Is Striving for Perfection a Flaw or Just Anal Retentive?

I'm anal.
There, I've admitted it, and so now moving on...

That admission is for my husband who never criticizes me for trying to make things perfect (in my eyes). It actually only becomes a problem when I stay up too late at nights scrubbing or tidying so that I don't have to look at the "mess" in the morning, which puts me off right away at 7:30 am. It becomes a problem when I agonize over unfinished business while laying in bed (insomniac), or while I'm driving on the highway (daydreamer).
It really becomes a problem when I fight with my annoyed husband, who is overloaded at work and trying not to be overwhelmed by little finishing touches on this reno during a day off...while his phone continually rings, btw!
Thankfully we move past things very fast and move on with the whole ordeal. Right hun?
So what am I anal about?
I can't stand trying to fix up mistakes made by past homeowners, which of course has happened in each and every house we've bought. In the process of nit-picking at every little detail I've lost sight of what the house looks like as a whole, overall, and am focusing instead on the little mistakes. Some we have managed to fix ourselves, and others the only solution is to completely overhaul the problem, which is something I neither want to do or spend the money on.
I've been known to stay up at nights until whatever I'm working on is perfect to me, be it touching up paint, or wiping down cupboards or walls. I never used to be like this: as I'm reading what I've wrote I realize I sound a bit obsessive/compulsive. Lord knows my family doesn't need another one of those, so I am sticking with anal retentive...don't judge me :).
When I sell this house I want it to look great inside and out, and I guess I'm anal about that too. I want prospective buyers to view this house and see the amazing things I saw in it when we bought it 4 years ago. So sometimes I walk through it and try to see the house through their eyes. But then my eyes are drawn towards irregularities that, while someone else probably won't notice, I can't stand. Thank goodness for Mr.Clean Erasers: they have been my lifesaver these last weeks with scuff marks and crayon (thank you children).
I feel accomplishment in what we've done to our home, but I suppose I wish we could do more. To do more would be a waste of time and money, and so now I'm ready to just let it go.
In the last 4 months this house has felt more like home to me than in the last 4 years. There is a peacefulness about it that settles around me and brings me comfort. I will miss that, and I hope that I can settle in to the new house just as easily.
I adore moving; I love packing, unpacking, cleaning up the old house for the new people and putting my stuff in it's new special place. I like the changes a move brings, the new feel of a new place, and the adventure of setting up a home. This may come from having moved around so much in my life: I lost count at 18 times. Once I'm settled in for a while, I get itchy feet and become vaguely bored with my surroundings, at which time I usually start to change something in the house or the yard. Once that has been exhausted, I feel the need to move. Hopefully this will slow down as I get older, or else I will turn all that energy into travelling...something that is sure to bring change and adventure! Then, when I return from some far off land (probably Turtle Lake), I will open my front door and be glad that I'm home.

the beginning of refinishing the stairs on Friday

halfway done

stairs finished Wednesday, minus the trim work.

Winter has arrived. In March.

Yes, old man Winter finally paid us a visit, and dumped about 5 inches of snow yesterday. In fact, I even saw the first ski-dooer last night enjoying the new powder, at 10:30 pm as it sped down my road. Ah only in rural Saskatchewan can you enjoy that.
And speaking of new powdery snow, I finally think I solved our neighborhood's problem regarding drag racing teenagers stunting down our road every day at lunch and after school!
I stood outside with Charlie while she played in the snow, and I just happened to have around my neck my camera; huge zoom lens glinting in the sunlight. As the kid came zipping around the blind corner at the end of my street, truck ass sideways as he enjoyed the ride around the corner, I just happened to click the shutter. And again. And again. Oopsie...before I knew it I was snapping away like the paparazzi, with the electronic "ch-cheee, ch-cheee" ringing in my ear each time I took a shot. As he sped by me, knowing that he'd been caught, he tried to hide his face. I just kept on snapping. It was actually quite funny. I must have taken 15 shots in succession! Ha ha!
I uploaded the photos on the computer, and was amazed...I not only got the licence plate, which is really what I was after besides the make of the truck, but I also could count this little man's freckles on his face! Each and every one.
So with my evidence safely saved on my USB, I will wait for him to get the courage to dare to drive like that down my street again. When he does, then I will give the pictures to the proper higher power.
The problem with these teenagers is that they blow through the stop signs in the school zone with no regard to the kids who are walking home. In fact, last year, I was picking the kids up and had just ushered them across the road to my van when the teenagers came ripping around the corner and hit the ditch where my kids and their friends were standing not 5 seconds before. They weren't even in the van yet! I turned to give the kids a piece of my mind but the car was gone again.
Since then it's gotten worse, and I'm not sure what the lure of my street is to these kids! If it's not every day this kid drives down it, it's at least 3 days a week, at noon and after school!
Yes my attempt at being a spy could have backfired on me...I could have my tires slashed, our property damaged, or worse...this I understand. But I'm more concerned about my children's safety and the other kids on this block. There are 12 children who live on our street, not including the other 7 who are adjacent to us. All it takes for action to take place is a child to be hit, and then it's too late in my eyes.
Our best friends in the city have this problem too...they have huge barricades next to the curb to warn off the jerks who cut the corner. I wish I could put barricades at the end of my street!
I would like to go to this kid's parents, but after Mike and I studied his face we still don't know who he belongs to. So, after already having made a complaint to the RCMP to no avail, I will just take the USB to the high school principal and go from there. I'm not sure how much he will be able to help, but, until children get home from school, they are the school's responsibility. So far, the truck hasn't been down our street this week! Maybe my evil plan worked!

AHHHHHHH. There, what a purge! I think I'll leave it at that for the day. Have a good weekend!

I Can See the Light! Yay!

 We're more than halfway through our renovations before selling the house, and we are all loving the look of it...almost enough to stay! I said "almost". :)
The trim work is done, with a few nail holes and paint touch ups left, which I'll get to today amid my laundry folding. Mike re-hung the last of the newly painted doors downstairs, and I need to finish painting some baseboards down there yet, but we started on removing the carpet from the stairs. And that is a yucky chore that we were almost regretting. The carpet is over 30 years old however, and needs to go...it's dusty, tromped down shag that would have been all the rage in 1982. We're covering the stair treads in stained oak...after we get rid of the nails and staples that is. Of course when you start removing that kind of thing you always have to fill unsightly gaps with some nice trim boards or something, because the left side of the staircase has a gap where the drywall didn't quite meet it.

We have found the area we'd like to build a house in, and with that in mind have also picked the school the kids will go to. It's a pre-kindergarten to grade seven school, with the high school that they would be going to just around the corner from where we will build. I'm loving the idea that, while they will get bused to school during elementary, they can walk to high school easily. That being said, we'd be renting a condo or townhouse while we build, and if we aren't lucky on the location the kids will need to be driven to school for the first year. It's an experience that we're looking forward to going through...picking out colors, carpet, and cabinets and for the first time ever letting someone else do all the work!

Some examples of things we love, without giving too much away:

chocolate subway tile in kitchen 

light lino

kitchen countertop in quartz on top of dark cabinets

contrasting kitchen island counter top in quartz, and in butler's pantry, on top of ivory cabinets

my very own butler's pantry, minus the window..a place for appliances, toast making and cookbooks, as well as tons of storage

trim work darker than the wall...love all this storage for backpacks and shoes

carpet

As you can tell, I'm much more excited about the kitchen than anywhere else...I'm fine with style and design as long as it's functional and practical. But the kitchen...that is my favorite place to be, and so I'm putting all my eggs in one basket and having what I like in there. Thankfully my ideas mesh with Mike's, and so we're on the same page in that area. And of course, I'll definitely keep you posted on this!

"Fame" Dance Pictures

Something that was new to me this year was putting on the proper makeup on Jacelyn for pictures and then again on recital day. I'm used to picture day being on recital day, therefore only dressing up and applying makeup once. But she did great, and sat for an entire movie length for me to do her hair. Yes it took an hour and a half to curl all that hair. It was cute in the end, and she liked bobbing around to feel it bounce. A lot of parents used hair pieces and wigs I noticed last night, probably so that they didn't have to put their kids through all the curling and bum-numbing sitting. But I like the natural look of Jacelyn's own hair so she'll just have to suffer. The makeup thankfully only took less than 10 minutes, most likely because I use it all everyday and so I sped through pretty well. Recital day is two months away and already I'm so excited to see all the kids dance on stage. Jacelyn never practices her hip hop routine at home, but her feet are constantly tap-tap-tapping around the house on our hard laminate. I suppose that is a sign, and I won't be putting her in hip hop next year. She loves to tap and she loves Jazz as well, and so we will stick with those. She also wants to get into gymnastics, ever since her friend invited Jacey to watch during friendship week at the gymnastics club. Ah big plans for the "big city".

Hitting the Slopes

Brandon went to Table Mountain yesterday to try out his new snowboard. He got in a lesson and practiced his heart out. By mid afternoon he was able to go down the hill and only fall a few times. Glad he is trying something new. He can't wait to go again, and we will have to get in as much hill time as we can from now until it closes for the season.

Brandon Plays

Here are some new (and old) pieces Brandon has been playing. He's doing so well. His piano teacher gave him his recital piece to begin practicing as well, and so he has been plucking away at it. We're proud of you buddy!

Bring on the Renovations

Well, we have started updating the outdated 80's vibe that we had going on in the house, making it ready for springtime showings when we list the house this spring. It is a bit of an undertaking, but we knew that in order to sell the house the interior would have to be finished off properly...and that means new doors, trim, carpet in the master and some painting.

three new doors down, two left to go!

new carpet in the master and walk in closet!

 And some painting was definitely needed in the basement, even though it seems like we just did all of that not too long ago! The kids are famous for their "Bombs Away" attempt at cleaning up toys...and throwing them down the stairs. The spackle job was huge, and I walked around filling forever. Mike sanded the other day, and we'll give it all a fresh coat of paint. The rest of the house is painted with Ralph Lauren paint, which is no longer available, and so color matching is pretty much out of the question. Which is probably ok, considering the next owners will want to repaint anyways to make the house their own.

oh the holes, holes, holes, HOLES!

whiter is brighter...especially in a dark hallway

So, with a few more doors left to put on, and trim for the rest of the house (the living room is the only room finished so far), and the little bits left over like some new face plates and other aesthetics, we will be ready to take some pictures and put the house on the market. If anyone you know is wanting a 1500 square foot 4 bedroom house in Maidstone, be sure to send them our way!

Rest in Peace Whitney Houston...I Will Always Love You

The heartbreaking news of Whitney Houston's passing shocked and stunned me yesterday when my aunt called to deliver the news. I have always been a fan of Whitney, and who doesn't remember her performance in "The Bodyguard"? That voice, those white teeth, and of course, her remake of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You".

Being a wild child of the 80's, and a huge fan of 70's and 80's music, I had all the must haves in music playing on my ghettoblaster at any given time. Best of all I remember my "Greatest Love Of All" tape, and putting on my mom's makeup and curling my hair into corkscrews just like Whitney's to lip sing into my mirror to "How Will I know". I knew every word.

So this video, while hard to find, was like listening to my past. It's of Whitney, fresh on the music stage in 1986, singing my favorite song. The world will miss such a beautiful talent.

And of course, this 1994 clip of Whitney, the year she won a grammy award for "I Will Always Love You". I dare you to listen without a tear in your eye. 

Scrapbook Corner

Papers and elements: Mary Mary Contrary @2ps

Papers, scallop frame and word graphic: Twitterpated and Cupcakes @2ps
Ribbon, flower embellishment, and frame: Shannon Freeman @2ps

School Valentines

I saw a neat article in a magazine about four years ago about different ideas for school valentines. Kids always come home with the same Spiderman and Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse valentines sold at their local Walmart, and it gets a little boring after so many years.
One project that stood out, and even after four years I still thought it was cool, was to take your kid's picture, in a stance where they are holding out their fist towards the camera. Then after you print them off you make a slit at the top and bottom of their fist and slide a sucker through. It looks like they are handing their special valentine a treat.
I stood on a tall stool and angled the camera so that the kids were looking up at me, which made their fist almost as large as their head giving the photo a whimsical feel to it.
They turned out great, and the kids love them too.