I fell down my stairs this morning. I was the last one in my family because everyone has already fallen down the stairs since we moved in, actually in the last two months or so. I think that the stairs are jinxed. There are so many things wrong with this house that it just wouldn’t shock me.
Have I voiced on here how much I hate my house? Yeah, yeah, yeah! I know that if you have been reading my blog or go back and read my blog, you will find where I say how happy I am with the house and what a good job Jose did picking the place. I was wrong. I said it and I will say it again. I was wrong.
This only reinforces why I am so scared to buy a house. From the outside the houses look great. It isn’t until you live in it that you start to see all the things wrong with it. This house has been one problem after another. Our half bath (if you can call it that) has been broken since July without an end date in sight from the landlords. When we take a shower, water goes downstairs into the back hallway. The toilet constantly gets clogged for no good reason at all. The sink in the bathroom barely drains. The upstairs only has heat in the bathroom. The kitchen cabinet doors all get stuck. The ice maker doesn’t make ice, it’s not even connected. The carbon monoxide/smoke detectors are seven years expired and don’t work. And that is all just what I can think of off the top of my head. AND according to our lease, these are all our problems. I am happy that our lease is over in June and that we can actually get away from it. This time I will be reading my lease from start to finish.
I don’t think that I have discussed my issues with this house on here yet but I have addressed how I can’t wait to get out of here and into our long term HOME soon. I have realized something important though…maybe due to my positive quotes of the day…lol. I need to stop dwelling so much on the negative and wasting my time complaining. The truth of the matter is that we are stuck here for another 5 months. I can either complain for 5 months or I can make the best of it. I am actually tired of hearing myself complain. So although we will only be here another 5 months, I need to continue to try to make it feel as much like home as I possibly can. I had given up doing this. I had tried and then go really pissed that I couldn’t paint that it just knocked me off of my decorating kick. It really does suck that I can’t paint but there is still so much I can do that will make the house feel better and it’s time that I do it. So here are my thoughts.
I took some time to look around each room and see what I would like to change and if anything needs to be changed and put a plan into action. Here is what I am thinking...
Living Room
• Slip covers that actually fit
• Covers for pillows
• Painting for over couch
• Picture Rails
• Paint End Tables
• Area Rug
• Coffee Table?
Dining Room
• Paint Dining Room table
• Recoat dining room chairs if I can
• Curtains for windows
• Find way to minimize clutter
Master Bedroom
• Pillows for bed
• Dresser
• Curtains
• Something big for above the bed
• Storage
Boys’ Room
• Curtains
• Dressers?
• Duvet Covers
• Pillows
• Bed skirts
• Personalizing each boys space
Bathroom
• Something above the toilet
• Towel holder
• New Rugs
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Counting My Blessings
Today’s Positive Quotation:
"When I hear somebody sigh that life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"
It might sound corny, but it does help to “count your blessings” so that you pay attention to all the good things in life.
Everyone looks at someone else and thinks how wonderful it would be if you could have their house, their job, their furniture, their money, their happy family. There are two things that are very important to remember when you are in one of those moments.
First of all, things are not always what they seem. What appears to be a happy family is not always. What we see as outsiders is not always what is on the inside. No matter how happy appear to be, they have problems just like you and I. They are just better at hiding them than you might be.
The last thing is that just like you are looking to someone who has more than you, there is someone who has less than you looking at you and wanting what you have. There is someone out there wishing they had what you have. There are people much less fortunate that you who would love to have a fraction of what you have. Sometimes we forget that. Because we want more all the time, we forget what we already have. We try to teach this to our children but sometimes we forget to take our own advice.
"When I hear somebody sigh that life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?"
It might sound corny, but it does help to “count your blessings” so that you pay attention to all the good things in life.
Everyone looks at someone else and thinks how wonderful it would be if you could have their house, their job, their furniture, their money, their happy family. There are two things that are very important to remember when you are in one of those moments.
First of all, things are not always what they seem. What appears to be a happy family is not always. What we see as outsiders is not always what is on the inside. No matter how happy appear to be, they have problems just like you and I. They are just better at hiding them than you might be.
The last thing is that just like you are looking to someone who has more than you, there is someone who has less than you looking at you and wanting what you have. There is someone out there wishing they had what you have. There are people much less fortunate that you who would love to have a fraction of what you have. Sometimes we forget that. Because we want more all the time, we forget what we already have. We try to teach this to our children but sometimes we forget to take our own advice.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Controlling Your Reactions
Today's Positive Quote:
"People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness." -Albert Ellis
I'd like things to go my way, but, really, there's nothing that says they should. I need to remind myself that I have what it takes to improve my mood-and my life.
You can't control many of the things that happen to us but we can control how we react to it. My goodness ! If I could count the times that I said that to my oldest children. I am a big believer of this already. Maybe I don't always apply it to each aspect of my life as I would like though. This will be my motto this year for sure !
Today has been a bit stressful at work. It seems as though all the customers that I have delt with today have had every issue under the sun and are just down right mean. It set me in such a bad mood and then it hit me. I am going to take this stress home and take it out on my undeserving family. So instead I took a walk to the bathroom and took a deep breath. This is just one day. I will not allow these people to put me in the same mood that they are in. I am not a miserable person. I am going to go home with a smile and enjoy my beautiful family tonight. I hope you all do the same.
"People don't just get upset. They contribute to their upsetness." -Albert Ellis
I'd like things to go my way, but, really, there's nothing that says they should. I need to remind myself that I have what it takes to improve my mood-and my life.
You can't control many of the things that happen to us but we can control how we react to it. My goodness ! If I could count the times that I said that to my oldest children. I am a big believer of this already. Maybe I don't always apply it to each aspect of my life as I would like though. This will be my motto this year for sure !
Today has been a bit stressful at work. It seems as though all the customers that I have delt with today have had every issue under the sun and are just down right mean. It set me in such a bad mood and then it hit me. I am going to take this stress home and take it out on my undeserving family. So instead I took a walk to the bathroom and took a deep breath. This is just one day. I will not allow these people to put me in the same mood that they are in. I am not a miserable person. I am going to go home with a smile and enjoy my beautiful family tonight. I hope you all do the same.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Looking at things differently
Today's Positive Quote:
"Sometimes our fate resembes a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we knew it." -Johanan Wolfgang Von Goethe.
My life is filled with ups and downs. If today is a bad day-or this week is a bad week-I know it's not forever and that I will come through it.
What a great quote! Things change. Our emotions change, sometimes a little too quickly. There are days when I feel like things will never get better and then they do. Funny how when they get better, the bad times don't seem so bad anymore.
This past year has been filled with ups and downs. Without those bad times though, I would not be able to really appreciate the great times. The struggles that the kids have had in school only make the good grades that much more important. The health issues remind us that we need to not take our health for granted. Having to get up for work each day means we have jobs and how quickly we forgot what it was like looking endlessly for a job. Being thankful for what I have needs to take center stage. I need to take the time to really see what I have instead of always looking at what I don't have. 2012 is a year of new beginning. It's all about what you make it. Let's make it a great year !
"Sometimes our fate resembes a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we knew it." -Johanan Wolfgang Von Goethe.
My life is filled with ups and downs. If today is a bad day-or this week is a bad week-I know it's not forever and that I will come through it.
What a great quote! Things change. Our emotions change, sometimes a little too quickly. There are days when I feel like things will never get better and then they do. Funny how when they get better, the bad times don't seem so bad anymore.
This past year has been filled with ups and downs. Without those bad times though, I would not be able to really appreciate the great times. The struggles that the kids have had in school only make the good grades that much more important. The health issues remind us that we need to not take our health for granted. Having to get up for work each day means we have jobs and how quickly we forgot what it was like looking endlessly for a job. Being thankful for what I have needs to take center stage. I need to take the time to really see what I have instead of always looking at what I don't have. 2012 is a year of new beginning. It's all about what you make it. Let's make it a great year !
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Happy 2012 Everyone
I want to start by wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2012.
My very best friend got me a book for Christmas. Not just a book but "The Daily Book of Positive Quotations". What a great gift. It's just what I need sometimes to keep on going.
My very best friend got me a book for Christmas. Not just a book but "The Daily Book of Positive Quotations". What a great gift. It's just what I need sometimes to keep on going.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
This is the cold that never ends !
I am sooooooooooo sick. Not just sick but insanely sick. I have the mother of all colds. I have the stuffy nose, the runny nose, the sneezing, the coughing, the aching, the chills, the full on congestion. The kind of cold that you have to sleep with your mouth open because you can’t breathe through your nose and then you wake up with dry nose and dry mouth. This weekend was filled with medicine… Mucinex, Dayquil and Theraflu, Oh My !
Unfortunately, I am not sick alone. CJ is sick with me too. I so wanted to stay in bed this morning. But you see, I don’t have sick time yet at work so I would have to take it unpaid. And to add to that, I am pretty sure that if CJ and I keep going down this path, he will be sent home from the YMCA sometime this week and I will have to leave work to get him. So I am holding out for that time instead. Then we can both rest at home.
I am not sure what is going on. I mean I have been sick non stop since we moved back to RI. I was finally getting better to the point that I actually thought it was going away. And then BOOM ! It surprised me. I sometimes wonder if there is something in the house that is making me sick. And not just me but we have all been sick. We joke that we have been passing it back and forth between us but enough is enough. I did a full blown disinfecting clean before Thanksgiving because Jose’s mom was coming over and then I got sick right after. How is that possible? That is what led me to think that maybe it’s something in the house. I mean we can’t possibly just keep getting sick like this.
You know what this feels like:
This is the cold that never ends. It goes on and on my friend. Some people starting getting it not knowing what it was, and they’ll continue getting it forever just because….this is the cold that never ends. It goes on and on my friend. LMAO.
Unfortunately, I am not sick alone. CJ is sick with me too. I so wanted to stay in bed this morning. But you see, I don’t have sick time yet at work so I would have to take it unpaid. And to add to that, I am pretty sure that if CJ and I keep going down this path, he will be sent home from the YMCA sometime this week and I will have to leave work to get him. So I am holding out for that time instead. Then we can both rest at home.
I am not sure what is going on. I mean I have been sick non stop since we moved back to RI. I was finally getting better to the point that I actually thought it was going away. And then BOOM ! It surprised me. I sometimes wonder if there is something in the house that is making me sick. And not just me but we have all been sick. We joke that we have been passing it back and forth between us but enough is enough. I did a full blown disinfecting clean before Thanksgiving because Jose’s mom was coming over and then I got sick right after. How is that possible? That is what led me to think that maybe it’s something in the house. I mean we can’t possibly just keep getting sick like this.
You know what this feels like:
This is the cold that never ends. It goes on and on my friend. Some people starting getting it not knowing what it was, and they’ll continue getting it forever just because….this is the cold that never ends. It goes on and on my friend. LMAO.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
The Holiday Season
Christmas is in 3 days. Christmas Eve in 2. My tree has been up since Thanksgiving weekend. Stockings are hung. Most of the presents are wrapped under the tree. But something is missing.
Maybe it’s the year that we have had. The two moves we had, one of which was up the coast back to RI. My mother-in-law’s battle with cancer. The kids struggle with school…everywhere. Being jobless for several months through the summer due to the move and feeling completely helpless. The continued pain of knowing that my mother is just fine with what happened with us. Along with a lot of little things, this was just a year that has definitely taken its toll on me.
Maybe it’s still the feeling of not having a home. For a while Jose and I didn’t even want to buy. The responsibility of everything that comes with it and the burden of feeling stuck really got us down. It wasn’t just us though, we watched many people around us go through the same situation. But being on flip side of it and never knowing what will happen at the end of our lease sucks. It’s an unsettling feeling. Not being able to paint and live comfortably as it is our own home sucks too. The last rental we had in NC was great, except for the area. The landlords were amazing and the house was awesome. It really did feel like home and if I could have picked it up and moved it, I would have been thrilled. But alas we don’t live in a magic land so we had to look for something else. We were tired of the thought of moving so we decided to buy. Still with a little fear of what we were buying we went with a rent to own home. That was short lived but the time that we were there really was amazing. That was home. The house, the neighborhood, the neighbors and everything that went with it. The ideas I had for that place to really make it spectacular. The decorating and upgrades planned. The plan for the shed and the deck. Coming back to RI was not what created this horrible feeling of loss for me. It was having to leave HOME. I hope and pray to find HOME here when our lease is up and then maybe I can get the spirit back.
Or maybe it’s just a sign of the times. People are selfish and grouchy. I hope that it’s not just a sign of the times because that would totally ruin Christmas for me. The commercialism has taken over and the spirit is just gone. I can’t believe what people will do to get the presents they want, the things that parents will do and pay for to get the kids all of the stuff they want. It is all about what “I” want for Christmas everywhere I turn. Everyone trying to outdo the next person. Trying to buy more than last year. Trying to spoil our kids to the point that they no longer even understand the value of a dollar. What has this world come to?
I have gone through the motions. Everything is done but the feeling is not there. It doesn’t feel like Christmas. It’s doesn’t feel joyous and happy. I am still hoping that the feeling kicks me in butt on Christmas Eve so that I can enjoy all that comes with it. But as of right now, it feels like something big is missing.
Maybe it’s the year that we have had. The two moves we had, one of which was up the coast back to RI. My mother-in-law’s battle with cancer. The kids struggle with school…everywhere. Being jobless for several months through the summer due to the move and feeling completely helpless. The continued pain of knowing that my mother is just fine with what happened with us. Along with a lot of little things, this was just a year that has definitely taken its toll on me.
Maybe it’s still the feeling of not having a home. For a while Jose and I didn’t even want to buy. The responsibility of everything that comes with it and the burden of feeling stuck really got us down. It wasn’t just us though, we watched many people around us go through the same situation. But being on flip side of it and never knowing what will happen at the end of our lease sucks. It’s an unsettling feeling. Not being able to paint and live comfortably as it is our own home sucks too. The last rental we had in NC was great, except for the area. The landlords were amazing and the house was awesome. It really did feel like home and if I could have picked it up and moved it, I would have been thrilled. But alas we don’t live in a magic land so we had to look for something else. We were tired of the thought of moving so we decided to buy. Still with a little fear of what we were buying we went with a rent to own home. That was short lived but the time that we were there really was amazing. That was home. The house, the neighborhood, the neighbors and everything that went with it. The ideas I had for that place to really make it spectacular. The decorating and upgrades planned. The plan for the shed and the deck. Coming back to RI was not what created this horrible feeling of loss for me. It was having to leave HOME. I hope and pray to find HOME here when our lease is up and then maybe I can get the spirit back.
Or maybe it’s just a sign of the times. People are selfish and grouchy. I hope that it’s not just a sign of the times because that would totally ruin Christmas for me. The commercialism has taken over and the spirit is just gone. I can’t believe what people will do to get the presents they want, the things that parents will do and pay for to get the kids all of the stuff they want. It is all about what “I” want for Christmas everywhere I turn. Everyone trying to outdo the next person. Trying to buy more than last year. Trying to spoil our kids to the point that they no longer even understand the value of a dollar. What has this world come to?
I have gone through the motions. Everything is done but the feeling is not there. It doesn’t feel like Christmas. It’s doesn’t feel joyous and happy. I am still hoping that the feeling kicks me in butt on Christmas Eve so that I can enjoy all that comes with it. But as of right now, it feels like something big is missing.
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