way to much.  I also thought about doing a colonial burgundy, but again I wasn't sure if it would be too dark.  So, I opted for a colonial green.  Green isn't one of my favorite colors, but it's definitely one that I'm okay with.  Better than the blue anyway.

So, here's how they turned out.

Since I took the photos, I've already changed out the curtains and added some decorations to the cabinet sides at the window.  I'll show an prettier picture when the kitchen is cleaned up and ready. 

Well, like I said, it's just phase one.  We want to install a new backsplash.  I'm thinking brick.  Also, we want to install a new counter top.  We have a portable dishwasher (you can kind of see it in the photo above) but I would like to have one installed when we replace the counters.  All of this takes time and money.  Both a precious thing these days.

So, what do you think?  Should I have gone with black or burgundy?

Once upon a time

Once upon a time there was a prince and a princess.  On a certain day in the merry month of September this happy couple discussed who would take the "good" chariot.  The prince decided to let the princess have it and she was ever so grateful. 

He on the other hand would suffer because of this decision.  You see, the chariot that the prince had to take was considerably older and didn't have the special features of the princess' chariot.  One such feature it was lacking was that of a reminder when the prince would leave his lights on.  **Who knew a chariot had lights.  ; ]

On this merry day, the prince drove his chariot to work and left the lights on.  Because of this the chariot had a dead battery.  However, the prince will not discover this until about 6 pm when it is time to leave.

The princess, being the sweet woman she was, was preparing for her prince a lovely dinner.  Her happy children whistling tunes while setting the family dinner table.  In concern for her prince she placed a call only to discover his battery was dead.

**Okay, so part of that paragraph may not be entirely true.**  Side note, this is the fourth time the prince has had a dead battery.  **Another side note, the prince received a birthday gift from the princess' mother containing a device that would jump start the prince's chariot without using another chariot.  Did the prince have it with him on this merry day?**  No.

So, the prince had to go find help for his chariot.  When he calls his precious princess he then informs her that not only was his battery dead, but now his keys were locked inside his chariot.

The princess realizes the predicament her prince is in and must abruptly end her dinner, leaving the half eaten plates and food on the counter.  She heads to her chariot with her children in tow.  And of course, the extra keys to the prince's chariot, oh, and the special device to jump the battery.

The children had homework that night and school the next day and the princess realizes that the children can not go along.  So, she turns to her mother for help.  Dropping the keys and device with the princess' mom, the decision is made that she would go save the prince and the princess would take care of the children.

**Side note, the princess mom has a gps, but it is in the chariot that is being repaired at the mechanics.**

So, she heads off into the night to save the prince.  But by this time, the prince had hitched a ride in a co-workers chariot to his home to wait for help.  A short time later, the princess checks in with the prince and learns that he is now with the princess' mom and heading to revive his chariot.

Ah, all is well, or so she thinks.  The princess had just sat down at the table to reload on her dinner and help her children with their homework when the prince calls.  He needed help because they were lost.  The princess being the sweet wife she is digs up a map (on google) and becomes her prince's gps, guiding them along to their destination.

However, what the princess doesn't realize is that the destination on the map was incorrect.  And so, for thirty minutes she sends them in the complete opposite direction.  Once the error was discovered, the prince and the princess' mom refueled her chariot and headed back in the direction of the prince's chariot.

It seemed that all was well at this point.  And it was, however, by now it was after 9 pm.  The prince would arrive to find his chariot.  Get it started and drive home.  He will arrive at 10:15.

Upon entering his castle, the prince falls to the couch in exhaustion, where he will sleep the entire night. 

And they lived happily ever after...

The moral of the story is, make sure you have an extra set of keys hidden somewhere on your chariot.  And, if you turn on your chariot lights, please remember to turn them off.  If you receive a gift from your prince/princess' mom, always have it with you.  And make sure you always have a map in the glove box of your chariot. 

**This story may or may not have been true.  It may or may not have happened to me and my husband.  He may or may not have woken the next morning and in a series of events managed to lose his keys and throw them away all within five minutes.  We may or may not live happily ever after!!!

Is there any room in your heart for me?

I have to say that my husband is in France right now and he took my camera with him.  So, I've been making do with some old photos to go with my new posts.  I hope you don't mind.

This post is not a cry for help.  I'm not sad and pathetic even though it may sound like that.  I actually have complete peace and I am very excited to see what the future holds.  These are just thoughts goin through my mind and feelings in my heart.

*****

Over the summer our family made a huge change in our lives.  We moved to a new church and decided to put our kids in a new school.  I will post more about that later.

It feels as though we are starting all over again.  In many ways it's been easy but in other ways it's been hard.  One of them being the struggle to meet new people.  I feel as though I am on the outside looking in. 

It seems they all already have their friendships established.  Like they've known each other for years.  They seem genuinely interested in talking to me and meeting me, but is that where it stops?  Their lives are full of family, church, school and the like.  They are busy, like me.  Could they have any more room in their lives for another friend?  Is there any room in their hearts for me?

This has been weighing on my mind a lot lately.  I guess it's natural for a girl woman to feel this way.  We all want to fit in.  Want to be liked.  It's hard to be the one left out.

I know in time I will find my place.  And I know it will take time.  I just want a bucket full of friends.  Not a lot just a bucket-full.  ; ]

My version of a bucket full of friends!!  :)

 
But more than that I would like one to be mine.  Just mine.  Okay, I'm scaring myself a little bit, but I think you know what I mean.  That one that knows the real me.  The one I can cry with, laugh (really laugh, you know, the pee your pants kind) with, go on play dates with and even "couple dates."

Sure, I still have friends from my old church, but things are different now.  I don't see them anymore.  I'm not looking to replace them, just add to my bucket.  So, if I'm willing to add new friends to my life does that mean that others are too?  If I still have room in my heart for another friend or two, does that mean they have a little room in their heart for me too?