We speak different languages

I've realized that my boss and I speak different languages.

Every time that he and I talk about something he wants my input on he doesn't understand what I'm saying and I cannot make any sense of what he is saying. So I must assume that we aren't in fact speaking the same language. It's the only way I can think to explain the fact that we generally get frustrated trying to work together on something.

So what's an employee to do?? Shall I play the "So what I hear you saying..." game with him every time? I thought I had good communication skills but he is making me doubt that. I used to be able to speak to all sorts of people. From IT to customers to manufacturing staff. Seems like a broad section of the world, right? But for some reason boss and I don't seem to be able to speak to each other in what I feel is a productive manner.

I have got to work on that because it bothers me and I can't expect him to change. Any tips would be very much appreciated!!!

Housekeeping. Would you like turndown service?

A while back I promised a picture of my new bedroom quilt. I am finally going to make good on that promise.

I only bought the quilt, not the pillow shams. It's got just about every color in the world in it so I'm hoping that no matter what color I end up painting in there it will work.

I Know You Want to be Crafty

One of my favorite design and inspiration blogs is Design for Mankind. She has GREAT taste so when I saw her posting for a Craft Inspired Pay It Forward I immediately wanted in. Lucky for me I am one of her winners!!

So here's what this means for you:
I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don't know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week,but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.

I'd love it if this didn't stop with me since I did a bit of investigating and found that this idea has practically circled the globe. By backtracking links I got from America to the UK to Norway, Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, and finally Hungary.

So join me in the crafty fun!

Two More Tables for Troy to Consider

These two little tables from Victoria Hagan for Target are really cute and have gotten rave reviews on the web site. And the price could not be better, only $79.99 ea.

This is Darby. She's 20"H x 18"W x 18"D.

This is Katie. She's a little bit smaller than Darby. 18.9" x 15.67" x 21" (not sure which dim is which on this one, perhaps H x W x D but it doesn't specify.)

Don't you think Troy needs a girlfriend instead? I'm leaning toward Darby. She's just so adorable.

What Do You Think Troy Would Like?

Since Troy is going to arrive a few weeks before I thought he would, I need to find myself a new coffee table and quickly. The Ottoman that has been serving as my coffee table for the past 3 and a half years is going to belong to my brother along with the Chair and Couch.

Which of these do you think Troy would like to share the Living Room with?

There's the Red Stow Leather Storage Ottoman from Crate & Barrel. Stow is 17.5" square and 17.25" tall.

Or what about this little Alden Cube Table @ JC Penney? Alden measures 20" square and 19" tall.

Or the Durham Coffee Table at Pottery Barn? He measures 37" in Diameter and is 18" tall.

(Yes all of my furniture is male. If they insist on giving them human names I'll just have to keep giving them a gender.)

What I'd really like to do is find a basic coffee table, preferably round or oval, that Stow could stow under when I wanted him out of the way. In my little imagination that seems like it would look cute. Can you picture it too? As soon as Troy arrives I'll be sure to take a picture of him. That way you can vote on which you might like best. You will vote won't you?

On another note, I believe I've decided on a paint color. It's Dutch Boy Gull Green DC440. I used it as an accent wall in the den in my condo. It was a really nice color and I like the way it looks next to the swatch of Troy's fabric. It's a sort of blue-green. I've been wanting a blue but none of them seemed to look right. Hopefully Gull Green will.

This weekend I hope to finish removing the crown molding, paint the ceiling and perhaps I'll get the walls done too. As long as my arms don't fall off I'll just keep on working on it.

It's a Couch That Makes Me Happy

My cell phone started ringing as I walked to my car after work today. It was a number I didn't recognize. I answered and it was Crate & Barrel calling (more accurately someone from Crate & Barrel) to schedule the delivery of my new couch!!

Troy is on his way to my home some time on November 3rd! That's only a little over a week from now. Something like this probably shouldn't make you giddy with excitement but it has.

The other thing it has done is freak me out. There are still so many things I need to finish in the living room that I thought I would have finished before Troy's arrival. I still haven't even picked a piant color!

So this means I must kick things into high gear this weekend. I've got to paint, reroute the cable wire (this involves going under the house YUCK!), finish assembly of my new TV stand, and then buy the new TV.

I hope I get this done before Troy arrives so he isn't ashamed of his new home.

Retail: The Other Therapy

Yesterday's attempts to lift my mood included leaving work at 1 PM, heading straight home and onto my couch for a two hour nap then heading to IKEA @ 6:30 for some Retail Therapy.

While the nap and last night's sleep helped a bit I'm certain the retail therapy also had it's benefits. My intent while at IKEA was to look at the Bjorna Bench and the Besta Shelving Units. They had the Bjorna bench in stock but didn't have any on the floor so I could see what it looked like. So that got crossed off the list. It was down to the Beech or Black Brown Besta.

In the end I chose the Black Brown 2 by 2 unit which will house my DVR, DVD player and an LCD TV (when I actually buy an LCD TV). Then next to that I'm going to put the Black Brown tall narrow unit for DVD's and various items. I also bought some legs that will raise both of the units off the floor about 4 inches. Should be really cute. I'll post a picture as soon as I get them put together. I tried to PhotoShop them into something but I can't figure out how. Must learn more about PhotoShop soon.

Now if I could just figure out what color to paint this room I'd be nearly there.

Sleep I Blame You

A study done at UC Berkeley found that:

"While we predicted that the emotional centers of the brain would overreact after sleep deprivation, we didn't predict they'd overreact as much as they did," Walker said. "They became more than 60 percent more reactive to negative emotional stimuli. That's a whopping increase—the emotional parts of the brain just seem to run amok."

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. SO THERE! Ok so perhaps my somewhat decent night of sleep last night didn't ease all of my emotional issues. But on the plus side I don't feel as though I want to tear everyone's heads off or cry my little eyeballs out today. So that has to be a step in the right direction.

So it's ok to talk to me today, I promise.

And a Sigh of Relief

Before and After! (Remember the Before is actually Molly's house flipped in PhotoShop)

Drywall, Part Deux

I'm still the girl living in the bubble today. He wasn't able to finish last night like he thought. So he's coming back later this afternoon to sand and spray the texture.

Here's how it looks right now.

And hopefully by the end of the day today it will look DONE!!!