Unashamedly Asking for Money

Recently one of my favorite nephews contacted me to donate money to his school.  Evidently they need things like pencils that their local taxes don't provide.  So the students were going to... walk and ask friends and relatives to give them money for... walking.  I donated to the cause because he is one of my favorite nephews, he wrote his own name on the donation request, I did not have to choose an overpriced item from a brochure full of things I did not want, and I believe children should have pencils.  There was no stipulation how far they had to walk.  I think the campaign would have been just as effective and slightly more interesting to me if they had just decided to stand still.  I know there were days when my own children were that age that I would have gladly paid them to be still.
On Saturday I have signed up to wog 5K for the benefit of Big Brothers Big Sisters.  When I sign up, I get to make my own web page and then I get to ask friends and relatives to donate money because I am...wogging.  (A combination of walking and jogging propelling me forward at a pace just slightly faster that standing still.)  So if I am one of your favorite friends or relatives, you don't need any more things and still have money left over, and you believe children should have brothers and sisters you can go here and donate to the cause.
Plus I win a prize if I have the most donations.

Out of the Funk

Turns out wearing green helps reduce funk symptoms, and may even facilitate destruction of doldrums.  Good thing I own a few green things.

Happy, Happy, Happy

Happy my family is not on a reality TV show.
No one needed to see what I emptied out of the dryer lint trap today.
Just saying.

Two Happy Things

1.  End of AWANA year/little boys who bring me gifts
2.  Evening at home/laundry caught up

THE BIG REVEAL

The big bathroom reveal.  Come right in.  **This is where you clasp your hands over your mouth and say Oh My Goodness over and over.**  The tub and shower went back in the same spot they came out of.  None the worse for wear.  Hopefully, without the stinking leak behind the wall. (in faith believing...)

The window closet door is new.  There was not a closet here at all. Just an awkward wall and skinny useless space.  The closet is one of my favorite parts of the bathroom redo.  Kudos to the STP for remembering I had this window in the garage and to the adept carpenter who framed it in a wall that didn't quite exist.

This wall was moved just a little, and the vanity was replaced.  Because the old vanity had no character.  None.

And the view from the throne:  The new vanity was rescued from the used furniture store in Dodge City during the Christmas parade.  Character plus.  Painted and replaced the hardware.  Thought about distressing it, but figured that will just happen naturally over time.  Kudos to the Charlie, the plumber who plumbed this so cleanly.  Maintained use of both drawers.  No ugly pipes showing.

Two sinks with fancy pants faucets.  The STP chose these.  We added the fancy pants magnifying mirror for the STP.  I accidentally looked into the 8X magnifying side.  I will never make that mistake again.

The STP built this towel rack to my specifications.  He is awesome.  Just saying.

Because all my closet clutter is still not moved back downstairs, I will show you the inside of the closet.   And in the interest of full disclosure you should know that the toilet paper is still sitting on the back of the toilet.  The curtains need re-hemmed and the sewing room looks like this:

Lets keep this part just between us, okay?  But keep your eye on that chest. It may reappear in the bedroom reveal.

Bite Their Heads Off

The STP denies he has a pinterest account.

Nonetheless, he added 100 flexible straws, whipping cream, and raspberry jello and Knox gelatin to the shopping list.

A few cups of boiling water and a few drops of green food coloring, and he had what looked for all the world like a bowl of pureed worm guts.

Ready to pour pureed worm guts.

After a few hours of refrigeration and some appropriately messy worm extraction techniques...

Voila!  Worms of the edible variety.  Sure to delight a handful of little boys.

Even more effective served in a bowl.

Several notes:  The STP's fishing buddy is trying to figure out how to make these in a flavor that will entice large trout.  I will not be the taste tester for that.  

And don't forget: Throw the skins away.

Yesterday's Happy Thing

Refusing to let THE FUNK get the best of her, Ms. Brenda travels back in time to discover a happy thing from yesterday.

Yesterday's Happy Thing:  The bathroom project is (essentially) complete.   2

After almost nine months, you wonder how I could have missed this. Ah, the power of THE FUNK.

 **Look for pictures here later today.  Like any 'new baby' pictures, they are not all they could be, they don't capture the true wonder, but they record the end of a nine month wait.  And we're pretty proud of the result even if it just looks like a bathroom to everyone else.

Funky Town

Been in a funk for several weeks. (Jen Hatmaker calls it the doldrums.  But 'down in the doldrums' is way less of a back from the dead blog title.)   Doing what needs to be done.  Minimally.  At the last possible moment.  Plans to dig my way out have been less than successful.  So this week I will try singing and dancing my way out of the pit (and actually getting up off the couch). And I will attempt to list at least one happy thing a day.

Today's happy thing: Buds on the lilac bush.
 
Note:  I changed this blog title before I hit Publish. But if I were not putting this out on the web, you know, if this was just between me and God Himself, I would so have titled this What the Funk.  God would not have been as amused as I was, but I think He would understand.

The Big Reveal???

Good News:  There is running water in the bathroom.
Bad News:  It is running over the new floor under the new vanity and around the toilet.