Want to feel like you have accomplished something when you really haven't?

Go to Pinterest...It is addictive.  I have gathered ideas on how to organize, decorate, homeschool, etc...When I really should have been doing all these things.  And yet I don't feel like I have wasted time because I am "planning" to do these things even better than I was doing them before.  It is like a little vacation for your brain while gathering things you love into one pretty, and somewhat organized place that you don't even have to dust.  Does it get any better than that?  Maybe being the person that came up with all these brilliant ideas...I will have to work on a board for that next...."My Brilliant Ideas!"-it may be blank for a while. :)

Letting my creativity out

Every now and then I feel the need to create. Today was one of those days. I decided to paint. I love daisies and have been wanting to paint a big daisy for a while now. So, I finally did!

While I was laying down the newspaper, so I wouldn't get paint every where (I have a tendency to do that), I came across what has to be one of the greatest inventions EVER! I want one...

I thought this was going to be the background color...

But, I changed my mind to dark chocolate brown. It matches our leather couches and kind of looked leathery since I didn't wait for the first coat to dry all the way. I am an impatient person...I hate waiting for paint to dry!!! I turned the fans on high to help the process out. I am a paint it in couple of hours kind of artist. I think that is why I am a painter, not a quilter. I would probably never finish a quilt. I am kind of an instant gratification crafter....

Here is the almost final product...(the lighting isn't great so the background looks black...it isn't, I promise.)
This is a shot of it above the fire place in the sun room. This isn't going to be it's final resting place, but I wanted to look at it from distance....I changed the yellow part a little and I am not sure if I like it this way or the other way better...(ignore the air freshener thingy...This is right above Sadie's crate. With the rain we got all last week, I needed something to get rid of the wet puppy smell. These were on sale and I had a coupon that doubled so I got 12 of them for $3...They actually smell really good.)

I kind of love it...but not totally. I am going to hang it in the living room for a few days until I figure out what I am missing...Aaron said I should paint some of the smaller petals in the center...I really am not trying to go for what a real daisy looks like completely and I like the way the shading came out too much to cover it up...So,that isn't it...It may be hard to tell because the lighting isn't great, but I used a teal to shade with, so there really isn't another way to bring in more color...Not sure why I did it the way I did, but I like the one funky petal on the right side...I am going to work on the center a little more...maybe that will do it...Sorry, I am just thinking and typing at the same time. I guess that is kind of like talking to yourself. I think it is a little less crazy to type it though because no one is obligated to read this and it is kind of my journal...Any way! Help...What am I missing?

Things I have learned this week...

*Never start a puzzle with your son, the same week that a long anticipated Wii game finally comes out. You will be doing it by yourself.

*1,000 piece puzzles are hard. It isn't done yet. Mostly because I have really only had 3 times to sit down and work on it...I will finish it, but I am slightly worried that one or two pieces may have been eaten by Sadie.

*If we don't wake her up, Sadie will sleep in. This makes me very happy. I enjoy (a lot) sleeping in on Saturday. I don't really get too because Jake always wakes me up to say good morning at around 6:30. I don't tell him not to, because in a couple of years he will be sleeping in and never want to give me my morning hug and kiss. He then asks if I want to sleep on the couch, while he watches cartoons or plays the Wii. I always do and then right as I fall asleep again he has to show me something funny on his favorite show or the new space cruiser vehicle thing he just purchased (on the Wii game). This goes on for a while until I just give up and join him. This morning however I slept though his comments (I did a lot of the puzzle last night...and stayed up late. For me at least. Is 12:30 late for anyone else or am I just a wimp?), but kept thinking I heard Sadie whining to get out of her crate. Jake would check and she would be fast asleep. Lucky girl!!! So, now I know if I can sleep through Jake talking to me, I can sleep in peacefully because the puppy likes to too. That's my girl. :)

*If you are focusing on a puzzle it is very easy to forget about the laundry and dishes...and the Spring cleaning I had planned for the day.

*Rainy days are perfect days for puzzles.

*I get excited when I find a piece that fits...I think I may have chosen one of the hardest puzzles ever, for an amateur at least. It has a lot of water and sky...Dumb I know but it was cute and it was only $4.04 at Target. The easier looking ones were more money...

*Aaron asked me if puzzles are going to be my new thing...I am still deciding. But I have learned that I really like painting my nails a different shade every couple of days (that is as long as it usually lasts.)

*I learned that even if I had the money I wouldn't spend it on manicures. It would be a waste of money because I wouldn't want to keep the same color on. Pedicures...I would pay for though-at least the part when they massage your feet. :)

*Soaking dry, cracked feet in warm water and lemon juice is a miracle worker. (Papa Harmon told me this trick and it is a WINNER! You may want to go buy stock in lemon juice because I will be buying a ton of it from now on!) Seriously! I have no photographic proof of the miracle that took place on my feet because I don't want to scare your children if they walk by your computer while you looked at the horror that my heels were before. After taking my feet out of the soak (about 15 minutes) I thought I would have to scrub off the dead skin. I didn't have to. It literally feel off my feet with just a little rubbing and itching. Is this TMI? Sorry, but if this helps just one person with cracked dry heels like mine than it is worth it. :) If you have this problem try the lemon juice soak. It will blow your mind!!!!

*I stink at painting my toe nails and Aaron thinks it is hilarious. He won't even paint my toe nails for me because he would rather laugh at how pitifully they turn out when I do them. At least I can make him laugh! :)

For anyone interested in trying the Lemon juice soak I used one of those plastic lemon shaped bottles filled with lemon juice-the whole thing! I don't know if I needed to use that much but I wanted to make sure it worked...and it is still way cheaper than a pedicure! I used about a gallon of warm water and soaked for 15 minutes. Hope it works for you too! :)