Color Blind

My daughter has wanted to paint the walls in her room for years.  Every birthday...every holiday...the only gift she ever requests is that her room get painted.  For some parents that may be the perfect solution to the infamous, "what-do-we-get-her?" question.  For this parent...it's the kiss of death.  I am not crafty.  I am not artistic.  I am not wired for home improvement projects.  After putting off the inevitable for the past six or seven years, give or take, I finally realized that she really meant it when she said she wanted her room painted.  I also realized that it was now or never since she will be graduating from high school in 2 years.

I don't know why I have such an aversion to projects of any sort.  I just.........I don't know.  Am I really that afraid of making a mistake?  Do I run from things that require my total concentration?  These are the sort of questions I asked myself.  These are the sorts of things that ran through my mind these past six or seven years.  Am I really that afraid of change?  Why must I analyze everything?

Anyway....I finally bit the bullet and marched my little self to Home Depot and said, "yes," to the colors my daughter picked out.  That's right...colors...as in, there has to be an accent wall....duh!  So...I've never painted anything other than a rock and a paint-by-number of a butterfly when I was under the age of 10.  I knew, though I don't know how, that I needed that blue tape stuff.  Other than that I was pretty clueless.  Enamel?  Indoor/outdoor?  Topcoat?  Huh?!  Oh, wait?!  I'll need brushes, rollers,....a pan.....uhhhhh.....thinking along these lines tends to make me put off painting my daughter's room for another six or seven years.  Nope.  This time I'm going to follow through.

So....with a bucket...I mean, a gallon, of hot pink paint and a gallon of dark brown paint later I started rolling paint onto my daughter's bedroom walls.  After two fuchsia splats onto my dark pine dining room table chair I recalled the words, "drop cloth."  Fortunately, I am a hoarder.  This means that I had, in my immediate possession, several used, plastic, shower liners.  I was actually starting to get the hang of it.  Or so I thought.  Not one to fret over 'exactness,' I 'accidentally' got a few bright pink 'marks' on the ceiling....oooops!  Then, when my daughter and I 'finished' painting we realized that, perhaps, we should have used wider tape.  Oh well.  Creative expression.....isn't that what true artists have?  When we pulled the blue tape off the baseboards we quickly discovered that it would've been better had we waited for the paint to dry.  No worries....we can 'touch up' later.  (Not exactly sure when 'later' will be).  Also....I kinda forgot where I put the switch plates and outlet covers.  Oh well.  You can hardly see the light switches or plugs since my daughter and I painted them.  We erroneously thought that 'that part' will be covered by the plate/cover anyway,'.....wrong.

Now, several weeks past the 'day of painting,' my daughter's room is very cute and cozy and oh so gorgeous....as long as you don't turn on the lights or plug anything in.  As far as the dangling blue tape above the doorways and along the baseboards...well....we consider that 'decor!'

Olympicoholic

Hi.  My name is The Brooding Chick and I am an olympicoholic.  I'm so addicted that around midnight, when they start replaying the events I've already spent the previous 12 hours watching...I watch 'em again.  I find it quite ironic that I spend all day, every day, watching men and women who are the epitome of good health while I haven't washed my hair since the opening ceremonies.  I think most people, after watching the Olympics, are so inspired and motivated that they immediately implement a heavy workout regime.  Me...I just want to go buy some red, white, and blue fingernail polish.  While most people are mesmerized by the yellow "WR" line sliding across the pool, I was interested in the nail art all of the swimmers were sporting.  Superficial? I think not.  I happen to have a lot in common with the Olympic athletes.  Take, for example, my extreme focus I dedicate to working out (I work outside the home ).  I have a strong desire to want to beat others (especially those who don't listen to me).  I run a race every day...perhaps you've heard of it...it's called "The Rat Race."  Finally, I absolutely, positively, love GOLD!