Hanging with the Po-Po and Vegas. Baby.

Do you ever have those weeks where you get so much stuff accomplished that you stop, look in the mirror and shriek: Who the hell are you and where is Suzanne?

Me neither.
In other news, I've joined another cult. First there was Facebook (which we all know I'm sick of, but as with cults and The Hotel California, you can never leave) Then I tried my hand at Twitter. Hated.it. Then I joined Costco and Sam's club. I could not choose. Love them both...poly-warehouse lover who?
Then came groupon. LOVE.
Now behold my newest cult. Angie's list.
I was taunted by Angie for so long that I finally broke down and joined. Thank goodness I look good in a bouffant. What? I'm pretty sure Angie's List belongs to Angie Dickinson.

Speaking of Police Woman. Did I share with you that my Mom has a milestone birthday coming up?
She does.
I'm not allowed to say her age, but you can guess.
I won't make you guess where she and I are going for her birthday to celebrate.
Ok, just guess a little.
Wrong. wrong. and wrong again. You guys don't know us very well do you. Who shouted a cruise? Child pa-lease.
We are going to Vegas. Baby.
So, hopefully we won't be up close and personal with any Po-po's. Cause it's fixing to get all crazy up in here. *raise the roof*
Ok, not really. Unless people still raise the roof then count us in.
I asked the Coach if he wanted to go.
He laughed and said: "no, you girls go and have a good time."
It isn't that the Coach moves faster or slower than us, but he does move towards a goal. Mom and I are just all willy nilly all over the place. I love being willy nilly. Especially in Vegas. Baby.

Now don't start wising us a wonderful trip and 'good luck' avoiding the po-po yet.  We don't leave for a few weeks. I'm flying in my private jet to pick up my Mom in ATL and then we head to Vegas. Baby.
Delta is private. right?
So right now, please just tell me I look good in a bouffant. Cause you know I do.
XOXO
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If I'm getting on your last nerve, why didn't you tell me that 3 nerves ago?

I've come to my blog about 4 times since my last post ready to share something...then I said Meh. 

I think a break from electronics is good. Facebook gets on my nerves. Instagram gets on my nerves. Pinterest gets on my.....oh, wait. Pinterest never gets on my nerves. 

What the hey was I thinking? 

I did find this photo from last weekend and it made me smile. Smiling is the opposite of meh.

 That little boy loves his wheels.

And on the critter front.....

One day last week it was cloudy and gray when I left the house. Thundershowers were in the forecast, so I took preventive measures and suited the dogs in their thunder shirts.

It never did rain, and when I returned home, they were ready for some sunshine. They walked to the nearest patch of grass and plopped down. Exhausted. Thank goodness our neighbors weren't around. I  have a fashion reputation to keep up. 

I do believe Cocoa is saying Meh. She has recently given up both facebook and instagram. 

 However, she refuses to give up words with friends.

It's Tuesday. I'm spending time with a sweet friend; mexican food for both of us and a Dr visit for her.
I know the mexican food and time together will bring us joy and laughter; praying the Dr. brings relief for her. She needs it.
No Mehs allowed. 

XOXO

A Bee update; of the outdoors kind.

Finally we have some red tomatoes peeking from all the green. I was so scared that they would not ripen soon...it's already getting very hot here. Woe is me. Woe the heck with the heat. 

We've been eating some nice fresh lettuce. I feel like a bunny. Minus the ears and all the hop hop hopping.  Hop Hop Hopping is not good for my knees. 

Remember my crape myrtle cut?  Funny  Anke referred to this cut as "Crape Murder."
 That made me laugh. Anyhoos....check out this growth.  

They are all growing. And fast.

We loved our visit last weekend with our East coast gang crew.
There are many days (7 per week?) That I wish they lived closer {2 1/2 hours is kinda far} but when we do visit, it is all quality time. Quality time=laughter.

 LoLo and Lindsay love their time with SuperBoy...as do I. Our visits become more fun as your vocabulary grows. YOU know a lot of words for a 3 1/2 year old. 

Mama love is a good thing. We all need it. {Hey Mom, I LOVE you!!!}

We spent a lot of time outdoors last weekend. We even managed to get to the St. Patricks Day Parade. Our town really does a big parade. Imagine my surprise when I spot my good friend just a few families down from us? It's a small world.  Dawn, did you sit in front of the ice cream shop on purpose?

Happy weekend my peeps. BEE safe!

The sky is the limit.

I've been taking some photography classes for a while. In reality, if there was a remedial class for photography, I would be the homecoming queen for that class.
But finally, it clicked.
Shooting in manual isn't rocket science, but you would have thought it was for me. One of the things that I struggled with most was white balance.
You know, when you take photos inside and everyone looks yellow. I learned this week how to adjust my white balance for different situations. {Setting my custom white balance would have rid everyone of their Jaundice!}
If I had learned this when I first got my baby, I would have embraced manual settings sooner.
And then I played with the sky.
Custom White Balance.

Auto White Balance (AWB)

Tungston setting (makes the blues even bluer)

Surely this isn't as exciting to anyone but me....I'm thrilled to learn this.
(Is that sky gorgeous or what? It only lasted a few minutes, like my Mom says, most good things only last a few minutes.)
I only wished I had some humans around at the time to throw into this sky. I mean, well, you know what I mean.
And then later, my humans came.

What? I dare you to tell her she is NOT a human!

Happy humpday!

Be our guest, be our guest, be our guest.

I finally sorted out my paint issue.
I tried to live with the gray that turned out to actually be periwinkle in our guest room...but it was working my neurosis.
So I researched, purchased a few more samples and settled on the perfect gray.
I have never spent so much time on Pinterest and design blogs....not to mention the guys at Sherwin Williams knew me by name.
If you like, you can look at the before photo and jump to the after. But then again, you will miss out on all my wittiness. I know you need witty today.

In case you forgot what the before looked like. 

But really, what else have you thought about since Friday?

Certainly, not horrible by any standards. The green was wearing on me...as was the pine furniture.

This furniture was the first bedroom set we ever purchased for ourselves.....it was in our master bedroom '97-'09.

I read, researched and read some more about painting the bedroom furniture. I knew the right way and the almost right way to do it. I did mine the almost right way. 

Ozzie was under the impression that those large cans of paint I kept moving around were full of cookies.  Because he was never more than 16" away from me at all times. 

I lightly sanded all the pieces and then I used wall paint. 

*gasp*

I planned on distressing after I painted, so I really wasn't concerned with any nicks or chips. Eventually my guests would do that for me, so I saved them some time. I'm giving like that. 

The corner cabinet is one shade darker than the walls. (Sample color!)

See, I'm good at distressing furniture...almost as good as I am at stressing people. 

The dresser and nightstand were the wall paint I used in our playroom update a year ago. It wasn't my first choice, but on Saturday morning I didn't feel like putting on a bra shoes. Sherwin williams prefers for you to wear a bra shoes in their store. So, this was the lightest color I had on hand. 

Yes, that is a bust of Ozzie on the dresser. Doesn't everyone have a bust of their dog?

After: Wall color, Repose Gray by Sherwin Williams (7015)

I'm very happy with how it turned out. It is exactly what I had imagined...how often does that happen?

Coach's Mom is giving us her four poster pine bed when they retire and sell their home later in the year....guess what color it will be when it moves in here? Yep, I don't know either, but it won't be Nekkid pine. 

There is talk of redoing the window valance and shams, but for now, these work perfectly.
Again, so you don't have to scroll up and down here is the before and after:

The only items I purchased for the room were wall paint, new knobs for the dressers (Home Depot) and two (Target) lampshades. I often complain about having a 'too large' house, but the upside is you can shop in your closets and other rooms. I found some good crap in this place! 

I still have a few items to hang up. ( they are being painted today)

But overall I LOVE it!

FridayLetters~

Dear guest room walls,
Why are you being so difficult?   ('before' guest room)

All I wanted to do was give you a simple makeover, a freshening up of sorts. Me: I would like a nice light shade of gray on the wall, {Not to be confused with 50 shades of gray} with cream/white finishings. But after all the samples and actually painting the entire room and not liking it, I'm ready to get out some whips and chains! When does periwinkle equal gray? WHEN I SAY?
I tried to live with it (for 2 whole days!) but it bugged the 50 shades of tolerance out of me.

Back to the drawing board. And really, I DO have other things to DO!

Soon, I will have a full post on this, with more drama and cursing than you desire. And hopefully an 'after photo' too!

:::
Dear driver with your left blinker on,
I know, it was stupid of me to assume that your left blinker MEANT that you were ACTUALLY turning left. I am a silly silly person....I tend to believe what people show me.
Damn you.
Damn you again.
Suz
:::

Dear Florida,
I know those up north are covered in snow, but the fact that I finally had to put on long pants AND a sweater this week makes me happy! Any excuse NOT to shave my legs is a blessing. Thank you!

See, I don't ONLY complain on Fridays!
XOXO

Employed~

I almost feel like I am bragging, but everyone in this house is employed.

Oh, wait, we do have a few bums hanging out. 

Just eatin' food, sucking up a/c and all the petting they can get. 

Anyhoo....Linds is the latest to find a job. 

Just call her The Hostess with The Most-ess. 

Or something like that....people tend to get on her nerves, so the most-est part might be iffy.

My guess is that if people ask her too many times if their table is ready, that the possibility of getting a shank to the groin is very high. 

Don't let the smile and the soup-to-go fool ya. 

I caught her as she was leaving for her fourth day....yes, she ohhhhh Mommmmm-ed me since I wanted a photo. 

But do I care? Not a bit. 

There is a law somewhere that kids can't shank their own Moms.  Isn't there?

Dearest Friday~

Dear new neighbors,
It's great that you purchased the gorgeous house across the street.  And it's great that you have been renovating a perfectly beautiful home for over a year. And since you are employing a lot of local people, I applaud you...but, I'm seriously done with looking at the port-o-pottys out my front door.

:::

Dear Thursday night,

You were sprung on us Wednesday afternoon, but an impromptu charity event with good friends is always welcome. There was much laughter, a little grumbling over the silent auction shenanigans and good food. The laughter with friends will always beat out any grumbling. Plus, the men had to wear Bow ties. This was a first for The Coach and most likely a last. Thank goodness for you-tube tutorials.

 :::

Dear @#$%^&*(*%$% new glasses,
You allude me. I'm told you are magical, and yet your magic is hidden from me. I'll keep trying. I'll persevere. Eventually. I hope. Maybe?
{yes, they are no line progressives, I was mistaken when I said they were bifocals)

:::

Dear Cocoa,
You are not fooling anyone with the fact that you DO lay on my new gray couch. I can see the evidence in that @#$$%^^% photo above. Plus, you thought I was asleep last night when I walked by, yeah, I saw you even without my @#%$@$$ glasses.

Happy weekend!
xoxo