I Need Landscaping and Exterior House Ideas!

Okay, I've been complaining for probably at least two years now about our "landscaping". I put that in quotes because, well, we have nothing planted right now! A few years ago, we tore out what we had. Our annual "spider sprayer guy" said that the things we had planted were like spider magnets). I would rather have no landscaping at all than have spiders, but the outside of our house looks embarrassing. Truly. I hate even showing these pictures.

I've said lots of times that our "house" is a manufactured home/trailer/double wide/call it what you will. It's not in a trailer park (not that I think there is anything wrong with trailer parks!) but that may help with figuring out what to do with the exterior of the house. We don't plan on selling it (we really like the location) so I'm not worried about resale value.

Anyway, I *finally* decided to work on the landscaping area today!

We let it go for so long that it grew over with tons of weeds and grass and just looked terrible. We killed the grass and weeds several times, but they kept coming back. After reading about it online, I decided that we needed to remove the top couple of inches of dirt along with the weeds and grass. This is what it looked like most recently:

After the new roof, but before the new gutters

Weeds/grass/dirt that needs to be removed. And the landscaping bricks.

I've been wanting to get this done for a couple of years, but I developed severe chronic pain that was eventually diagnosed as fibromyalgia (a kind of blanket diagnosis when everything else is ruled out). I will write an update about that soon, because it could take up a whole post of itself. But for now, let me just say that I was able to do this very tough manual labor today!

I don't know what got into me, but I got really tired of looking at it and thinking about it and talking about it that I just decided today was the day I would at least attempt to dig out the dirt/weeds/grass. It's been raining a lot here lately so the ground is soft and I figured it would be easier than waiting until it dried.

There sod cutters you can rent where you push it along and it cuts for you, but the area isn't huge and I figured I'd try it myself first with a shovel. I grabbed a shovel (the kind with the flat edge and not the pointed one) and started digging into the dirt. It was hard work! I was pouring sweat pretty quickly and even changed into a t-shirt.

We have a huge wheelbarrow so I just started dumping the clumps of dirt/weeds/grass in there. The reason for taking the couple of inches of dirt with each scoop is to get the roots with it; the roots make the whole piece stick together in a shovel-sized clump.

When the wheelbarrow was full, I asked Noah if he could help me dump it over the dike across the street. Well, it was about 1,000 pounds too heavy for that. I could barely push it! I eventually got it across the street and tried shoveling the dirt out and throwing it over the dike. Unfortunately, because it was in clumps, the shovel wasn't working well. So, I just had to use my hands to pick it up, piece by piece, and throw it over the dike.

My second trip across the street didn't go so well. I turned the wheelbarrow around and before I could push it very far, the whole thing tipped over! It was too heavy to stop once it started tipping. I almost cried. After a few obscenities, I realized I just had to laugh it off. I was in the pouring rain, shoveling mud and weeds, and the heaviest load of it just dumped into my yard. I picked up all that I could.

Meanwhile, it starts raining and everything is muddy. My shoes were caked with mud and I was soaked. But I kept going--wheelbarrow full after wheelbarrow full, I shoveled scoops and then threw them over the dike. It took me about five hours, but I got most of it done! There is a pile of landscaping bricks on one end that my parents gave us, so we plan to use those along the sidewalk. I think? We'll definitely clean them first. But I couldn't dig underneath those, obviously.

Yes, this looks like a total mud pit right now, but I'm happy with how it's going. When it's dry, we can level it out and do whatever else we need to do.

This is where I need some ideas/advice! I know NOTHING about landscaping or plants or flowers or mulch or gravel or any of that stuff. And I hate it! I hate thinking about it, talking about it, reading about it, all of it.

Here is what the exterior looked like most recently (this is the only picture I could find that shows the trees in the front yard--hard to see them, but it's the best I had):

I had plans of extending the porch farther to the right, where the stakes are, but wood is so expensive now! Maybe someday.

And then after the new roof (but before the gutters):

First, we do plan to power wash the house soon. We need to power wash it before the spider guy comes to spray. But here is what I need help with:

1) What do we fill that space against the house with? Should we use the landscaping bricks or no? Also, should we use mulch, stones, or whatever else people use? And what about a weed barrier underneath?

2) What are the most low-maintenance plants we can possibly use? That side of the house is shaded for half the day and sunny for half the day. I promise that I won't take the time to plant things each year (I wish I could say that I would, but I won't) so I need stuff that requires the littlest maintenance possible. 

3) The exterior of the house: we can't get new siding for a while (the new roof was expensive). Should I paint the shutters a different color? I would love to remove them, but the sun would have bleached the siding and it would be obvious that the shutters were removed.

4) Do I paint the foundation blocks? Most houses around here do not have them painted, but I figured I'd ask anyway.

5) I know I need to replace the doors--for sure the storm door ASAP. We can't do the windows until we do the siding, even though we need new windows as well.

6) Should I put anything around the base of the trees in the front yard? Or just leave them as they are? Or should I remove them? I really want my Asian pear tree to grow fruit, but I guess I need another one so they can cross-pollinate. The other tree is an apple tree. I could cut that one down and replace it with another Asian pear tree. These aren't a priority, but I figured I'd ask. 

Okay, I realize that's a tall order of questions! But if you happen to know about this stuff, please give me some advice. I love the interior of our house now that I've redone the whole thing but the curb appeal is definitely not appealing. 

I'm proud of myself for doing what I did today! Even though it looks like a muddy mess right now, I'm so glad I'm getting it ready to plant stuff. I've been putting this off for so long and I assumed it would take days to finish. I got it about 75% done today (I just have to move the bricks, but I'll make the kids do that).

Thanks in advance! xo

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7 Fun Random Questions and Answers

I am in desperate need of a fun, silly, relaxed blog post. I have been super stressed out about so many different things lately and I am tired of thinking about serious stuff! I just want to write something meaningless.

Today, I accidentally deleted all 45,000 photos from my computer. Yes, you read that correctly. I had planned to back them up to an external hard drive, but I moved them instead of copied them and it was a huge mess. It's still a huge mess. So I can't really find photos easily right now unless I know exactly when they were taken. There are no faces or places identified. I just can't even write about it because I'm upset. Soooo....

I looked for some icebreaker questions on Google and I picked some that were appropriate for the blog. Here are seven random not-to-be-taken-seriously questions!

1) What is your spirit animal? (The animal that is most similar to your personality)

*I would have to say a squirrel. This post pretty much explains it all, and it was one of the most fun posts I've ever written: "All I Really Need to Know I Learned From Squirrels". Squirrels are super anxious (just like me!) and a bit gluttonous when given the opportunity, haha. It takes a lot to get them to trust you. But once they do, they will be great companions. Which is a lot like me--I don't trust people easily and I'm very intuitive to others' feelings/intentions. If I get a bad vibe, I'm outta there (just like a squirrel). I wish I could say I was as fast or as dodgy as squirrels (they'd make great soccer players!) but they surpass me in athleticism.

2) What is your favorite seat on an airplane?

*I am VERY particular about this when I fly! I'm a super nervous flyer (I literally white-knuckle the whole flight), so my preferred seat is this: when facing the cockpit, I like to sit on the left side of the plane in a window seat. I like to it to be just barely in front of the wing. Looking out at the wing makes me feel "grounded" somehow and there is less turbulence there.

Funny story: I was SURE to choose a window seat for a flight, like I usually do, and when I got to my seat, this was my "window". REALLY, Delta?! I could not have had more anxiety in that seat than anywhere else on the plane. I need to be able to see the wing to feel "grounded". 

My older brother, Brian, is a Delta pilot (he was promoted to Captain just before COVID!) and I always ask him about the turbulence before my flights while I wait to board. Other pilots report areas of turbulence, so he can pull up a chart and tell me how the flight looks. This helps so much with my anxiety!

3) What's the worst haircut you've ever had?

*Well, now, I just wrote recently about all of my horrible hairstyles as a kid. To pick just one is going to be tough. I'll do a small collage and you can decide!

4) What two things do you consider yourself to be very good at?

*I would have to say that I'm very good at writing. Don't judge me by my blog! My blog is not my best writing; it's more of a journal. I've always been a great creative writer, though. I used to write short stories and poems when I was a kid, and I would win creative writing awards.

When teachers asked about what we wanted to be when we grew up, I always answered "an author", but they told me I'd need a back-up plan because it's very difficult to make money as a writer. Maybe a blogger isn't what I had in mind because it didn't exist back then, but it's working out for me now ;)

This is a book I wrote in third grade for a young author's contest, hahaha. I never said I was good at drawing!

Another thing I'm very good at is reading people's emotions--I can read between the lines very well, and if someone is feeling bad, I can sense it. It's a blessing and a curse at the same time; when others aren't happy, I feel it myself, and it is really hard on me. On the other hand, I can do whatever is in my power to help them.

5) What two things do you consider yourself to be very bad at?

*I am terrible at meeting new people and making small talk. I wish I could be charming and clever and funny (my older brother, Brian, fits that definition). I am very quiet and shy, and I guess I just don't feel worthy of getting to know. I feel like if someone talks to me, they are only being polite rather than being interested in what I have to say. (Okay, this isn't light-hearted anymore, so I'll move on!)

*Another thing I'm very bad at is replying to texts or phone calls. It has nothing to do with the person who is trying to get in touch with me, though. I am the world's slowest texter (I type with one finger) and it makes me crazy wasting my time typing out a text. So sadly, a lot of texts go without a reply--the people who know me best expect that, though. When I text from my computer, my replies are WAY too long, haha. I can type very fast on the computer.

6) What is your favorite smell and why?

*Hands down, my favorite smell is Curve, the cologne for men. Jerry wore it when we dated and he still wears it to this day because he knows how much I love it. I makes me feel so nostalgic and happy and just in love. There is nothing that makes me feel more safe and loved when Jerry is wearing Curve and we're cuddling on the couch watching a movie.

7) What “old person” things do you do?

*Hahaha, I do a lot of "old people" things! Something that I started doing over the past few years that really makes me feel old, though, is that I watch TV with the closed captions turned on. My hearing isn't great anymore and it's much easier for me to watch a show if the captions are on so that I don't miss something. When I was a kid, I remember my friend's mom always had the captions on and it drove me crazy! Now I feel bad for my kids when I turn on the captions, so I try to keep them off if I'm watching something with them.

It actually became kind of a running joke between Jerry and me, so he had these shirts made for our anniversary (in 2020). We always laugh at some of the captions on TV and one of them is [chuckles]. So he put that on a shirt (with our picture) and "since 1999", which is when we started dating.

Okay, well, that was a fun post and just what I needed today! [chuckles]

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Vegan Recipe Review: Lentil Tortilla Soup

Since I started eating a vegan diet in January, I've been doing this recipe series to try out new ways of eating (mostly) familiar foods. I've always loved trying new things--even if it doesn't sound good to me at all--because I never know what I may take a liking to!

Each week, I pick a recipe (usually via Pinterest or one that is recommended to me) to prepare--exactly as written--and taste. When my meat-eating family is here and willing, they taste it as well and give me their honest opinions. I've been trying to pick a variety of recipes so that I'm not always making the same dish with a different sauce or something like that.

This week, I wanted to pick something that I really felt like the family would enjoy. I decided on Lentil Tortilla Soup (mainly because the photo from the website looked really good, haha!). My photo doesn't look so great because I didn't put toppings on mine--just try to imagine it loaded with stuff like my nachos last week. This Lentil Tortilla Soup recipe can be found on Eat With Clarity. (I'll link to it again at the end of the post)

This recipe called for "cashew cream", which I was unfamiliar with but I assumed it was similar to what I did with the cashews for the nacho "cheese" last week. And I was right! Cashew cream is just raw cashews and water (with optional things to mix in; I only added a little salt). After soaking the cashews, you blend it until it's perfectly smooth and I was surprised at how thick it was.

You only use a small amount of it, so I have currently have quite a bit leftover in my fridge that I'm not sure what to do with.

Anyway, the ingredients list was pretty long: onion, olive oil, garlic, jalapeño pepper, bell pepper, fire roasted tomatoes, red lentils, black beans, corn, cashew cream, tomato paste, vegetable broth, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, oregano, and lime juice.

I actually had pretty much everything on hand (I just needed the jalapeño). I did buy some tortilla chips for the family to use on top of their soup (I didn't want to use the calories for them, because I'd use way too many, I'm sure.)

You actually have to use the blender three times in this recipe! Once to make the cashew cream. Then to blend the tomatoes. And finally, to blend some of the soup when it's done cooking. I didn't even bother to wash the blender; I just rinsed it out in between.

So, like I said, it took a while to get everything prepped--chopping veggies, measuring spice, opening cans, blending cashews and tomatoes, etc. I will state right away that this recipe was NOT done in the 30 minutes stated. It took me over 30 minutes just to prep the ingredients! 

After that, though, it was pretty straight forward. You just sauté the veggies, adding one or two things at a time, and then finally, you put the rest of the ingredients in the pot (except for the lime juice) and let it cook.

The house smelled amazing and the kids and Jerry were drawn to the kitchen to check it out. I didn't say I was making "vegan lentil tortilla soup"; I just said I was making tortilla soup. That satisfied them.

Just before serving, you take a cup of the soup and put it in the blender before adding it back to the pot. It makes it a little thicker.

When it was done, I was kind of shocked at how much it made! It says that it serves four, but it would absolutely serve six. The bowl below was about 1/6 of the recipe; I couldn't have fit 1/4 into my bowl. I would say that there were leftovers, but the boys at them all.

The verdict from the family: YUM! They added cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips to theirs, but they loved it. I had it plain and I loved it just as much. (I imagine if you're not vegan and you don't want to make the cashew cream, you could just use regular heavy cream; but try out the vegan one--you might be surprised!)

We loved this soup and will definitely make it again. I don't think I'd make any changes to it, either. Well, maybe I'd add another can of black beans for more fiber. Still, though, this has 13 grams of fiber in 1/6 of the recipe!

This is absolutely a soup that meat-eaters would enjoy. In fact, when I have people over for dinner (hopefully sometime soon!) this would be a great recipe to make.

Again, this recipe can be found at Eat With Clarity. If you try it, I hope you like it as much as we did!

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Friday Night Photos

Remember I said I was "digitizing" photos the other day? That just meant taking pictures of pictures because I'm technological like that ;)  Anyway, the sunlight was causing glares and reflections on the pictures, which was frustrating, so I came up with this ridiculous jig for my phone--and it actually helped a lot!

I just cut out a piece of cardboard and glued white paper on one side. I cut out a hole big enough for the lens of the camera on my phone. Then I used double stick tape to tape my phone on the cardboard side with the lens lined up to the hole. That way, when I held it over the picture, the reflection of my camera wasn't on the photo. Hahaha! Hillbilly picture taking, right there. (The picture on the left is a picture of me actually using it to take a photo. 

Moving on...

Back in the days when I was young I'm not a kid anymore
But some days I sit and wish I was a kid again

Anyone remember those lyrics? They are from a 1994 song called Back in the Day by Ahmad. The good old days of nostalgic hip hop! Here is the video on YouTube, if you're curious! (Or if you just want some nostalgia on a Friday night.)

I only had a couple of pictures on my camera roll this week, so I thought I'd post some of the old school photos that I recently went through and took pictures of. There are some oldies but goodies in here! I was thinking I should do a post about all my old horrendous hair styles (what was my mom thinking?!) but I realized I already did that post last year, hahaha.

So, here are some (hopefully) never before seen photos from my childhood...

This one made me laugh for so many reasons. This is Brian (my older brother) and my dad on the roof of our shed. First, I noticed the horrific caulking job around the windows of the shed. Then the fact that my dad painted the "chimney" to look like bricks. And I had to ask my mom what the heck the whole thing was--she told me it was a bird house. She was so embarrassed!

I have no idea what this mess is, but clearly I enjoyed eating it. Cookie dough? But how gross is that with all those hands in there! 

How creepy is that mask my sister is wearing (on the left)?! Hahaha, remember when Halloween costumes had plastic masks and some sort of plastic gown you wore over your clothes? I just thought this makes was hilarious. That's my dad and Brian with her.

I have to admit, I was a very creative kid. I was always coming up with new ideas to play, usually involving my best friend, Sarah, and our little brothers. On this particular day, we were playing barber shop. The boys had to sit on their booster seats (milk cartons) while we styled their hair.

This picture is so embarrassing I don't even know where to start. First, I decided to dress like a McDonald's worker for Halloween because my sister worked there (that was the uniform back then). Second, those glasses. And those teeth. But worst of all, the hem of my pants. 

When my sister was in high school, it was cool to "french roll" your pants--you would pinch excess fabric so that it was tight around your ankle, and then fold the extra fabric over. Then you would roll it up 2-3 times so that it stayed like that. I remember sometimes people used rubber bands to get them to stay rolled tighter, so I had to be like my sister, of course. I just used rubber bands to tighten the hems against my ankles. Clearly, I had no idea how to do it correctly. And as for Nathan--I have no idea what the deal is with his shoes!

I like this picture a lot and I can remember when it was taken. My dad was in rehab for alcoholism and it was my birthday. My family got to go visit him and there was a bedsheet covering "something" in the shape of a bike. When I pulled it off, I found this pink and aqua bike for my birthday gift. I loved that bike! (My dad has been sober ever since.)

This picture cracked me up. I'm pretty sure taking a bath in the sink was fairly common(?) but how many parents left knives stuck to a magnet right next to the sink while their kids were in there? Hahaha!

Oh, man, all you can see in this picture are rolls. My arms and legs look like they had rubber bands around them!

I had completely forgotten about this--does anyone remember when McDonald's used to have a playground like this outside? Do they still have these?

I have no idea what I was pouting about here (second person from the right). Maybe because Nathan got to hold a gun for the picture and I didn't? Haha!

I don't know if tetanus shots were required for babies back then, but from the looks of our swing set, they certainly should have been ;)

Everything about this picture is so funny! The wallpaper (yes, it was popular then, so I'll discount that); the random gun hanging above the mantle (my mom must have let my dad decorate), and the random "Happy Birthday Sue" sign that my cousin and my brother made.

Again with my glasses! My mom always let me pick out my own glasses.

How many of you recognize this couch? I swear, every single person I know had a couch like this at some point! (This is Nathan, Lance, Spence, and me. Spence is the friend of mine who passed away from brain cancer a couple of years ago.)

The neighborhood kids before trick-or-treating. I always picked the most embarrassing costumes! On this particular year, I wore Brian's Red Wings stuff. I'm not sure which player was on the back of it. I think maybe Bob Probert? 

I had to ask my mom what in the heck we were playing with and it turns out that it was a scope that obstetricians used to listen to a baby's heartbeat. The doctor would put the ear pieces in and then press the other part to the woman's abdomen. I believe Jeanie and I were at the birthing center where Nathan was about to be born.

At first I just thought this was a cute family Christmas picture, but then I noticed I was holding a hot water bottle. What the heck--?! I'll have to ask my mom about this one.

And there you have it--some fun family photos ;)

And this news is just in... my new nephew was born today! Remember when I went with my sister-in-law to her embryo transfer back in August? Well, the embryo transfer took and now I have another nephew! His name is Hunter and he was born at 2:11 PM today; he was 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 21 inches long. I'm excited to see him!

Well, I spent all evening at Eli's baseball game and I'm starving, so I'm going to make some dinner. Have a great weekend! xo

(Here is the post with a bunch of the awful hairstyles I've had through the years...)

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Ice Cream Flavored Macaroni & Cheese

I had full intentions of writing a blog post all about the nerdy running plan that Jerry and I are going to start. I spent a LONG time working on it and I'm excited to get started! But I'm going to have to hold off on that post because it's already almost 9:00 PM and I still have a ton of things to get done before bed. This whole day went by so fast!

I just realized I haven't even eaten since breakfast--that's how you KNOW I've been busy, haha. 

I will share a funny story that happened today, though. I had too much going on to start working on dinner, so Jerry said he'd make dinner. I told him he could make homemade macaroni and cheese for him and the kids (easy enough). Well, when it was done, he told me that he really screwed something up because it tasted like ice cream. Hahaha! Yes, ice cream.

I asked what the heck he put in it, and he said he used almond milk because we didn't have any regular milk. I don't buy cow's milk anymore because I always end up throwing it out (it rarely gets used). The last time I bought almond milk, they didn't have unsweetened and since I just use it for oatmeal and cereal, I bought the regular stuff (which is slightly sweetened).

So, poor Jerry used the almond milk to make macaroni and cheese. While it tasted like ice cream, the boys were all definitely grossed out and it went in the trash. I should have thought of it when I told him to make the macaroni and cheese, but I haven't made mac and cheese since I started eating vegan, so it didn't occur to me.

Anyway, I will write more this weekend (sometimes Jerry reads my blog and I don't want him to read it before I'm done working on this way-too-big project I started way-too-late in the day).

But as a quick update: Phoebe is doing good! She despises getting the subcutaneous fluids, so we started doing it every other day (when she starts pacing between water bowls, I know it's time to give her fluids). But she's been eating (her usual tiny amount) and she's gotten much more affectionate with me. She's actually sleeping on my bed as I type this, and she never does that. I've been taking her outside a few times a day and she LOVES it. Today she rolled onto her back in the sun and just soaked it up. I honestly believe that going outside is what perked her up enough to step away from death's door last week. 

Okay, I really have to go get some stuff done before bed. Here is today's random fact!

This is interesting to me for two reasons: 1) I had NO idea that happiness could be genetic; and 2) that only 10% of happiness is due to life circumstances. I would have thought those numbers would be reversed at least. I'm not sure how to verify this, but maybe when I have more time I'll look it up. 

(Sorry for spelling or grammar errors--I'm not going to read through it tonight.) Good night!

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Wednesday Weigh-In: Week 47

Don't you love that Phoebe is in this picture? (Along with Chick, of course, but Phoebe is never in my mirror selfies!)

Week 47?! That means only five more weeks until I've been doing this for a whole year. By "this", I mean counting calories and running again to drop the weight I gained in (mostly) 2018-2019. I had *really* hoped to be at my goal months ago, but when I started this last May, I really didn't think I'd stick to it for very long. So, I'm just grateful that I've made a ton of progress.

Well... this week wasn't so good. In fact, I didn't count a single calorie this week! I could come up with several reasons, but if I even start to list them, they will certainly sound like excuses. I've had a lot going on emotionally and I've had a very busy week. But mostly, I've just been snacking way too much after dinner.

I need to knock that off! My plan for the whole month, actually, was to stop eating after dinner. Our spring schedule is so wacky that trying to plan a dinner to cook has been really frustrating. Whenever I do cook, it seems like nobody is here to eat it; and then when I think, "Why bother cooking?" the kids are asking what's for dinner. I know what I need to do--I need to plan better and make use of my crockpot--but it's a matter of just doing it. I'm sure many of you know how that is!

Anyway, I knew the scale wasn't going to be my friend today. I had a great weigh-in last week, but today, well, not so much:

It's no surprise to me that I was back in the 150s again. I was at 149 last week, so I'm up 3.6 pounds.

Since I have my DietBet weigh in on May 1st (or 2nd at the latest), I definitely don't want to feel like I have to drop five pounds overnight. Today, I worked on making a 10-day challenge. I told Jerry last night that I wanted to do 75 Hard, but for only 10 days and I wanted it to be relatively easy. So I'm doing 10 Easy instead of 75 Hard--I should get a shirt that says "I completed 10 Easy" when I'm done, hahaha.) My list?

• Eat roughly 1600 calories a day. 
• Exercise 30 minutes per day in the morning. 
• Read 10 pages.
• Write in my five-year journal.
• In bed by 10:00 PM.

That may not look like much, but I think that if I can do that for the next 10 days, I'll feel really good about myself and ready to keep moving forward.

I spent some a LOT of time working on a new running schedule for Jerry and me. Usually, I like to write my own schedules, but this time I am doing a heart rate based training schedule using the base workouts from the 80/20 Running book by Matt Fitzgerald. I chose the Beginner 10K plan because it looks like what Jerry and I want to work on--we aren't looking to train for a race or to set a PR or anything, but just something to keep in running shape. It looks simple enough!

It only took me so long because there is a lot of flipping back and forth between pages of the book (this is *not* a Kindle-friendly book, by the way--if you read it, and I highly recommend the book, you definitely want the paperback version). I typed all of the workouts into a spreadsheet to make it easy to read.

It's six days a week, but a few of the days can be easy cross-training, so I'll probably use those days to do my old five-mile walking route with Joey. But I'll post more about the plan tomorrow.

Okay, so I had a bad weigh-in this week, but I made a plan for the next 10 days (at least) to get back into good habits. I feel gross after eating too much all week. (I'm still eating completely vegan, though!)

Here is today's random fact of the day:

This sounded so bizarre that I had to look it up. Here is a quote from this article:

"His job title is somewhat unusual: ikemeso danshi, or 'handsome weeping boy'. He runs sessions with the sole purpose of making people cry.

'Japanese are not used to crying in front of people. But once you cry in front of others, the environment will change, particularly in a business.'

The idea is to show off your vulnerability - when others see that, it's supposed to bring people together so they work better as a team."

I would be so good at that job! Hahaha, I cry over everything--even Hallmark commercials--so it wouldn't take much to get me sobbing over movies about dogs dying(!)--yes, that was an example. But what an odd way to bring people together! I like the American way of team building exercises like working on getting out of escape rooms ;) 

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Transformation Tuesday #67

I've been dying to go outside and do some transformative work on our yard and the exterior of our house, but with this weather (the rain, wind, snow, and cold) I am just going to have to wait even longer. I was itching to work on something today, so I took some before pictures of a couple of projects. One of them only took three minutes to transform; the other is going to take longer, so I'll have to wait on the "after" photo. It took a much more time than I thought and I'm not even halfway done!

Anyway, here is probably the tiniest transformation I've ever posted, but it made a world of difference in something I was just going to throw away. My cats have several nail scratchers (to avoid them scratching the furniture) and this one is probably the least used. Once in a great while, Chick or Phoebe will actually play with the ball in there, and when I put catnip on it, Estelle likes to use it to scratch her nails. However, the cardboard was totally shot--there was no way it was even working for their nails anymore.

Before I threw it away, however, I tried to lift the cardboard out to flip it over--it had NEVER occurred to me to try that before!--and it was like a brand new toy. It looked perfect.

There was a ton of catnip underneath, too. We sprinkle catnip on top of it sometimes, and it obviously fell to the bottom. While such a small transformation, this was totally satisfying, haha.

So, that's my little transformation to share! (And I would feel bad not throwing out this little PSA at the opportunity: Please don't declaw cats! I've owned a LOT of cats in my life, and as long as you trim their nails once in a while and have appropriate places for them to scratch, they will leave your furniture alone. I just get sad when I hear of cats being declawed, so I like to mention it when I get the opportunity. Okay, let's carry on...)

Here are a couple of readers' transformations as well. Enjoy!

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This is not a very dramatic transformation but I was so sick of digging through my pans when I needed one of the larger ones on the bottom. So I bought these little pan organizers and I love it! Can just grab and go, ready to cook! 

- Amanda, Wisconsin

Amanda, I love this! You have no idea how many times I organize my pots and pans only to find them thrown in there all willy nilly. It drives me crazy! I really need some of those organizers. Looks great! -Katie

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I had submitted a bathroom redo in the fall (Transformation Tuesday #47) and I guess I've been bitten by the bug... decided to spruce up my home office as well since I spend so much time in there! We painted (a slightly different shade of white, lol) and added some funky peel and stick wallpaper.... which I also used on the back of my million year old bookcase to give it new life. Some new throw pillows and some tidying and it feels much more welcoming!

- Krissie, Ontario, Canada

Krissie, I LOVE the wallpaper! I don't know if I'd ever be brave enough to try wallpaper (yesterday I was looking through old pictures from the 80s when I was a kid and I couldn't believe the wallpaper, haha!). Yours looks so sophisticated and I love that it's only the one wall--not overpowering. he room looks so cozy!  -Katie

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We discovered ants in our pantry and just had started unloading when I thought to take a picture.  The biggest transformation is that the second shot contains no critters!

- Antless Angie

Angie, I feel your pain! We sometimes get those tiny little ants in the spring. They seem to come from nowhere! I love how nice and organized your pantry is. I have a large pantry that I love but it's totally disorganized most of the time. Glad to hear you are now "ant free" ;)   -Katie

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Thank you for including your transformations! Cleaning and organizing feels so good when it's done, doesn't it? Please keep the transformations coming so I can keep posting :)  If you've transformed something--anything, even if you think it's boring (like my cat scratcher!) please share. Just send a before photo and an after photo to me at: katie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com. Include your name and a description of the transformation. Can't wait to see what you come up with!

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