Three Dogs At Home

What’s Going On At The Dog House?

2013-05-21T23:01:00.001-07:00

Well, not much has gone on at home for the last week because I haven’t been there.

I have spent 8 of the last 10 days at the coast. First with my daughter and then with friends.

I spent Mother’s Day weekend with my daughter in San Diego, where we did our best to boost the economy by doing a bit of shopping.

First it was breakfast in bed. Apparently there was a problem with the a/c in our room in the middle of the night and a repair man had to come up and fix it. I slept through the whole thing but my clever and frugal daughter got our breakfast compted.

It was yummy!

Then it was off for a Whale and Dolphin Cruise. Mothers were free on Mother’s Day. You can’t beat a free breakfast and a free cruise.

I had a total blast on the trip. We got into a group of over 100 dolphins. They were swimming next to the boat as we sprinted through the water. Unfortunately my daughter had a terrible bout of sea sickness. But she was a trooper and did get to see the dolphins while leaning over the side of the boat.

After the boat docked and we were making our way to the car my daughter said she hoped she had not ruined the day. Such a big difference from the way she would have handled the situation even a few years ago. I welled up with love and pride at how adult my baby had become. An adult who is both thoughtful and considerate. I couldn’t have asked for a better Mother’s Day gift.

I was only home for a few days and it was off to Cayucos as a guest of our friends. You have never heard of Cayucos? I am not surprised. It is a sleepy little town on the California Central Coast snuggled between Pismo Beach and Hearst Castle. It is a sweet little town where the beach is always waiting.

This was my view on Saturday afternoon. I couldn’t ask for anything better.

Of course no vacation to Cayucos would be complete without a stroll through town to check out the cute little homes like this little blue cottage.

Then it was out to dinner with our friends where we had fish and chips at Ducky's. What a great time and so relaxing.

Now that I am back at home the relaxing is over. We are trying to refinance our home and I am determined to get the highest appraisal we can.

So while I thought I would be spending the next few weeks posting about my break up with Blogger, I will be putting that on the back burner and sharing the appraisal process with all of you.

Not only have I done my research but I have a punch list of things I want to complete before the appraisal. So stay tuned because the work starts tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

My Vinyl Spray Paint Experience

2013-05-10T00:55:00.001-07:00

Three weeks ago I was looking high and low for a king-sized headboard (to go with my new very comfy bed which deserves an entire post of its own). I had promised myself I was not buying anything thing else but that promise didn’t even get me passed my first stop.

This great office chair had me breaking my vow to look only for a headboard. I spotted this beauty at my local Salvation Army Thrift Store. They usually have great items but they are usually over priced these days so I was surprised that this chair was only $29.

Sure it was a little tired looking but I figured I could fix that with no problem.

There was quite a bit of wear on the arms of this faux leather, aka vinyl chair, but the rest of it had a shabby English library feel to it. Good thing my husband needs a new office chair because this puppy was coming home with me.

After a good cleaning I taped over the tacks on the arms with Frog Tape I decided it was time to try out the vinyl spray paint that I had spied at Home Depot.

According to the Rust-Oleum website Rust-Oleum Specialty Vinyl Spray restores color and gloss and is ideal for vinyl or fabric car and boat seats, dashboards, upholstery, luggage, furniture, sports equipment and more because it contains actual vinyl for maximum flexibility.

My goal was to cover the worn places on the arms completely and to give a light dusting to the top and seat of the chair to freshen up the chair. It was easy to cover the arms with a few light coats. It covered well on the arms and dried to a glossy finish as promised.

On the places where I just sprayed on a light dusting the finish was not smooth. It was warm here that day so that may have caused this problem but I painted other items that day with regular spray paint that turned out just fine.

I gave the rough areas a light sanding and wiped it down with furniture polish which

smoothed out the finish.

I added a little stuffing to the seat cushion and it was done, or so I thought. Within a few days the painted areas on the arm began to crack. Don’t be scared this is only a close up of the cracking not part of some poisonous lizard.

With the exception of the arms cracking I was happy with the chair. Adding a bit more stuffing made a big difference in the look of the chair.

Over all I was disappointed with the Vinyl Spray Paint. The vinyl on the arms of this chair are only padded a bit so the material doesn’t have to flex very much and it still cracked the paint. There is no way this finish would hold up on something like a car seat or couch cushion but if you are using it on a hard surface I think it would work very well.

As it turns out my husband doesn’t like the fit of the chair. He says it is uncomfortable so it looks like my son just inherited an office chair. Hopefully he will like it.

Have you used this or any other type of vinyl spray paint? And how were your results? Did any of you have a better experience with this type of paint? If you did I would love to hear about it.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

Gone With The Wind

2013-05-08T18:23:00.001-07:00

Hello friends! It feels like I haven’t posted anything in decades. Every time I try to post since my hard drive had to be replaced something else on my computer needs to be changed or I have to download a program I can’t seem to blog without. Just tonight I had to download Picas, change my startup programs, and now I see that I have to adjust the settings for my touch pad. Will it ever end?

But I will persevere!

On Sunday we had a very intense wind storm. The winds were constant at 29 mph with gusts up to 50 mph for about 6 hours. Here in Bakersfield that means dust. And not just a little dust but dust so bad it cuts down visibility and leaves you with grit in your mouth. Yuck.

It also sent tumble weeds careening into yards and on to streets and freeways.

It filled pools with an obscene amount of dust and dirt and tons of leaves.

(I have to confess that I did enjoy taking pictures of leaves in the pool.)

And as an added bonus it strips the trees of their foliage creating a giant mess. Sounds like fun doesn’t it? And I almost forgot to mention my portable fence panels that the winds knocked over.

But in the mist of all this mayhem there was one bright spot, at least for my dogs.

While I was trying to clean up this gargantuan mess they found a loose fence board.

I turned around to see my little trio knee deep in mischief. Gidget had just disappeared through the hole in the fence and Zoey was about to follow.

Upon discovery Zoey quickly pretended to be bored while Bella moved in for a better look.

That must have been when Gidget realized the jig was up and she squeezed back into our yard.

There is never a dull moment with these three around.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

2013-04-28T00:14:00.002-07:00

Hello everyone!

I am so happy to announce that my computer is up and running.

I am still loading programs and restoring files but at least I don't have to answer my emails on my phone. That was not my idea of fun.

I tried to post from my phone but I gave that up after only a few minutes.

I learned a few things about myself during my two weeks without my lap top.

1. Patience is not one of my virtues.

2. I am addicted to Pinterest.

3. I hate the Geek Squad (okay maybe hate is too strong, I strongly dislike them).

4. I really enjoy the process of writing.

5. Too much time on my hands is a dangerous thing that can lead to excess shopping.

So what did I shop for you ask?

Fabric

Maison Blanche Glacage

Annie Sloan Laquer

Annie Sloan paint sample in Old Orcher

Five new pairs of capris

Four new blouses

Fabric Medium

Three new colors of craft paint

New curtain rods

New Skeetcher Go Shoes

and

More fabric

I also had time to complete a few projects so stay tuned for those.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

2013-04-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

Before I shut my computer down for its visit with the Geek Squad I wanted to share a few photo I shot the other day. The weather and the photography conditions have been beautiful here.

I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

My Conputer is going to the hospital!

2013-04-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just a quick up-date about what is going on here in the dog house.

I am having some serious problems with my computer. Hopefully it is not terminal. If you read my last post you probably noticed that some of the photos were too large, I noticed too but for some reason I can't change them. My photos keep disappearing and whole posts have instantly vanished. Screens are flashing and occasionally it just shuts itself off.

So before I pull out all of my hair my computer is getting a little one on one time with the Geek Squad at Best Buy. Thank goodness I bought the extended warranty, which I never do, but I am glad I bought this time.

They tell me it could be an entire week before it is ready to come home again. Don't these geeks understand I have a blog to run?

So since I will be reduced to blogging from my phone next week the post about Edith's garden will be postponed as will my progress on the Blogger vs. Wordpress decision and post.

Hopefully I will be able to manage a few short posts about the dogs this week, they have been up to no good and I have the pictures to prove it.

If you feel you need to send get well wishes to my computer my email address is in my profile and I will be happy to forward you good wishes.

In the mean time I will be catching up on my blog reading so keep an eye out for my comments on your newest posts.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for reading,

A Pretty Poop Sign

2013-04-12T21:42:00.001-07:00

My friend, Edith has the cutest little 1930’s house so when she mentioned that she needed a sign requesting dog owners patrol their own dog poop I cringed.

Hopefully it doesn’t need to be said that all dog owners need to clean up after their dogs.

Or maybe it does need to be said because Edith keeps finding the evidence that a large dog has been doing its business on her lawn.

I just can’t stand the idea that this somewhat graphic sign would be gracing Edith’s lovely lawn.

So I took matters into my own hands and created what I hope is a cute if not more tasteful version of the “poop sign”.

I started with a frame from my craft stash and a garage sale sign I got for $2.87 at Lowe’s.

I wanted to make this little sign as waterproof as I could so the garage sale sign fit the bill. The sign is plastic and the stand fits into the sign so there is no tape or glue.

I got my weekly spray painting fix when I painted the frame and the red printing on the sign with off-white spray paint.

Then I painted the glass from the frame with chalk paint.

I figured if the sign was a chalkboard Edith could change the writing and use the sign for other things, like welcoming guests.

When I put the frame back together I left out the cardboard filler that is usually inside a frame so that everything is weather and sprinkler proof.

I free-handed the lettering on the chalkboard using a chalk marker.

Edith was thrilled to have this sign

instead of this sign.

Isn’t Edith’s house cute?

She has a beautiful garden too. Come back on Monday and we will take a stroll through Edith’s garden.

I bet there are a boat load of uses for this little sign (once the wording is changed) like welcoming guest to a wedding or guide party goers to the correct entrance.

Just one more shot of Edith’s charming little house.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

The Blue Chandie

2013-04-10T23:38:00.001-07:00

Tami over at Curb Alert is hosting a linkup party to help her find the perfect shade of blue for an undisclosed project and her plea reminded me that I had not shared the scoop on my new blue chandie.

I paid a whopping $4 for this antique brass finished chandelier at my local Goodwill.

Originally it had 12 arms (that sounds a little creepy) but I removed 6 of them so that it would be the correct scale for my backyard pergola.

Then it took me nine months to decide what color to paint her. I wanted something that would complement the flowers near my pergola (pinks, purples and oranges), go with my patio furniture which is Spring Green and complement my pool tile.

First I thought red and then yellow before I decided on turquoise.

But after I painted it the color was a bit bright so I toned it down with some Walnut stain.

I used Gel Stain because it was all I had in that color but I next time I want to achieve this look I will use regular stain, the Gel Stain was too difficult to wipe off of the painted surface.

I was happy with the color but it stilled didn’t look right.

Finally I painted the socked covers a soft white and that did it. The ultra white of the plastic covers looked odd next to the pergola color throwing the whole look off.

Crisis averted.

I am finally happy with my new Blue Chandie and I am on the hunt for a few more things I can paint blue.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

New Use for an Old Light

2013-03-31T23:50:00.001-07:00

Check out this little beauty I found just waiting for me at my favorite Goodwill last week.

All the parts, including the glass, all for $2.99.

My original thought was to use in my walk-in closet.

The 1983, plain Jane light fixture is still in there and I would like to update it. A quick coat of Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and this little light would look like it was right out of the newest Pottery Barn catalog.

But then I got to thinking about what else I could do with it.

I am pretty much in love with this light transformed into a bird feeder by Tight Wad Blog.

I like this light fixture to hanging planter up-cycle too, unfortunately who ever Pinned it did not pin it from the original source so I have no idea who to give credit to for this great idea.

I could turn it into a lantern as seen here at Do or DIY.

What do you think? Would you make it into an updated lighting fixture,
the cute bird feeder, the hanging planter or the lantern candle holder?

Or do you have an other clever idea?

I would love to hear what you think so please leave me a comment.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

Six Steps to Blowing Out Real Eggs for Easter

2013-03-29T00:53:00.001-07:00

1. Pick up a dozen eggs. You can always use white eggs, then keep them white or color them after you have blown the yolks out. Or you can choose brown eggs. While white eggs all seem to be the same that is not true of brown eggs. Brown eggs come in all shades of brown. Some have speckles and some are darker and you can usually find different shades all in one carton.

2. Let the eggs warm up to room temperature. This makes them easier to blow out. But if you want to eat the egg it works with cold eggs straight from the refrigerator too.

3. To create a small hole in the shell a new push pin works the best. It is easy to hold on to and makes a good hole. Hold the pin in one hand and the egg in the other and gently poked a hole in each end of the egg. Half way through my carton of eggs I decided to try making the holes in my eggs closer to the middle of the egg so they would not show when they are displayed.

4. After making your holes in the shell I found that it was best to use a toothpick to pierce a hole in the yolk . Then shake the egg a bit. This helps to break up the yolk and helps it to come out easier .

5. The fun part comes next. I suggest that you start by protecting your clothes and pulling back your hair because this can get messy. By the time I was finished I had egg all over me. In order to blow the contents of the egg out of the shell just cover one of the holes with your lips and blow. HARD. It is easier if the exit hole is pointed down and away from you.

You can see here how I placed the holes so they would not show when used them for decorations.

6. After blowing out all of your eggs make sure to wash them so they don’t smell like rotten eggs. I dunked my eggs in a bowl of soapy water and then shook them and then blew out the water just like I blew out the egg. Let them dry and you are ready to decorate.

Thanks to the flu, placing my egg shells in my current kitchen display was as far as I got.

Hopefully you are feeling a bit more creative.

I would love to hear if you blew out eggs for Easter, please leave me a comment so I know you stopped by.

Traci

Changing From Blogger to WordPress

2013-03-20T18:40:00.001-07:00

My crush on Blogger has come to a sad and tragic end.

Like most relationship break-ups it started with simple disillusionment. Blogger started to take me for granted, always assuming I would be there. Not listening to my needs or paying any attention to my troubles.

This was followed by making changes to our relationship without asking if I was okay with those changes and never listening to me about the changes I wanted.

So I am breaking up with Blogger.

I haven’t told Blogger yet so please keep this on the down low.

Is there someone else you ask?

Well as a matter of fact there is. I have already been on a few dates Wordpress. Not that I am two-timing Blogger, our relationship was never exclusive.

But don’t worry, I will never ask you to take sides. You can still visit me at WordPress even it you are with Blogger.

Don’t worry about the dogs, I am doing everything I can to make this transition easy for them.

And just in case your relationship is on the skids I am going to blog about the whole process so you can come along for the ride.

I may even need some advice on how to handle this process so keep in touch.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Dr.Pepper and Thoughtfulness

2013-03-20T14:32:00.001-07:00

I just had the nicest thing happen to me. Something that touched my heart and lifted my soul.
Something that was unexpected and sweet.
Just a little bit of background first. I have been battling the flu for the last 6 days, eating only soup and Jell-O and drinking ginger ale and Dr. Pepper. I have a slight addiction to Dr. Pepper, the super carbonated kind from the fountain.
So there I was laying in bed for the sixth day straight, Zoey curled up on my left and Gidget snuggled up on my right, finally feeling just a little better.
That is when my son walked into the room carrying a large Dr. Pepper from Burger King, they have the best sodas.

He had removed the lower half of the straw wrapper and stuck the straw into the lid with the upper half of the wrapper still protecting the sterile integrity of the straw. We got that habit from a family cruise we took in 2005. We always say that serving a soda like that makes us feel like we are on vacation even if we are only going through the drive-thru at Mc Donalds.
So here was my 22 year old son handing me my favorite drink with the special vacation straw just because he knew I would want one. I hadn’t asked or even hinted that I would like one. He’s not usually home at this time of the day and he had not stopped to get himself anything.
In that moment I was so proud of him and so impressed by his thoughtfulness.
I know that is a lot to get out of a single fountain drink and maybe it is just the flu talking but I like this young man who doesn’t always remember to take out the garbage but is so very thoughtful.
He is no doubt my best DIY project to date.
Thanks for reading,
Traci

Thrift My Days Away

2013-03-19T23:14:00.001-07:00

Hello my fellow bloggers.

I was hoping to do a bunch of posting this week but in addition to my little fibro flare up I have had the unfortunate luck to catch the flu.

I don’t know why we refer to getting sick as “catching” some thing.

Personally I try to dodge or at least actively avoid those pesky little germs that cause the common cold or flu.

And now that I have got it all I want to do is throw it back but no one seems willing to catch it.

I don’t feel good enough to craft a clever post so instead I am going to share a great bargain from my thrifting expedition last week.

I was actually looking for a headboard when I ran across this treasure.

My hubby needs a new desk chair and this is just what he was looking for. Can you believe that I picked up this beauty for $35.

After a good cleaning and a little touch up it will be fabulous.

My husband was thrilled, he get almost as thrilled as I do when I get a super duper bargain.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Vacation, Staycation

2013-03-15T22:01:00.001-07:00

Hello ladies!

It has been over a week since I have posted. That sounds a little like the preamble to a Catholic confession, I must be channeling the new Pope. Congrats to everyone who was watching for that white smoke.

My Fibro had been laying low recently so I was using all my available energy to work on projects and do a little thrift shopping. Unfortunately, my own personal little Fibro vacation came to an abrupt end this afternoon while I was shopping at Target. I was checking out King sized duvets, more on that in my next post, when the pain started and for the first time in my life I left Target without purchasing anything. Hopefully their stock will not plunge when the stock market opens on Monday.

The only silver lining in my Fibro cloud is that the return of my pain means more time to blog about the things I did on “ my vacation”.

So what did I do on my vacation you ask?

I planted 106 seeds.

I finally decided on a color for the pergola chandie.

I found these gorgeous nesting tables at Goodwill.

And I spent time playing with the girls.

Watch for the detailed posts on all of this and more.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Racing Toward Me

2013-03-06T11:39:00.001-08:00

If you have a pet, and I bet most of you do, after all this is Three Dogs At Home your pet probably does things that just make your heart melt.

My heart melts each time Gidget runs to me.

The day that my husband and I stopped to rescue her from the middle of a busy street she ran from me until I knelled down and she raced to me with all the speed her little body could muster.

During the next few weeks while she was learning to trust us she would only come to me if I knelt down and called her. As her trust grew so did the speed and enthusiasm with which she raced towards me.

Now this little race to me has become a thing that Gidget and I do. I call and she races to me while I cheer her on and when she reaches me she jumps up and into my waiting arms.

These shots of Gidget are “posed” photos. I love these moments and I so wanted a photo that captured the feeling so I had my niece hold her at one end of the yard and I stretched out on the grass with my camera and called.

Gidget ran, I snapped pictures, and then Gidget ran right into me. She was so excited she forgot to stop.

Do you have a special moment you share with your pet? I would love to hear it.

Thanks for reading,
Traci

Adding A Little Style To My Smart Phone

2013-03-05T00:21:00.001-08:00

For my birthday my super sweet hubby bought me a new smart phone. I had nothing but troubles with my old not-so-smart phone so it was time for a new one.

And because my husband is and engineer and a computer geek he thought I needed the latest and greatest new phone on the market, the Samsung Note II. I thought just a regular phone was fine but after reading about the phone I was ready of give it a try.

If anyone tells him that he was right I will deny it, but I love this phone. I love this phone so much that I am planning to review this nifty little gadget soon.

The only thing I don’t like about this phone is that the cover was just too plain. But I can fix that.

I picked up these lovely little pillow stickers at Target. These stickers are not only cute but they also add a little grip to the case, like those stickers my grandma had in the tub to keep help prevent slips only much more stylish than duck shapes.

I just peeled the sticker off of the backing and arranged them on the cover.

I hadn’t planned on putting any on the back of the phone but I decided to add some because the back of the case was very slick. I kept the design rather simple on the back since I went “whole hog” on the front.

Have you decorated your cell phone yet? Are you thinking about it now? Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

Pin It and Try It-Week 2

2013-03-03T23:44:00.001-08:00

In case you missed last week’s Pin It and Try It, I have challenged myself to find and try a new recipe from Pinterest each week and share my family’s thoughts on the meal.

This week I chose another chicken recipe, Baked Parmesan Garlic Chicken.

My local grocery store was was out of the single packets of Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix so I substituted Garlic and Cheese Dressing mix.

The chicken was a big hit with my son, which is saying a lot because even at 22 years old he is a picky eater. He decided that since I was going to be asking him to tell me how he liked each new recipe he would be rating the recipes on a scale of 1 to 10 and this chicken got an 8.

I had no idea that any meal that didn’t pass through the Burger King drive-thru window first could receive a score of 8.

My hubby liked the chicken too but said that he would give it a lower score. Of course his standards may be higher since he doesn’t think that Burger King is fine dinning.

I could have easily made up half of this coating for the three chicken breasts that I made; when it said makes 6 breast they meant it.

Here is the link to this weeks recipe, http://www.momswhothink.com/chicken-recipes/baked-parmesan-garlic-chicken.html.

I will definitely make this chicken dish again.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Pin It and Try It

2013-02-26T15:17:00.001-08:00

Last week I challenged myself to try a new recipe from Pinterest each week. The real challenge should be me cooking every day (I am so not a fan of cooking, I would rather scrub the toilet but we will leave that subject for another time because I have met the challenge.

Last week this Garlic and Brown Sugar Baked Chicken recipe sparked my interest. It looked easy and that is my main requirement.

My husband really liked it and my son was kind of luke warm about it. It was moist with a mild flavor and it would probably be good in a salad.

The only thing I didn’t like about the recipe was the clean up. The brown sugar melted onto my baking dish and had to scrap it off with a razor blade and the oven doesn’t look much different. If I make this dish again I will definitely line the pan with foil.

The recipe and link to the Pinterest Post are below.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

Ingredients:

Servings:

4

- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- additional herbs and spices, as desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450°F Line a baking dish or cookie sheet with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray or lightly brush with oil.
In small sauté pan, sauté garlic with the oil until tender.
Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar. Add additional herbs and spices as desired.
Place chicken breasts in a prepared baking dish and cover with the garlic and brown sugar mixture.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Bake uncovered for 15-30 minutes, or until juices run clear. Cooking time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken.

http://pinterest.com/pin/303570831102438667/

Dog Treats To The Rescue

2013-02-21T23:35:00.001-08:00

Just a quick post to share another solution with all of you. After all Solutions is my word for the year.

A few weeks ago my hubby, the same one who stepped in to protect me from the foul mouthed BestBuy shoppers yesterday, dropped the lid to our doggie treat jar and the knob broke off.

I don’t know about you, but at our house the treat jar is very important. Just try standing near it and you will immediately have three little dogs sitting at your feet looking up at you with wishful eyes. Stand there a little longer and the barking and begging starts.

I poked around the house hoping to find something to use as a knob. Nothing seemed more appropriate than a large dog biscuit.

Of course the girls went crazy as I glued the biscuit in place since not only was I standing in front of the jar but I was moving the lid too. I found that hot glue didn’t hold the biscuit so I used some clear Gorilla Glue that I had on hand and that has held up well.

I love the updated treat jar and so do the dogs.

Thanks for reading.

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

How I Made My Kitchen Floor Look Brand New

2013-02-19T12:26:00.001-08:00

After fixing, or maybe I should say, hiding the chips in my kitchen floor last week

I was inspired to tackle my ugly grout.

I have always hated the kitchen flooring in this house. 1) The tile is so difficult to clean I had to buy a carpet cleaner that also cleans hard floor surfaces. 2) The tile has a bit of pink in it so it fights with all the other colors in the room. 3) The grout is impossible to clean and the dirt stained grout lines make the tile look outdated.

Anyone else hating your floors for these reasons?

I walk into the kitchen and all I can see is the ugly grout and pinkish tile. Yuck! I have tried every product on the market to clean this grout but nothing has worked.

Not only is it an eye sore but it is holding me back from making some fun changes in the kitchen because I didn’t want to have to redo the work after the flooring is replaced.

And realistically replacing the floor is really low on our priority list and will have to wait until one or both of our kids graduate from college. So when I saw Grout Refresh at Lowe’s I was very excited and after reading a obscene amount of reviews I decided to give it a try.

After all it couldn’t look much worse so what did I have to loose.

I ended up buying two colors, White and Bone so I could mix up the exact color I needed. At 11$ a bottle it was not going to break the bank.

Luckily I had a small piece of tile that I used it to match the color instead of doing it directly on the floor. I used a sponge brush to apply the paint like product and after painting only a few inches of grout I was trying to contain my growing excitement.

The pink tint of the tile virtually disappeared before my eyes and the kitchen started to look bigger without the stark grout lines.

Can you see the dramatic difference?

I followed the directions and let the Grout Refresh dry for 30 to 60 minutes, which was actually pretty hard because I was so excited about seeing the finished results. Then I misted the area with water and used a towel to scrub the product off of the tile.

The instructions suggested using a sponge with a scouring side but I found that it was too easy to scrub the product off of the grout. That was the hardest part and took the longest. I had a few areas where I scrubbed a bit too hard and removed the paint from the grout, so I had to go back and touch those areas up.

This was also the messiest part. The Grout Refresh that I scrubbed off rolled up in little balls and when I left it on the floor too long it had to be scrubbed off again. So I began sweeping up the little globs with a broom and dust pan very few tiles.

Can you see the awesome “new” floor I have in my kitchen?

I canned believe what a difference it made not only on the grout but on the whole kitchen. Now I love walking into my kitchen and seeing all that “new” grout.

And in case you are wondering, I did not receive any compensation for this post. I just simply liked the way worked.

Just a few tips to make this job easier if you have decided to give it a try.

1) Get the closest match you can even if you need to mix colors. Like most paint products it dried a little darker.

2) Use an old towel to scrub off the excess paint. I found that the sponge scrubber was much to abrasive and an old nubby towel worked best.

3) Try to get as little paint on the tile as you can or wipe off any excess on the tile so there will be less scrubbing in the end.

I still have to do my breakfast room so there is more scrubbing in my future.

So far it seems to be repelling dirt and liquid but time will tell if it will stand up to every day wear but in the meantime it looks fantastic.

Let me know if you are considering giving this a try.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

Pinterest Images

Gidget Goes Glamorous

2013-02-13T11:53:00.001-08:00

I took this series of photos of Gidget with my new phone and edited them in Picsas using the Lomo-ish setting giving them a vintage look.

That is my cute little scampy dog.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

How To Fix A Chipped Tile Floor

2013-02-12T23:39:00.002-08:00

Have I ever mentioned that I hate my kitchen floor. Probably not but it is definitely one of the things about this house I can’t wait to change and it is at the bottom of the list.

I hate the color of the tile, the color of grout but most of all I hate the chips. They are sooo noticeable.

On Monday, for some strange reason I couldn’t stand those
chips for another single moment, a situation that
I am sure many of you can sympathize with.

So after cleaning the flooring I had to do some thing about the chips.

I created this chip and a dozen smaller ones when I dropped
a large glass vase on the floor a few years ago.

I am not sure why I never thought of using paint
to cover them before, my husband lives in fear that if
he stands still too long I will paint him. But on Monday it popped into my head
and I had the time to do it right then.

So I mixed up some ordinary craft paint into the tile color and
dapped it on with a cotton swab.

I wasn’t sure how long that would hold up so I gave it a quick coat of the only
sealer I had on hand, clear nail polish.

Even in this super close up it was a good paint match.

Now I can hardly see it and if I take off my glasses it disappears completely.

At an angle all you can see is dent.

I am thrilled to be rid of those unsightly chips.

Now all I have to do it is get rid of the unsightly grout, a project that I will be
starting on tomorrow.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.

My First Ever Watercolor Protrait

2013-02-06T23:54:00.001-08:00

Today I want to share a little painting of a different type. Yes I have branched out from spray paint.
A few months ago I took a beginning watercolor class in the adult education department at our local junior college. The story of how these classes came to be is super interesting and maybe someday I will share it with you but today is the unveiling of my first watercolor portrait.

Of course Zoey was my subject.

I started out with one of my favorite Zoey pictures. She is a natural.
Don’t tell anyone but I think I must have over a thousand.

I liked the background but I think I will try a more muted color for my next painting,

Instead of just painting off of a single picture I played around a bit with the photo editing of this picture and I was able see the major dark and light colored areas and this helped me to be able to see how to use shading.
So without further ado, here is my first portrait.

Now don’t laugh, I do have plans to get better. But at least it doesn’t look like a cat .
I will probably be painting this picture again in the next few months, Practice, Practice, Practice.
Thanks for reading and until next time we meet I hope you are both happy and healthy,
Thank you for reading,

Not The Best Day

2013-02-06T20:29:00.001-08:00

I‘m having a rough day and the three Oreo cookies I just ate did not fix a single thing. Neither did the Dr.Pepper chaser.

It is already a rotten day so I am not going to think about the calories I just consumed or the inch it probably added to my hips.

What has me so down? I had to step down as the chairperson for my garden club’s annual garden tour event.

If you are a regular visitor here you have probably picked up on the fact that I have some health problems. If you are new to Three Dogs At Home, which I hope you are not since I would not want this post to be anyone’s first impression of me, I have Fibromyalgia.

Unfortunately many people have the mistaken impression that it is all in the head of the suffers so I tend not to tell people that I don’t know well that I have it. Not only am I dealing with ever present pain and fatigue but I also have what my neurologist calls “pseudo-dementia”.

What does that mean? I have all the symptoms of dementia without any brain damage. My symptoms come and go as they please. Some days my thinking is very clear and other days I can’t find my way to the grocery store. If I get to far away from home I get lost easily. I no longer read because I can’t follow the plot of a book. Learning something new is a monumental event and even picking out clothes each morning can be difficult.

I have figured out ways to deal with many of these problems and I was feeling like I could do little more so I signed up to help out with the garden tour event, thinking that I could handle doing a few tasks. When no one wanted to be in charge of the event the club president came to me and asked if I would take on the project. I am younger than many of the other members and I had not told anyone in the club about having Fibro.

Now the old me could have done this job with my hands tied behind my back and my eyes covered so I said yes. My husband gently questioned me at the time and I assured him I could handle it. I have experiencing a lull in symptoms and thought I could do it. Obviously I should not be allowed to make such decisions because I am not the “old me” anymore.

The “new me” has no short term memory, I called my son three times in a row from Wal-Mart because I couldn’t remember what color socks he needed but somehow I had convinced myself I could run this charity event.

But I just could not pull it off. I was having trouble even putting together a simple flyer and making calls to potential event participants. I knew I was not going to be able to do the same level of work that I once did but I was surprised to find that I couldn’t work up to even my lowered expectations.

So to make a long story short, on Monday I had to call the current president of the garden club and tell her I couldn’t complete this project. I have never bailed on a commitment and I feel terrible about doing it now.

I thought that I had come to terms with the “new me” and my new limitations but I guess I still have some work to do. Blogging has been a huge help in that department. It gives me the feeling of working on something, of being productive.

So what can you do to help? Other than leave me an occasional comment, I want to urge you to think about those people that you know or encounter who are limited either physically or mentally and realize how challenging it is for them. When what you can do changes it changes you and how you feel about yourself.

I was waiting for an x-ray recently and chatting with two other women who were also waiting. They were both talking about their jobs and how it was difficult to get time off for the x-ray they needed. One of the women looked at me and asked what I did. I simply said I didn’t work and she responded by saying how lucky I was. I don’t see my inability to work as luck and I was actually offended so I looked back at her and said “I am not lucky I am disabled”.

I want to thank anyone who is still reading this for hanging in there with me. Sometimes blogging is a little like telling your problems to a bar tender, helpful and free.

Thanks for reading,

Traci

I will be linking up to absolutely no parties unless you know of a linky party for getting things off of your chest.

Solutions For A Better Life

2013-02-06T00:20:00.001-08:00

My word for this year is solutions because I feel like many areas of my life need to work better for me. I think a quick glance at my nightstand and all of you will agree that this space is one of the areas that could definitely work better.

I do almost all of my blogging, computer work and an occasional craft project from my bed since it is one of the few places I can work without pain. I can’t sit at a desk for more than a few minutes so I reserve those minutes for things like sewing on the machine that must be done sitting up in a chair.

So I needed a solution for keeping all my stuff handy and tidy at the same time.

My first step was to get as much off of the top of the bedside table as I could. I found this delicate mail organizer at Office Depot and after a quick coat of cream spray paint I attached it to the side of my bedside table. Super easy.

One of the other problems with this area was the lighting. Depending on what I am working on sometimes I need the light a little closer to me.

The solution to this part of the problem was a swing arm lamp. Now I can adjust the light to fit my needs. Somehow I managed to get zero pictures showing the arm of the lamp but I think all of you know what they look like. The lamp I picked up at the Goodwill is also a floor lamp so that freed up even more space on the table top. A quick coat Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint and it was ready for work.

After all of my organizing and removing anything I was no longer using from the table these were the items that had to be on the nightstand.

And since I now had plenty of room it was time to put back some pretty stuff.

This is the first version of my new nightstand. Much less cluttered.

I used a butter dish lid to hold my glasses and a few books to elevate my alarm clock. I liked this but I thought I could do better.

I removed the books and added one of my favorite pictures of my daughter and my nephew.

The white frame seemed to balance out the arrangement and I can see the alarm clock much better so this is the one I chose for now. It seems just a little sparse to me after living with the cluttered mess for so long so I may add something else after I have lived with it for awhile.

And in the sprit of keeping things real this is how the nightstand looked at bedtime. My camera would have been there too if I wasn’t taking this picture with it.

Which arrangement did you like best? Or what else would add?

I hope I inspired some of you to find solutions to your everyday problems. If I did please let me know, I love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading,

I will be linking up to these wonderful parties.