My Door is so Lucky

Either that, or a bunch of Girl Scouts threw up on it.  I would tell you it looks like the remains of Girl Scout's uniforms, but that just makes me come across as creepy.  Which I am, but that's entirely besides the point.

It is now in the spot where our Valentine's version was.  The Redhead and I enjoyed searching through green material at Hobby Lobby.  I didn't purchase anything without seeking her advice first.  For less than $12, and leftover material for other projects, and using another one of my 69 cent wreath frames, my door is suddenly Irish.

I've gotten quicker since last time.  It still involves a lot of cutting and tying, but for the results, I think it's worth all the effort.  Originally, I was unsure how all the fabrics would look together, but all that worry is now gone.  I love it.  

But again, I didn't have any help from the cat.  She kept invading my lap, attacking my frame, stealing my scraps, and using my material as bedding.  She's sort of evil.  And I'm not sure I like her sort of supervising.  She takes micromanaging to a whole new level.

I guess that's the price of being Irish in this household.  You have to deal with that cat.

The Ladybug Rescuers

First off, let me type that I'm not afraid of some manual labor.  Also, the fact that my yard needed to be mowed in February is actually fairly fantastic, all things considered.  It being past the point of needing to be mowed? Well, that's just crazy.  CRAZY.  But it's still sort of awesome.


It was such a gorgeous day.  We've had several days like these, so I went outside to make use of such a day and tore apart the last section of wood paneling from last month.  Mister Man hadn't gotten to the piece I left for him, and it was time for it to depart.  With the noise I was making while ripping it apart, it had to have had neighbors wondering what on earth was going on, but it was worth the noise and splinters, because now it's in the trash, ready for next Thursday.  And I was ready to conquer another task.  To take over the world.


Then The Redhead was playing outside and requested to go to the front yard to play and I was thinking, "you know, I'll join you."  A couple reasons, actually.  What's a better excuse to mow?  And most importantly, with recent events in The Midwest, a ten year old child abducted right from her front yard, there was no way I could allow my nine year old to play alone so soon after that tragic event.  In all honesty, it's not like she gets to anyway.  So to the front yard we went, The Redhead playing with her stuffed pals, and me pushing our manual lawnmower through what felt like a thick jungle.  The grass wasn't as tall, but it was thick.  And it was rough mowing, especially with a simple mower, but all the more reason to be outside.  I needed the exercise.


Except, we weren't alone.  And we had other obstacles in our way, aside from thick grasses.  It started off with one lone ladybug, playing in The Redhead's palm.  And then maybe a couple more.  Next thing we knew, we had more trespassers.  Ladybugs.  So many ladybugs.  They kept playing chicken with my mower blades.  And The Redhead and I kept rescuing them.  I'm not sure I've ever seen so many ladybugs in my life...


Except one other time.  There was that time.


So now I'm taking you back in time, the year was 2000, the spring, and I was the most excited preschool teacher in the world.  I finally bought the bag of ladybugs from a local nursery, the very ladybugs I had my heart set on.  A plant nursery, full of the most awesome plants and merchandise ever, was selling these blessed little beasts.  And there they were, my bag of a thousand ladybugs.  I was the most enthusiastic person ever as I stepped out onto our apartment balcony, armed with former spice containers and an arsenal of ladybugs, ready to put them in their tiny little humble abodes.  Poked with holes, of course.  I opened the mesh bag to usher the little fiends into the containers and next thing I knew, there was an explosion of ladybugs all over my deck; so much red.  If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought it was a sea of scarabs, eating through our third floor balcony, taking over the two below.  So many escapees.  They were so clever, those tiny little fugitives.  I bid them adieu, as they had put so much effort into their plan, it wasn't worth trapping them, killing their joy.  I had enough in my little containers anyway, enough to execute my plan.


The events that followed were even more laughable than the girl on her deck practically screaming and grabbing and giggling about little spotted bugs.  I'm serious; even funnier.  My class was unsure of the ladybugs.  Most of them were excited to have their very own container of spotted friends.  But then there was this blonde little heathen, a child I didn't know could be afraid of anything.  And he was so concerned about these spotted pests that he couldn't even consider taking his eyes off of them during nap time.  Not that he liked nap time to start with, but now he was even more alert and restless, fearful the ladybugs would attack.  And if that wasn't comical enough, one of the other teachers came by my classroom and told him if he didn't nap the ladybugs would get him.  That kid was already scared, wide-eyed, and wiggling, and now he was living a nightmare.  The ladybugs could come after him?!  It's funny now, but at the time, I was fairly appalled that she told him such a thing.  This was something nightmares were made of, and I wondered how far the trauma would go.  I wonder to this day if he's still afraid of spotted insects, the red and black kind, crawling across the floor.



I wonder where the ladybugs in my yard had escaped from.  If some other young, naive soul had also purchased a mesh bag of ladybugs from some obscure place, with some ridiculous plan, and if those little red dots had found themselves in our yard, free from their prisons?  Or maybe February in California just brings a lot of ladybugs.  Either way.  I'm glad The Redhead and I had a chance to be part of their adventure.

Clearance, Be Mine

I love Clearance.  I just love it.  It's true love.  I'm telling you, TRUE LOVE.  Made to be.  Forever.  Endless.  Mine. Mine. Mine.

And today at Target, my accomplice The Redhead, and I unearthed some massive savings.  90% off Valentine's Day merchandise at Target.  (Although, I'm not sure it counts as savings, when I only would have bought these things 90% off.)  And with $20 and two Targets, we not only saved big, we did in time to see a brick-building movie for the second time, making use of The Redhead's week off from school.



The boxers, cotton candy dog toys, and these few items were bought for us.  I broke into the candy during the movie.   That's what it gets for hiding out in my purse so it wouldn't melt while in the car.   (The candy was actually only 70% off, but hey, that's okay.  I won't tell, if you don't.)





I only found one thing to donate to an actual charity, that cute little baby outfit, which will go in the box with the ones I bought during Christmas clearance.  I won't be writing off the other things from today, but the good news is, they won't be staying in our house.  And I paid no more than 50 cents a piece for most of them.







Packs of Lego City sets for 34 cents?  Yes, please!  Hot Wheels for 49 cents?!  Awesome!

The bubble necklaces were only 19 cents!

And I just love clearance.  Did I mention that already?  LOVE IT.  With deals like these, the classroom prize box should be well stocked for at least a few days.  And we finally found several items for boys.  Who would have guessed during such a girly holiday?!  And the best part?  Wandering around the store was not a wasted effort, as most of what we discovered was elsewhere in the store, and that's always my favorite part.  Another bonus?  We forgot cat food this morning so we HAD to get back to a store.  So we hit yet another Target this afternoon and found different items, including plush critters for 0.49 cents and the 99 cent Cabbage Patch Kids.   And I just adore finding various items.

 We didn't need much, so aside from dog toys, boxers, and cake pop sticks, and maybe candy too, everything else was bought for purposes outside of this household, and who can't love that?  Maybe you like stuff for your home, but the less I have to find spots for, the better!  Total spent, less than $30.  The thrill I experienced in finding it?  Priceless.

The Giggles Down the Hall

I awoke at 2:40 am to something.  And that something appeared to be sleeping, two little girls on a loft bed, silent and still.  I knew better though.  The cat knew better. And I let them be.  They knew I was on to them anyway, and they were the ones who were going to be exhausted the next day.


The cat, on the other hand, was not as interested in my methods.  She made lots of little noises in protest, running throughout the house, purring next to my legs, and begging me, beckoning me to get them to sleep, so she could sleep.  She sleeps in The Redhead's room, with The Redhead, and not only is she not a fan of sleepovers, she's not a fan of The Redhead staying up late.  We're cutting into kitty time.  We're spoiling her routine.


But I'll tell you what I told Alexandra; they're only little once.  And they can pretend to be sleeping all they want, and spout out a few giggles again at 3:20 am, because before we all know it, I'm going to miss those little giggles, the innocence, the sleepovers, and the cat pleading for The Sandman.  And out of all the changes The Redhead has experienced with our grand move from The Midwest, this experience of sleepovers is a welcomed change.  She's been a true sport throughout it all, adjusting beyond my wildest expectations, so it's such a pleasure to witness her engage in such sweet friendships.


We still need to get her to the point she'll ask us if someone can come over without massive stuttering and fear that we'll only say "no."  She just twists and sways and loses eye contact with us as she avoids asking us the simplest of questions.  And we make her ask.  And we delight in her expressions as she realizes we just agreed.  Because they're only little once.  And sometimes, those giggles in the hall are the most joyous sound in the world.  I just know, someday I will miss them.

Bring Your Monster To Work Week

Actually, we're not sure why The Redhead left this little blue guy and this note on our bed last Sunday.  But she did.  At bedtime.  Of course, Mister Man is now wishing he had remembered to bring him home, but in his defense, he wasn't in his office today.  And well, he won't be until Tuesday, so Ox gets to spend some quality time by himself.  Perhaps he was longing for a vacation.  Some me time.  Little R&R.  Regardless, that's exactly what he's getting.  Until we meet again, Ox.

Winter's Surprise

In case you've been living under a rock, it's Valentine's Day.  The day of love.  The day of buying overpriced bouquets, cards, and chocolate.  The day of pinks and reds.  And hearts.  And roses.  That day.  The Christmas in February.  Executives, check your stocks.

Even though I'm not much of a romantic, I'm not immune to such a holiday.  Well, perhaps because I enjoy celebrating all holidays.  Even the overrated ones.  An excuse to put together goody bags, make decor and dress up The Redhead?  Of course, I'm game!

And of course, execute holiday hair.

Which I've been busy doing most of this week.

                         

The teachers and classroom received gifts too.

Meanwhile, the cat's happy enough with another box.

The Redhead has also been busy wearing heart themed shirts for the past two weeks.

                         

I'm so proud The Redhead chose Harry Potter valentines!  A girl after my own heart.

Of course, we sent out cards too.



But none of this should surprise you about me.  And if it does, well, it shouldn't.  I make a big deal about almost everything, especially holidays.  What should surprise you is how I spent my day.


The day before, Mister Man asked if I'd be home in the morning, as he had something being delivered.  I'm going on about how he shouldn't send flowers and how they're unnecessary and expensive, but how I'd rather spend money on vacations and if he really needed to send me something, he could send me some Toms' shoes.  Because those are better than flowers any day.  Then I felt bad, because really, I shouldn't insult the flowers.  In fact, I encourage sending them to other people.  So, I prepared myself for the next morning, knowing I needed to be appreciative of anything I receive from him, especially since he hasn't really given me a Valentine's gift for years.

I had to run to the school to drop off the heavy box of notebook goodies.  Then I dashed to Safeway for their Friday deals.  Then I made it back home and was bringing in my purchases when my delivery arrived.  At 9 am.  And not just any delivery.  He arrived.  With a card.  And inside the card was a receipt for the 0.47 cent card.  And my gift.  The best gift.  We got to spend the day together.  He had been driving around, stalking our house, waiting until I'd be back home from running errands all with the intention of taking me to a morning movie and out to lunch, all before The Redhead was out of school.  Brilliant.  What an awesome gift!  And he said he told everyone in his office he wanted to give me something this year, that he had to make our first Valentine's Day here special.  After all, he forced me to move across the country.  I'm glad he remembered that part.


Now, I'm not one for romantic movies, but now it made sense why he kept bringing up that new movie, Winter's Tale.  And I kept scoffing at it.  Because perhaps it seemed to involve time travel of some sort, it also had potential to be terribly corny.  He told me I could pick any movie I wanted, but you could tell he wanted me to pick something I hadn't seen.  While I despise spending much money on myself, I do see a lot of movies.  That's my version of me time.  I pin myself down weekly for a movie, by myself, and no, it's not sad, and I watch something, anything.  Mostly to unwind.  I've been doing this for years and I find I'm much better for it. Some women choose massages, pedicures, facials, shopping trips, Happy Hour martinis, book clubs, Girl's Night, reading in the tub, but this is what I do. And this time, I got to do it with Mister Man.


And while I thought about seeing Monuments Men instead, and there were only a couple choices for early movies that worked within our time frame, I decided to embrace the whole valentine thing.  So we went to see it.  And I'm not going to lie, I thought it was cheesy.  And we were fighting the urge to giggle while everyone was crying.  And I'm serious.  I almost choked while holding in my laughter.  It had some okay parts, but as a whole, it wasn't my sort of movie.  But I knew that going in.  It wasn't about that though.  It was about some alone time with my spouse, spending a day we wouldn't normally spend together.  And then we got some lunch.  And although we were both tempted by Italian, we went for something The Redhead doesn't like to eat, something we hadn't had out in forever.  Mexican.


It's not about the food.  Or the movie.  It's about the day.  About the surprise.  The sentiment.  The effort.  And that was the best gift.  Ever.  But just so he knows, he set himself up to top it next year.

All you Need is Love

When it comes to Valentine's day decor, Love is all you need.

However, you can also use anything you have on hand from past clearance sales.

You can combine photos, a feather boa from the 99 Cent Store, crafts, a potion bottle used for Halloween, and anything else you wish.

And even if you don't like how a project ends up, a project you thought up completely on your own, something dear to your political persuasions, doesn't mean you shouldn't still showcase it until you fix it.

Also, as fabulous as art is, never be afraid to enlist the aid of wonderful little assistants.  Because then it becomes so much more than a decoration.  It becomes a memory.  It becomes an heirloom.

Even if their feet look bloody afterwards.

Don't be afraid to frame a coaster from Halloween.

 Or make something simple.






And even if you don't get to all your crafts, just remember, all you need is love.