A Thrifting we will go….

It has been a while. Hmmm where did I leave off? Oh yes, Queen of the Grill. Well the weather has been pretty crappy out there since so I haven’t had much chance to get out and light up the grill but it is still my mission to cook outside more. Between the strong winds, rain and SNOW I haven’t been doing so well, but Mother Nature will not defeat me, I will grill more.

So two things happened in the madhouse involving “the teen”. A couple of weeks ago “the teen” decided to miss school two days in a row. Not cool, so off I went home to bring him to school. I discovered him locked in the bathroom when I finally got home. Ok, worked for me so off I went unhooking all the electronics in the house and proceeding to hide them all and sat down at my computer planning to wait him out. He couldn’t stay in the bathroom all day, or could he? Lesson learned: don’t call home first because it gives them a chance to grab supplies and being able to wait you out. That child is too smart for his own good.

I finally decided to unlock the bathroom door. Gotta love still having wire hangers kicking around. What do I discover on opening the door? “The teen” sitting crosslegged on the bathroom floor reading a book, with another book sitting beside him on the floor and a box of cereal. It seems he was planning on waiting me out instead. He had food, water, toilet and entertainment, what more would he need? I didn’t know if I should have scolded him or congratulated him *lol*

He did learn that I am not to be messed with. His little ploy land him with a loss of his xbox for 2 weeks and very LIMITED computer access due to the x-rated website on my computer.  Oh yes that was fun. I decided to check my history and discovered an adult cartoon game site. Momma was not impressed. I think he will be thinking twice about missing school or visiting one of those sites again. My oh my, I still have another 5 years before he is 18. How will I make it? *lol*

Well due to losing the electronic entertainment “the teen” accompanied me to the thrift store for the first time. He wasn’t too thrilled with the idea at first but he started to get into it. I think I have created a little thrifter.  There is a rush to thrift stores. Finding those treasures that you can use as is or turn them into something amazing. Using your imagination and decorating (and dressing) inexpensively.

I was on the hunt for things to decorate with. I thought it was about time I did something with the walls in my house. Due to it being a rental I am stuck and unable to paint it some outrageous colour like blood red. Oh yes I would love to have at least one red wall in my house, for now I have to settle for red curtains. I came across this amazing red fabric a while back in the free bin at work that would make awesome curtains, which I will make when I get my sewing machine working, but I digress.

I was on a hunt for things that caught my eye and brighten up our home. I was thinking creatively with each piece I looked at. Trying to see it differently and other uses. Of course to “the teen” I was just wasting time and acting weird. To me, I was in heaven. “The teen” ended up wandering off and finding his own treasures.

Here is what we came away with. I have some plans for a lot of it which I will share on here as I complete the projects. The controller is for “the teen”, why he wanted it I have no idea. The bottles are also his. He is doing a project in English and it involves making potions so these bottles are absolutely perfect. He has been bitten by the bug I tells ya. ^.~

I also got a lampshade but forgot to put it in the picture. Silly me. Doesn’t fit the lamp I brought it for but that is ok. I will make it work.

 

I really am on an Asian kick lately. Would love to have an Asian style room. Maybe one day.

Thrift stores are a great place to pick up books for cheap too. Just some of my book scores. Been wanting these books for a while now but couldn’t justify spending the money on new and the library always has a long wait list for the popular books.

I have big plans for some of my finds, can’t wait to get started.

So do you thrift? What are some of your fave finds from your thrifting trips? Feel free to comment and share.

Hugs and Smoochies from the Madhouse.

>Arawynn<

 

Technorati Tags: Parenting teen boys,Thrift stores,Frugal living,decorating,crafting,inexpensive books,creative rush

Queen of the Grill….

 

Oh yes, you read right. I have learned a new skill on my quest to become a strong, independent woman, and complete Mistress over my domain.

Now some of you might be thinking to yourselves “why didn’t she know how to use a barbecue, everyone knows how to use a barbecue, don’t they?” and to answer that I will have to admit that I have been terrified of barbecues from an early age. Mostly because my mother, bless her, instilled a fear in me and that girls  just don’t use barbecues because they are not safe. So that is how it was in our house as well, until now.

I got to thinking one night that the snow was finally gone and I was looking out at my backyard and wondering what I could possibly do with it. I noticed the barbecue in the far side covered up with a tarp to protect it through the cold Canadian winter, looking so lonely and neglected. What am I going to do with that?

So I mentioned my thought to a co-worker who, without hesitation said “Well barbecue of course!” to which I gave a horrified expression of confusion and terror. Of course this lead him to inquire to my expression and I had to admit my total terror small fear of the barbecue, which he found mildly amusing and then offered to come give me a lesson on barbecue basics and he promised to have me grilling like a pro in no time. To which I thought to myself “Yea right”. He also mentioned how it would save on electricity during the summer if I cooked outside as much as possible. Now of course I had to learn because what girl doesn’t want to save some $$$$$.

So I got a complete run down on barbecue do’s and don’ts and off he went, completely confident in my abilities to master the fearsome beast. I, on the other hand wasn’t so confident and it took me days to actually get up the courage to go out and grill something. So off I went with all my ingredients to the backyard, “the teen” peeking out the window probably waiting for something to explode…loved the vote of confidence there. *lol*

So I did everything my co-worker said to do. I admit I was damn nervous and was actually reciting the instructions out loud as I went to make sure I didn’t do something wrong. I am sure my neighbours must think I am completely mad. *lol*

There was a lot of sizzling and popping and at one point there was a small fire but I managed to cook four cheeseburgers and toast two buns (“the teen” doesn’t like his buns toasted) without doing damage to myself or the barbecue. I was pretty darn proud of my first grilling experience. Even more so when “the teen” devoured his cheeseburgers and said “You did a great job Mom, these cheeseburgers taste so much better than dad’s”  After hearing that my chest swelled up with pride.

 

 

I have gone out and barbecued a few times since and I have to say I am getting more comfortable with the idea. I have even moved up to steaks and OMG they were amazing. “The teen” is always asking what I am going to barbecue next. Guess I better get some barbecue recipes collected. *lol*

So I have learned a new skill, something I didn’t think I would ever have the guts to do and it has made me realize that I can do things I was scared of doing before. Next step….Power tools. OH YEA BABY!!!!

Hugs and Smoochies from the Madhouse

>Arawynn<

Shake my head…

As the mother of a teenage boy I have made it a mission of mine to raise him to not turn out like so many men I have met in my thirty some odd years. I have no idea what has happened to the male population but they all mostly seem to have been raised in a barn, with no manners to speak of.

I understand men have sex on their minds pretty much all the time. Don’t get me wrong I like sex too but unlike a man I am not able to see a naked man and get hot enough to stop whatever I am doing at the time to do it. Maybe I am a hopeless romantic and have read WAY TOO MANY romance novels in my time but I want a man to woo me. My idea of foreplay is not “Hey baby let’s get naked and f**k” I am sorry boys this just DOESN’T do it for me. Especially since at my age ( I know I am still considered young) but things just don’t rev up like they used to. Every fire starts off small and has to be fed to make it super hot. Yes I am a fire, I start of slow but with the right care and fuel, you are in for a bonfire.

It would be nice if fathers took their sons aside and told them that real life sex is not porn. Most women I know don’t get all made up and wear stilettos while having sex, I would be too scared of impaling my partner to enjoy it. Also most don’t think it is sexy to have your man juice sprayed all over their face and hair. Maybe some women are up for that (or paid to enjoy it) but I am not one of them so please keep your man juice away from my head. Call me old fashioned.

Why do men use porn for sex tips? Real women aren’t porn stars and will never look like porn stars so trying to make them into one will just leave you both feeling let down. Just my opinion of course.

“The husband”, I really should find another name for him now that we are separated, told me I was nothing more than “tits and ass” and that is all men would see me as. Well I am more than that, sure I may have a nice rack and booty but I have a mind too and I think it is totally sexy when a man sees beyond the body. I think I would be more likely to go for the guy that likes me for my mind than for my body. Because physical attraction can fade. If it is all sex, all the time, what happens when the sex is gone? Hmmmm I have an idea there.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not a hater of sex. I’m actually quite the opposite, but I think there is more to life then sex. I am on a quest to find a real man that sees beyond just “tits and ass”. It might be a pretty tall order. All I seem to be finding are little boys obsessed with me being their personal porn star (without the porn star pay of course*lol* ) and nothing else really. You need more than just sex in a relationship and personally I think I deserve better than to be viewed as only “tits and ass”.

Oh I do love how so many men figure they can call you “so hot” and “so sexy” and you will be so grateful you will rip off all your clothes and say “take me now stud” I have had a few of these guys lately. I swear as soon as people found out “the husband” were no longer together the men came out of the woodwork  figuring I would just swoon and hop into bed with them, of course none wanted a relationship, just sex. Nice try guys, not going to happen. You want this bonfire to burn for you then you have to be single and want more than just my goodies. I spent 16 years with a man that only wanted me for my tits and ass and my bank account. I am not about to make that mistake again. HELLZ TO THE NO!!!!

Men….all I can do is just shake my head. Still on the search for my Prince Charming. Sometimes I wonder if fairy tales just set women up for disappointment *lol*

Hugs and Smoochies

>Arawynn<

Have people lost their minds?

Honestly I am seriously baffled at the insanity in my life and the insanity I see online.

I haven’t really talked much about what happened between “the husband” and I. Basically he met a woman on an online gaming site and “fell in love” with a woman he had never met, and probably would never meet. Even to the point where he got “cybermarried” to this woman. Just saying this makes me want to laugh out loud. Apparently this is a new thing. The promise to get married in real life when two people that have never met finally do meet. Maybe I am cynical when it comes to love but this whole thing seems completely insane to me.

The teen and I went through 7 months of hell while “the husband” chatted all night with this “woman” and her kids. Having “family time” together by watching movies together over the phone and bible time. I would sit here and shake my head at the insanity of it all.  “The teen” was definitely not impressed.  “The husband” , however, didn’t think there was anything wrong with what he was doing. Having an online affair right in front of his wife and child. The fact that this “woman” kept proclaiming she was a good Christian woman. Funny last time I read the bible I didn’t see getting involved with a married man in there. Guess I have a different bible.

Now, before people get in an uproar, I want to say that I know there are plenty of couples that meet through the internet and fall in love and meet and end up getting married. I am not talking about this. What I find infuriating are the men and women out there that using online gaming sites or social media to cheat on their spouses. Some even going as far as to travel to have booty calls.  Completely insane, imo  but not for all it seems.

Now it has been almost a year since “the husband’s” relationship started with this “woman”. I knew right away something wasn’t right. Then the lies started. “There is nothing going on”, “We’re just friends”, “You are so paranoid” among other phrases. I just knew in my gut that he was lying. In my experience women just “know” when their men are up to something. Could be just my spidey sense is on hyperdrive.

Now it has been a few months without “the husband” in the house and things are getting back to normal in The Madhouse, or so I thought. They say all things happen for a reason and while this totally threw our lives upside down it has opened my eyes to a lot of things they were closed to. I am actually doing a lot better and feeling a lot better about myself all around. Most days I actually am grateful all of this happened.

Saying that, however, I now have to say that I would NEVER wish what I went through on any woman. Even a woman that hates me and the feeling is mutual. So when a good friend of mine started acting weird a couple of months ago my spidey sense kicked up again and low and behold he is doing the EXACT same thing as “the husband” was. Involved with a girl in the states that he has NEVER met but it madly in love with and he had the gall to ask me to be there for him as a friend because he needed me to be there for him because what I went through gave him the strength to realize he was miserable in his marriage. Great for him, but I told him he was being stupid and he needed to stop this relationship NOW, until he ended things with his wife. It isn’t going to end well and if he got anything out of what happened to me he would know it is INSANE.

Now before everyone thinks I am a cold hearted biatch here is a tidbit about myself. I love my friends, all of them, even when they are being insanely stupid, but instead of coddling and praising for things I find insanely stupid I choose to say what is on my mind. It is what I want my friends to do for me. Sometimes you need that kick in the rear to wake up and snap out whatever you are doing at the time. Most are scared to be blunt because they don’t want to hurt feelings but if your closest friends can’t be completely honest with you who can? I would rather hurt feelings then finding out years later that all your friends thought your husband was a selfish, controlling a$$hat but didn’t want to hurt  your feelings.

So I told my friend exactly what I thought, because I care about him as a person and don’t want him to walk the same path as “the husband” (which is not as glorious as “the husband” thought it would be but he made his choice) not to mention as much as I dislike his wife I would NEVER want her to go through what I went through. No one should be put through that. I really think this “relationship” is a whole lot of stupid but if he was insistent on being with this girl then he needed to make a choice. I told him he should end things with his wife before he got involved with someone new because it was just going to make things so much worse when his wife found out because she will find out. Women have a 6th sense for this shit, hell if he learned anything from my situation he would know not to be doing this and it could blow up in his face.

I refuse to be a cheerleader for him in this relationship and I told him as such. I also have more sympathy for his wife than him right now because I have been where she is, only she doesn’t “know” it yet. If he was looking for someone to cheer him on and support him in this insanely stupid thing, I could not do it. Needless to say I haven’t heard from him since, and even went as far as to unfriend him on Facebook (for the sake of my sanity). Am I sad to lose a friend, Hellz yea I am. Friends are very important to me and I will miss my friend dearly, but I just can’t sit there and be a cheerleader for someone doing the same damn thing my husband did to me. Oh Hellz to the NO on that one.

I don’t know what possessed him to even ask me to be there and supportive in this. I want him to be happy but for the love of all that is holy don’t get involved with someone while you are still living like you are married it won’t end well. I swear people have lost their minds.

Maybe I am overreacting a tad, maybe I am still a tad bitter about what happened to me. Maybe the feelings are just too fresh to deal with this right now. All I know is I think he is incredibly stupid and I feel for his wife. I just don’t get it the fascination in tearing apart someone for someone that you have never met. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side. *sigh* I do wish him all the best and hope it was worth it.

As for me I am done with this whole thing and going to concentrate on my own happiness for a while. I am actually surprisingly happy to be single, for now anyway. I am going to enjoy this time in my life, until love finds me, for good this time.

Hugs and Smoochies from the Madhouse

>Arawynn<

 

Technorati Tags: Cheating,Marriage,Broken Friendships,Insane stupidity,Happiness,Heartbreak,Sympathy,Online Gaming,Social Media

The Winds of Change are a Blowing!

There have been a lot of changes going on in and around The Madhouse over the past month, or so. Some exciting, some not so exciting but everything is an experience, right?


I decided to let my Closet Goth side free, within reason of course. I am still a mom and well “the teen” would be mortified if I showed up in front of his friends looking less then “normal”.  With him being in such a precarious time in his life where image is EVERYTHING. Which is funny seeing as his best friend runs around in a hat made of socks, but I digress.  To go along with my new tattoo (which I talk about here) I decided to change my hair as well. Normally, when in need of a pick me up and a change, I go red.


I LOVE red hair, I swear there is a Ginger Temptress hiding somewhere inside of me. I just don’t have the temperament for a brunette, but anyhoo. I decided to shock everyone and go raven black. I have always wanted to try black hair but never had the guts, worried about what people would think. However, since I am doing a lot of changing emotionally and mentally I figure, why not so I just went out and did it and I have to say I am in LOVE. People at work were shocked, “the teen” did his normal *shake of the head* and *roll of the eyes*. I am sure he was thinking “mom is on another trip around the bend”.


I have been complimented quite a lot on my new hair. I feel empowered and sexy. Something I definitely need. Working on all this change is exhausting though. Sometimes I look in the mirror and don’t even recognize myself. I think “who is this tattooed, raven-haired beauty staring back at me?”  Ok all this change is definitely maybe getting to me just a tad…I don’t respond to myself so that is a bonus right? *lol*


Here is the Raven-haired beauty that has been making the rounds of The Madhouse for the past month. I rather like her and hope she sticks around.

Other changes going on in the Madhouse. I decided to change around the living room a couple of weeks ago, much to “the teen’s” dismay. That child hates change as much as I do but I am trying to get him to embrace change. Sometimes it isn’t a life horrifying thing *shock*


Now I am not much in the strength department so lifting heavy things is not my strongest quality. Even so, I figured “the teen” and I could move the living room furniture no problem. Boy was I wrong *face palm* It ended up with me doing most of it by pushing and pulling things around the room because “the teen” has less upper body strength than I do. Is it wrong to make it mandatory that he work out on the weight bench every day to build up some muscles in those spaghetti arms of his? I am sure his future girlfriends would thank me. After much blood, sweat and tears (literally) the furniture got moved and things are falling into place. It was worth not being able to move for the two days following. *lol*


Now that everything is switched around I am much happier. This remind me less and less of “the husband” and more like me. It is quite liberating actually. I am always thinking of new ways to decorate that costs little to NOTHING, which totally fits in my budget *lol*. I am getting excited to actually decorate and make this our home. Hopefully “the teen” doesn’t go into cardiac arrest with all the changes  going on. Trying to get him to accept change has been an adventure. I am trying to keep things as normal as possible and not changing too much at once. He seems to have accepted the living room change now though, so that is a positive step at least.


There is more changes to come in the Madhouse and I will be sure to share. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for taking time to visit The Madhouse.


Hugs and Smoochies
>Arawynn<

Nacho Madness

This past week has been insane for me. So many appointments and I started working some extra hours at work. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything you need to get done, well done. However in all the craziness you need to find time to eat and well I like to spice things up a bit. I thought I would share one of my fave things to make. It isn’t very good for the waistline but they are sooooooo good.

Mmmmmmmmm, my mouth is watering just looking at that picture. Here is how you can make your own Nacho Madness.

Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Who really wants to scrape melted cheese off their baking sheets? Not I.

Put down a layer of tortilla chips. I used bite sized round chips for my nachos because I find them easier to deal with then huge chips.

Set the baking sheet aside and brown up some ground beef or whatever meat you wish to have. I have made them with ground sausage as well and they were delicious. For those Vegetarians out there you can omit the meat. Drain the ground beef and set aside.

Chop up some bell peppers and onions, I used a quarter of each bell pepper and half an onion. I usually use green peppers but the store was all out when I was shopping so I bought a package of red, yellow and orange sweet peppers to use instead. I usually try and use green onions but I didn’t have any on hand so I used just a regular cooking onion.

In the same pan that you browned the ground beef in saute half a can of mushrooms that have been diced. You can use fresh mushrooms as well but I was using what I had on hand.

Using a spoon, spread salsa over the layer of chips. I use medium salsa but you can use mild or hot. Depends on your taste and the heat you can handle.

Spread out the ground beef and the mushrooms over the salsa and chips.

Spread out the bell peppers and onions. I usually put diced jalapeno peppers on now but I was out so they were jalapeno less.

Sprinkle a layer of cheese. We love cheese so I use a lot. I use marble cheese. You could use any cheese you wish of course. I love to experiment with different flavours. Put the nachos in the middle rack of the oven at 375 degrees C until the cheese is melted. I like to put the broiler on for a few seconds to brown the cheese a little. If you do this make sure to keep an eye on them because they can burn very easily on Broil.

Fresh out of the oven but not quite done yet. I like to add fresh ground pepper and some sea salt before digging in.



I usually will put baking sheet on a towel or oven mitts on the table and we eat off of the pan. Less dishes to clean up that way. It is also more fun that way. The best part of these nachos is that you can change it up so you don’t get bored. Have fun with it and see what you can come up with. Enjoy.

Hugs and Smoochies from the Madhouse

Heart Hair Pin

In honor of the month of love which will be upon us soon enough, I made a cute little heart hairpin. I made it out of things I had around the house so it didn’t cost me a thing.
I whipped this little cutie up the other night while I was watching tv.  I have a tonne of red felt from left over from a bunch of felt tree skirts I bought on clearance a while back for about a quarter each. So I cut our two heart shapes, sewed them together and stuffed the heart with some fiber fill. The white daisy is from vintage dress trim my mother had given me. I cut off one of the flowers and sewed it to the heart. Then I hit up my button horde stash and found two buttons that I liked and sewed them in the middle of the daisy.  Then I finished it off by sewing it to a hair clip I had kicking around.
I think it is so adorable and can’t wait to wear it in my hair. Would be perfect as a pin as well.
Hugs and Kisses from the Madhouse