Just so you will believe me

You know how I mentioned the spiders when I first moved into this house, well have to be vigilant to keep them outside. With all the rain we are having here, whatever I spray the outside of the house with is constantly being washed away. I bet my gallon of Ortho Home Defense won't last 3 months. And even with all the spraying a few still get in I am sure trying to get dry. My father-in-law said he found a scorpion in my front bathroom this last weekend. I never did see it and am just hoping he 'thinks' he saw one=)

Anyhow I go to open the backdoor last night and this is what is waiting for me.


This pic is a little out of focus but I was not trying to take my time. This happens to be a wolf spider and they jump. It was just sitting at my door waiting to come in. Needed to teach it a lesson, so after I made her pose for the camera I got the Ortho and told her to go towards the light. There was only one tiny problem...

I am calling this spider a HER because as soon as I sprayed her, she proceded to give birth to about a million babies on my back doorstep. So I had to spray them all like 10 times as they come rushing into my backdoor! Had I been pregnant I would have given birth also.

Lets end this post on a good note. Here is a picture of one my favorite signs that I made. I painted the background and the lettering is vinyl. So pretty!

Another piece

dresser mirror and TV, originally uploaded by paigeloveskeith.

Bought these pieces the same day. This dresser is definitely old and the price was definitely right-- so we made this the dresser instead with cool mirror above it.



And this bucket cost as much as the dresser- but I couldn't leave it behind. It was screaming my name so now I am just studying it trying to decide the best home for it.

Loving old, beat up things right now

TV and stand, originally uploaded by paigeloveskeith.

Lately I have been attracted to things used and old and they look like it. And I think it is interesting when mixed with new and modern like the TV on this makeshift stand. We bought this piece of furniture as a dresser. They are supposed to stack on top of each other but as soon as we found out it was 2 pieces, we immediately knew it should go into our living room as a TV stand. In the future it will be flanked with shelves and the TV will be mounted on the wall a little higher and I will make a pad to go on top. We need more seating so this piece can easily do double duty. Most of those drawers are empty!!

Random pics of what I do on a Tuesday

I don't really do this every Tuesday, but it has been an eventful day as far as getting things done. Right now we are in the middle of a big thunderstorm so I thought I would cook and take pictures...really, no TV means lets cook since I made my family eat leftovers, tomorrow they will get the leftovers from my 10pm cooking escapade tonight.

It started with some innocent brownies but I couldn't stop there! (Tip: put parchment paper in your pan and then pour your brownie mixture in- makes clean-up a breeze). I have been really good about making Keith lunch everyday because we live too far away for him to come home and he was spending almost $10 a day eating out. So, I thought let me make Keith something more interesting for lunch tomorrow.

So I made Con Queso Fake Chicken Soup~pretty good and I like the name too.

Then I thought I should make something else because soup is not that filling, so next I dive into making Spring Rolls they healthy way.

First chop the cabbage and saute it with some olive oil and garlic


Then throw in the green onions and bamboo shoots


Cook for 30 more seconds and take off heat- add soy sauce and pepper.

Wrap in Egg Roll wrappers


Then cook for at least 6 minutes turning them every so often


I think they turned out pretty good and it will be fun to experiment with the filling. So I packed Keith's lunch and even included a little jar of soy sauce and Sweet and Sour sauce, to go with his soup and brownie.

Notice the Texas flag lunchbox. I had to help him fit in with the other Texans. I saw this bumper sticker the other day and it read, "American by birth, Texan by God's Grace." These people are funny!

Today I also worked in my craft studio (don't you love that sound of that!). I made fabric panels to go around my desk and hide the clutter underneath.

This fabric used to by my curtains in Kentucky! But works well here also. On my table I am working on an album of all my pictures of when I was stationed in Cuba and met Keith. That shelving unit about it, I just bought at IKEA (awesome store) and it took Keith and I at least an hour to hang it.

I also wanted to display some of my vinyl projects that I sell at craft shows, so I set it up here to keep in view. Love it!

We switched!

We switched FROM Geico (to USAA) and saved $220 a year! Stupid commercials, they are not true!

Bridger said hold your tongue and say
"I was born on a pirate ship"

haha, I made you cuss!

Cooking Therapy

I really think it is true. Cooking is therapy if the conditions are right. If the conditions are right, I will do it all day and love it. In fact I have done it quite a bit in the last several months to support all of our get togethers which have not slowed down any since moving here.

Here are the conditions:

First, the kitchen has to have some size to it so there is plenty of prep area and still have space to move around and to think. My current house and the one in Fort Lee were great for that.

Second, I like to cook alone with no one breathing down my neck, asking me questions, or running circles around me, or even trying to help me. It must be alone or it isn't happening! Or there is a big difference in quality.

In Fort Lee all I had to do was shut the door and I was in my own room. Here, I live in an open floor plan so it is not that easy, therefore I have to send the kids outside or to "their side of the house" for the peace I require.

Third, having all the fun gadgets helps, but more important then that is the aestetics of the gadgets I am using to bring the meal together. When I have a great bowl to stir all my ingredients together or serving platter to put it on or a pretty pan to cook it all, I am more apt to want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen so I can use these things because they bring me joy!

Last week I cooked some Chiles Rellenos which turned out awesome.


I used Anaheim peppers with all the seeds removed so the kids could enjoy it also.


I stuffed the peppers with cheese, garlic, basil and sun-dried tomatoes


Then I covered each chili with an egg roll wrapper so I could fry them up


Then I put some homemade marinara sauce over the top with a tiny bit more cheese. They were tasty and crunchy!

Real Texans

That is what we are now...because we go to rodeos! It is kind of like a rite of passage when you come here to convert you to the 'Texas' ways.



Hummmm...I wondered who sponsored this event!?



Bridger really loved it and wanted to get close to the action. He also thought the clown was great.

Keith had an official ceremony taking his position as the Commander of Delta Troop last week. We were invited and they even had a special metal fold up chair waiting for me.



It is hard to tell but Keith is in front next to the guide-on flag. This is about 2/3 of his Troop as he is waiting for the rest to show up. They all keep him very busy as we are lucky to see Keith an hour in the evenings.

Signs of Texas

Yikes...this is taking forever!!! I can't wait until every box has left the premise. And while I am trying to unpack, life still have to go on! Cleaning, cooking, homeschooling and other activities that involve leaving home every once in a while.

So, did you guess what my sign in the front yard said? Well let me help you with a picture!



It looks homemade, doesn't it? That just goes to show my frustration if I would take the time to make this dumb thing and then put it in my yard. I dare anyone to cross it!

Talking about signs...I have noticed a great deal of strange street signs around this place. First I think my street name is strange. Sulfur Spring.

First, it is not even spelled right. Second, have you ever smelled sulphur? BLAHHHH. How could you ever combine that name with the word SPRING and think you have a great street name? And who names the streets anyhow??

Here is a good name!!! I had to take a picture of it because I wished I lived on this street.


Hell On Wheels.

Today I drove up a street called Bacon Ranch! I mean, Come on!

No Solicitating HERE!!

Is it Solicitating or Soliciting?????

I mean really...how many sales people can show up at your house in a matter of 2 weeks. Well I have the answer! A LOT!! And I am downright sick of it. When I have at least 2 people a day knock on my door trying to sale me a water purifier, a kirby vacuum, a year contract to get rid of the bugs and spiders and they all say they have special prices JUST FOR TODAY and JUST FOR THIS NEIGHBORHOOD-- I mean really, do they think we are all stupid???

Yesterday was the last straw and really, shame on me for being soooooo stupid (I guess these sales people are right!) I am hanging clothes for Jadyn in her closet and going through them at the same time so I can send a big box to the Goodwill. I am on a roll, getting things done and rooms put together.

Then the doorbell rings....
Jadyn answers it and comes to get me-- I am already ticked.

There is this young woman who is holding a brochure that says she needs my help so she can win this stupid trip. She starts fast talking.

"I want to offer you a free room cleaning today.... By doing this it will help me win this trip. I have just 11 more houses to do. We are doing this for free because we want you to tell your neighbors and friends about what a good job we do because we don't pay for advertising. PLEASE, I will get paid when you do this and that is all I have to do. It will only take 30 to 40 minutes and you just sit back with your feet up."

In between all this- I am asking questions
"Whats the catch?" She says, "There is none! I just need to get credit for it! And its hot out here! PLEASE"

So you are telling me there is no high pressured sales, because I don't need it nor do I have time for it.

She says, "No, we just need your word of mouth to help us get more business. Please help me out, its so hot out here! It will only take 30 to 40 minutes"

I say, "My gut instinct is to tell you no because what you are saying doesn't make sense to me."

She says, "I just need 11 more houses to get this free trip. Please just let us do it because I get paid for it."

So I give in!!!!! HUGE MISTAKE!!!!

I go back into Jadyn's room and continue and when I come back into my living room what is set up is a Kirby Vacuum and a different person!!! I KNEW IT!!!

I immediately tell this person that he is wasting his time because I am not interested and I am not paying him a red cent. I also tell him that the chick who came to my door is a liar and their selling practices are deceptive and unethical. He still says he is not there to sale anything! And immediately goes into his pitch on dirty my house is. He cleans the TV, the baseboard, a mattress, my kitchen floor and all this time asking me all these questions that require a YES answer or stupid common sense questions, like "Do you like dirt on your walls?" "Do you want to your house to LOOK clean or to BE clean?"

Then he asks me "Can I welcome you into the Kirby family today?"

HELL NO!!! If I have told you once I have told you a 100 times I am not buying one! I don't pay for than $75 for a vacuum. So then he still shows me more stuff it will do!!!! I then told him I have dinner to make and my husband should be home any minute so he should pack up and leave. He then asks "What would my husband think if he saw how dirty the house was?"

Oh Lord "Why don't you wait until he gets home and find out for yourself!"

So I go about cooking dinner, feed the kids and then I go sit on my patio. Keith walks in and talks to him for a few minutes and tells him to pack up because we aren't paying $2300 for a vacuum. All the dirt in the world could not convince him. I sit on the patio and giggle. Then Keith turns it around on him.

He tells him he should be in the Army and asks him what is he doing selling vacuums door-to-door? Get a real job. He even went as far as helping him look up an Army recruiting office on the internet and feeding him dinner!!!!! Unreal!!!!

So this FREE CLEANING turned into a 2.5 sales pitch to buy a $2300 vacuum. As soon as the torture was over I went to Walmart and bought the stuff to make me a fairly big sign to put in my yard!

Can you guess what it says??