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Archive for Renee Spindle

Another Installment of When Travel Man’s Away…..

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This has been kind of a funky morning. My theory is with a Road Warrior for a husband (aka Travel Man) nothing goes wrong around the house until he is away. Travel Man is in Alabama working this weekend, and there’s a few household glitches I thought I would share with you all.

The patio screen door would not go back on the track. After a new an improved latte in my coffee mug this one is fixed. Just needed some caffeine to get past my frustration on this one.
The washer has a quirky problem. We have a fancy new fangled front loading washer. If certain someone’s do not clean out their pockets properly sometimes things get stuck in this little filter/trap on the front of the washer. This was happening quite often so I got a lesson in how to fix it myself. So of course today, I had to clean out the trap- yuck, smelly water, and now we’re back in business. Who needs a washer warranty anyway.
And my last quirk was that the first latte I made myself this morning had no espresso dripped into it. The filter folded over on itself, and the coffee never dribbled into the milk. This one happened before the previous two.

At this moment, I am happy to report that I got my latte, got everything fixed and in shape, and now on with my family weekend. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, and even if you are not, a Road Warrior is someone who makes their living while traveling from place to place or customer to customer, or job to job. On the road, in the air, not usually by bus or train unless they are in some remote location. My Travel Man is a Field Service Technician, and travels to plants all over the USA for his work. But the details there are a story for another day. Hope you all enjoy your Friday. Mine is much better now. Toodles!

No comments Posted in Around the House, Family, Travel Man, Travels

My Flower Collection

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This is a small collection of flower pictures that I have taken since January. I love taking flower photos, and most of this group was taken at Disneyland. The huge roses, are from my rose bushes in my backyard. Very fragrant roses, love them. This is just a little collection for your springtime enjoyment.

Happy Friday to all.

No comments Posted in Family

DIY Entryway Project – Finito!

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Happy Thursday everyone. Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful week. My sister and her husband are here visiting from Montana, but I wanted to take a few minutes to blog about our finished project. This posting is coming to you in between snacking, and chatting. We finally have our entryway project completed, and wanted to share some pictures with all of you.

First of all a little history on why this project is such a milestone for Travel Man and myself. We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary this year and we have this little list of projects around the house to get done this year. You know the projects I’m talking about the one’s that you have left until you can get “around to it”. Well we’re working on our “around to it” list, and this is one of the projects to get completed. We are ecstatic that this one is coming off of the list. And the reward of the results when this one got done have just been great. It’s like a weight lifted off of your shoulders, because you’ve been wanting to get it done for such a long time.

The before pictures – tile removal, and pre-painting.

Mid Process- Painting Done & flooring in the Works.

Grandma’s Assistant Flooring Complete

The Finish Trim Work

The Finished Product. All done.

The painting technique that I did on the walls was a two-step process. First I rolled on some texture paint, sort of thick, and then got the swirls in the paint with a big 4″ brush. Once that dried for 24 hours I painted over the texturing with a semi-gloss paint. The color is a sea salt blue, and the sheen changes during the day with the light coming into the house. It was a fun process figuring out how I wanted to do the texturing, and I am pleased with how it turned out.

As I told you earlier it’s great to have this project off of our list. Next job we’re tackling is landscaping our front yard. Hopefully we can get this one done before the heat of summer arrives. Happy DIYing to all. What’s the next project on your “around to it” list?

No comments Posted in Around the House, DIY Projects, Family

This One’s for My Mom

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Renee Spindle

I’ve been reminiscing all week about past Mother’s days, and memories growing up, and one memory keeps popping back into my head that I thought I should share.

Growing up in northern Illinois my Mom was a teacher for many years. And for quite a few years she was busy going to night school to earn her Bachelor’s degree. And I’ m sure she squeezed in time for our nightly activities too.

But this memory sticking out in my mind this week is kind of a funny one, now that I think back on it. After school we would all assemble back at home, except for my Dad. He got home right about dinner time. My Mom would say to us , “I need a little nap, I’m just going to lay down for half an hour”, or whatever the time frame was. Oh and she would also remind us that we were not to bother her unless there was some sort of emergency, or something to that effect. I think my memory of this is from when I was 10 or 11, because at that time I remember thinking to myself , a nap before dinner, what is she thinking!!

But, being the well versed Mom and Grandma that I am now I totally realize why she did this. She needed her decompression time from her class, and re-energizing time for what ever activity was happening in the evening. Hats off to you Mom, because you knew what you needed to do to take care of yourself. Just another awesome Mom memory that eventually taught me this lesson (just last year actually); power naps are good, or should I say napping of any kind is good for you to re-charge your Momster battery.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

What your fondest memory or life lesson from your Mom?

No comments Posted in Family, Holidays

Take a Break on Mom’s Day

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Since tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and I know you are all busy today with your weekend to do list just remember Mother’s Day is your day. On Sunday, just stop and take the time and allow yourself to put your Mom duties on pause for a day and just relax. Now I realize for some of you it may be difficult to put yourself in this mindset, but just give it a try.

For all the hats we moms wear it’s nice to be able to just slip off the hat stack and take a breather. The hat stack can be tall and cumbersome sometimes, but taking a breather is definitely necessary on occasion. This is easier for me to say now because my kids are all grown. When they were younger and we had so many activities going on, it would take me a long time to acknowledge that I needed get out from under the hat stack for a bit.

If you get too caught up in your family’s day-to-day activities, and don’t take some time to pause and relax, you’ll make yourself go crazy, be stressed to the max, literally pull your hair out. I fondly remember when my kids were younger locking myself in the bathroom #1 to be able to have a phone conversation in peace and quiet, and #2 to take a well deserved bubble bath.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have always loved my Mom duties, it’s just that sometimes we need a little break. Some of you may have your girlfriend time, others may take time with their own Mom’s, or maybe your escape is a date night. However you escape or should I say rejuvenate yourself be sure and do it on a regular basis. Put the “take a break” date on your calendar if you need a reminder. Just be sure and take some well deserved time for you.

To all the mother and grandmothers, etc. may you have a nice and relaxing day. Enjoy and relax, read your favorite book, or take a nap. To my own Mom – you are the best of the best. A great teacher, friend, and the best role model for your grandchildren. Happy Mother’s Day Mom.