So, I feel as though I owe you readers and explanation for my lack of decorating skills. First off, Tyler, being a man, has about the same amount of decorating abilities as a chipmunk. It was assumed going into this marriage that I, being the woman (yes, we're sexist like that), would decorate our home in a tasteful, eye pleasing manner. I figured it was something that would come naturally to me, like getting dressed each day.
Boy was I wrong!
Let me explain.
I grew up in a home where the walls were stark white throughout the entire house (which, coincidentally, may have allowed me to be so comfortable inside hospitals). This provided a solid background for the decorations that changed, not just every season, but every month. Yes, 12 times a year decorations would change. We would decorate the house for various holidays throughout the year. When there wasn't a holiday to celebrate that month (May, August, etc.) we made up holidays and decorations. Enter: Strawberry Season for May! And Sunflower season for August! And Snowflake Season (AKA winter) for January! (which is quite ironic considering I grew up in California where I never saw a single snowflake at my house. Ever.) You see, I grew up thinking it was perfectly normal to change the decorations in a house every 3.6 weeks.
It wasn't until I was a teenager when I went to my friends' houses that I realized that they didn't celebrate Strawberry Season like I did. I went a step further and realized that they really only decorated for Christmas and maybe Halloween. I then realized that they had beautiful homes that were decorated for year-round enjoyment.
Now don't get me wrong, I love my mom and appreciate her enthusiasm for holidays (boy, I'm sure I was the most excited kid for Sunflower Season!) but it left me with a considerable lack of knowledge for decorating my house. I do not want to change the decor every month; I don't have the time or care that much to put such effort into something that huge. But now I am left hopelessly stupid when it comes to home decor.
And now that I'm not in school to suck up all of my time, I can actually focus on beautifying my home. Friends, please help me. What blogs/websites do you look to for inspiration? What basic rules are there that I am completely unaware of? What are your tips/tricks for simple decor in your homes?
Friday, July 22, 2011
Monday, July 18, 2011
Domestic Goddess: Part 4
This past weekend, Tyler and I had a sudden urge to paint our bedroom. It was so sudden in fact, that there aren't even any before pictures to show you what it looked like before! But remember the lovely brown walls in my living room? That same color was in our bedroom. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't us. And it was kinda boring.
So we decided to paint the walls a light gray. And here I'd like to point out that women are always right when it comes to selecting paint colors. I had selected my favorite shade for the bedroom, a light gray that honestly looks a bit like the Oregon clouds we see so much of here. But Tyler thought that would be too dark, so he insisted on this lighter bluish gray. It wasn't too bad, but I thought it was too blue, especially considering the blue bathroom and blue bedspread we have, but Tyler kept insisting on his color saying that it will dry darker than we think and that with shadows it will look darker anyway. So what the heck, I compromised.
While we don't hate the color, it wasn't at all what we were imagining. Honestly, the walls look light blue, not gray like we wanted. (Forgive the poor picture quality; they come from my phone and don't give a really good idea of the wall color.) But we are too exhausted to move all of the furniture back and repaint, so we're leaving it as is. But now I am in more need of decorating assistance.
This is probably the best picture for getting a true idea of what the wall color really is. And forgive the painters tape. . . it's a work in progress.
The trim has been repainted white which I think looks fabulous with the lighter color. It really freshens up the room and I honestly don't understand why everyone doesn't paint their trim white because it really brightens up a room. And I understand the need for window treatments. My question is, what color? I'm thinking white, or maybe a yellow? And I also feel the need for a new bedspread that compliments the wall color instead of bringing out the blue that we don't like. A plain white comforter? Would that be too much white with white curtains? And as always, ideas on bedroom wall art is always appreciated. Now go friends, inspire me with ideas for my bedroom. :)
So we decided to paint the walls a light gray. And here I'd like to point out that women are always right when it comes to selecting paint colors. I had selected my favorite shade for the bedroom, a light gray that honestly looks a bit like the Oregon clouds we see so much of here. But Tyler thought that would be too dark, so he insisted on this lighter bluish gray. It wasn't too bad, but I thought it was too blue, especially considering the blue bathroom and blue bedspread we have, but Tyler kept insisting on his color saying that it will dry darker than we think and that with shadows it will look darker anyway. So what the heck, I compromised.
While we don't hate the color, it wasn't at all what we were imagining. Honestly, the walls look light blue, not gray like we wanted. (Forgive the poor picture quality; they come from my phone and don't give a really good idea of the wall color.) But we are too exhausted to move all of the furniture back and repaint, so we're leaving it as is. But now I am in more need of decorating assistance.
This is probably the best picture for getting a true idea of what the wall color really is. And forgive the painters tape. . . it's a work in progress.The trim has been repainted white which I think looks fabulous with the lighter color. It really freshens up the room and I honestly don't understand why everyone doesn't paint their trim white because it really brightens up a room. And I understand the need for window treatments. My question is, what color? I'm thinking white, or maybe a yellow? And I also feel the need for a new bedspread that compliments the wall color instead of bringing out the blue that we don't like. A plain white comforter? Would that be too much white with white curtains? And as always, ideas on bedroom wall art is always appreciated. Now go friends, inspire me with ideas for my bedroom. :)
Domestic Goddess: Part 3
Remember back to my post about my boring living room? Well I finally decided to sew some pillows to brighten up the place. I really like how they turned out! I like the fabric, and despite being a bit lumpy from the stuffing inside, I'm quite pleased with myself.
I ran out of stuffing, so the second one isn't finished yet and thus hasn't been sewn up. But Chloe thought that I made these just for her and I'm having a hard time separating her from them to finish up the second pillow!
I'm working on slowly bringing life to that living room! Horizontal blinds are currently in all of the windows, and I'm working on artwork for the blank spot on the wall. Pictures to follow once I complete that project!
I ran out of stuffing, so the second one isn't finished yet and thus hasn't been sewn up. But Chloe thought that I made these just for her and I'm having a hard time separating her from them to finish up the second pillow!
I'm working on slowly bringing life to that living room! Horizontal blinds are currently in all of the windows, and I'm working on artwork for the blank spot on the wall. Pictures to follow once I complete that project!
Domestic Goddess: Part 2
I made this little beauty when we were waiting to determine if Tyler would need chemo or radiation for additional treatment. That was the worst weekend ever! We kept ourselves very busy that weekend, Tyler painting the trim all through the house, and I worked on this mini project. It was pretty simple. I found a cheap frame at Wal Mart and painted the frame. Then I took the glass that was inside the frame, and spray painted it with chalkboard paint, found at your local Home Depot/Lowe's for $5. Easy peasy. Just spray paint the glass, let it dry, and place in your newly painted frame! Hang wherever you need a chalkboard, and voila! This is Robyn as a Domestic Craft Goddess, which is even more of a rarity than Robyn as a plain old Domestic Goddess. Go make this easy project today!
*Note the freshly painted door upon which this sits. . . Tyler also worked on this door while I was working on this. We have a lot of paint around here. . .
Domestic Goddess: Part 1
So I've been trying to keep myself occupied while Tyler went and got cancer. You know, gotta find something to do or else I will go crazy looking up cancer statistics in my nursing textbooks. So I started off with strawberry picking. We went to a little farm and picked the smallest strawberries I have ever seen. Seriously. Take a look.
But then I went a step further and transformed these little beauties into this.
Both traditional strawberry jam with a water bath canner, and freezer jam. Tyler and I had a little taste test following both batches and concluded that traditional strawberry jam is much better than the freezer stuff! It isn't nearly as sweet which makes you want more without feeling sick. Although Tyler ate both right out of the jar, plain, so he's pretty happy with both batches. And I must say that freezer jam is ridiculously easy, so I might be more likely to do that in the future. But I can't wait for raspberries and blueberries to ripen so I can make even more jam!
But then I went a step further and transformed these little beauties into this.
Both traditional strawberry jam with a water bath canner, and freezer jam. Tyler and I had a little taste test following both batches and concluded that traditional strawberry jam is much better than the freezer stuff! It isn't nearly as sweet which makes you want more without feeling sick. Although Tyler ate both right out of the jar, plain, so he's pretty happy with both batches. And I must say that freezer jam is ridiculously easy, so I might be more likely to do that in the future. But I can't wait for raspberries and blueberries to ripen so I can make even more jam!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tyler got a tat!
Yes my friends, Tyler has a tattoo. 4 actually.
You see, they need to mark the skin for Tyler's radiation treatments so that they point the laser beam at the same spot each day to get the right area. Really, I can hardly even tell anything is there. It is smaller than a freckle. But, nevertheless, Tyler has 4 tattoos, two on his front and one on each side.
I think this is hilarious. But somehow, I think he'll be okay without a visit to the Bishop.
You see, they need to mark the skin for Tyler's radiation treatments so that they point the laser beam at the same spot each day to get the right area. Really, I can hardly even tell anything is there. It is smaller than a freckle. But, nevertheless, Tyler has 4 tattoos, two on his front and one on each side.
I think this is hilarious. But somehow, I think he'll be okay without a visit to the Bishop.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Our Not So Little Secret
***Update: I wrote this post a few weeks ago, but didn't have the nerve to click "publish" so I am finally doing it now. I have written many successive posts, and I will post those later. I am in a much happier mental state now; please do not worry about my psychological health. :)
I've been debating for a while when or even if I should publish this post. After a lot of contemplation, I've decided what the heck, I'll share it. Just please do not feel ripped off for hearing the news via blog instead of phone call, but for my sake I cannot afford to call up my friends and personally share this news. It was difficult enough to tell our parents, and I don't think I can do that over and over again.
There's really no easy way to put this, so I guess I'll just come right out and say it.
Tyler has cancer.
Testicular cancer to be exact. It all started with a regular doctor's visit which we pointed out an enlarged testicle that has been present for some months. No masses were felt, but to be safe, an ultrasound was done. Lo and behold, a mass was found on the ultrasound and a referral to a specialist and blood work confirmed that Tyler indeed, did have testicular cancer. Apparently, the tumor had grown from within the testicle itself, not on the surface as we had suspected, and grown to be 6cm large. But our urologist assured us that surgery would be needed and following surgery and the biopsy, we would determine if there was any need for chemotherapy or radiation. Testicular cancer is highly treatable, and, if detected early enough, only requires surgery to remove the cancer.
June 1 was the surgery to remove the mass. It went well, no complications other than Tyler's inability to handle strong medications. After a few days we received a glowing report that the tumor was non-aggressive and Stage I (that's good, indicates that it was well formed with little signs of spreading) and that x-rays and CT scans would be needed to confirm that the cancer hadn't spread anywhere else in the body. We were relieved and started to feel as though our cancer scare was finally over with little harm. At the 2 week follow up appointment from surgery, we reviewed the scans and were told the worst.
The cancer had spread.
The cancer that is supposed to be highly treatable had already spread to a lymph node near the kidneys.
Tyler would need chemo or radiation.
That appointment to the doctor still haunts my thoughts. I remember being happy in the waiting room, awaiting him to tell us the good news and that we could get on with our happy lives again. When he came in and started talking, it took me a while to realize he was telling us bad news. All I could hear was my pulse pounding in my ears and feel the huge lump forming in my throat. How could this be? Even he was surprised the tumor had spread because everything else looked so promising.
Now we await our appointment next week with the oncologist, to discuss whether Tyler should receive chemo or radiation for treatment.
I remember in nursing school learning about cancer and upon hearing that testicular cancer has a 95% survival rate, I told myself that if anyone in my family got cancer, I wanted it to be testicular. Wow, I'm eating those words! Even now, following surgery, there is a 90% success rate following chemo/radiation.
It's all just frustrating. We are young and healthy. Why us? All of my other married friends are graduating from college and moving to other parts of the country for grad school and having babies. That should be us, doing what everyone else in early marriage does, not face cancer together. I'm graduated and should be working in the hospital caring for other patients, not caring for my husband.
And Tyler never had ANY of the risk factors for testicular cancer! (Aside from being a Caucasian male between the ages of 15-30) Much like I don't have the family history of diabetes. I always thought our health obstacles would be centered around me and my chronic illness, not around Tyler.
I don't tell you all this asking for pity. I tell you to inform you. This is why I've been a lame-o friend. This is why I've been a hermit living out of my house ever since graduation. This is why I am hyper emotional and burst out in tears at church upon seeing the little children running chaotically around (who knows when we will be able to have children, if at all with my diabetes and his cancer).
I'm not in need of pity, I've done a great job doing that myself with frequent pity parties complete with junk food and movies (after all, he's got cancer! Who cares if he has ice cream and oreos and chips and soda and pizza at 11:30pm?). What we need is a lot of prayer. And hope. I'm afraid friends that my hope is starting to run dry. I've been so great at shouldering this load throughout surgery, but facing more unknown treatment is taking its toll on my hope. I can't bear to get my hopes up again only to have them crushed by more devastating news in the doctors office.
That being said, my faith is still firm that we will beat this sucker. I know that Tyler will live. I am not even processing that thought because Heavenly Father has assured me that much. I know we will make it through, I just don't know how much longer we will be on this cancer road.
I've been debating for a while when or even if I should publish this post. After a lot of contemplation, I've decided what the heck, I'll share it. Just please do not feel ripped off for hearing the news via blog instead of phone call, but for my sake I cannot afford to call up my friends and personally share this news. It was difficult enough to tell our parents, and I don't think I can do that over and over again.
There's really no easy way to put this, so I guess I'll just come right out and say it.
Tyler has cancer.
Testicular cancer to be exact. It all started with a regular doctor's visit which we pointed out an enlarged testicle that has been present for some months. No masses were felt, but to be safe, an ultrasound was done. Lo and behold, a mass was found on the ultrasound and a referral to a specialist and blood work confirmed that Tyler indeed, did have testicular cancer. Apparently, the tumor had grown from within the testicle itself, not on the surface as we had suspected, and grown to be 6cm large. But our urologist assured us that surgery would be needed and following surgery and the biopsy, we would determine if there was any need for chemotherapy or radiation. Testicular cancer is highly treatable, and, if detected early enough, only requires surgery to remove the cancer.
June 1 was the surgery to remove the mass. It went well, no complications other than Tyler's inability to handle strong medications. After a few days we received a glowing report that the tumor was non-aggressive and Stage I (that's good, indicates that it was well formed with little signs of spreading) and that x-rays and CT scans would be needed to confirm that the cancer hadn't spread anywhere else in the body. We were relieved and started to feel as though our cancer scare was finally over with little harm. At the 2 week follow up appointment from surgery, we reviewed the scans and were told the worst.
The cancer had spread.
The cancer that is supposed to be highly treatable had already spread to a lymph node near the kidneys.
Tyler would need chemo or radiation.
That appointment to the doctor still haunts my thoughts. I remember being happy in the waiting room, awaiting him to tell us the good news and that we could get on with our happy lives again. When he came in and started talking, it took me a while to realize he was telling us bad news. All I could hear was my pulse pounding in my ears and feel the huge lump forming in my throat. How could this be? Even he was surprised the tumor had spread because everything else looked so promising.
Now we await our appointment next week with the oncologist, to discuss whether Tyler should receive chemo or radiation for treatment.
I remember in nursing school learning about cancer and upon hearing that testicular cancer has a 95% survival rate, I told myself that if anyone in my family got cancer, I wanted it to be testicular. Wow, I'm eating those words! Even now, following surgery, there is a 90% success rate following chemo/radiation.
It's all just frustrating. We are young and healthy. Why us? All of my other married friends are graduating from college and moving to other parts of the country for grad school and having babies. That should be us, doing what everyone else in early marriage does, not face cancer together. I'm graduated and should be working in the hospital caring for other patients, not caring for my husband.
And Tyler never had ANY of the risk factors for testicular cancer! (Aside from being a Caucasian male between the ages of 15-30) Much like I don't have the family history of diabetes. I always thought our health obstacles would be centered around me and my chronic illness, not around Tyler.
I don't tell you all this asking for pity. I tell you to inform you. This is why I've been a lame-o friend. This is why I've been a hermit living out of my house ever since graduation. This is why I am hyper emotional and burst out in tears at church upon seeing the little children running chaotically around (who knows when we will be able to have children, if at all with my diabetes and his cancer).
I'm not in need of pity, I've done a great job doing that myself with frequent pity parties complete with junk food and movies (after all, he's got cancer! Who cares if he has ice cream and oreos and chips and soda and pizza at 11:30pm?). What we need is a lot of prayer. And hope. I'm afraid friends that my hope is starting to run dry. I've been so great at shouldering this load throughout surgery, but facing more unknown treatment is taking its toll on my hope. I can't bear to get my hopes up again only to have them crushed by more devastating news in the doctors office.
That being said, my faith is still firm that we will beat this sucker. I know that Tyler will live. I am not even processing that thought because Heavenly Father has assured me that much. I know we will make it through, I just don't know how much longer we will be on this cancer road.
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