Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 147
August 6, 2013
Adventures In Painting
I didn't think I was going to have to do any painting to my new house. I liked the colors and I thought I could get the marks off easily enough with Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser (not a paid endorsement of any sort. I didn't get any free product or anything. I just used this product on my walls and it was truly magic.), but the laundry room... Well, the laundry room had far too many marks on the wall to even attempt to clean them. Paint became the answer.
Needless to say, I didn't have any painting supplies in Atlanta. This required a trip to Home Depot (again, not a paid endorsement. With all the money I'm spending in their store, though, they should be advertising for ME. ;-). After spending a fortune, I left with a gallon of wall paint, a quart of door paint, a quart of ceiling paint, and rollers, brushes, plastic tarps, painter's tape, etc.
Taping up the room wasn't fun, but that happened more or less uneventfully. I confess to some profanity, but taping off can be a challenge.
Apparently, painting was a challenge for me, too. It started when I tried to pour paint into the pan and got it all over the side of the can. I also dripped on the plastic tarp.
That wasn't the only issue I had. I leaned forward several times only to stick my hair into the freshly painted wall. Later, I accidentally leaned into the freshly painted wall. I hit my leg with the roller and you don't even want to see the wire shelving in the room. Yeah, it was dripping paint. In my defense, they're nearly impossible to paint around.
And because we didn't have a ladder yet--the movers were coming with my stuff the next day--we couldn't paint up high. Yep, the job isn't done. More painting adventures await. Hopefully, though, I'll have before and after shots to post and it will be worth the pain.
Needless to say, I didn't have any painting supplies in Atlanta. This required a trip to Home Depot (again, not a paid endorsement. With all the money I'm spending in their store, though, they should be advertising for ME. ;-). After spending a fortune, I left with a gallon of wall paint, a quart of door paint, a quart of ceiling paint, and rollers, brushes, plastic tarps, painter's tape, etc.
Taping up the room wasn't fun, but that happened more or less uneventfully. I confess to some profanity, but taping off can be a challenge.
Apparently, painting was a challenge for me, too. It started when I tried to pour paint into the pan and got it all over the side of the can. I also dripped on the plastic tarp.
That wasn't the only issue I had. I leaned forward several times only to stick my hair into the freshly painted wall. Later, I accidentally leaned into the freshly painted wall. I hit my leg with the roller and you don't even want to see the wire shelving in the room. Yeah, it was dripping paint. In my defense, they're nearly impossible to paint around.
And because we didn't have a ladder yet--the movers were coming with my stuff the next day--we couldn't paint up high. Yep, the job isn't done. More painting adventures await. Hopefully, though, I'll have before and after shots to post and it will be worth the pain.
August 4, 2013
Earth 100 Million Years From Now
This shows what Earth might look like in 100 million years.
August 1, 2013
Blogging Ahead
I usually don't write my blog posts more than a week ahead. There are exceptions, like when I wrote a bunch of posts while I was up in Minnesota in April. I was inspired, I guess. Or when I know I'm going to be on vacation or away from the computer for some other reason.
Right now, I'm writing blog posts ahead because I won't have internet for two weeks after I move into my new home and because I have an August 15 deadline for a story, so my plan is to write all the posts through that date.
After Aug 15th, I'll share pictures of my new house with my things in it. This will be such a big deal for me because I've been living with almost all my things for a year and a half while I worked in Atlanta and still had my house in MN.
The problem with writing ahead right now is it's because I have to, not because I feel inspired. Actually, all I feel right now is exhausted. Moving is a lot of work and there's still more to do.
Tomorrow, my dad and I will paint the laundry room. The house was mostly in good shape, but this room is just banged up beyond washing away the marks on the walls. Easier just to paint over them before the washer and dryer arrive.
Monday the movers arrive with my stuff from Minnesota.
Tuesday a second set of movers will move my stuff from temporary housing to my permanent home.
Then, sometime after this, but in the near future, I need to get a Georgia driver's license and license plates. And still make my Aug 15 deadline.
Right now, I'm writing blog posts ahead because I won't have internet for two weeks after I move into my new home and because I have an August 15 deadline for a story, so my plan is to write all the posts through that date.
After Aug 15th, I'll share pictures of my new house with my things in it. This will be such a big deal for me because I've been living with almost all my things for a year and a half while I worked in Atlanta and still had my house in MN.
The problem with writing ahead right now is it's because I have to, not because I feel inspired. Actually, all I feel right now is exhausted. Moving is a lot of work and there's still more to do.
Tomorrow, my dad and I will paint the laundry room. The house was mostly in good shape, but this room is just banged up beyond washing away the marks on the walls. Easier just to paint over them before the washer and dryer arrive.
Monday the movers arrive with my stuff from Minnesota.
Tuesday a second set of movers will move my stuff from temporary housing to my permanent home.
Then, sometime after this, but in the near future, I need to get a Georgia driver's license and license plates. And still make my Aug 15 deadline.
July 30, 2013
Hello New Home
Saying goodbye to my old home was hard--I loved it so much--but it enabled me to move forward and have a home in Georgia. I found the house relatively quickly on my hunt--I thought it would take me forever to see something I liked. I closed on my new home July 19th. Yes, one week after I closed in Minnesota.
As I'm writing this, I've had my house a little more than one day. It doesn't feel like my home yet. It's not too surprising, I guess. If I remember correctly, my house in MN felt strange in the beginning, too. Plus, the movers don't arrive with my things for another two days.
The week between closings was hugely hectic. I don't recommend closing on two homes 1100 miles apart in 1 week. I was scrambling to get utilities setup right up until the day before the closing. I wasn't 100% successful. Comcast can't come out to hook me up until 2 weeks after I closed. That's right, as you're reading this, I am WITHOUT INTERNET in my home! Gah!
Let me introduce you to my new house.
As I'm writing this, I've had my house a little more than one day. It doesn't feel like my home yet. It's not too surprising, I guess. If I remember correctly, my house in MN felt strange in the beginning, too. Plus, the movers don't arrive with my things for another two days.
The week between closings was hugely hectic. I don't recommend closing on two homes 1100 miles apart in 1 week. I was scrambling to get utilities setup right up until the day before the closing. I wasn't 100% successful. Comcast can't come out to hook me up until 2 weeks after I closed. That's right, as you're reading this, I am WITHOUT INTERNET in my home! Gah!
Let me introduce you to my new house.
July 28, 2013
Did Earth Have Two Moons?
This video is by NASA and I found it interesting.
July 25, 2013
Farewell Old Friend
On July 12th, I said goodbye to my home in Minnesota. That's the day I closed and handed the keys and garage remotes over to the new owners.
I didn't cry at the closing, although I thought I would. I did cry earlier, though, when I was taking my last pictures and making a farewell video. At first, I was dry-eyed through this as well, but at some point, I guess it finally dawned on me that it was the last time the house was mine.
It was really odd to see the house empty again. I'd forgotten how it felt and looked without my stuff everywhere. I'd been in the process of depersonalizing the house--painting over my bright, fun colors with neutrals, replacing my raspberry curtains with burgundy and beige, etc. But even with the fun gone, it still felt mostly like my house as long as my things were there.
With everything gone, well, it really did feel like someone else's home.
I didn't cry at the closing, although I thought I would. I did cry earlier, though, when I was taking my last pictures and making a farewell video. At first, I was dry-eyed through this as well, but at some point, I guess it finally dawned on me that it was the last time the house was mine.
It was really odd to see the house empty again. I'd forgotten how it felt and looked without my stuff everywhere. I'd been in the process of depersonalizing the house--painting over my bright, fun colors with neutrals, replacing my raspberry curtains with burgundy and beige, etc. But even with the fun gone, it still felt mostly like my house as long as my things were there.
With everything gone, well, it really did feel like someone else's home.
July 23, 2013
The Search for Podcasts
I started listening to podcasts while I'm at work--mostly to block out the noise from the printer next to me--and I found some really entertaining ones. I love the Freakonomics podcast and Mysterious Universe, the Unexplained, and Science Hour, but finding a good writing podcast has been hard.
There was a podcast that looked promising and it was only about 20 minutes long. Unfortunately, it started out with 10 minutes of "rate me highly on iTunes" and shilling for the the paid version of the show.
At last, though, she started talking about writing, but it was nothing helpful or informative. I deleted her podcast from my iPad when she said her friend's publisher had done any promotion for her and she'd paid thousands of dollars to them and that said friend still had boxes of books in her garage.
NO! No, no, no, no, no!!! That is not a publisher! That is a VANITY press. Anyone who's done any research on writing knows you run far, far away from a company who wants to charge to publish your work.
There are quality small presses out there who will publish your work and PAY THE WRITER. Self-publishing is a viable option as well, and if you don't have the skills to do everything yourself, there are people you can hire who will do it for you, but they do not call themselves publishers nor do they charge thousands of dollars for their services.
Any podcaster who claims to be doing a show on the truth about publishing and promotion, but doesn't understand what a vanity press is doesn't know jack about publishing. The sad thing is the way her show is misleading new writers.
The second writing podcast I tried turned out to be more like we'll interview a guest writer and just talk about her and her books for the entire show. The man doing the interviewing was horrible and this wasn't the type of podcast I was looking for anyway, but I listened to most of it because the author was pretty interesting and she spoke about the more interesting aspects of her research.
She did such a good job, that I went to Amazon with the intention of picking up her book. And discovered her publisher had priced her at $9.99 in ebook.
Sorry, but I'm not spending $10 for an ebook, especially for a writer I've never read before. Given that this is the first story in a mystery series, I don't think her publisher was doing her any favors with that price point. They should price the first book low, get readers hooked, and make up the money on the later books in the series. JMO, but $10 cost her at least one sale.
I ended up deleting this podcast, too. I was looking for actual writing type shows--craft or promotion or creativity or how-to, something like that--not author interviews.
There are more podcasts out there about writing and I downloaded a few more. Here's hoping one of them is worth subscribing to.
There was a podcast that looked promising and it was only about 20 minutes long. Unfortunately, it started out with 10 minutes of "rate me highly on iTunes" and shilling for the the paid version of the show.
At last, though, she started talking about writing, but it was nothing helpful or informative. I deleted her podcast from my iPad when she said her friend's publisher had done any promotion for her and she'd paid thousands of dollars to them and that said friend still had boxes of books in her garage.
NO! No, no, no, no, no!!! That is not a publisher! That is a VANITY press. Anyone who's done any research on writing knows you run far, far away from a company who wants to charge to publish your work.
There are quality small presses out there who will publish your work and PAY THE WRITER. Self-publishing is a viable option as well, and if you don't have the skills to do everything yourself, there are people you can hire who will do it for you, but they do not call themselves publishers nor do they charge thousands of dollars for their services.
Any podcaster who claims to be doing a show on the truth about publishing and promotion, but doesn't understand what a vanity press is doesn't know jack about publishing. The sad thing is the way her show is misleading new writers.
The second writing podcast I tried turned out to be more like we'll interview a guest writer and just talk about her and her books for the entire show. The man doing the interviewing was horrible and this wasn't the type of podcast I was looking for anyway, but I listened to most of it because the author was pretty interesting and she spoke about the more interesting aspects of her research.
She did such a good job, that I went to Amazon with the intention of picking up her book. And discovered her publisher had priced her at $9.99 in ebook.
Sorry, but I'm not spending $10 for an ebook, especially for a writer I've never read before. Given that this is the first story in a mystery series, I don't think her publisher was doing her any favors with that price point. They should price the first book low, get readers hooked, and make up the money on the later books in the series. JMO, but $10 cost her at least one sale.
I ended up deleting this podcast, too. I was looking for actual writing type shows--craft or promotion or creativity or how-to, something like that--not author interviews.
There are more podcasts out there about writing and I downloaded a few more. Here's hoping one of them is worth subscribing to.
July 21, 2013
If Other Planets Were the Moon
This is pretty cool. This is what it would look like if other planets in our solar system were in the position that the moon is in now. I'm thinking there'd be some major gravitational problems, but it's too awesome not to share. My personal favorite is Saturn.
July 18, 2013
Water
Believe it or not, this post isn't about my house. Although be prepared. It's not too much longer until I close and then you will be getting more stories. Sorry, but it's like my number one topic of conversation and look on the bright side. You're not stuck in the office with me all day like my coworkers are. :-)
I'm a big proponent of drinking water. That's my beverage of choice like 99% of the time and sometimes, to break things up, I'll drink one of those flavored waters like Sobe or Propel. Part of why it's a now and then thing for me is the cost. To say it in Minnesotan, they're a little spendy.
And then at work, I saw someone use a water enhancer.
I'm probably the last one to know about them, but I loathe grocery shopping. I go in with a list and my goal is to get out as fast as it's humanly possible to do so. No doubt I've wheeled past them a number of times and never noticed.
Armed with my new knowledge, I went online and ordered a variety 3-pack. Lemonade, Strawberry-watermelon, and Berry-pomegranate.
I'm meh about the strawberry-watermelon, but I love the other two flavors and it's cheaper than the bottled flavor water and probably better for the environment (plastic bottles). From now on, it's water enhancers for me, but I still will keep it to once a day (most days) because I'm sure that's healthier.
I'm a big proponent of drinking water. That's my beverage of choice like 99% of the time and sometimes, to break things up, I'll drink one of those flavored waters like Sobe or Propel. Part of why it's a now and then thing for me is the cost. To say it in Minnesotan, they're a little spendy.
And then at work, I saw someone use a water enhancer.
I'm probably the last one to know about them, but I loathe grocery shopping. I go in with a list and my goal is to get out as fast as it's humanly possible to do so. No doubt I've wheeled past them a number of times and never noticed.
Armed with my new knowledge, I went online and ordered a variety 3-pack. Lemonade, Strawberry-watermelon, and Berry-pomegranate.
I'm meh about the strawberry-watermelon, but I love the other two flavors and it's cheaper than the bottled flavor water and probably better for the environment (plastic bottles). From now on, it's water enhancers for me, but I still will keep it to once a day (most days) because I'm sure that's healthier.
