Your wish is my command

After my recent re-decoration post, you had many comments & questions.  And lets be honest - I love it.   And since I love it so much, I will give in to your comment wonderings.

Denise wondered if the candle thingy on the table would look better without the big stick ball?  So-here it is.  I think yes.  (good thing I left the tag on it...)

 And by an overwhelming majority-the stick fiasco thingy was not a huge hit.  Ginmommy wanted to know what my other option was & you guys could vote. 

Here it is.  I have no clue what they are or what they're called.  I just know I walked past them in Hobby Lobby this weekend & liked them.  Sadly, it was not the week for them to be 50% off.  (You know that's what Hobby Lobby does, right?  They put certain things on sale one week & the next week the other stuff?  It's craziness...)  I went back last night to pick them up when they were 1/2 off (holla!), but again, I left the tags on them...just in case.  What do ya think of this?  Better?  Worse?  Yay?  Nay?

And yes, the tractors are a must on top of the entertainment center. B-rad really doesn't care what I do in the house - but this he cares about.   I'm working on an idea to give them some elevation & maybe put them at different heights...stay tuned for that...

Martha Mac is on a roll

It's time for another installment of "Jaime Mac attempts to decorate."   I spent an un-holy amount of money over the weekend...on stuff...for the house.  That's just not right...

I have decided instead of doing just one room at a time, I like doing things bit by bit.  When I go out shopping, I think about a specific thing I want to get.  Or a specific couple of things.  And that's what I do.  It has worked out well so far.  I feel like I'm making progress, but NOT feeling overwhelmed.

I changed the curtains on the living room windows.  These have been hanging since not long after we moved in.  I googled 'window treatments for large windows' (God Bless the internet...) & found lots of cute options.

 I decided on this.  If you notice, our walls are VERY short.  The middle of the room is 9000 ft high, but the walls are like 6 feet.  I settled on a nice, dark brown color but with a little pattern to keep it interesting.  I really like it in the whole scheme of the room.  Even B-rad said he liked it.

I also got an idea off Pinterest to use trunks.  I bought this at Old Time Pottery for $60 freaking dollars.  I use it to put throw blankets in.  (At least they're not under the end table now...)

 Also on Pinterest, I found this beauty right here.  I LOVE this.  I wanted to make this.  And I really thought Martha Mac was gonna pull it out this time.

Sadly...Martha Mac couldn't find all the components (or patience) it takes to make that beauty.  And THIS is what Martha Mac made.  No, it's not her best work...but she tries, people.   

Sigh...it's ghetto...it's ok to laugh...

It's on top of the entertainment center.  See the stick thingie on the bottom left?  I really, really like that.  I've had it for a while & I want to keep it there.  I can't decide if Martha's stick fiasco is too much stick stuff in one location?  Please, give your input.  I can handle it.  I already have a back up plan for up there if you say it's a no go.

Martha was so excited to create the stick art, that she did it in the living room...& in the kitchen & made a HORRIBLE mess.  It was baaaaaad.  Moss & sticks everywhere.  So, for the next project (oh yes, Martha is stepping up her game) she decided to go outside.   (The puppies were out there & helped...)

See, told ya it was a mess...

 This is the newest creation.  This is for the spare bathroom.  This one I LOVE & the best part about it is that I bought the fake flowers already 'bundled'.  I bought the brown sticks with the white thingies on them separate & stuck them inside.  I (Martha in case you were wondering...) stuck moss in the bottom, then added a block of styrofoam looking stuff you use for flowers.  (Because I'm a pro now...)  I arranged the flowers how I wanted them, then stuck the block on top of the moss.  THEN I stuffed more moss all around it to hide the sticks coming out.  I should totally put this on Pinterest...

 Remember the rocks on the coffee table that I paid for that I could have gotten out of the driveway?  Well, uhm - I decided to change them out.  I didn't like how white they were.  It really made them stick out.  I found the larger stick ball thing at Hobby Lobby & they had a kit with the smaller ones made from sticks & ropes.  I used some of the moss I scraped off the kitchen floor I had left over & lined the bottom.  Then I dumped the kit of stuff on top.  I added the big stick ball & then the candles for a pop of color.  Look.at.me.  (Yes, the tag is still on the stick ball.  I wasn't sure if I was going to return it or not...)

 The spare bathroom is the first room I'm painting.  It's a long process to paint the walls in our house because they're not drywall.  Last night my job was putting this cleaner stuff on them & then going back & wiping it off.  B-rad left me alone, un-supervised, to do this.  He left me with words of encouragement & wisdom before he left.  "Make sure you cover every single spot.  Don't miss anything or I'm telling you- the paint won't stick.  I've seen how you wash a car."  Sigh...

This weekend on the shopping extravaganza I wanted to find some things to hang on the walls in the spare bathroom.  I found some cute prints with lots of color.  As I walked around, I found this too.

It has all the colors from my cute prints AND the prints have circles too.  I really, really like this.  It also gives me lots of options for wall color, towels & rugs.  But it was also $60 freaking dollars.  Sheesh.

 B-rad & I started to put that painters tape stuff on everything in the bathroom last night.  (Can you imagine me painting a room with no margin for slop or error?  Oh, the humanity...) I got bored after 15 minutes & went to bed.  I have NO patience for that kind of thing.  And there's nothing but a cabinet, shower, toilet & door in the bathroom.  I can only imagine how much it will suck to re-do the kitchen.  Ugh.

McAfee Animal shelter

Friday night when the storm was coming in, Brian called B-rad to say the sky looked really funny & that he needed to go outside & watch it.  Well, you KNOW B-rad is all about being right in the middle of the storm in front of glass & other dangerous objects.  When he went outside, he got more than just some funny clouds.  He heard a loud, high pitch whine.  It was a little, tiny, brown puppy running around.  He called me outside (because you know I was safely inside glued to the television).  It was just starting to rain & get really dark when I saw 2 more objects coming towards the house from the road.  It was another puppy...& their momma.  I don't know how to tell you I KNEW it was their momma.  It has to do with certain things that happen to lady parts, ahem, when they have puppies.  Gag...

So it was quite the scene, B-rad & I & the puppies & their momma & Daisy (our stray from the piece of garbage neighbors that didn't take care of her) on the porch in the middle of a monsoon while trying to feed everyone...because, well - it's obvious they were starving... 

 I wasn't sure if the puppies were even weened yet because they were so little...but they sucked that food down like champs.

At first we thought maybe someone dumped them on us.  That's the kind of thing that pieces of garbage do...they dump poor animals off on someone else.  But we quickly figured out that these dogs also belonged to our pieces of garbage neighbors.  (The same ones who didn't take care of Daisy when she wandered up to our house starving.  I feed her & give her tick medicine.  She loves me.  Who wouldn't?)

If you don't love this face - you are heartless...& I don't want to be your friend anymore...

 These two are a mess.  They are super cute & super lovable.  They whine a lot (which is annoying...) but  they let us hold & pet them.

 You can see here momma decided it wasn't too bad at the McAfee's & set up camp on the wicker couch.  (Which is where Daisy resides..hence the blankets...)  I told B-rad, "Well my $1000 set of wicker furniture is getting a lot of use by all the animals!"   (Don't forget Sparky & Sonny use to lay on it too... Sigh...) 

 See how you can see her ribs?  Cruel...

They had a lot of ticks on them too.  Shocking...they weren't fed NOR taken care of with medication.        B-rad got around 20 ticks off the black & white ones EARS alone.  She had them under her little legs & everything.  I had just bought Sonny some Frontline & I have a friend that was a Vet tech.  She said I could use the cat dosage & split it up onto the puppies.  So now-they've been medicated.

 Oh, c'mon.  She.is.adorable.

Here's momma again.  See how I knew she was their momma?  Yuck...  This poor girl has had lots of puppies.  My other neighbor gave away 18 last year from a litter she had.  I would totally call & report the ones who aren't taking care of her for cruelty...but I'm kind of afraid they'll burn my house down.  If they don't care about animals, how much compassion can they have?  

(She also got frontlined while she was there...)

 Update:  the new family was with us Sunday & that night.  I know this because I heard them barking all.night.long.  Grrrr.  When I fed them Monday morning, NO ONE got up for food...like I said - they were exhausted from their night of barking.  When I got home from work, they were all gone.  (Except for Daisy...she knows she's got a good thing going.  PLUS she reclaimed her couch!)  If they do come back, I'm the responsible kinda gal that will take them ALL to the vet to be fixed.  

I'm working on it

Oh, loyal stalkers....I've got some doozies to tell ya.  However, time escapes me.  I will be working my little fingers to the nubs to get the posts done for you when I can.

Here's a sneak peek:  I'm sure you all read my big shout out to you on fb Saturday.  I shopped...until I dropped...some serious cash.  Sigh.  I will be telling you allll about it.

Martha Mac has been busy again.  She really does hate to brag, but she's getting good... It's almost scary HOW good she's getting.

AND, we had quite a surprise over the weekend... Let's just say B-rad now refers to us as "McAfee's Animal Shelter".  I have a soft heart for animals, not people...people... 

Shopping. (aka suffering...)

 A group of my jewelry lady friends got together to go stay the weekend at Edinburgh & shop at the outlet malls.  Now, I fully realize this goes against every.strand.of.dna.in.my.body, but I don't like to shop.  I know...I know.  I have no patience - so shopping for hours & hours is daunting & becomes boring to me.  I'm good for a couple of stores then I am done.  I especially hate shopping for clothes.  And it's really my fault.  I am not a regular sized gal so it's extremely difficult to find clothes that don't make me look frumpy or older than I am.  I mean, really - just because I'm a larger chick, doesn't mean I wanna wear bird houses or kitty cats on my shirts.  Just sayin'....

We hit the outlets Saturday afternoon.  I did buy 3, count 'em 3!, new pairs of shoes.  They were all those Mary Jane type shoes.  One black, one brown (so I have every outfit covered) & 1 pair of Merrill's (which are supposed to be good for you) to wear to the lake & casually.  

Then.... then..... then.... they all ganged up on me & decided to help me find what style dress looks good on me for the Red Dress Gala.  OH.THE.HUMANITY.  

I was not happy about this.  Sigh.  But it was 8 against 1.  I didn't stand a chance.  I figured I would try on a couple of their silly dresses to say I did & then sprint outta the dressing room. Uhm, no that's NOT how it worked.  They held me hostage.  And I swear they made me try on 15 dresses.  Someone save me....

My friend, Debbie, is a very sophisticated lady & she knows all about a persons shape & all that sillyness & knows what you need to look for.  She told me 9,000 times, "We're going for STYLE here, not color!"  (Alicia-you're still not off the hook...we may have to go shopping again around here.  I will get to suffer with you too.  Hmph...)

First up we tried on some of those cool pants that look like a skirt.  I LOVED them!  They were super comfy.  We found this red top on clearance (of course, it was toooooo small) but this could definitely be an option for the Gala.  (See my cute new Mary Jane's?)

 I only took pics of the dresses they thought looked the best on me so we could remember the styles.

 I didn't take pics of the little dresses with sweaters that made me look like I was 12.  (Also notice the hair got pulled away from my face & body.  I was burning up in there!)

 THIS was our favorite.  Debbie decided to pose with me on this one.  Doesn't she just look like she's having the BEST time?  Sigh.  Brenda took a pic of the tag so we could go back later online & look for red versions.  

 When I finally begged them to let me be done, we headed outta Dress Barn & visited lots of other shops.  One of our last stops was the Hanes store.  We met up with some of the other girls in there being 'sized' for bras.  The chick that sized me was on crack.  She told me 1 cup size bigger than I usually wear.  This thing was so big on me it was crazy.  This is the pile of bras I tried on.  You should be shocked that I would even take my clothes off after the dress ordeal.  But I did - it was the exhaustion setting in.  I found 2 new bras (riveting blogging, huh?) & I'm pretty happy with them.  They are different 'types' than I've ever had before.  Change is good, right?

All about me....

Since ya'll read mainly because you want to know every move I make love me, I thought I'd do a 'Jaime Mac' is awesome post.  Plus, if I can't brag on myself - who else is going too?  Pssssh!  

(Side note: So far in the bedroom set polling, bedding #4 is the front runner.  I find this interesting because it is the set I picked out first.  Turns out ya'll do know what you're doing...) 

I haven't told you much about the jewelry biz lately...but that's because I've been pretty busy with it.  

Ya'll remember how I go to Texas in July, right?  They usually have a special 'Designer' meetings & you can only go if you're a Designer.  But this year - they're changing it up.  Instead of the meeting, they are doing a 'Red Dress Gala'.  Sounds fancy schmancy, huh?  It's going to be a fancy dinner, a band, dancing & prizes.  Perhaps most of all - rubbing elbows with the important people in Premier.  And you KNOW how I am about celebrity stalking...

 There are qualifications for it & honestly I didn't care if I made it or not.  There are some things they put out there that I am foaming at the mouth about (bracelet last year - hello!) but this was just not one of them.  The qualifications had to do with sponsoring.  You had to promote to Designer (which means you have 7 jewelers under you & had 36 home shows in a year.)

My view on sponsoring is very healthy, I think.  I share the opportunity with ladies & if they want to be a part of the Premier family - that's great I love it!  But if they don't - that's great too.  I do NOT take it personally.  This business is not for everyone, & that's ok!  But if it is something for you - it can be a great addition to your life. 

With that being said, - you remember I told you I was promoted to Builder back in November?  That means I had 4 jewelers & 24 homes shows.  That is also the first level in 'leadership' in Premier.  And we all know I love to be bossy a leader....

Very recently I had the opportunity to talk to 3 ladies about Premier & they all three decided to be jewelry ladies!  I affectionately call them my triplets!  But guess what else happened?  Those 3 gals were numbers 5, 6 & 7...  Do you remember what that means?  It gets you to the mecca of Premier Leadership - Designer.   (of course I had enough shows... I had 45... shocked?)  

I got my new charm for my bracelet last week...

And guess what else I got?  A special invitation to the Red Dress Gala.  If you look closely, you can see my name in red under Indiana.  Go.me.

Now I have the daunting task of shopping for clothes.  ugh.  More specifically a red dress.  ugh.  I don't wear dresses & I hate shopping for clothes.  Sigh.... 

Am I a brat or what?  (That's probably why I didn't care about going - it entailed shopping...for a dress....)  And don't worry - I will totally hunt Tim & Andy down to get a picture with them in my red dress....

Just like I need help with decorating - I need help with dressing myself.  Pitiful...

Martha Mac is back

Sigh... I told ya'll I have NO decorating skills.  None.  It's very sad, really.  But I've been trying a few new things in the house.  Sigh again...

Back before Christmas, hgtv.com told me that my style was 'rustic'.  (Which is just a nice word for country, remember?)  I had my cool glass container thingies I used at Christmas to put ornaments in & they've been sitting collecting dust empty ever since....

And ya'll know I get overwhelmed when it comes down to redecorating a whole.entire.room.  Gasp.  So I decided to find something that would go in the round glass bowl on the table.  Baby steps, people.  You don't want me having an anxiety attack now do ya?

I was at Old Time Pottery a few weeks ago & found some rocks.  Uh huh...rocks.  I PAID for rocks.  Like the ones that are in my driveway.  Geez.  I put the rocks in the bowl & then slapped some candles in it.  Voila.  (the pic looks weird because the flash bounced back at me...)

 I really like the metal art stuff that's so popular but could never find one I liked.  I found THIS beauty at Old Time Pottery the same day I paid for the rocks like what's in my driveway.  (UHM, it was $60.  I almost died...)  It's flowers.  LOVE flowers. It's color.  LOVE color.  I have a pillow that I'm pulling colors from for the room & it has all the colors in it! (LOOK.AT.ME!)  

B-rad slapped it up on the wall for me.  

 This family pic used to be where the new metal flower thingie is.  I moved it to another wall & added the metal candle sconce thingies...

I also had the glass canister shaped thingiess on top of the entertainment center that had ornaments in them.  They have also been sitting empty.  I found this idea on Pinterest.  I LOVE how they turned out!  When I sent this pic to Shauna, her remark was, "You know that's totally COUNTRY don't you?!"   Like it was a dirty word.  I said, "Well - the internet said I was rustic...."  She giggled, "Oh yea, I forgot!"  What.ever.

 This is how they look on top of the entertainment center.  Eventually I want to get some kind of garland to put on top of it like I did at Christmas time.  I liked how it looked but of course I can't have silvery glittery goodness all year.  Dang it...

 I have no idea what I want to do with the kitchen.  The kitchen scares me...in more ways than one...  I know I want to re-do the cabinet pulls (also found THAT on Pinterest) but that's gonna be a job that requires B-rad's help (because he doesn't trust me to do it...) & he's starting to do farm stuff now.  

I have also bought a new rug in greenish blue & browns for the spare bathroom...that's gonna be the first room I paint.  It's small so we'll see how it goes.  Pray for me...

Next- our bedroom!  (See how I bounce all over the place?!)  I wanna do it in black, white & grey.  That's different for me because I usually love bright, bold colors. (I have no clue what color to paint the walls or even if I should.  Right now they're white...boring white...like the rest of our house... )  Don't forget I have a nice little black cat that LOVES to lay on our bed too...  I have a black & grey rug at the foot of the bed & the curtains are dark grey.  I'm going to find cool pictures I took with my fancy schmancy camera & print them in black & white (that part was Shauna's idea),  frame them & hang them up over the bed.  Not like pictures of us...pictures of corn & stuff... like what I put at the top of the blog.

I've been looking around for new bedding & I have a 30% off coupon at Kohl's so now's the time to do it.  I've narrowed it down to 4 different choices.  I asked  B-rad to help me but he said, "As long as I can lay on it & sleep - I don't care what you get."   Hmph.

So - it is all on YOUR shoulders.  The future of our bedding is up to the loyal blog stalkers.  Gasp.  Tell me which is your favorite & the one with the most votes wins...maybe...if I don't decide you voted wrong...

The caption above the pic is the one you're voting for...just so we're clear...

Bedding #1

 

 Bedding #2

 Bedding #3

 Bedding #4

And if you have any decorating tips for me, please please, please, please let me know.  Like what I should do in the kitchen...or what color to paint the bedroom...and if I should change the furniture in the bedroom (it's all brown oak now...).  But remember the capacity you're dealing with...I'm pretty people - not handy...

The most scared I've ever been...in my whole life...

Many of my stalkers have written wonderful, heartfelt posts about the devastation caused by the tornado Friday.   You know it's hard for me to do wonderful & heartfelt... so I will do what I do... funny.  

I'm never been one to worry about storms.  I just don't.  I think the weather people get all freaked out & excited about what could happen & then when nothing does - I'm left feeling irritated that they pre-empted my favorite shows & I've been down in the basement sitting on a 5 gallon bucket for nothing.  Hmph.

My cousin, Amber, lives in Kansas now & she put a warning on her facebook status for, 'everyone back home to watch the storms carefully today'.  I responded with my normal smart a** remark about not listening to them because they get all excited for nothing.  Her & I bantered back & forth a few times & I thought that would be it.  

At my work, no one gets too bent out of shape about weather stuff.  When it snows, we're expected to be at work.  If the power is out, we're expected to be at our desks, with no computers,  no lights, no telephones, ready to work.  It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen.  So when storms threaten to come, we are still at our desks...hard at work.  

Friday afternoon-ish, Mom had texted me that they were calling for really bad storms & that 'everyone at Jacobi's needs to be watching'.  I said 'ok' & went on with life.  I sit in the back of the building kind of off by myself & I didn't want anyone to forget about me just in case we were going to get blown away so I asked one of the guys that watches the weather to 'not forget about your girl in the back.'

Around 2:30 I heard rumblings about a tornado in Jasper headed this way.  So I went to the front of the store where everybody else was.  All the guys kept going to the door that faced to the west.  And they would walk back & forth.  And THIS was my first hint that something was bad wrong.  Like I said, we sit at our desks even as snow piles around us...

I was standing at the parts counter & one of the guys said, "Watch it girls, watch!  It's starting to turn & form."  And I was like, 'What 'chu talkin' 'bout Willis?!'  We have a cellar thingie here but I don't like retreating there that until I feel like I need to.  I kept watching the sky (in the showroom surrounded by WINDOWS) & in what seemed like took forever, I saw the funnel form & start towards the Earth.  That's when I felt like I needed to get to the cellar thingie & fast... And I hauled a** as quick as I could go.

I have never been so scared in my whole life.  Mom & dad live right down the road & she called me screaming that 'they see the funnel' & I'm screaming back 'I KNOW!  I'm in the basement!  You go to the basement!'  After a few minutes, one of the managers came & told us it was ok to come out.  Mind you-it was just 3 girls down there...all the men around here were standing outside watching.  We looked outside & could still see the sky churning over the tree line.  

Then they decided to send us home.  I couldn't believe it.  I just can't make you understand - we NEVER get sent home. Then there was talk of another storm.  Then I heard that there was a funnel spotted on Brunner Hill Road.  UHM-that's MY road...

So I drove home...not knowing if my house would be there or not. I was worried about my stuff & I was worried about my animals...

This is the back of my work looking towards Hwy 150.  (I did not take this picture - I was in the cellar in the fetal position sucking my thumb, remember?  I found this on facebook.)

When I finally left, there were people all.over.town. standing outside to watch.  Crazy bastards.    (I didn't take this one either... God Bless Facebook...)

When I got home, thankfully, our house was fine.  B-rad got home right after I did so he assumed his normal position during storms of being plastered to the doors & windows.  The second round of storms came through with some crazy wind & marble sized hail.  I was on the phone texting like a mad woman while Monty Webb from WHAS 11 said, "WHEN I TELL YOU TO GET TO YOUR STORM SHELTER - I MEAN RUN, DON'T WALK!"  Gulp.

Then, as strange as it seems, the sun came out.  Everything was calm.  It looked like any other normal day.  Only that day...it was the farthest thing from normal....

We had plans to go to Indy Friday night for a farm thing.  We waited until later in the evening after things calmed down.  On our way out of Palmyra, we passed an area where the tornado passed through on its way to Pekin.  It knocked trees down.

It took this chunk out of the highway.  They had to fill it with gravel so you could drive over it.

It picked up this section of road & looked like it just laid it down gently in the field about 20 feet away.

On our way up 65, we noticed at least 3 caravans of buses, emergency personnel & electric companies headed this way.  It was an awesome sight to see the calvary coming.

After seeing the devastation in Pekin, I was convinced the tornado I watched form was the one that hit that town.  B-rad got all Google Earth on us & plotted a map of spots we knew got hit including Henrvyille school, his buddies dads farm & Chelsea - look at the yellow pins...they are practically a straight line.  And the pin on the left is where it started...not far from where I was...

Whether you were affected directly or in-directly from this storm...one thing is certain - we were all affected.  One of my fellow jewelers lost her Great Aunt & Uncle & cousin when the storm hit Chelsea.  Some of my blog stalkers & hostesses have lost their child's school.  One of my hostesses was on the news because her home was still standing in Henryville but is un-liveable because it shifted it off it's foundation.  One of my jewelers friends home was destroyed...

Now it's up to us to help any way we can.  I'm not so much the 'get out & roll my sleeves up & move debris' kinda gal - but I can donate items.  I can donate money.  Don't feel helpless.  There are SO many suffering & so many things needed - every little bit helps... no amount is too small!