Water Signals Change...

 

My cousin told me today 

that water is a sign of rebirth, 

of change, of something new on the horizon...  

If that is the case, 

we are surfing a tidal wave these days!  

Monday night, the heavens rained down in torrents...  

Between five and eight inches of water 

poured on the Chicago area...  

T$ and I slept poorly that night 

with the persistent flashes of lightning 

and booming thunder...  

But, it was such a delicious relief 

to have our new roof...  

No need to scurry for the buckets anymore...   

Tuesday morning I dressed

 in normal-not-house-painting-clothes 

and headed to the 'burbs to take my mother 

out to lunch for her birthday...  

What I didn't know was that my parents' sump pump 

had failed and their entire basement 

was soaking in three inches of dirty rain water...  

Needless to say, my ladies lunch attire 

quickly became soiled from carrying out sodden rugs, 

melted boxes and wet furniture...  

A portion of the basement is finished, 

so my cousins and I frantically removed furniture 

and used the wet/dry vac to clean the wood floor...  

Mom and Dad have lived in this house for over twenty years, 

so there was a fair amount of things 

stored in the basement; 

things kept for those "just in case" moments, 

sentimental objects and much more...

  

While a flood is terrible,

 perhaps being forced to part with things 

is a small silver lining...  

Clearing a space can feel so good...  

There is much left to do in that basement, 

but real progress has been made...  

Today, while I was hauling more damaged items 

 to the curb, 

T$ had his own discoveries at HEAT Armor... 

This morning, the sewers backed up 

and all three bathrooms at the factory 

were filled with an inch of sewage...  

He was there alone, and he had to shovel,

 mop and clean the shit out of all the johns...  

It is metaphorical in that T$ has pretty much solely figured out 

how to keep HEAT alive while the government contracts 

are under the thumb of the sequester...

  

He has had to deal with some real serious shit 

to save our company...  

And it looks like it's going to work...  

There is still some mopping and disinfecting to be done, 

but we can see the floor again...  

But, hey, life can't be all crap and trash...  

We gotta smile or we might jump off the bridge...  

Tomorrow night some great friends 

are coming over for dinner, drinks and laughs...

  

I have a tasty menu planned,

 and one of the treats are  

Adult Cherry Limeade Popcicles...  

Summer is here 

and treats aren't just for kids, ya know...  

These icy pops have a teensy bit 

of vodka in them...  

Hope your weekend is full of good times 

and "grown up" popcicles!

And if water and shit pour into your life, 

look change smack in the eye

and find a positive path...

Because the alternative is just poopy...

cherry limeade popsicles courtesy of Spabettie

makes 6 pops in this size mould, plus a glass of limeade to enjoy while they freeze!
2 oranges, peel and pith removed
3 limes, peel and pith removed
5-7 fresh cherries, plus 3-4 to float in each popsicle
2 tablespoons agave
splash club soda or water
In high speed blender, combine oranges, limes, cherries, agave and water, blend until smooth.
Add 1 ounce vodka to make cherry lime drop popsicles – mark them so you know which is which!

Drop Cloth Love...

The Herlihy Do-It-Yourself Home Spiff Up 

has resumed and I have started painting 

other parts of the house now...  

I still hate painting, 

but I dislike even more to spend thousands 

for professional painters, so there we are... 

Okay, if I had zillions, I'd shell out the bucks 

to have it done, 

but I don't, 

so it's all me 

or dingy walls forever...  

The upside is the serious workout of painting 

and the end result looks fresh and bright,

but generally, the whole thing sucks...  

Our home repair list is beyond daunting, 

but there are a few fun projects 

I have thrown in for a my own personal sanity...  

I have wanted a proper headboard 

ever since we got new mattresses 

a few years ago...  

The ones I like in Pottery Barn, 

West Elm, 

Serena and Lily,

 

  catalogs are gorgeous 

and start at around $600.00...

Purchasing one of those is so not going to happen, 

so I had to make it myself...  

DIY headboards are one of those 

truly rewarding projects because 

A, they are quick to assemble

for those who need instant gratification, 

B, they are rather inexpensive to build 

 

and C, the sense of accomplishment 

and bang for your buck is BIG...  

As you might remember

from a couple of my other projects of the past, 

I am a big fan of the canvas drop cloths 

sold at Home Depot...  

They are durable, a nice natural, 

wheat color and they are CHEAP!  

Depending on the size of the bed, 

you may need one or two pieces of MDF.  

Home Depot will cut the wood 

to the width and height you desire...  

Menards, will NOT, we learned...

  

You will also need spray adhesive, 

metal brackets and screws to connect the wood, 

upholstery foam and batting, 

the fabric of your choice, 

stapler and staples 

and if you want the look of brass hardware,

 a roll of nail heads.  

I found them at Jo Ann Fabrics...  

T$ connected the two MDF boards 

to make a headboard large enough 

for our king sized bed... 

 

Note:  We assembled the headboard 

in our bedroom since it was so big 

we knew it might not fit through the door 

after it was put together...  

Next we sprayed the adhesive to the wood 

and carefully pressed the foam down... 

That spray adhesive is STICKY!  

Lay out newpapers or a drop cloth 

to prevent over spray hitting your carpet, furniture, etc.

If you can do this outdoors, 

I would recommend it...

I cut off any overlapping foam with scissors...

  

 

Then I laid down the fabric on the floor, 

with the batting on top of it...

We carefully placed the foam-covered wood on top

of the batting-topped fabric

and adjusted everything 

until it was flat and smooth...  

We first stapled the batting to the wood, 

making sure all was snug and tight...  

Next we stapled the drop cloth all around the perimeter, 

making sure there were no goofy pulls or wrinkles...  

This is a two-man job, Friends! 

It's a great opportunity to bond with your spouse, 

child, best buddy as you create a thing of beauty, 

together...

One person to pull the fabric tightly, 

the other to staple away... 

I have made headboards solo, 

but it's not as much fun...

Once the headboard was finished, 

I decided to add the popular nail head look...  

The awesome thing is that the nail heads 

come in rolls...  

One roll at Jo Ann is $21.99, 

but bring your half-off coupon! 

Please ignore the pasty leg and hand....  

EEEEK!

Kate helped me draw the guide line in pencil.

Please do this, because, like me, 

I'll bet you will get to this part 

of the headboard project in the evening... 

You will be crabby and dog tired. 

 There is nothing worse than realizing 

the line is five inches wide at one end 

and two inches at the other... 

 It will make you want to commit a felony 

and no one wants that... 

Not that this has happened to me or anything...

 

The neat thing about the roll of nail heads 

is that you only have to pound in 

every 5th nail head... 

It goes on very quickly 

and it is easier to keep straight 

as you pound the brads 

into the headboard...

Take your time and make sure the line 

of nail heads are following your pencil line...  

Note: Seven year olds are not so skilled yet

with hammers... 

We killed a couple of tacks, 

but oh well... 

I am so happy with how the headboard turned out!  

Once I get the bedroom painted, 

it will look even better, 

but it is gratifying to save about six hundred dollars 

to get a very similar looking product... 

Can't wait to start the next DIY...

Teacher Gifts...

I know, I know, this post comes too late 

for many of you to care, 

but those of us with kids in the Chicago public school system, 

we are STILL in school until the 24th!  

Everyone is itching to end instruction, 

the kids, parents and mostly, 

the poor teachers...  

It must be a can of worms 

in those classrooms...  

Anyway, below are a couple of ideas 

to thank your beloved teachers...  

They make good gifts, nevertheless, 

for birthdays, hostess gifts too...  

The theme here is easy, 

inexpensive and creative...  

And that, my friends, is the holy trinity 

to ensure a happy recipient 

and giver...  

Coconut Lime Sugar Scrub...  

I found this project months ago, 

thanks to Pinterest 

and The Idea Room...  

Finally, I got around to making the scrub today 

and can I tell you how delicious coconut 

and lime smell?  

I wanted to eat the stuff! 

Talk about easy...  

 Sugar, 

coconut oil, 

lime (or any flavor) essence, 

shredded coconut 

and vitamin E (optional)... 

The lime essence is readily available on Amazon, 

but most health food stores have it in stock, too...  

Mix everything together.  

Snip a hole in the vitamin E capsule 

and squeeze out the oil into the mixture.  

Mix to incorporate

and it will resemble wet sand...  

The old canning funnel comes in handy 

for quick and clean filling of the jars...  

Pull up the Idea Room site to print the labels 

on sticker paper and that's it!  

I multiplied the recipe by 8 

to make that many jars of scrub...  

 

Because the size of the jars varied, 

I ended up with a small plastic tub 

of coconut lime sugar scrub 

left over for me...  

How convenient...   

The teachers are also getting 

some of the strawberry jam 

Chris and I made a month ago... 

You can find the post 

about that right here...  

Certain teachers are also receiving 

these super cool glitter gel pens...  

Available on Amazon, 

these are pretty, fun and scented!  

Lastly, because I was too lazy to go out 

and buy thank you cards, 

I printed some out on card stock...  

 

This printable is from 

The TomKat Studios...  

They make cool graphics 

and I particularly liked the teacher themed cards...  

A quick trip to the dollar store for gift bags

 and tissue and the teacher gifts are completed!  

Now, only six more days of school.....

The Hats Say it All...

 Does your significant other leave things
lying around in spots you don't like?

My preference would be for T$
to store his baseball cap collection

 in another location...  

Perched on the valance above the bathroom window

 is not a design strategy to be found 

in Architectural Digest, 

if you know what I mean...

 I pick my battles for cleanliness 

 and organization...  

Sigh...  

T$ has many baseball caps, 

as most men do, 

but these three are his favorites...  

Funny thing is that this trio of hats

 says a lot about the kind of guy T$ is...

The cap with the star on the front 

is from the Secret Service...

My husband's love of his country 

and his fervent desire to protect people 

is apparent every time he wears

 the Secret Service ball cap...

This is a man who weeps when he watches 

any movie related to
the President of the United States...  

He gets a huge lump in this throat 

when soldiers are killed or harmed...

  "Old Yeller" has no sentimental effect, 

but any story related to serving one's country 

gets him every time...  

Which leads me to his HEAT Armor baseball cap...

T$ has wished to make his own
armored passenger vehicles 

for over twenty years 

and now he is living his dream...  

The last four years have been ones of exhilaration, 

joy, stress, learning and deep financial sacrifice...
  

The man is so focused on protecting police officers, 

diplomats, executives and heads of state 

that his knowledge on every related subject 

borders on savant...

Many times he will offer insight into a random technical subject

 that will leave his associates and employees

 scratching their heads...

"How can this guy know so much about so many areas?" 

Well, when you love what you do, 

you immerse yourself in it...

 Although HEAT is currently pared down, 

waiting for this damn government sequester to loosen its grip

on the U.S. defense purse strings, 

our company will ultimately prevail...
  

Why do I believe this?  

Because I believe in my T$, his determination, 

drive, keen intelligence, savvy salesmanship skills 

and his positive attitude...

Protecting people with cool ass cars and SWAT trucks

 is what makes him happy...

In a weird way, the Cubs also make T$ happy 

and he wears his Cubs cap with pride...


  

Yes, they stink and who knows if T$ will live

 to see a Cubs world series, but the hope is there...

 Living within walking distance to Wrigley Field 

gives him the opportunity to enjoy a beer and a dog

 with his son now and then...

That makes T$ very happy...

These days, he is either out of town 

or working long hours, 

so games are fewer...
  

Still, it's nice to know that the Cubs are there, 

and that tickets are to be had, 

not far from home...

In fact, if the wind blows in the right direction, 

we can hear the roar of the crowd 

out our back door...
  

On a clear night, we can see the glow of the stadium lights 

on the horizon and it makes him smile...

All of T$'s hats fall into one theme, really...
  

And that theme is family...

Protecting people, protecting our government 

and a sport families can enjoy is what T$ is all about...

He is the most loving daddy, funny, 

accommodating, playful and attentive, 

yet firm when necessary...
  

Everything he works so hard for 

is to give his family a better life...
  

So, no matter which hat he chooses to wear, 

I smile inside and feel lucky 

to have T$ as my very own...



Happy Father's Day, Honey!