Nail polish drama!

I amaze myself!

Last Thursday I bought new nail polish, L'Oreal's Stroke of Midnight.  A gorgeous dark metallic gray/green.  Perfect for St. Patrick's Day.  This morning I was touching up my nails when I managed to catch the brush on the neck of the bottle, sending it skittering and spinning onto the floor.  I was seated at our kitchen table, so it wasn't as if I was being careless and trying to apply my polish in some unheard of location under impossible conditions. I neglected to mention the spinning, skittering offender dumped half its contents on my awesome Brazilian tigerwood hardwood floors.

#%*+£¥!!! OOOOOoooohhhh NOOOOOoooooo!!!!

There are no before pictures because the first thing I did was grab a wad of paper towels to wipe up as much as I could as fast as I could.  No small feat given the four chairs AND the computer dutifully being charged and attached to the wall outlet.  I do have a picture of the paper towels.  It was taken post crisis.

I grabbed the Goo Gone spray.  Nope.  Next, helpful hubby brought me (after I yelled pitifully, "I need your help right now!") my faithful can of  WD-40. Nothing.  Then to my trusty computer.
Google to the rescue!  Rubbing alcohol. I knew it was one of those, TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK, situations, but I figured I'd try it in a small area and go from there.  Disclaimer--The same goes for you...sooo, don't go getting upset with me if it strips your finish...I'm just saying. 

I soaked a cotton pad with the alcohol and wiped.  Most of the residue came off with little effort. Some of the spots were a bit more difficult and I needed to let the pad to sit for 5-10 seconds before the spots wiped right off.  Once I was done I cleaned the area with Bona hardwood floor cleaner.  It looks as if it worked and without stripping the finish off the floor.  Crisis averted. (BTW--I am waiting to take after pictures...I don't want to jinx what appears to be unharmed floor finishes.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

You ever have a similar experience?  Feel free to share. Even queens need to share their oops moments with others!

My love/hate relationship with my hot rollers

Happy Friday, friends!  I hope you have had a wonderful week.  It has been busy around here.  I finished up a few crafty projects but the highlight of the week was having my closest friends at my home for a girl's night out.  More about that another time.  Today's post is about my hot rollers. 

I asked for a new set of hot rollers for Christmas this year, as I was still using my set of Clairol hot rollers from high school.  While they still functioned, I was a bit concerned about their age; I don't know how safe it is to continue to use an electrical appliance that is thir#$%* some years really, really old!  They had a detachable cord and a storage pocket for it and the pins.  Great set up, granted the hinge on the plastic lid was broken, but the lid stayed on and all was well.

Now I am the owner of a brand new set of Revlon hot rollers with an attached cord that is supposed to self store on the bottom of the unit and an itty bitty place to put 20 some pins.  (See the oval area at the front?  SERIOUSLY?)  Therein lies my problem.  I got exactly what I wanted, but times change and so do designs.  A coupl of months ago, I found a pin on Pinterest where the pinner used Command Velcro strips to corral the cords on her appliances.  I thought it was an excellent idea, and still do, but I couldn't get them to work on my appliances.  I wanted someway to keep the cord to my hot rollers, food processor, etc. under control but I couldn't get the Velcro strips to work. 

One day I was wandering, lost so it seemed, in one of the hardware isles in WalMart when I saw Command Round Cord Clips.  They are intended to be used to keep your electrical cords from the TV or computer attached to the wall so they are all neat and tidy.  Ta da!  I picked up the two sizes they had on the display and, after paying for them, headed home to try them out. 

They work VERY well.  I had to tweak them just a bit because the clear strips that came with them, I assume so they won't clash with our walls/furniture, didn't have enough oomph.  So I used the regular white ones that come with other styles and they work.  I am so relieved!!  Who knew I was so OCD about cords!??

On a side note, I figured out a cool way to store my pins.  Since the lid was not attached and there wasn't enough room in the compartment, I took a creamer bottle I had gotten from Crate and Barrel (ages ago) and added some coffee beans to the bottom.  In went the pins and they are under control! 

Real life down on the farm!

It is a cold and blustery day here in our little corner of the world...our farm.  Today has been busy, so I took some pictures to show you just what a wanna be queen does during a typical Monday.

Laundry. Today I washed the sheets and blankets from our bed.

 

Crochet. If you look carefully you can see my very first project as a beginning crocheter. I hope 'crocheter' is actually a word, I'll find out when I run spell check! It is, who knew? That's my kitty, Patches. We are in an on-going battle regarding to whom this chair belongs. When I get to be queen, it will be mine!

Trash. Monday is trash day. We are fortunate in that a local trash company has a route in our area of the country. We burned our trash for years (I know there are those of you who are appalled at this revelation. It's the way we do things, so let's not argue.) and it is so nice to be able to bag it up and roll it out to the road! :-)

 

Toilets. Three to be exact. Today was their day to be cleaned! Enough said.

 

 

Taxes. Farmers have to pay their taxes by March 1. I am still trying to corral all our papers and receipts from 2012. They are like bunnies! These papers just seem to multiply, so when I get to be queen, I'll take care of this too!

Brisket and the slow cooker. I love my crock-pot...Not as much as my husband, you know how that goes. My crock-pot has a special place in my heart.

By now you can tell that my house is lived in. It is not staged. Clutter can be found in just about every room. Just like the bunnies, I no more get the clutter put away in one room and more can be found in another. While I love reading, and looking at, all the blogs about homes sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the thought I should be doing more to make my house a home...a well decorated one at that!  I know this is how many stay-at-home moms earn extra income, so I also 'get' they do it for a reason.  It is their business.  Just the same, I get distracted by all the ads on these pages, but then again I realize these blogs are very different from mine.  It is probably because I am reading all these blogs that my house doesn't look as spiffy as theirs...naaahhhh. :-)

You won't see any ads on my blog. I won't be blogging about a product because it was sent to me. If I write about a product, it is not because I am being reimbursed for my time; it is because I like it and use it on a regular basis. I am beginning to sound like a farmer who is very near and dear to me; lovingly referred to as my favorite husband.  I wasn't raised on the farm, but it along with the no nonsense way of thinking has grown on me over the past 33 years. 

Happy Monday!  Thanks for reading.

My royal, MAGIC word for 2013.

I have been fascinated with the idea of choosing a word for the year. I have read snippets from other bloggers who have chosen their word and incorporated it into their posts. So, royal friends, after much consideration I have selected my word; kindness.

Kindly bear with me as I explain why I selected this word. As I told you earlier, I am retired. I spent 19 years working in Student Affairs as a part of an awesome team of individuals dedicated to making life on campus safe and civil. The people I worked with during this time became my family and I hope they know how much they mean to me. The last five years were not the same in any way, shape, or form. They weren't bad, but they weren't nearly as satisfying or rewarding. I found myself the lone remaining 'veteran' in the midst of an entirely new team. I was the old-timer with a new supervisor from a younger generation of professionals. I am very flexible and I can get along with just about anyone in any situation. However, while I consider myself a wanna be queen, I have never been any good when it comes to dealing with drama queens. There was a bunch of DRAMA...

There were many times during those last five years I was not treated very kindly.  Please understand part of my job description should have included "...be able to tolerate uncivil and unkind behavior from some of the students and parents with whom you are in contact...".  However, I did not expect my supervisor to treat me in an uncivil or unkind manner.  I found myself as the recipient of loud, and public, rebukes for situations clearly outside of my realm of control.  More often than not, it seemed as if this behavior occurred whenever she was experiencing trouble at home.  I believe her behavior was obvious to those around me as they were treated this way as well. There was a difference between these two examples; my job description and title offered me a bit more weight/power in responding to my supervisor's behavior while the others around me had different classifications, most being clerical workers.   I always thought it made it more difficult for them to call her on her behavior...this angered me more than anything else.

Therefore, I have chosen kindness as my word for 2013 because I don't want anyone to be treated as I was during that time.  Even when things aren't going the way I expect them to go, there is no reason to be mean and snarly to those around me. Yesterday I was cleaning out some of the clutter from our home office when I found something I wrote to myself while I was dealing with the drama at work. I want to share it because I think it contains some good advice:

Ignore idiots; all you have to do is tolerate them.  You don't have to like, or be liked by, them.  Ignore their DRAMA*.  Don't dwell on the negative.  

Be grateful.  Be happy.  Love.  Smile.  Make the decision, then run with it.  Be nice.   Be calm.  Remember you CAN choose how you feel and how to live your life.  Don't whine.  Be thankful.  Be kind.  Be silent.  Be yourself.  Don't worry.  Don't waste your "mind" strength.  Be thankful for who you are.  It is okay to be successful.  Embrace your unique self.  

*added today

That's all for today...sorry I rambled.  When I get to be Queen, I won't be allowed to ramble anymore!  :-)  Happy Saturday.  Be kind and enjoy your weekend.

A New Beginning

Hello Friends!  This is my first blog under my newly renamed blogspot.com account. As such, I thought it helpful to explain how I came up with the title, "When I Get To Be Queen". I recently retired after a 24 year career in the Student Affairs division of a midwestern university. I worked in the office which monitored student conduct. Definitely not your typical profession.  If I was asked to over simplify what I actually did, I would have to say I was a surrogate mom, the voice of reason. I believe, more often than not, I was able to have a positive impact on the lives of the students with whom I had contact.  However, many of these young adults had to deal with serious consequences resulting from their unfortunate decisions. It was during this time I started using the phrase, "When I get to be queen...(fill in the blank). It seemed to be a good way to lighten my daily routine.  I loved my job, however; it was super stressful.

When I get to be queen, each of us will know which check-out line is the fastest. When I get to be queen, all husbands will automatically know the perfect gift to get us for our birthday or anniversary.    When I get to be queen, there will be no witnesses to observe us tripping over our own feet while walking down the hall. I believe my sense of humor helped me remain sane in the midst of daily craziness not only at work, but also at home. I hope to share my sense of humor, which has served me so well, with each of you.  I hope to be a little ray of sunshine in your day.