Feeling Good

Hey Y'all: 

I have learned to never underestimate the value of a compliment. 

The reason I bring this up is because the other day I received a nice little postcard from my Homeowners Association:

 

 

It doesn't matter that they probably sent these out in mass quantities...it still made my day reading it.  Thank you HOA! 

Maybe its my new flowers that got their attention:

 

 

Hubby and I planted these about a month or so ago.  Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE petunias?  They are so easy to grow and one of the few full-sun varieties of flowers that can last for months. 

Its hard to tell but we actually planted them in shallow containers.   I wanted something low to the ground so that the sprinklers would water them....and I am happy to say the plan worked!  I did not want to dig up an area for the flowers because the last time I did that (and spent close to 100 bucks on flowers) they were raided and ruined by the Sand Hill Cranes....UGH! 

So far it appears that the cranes are not interested in the petunias....so yay to that!

Anyway, I am going to remember how nice it felt to read that postcard and be a little more mindful in the the area of compliments....a kind word can really make someones day.

But for now, let me go ahead and wish everyone (an early) Happy Mother's Day!  I hope your weekend is one that is full of sunshine, flowers, and compliments.

Toodles!

Two Peas in a Pod?

I believe I have mentioned in the past, that I like to look at houses via realtor.com.  I ESPECIALLY like looking at houses in my very own neighborhood.  I am just nosey curious that way. 

Anyway, as I was perusing the website the other day, I came upon a new listing that is the same house plan as mine with a few minor exceptions...one being that the garage is on the left side of the house where as mine is on the right (so we have the same house, just flipped).  Anyway, as I was clicking through the pictures I was surprised and a little tickled that the owner of this house (I am going to refer to her as a female, although I have no idea who lives there) has similar taste as me. 

For example:  We have the same dining room furniture (although I threw in a couple of extra chairs in mine):

My house:

Her house:

In addition to the matching furniture, apparently we both think it is perfectly acceptable to use palm trees in the dining room.   This is Florida after all :-).

Moving on to the living room....


My house:

Her house:

Neither one of us are shy about using white furniture (her kids must be grown too).    And a big ole banana tree   LOL!!!  That cracked me up.  Seriously, how many people put banana trees in their living room???  Well, at least two of us do.

It looks like we both agree that garages need to get decorated too: 

My house:

Her house:

This was a fun house to look at.  And although there were a few other similarities, there were a few differences too.  Clearly, I use color a little more liberally...but then again, she is moving, so she might have neutralized her home for that purpose.  Regardless, I enjoyed the compare and contrast activity on this otherwise rainy, boring day.   

Ahhh...goodness.  Too bad this lady is moving, I might just want to go over an introduce myself.

Well, that is all I have to share today....I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!   I am personally ready for the rain to go away and the sun to come and play.... :-)

Ciao for now!

Coconut Oil...We Might Be on to Something Here

Good Morning Friends, I normally would not include something like this on my blog but I have stumbled upon something that is SERIOUSLY good...so I felt the need to share:

Coconut Oil....who knew?

I have been complaining of "brain fog" for the last several years...and because I had a grandmother who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, I have become increasingly paranoid with every word that I forget....have I mentioned that I am a hypochondriac???...oh yea, I am pretty sure I have <sigh>.  Anyway, a friend of mine recently shared with me an excerpt of a CBN news story that featured a doctor who used coconut oil to curb the dementia of her husband.

Here is the video clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZOR-Qd3QSg


After watching it, I thought...what do I have to lose?...I will see if it helps me.  So I started using the coconut oil.  At first, I attempted to mix it in with my food....but that really did not work out too well, so now I just take a heaping tablespoon full (straight from the jar) before each meal. 

And guess what???

I think it is working!!   Seriously, I really feel like I am thinking more clearly.  I haven't forgotten anything lately and I have been able to carry on normal conversations without lost words...yay!!!  Of course, now I worry that maybe its just the placebo effect  LOL!!!   I am a mess!

However, in addition to my clearer mind, another interesting thing has happened:  Satiety!!!    I know for sure that this is not a placebo effect because I had no idea beforehand that coconut oil was an appetite suppressant!  I have since Googled it and confirmed that other people are reporting the same thing.

I am here to tell you...I am an eater....I can eat whether I am hungry or not (and it seems like I am hungry more often than not) so when I noticed that I wasn't hungry nor was I overly interested in eating, I thought hmmm...what is going on here???

For example, several days ago, my husband came home from the store with a mango key-lime pie...yum!  Normally I could devour that thing in one sitting, instead it sat in our fridge for several days, while he ate all but one piece.  What???  I promise you that has never happened before....pies do not last 24 hours in this house, they just don't.  I only had one piece and did not care one bit that the Hubs ate the rest.  Craziness, I tell you!

I am sure you are wondering if I have lost any weight...nope.  Although I am clearly not eating as much as I normally would, the coconut oil is loaded with calories (130 per Tbsp); BUT it is a nice feeling to not be interested in food...it really is.  And the great thing about it, is that I don't feel nauseous (like other appetite suppressants make me feel) and I don't really feel full either...I am just not interested in eating....WEIRD!!!  I am not even interested in lunch or dinner, but I eat anyways because it is the right thing to do. ;-)

So what I am trying to get at here is that if you are suffering from old-age brain or are one of those people who walks around feeling hungry all the time, you might want to consider coconut oil.   Note: I am not a medical professional, so please do not perceive this as advice, I am just reporting what has happened to me.  Please do your own diligent research before starting any dietary program.

So that's it...crazy but true.  Out of curiosity, does anyone else have experience with coconut oil?   If you look it up on the Internet there are all kinds of wild claims....allegedly it can cure anything from a hang nail to HIV....I don't know about all that but I would be interested in hearing other people's experiences.  Please share!

Mini Master Bedroom Makeover Before and After

Hello Friends:  I mentioned last week that I was going to post some after pics of my mini master bedroom makeover (sans a proper ceiling fan).

Here is a reminder of what it looked like before:

 

I call it a mini-makeover because most of the furniture remained the same, as well as the carpet and major bed linens.  So you must be wondering...what the heck got changed???  Well let's take a looksie:

 

1.  First I experimented with paint (three different colors to be exact) and ended up with Iced Chocolate by Valspar.  It matched my bedspread that I bought right before Christmas (total coincidence by the way).  Here is the paint color, although it really doesn't have this pinkish hue on my walls.

 

Source:  Lowes.com

 

 

2.  We added crown molding and painted it white to match the rest of the trim ... I love how it makes the dark paint color pop.

 

 

 

3.  I added my shabby chic candelabras.  I used battery operated votives for ease of use.

 

 

 

4.  Added window treatments on the bay window....plain white linen...perfect!

 

 

5.  Then there was the vintage Moroccan Wedding Blanket.... seriously, love, love, love!

 

 

6.  We traded the old club chairs for ones that were a little more classy:

 

 

7.  Lastly, I added a few furry items (an ottoman and a pillow) I just think they add sex appeal ... and who doesn't want that in their bedroom ;-)

 

 

Oh yea, I also took the metal canopy off the bed.  And that's about it....so when you put those all together and you get this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple side by side views:

 

 

 

So there you have it my friends...as I have mentioned before, I am fairly happy with the changes. Although we still have the large, masculine (power) furniture, the room now has a hint of femininity and romance.    Yay to that!

 

What are you working on???  Do share.

I decided to share this post with thriftydecorchick  it is a REAL blog!

 



A Problem with Budgeting

I will just go ahead and say it:  One problem with budgeting is that by the time you have the money for an item, it might be gone...boo!

Y'all know by now that I have been sitting and waiting to switch out the ceiling fan in my bedroom.  My original plan was to take the one that is in there currently:

And move it to the office (where it really belongs) and then I was going to take the one from the office and move it to my bedroom.  This is the one that is currently in the office:

But here are the problems with that plan:  1.  The office fan is builder-boring (read cheap and generic looking)...reminder: I don't like builder-grade stuff.    2.  The one that is in the bedroom has a remote control...which I use Every.Single.Night. and the one that is in the office does not (that is a major issue).   3. The office fan does nothing to add to the ambiance that I am trying to create in my room....as a reminder, I am looking for luxury and romance....this fan does not speak to either quality.   Bottom line:  Although it was a nice and economical thought, I just don't think I could live with the office fan in my bedroom.

Soo.... I have been waiting; waiting until a new budget cycle to buy a fan that is a little more exciting.  This is the one that I had in mind:

Source: Overstock

It was the right finish color, and I really like the big, rounded paddles...makes the fan more feminine looking (in my opinion).

Well, today was the day, April 1st, the start of a new budget cycle.  I woke up this morning and eagerly logged on to the computer to start spending my monthly allowance...and then I got this message:

UGH!  Seriously?  It was still available last week when I checked up on it!  Darn!  And what really sucks is that I even had a good coupon plus Overstock Dollars to use towards it!  Dang it, Dang it, Dang it!

Can you tell I am a little bummed here?

So I guess I will start searching for a new one... or then again, I might wait for it to be restocked and spend my money on something else...hmmm, decisions, decisions. 

Well, since I am showing you pics of ceiling fans, let me go ahead and slip in a picture of another one that I briefly considered:

Source: Overstock

I think this fan has luxury and romance written all over it!  BUT...it didn't make the cut because the finish was all wrong (which means I would have to spray paint the chrome parts) and it is crazy expensive...both of those items would throw the Hubs in a tizzy...and we don't want that. ;-)

So for now, I am going to be thankful that missing out on a ceiling fan purchase is the biggest problem of my day...and as long as it remains my biggest problem, then I am going to have a really good day.  Hooray for that! 

I will post before and after master pics soon....because my petty ceiling fan problem in probably not going to get rectified soon. 

In the meantime, why don't you share what is in your decorating budget this month?  You know I love this stuff!

My Experience with Fidelity Life Hybrid Policy

Last year, I applied for life insurance with Fidelity Life Insurance and was sold what they call a "Hybrid" policy.  This type of policy allows for the plan to take immediate effect, at a reduced value, without medical underwriting.  If you choose to take a physical exam and you satisfactorily pass, you then receive the full amount of insurance that you applied for.

I took their physical exam within a week of applying for insurance.  I am in perfect health, with no remarkable health history.  They sent me a copy of the blood work that was taken and based on that information alone...I was going to live to be a hundred...seriously, no issues here. 

So imagine my surprise when I had to call them repeatedly to get an update on my insurance.  Remember:  I am paying full rates for a reduced amount of insurance.  Every time I called, they gave me an excuse as to why it was taking so long to issue the full policy.  After almost one FULL YEAR later, and a complaint to the Insurance Commissioner, they sent me a later stating "Based on medical underwriting, we are unable to enhance your policy by increasing your "all cause" death benefit."   Umm.....

 WTH????

 

Are these people joking?  Do they have me confused with someone else?  Maybe they know something I don't know? 

 

After receiving the letter, I basically freaked out!  Being turned down for insurance when you know of no health concerns is scary!  Seriously, do they know something that I don't???   I went as far as contacting the Medical Information Board (MIB) to try and get more information.  If you don't know about the MIB, please see the comments below.**

 

After receiving my MIB report, and noting that there was nothing on the report, other than two inquiries from Fidelity Life, I applied for life insurance with two other companies (ING and Protective Life--both of which, by the way, have an "A" rating or better) and guess what??  I was approved by both companies, within a matter of weeks, at the most preferred status available.

 

Well now...this is interesting.   

 

From here you can come to your own conclusions, but let me say that I don't appreciate the stress and lack of sleep that Fidelity caused me.  Wild...and I mean Wild thoughts went through my head.  I even decided that if I did have some horrible disease, I must have gotten it from the nail salon...BAHAHAH (I can't tell you how many times I have been cut by their tools and wondered, who was sitting in the chair before me?).

 

Well one thing that this little fiasco with Fidelity has done, it put the true fear in me regarding nail salons....so while I was waiting on reports and new insurance information, I went out and bought my own nail supplies (I figured that even if I found out that I had some horrid disease, I still wanted nice nails   (LOL--don't judge) and I wouldn't want to spread it to others...and in the case I wasn't suffering from something brought on by the nail salon, I might be preventing an outbreak in the future).  :-) 

 

The owner of my local salon was so sweet, she even let me buy the Dremel heads from her so that the only product or tool that I use that is theirs, is the nail gel. 

 

I really, really wish I would have bought this stuff earlier...while I can happily report that I did not get infected with a blood-borne pathogen from the nail salon, it sure would have saved at least a little bit of angst during those times when I received a nick.  Oh well, live and learn.

Okay...so I got off on a little tangent there...sorry about that...but the purpose of this post is to let you know my experience with Fidelity Life Association (a Chicago, IL company). 

 

SO... if you, or someone you know, had an experience similar to mine, please email me using the "contact" button above.  I am hoping that I was an isolated case, but if I receive several names, I might have to consider further action besides just canceling my policy with them.

 

_____________

 



**The Medical Information Board keeps information that is reported to them by insurance companies as a type of information exchange...its sort of like a credit report agency, except that the information on file deals with your medical history.   You can obtain a free report, and a better explanation of who they are and what they do by going to their website:  http://www.mib.com/index.html

This is also the place where you would go for information on lost insurance policies. 

Ready, Set, Switch!

With Easter coming so early this year, I made sure to switch out my front door decorations the day after Saint Patrick's Day. 

From this (old pic from last year):

 

 

To this:

 

 

 

I think I will barely have them up for two weeks before the holiday arrives.  Oh well...I will leave them up for another week or two after...tee hee.

The reason I decided to write a little post on changing them out is because while I was in the process of the switch, a neighbor walked by and asked me how I secured them to the door....apparently she has glass front doors too and was baffled.

 

Suction cups, my friend!  But not just one suction cup...I use about four or five on each decoration.

As you probably know, most of the store-bought decorations come with only one lonely hanger at the top of the ornament, which is probably fine for most days...but on windy days...nope, nope, nope.   So by adding a few more, it keeps the decoration snug to the door even on the windiest of days.  If you look closely, you can see a few peeking out:

 

 

 

The simple solution to adding more suction cups is to use safety pins in the back of the decoration as so:  

 

 

 

So there you go...you probably didn't care to know about this....but hey, one lady did...so it prompted a post. :-)

Have a wonderful weekend my friends and if you have an easy way of securing your holiday decorations to your wood or metal door...do share!!