Getting back to being ME.

So it's kind of funny how a month or so ago I wrote about how I was 99.9% sure I wasn't going to be on the Rosie show and then WHAM, next day they called. I'm still not a spotlight and glitz kind of girl. I'm "Wholesome" or as I like to tell my Husband, "A new breed of Wholesome." Well, now I know for sure that I'm not going back to Chicago, and you know what? I'm ok with that. I'm ok because I admitted (read the comments of the post above) that this ISN'T who I am. Yes, I'm very glad they were able to get me on a plane after being "grounded" for so long. Yes, I made so many new friends and I love EVERY. LAST. ONE. OF. THEM. Yes, I am ecstatic with the results thus far (stay tuned for before/afters). Throughout this entire process the one thing that has honest to God slapped a big rain cloud over my head? Not preparing family meals and being able to enjoy them with my loved ones. Sure, the kids have been thrilled by "bachelor dinners" prepared by the Husband, but I? Can't stand the wait. I would be a liar if I said I was jumping up and down with glee when my most recent box 'o food showed up on my doorstep. I am grateful for the tools they gave me, I will be sticking with more balanced portions in my diet, and I can't wait to see myself ANOTHER 20 pounds lighter. ((I started off my summer 20 pounds heavier than I am now, can you believe my In-laws aren't blinded by the amount of my skin they were subjected to??? Me neither!)) So with the following link heavy post, PLEASE feel free to link up to your favorite health and/or recipe related sites. I need to get cooking again AND I don't want to get bored with my yoga/walking routine. I'd love to do Zumba, hate the cost... get the idea?

Recently, amidst too many changes for my "CHANGE IS BAD" brain, the Husband and I switched offices. I used to have this little cocoon of a craft room and my office? Was a franken-desk shoved up against a wall in the living/dining room area next to our huge ass deep freeze. Did I mention we live in a basement? We live in a basement... AND EMBRACE IT, DAMMIT. So now my office/craft space is HIS old office/craft space. I now have a room at least twice as big with a closet and EVERYTHING. I'm not handling the transition very well if at all. My one happy moment was when I began to "glisten and glow" with warmth (ladies DON'T sweat) and I was able to facilitate a ceiling fan. I'm still smiling about the damn ceiling fan even though now I'm too cold to use it. By the way, losing 20ish pounds of fat will make a girl freeze to death. Take note, friends! So in hopes to kick start my "craft hunger," here are some crafts I've got on my dusty "to-do list." And yes, I will do crafts for profit if you're willing to pay. HINT HINT HOLIDAYS HINT.

1.) Chalkboard Dining Table

My poor Father HATES the idea of painting my $60 Craigslist find SOLID OAK table with chalkboard paint. I even went so far as to show him the paint at Lowe's the other day. He actually had a stroke discussed my absolute absurdity in front of me to a poor, unsuspecting Lowe's associate. Those guys don't get paid enough to put up with MY crazy shenanigans as it is to have to put up with my exasperated Father. In my Father's defense, it IS a solid oak table... in MY defense, the chalkboard paint would cover up 15+ years of damage the previous owner's children did to it. Plus, seriously? How cool is a chalkboard table??!?! My new fruit bowl would look so awesome atop the black top!

2.) Shrinky Dink Jewelry

OH. EM. GEE. Mother fluffin SHRINKY DINKS!!! My inner 7 year old girl is squealing right now. I have to do this... Unfortunately, the 17 year old girl in me who suffered hot glue gun burns bad enough to go to the E.R. is reeling in pain at the mere thought of handling these bad boys straight from the oven. Guess I best go invest in some "Ove-Gloves."

3.) Fancy origami mobiles

You know what, it doesn't even have to be origami! I just want to make fancy ass mobiles for girls and boys (and adults...) I could use felt, beads, paper, rocks... I just want to bang a few of these out and feel "fancy" afterwards. Have I said "fancy" enough? Fancy that, I haven't!

4.) Washer Pendant Necklaces

My loving Husband bought me an alphabet die set and a ton of other neat little crafting tools last Christmas. They were NOT meant for heavy duty washers unfortunately. I'm sure I can put those tools to good use at some point, but I need to find my Grandfather's heavy duty set somewhere lost under 30 years of items dumped randomly in the garage. Maybe now that it's cooler I can actually accomplish organizing that space (and who knows, maybe I'll find a treasure trove of washers to hammer on.) If I don't find any of those things, at least I know already that they're fairly cheap and I can paper the hell out of them with my handy dandy Mod Podge. Hmmmm... handmade Christmas gifts! Crap. I wasn't supposed to say that out loud.

So there's my top 4 craft wishes. You guys got anything other crafts I can pick over and make my own?