stripping wallpaper, that is! We have a very small master bath in our house- just a vanity, toilet, and shower stall. It suits our needs fine for now, although there are times I wish for a large garden tub!

The previous owners papered this bathroom (sidenote- I despise wallpaper pretty generally, but especially in a bathroom) with a pattern that wasn't something I would have chosen, but certainly something I could live with. And they also did a very good job of hanging the paper itself. The seams were even, and the pattern matched up in all the right places. I told myself when we moved in that I would leave it alone unless necessity called for removal. Well, she called. And loudly. In the form of mold- entire colonies of it.

So a couple of Saturdays ago, I was cleaning the bathroom and decided to "test" a spot to see if the paper would come off. Actually, I don't remove paper in the traditional way with scorers and fancy brand name wallpaper taker-offers. I just peel off the top print layer, then fill a generic spray bottle with water as hot as I can stand it. Next, I spray down one section at a time. Within minutes whole sections come off, sometimes with the help of a little nylon scraper. Anyway, to my delight, the top layer came off beautifully, and I got a bit carried away. I stripped the whole wall. Then Sophia came in and gave me a look that said, "Wait till Dad sees this!!" I hurried to invite her to join me. She was perfect for the job. Her tiny fingers were able to get into crevices mine couldn't. She was quickly hooked!

We continued to strip for an hour or so, and she turned to me and said, "I like us being teamwork, Mom. It makes us feel like we love each other more." Now, she may not have used correct grammar or descriptive phrases to convey her meaning, but my heart sure got the message!

Labels: daughter, home improvement

In our society, no matter how politically correct we strive to be, there are certain places in the house that are considered "male" and "female." Admit it! In our house, the garage or storage shed is generally considered to be the man's domain. But Car Guy Garage has some pretty snazzy items that just might make us women rethink the whole "his" and "her" thing.

One item of particular interest is the pressure washer. What makes this one so cool is that it's electric- no bulky motor to lug around! When I think of pressure washers, the possibilities of use are endless. The obvious one is for car washing. A pressure washer would almost make that chore fun. But let's broaden the scope. Is your deck looking dingy and washed out? Does your driveway have oakleaf stains? Do you need to prep the exterior of your home before painting? You see where I'm going with this. If any of these chores resonate with you, check out Car Guy Garage and see how it can meet your need.

Labels: chocolate, works for me

Please join me in prayer- Life Abundant's baby is coming!!! This baby, like all others, is very special, but this one has been a long time coming and is the answer to many prayers. Pray that Coralie will be able to rest; she awoke with contractions at 3 AM....yikes!

Labels: humor, Kirk, love

So I'm trying a new thing. I found out about this opportunity through another blog, and I have been thinking about it for a while. The company, PayPerPost, does just what it sounds like- it pays you to write. There are many different categories offered, from parenting/family issues to business issues and lots of other things in between. The minimum pay is $5.00 per post, and so far I've seen as high as $20.00 per post. The cool thing is that you can select which things you want to write about. Now some might argue, "Five dollars for a post? I'm worth more than that!" But think about this: if it takes you, say, fifteen minutes to write a blog post, then you are actually getting paid $20.00 an hour. Or, if you choose an opportunity that pays $7.00, then that is $28.00 per hour. How many opportunities do you find like that, and all from the comfort of your own home/laptop? There is a process where Pay Per Post must approve your post, and there are minimum word guidelines to follow. But frankly, I'm excited to see what happens.

As a family, we have been trying to build up an "emergency fund" for things like car repairs, accidents, medical needs, braces, etc. But the amount we have budgeted for that means a very slow growth for that fund. And you know the story: just as you are making headway in building up this fund your mechanic asks, "Did you know your brakes need to be replaced?" or something else just as serious. My hope is that with Pay Per Post we might be able to build up that fund at a quicker pace!!

If this sounds interesting to you, then click on the purple Pay Per Post link to the left on my sidebar. That will take you directly to their website where you can read all about this opportunity in greater detail. If you like to write, and I suspect you do if you have your own blog, then why not check it out?

Labels: finances, PayPerPost