put a smile on your face, make the world a better place

now that you have Vitamin C stuck in your head ... here is something to make you quit thinking about the graduation song.

videos like this make me laugh. alot.

D.I.Y. or should I say, H.Y.B.I.L.D.I. - Part Two

So when I left off yesterday, I had finished removing everything from the closet and was eager to start the installation on Saturday morning.

But after Tim finished tearing down the shelves, he began looking at the closet box. Little did I know, Day One was far from being over. He then asked if he could open it and I told him that would be fine.

And then he pulled out the level and this was about 10 minutes later.

And this was 40 minutes later - drill and level in hand with 2 of the 3 shelves installed.

And this was a little over an hour later. Done.

That's right. A finished closet. Seriously. What I had planned on doing all day Saturday, he did in a little more than an hour. And I didn't have to use a drill or level once.

Seriously?! Can I just tell you how grateful I was to have this done?

Oh and I didn't mention one small little detail that made his project a little more difficult. Our upstairs air is out. So it was probably a good 85 degrees while Madie and I watched my new closet go up in no time. Now that I think of it, that's probably why he put it up so fast... so he could get out of the sauna that is my room! Well after I brought him a glass of kool-aid that I'm surprised didn't send him into a diabetic shock, he wanted to make sure it was secure so he ran home and got some - well I don't know what there called but basically it secures a screw into the wall, so I'll call it a - screw-securers and finished up the project.

After running him out of the house with countless "thank you's" and "you didn't really have to but I am so glad you did's", I was excited to start the next step and probably the most fun for me - putting stuff into the closet! After putting a few things in, switching them around, trying to see how I wanted my shirts organized, I finally got most everything in.

Basically, on the left long hanging side I have all dresses and skirts that I don't wear to work which are on yellow hangers and all the pants and skirts that I do wear to work on white hangers. On the right double hanging side, shirts that I wear to work are on the top right and shirts that I don't wear to work are on the bottom right. And they are all organized by color - lightest to darkest. (seriously, if you don't do this in your closet, you should, because it makes finding things much easier. and it also helps me keep my ocd-ness at bay.) This closet set-up (I hope) will make picking out clothes a little bit easier in the morning now that I can actually see without straining to pull the shirts apart. And now you know entirely too much about my closet. But that's what this is all about, right?

Something else I saw on this great blog I read, was customizing those hanging organizers to fit your space. I love the fact that I can have some things folded but displayed and the fact that the organizer fit perfectly in the space - well that was just a bonus! But when I first put it there it didn't fit so perfectly. If you look at the before pictures from yesterday, you'll see that it was actually a full length size organizer. When I ready this post a few weeks ago (yes, I found inspiration from a post about a baby closet=), I knew I had to remember that if I ever needed to, that I could cut the organizer I had down to the size I needed. So I did. I cut off two or three extra spots that were making the organizer too long and now it looks like it was made for the space!

And how about these baskets? Well the top one - I have absolutely no clue where it came from. I just know it was in my room, I did not purchase it and it was not being used. So into the closet it went! The one below is actually from Lowe's and only cost about $6 which I thought was a great deal and added a little room to for belts and things like that that I didn't want sitting out. Even though the baskets don't match, I feel like they look like they go together in their un-matchy ways. What do you think?

And did I mention that the side of my $6 basket is perfect for headbands? Because it is.

And there you have it. My closet transformation. But I couldn't leave you without a before and after picture could I??? So here we go...

Before (womp, womp...)

and....

After!!!

So that is my D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself) or should I say, H.Y.B.I.L.D.I (Have Your Brother In Law Do It) story.

And the thing that I love (other than not cringing when looking at my closet) is that whole thing only took about 4 hours. Pretty good considering I was planning for 12+.

Now I just have to figure out how to do things just as quickly as my brother in law.

D.I.Y. or should I say, H.Y.B.I.L.D.I. - Part One

(note: please don't judge me by this post. the extreme disorganization was something that I hated and trust me, I am glad to have finally seen the light=)

A full weekend project. Or so I thought.

I recently realized how inexpensive it was to do a closet organizer (and not $100+ like I thought), so I went to the local Home Depot on the way home from work one day this week and bought one organizer with my sights set on a weekend project.

When I began the project yesterday afternoon, I had a two day plan in place.

Day One

1.) Get the required tools needed (level, stud finder and drill) from my brother-in-law.

2.) Put all clothes that needed to be in my closet in there spot and when everything is in, begin removing everything - in order - so that instead of having clothes just all over my room, putting my closet back together later would not take as long.

3.) Remove the shelf and rod that were currently in there.

Day Two

1.) Wake up early and begin to put together my new closet! (Every review I had read said it took about 4 hours to install so I expected 5-6 hours for me since I had no clue what I was doing.)

2.) Put all my clothes back and enjoy all of the EXTRA space.

So with my two day plan in place, I began working on it yesterday around 7 . After I put all of my stuff in, this is what my closet looked like:

dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnnn!

pretty tight fit. and notice the bar starting to bend.

all my shirts... from lightest to darkest.

see the space in between them? yeah, I don't either.

the unorganized shoe collection.

after I removed everything (shoes, bags, shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, etc.) from the closet.

finally empty.

Well, almost empty. You see that piece of wood along the back wall? Well that was what was holding up the shelves that used to be in the closet. And that wood was securely nailed into the wall with about 32 nails, proving for the removal to be a little difficult for me. I tried prying it off for about 10 minutes with a hammer but quickly gave up and went to ask my brother-in-law Tim (who happened to be at our house) to come remove it for me.

So Tim came to the room and it took him all of about 2 minutes (maybe less) to get it off the wall. And then I realized I had finished all of the "Day One" tasks. What a good feeling.

I'm alive

Although this particular Friday wasn't exactly good for me, oh what a Good Friday it is.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Phil. 2:8-11

He is stronger

There is Love

That came for us

Humbled to a sinner’s cross

You broke my shame and sinfulness

You rose again victorious

Faithfulness none can deny

Through the storm

And through the fire

There is truth that sets me free

Jesus Christ who lives in me

You are stronger

You are stronger

Sin is broken

You have saved me

It is written

Christ is risen

Jesus You are Lord of all

No beginning and no end

You’re my hope and my defence

You came to seek and save the lost

You paid it all upon the cross

Bridge:

So let Your Name be lifted higher

Be lifted higher

Be lifted higher

hi there, ole' bloggy friends-o-mine.

I am feeling rather chippa' this evening. Probably because I had one of the LONGGGESST days at work today and I am glad to be out of the office. I don't know why today felt particularly long. But enough complaining.

Can I just talk about my bedroom for a minute. My safe place... my dwelling... it is a MESS. I think I am actually sleeping worse because of how messy it is. (Maybe this is why I had a bad day at work? Oh right... no complaining!) Anyways, any time I go to clean my room, I get distracted. Usually I can clean/organize my room quickly and efficiently. And then 2010 began. Eh, not so much. What is wrong with me? I think I'm becoming distracted by little things going on in my life... my future, frustrations, things that are uncertain. And then there's also things like the Olympics (curling, anyone?) and DUKE basketball. Those haven't helped either.

Oh but these past few weeks haven't been a COMPLETE failure... below is a list of some things I have done.

- made my first Craigslist sale (and no one was killed, +2 points!)

- watched (too much) of The Bachelor

- found two window panels from Pier 1 for $10 (steal!)

- found the best homemade salad combo

- figured out what the LOUD alarm noise in my car was (it's the small victories, people)

- saw this dear one

- worked at least 160 hours

- remade an old Goodwill frame into a fun, new chalkboard (random, yes)

- gotten information about volunteering for a local charity

- ran a 5k in 32 degree weather (my arches still hurt)

- began leading a Bible study on the Power of a Praying Woman

- celebrated Valentine's Day by playing Just Dance for Wii (everyone, BUY THIS GAME!)

- watched this good movie

- almost completed my 2009 taxes

That list makes me feel a little bit better about these last few weeks. Sometimes, you just have to remind yourself of the small things in life.

And then there are stories like this, which really put into perspective how much curtains, movies, and projects don't really matter at all.

"Whatever happens, he says, is God's will, and God has his reasons."

banana bread & burns

Tonight I made my first homemade banana bread loaf and muffins.

I mushed up old bananas. I sifted flour. I chopped up pecans. And I added about 5 or 6 other ingredients that the recipe called for. It was simple really.

And then I burned my arm on the pan.

As much as it hurt for about 3 hours, I kind of like the idea that I might have a scar to remember my first banana bread making experience.

Is that weird?

(note: I should never make banana bread again. - can't. put. it. dowwwwwwn.)

p.s. - does anyone have any tips on how to make banana bread less crumb-y? (no pun intended.)