Am I dreaming?

Anyone who ever hears me complain just smack me, okay?  I think that sometimes we lose sight of just how good we have it.  I am coming to realize that more and hope that I can keep my complaining and wishing for more to a minimum in the future.  I think I've mentioned this before but Jon and I both have an issue of constantly looking for the "next best thing" which tends to make you forget what you already have right in front of you.  For instance, Jon and I both have great jobs (AND, mine just got better!!), a roof over our heads, actually..more than just a roof...our dream roof over our heads, great friends, amazing family, tons of love, tons of laughter, good health (well, according to me...Jon, well, that's a whole different story, *cough* hypochondriac*cough*), two hilariously cuddly pup babies, and just live a good life.  I shouldn't ever complain.  I found a quote one day while wasting way too much time browsing Pinterest.  I'm too lazy to type it out so I added the picture to the left.  But, we really are lucky and blessed.  Read it, it's great food for thought.

Now, to elaborate on my new J-O-B that I mentioned above.  I pretty much landed my dream job!  I never really knew what my dream job would entail or really even if there was such a thing or if it was possible to achieve once I figured it all out, but...looks like I'm getting some answers.  I've been muddling my way through life trying to figure out exactly what I should be when I grow up for quite some time now.  And, although somedays I think I could be perfectly happy NOT working at all ;-), I really know that wouldn't last long.  Unless there were kiddos involved and even then, I don't know if I'm a stay-at-home-mom type.  But, here it is.....drum roll....I am going to be a Wish Coordinator!  It pretty much rolls everything I've ever been interested in into one job!  Non-profit work, helping others, medicine, travel, organization, counseling, children, families, budgeting, AND it's all mine!  I'll start next month and am so excited!  It felt funny to switch jobs right now seeing as I only started here about 9 months ago, but this is MY job and I'm dancing-around-excited about it!  Well, I'm not really "that" type of excited girl...as someone once told me, "I'm not excitable" but I AM excited!  Will I be making the big bucks? No.  Will I be doing "easy" work?  No.  Will I be happy that I am able to bring even a little glimmer of happiness to these kids and families?  Yes.  That is all I need!  Stay tuned...maybe I'll be able to share a wish or two with you all...as long as there aren't any privacy rules involved.          

Where I'm From

I don't think it's a secret that I love most country music but sometimes certain songs I love more at any given moment.  I'll go through obsessive phases where I love a particular song and will play it all the time, like my recent choice of "Knee Deep" by Zac Brown Band (in my attempt to feel like I'm at the beach and not 6 hours away in a landlocked city).  But, I don't think it's always because it applies to me or speaks to me or anything but sometimes I just love the lyrics.  Other times I love the actual music.  "Where I'm From" is on my list for favorite lyrics right now and "Easy" by Rascal Flatts featuring Natasha Beddingfield I loooove right now too!  It doesn't hurt that I love Rascal Flatts (and am still secretly sad that I missed the Atlanta concert last week) but I also have loved Natasha's voice for a few years now...not always her music style, but definitely her voice.  Well, those are my thoughts as I'm sitting here listening to country music.  It really does make me happy and it's the only thing that got me through the ceiling painting and wall priming this week! 
"Where I'm From" -Jason Michael Carroll

On a three hour flight from Memphis to LA
I was silently celebrating my first class upgrade
Laughing at my jeans and my boots
Beside those high dollar shoes and Armani suits
When the gentleman next to me said the drinks up here are free
So if you'd like the first one can be on me
He said I'm headin back from business in New York and Rome
Tell me son, Where do you call home

I said I'm from the front pew of a wooden white church
The courthouse clock it still don't work
Where a man's word means everything
Where moms and dads were high school flings
Gave their children grandmothers maiden name
Yes it may not sound like much
But its where I'm from

So we drank that round and then another
There wasn't a topic in this world we did not cover
He said I headed out west when I was barely 19
Just a kid chasing my dreams
I said I'm flying out here to pick up my big brother
He's been fighting the cancer they discovered
But he called last night and said I think this is the end
So come take me home to my family and my friends
Where the quarterback dates the homecoming queen
The truck's a ford and the tractor's green
And Amazing Grace is what we sing
Well there's a county fair every fall
And your friends are there no matter when you call
Yeah It may not sound like much but it's
Where I'm from

And as we stood to claim the bags we checked
He said I'll pray for your brother and did I mention that
Italian suits haven't always been my style
See I was quarterback of my high school team
We took state back in '63
And my wife, she's still my homecoming queen

Cause I'm from the front pew of a wooden white church
A courthouse clock that still don't work
Where a man's word means everything
Where moms and dads were high school flings
Gave their children grandmothers maiden name
Yes it may not sound like much
I said it may not sound like much but it's where I'm from
it's where I'm from
Where I'm from

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound......

Bane of my existence

OMG! I never thought I would be over painting because I really do think it's therapeutic and offers instant gratification. However, I HATE PAINT. Well really, I hate primer.  Many of you are aware of the room-size mural that we acquired with our house.  I have let it be for the 7 months we've been in our house because quite frankly it was a great conversation piece and we didn't feel the need to change it until we had a reason (aka...preggo).  But, when we got my grandfather's bedroom set and had to shift furniture around we actually ended up putting a bed in the future nursery so I figured there was no reason to continue delaying the inevitable of painting over it.

Side note:  It's kind of a sad story.  The previous owner passed away at a much too early age leaving his 8 year old son behind.  Well, this room was hand painted by the boy's aunt for their "first born" and actually signed that way in a discreet corner (as I just found out).  The uncle who was responsible for getting the house ready to put on the market did many things including painting throughout but couldn't bring himself to paint over the mural (or maybe he just knew it'd be a pain in the a**!)

So, back to the story...it's a royal pain in the A!  Not only is it painted on all 4 walls but they used dark colors like navy blue and red, along with glossy paint for the sea creatures, sponge paint AND they painted the ceiling (not to mention the switch plates-but those are easy to replace).  Well, it's definitely been a multiple day project.  I primed the walls one day, let it dry and yesterday I continued to prime with my second gallon of Kilz and put the first coat on the ceiling.  I have definitely had my fair share of splatters in my eyes along with a blister on my right hand and an intense upper body workout with this one.  I'm hoping to share "after" pictures soon but I've included a before for you.  I think since I've had to put so much effort into this project we're just going to go ahead and paint it a color too since primer doesn't look as pretty as I thought it would for the time being and I think I need the satisfaction of a pretty color, not an uneven primer white.

What do you think?  Light green?  Yellow?  Keep in mind that we didn't really want to paint because this will be the first room transformed into a nursery and we kind of assumed we would just paint it a pink or blue when the time came.  But, I need color gratification.  I'm leaning towards a pretty, light green.

(P.S. I corrected my spelling in the title...bain or bane...a French bath or life ruiner?)