Almost Done

 Many of you know that I started a project with my friend Laurie in December.  I was first offered the decorating portion and then the painting.  We thought, "Heck, we can do that!".

We quickly learned that 5200 square feet is huge and that we had bit off more than we could chew.

 This is one of our favorite rooms.  A consultation room for clients and staff.  The mirror was a wonderful find.

 It is really hard to get a good picture of the green.  It is Meadow Grass and can look differently under various lights.  We were really worried when we did the 1st coat because it looked like pea soup.  We just had faith that it would be as fresh as we wanted it to be for this modern look of an office.  We also went really "brave" and painted the doors Fired Earth.  Once again "trust" played a big part.  Thanks Laurie for believing in me and for being a great person to work with.  We did a great job together.

 We had to bully the contractor into making the reception desk this shape, but we are so happy we stuck to our guns.

Before:

After:

 In the two corners by the fireplace are TV monitors that fill up the space.  This area to the right of the reception desk is a counter for clients to make coffee, get a drink, etc.  And of course, check in.

 The hexagon window lets people look into the children's play area that is an undersea adventure.  The mural is "under construction".

I absolutely love the artwork above the fireplace.  Gives a bright splash of color.  See the picture above to see how we could put the artwork in there with all that green.  I love this rug.

 I had a vision in my head what the finished project would look like and I sighed a HUGE sigh of relief when it all came together.

 Ben (the dentist) had confidence in me that I sometimes feared, because if it didn't work out, it would all be on me.  I thank him though for his confidence.Believe it or not, but the picture above is the lobby.  Hard to imagine, huh?

 My shoes while we were painting.  I know... what's up with those pants?!
See how the paint looked pea green?

Before:

After:

 The Operatories are original but work well with the new floors and walls.

  The lab is the only place that has different cabinetry, but we had to try and keep the costs down somewhere.  After all, we did go with the wood floors through the entire building.

We used a lot of unique art pieces to pull this place together.  She (Laurie) leans towards ultra modern and I tend to classic, so it was fun to compromise and maintain the integrity of the office.

 Laurie and I fell in love with this sink.  We got mocked by the plumbers, but what do they know.

 I think we need a zebra covered bench for this entryway.  What do you think?  Not the normal white and black, but more of a caramel/tan and black one.

We are still decorating and finishing it up.  It's a lot of square footage that requires some thought to pull it all together.  Laurie was/is a blast to work with and not to mention an extremely hard worker.  We had fun working those late nights painting.  She made it easier for me to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  This was truly a conglomeration of our minds.  We are alike in many ways, but see the same things so differently which helped us both to be much more creative in creating this work space.

Words

I have a propensity for four letter words.  We always imagine the worst when we say "it's a four letter word".

There are a lot of good words that have four letters, but my mind always focuses on the bad ones.

Hence the reason I am going to be repenting till the day I die.

There is another four letter word that has a few more letters than it should.

CANCER

I have friends that have friends or family that have suffered through it and have lost ones to it, but I have never had to experience it that closely.

Until the phone call came last night.  I knew something was up when it was MomE's cell phone.  She never calls me on that phone.

Unless...

My Dad was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer.

It's one of those things that when someone tells about "someone" they know having cancer, you feel so much sympathy for them.  How can they be going through something so awful?  How are they not falling apart?  Just a few questions that cross my mind.  It has always been a four letter word to me.  Something so awful, it shouldn't be spoken.

It's funny that when she told me, I just felt calm.  I didn't know how I felt.  I can't even imagine how they are handling it.  It is so close and personal for them.

My daughter, Nyoka asked me how I was doing today when I told her and I said, "OK" and then I cracked a little.  I started to think about other things.  How much I didn't want my Dad to have to go through this.  My Mom either.  How hard it could be for them both emotionally and financially.  I thought about how this could cinch their not coming to their grand daughters baptism in May.

I feel sad and drained.  IT is not even happening to me and I am emotionally exhausted.

How will my Mom be ABLE to COPE?  She is stronger than me, that's for sure.  She will do as she always does and handle it gracefully, but I will pray and pray that she does not have a hard time with it.

I wish I were closer at times like this.

I am thinking of another four letter word.

CALM.

The LORD will bless them.  He is always NEAR.  Another four letter word.

LOVE.  I feel an overwhelming sense of love towards them.  That is why others grieve when there is tragedy or trials of loved ones.

HOPE.

PRAY

FEEL

NEED

HUGS

TALK

It's nice to be able to think of some "NICE" four letters words.  Maybe they will run out the bad ones that flit around aimlessly in my head and wait for an opportunity for me to open my mouth so they can rush out.

Super Hero Dude

I told Mr. Finn that I have officially arrived this year as an engaged parent.  I think I may have morphed into something else entirely.

I have thrown myself into project after project this year.  Sometimes I think I have the "why" figured out and then it changes.

1.  I enjoy creating things.
2.  It helps me forget about "things" that I can't control.
3.  Lessens the guilt of watching TV if I am doing something.
4.  I love the feeling of sharing with others.

 This is the idea I used.  Visit this website to see all the details. I didn't use the ribbon because it seemed like an extra step that wasn't necessarily needed.  I had to make 37 of them so I was all for one less step.  Especially since I put his adorable face on them.  I just imported it to a photo software program and drew a mask on him.  Love it.

The website for the cape template is here.

Now on to Miss Boo's valentines cards.

Creativity

I love creating things.  At times I crave the desire to make something with my own hands.  That is when I am grateful for all those DIY bloggers out in blogosphere.  They give me the opportunity to make something relatively easily.

It is soothing to spend hours making things.  I don't even know how to describe the feeling.  I wish I could feel that way about other aspects of my life.  It is the only things that can fill up my cup some days.

I found this great idea for a valentine's game on the Idearoom.

 I made mine a little differently.  I thought the dice were way too big so I got smaller and added a cup that I got for a dime at Walgreens to shake them.

 I added a carrying case for the game.  I have been eyeing my ice cream container for a while thinking there had to be a use for that perfect oval shape.

Granted it needs a little work, I think it works perfectly for all the items.  I am going to add a bit of candy and give it to a few friends I know.

The front label is coming off and will just be the hearts.  Thanks to the Idearoom for being so creative.  She has free downloads for the cards and dice numbers.  Makes it so easy.  It does take a bit of time gluing on the dice numbers, but remember... modpodge and then do it some more until it is completely covered under the numbers and on top.

Super Heroes

Our budding young artist, Miss Boo wanted to make a birthday card for her brother.  Birthday in April... but she likes to have a half dozen projects in the works at all times.

She asked me what she should draw for him and I mentioned that he likes super heroes, especially Batman.  Wonder Woman is her favorite so it isn't a surprise she got in there.  I love how Batman is helping her up.  Nice touch for the Dude!

She ran out of room for the Power Ranger, but I think it gives the picture depth.  Really not sure who the super dog is, but I am assured it belongs to Batman.  I told Mr. Finn that I am holding onto this for when she make it big an artist.

His response was that when she is making 2 million per piece of art he will be more excited.  I told him that I bet the mother of Davinci didn't save any of his doodles when he was a kid and boy would they be something to see now.

He was unimpressed with my rebuttle.

I am fascinated with how her creativity is developing and am anxious to see more.

Ah cha-ching

Laurie reminded me on a comment that I poisoned my cat.

You heard me!

Does that make me a serial killer in the making?

Just kidding.

Apparently all of my house plants ARE toxic to cats.

Who knew?!

After a very expensive trip to the vet to get her to stop vomiting, we took the asparagus fern out to the garage.  Did you know that it is not a fern?  Who knew, right?

She still wasn't feeling the best so I googled my other house plant,a Hawaiin Good Luck plant.

Not so lucky for the cat.

We could blame her... she was the one eating it even after she got sick.

The irony is that it is medicinal for humans, but can hurt a cat.

Badly.  It made her upper intestines swell and she couldn't keep any food down.  Thank you steroids and anti nausea medicine.

Now she is sneezing.  CONSTANTLY!

Guess who didn't sleep much last night?  Me either.  I was up with a sneezing cat in my face from 12:30 until 4:30.  I tried taking her to the kids rooms, but I am "Mommy" and therefore all sick things must be attached to my side.  At 4:30 I took her to the Dude's room and told her to "STAY!!".  She did this time.  Hallelujah!

Now, we have the mobile vet coming over in a few minutes.  Apparently constant sneezing means serious things.

Seriously?!