Guest Bath...

WOW!  It's been a LONG time since I posted anything.  It's hard to believe it is already February 2013!  Time is flying and I am finding it hard to keep up.

Well, some good news and some not so good news.

First, the good news.  Dad came by my house and trimmed up all my trees (there are a LOT of trees in my yard - like 14+ pecans, a couple of oaks, a sycamore, and I don't know what else!  One of the oaks and the sycamore were in my front yard.  WERE.  Not any more.  He cut those babies down!  He said the sycamore was only good for filling my garage and patio with leaves and the oak looked like it was dying, so better to get rid of it now.  I still have one very large, very beautiful oak on the other side of my driveway....  Anyway...what surprised me the most was how much bigger my front yard looks now that I have no trees in the front yard!  It's awesome!  Thanks, Dad!  Great job!

Second, the not so good news.  Malissia's car broke down the other day.  Apparently the throttle body is jammed.  After doing a bit of research, it appears that this is a recall item on 04 Toyota Camry's with a V6.  I have an 04 Camry with a 4 cylinder, so guess what that means?  Right - no recall for my car.  Can anyone explain to me how different a throttle body is in a V6 and a 4 cylinder?  I'm not the smartest cookie in the box, and I certainly know very little about cars, but the throttle body is part of the acceleration mechanism.  I don't see how it is immediately affected by how fast the car can go and how quickly it can get there.  I realize that they do work together, but how the throttle body of a V6 can have problems while the 4 cylinder cannot...?  It would seem that I am not the only one with this question, or this problem.  Several websites have complaints about the same problem with the 4 cylinder.  Grrr....  Well, anyway - I wrote the Toyota manufacturer and hope to hear back from them soon.  I don't expect much, but I am praying about it and will leave it in God's hands.  If it doesn't get worked out it'll cost almost $1,500 to repair.  The dealership has advised me that this repair will only get the engine to stay on long enough for them to decide if there is any other problem.  As it stands, with the jam, when you turn on the car it revs up really fast and loud (even though you don't press the gas or brake) and then it dies quickly.  Scary!  They cannot keep the car going long enough to do diagnostics and see if there is any other problem with the car!  Grrr...!

Last of all, I have decided I'll have to put aside my dreams of remodeling my bathroom for now (money issues and all that!).  So I have decided to update Malissia's!  :)  She is one very happy girl!  However, her bathroom is also the guest bathroom, so everything had to be okayed through me.   Here is a picture of her bathroom BEFORE the renovations began, but WITH the new shower curtain and floor mats she picked.

Lime Green and Aqua Blue with Black & Silver accents is what we want!

And...here is a pic once we stripped out the bathroom walls, sanded, washed, kiltzed where needed, and filled in all the holes in the wall!  Sorry about the lighting - that fixture had to come down, too!



Thank goodness the linen closet is neat!

Here we are now...almost finished with the painting...just one more coat on the walls behind and across from the sink and some cutting in on the same walls.



Looking good!

Again, sorry about the lighting.  Once the painting is finished, we'll rehang the doors with black hinges and door knobs to match her black shower curtain hooks, put up the new (brushed nickel) towel bars and toilet paper holder, hang her new wall accessories (black picture frames, a brightly colored metal butterfly, a beautiful mirror with a silver frame, and her new chandelier...

I am unable to post a picture of the chandelier for some reason, so here is a link to it.  Just keep in mind we picked out the brushed nickel version.  Perfect!

http://www.wayfair.com/Progress-Lighting-Trinity-2-Light-Foyer-Chandelier-P3806-09-PG5454.html?refid=ER_W&mmid=100979202&csnid=3F6C481E-C70B-4255-9F56-17860236DF05&ltr=

I still need to buy her a new mini blind in white - the cream one isn't going to cut it anymore.  And soon I'll get the floor redone...maybe next month.   Here's what I'm looking at...




All White tile at Lowe's

 But...I like this one, too...



Black & White tile from Lowe's

 So, as you can see, there are still a few more decisions to make.  Hopefully everything but the floor will be completed this week.  Wish me luck!

And PLEASE help me pray about that Toyota issue!

K.  Bye, now!

Merry Christmas

Christmas 2012

source

It’s been awhile since I‘ve written one of my “traditional” Christmas letters, so forgive me if this letter tends to be wordy!  I’m sitting here trying to think of what I could possibly have to say that would interest any of you (especially those of you who have lived through this year with me), and my mind draws a blank.  All I can do is shake my head and try to clear out some of the cobwebs as I begin to type. 

This year has been crammed full and hectic from day one.  I’ve just looked back over the calendar and am amazed at how many banquets, dinners, conferences, fund raisers, parties and pic-nics I’ve attended and still found time for church, work, family and vacation!

The biggest change that stands out in my mind is the recent push for outreach and the purchase of a bus at church.  Trying to reach out to others to witness is, well, scary.  Really, it is.  You have to look around, get outside of your box, and pay attention.  It makes you get down on your knees and double check everything on the inside to make sure it’s all cleaned up and then polish up on the Word to make sure it’s fresh in your heart.  I’ve prayed diligently this year that God would create in me a clean heart and a right spirit.  I know, I know…it’s such a big challenge for Him…but if anyone can pull that off, He can!  I can tell He has already begun the process, but sad to say He has so much work left to do on me!  I want to be ready to be used by Him exactly when He needs me.  I want to be found a worthy vessel…humble, obedient and willing.  That will be my prayer for 2013.

I’ve had a lot of fun this year…the youth trip to San Antonio, a quick trip to Round Top, the Spring Pic-Nic, the Crawfish boil, and vacation at Ink’s Lake.  There have been the usual illnesses, heartaches, and disappointments…a terrible bout with viral bronchitis, surgeries, Kirstyn’s diagnosis with Asthma and severe allergies, the wedding that wasn’t, Grandma’s pneumonia, Sis. Hammer’s sickness, the lives so tragically taken in Colorado & Connecticut, our economy, Obamacare, and the election.  I’ve enjoyed many milestones this year, too!  I got a new car, Ryan graduated from High School, Malissia got her Driver’s License, Kirstyn has one class left to graduate from college with her Associates Degree in Education.

All in all, I have much to be thankful for.  I live in America, the land of the free, the home of the brave.  I am a Christian and I know God personally…I even know His name, Jesus.  I have a job, a car, a house.  I have family and friends who love me in spite of all my faults.  I have good health, a right mind, and a fairly positive attitude.  Don’t laugh…it’s true. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to 2013.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store.  I know, no matter what, my Friend will be with me through it all, and so will you!

Merry Christmas and the bestest New Year EVER!

The Barrick Family

(Stephanie, Kirstyn, Ryan, Malissia, Bush & Ashlynn)

My beautiful children

I'm Thankful for...

I have so much to be thankful for, I cannot complain!  God has been so good to me.  He has bestowed me with so many gifts this year - and I am of all people most unworthy!

He has blessed me with a home that I love and cherish.  I have a wonderful family, loving children, and a pastor and church family that surpasses all expectations.  I have friends and co-workers aplenty!  He has blessed me with good health, enough money to pay my bills, a new car, and great job and generous employer.  I have been given a right mind, a clean heart, the ability to love and to forgive.  I have the joy of the Holy Ghost in my soul and most importantly I know His name...Jesus!  The only name given whereby we MUST be saved!

I am thankful to live in America for even at its worst it is a thousand times better than living anywhere else!  With all of our imperfections, we still have freedom - to laugh, to pray, to be thankful or to grumble...whatever we want.  I am not afraid to walk out of my house, to fall asleep in my bed, of tomorrow and what it may (or may not) hold. 

I am grateful for my heritage.  For being an American citizen, for being a Maxwell by birth, for being a Christian, a child of God.  I could have been born at any time in any country to any parents, but God put me HERE, and for that, I give Him all the honor and praise.  He has been so good to me.

Of all the things I am thankful for, I am most thankful that He knows my name.  He knew me before I was.  The great I AM made sacrifices for me thousands of years before I was even to be, and then he left His holy WORD as a guide, a lamp post, a path, a landmark. 

How could I NOT be thankful?

Yesterday the ladies (and men) in the office got together to celebrate Thanksgiving.  Everyone brought a dish.  It was DELICIOUS and the fellowship will always be remembered! 



Buttermilk Pie, Apple Pie, MILLIONAIRES, a veggie tray, spinach dip, fruit salad and cranberry sauce...YUMMY!




Roasted Chicken, Broccoli Cheese casserole, green beans, glazed carrots, mashed taters n gravy

 I am thankful for all my co-workers and my employers!  It is truly a joy and a blessing to work in an environment that is pleasant and productive, with people who make you glad to come to work.  I can honestly say I never dread getting up and going to work.  I LOVE MY JOB!  :)



L-R Crystal, Buddi, JoAnn, Amber & Pam



L-R Crystal, Buddi, Amber, Pam, Brandi & JoAnn

A good time was had by all.  Thank you, John & Barbara, Albert, Wilbur, Brandi, Kim, Donna, Amber, Jo-Ann, Crystal, Buddi, BAM, and Pam, for making M-F at BVW a pleasant time & place to be!  May God bless you all abundantly this holiday season.

Happy Thanksgiving, all!

K.  Bye, now!

What I have to work with...

You've seen my posts about my dreams of a new bathroom.  I thought I should post a couple of pics of what it looks like right now.  I see a picture in my head of what I want, but I'm not altogether certain it will work...

Right side of bath

I absolutely love my apothecary cabinet...but may need to sacrifice it for counter and mirror space.  I could probably move it to the living room or kitchen...but it makes me sad...

My sink area does NOT function well at all.  The faux drawer is a waste of a drawer and there is no shelf in the lower cabinet area, so all I can do is try to keep stuff organized on the bottom while vast amounts of space go unused!

I have pretties in the apothecary cabinet, and a few perfume bottles (I once thought about collecting them and then gave up on it!).  The bottom shelf holds a basket which stores my blow dryer and curling iron and hot sticks.  I have a basket on the floor in front of the apothecary cabinet (not shown in photo) that holds my towels.  It works ok...but there has to be a better way.

Left side of bath

The tub butts up agains the wall at the end.  This is the side of the bath I am MOST unhappy with.  For starters, when this bathroom was gutted, I knew absolutely nothing about bathrooms.  My contractor advised me to get a tub surround (even though there was no shower EVER in this bathroom).  The only tub surrounds I found at Lowe's and Home Depot was for a shower.  So...I bought it.  Instead of telling me about my mistake and making intelligent suggestions, my contractor CUT THE SURROUND DOWN TO SIZE and installed it!  No trim, no nothing except an ugly caulk line that I cannot ever get clean.

In addition to that, the "cabinet" at the end of the tub...it used to be a ceiling to floor cabinet with two doors.  The top door held linens and such, the bottom was for a clothes hamper.  I wanted this bathroom to be bigger, so I asked him to make it smaller, which he did.  I asked for a cabinet door on the outside with a removable shelf on the inside, which he DID NOT!  The only way to access the inside of this total waste of space cabinet is to hit the underside of the lid and pray you don't damage the sheetrock, since he also failed to install it with hinges!  So...needless to say...I don't use this cabinet at all.

As for dimensions...the bathroom itself is almost square.  The sides in the pictures are 83" each or 6.9 linear feet.  The two sides not pictured each contain a pocket door as they connect my bedroom to my daughters bedroom.  The door sides are 80" each or 6.6 linear feet with one exception - there is a small "buildout" wall behind the toilet that is 5" deep. 

The space from the outer edge of the sink cabinet to the wall on the other side of the apothecary cabinet is 53" or 4.4 linear feet.  The sink cabinet is 22" deep and 33" tall.  I would like this cabinet to be 36" tall.

The cabinet at the end of the tub (from the wall to the tub) is 24" or 2 linear feet.  It is 29" deep and 32" tall.  I would like to make this cabinet about 60".  My dream would be to incorporate a drawer (or 2) at the bottom deep enough to hold a rectangular laundry basket for dirty clothes.  I would like a cabinet with a shelf on the top portion, but I also want some way for the side facing the tub to be useful...or at least appealing and in sync with the overall ambience of the bathroom.

There is no window in this bathroom.  The only lighting is the 3 bulb fixture over the mirror, which I don't care for.  There is a "heater" in the ceiling that is never used and would be better served with another, more attractive, light.  Currently I have a linoleum type floor.  I would prefer tile.  I am looking for a pretty, but easy to maintain, countertop...like Corian.

As far as color schemes go...my favorite color is green - just about any shade of green.  I am also loving the dark plums and raisin colors right now.   I like brushed nickel, pewter, and iron oxide, so I'm open to most of that...just not bright and shiny fixtures that show a lot of smudges.  This bathroom is used A LOT!  And with two daughters, we go through hairspray like it's going out of style.  You can imagine how much I need a functional bathroom that is pretty but easy to keep clean.

Last of all, I need to give you an idea of my style preference.  I am a mix between country, cottage, shabby chic, and french country.  Not overly frilly but definitely feminine and airy.

So...any ideas?  Any help?  Any suggestions?  I'm open...please let me hear from you.  I am hoping to remodel this bathroom after the first of the year (2013).

K.  Bye, now!

Happy Birthday, Little Man

Today is my son, Ryan Paul Barrick's, 20th birthday!  It's so hard to believe that he's a young man and not my little boy anymore.

Senior 2012

I am so proud of him...for all of his accomplishments and for his constant desire to be independent and self sufficient.  From the time he was born he has struggle to do things HIS way!  He learned to walk by the time he was 9 months old!  At 3 years, he still struggled to speak so he started school...within 6 months he had mastered speech and began laying it all out for everyone!  :)

He is a bit OCD...and I say that with a loving and patient heart!  He would cry if his clothes didn't match his shoes and tie.  Every hair had to be in place.  Don't touch anything in his room...he knew exactly where everything was and knew INSTANTLY if you had invaded his space! 

The night he received the Holy Ghost was a wonderful, precious night!  It was so wonderful to see God do a work in his heart...finally...God was real to him!  And even though he is not following in God's will at this time...I have faith that it is deep within his heart to do so and that he will find his way back to the fold!

He was always the one to agitate, tease and pick on his sisters.  He would walk through the kitchen and moon them just to see if they noticed.  He'd walk around the house without a shirt on so everyone could admire his "6-pack", which was his ribcage!

He has always been a people person...never meets a stranger!  He has friends by the droves.  While he is not a leader...he is not a follower.  He is not intimidated by the crowd...not afraid to stand for what he thinks is right.

But underneath all the teasing is my little man.  He loved to sit on my lap, for me to read stories to him, to sing him to sleep.  Hank the Cowdog, Adventures in Odyssey, Louis L'Amour...all his heroes! 
My prayer for you, my precious son, is that you will never lose your adventurous spirit, never forget all God has done for you, always remember where you came from and who loves you most, and that when you ride off into the sunset you will be able to hold your head up proudly! 

May this birthday be the bestest ever!  May it bring you untold measures of joy, love and happiness.  I love you with all of my heart and am the proudest momma ever to call you my son!  Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Love,
Mom

K.  Bye, now!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

I'm so excited!  Due to a series of unfortunate events, Thanksgiving is going to be at my home this year!  Let me clarify...the events were unfortunate, having Thanksgiving at my house is NOT!  :)

Every year we have Thanksgiving at Grandma's house.  There were a couple of years when we had Thanksgiving at Dad's house, when Grandma was in the hospital.  This year, she is well and at home, but they suffered a pipe leak in their slab and all the beautiful wood floors in their house have been ruined.  There is absolutely no way to get the repairs done in time for the holiday.  Normally this would mean Thanksgiving would take place at Dad's house, but they opted this past year to get rid of their dining room table and convert the formal dining room into a home office!  Since Jeremy (my brother) and his wife, Karren, live over an hour away, the final option is MY HOUSE!  WOO-HOO!  :)

We have spent much of the morning planning the day.  Turkey, ham, shrimp gumbo, potato salad, dressing, corn casserole, green beans, macaroni & cheese, sweet potato casserole, cranberry sauce, rolls, coconut cake, chocolate cake, peanut butter fudge, short bread cookies, tea, coffee and cocoa.  Does life get any better than that?  We are planning on eating everything on paper/plastic to save the kitchen slaves backs!  :)  Then family board games and maybe a trip around town to look at the lights. 

We have much to be thankful for!  A home, warm bed, lights, a/c & heat, food, clothing, shoes, good health, lots of love, a good job, and most importantly...God's love, mercy and blessings!

The only downside to this day will be that my 2 daughters will be in San Antonio with friends...but they are good friends and I am willing to share this holiday for them!  I know they will be well taken care of and create memories to last the rest of their life.

So...how about you?  What are your plans for this lovely Thanksgiving?  Going out to eat?  Having the family at your house or going to that special loved ones to share the holiday?  Any holiday traditions?  Fond memories?  Share them with me!  I'd love to hear from you! 

I'll try to post pictures of our special day to share with you after the holiday.  Until then, it's going to be really busy at my house cleaning, cleaning, cleaning.  I am usually the type of person who keeps the closets orgainized and the cabinets cleaned out and I like to stay on top of the laundry...but when it comes to wiping down the ceiling fans, the base boards, the cobwebs in the corners...not so on top of it.  So...it's down to business for me this next week.

Thank goodness I already have the coconut cake and chocolate cake in the freezer waiting to be thawed and iced.  That alone will save me HOURS!  :) 

Happy Holidays, folks!

K.  Bye now!

Bath Details...

I've been at it again!  Searching and pouring over internet sites looking for the "perfect" bathroom accessories.  Once again I find myself unable to make a firm decision...

I already have some lovely green towels that will stay in this bathroom, but I think I may add some purple...

Microdry Bath Towels and Sheets

Nice, huh?  I love the deep, dark purple color.  I'm very interested in the bath "sheets" which are just a fancy name for EXTRA BIG towels!  :)

I'm also looking for a shower curtain and rod.  I'm probably going to get one of those round shower rods that hang from the ceiling...since I don't have a shower mounted to the wall. 

These are 3 lovely shower curtains I found on Bed, Bath & Beyond's website (along with all of my other postings today!).  Any of them would work...it all depends on the paint color I choose for the walls.

How well do these hooks match the items I talked about in my last post???

Shower Hooks

And last of all, I found a couple of styles of accessories I'd love to have in my bathroom.  Of course, all I really need is the toothbrush holder and trashcan...but a girl can dream!

The green set probably really wouldn't match, but since green is my FAVORITE color, I had to include this set!  Love it!

Well, that's about all of my rambling for today.  Maybe I'll find me some paint colors, floor tile and backsplash tile soon...and perhaps I'll look around for some ideas for Malissia's/The Guest bathroom.

K.  Bye now!