Bling!!! (Thing 13)

I am so brave!!!!!

After 2 failed weekends of trying to get someone to watch the kids at a time when the piercing place was actually open, I decided to take matters into my own hands yesterday and go all by myself to Ink Link Tattoos for my belly bling. Honestly, I surprised myself by even being brave enough to get out of the car... but when I found out that a 60 year old grandmother was in line right before me to get her belly button pierced, I figured I could be that brave, too!

The guy who did it was soooo nice. I told him I was a little nervous and he assured me it wouldn't be near as bad as I was imagining. He spent a lot of time marking the spot with ink to make sure it would be perfectly straight, explained how to care for it, and then kept making small talk to distract me (it worked!). I didn't watch him do the piercing (I can only be so brave, you know!) but I felt a poke that wasn't any worse than getting a shot in the arm (a shot, not getting shot, LOL!) and then he said, "you're done!" I was like, "What? That's it? I was worried about THAT???"

I have to clean it twice/day for 9 months (Dial anti-bacterial soft soap, followed by saline solution on a cotton ball) and I can change it in 2 months... though at this point, I'm not in any hurry to do that. He said I can go back and he'll change it for me... we'll see how long it takes me to get sick of the jewelry I have in there now. It's a bit sore if I bump it, but not bad. I have to move it around when I clean it, and that stings a bit, but everyone I know who has a belly piercing says that goes away soon enough, like getting your ears pierced. I'm so glad I did this, I feel so cute! Ahhh, sometimes it's the little things. Or, should I say, the little "blings....."

Here's a picture. Clearly, I need a tan. (Yes, I live in south Florida, but who has time for sun???) Also, not the most flattering pic to take yourself, but you'll get the idea...


So... now that Thing 13 is done, hopefully I'll be motivated to start on Thing 14. Also, I have a new Thing 15: Make window treatments for master bathroom.

I love this 5 Things blog. I know I don't post often enough, but where else can you have "make curtains," "make quilts," "finalize will" and "pierce belly button" all on the same list without looking insane??? Loves it!

Finally, another Thing done!

If you think that my lack of posting means lack of progress on my 5Things list, well, you wouldn't be too far off... However, I just finished one of my Big Things and it turned out really well!


When I first decided to re-do my 4 year old's room, I had an alterior motive. I really, really want to install chair rail in my downstairs, but I have a really open floor plan so the rooms all sort of merge into each other, there are columns to go around in the dining room, a raised entry way, and some other little obstacles that have kept me from attempting it. I figured that Rachel's room (a nice, plain rectangle) would be the perfect place to try out my skills with chair rail and my miter saw. After some very careful deliberation, however, I realized that though chair rail was cute when she's 4, she'll probably hate it when she's 14 and, well, a mom can only sign up for so much!


Instead, I decided to paint her room in 2 shades of pink (her favorite color) to match bedding, curtains, throw pillows and accessories she already had. Of course, "standard" paint brands don't make the right two shades of pink, I could only find them in the Ralph Lauren brand. Perfect colors and great quality but of course, also twice the price. Let the fun begin...


When I told Rachel I was going to re-do her room, she begged me to do it in princesses. A normal request for a 4 year old, but in the 2 years she's been in the room, she's also begged for Elmo, Dora and Care Bears. I was firmly against a "character theme" that she was likely going to outgrow before the paint finished drying. However, when I (er, um, Santa) came across some princess bedding that happened to match perfectly to the two shades of pink paint I was already planning on, and realized that a comforter, sheet set, throw pillow and extra set of sheets (to make curtains) could all be purchased for under $100, well, I (er, Santa) had a change of heart. Luanne was right... the question was not "to Disney Princess or not to Disney Princess," it was actually "which Disney princess." We couldn't decide, so we did a bit of each.


It started with the paint, which I did as a surprise one day while Rachel was at school. Over the course of a few weekends, I then sanded down and painted white the bookcase and dresser that she already had. I purchased the matching desk with chair and bed (2 months on backorder, it just came in last week!) and painted them white as well. I bought a giant cork board and a few picture frames (all painted pink) and let Rachel pick some princess from a 2007 princess calendar to go in the frames. Of course, redhead that she is, she picked 2 pictures of Ariel and then 2 of Jasmine, go figure!

Here are some videos, a before and an after. The lighting is not great and I hope you don't get dizzy watching them. I still have a few more little things to do (like get her a box spring for the bed and add some more pictures to one frame). All in all, though, I'm calling Thing 7 DONE!

Before Video (warning, this room is messy!!)

After Video -- Thing 7, Done!

To add to the excitement, I have finally come up with a Thing 13, and also have a new Thing 14 to take the place of Thing 7:

New Thing 13: Pierce my belly button! Yes, I'm 32... mother of 2... executive at a Fortune 500 company. No, I have no idea why I think this is the next great Thing for my list, but I've made up my mind.... I think!

New Thing 14: Average 20 crunches/day for 30 days. Clearly, this goes hand in hand with New Thing 13 :-). I know I won't be able to do 20/day everyday, but if I can average 20/day over the course of a month, I'll be happy. Let's hope I'm not doing 600 crunches on Day 30....