Mrs. Fixit...or how to remove wallpaper

After finished product

Before, big mess

Lately I have been suffering from an acute nesting urge.  For the past month I have been in a re-decorating, re-modeling frenzy.  First I re-painted and re-decorated my son's old room.  For two years now I have kept it looking like a kids room, but I figured since he is in the air force, there isn't a need to have it kept as a shrine to childhood.  No, I didn't ditch all the stuff, I packed it away neatly, and now I have a new sewing room to go with my new sewing machine, which I have yet to play with.

Secondly, I re-grouted the tiles in my shower.  I must say, not a fun job, but the end result is awesome.  Be warned, re-grouting is exhausting and messy.  I started the job wearing sweats and a t-shirt but when I began grouting myself, I am embarrassed to say I finished in my underwear.

And thirdly I tackled the ugly wallpaper in my downstairs bathroom that came with the house when we moved in 12 years ago.  I've wanted to remove it for ages and I was mistakenly elated when the top portion came off easily.  I discovered tan fuzzy paper underneath.  Now I will say, I am no expert, but I researched wallpaper removal and bought all the supplies suggested.  When I started, I discovered that the commercial stripper didn't work.  The commercial scraper broke, and I never even used the perforator.  After one day of problems I just looked up home made stripper solutions and found that Fabric softener (any old cheapo kind) mixed with water in a spray bottle worked wonders.  A rigid paint scraper worked better than ones made for wallpaper removal.  And the second day the job went easier.  After the removal I scrubbed the walls with vinegar and water and painted.

It just goes to show you, sometimes home remedies work better than what they say "The pros use."

Love is in the air and in the movies

I admit it.  I am a sucker for a romantic movie, better known as a chic flic. And although my dear hubby would never admit it, he is a romantic as well.  After all we got engaged on Valentine's Day.  I know, I know, cheesy thing to do over a taco, but hey it was kind of romantic when he placed the ring on my plate.

So in honor of Valentine's Day I give you my 15 favorite romantic movies, along with my explanation, sprinkled with a little bit of cheese.

1.  "Titanic"

 Ok, I think this one is self explanatory.  I mean saving someone in every way possible?  What could be more romantic than that?

2.  "Ghost" 

It has all the elements of a romantic plot, ghosts, the supernatural...um never mind but it sure makes working in clay a lot more fun.

3.  "Pretty woman"

Oh my goodness, who wouldn't want being saved from life of ruin by Richard Gere?  Or is he being saved from his empty life by a tad less than pure Julia Roberts?  You be the judge.

4.  "Pride and Predjudice"

How can you not root for strong female character falling in love but not sacrificing her ideals.  The predjudice part is secondary.

5.  "Gone with the wind"

Frankly my dear, I hope Rhett and Scarlet can work this one out.  Then again...tomorrow is another day.

6.  "You've got mail"

Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks prove that nothing can stand in the way of true love, not even the internet.

7.  "While you were sleeping"

In the search for true love, Sandra Bullock finds that sometimes it is standing right in front of you.

8.  "The Holiday"

Two love stories for the price of one, Christmas, Travel abroad, sensitive men, need I say more?  And a happy ending to boot. 

9. " Sixteen candles"

My most favorite teen love story.  And not one but two leading men, Jake Ryan and Farmer Ted.  Jake Ryan is sure a hottie but I was kind of pulling for Farmer Ted.  On second thought the birthday cake scene was super romantic.

10.  "My big fat Greek wedding"

I probably put this one in only because I am Greek and a lot of the movie resonated with me.  Although, it is kind of romantic what a man will put up with when he is in love.  No my hubby didn't sit in pool and get baptised, but he have that hour long Greek wedding!

11.  "Shrek"

Since I am including the not so usual romantic movies I figured why not a computer animated one.  This one tries to teach us that no matter how hideous you appear on the outside, true love's kiss will bring out your true form and your true love will see that form as beautiful...make sense? If not maybe you are overthinking this?

12.  "The notebook"

A tear-jerker for sure.  Honestly I hate going to movies that I know I will cry in so I usually wait till they come out on video so I can cry in the privacy of my own recliner, with my own tissues, causing these least amount of embarassment to my husband.  This love story that spans decades shows how just how long true love lasts and how many boxes of tissues I can use in one sitting.

13.  "Peggy Sue got married"

This one kind of made me cry as well since the dreams of what one thinks love can be are not always what they are.  It does end happy though.

14.  "27 dresses"

A lot of people may not agree with me on this one since it is a pretty simple story.  Always a bridesmaid, never a bride is painfully true till the happy ending on this one.  And you gotta love the re-wording of Elton's Benny and the Jets.

15.  "Bridesmaids"

Speaking of bridesmaids, this movie has a way of making you root for someone who is envious, unhappy with her life, not always very nice.  And it makes you wish you could be stopped by a traffic cop for a broken tailpipe as well.

I know there are tons more, some I forgot, some I just didn't add becasue they didn't work for me.  I mean I don't really feel "Casablanca", but for those of you who do, here's looking at you kid.

No cross---words

I love doing crossword puzzles.  It’s no secret that crossword puzzles can keep your mind sharp-- improve knowledge--and vocabulary.  When I work my puzzles I like to use a pen, who doesn’t?  A pen produces nice dark lines that are easily readable in any light and on any type of paper.  The main drawback is that letters printed in pen are difficult to remove. Drawn over lines are messy and sometimes hard to decipher.  So what’s a puzzle addict to do?

Well, I try the pencil.  It has a nice eraser on it, but it sometimes tears the fragile puzzle paper, especially when one is frustrated.  I mean really--a seven-letter word for a scavenger could be buzzard, right?  Nope, it’s vulture, and I rip the paper trying to erase my error. Add on a couple hundred trips to the pencil sharpener and I am wits end.

So I pick up some mechanical pencils and soon find that lead is a bit thin for my pressure and the tips keep snapping off.

Next I discover erasable pens.  They aren’t perfect but they ARE a step up from pencils.  The only problem is that until they set, they smear so the side of my hand looks like I have beating it against the wall since it’s black and blue. And when they do set they don’t erase anymore.

The hunt goes on and I find a so called liquid pencil, which looks like a pen and has an eraser on the top, but when I use it I find it skips ink and the letters look like they are written by my 98 year-old Aunt Jenny.  Frustrated beyond words I toss it in the trash.

And then a light at the end of the tunnel!  I discover new erasable gel pens that erase with only friction.  It comes in awesome colors and it doesn’t skip, it writes dark and crisp and erases without a hitch on any type of paper.  What could this wonder be? 

Frixion erasable gel pens by pilot…

So now, I can do my puzzles with ease and NO – CROSS WORDS