Spray paint solves all the world's problems

Really, it does! Cover up the ugly with the color of your choice (Rustoleum's Regal Red is a good one) and watch the old become new again. I coated two of my found shutters and my formerly Army green organizer a happy new shade of red.

I'm not sure what I want to do with the shutters, but right now I'm thinking of them as a place to display Christmas cards during the season. I can just prop them up against a wall. Joel, my dear sweet supportive husband, even suggested using them to display photos. See? He's coming around!

We have a really not-our-cup-of-tea wet bar by the family room, and you see it right as you come through the garage door. This is where the organizer needs to go. It looks like a bunch of magazine holders nailed together, but tidier. (Note to self: post picture 'cause you stink at describing this thing!) So, in preparation, I ripped out the wet bar sink and it's annoyingly tall faucet yesterday. Now we have a clear landing area for all the things we haul through the door when we first enter the house. A clear landing area with a big hole in it where the sink used to be. But wandering around Menard's this morning, I spotted a kitchen display with tiled countertops. We have backer board leftover from tiling the kids' bathroom. We have grout. And we'd only need a box of tile, six feet of bullnose and one corner piece. Oh, and a borrowed tile saw (thankfully, Joel's dad and brother each own the heavy duty tools). I've got myself a project! And I've gained a ton of storage space by cutting off the water pipes and drain inside the lower cabinets. I envision making this whole thing look more built-in and not so pre-fab. I think I'll practice my cabinet painting skills over here, where you don't necessarily expect the cabinets to match the kitchen cabinets. I'm sneaky like that.

And I almost forgot! I neglected to mention that I picked up the treadle-part of a New Home treadle sewing machine in Norwalk's garbage on Tuesday. I've ALWAYS wanted one of those, what with the fancy wrought-iron and all. It was pretty rusty, but nothing a jar of Naval Jelly (that conjures up some weird images) and spray sealer won't cure. The "New Home" is stamped out in brass letters on each side of the treadle, so while I'm entertaining the idea of covering all the rust-damaged patina with flat black, I'm more inclined to just leave it as is. Fabulous.

I'm going to Eddyville tomorrow morning to meet who is likely to become our family pet, the cute little chocolate lab I posted about yesterday. He'll be weaned in two weeks, and then he can come home with us. But, being my anal self, I have to go check out the farm and meet the breeders and feel comfortable about all of this. The kids have already created a list of chores, divvying up duties by their initials. "Poop" is at the top of the list, and "S B E" are each responsible for cleaning up. "S B E" are thinking about names, too, while thinking about chores. "Cocoa" was in the running, but when we found out that only one male remained from the litter, we started leaning towards "Scout". I think it'll be like naming a baby; you just don't know what to call him until you meet him.

Got an hilarious e-mail from my little brother tonight. Laughed until my face hurt. HURT! He is brilliantly funny. I was trying to read it to Joel, in between laughing spells, but Joel just doesn't get it. My family has a very unique sense of humor, and if you don't get it (Joel), I wish you could! My sister-in-law, Shannon, feels the same as Joel. I never knew how warped we all were until we married people from this planet!