I promised an update. Below you'll find more pics of the DIY progress. My mom is coming on the 5th, which adds another reason to finish this project ASAP, besides the obvious...

Wanna see more pics? Stop by the gallery --> Beyond Focus. :o)

I'm so beat, I feel broken. Between getting on all four to lay tile, and the soreness of working out, there's not much left of me. Lower lumbar pain not subsiding, my hands feel heavy as lead, a thirst I can't quench... uh, fix me? I need a massage.

Sometime tomorrow morning I'll be posting pics on the DIY Tile Project we've undertaken. It's really looking good. The house, on the other hand, is messy. I couldn't sleep last night 'cause I was thinking of the mess (compulsive much?), and because my youngest had an upset stomach. If she doesn't stop vomiting, I'll be calling my cousin. It's good to have a cousin who is also your childs pediatritian.

*sigh* where did the day go?

I love photography, and have always enjoyed taking pictures. As an artist, what I love most about art is that it gives me the opportunity of seeing through the artist's eyes. Photography is no exception, as it provides for the same occasion every time a picture is taken. Having said that, I extend this invitation to you, if you haven't already visited my photo gallery Beyond Focus: within those pages you have the chance to see the world the way I see it. Enjoy!

Projects. Tools. These are things most guys like. My husband is no exception. This weekend was a Do-It-Yourself one for us, full of dust and messy hands, miserable mistakes, and celebrations of successful problem solving. Heck, for all I know, we should've been on TV for your amusement.

Sure, when I left home two hours earlier, my home was warm and inviting, peaceful, welcoming, not to mention clean. The floor was carpeted, and the family room was fully set up: sofa, loveseat, coffee table, two end tables with matching lamps, 42" HD TV, and a section with the surround sound, movies, and PlayStation equipment. Yup, pretty much everything my crew at home needs for what they call 'a fun weekend'.

My husband is a firm believer in home improvement, and in doing things yourself. What does he do for a living? He's a draftsman, works with architects, which means he is constantly working on new projects. So, when not working on one of those projects, he creates his own.

I don't mind the improvements; I think we are blessed that we can actually engage in improving the home, making practical changes that will benefit both aesthetically and functionally. What I don't like is the mess.

The following 2 pics show what the family room looked like upon my return from the gym. So much for warm and inviting, eh?

Ooops! After my husband worked the floorplan, something went wrong with the measure of the tile he bought. So, I began working on a pattern change to remedy the situation. It will involve cutting some tile, so he's borrowing a wet saw from his friend. Below the pattern fix is what the "runner" will look like.

This morning, it was very uncomfortable to be in the kitchen. I want to spend the least amount of time in there until this project is finished. This shot is from the kitchen towards the family room, with the tile we lay down yesterday. That big piece in the middle is my husband's previous project, an island for the kitchen that sits four, with some side shelving.

Now I'm off to take a walk, take in some fresh air, and relax my sore muscles.

'nother week, 'nother set of words. UM

1. Elastic:: flexibility
2. Intervention:: help or intrusion, depending on point of view
3. Risk:: living
4. Junk food:: what i'm craving right now, and i dunno why
5. Arrogance:: bitch - i have a few names in mind
6. Responsibility:: earned, priviledge
7. X:: selection, sex
8. Marshall:: movie, several actually
9. Kill:: destroy
10. Brother:: crap, i forgot to call mine

Instructions:
Grab the nearest book.
Open the book to page 23.
Find the fifth sentence.
Post the text of the sentence on your blog along with these instructions.

"They graze the backs of his knees as they bank around his husky columnar body."

via Clayton

Much has been said about "tough love" for misbehaving children.

Most of America's populace thinks it very improper to spank children, so my spouse and I have tried other methods to control our kids when they have one of "those moments".

One that we found very effective is for me just take the child for a car ride and talk.

They usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our little car ride together.

I've included the photo below of one of my sessions, with our son, in case you would like to use the technique.

Disclaimer: This is not how I discipline my children. However, I think it's very enlightening and thus too valuable to go without sharing.

I guess today will be a series of posts of things I didn't get up during the weekend.

Unconscious Mutterings

1. Virginia:: ham -- dunno, i just guess i'm hungry.
2. Soft:: strokes, passion, colour, caress
3. Carol:: i never really loved Lucy
4. Vanity:: i see no use for them. my mom used to have one in the bathroom
5. Feminist:: women studies, UCF, how many credits is that? it's a minor, right? research
6. Alias:: nicknames, wow, i've had a few and i miss a person associated with one of them
7. Coward:: no growth; insecurity
8. Beer:: not on my list of drinks anymore
9. Chance:: serendipity; adventure; risk; open mind
10. Honest:: a quality i love in the friends i have right now

Ok, more in a bit. I should make time for a nap today... :dozey

was awesome! It was a nice, small group, and they made me feel welcome. They even extended towards me what I'll call the proper BookCrosser's Meetup Initiation. hehee...

Now I just have to decide which books I'll be reading, and which will be set out into the wild again. I'm actually looking forward to seeing where some of these books have been. Plus, that'll get me diggin' into some boxes I have yet to touch since we moved in Sept, dust those jackets and softcovers and send them on their merry way.

I believe it's a wonderful concept, and I'm enjoying the added benefit of getting to meet some really kewl people along the way.

Ok, I've enjoyed reading through these long enough. I'm in!

1. Boxing:: cardio; great exercise for letting go; looking forward to certification, yay!
2. Lewis:: Jerry - can't stand him
3. Bodyguard:: stupid movie.
4. Burnout:: story of my life
5. Cruising:: on a Gixxer, right now, open roads. i should put up a picture.
6. Easter:: chocolate... lots and lots of chocolate.
7. AA:: *burp* scuze me
8. Research:: it's on my To Do list everyday
9. Redemption:: freedom; makes that looming stormy cloud go away.
10. Snickers:: hmm... more chocolate

Unconscious Mutterings

Wild Animus is a novel by Rich Shapero, and I just received my free copy of this book (an advance reading copy from Too Far. I'm so excited! When I got in bed to start reading, I remembered I hadn't posted about it. ;o)

I realize I haven't mentioned it here before, but I'm a BookCrosser. Want to learn more about it? Visit BookCrossing.com

I'm off to start reading, later!

Yup, still Friday!

1. What do you do for a living?
Meh, this is kinda hard to answer, but here goes.
{Inhaling...}
I'm a full-time mom and wife, a full-time friend, full-time homemaker and all that that entails, a part-time student of both Nutritional Consultant and Touch for Health Kinesiology, part-time writer, part-time artist, part-time LA Fitness Kids Klub Sitter ('cause I quit being the Kids Klub Director for personal reasons), part-time who knows what else...
{Exhaling}

2. What do you like most about your job?
I always have something interesting to do.

3. What do you like least about your job?
That even when all I want to do is sleep or do nothing at all... please read number 2.

4. When you have a bad day at work it's usually because _____...
I haven't had enough time to do something I really want to be doing, or the currently enjoyable thing I'm engaged on is being interrupted by any or all of the above full-time commitments.

5. What other career(s) are you interested in?
Massage Therapy, Herbalist, Natural Health Practitioner, Psychology, Full-time Artist/Writer, Photography, Publishing and Editing... I think I may be missing something ;o)

I’m pretty much happy with all I do.

Here's a pic of a rose, one of a dozen my husband got me for our anniversary. I'm still trying to figure out the new camera, reading the instructions manual like the good girl that I am. Very informative, but the truth is I have a lot to practice.

Yayness!! As tho today weren't good enough -- it's our 11th year anniversary, and my dear husband has surprised me with a new baby... a FujuFilm FinePix S3000.

So I've been fiddling with my new digital camera all day, and was wired enough (I'm still sick and running a fever) to get online and get some work done on my site, top priority now, of course, is my photoblog (my husband knew I was working on this and shopping for a new camera).

Being the creature of habit that I am, once I get online I must start by checking my email messages and reading my favorite blogs. So I quickly go to Lisa's page and... awesome!!! A very kewl plugin has been created which I hope I can make good use of: MTImageInfo Plugin. Thanks in advance to both Lisa and TweezerMan.

I must now get working...

yep, today i'll spend some time working with some plugins for MT i've been wanting to use, like MTAmazon (thank you Adam), and BookQueue (thank you Jacob). you may already see it working here on the left. there are some errors, tho. it's already messing with some special characters, like the copyright one for example. i'll post regarding my success or lack of it later tonight.

ok, Lisa's got me on a roll. i'm freewriting again - go check it out. i'll be writing daily there, it's good exercise. just remember it is stream of consciousness, unpolished, unedited content. if there's something i believe holds promise, i'll further work on it. otherwise, it's presented here for you to read, no expectations; always, regardless of content quality, © belongs to me, Zaida Nieves.

innerzinc... freewriting