January 27, 2010
New Weigh In Post……
over at my new blog: http://asideofsweetness.blogspot.com/
Hope to see you there! If you subscribe in a reader, don’t forget to update!
January 26, 2010
New Home
I have a new blogging home. I’ve been frustrated with the fact that I can’t really personalize the look of my blog the way I want. So I’ve made the move to Blogger. I”m now blogging as A Side Of Sweetness. I will continue with my Weigh In Wednesday posts and all the other random stuff I blog about. Hope to see you there!
I’m Dreaming of New Kitchen
We live in a small house-about 800 square feet. Our main living area is an open box: half living with a working (yay!) fireplace, two doors (one at the front and one at the back of the house), a small dining corner, and an L-shapped kitchen with the stove and refrigerator on the small part of the L. We’ve got two other windows-one on the same wall as the fireplace, and one above the sink. So we do get lots of light since we have a window on each of the outside walls. The fourth wall contains the hallway to the rest of the house. When Mr. Husband bought the house 10 years ago, they billed the house as a 4 bedroom, 1 bath house. Two of the so-called bedrooms we’ve repurposed: one is now the laundry room and one is a walk-in closet. So that leaves us with two bedrooms. Our “master” bedroom with has room for our full-sized bed and two night stands and just enough room to walk around the bed without bumping into anything (barely). The second bedroom is slightly smaller and holds my old full-sized bed, two book shelves, and all of Mr. Husbands dead computer equipment and my craft stuff. Needless to say, we can barely walk around the room. The house was built in the late 1970′s, early 1980′s so it’s newer but it was still built as a lake cottage-a part-time home for a retired couple. Then the husband died and while the kids tried to keep and maintain the place, they eventually decided to sell it. Mr. Husband bought it in 1999 and we are only the second owners.
Mr. Husband, in the 9 years that he lived here before I moved in, didn’t do much in the way of decorating. The floors still have the original carpet and hideous 1970′s linoleum in the kitchen and bath. He did paint but it’s been about 10 years. He and his dad did turn the one small bedroom into the laundry room but aside from that, the house is pretty blah. Of course since I have moved in, I have tried to spruce up the place but I am limited by budget. We are saving some money and hope to do at least the main living area in the hardwood laminate flooring. Come spring break, I’m going to paint the main living area. So I’m searching for some design inspiration. The looks we I love are retro, cottage, country, and rustic. But we don’t want anything so kitchsy that when you walk in you say “Oh this is retro, cottage, country, etc.” We’d like an evolved look. So far, here’s what I’ve found that I like:
Source: countryliving.com
Source: Unknown
Source: countryliving.com
Source: countryhome.com
Source: countryliving.com
Source: Coastal Living
I love red obviously but I hesitate to do such a strong color in the kitchen since it’s open to the whole living area. Currently, our couch (new) is brown and our recliner is hunter green (older). And I just realized, all of the pictures show white cabinets. I’ve been leaning toward painting our cabinets black. I love lots of light, and with white cabinets, the room would seem light and airy. I just think black cabinets would show less dirt and grime.
So be patient with me on my decorating journey. I’ll probably change my mind a bunch of times before I settle. And if anyone has any advice and/or experience on paint colors and decorating a very small house with a tiny open living area, please send it my way!
I tried to be thorough with my sources but I have one picture without a source. If this is your picture, send me a message and I’ll gladly give you proper credit.
January 25, 2010
Morning Walk
I took my camera along with me this morning went I went for my walk. It was a nice brisk morning here in Ohio-almost 45 degrees! The tempature is supposed to drop and we may get some snow later today! I love snow! Anyway, I took some pictures of the lake. I don’t know if I’ve said this before or not, but we live on a small lake. We’re actually about 500 feet from the shore line. The lake had been frozen over but due to our balmy temps lately, it’s starting to thaw out.
They lower the lake every fall then raise it back up in the spring. So if you walk along the shore in the winter, you’ll see random things, like the pink hair clip, that someone has lost in the water.
So that was my morning fun. I’m off to shower and get ready for class. Have a great Monday!
January 24, 2010
Quote Of The Day
January 23, 2010
Why Our Marriage Works:
….because we both agree the toilet paper goes over, not under. 
Have a great weekend!
January 22, 2010
The Road Less Traveled
You’re probably wondering why I chose the name The Road Less Traveled for my blog. Or maybe not. In any case, I thought I would take a moment to explain why I chose The Road Less Traveled.
I more or less based the name of my blog on the poem The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost. While I’m not a huge lover of poetry, I do love Robert Frost and my favorite Robert Frost poem by far is The Road Not Taken. I’m not a follower. I may not always be a leader but I definitley don’t do things in my life because everyone else is doing them. I’ve never really followed the same path that my peers have taken. I didn’t go “away” to college right after highschool. I stayed and went to a local community college and I didn’t finish (still haven’t at 33). I didn’t date, drink, or do drugs in high school. I didn’t settle down and get married in my 20′s. And I’m probably one of only a handful of girls from my graduating class that has not had a child yet. I’m not a trendy person. I don’t watch the lastest greatest tv shows just because everyone else does (Greys Anatomony, Jersy Shore, and I’ve never watched Survivor). I’m just not a jump on the bandwagon kind of girl. Anyway so that’s a little insight into who I am. You can call me strange if you want, but I prefer quirky.
For your reading pleasure: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
January 21, 2010
I Love My Husband (He does the dishes!)
So last night, Mr. Husband did the dishes. Yesterday was the first day of classes for me and I was beat. I crashed on the couch after watching Modern Family. So my sweet, loving husband got up to do the dishes. Lately, I’ve turned into a neat-freak and I hate to leave dishes in the sink over night. So this morning when I put my breakfast dishes in the sink, I saw a pile of silverware lying in the sink. From last night. And believe it or not, I smiled. Because for some strange reason, my husband has some strange aversion to washing silverware. And pots and pans-he “lets them soak” over night. Anyway, before I moved in, my husband would let the dirty silverware build up in the sink until he ran out of clean to wash it. Once I moved in, I took over the dishwashing. The few times he does the dishes, he usually leaves the silverware for me. Today, I washed the silverware and smiled because I love my husband, quirks and all. I love my husband because he didn’t have to do the dishes (I’m unemployed so I do most of the housework) but he did because he knew how tired I was but also because he knows I like a clean kitchen. And most of all, I love my husband because he doesn’t believe in marriage “roles”. Yes I do most of the housework mainly because I’m home more than him and when he is home I’d rather spend time with him than do housework. If I ask for help, he does it, usually without me asking twice. And sometimes, I get lucky and I don’t even have to ask.
Wednesday Weigh In 1/20/10
Umm yeah, I’m a day late again. Yesterday was the first day of classes for me. And I was unusually nervous and stressed out. So I didn’t lose any weight this week. But I didn’t gain either so that’s something. The weekend was bad (in a good way) for us. Friday we had pizza. We treated ourselves to Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday. We were out shopping and we were starved. In our hunger, we made a bad decision. Mr. Husband had wings and I had the appetizer sampler. Lots of fried food. Yummy! Saturday night we hung out with friends and we both drank adult beverages and snacked on chips and dip, brownies, and pulled pork sandwiches. So yeah a bad food weekend. Oh and did I mention we had pop a couple of times over the weekend? So that fact that I didn’t gain any weight this week feels like an accomplishment. I’ve been back into the healthy eating routine since Monday and I’m back to drinking tons of water. So hopefully, next week will be better.
January 18, 2010
New Laptop
I got a new laptop today. I’m still setting everything up but I’ll be back tomorrow with a new post!
Happy Monday!
