Painting my house right now. Fiiiiiiiinally finishing. It's been one of those projects that never gets finished, but it does appear that indeed this time it will happen. Mainly 'cause we're paying to have it done rather than doing it all ourselves. :) Pictures soon. I think we've settled on a color from Benjamin Moore (really good paint) called white linen for the majority of the common areas and a color called cameo for the bathrooms. There is an accent wall in the living room that is an olive green and I think we're also going to do that in cameo. Or we are going to have absolutely everything painted in cameo, (minus the bedrooms) because we're concerned that the white linen may be too white. click to enlarge-not my house- but it shows the two colors

We already bought both colors, but may not use the white linen at all. If we decide to go with only cameo, then we'll still have to choose a deeper color for the accent wall. We will possibly sell this house next year and I really just want everything to be cheerful and neutral. I see decorator interior design pictures with exotic colors like "mountain laurel ceilings, silver pine walls, and glacier brown trim" and it usually looks great....but those are typically million dollar houses... and practically any color combination looks impressive. I see very nice model homes (with our work) with ceilings the same or even deeper shades than the walls, but I'm wary of anything other than flat white on the ceilings. I remember when we originally went house hunting, the houses where people tried to be dramatic in their paint colors (almost every room a different color) -it almost always looked crappy to me and would often make the house less appealing in general. I think if you have light colored unobtrusive walls, it leaves open the imagination of the potential buyer, even if they end up painting it differently to their particular taste. If everyone had the time and money to paint and change colors with each season, then strong colors like you see in the pictures below would be more appealing to me, but as I told Rickey, overall I feel that walls shouldn't set the tone of the room so much as your decorating should, which can easily be changed as often as you feel inclined. Leave the color in that.



I love this foyer, and the colors to either side of the entry, but again, this is larger than my home and with a lot of trim work that nicely sets off the colors.

sample pictures

Dylan's room is a dark blue-not the same shade as in the nearby picture- (the shade goes really well with his furniture), our bedroom is an electric pale ice blue with pearl trim, and I'm keeping the dining room that red and gold color for now..*giggle* all this talk about subtle colors and I'm keeping a red dining room...a color that I would have never chosen. We also have another bedroom/office which is a light chocolate shade. We are pretty content with these and will decide what to do with them by the time we sell.

Today I was called in for Jury Duty. There were approximately 200 people there. I had a fairly high assigned jury number, and after filling out a questionnaire, was one of sixty people (5 jury sets) chosen as a possible juror on a criminal case. A serious case. Very.

The selection process was painstakingly long and tedious, answering a lot of general questions (raising your hand if it applied to you) while sitting on hard wooden courthouse benches, then told "Okay everyone can leave, come back in an hour and a half" followed by more sitting on hard wooden courthouse benches, and standing for an eternity in a hall, followed by more sitting on hard wooden courthouse benches. There were 5 rows in order of jury number (low to high) and I was in the 4th row. There were more specific questions asked of those who answered yay or nay to certain general questions. We were dismissed again for another break and came back and sat on....yeah. After what felt like an endless amount of time watching them passing a sheet of paper back and forth between the prosecutor and the defense attorneys, they eventually had their jury. It consisted of 12 people picked from the first two rows. I was completely astonished by one of the jurors they picked. He was an absolute nut. For reals. But one side must have particularly wanted him for that reason, and the other must not have minded. Who knows. Anyway, almost all people swear to the fact that they are sooooo bothered by even being called in and absolutely can't waaaait to be released, but I sort of felt mixed emotions. The waiting sucks, as does the hardwoodencourthousebenches, but it's also intriguing and an honorable duty to me.

This particular case was so heavy, though, that in some way I'm also relieved I wasn't chosen.

I have no idea what will happen this week. I'll keep you posted.

** update: We were given a number to call today with a recorded message, instructing whether or not we were to report in, and if so, what time. The message relayed thanks and that we were all excused for the rest of the term (which is for this week); also, that we will shortly be mailed a certificate of participation and a check for yesterday. I don't know how much $ they will send, almost positive it's something close to standard minimum wage. So... 'tis the end of my adventures in jury duty.

Thinking Outside Of The Imposed Box

I'm reading the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series. Has anyone read them?

Actually, I'm reading one of his books, Guide to Becoming Rich, but also bought the audio series. I'm really impressed by how easily his message is comprehended. Simple, yet extremely informative. It heightens your awareness...helps you to recognize common mindsets of the middle class and the poor and how they hold you back financially.

Some things I've retained so far:

Everyone can be rich...most just don't want to pay the price.

The price of being poor is more.

There is a price for everything....and it's not always measured in money.

Middle class and poor people work hard for their money.

Rich people know how to make their money work for them.

The term "I'm broke" is temporary. "I'm Poor" is a permanent lifelong way of being. If you accept that mentality, then that is what you will continue to be until you change your way of thinking.

The I <3 Gizmo Post

I did a post the other day lamenting the fact that I'm thoroughly burdened by my dog, Gizmo. Just doing the venting that I did, purged me of the weighted down feeling. I kept feeling guilty afterwards that I could even say such things about my little buddy.

I've looked at him with new eyes and fresh resolve and he and I are bonding. He's in like Flynn.

It's October 2007! I seriously canNOT fathom how fast time is flying...I blink and a whole month year has passed.

I live in an area that is so beautiful during the fall; mountains, a large lake, and open fields with picturesque views of the woods. The leaves are just beginning to change and I'm looking forward to taking pictures again as autumn arrives. Last year I got picture happy and ended up making 4 picture blogs dedicated to each season- thinking I would take pictures of the ever-changing scenery during each season. I realized later that it was fall in particular that motivated me to take the pictures. http://the-autumn-blog.blogspot.com/

We've started decorating our yard for the season and Halloween. We got an idea from someone's yard in a nearby upscale neighborhood/golf course and copied it for ours. We bought a large roll- I guess that's what it's called- a 'roll' of hay, and Rickey and I spray painted a jack-o-lantern face onto the front. Ours looks much better than the one we copied. :) (secret heh heh)


I like that it exemplifies both autumn and Halloween.

RANDOM

Just wasn't feeling my last post, so I removed it. Good thing about blogs...you can always redefine things.

I don't really have a topic flowing out of me at the moment...so I'm just going to try and write some random details.

I'm still looking for investment property....two steps forward, one step back kinda thing. I haven't yet landed on the perfect deal...the one that will enable me to flip it and make quick money, or one which will allow me to make a profit each month (being a landlord) over and above the mortgage payment. You have to pay annual taxes and have insurance on the property...so you have to factor that in and then estimate potential repair issues. You can't really factor in an average amount for expected and/or unexpected problems... because they could range from a leaky faucet($) to new carpet($$$$) to serious $$$$$. I've run into plenty of opportunities... many where the tenants are already in place, which is optimal, but when all the figures are calculated, it usually runs pretty even with what my mortgage payment would be and I'm not comfortable with that.
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We are in a housing recession; residential building has slowed tremendously, which has definitely affected our clients and our business, but thankfully, we've adjusted our focus and things continue to function well.
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:) Dylan was inducted into Junior Beta Club. :)
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I'm thinking of getting a ragdoll cat. Everything we've researched about the breed is very positive. They are known for being extremely affectionate and laid back. I may do a post about them later, especially if we do decide to get one. For a while we had two puppies in our home, a Shih Tzu and a Pekingese. I could write a verrry long post about our initial expectations, and the ensuing reality that proved to be too much to handle. Let's just say that after about 8 months of yuppy puppy chaos, we gave them to a nice family and thought that was the end of it. There was a little guilt for abandoning giving them away, but overall, a lingering sense of relief at no longer having to deal with the never-ending responsibility.
Then came a call, "Um, we love them, but together they are just too much to handle...would you mind taking one of them back?" Sooooo, we took back Gizmo, the Shih Tzu, and while we all feel affection for him, at the same time, we still feel burdened at the responsibility of being responsible for him...and there is still guilt to deal with, because we have to crate him a lot due to the fact that he gets into things as soon as we're distracted and consistently likes to sneak places, like to a closet and poop. (Yes, I said poop.) Even after he has recently been taken to do the deed outside. He mostly doesn't mind being in his crate, but I wish we didn't have to use it. I sometimes feel like he would benefit more by living with someone who is home a lot and in need of companionship; able to give him the attention and stimulation he deserves. There are conflicting emotions, and we may or may not eventually find him another owner. We have to think of Dylan's feelings in this, and the example it would set, too. Obedience school may be the next step. Cats are so much more independent than dogs... I still love dogs, but at this particular point...no matter what we choose to do about Gizmo, (most likely keeping him) we still may add a cat to our family.

Gotta run. This post may change...