my junky wall

(This is my 100th post! Yay!!!)

Do you have a wall like this in your kitchen?

Yep. There are 6 light switch (with a total of 7 light switches)/outlet things on this one small expanse of wall. It's located on the back of my counter, and is the main part of my kitchen that is seen when you first glance into the room.

I'm sure it's functionally necessary. However, I consider it to be an aesthetic disaster! It's just so... I don't know. Switchy...or something.

A couple days ago, I couldn't take it any longer. I had to take action and make this portion of wall not so yucky.

First thing that came to my mind? Let's just move all of these electrical things to another place!!!

(Don't worry Dad, Aaron, and Bobby. Keep reading. I won't be calling you for electrical help!)

It's okay. You can laugh in my face.

I may be able to change a door nob, replace a doorbell, and fill in numerous nail holes (all skills that I've perfected since buying my house), but electrical work is definitely nowhere on my resume.

So I nixed that idea.

What else could I do? A fun curtain to cover it up? (nixed.) Paint all of the white parts yellow to match the wall? (almost did this. but nixed.) Really loooong flat screen TV that fits perfectly in this spot? (okay. that would totally ROCK! but nixed.)

See? It's tough coming up [good] with ideas for deyuckifying this wall!

And then I thought about my amazing paint skills. ha!

Well, really it's more like I got hives thinking about painting something worthy enough to actually hang in my house. But, I decided on a plan. And I'm SO EXCITED to do it!!

I went today and picked up all of the supplies.

When I told the guy at Lowe's (you know, the one that was lucky enough to be the first to ask if I needed any help) what I was doing, I couldn't help but laugh at the look on his face. Yeah. I really did laugh out loud. More than once. or twice. He thought I was a nut.

He made my plan a bit more complicated, and I almost threw in the towel at that point. But, I persevered and learned more about what needed to be done (by asking questions that were totally silly to him, I'm sure), and I did the first step this afternoon.

Want to see?

Tada! There's now a board on my wall!!

What will the finished project be?!

Stay tuned!!!



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seasoned with salt -- 52 in 52

Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Colossians 4:5-6

So my sister-in-law loves salt (hehe - if you're reading this, I hope you don't mind!). She told me once that she puts salt in the shaker with the most holes - that way, more will come out at once. ha!

I like salt as well, but I'm okay without it usually. However, some foods seriously require salt. And maybe more than just a grain.

Brustle sprouts. I love them! But, they need salt. Bad! Without, I'm not a big fan.

Potatoes. I'm a not a big potato type of girl. I don't mind a baked potato every once in awhile. I absolutely love sweet potatoes. But, if I'm going to have regular potatoes (in the form of fries, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes...), I want some salt!

Salt just seems to make things taste better. It can take a bland tasting food and add some spice to it (no pun intended...).

Sometimes the things we say are better received with a grain of salt. No, I'm not saying to butter your conversation up so as not to hurt someone. Not at all. However, be mindful of what you are saying and the impact it could have on another person.

Words hurt. It's as plain and simple as that. And sadly enough, sometimes the thing we remember most about a person is the negative words they've spoken to us.

Often times, we are judged by our words. People may watch us and look to see how we respond to certain situations. If we aren't careful, we may cause these people to stumble based on the way we've reacted. It hurts my heart to think I could cause someone strife with God because of my words.

Am I saying this because I think I'm perfect? No way, no how! I know I have to work at keeping my words full of grace, seasoned with salt, and glorifying God in all circumstances. That would be why I chose this verse for this week. :) But the first step is always realization, right?

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So, I'm sitting here in my hallway typing this post. Something about me heading to bed, deciding to write a post really quick, and then my dear dog wanting a late night snack/supper. She won't always eat if I'm not within sight, so I plopped in the hallway to finish up the post. I know. She's spoiled.

Anyway -- sitting here, I decided to open up the air conditioner filter thing (my own technical term). Dad mentioned getting a new thing to put in his, and it made me wonder if I needed new one for mine since it's been about 8 months since I bought the house. Hmm...

I think I am officially grossed out. Are they supposed to look that nasty? Or am I in serious need of a transplant? I snapped the picture to show the guy at the store when I go to get a new one. Classy, eh? 

I thought you'd enjoy the picture. Don't worry - it'll be changed soon (hopefully).



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my week, according to Instagram

The week after Spring Break always seem to be a tough one. Getting back into the swing of waking up early isn't always easy!

This week was no different! I spoke with about 4 other teachers that all said the same thing: Spring Break was such a glorious taste of summer that coming back was almost unbearable! Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, and we didn't exactly say it was that bad, but it was rough! I have enjoyed being back on a "normal" schedule again, and I truly did miss my little kiddos, however I struggled with waking up early and having energy to last me through the school day. Yawns were in abundance, and afternoon naps were a constant threat. But we made it! And we only have 33 days left (I'm pretty sure that's correct).

So here's a peek at my week. ha! I'm a poet and didn't know it. ba-da-ching!

-On Tuesday evening, I helped throw a baby shower for one of my best friends Mary. Okay, so this is totally not a picture of Mary, but it is of my little dog Izzy. While I was at the shower, Izzy set the security alarm at my house off, which eventually called the police because they couldn't get ahold of me. Craziness! Thankfully, everything was fine, I didn't have to pay a false warning fee, and it was all chalked up to me rushing out of the house in an I'm-going-to-be-late frenzy. Oh, and when I got up Wednesday morning, in my very sleepy state, I pushed in the duress (emergency! Call the police now!!) code on my security system. Thankfully, I immediately realized it and called the security company to cancel the code. No police came on Wednesday morning, thankfully!

-This is actually from last Saturday, but we'll pretend! :) I finally planted flowers in my flower boxes outside. They make me so happy when I pull into my driveway! And I haven't even killed them yet!!! Score!

-One of my precious students brought me flowers on Thursday just because. Love!! She even said I could keep the vase (which stands about 6 inches tall) because her momma can get them at the store for $1. haha Can I just say, that as a single woman, I'm glad my students bring me flowers from time to time! Of course, this is not to say that I'm expecting my one-day husband to buy me flowers all the time, but I love how God romances me even through simple signs of love such as a student bringing me flowers. Makes my heart smile. :)

-And lastly, my new kitchen cuties! I got Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper today at a Come See Me (Rock Hill's spring festival) event, and I love them! So cute. I also picked up the small plate/dish beside the happy seasoning couple this week. I'm so happy about having something to put my spoon/spatula/whatever on while I cook! No more food-dirtied counters! Yay!

And one more picture! The number line in my classroom started falling on Monday afternoon, so I decided to hot glue it back up! Well, I don't exactly have a ladder in my room (it's at the top of my wall), so I put the spinny desk chair to the highest it would go, heated up my hot glue gun, and stepped up to glue my number line back into place. Easy peasy, right?

Hot so much. The hot glue dripped, and the dripped glob of hot glue landed right on my foot! Ouch! And turned it yellow!! Strange, huh?

Just kidding. The hot glue didn't turn my skin yellow, but it did burn it pretty bad! And one of my dear teacher friends insisted that if I put yellow mustard on the burn, it would stop burning. She almost talked me into getting some mustard from the cafeteria, but I decided to wait until I got home since I needed to run a couple errands, and I didn't think it would be very attractive for me to walk around with mustard on my foot (however, I'll snap a picture and post it on Instagram/Facebook? Weird, I know).

Well, I tried it when I got home, and it WORKS! I was so stinking amazed that the mustard just pulled the burn out completely! I let the mustard stay on until it was just about dried (yes, gross. lol), and I had to make sure Izzy didn't decide to have a mustard snack that afternoon. Now, the spot is sloooowly healing. Hopefully there won't be a nasty scar there.

Well, there are about 40 minutes left to this week, so I better hit the sack so I can start next week bright eyed and bushy tailed! How was your week? Drop any hot glue on your foot? I wouldn't recommend it.

(Oh yes! I was supposed to run in the Come See Me 5k race this morning, but I slept late. Arg! I've run it the past 2 years, and I was excited about keeping the tradition going! I think God was telling me to slow down and take it easy some. My body listened this morning, I reckon. Oh well. Next year!)

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