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Four Things I’d Rather Do

by | Nov 18, 2007 | Authentic Living

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Four Things I'd Rather Do

Shhhh … I have snuck up here to my computer to do a quick post. I started out the day planning to paint my bathroom cabinet. It is kind of a quick fix, as I really just need a whole new vanity. It is shabby in a not so chic way. But, with Thanksgiving coming and having company for dinner Thursday, I thought I’d do a quick paint job and mini-makeover of the bathroom. Nothing like company coming to get me in the mood to do a project! While most of you are thinking about your turkeys, I’m thinking about a bathroom makeover! Here’s why:

Four Things I'd Rather Do

But here is the funny part! I hate painting. No, hate is not a strong enough word. I DESPISE painting. So I have a little system for how to get things done. First I go buy the paint, then I plead with my husband for just a little bit of help with prep work. Once he is in his grubbies and under way with sanding, I slip upstairs and start blogging! Pretty soon he realizes I am not doing the project, HE IS! Love that. Works like a charm.

Four Things I'd Rather Do

I’ve been tagged to play a couple of games! And since it is Thanksgiving week for those of us in the states, we might as well play and be merry don’t you think? I think so. Although I will probably move quickly on to another post because I have so much to get to! I was tagged by My Melange for this first one which I am going to call Four Things I’d Rather Do Than Paint My Bathroom Cabinet. Here we go, five questions, four answers each:

Four jobs I have had:

Editorial assistant, publishing company

Scrapbook consultant (my attempt at being crafty)

Marketing, publishing company

Interior design consultant (the real me!)

Four places I have lived:

Minnesota

about 9 houses in Oregon

Four places I’ve been on holiday (I’m cheating a bit here):

Paris, Germany, England, Venice

New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida

California, Hawaii, Washington, Idaho

Canada

Four Favorite Foods (how can I choose only four, I have to cheat a little bit)

Mexican food followed by Flan

Coffee & Chocolate chip cookies with walnuts

Salmon with mashed potatoes and vegetables

Lasagna and garlic bread

Four Places I’d Rather Be (only four? this game is hard for me!)

France

Venice

South Africa

Netherlands

I’ll have to postpone (again!) one of the games where I am supposed to show a picture of myself and talk about it, but I don’t have a working scanner so for now, I’m off the hook on that one! Sorry, I’ll get back to it!

For now, here are the four I am tagging for the Four Things game:

The Feathered Nest – Manuela

Daisy Cottage

Plumwater Cottage

Counting Your Blessings

Oh, no! Hubby is looking for me! Gotta wrap this up and look busy with some other house project so he won’t ask me to work on the painting… TTFN!

38 Comments

  1. jed59

    I am new to your blog site (love it) and have to agree with wanting to do anything but paint! we just got done with a little project at our house, actually used the same above tactic! but for as much as I don’t like to paint I love it even more when it’s done and finished.
    i am new to the blogging world and am trying my hand at it… hope to aspire to what i have been seeing on yours and others.
    ~julia d~

    Reply
  2. Kathleen Grace

    Oh Melissa you are shameless! LOL Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  3. Natasha Burns

    Hilarious Melissa! I love your way of getting out of doing the painting!

    Reply
  4. Becky

    I am waiting for my dear husband to head out of town on a business trip so I can paint! He never approves of my methods but enjoys the finished product. It is a little game we play…what is she going to paint or resurface while I am gone?
    This time it will be that bathroom project that has been put off for such a long time. The gallon of paint is sitting in the bathroom waiting to be applied!

    Come on over to Hospitality Lane and enter my first ever giveaway.

    Blessings on this Thanksgiving week.

    Becky K.

    Reply
  5. Debra W

    Melissa,

    RUN, I say, RUN AWAY FROM THE PAINTBRUSH…gosh, I feel much better after bestowing that little piece of wisdom upon you. I absolutely think that your creative mind would be much more useful, elsewhere.(like sharing your beautiful decorating ideas with us!) Once your hubby enjoys the very delicious Thanksgiving meal that you prepare on Thursday, he will forget all about your little “slip” out of the room! Men like painting, anyway, it’s buried deep down inside of their DNA, and it makes them feel very manly when we ask them to help us!

    Have a restful evening!

    Reply
  6. janet

    Ya know, I think your hubbie looks like he is enjoying painting,LOL.
    Janet

    Reply
  7. Cottage Magpie

    Too cute! Unfortunately I have a pact with my husband that absolves him from painting for the rest of his life. It’s a long story. But I do manage to get him to do other things, like trimwork! Can’t wait to see the finished product.
    ~Angela :-)

    Reply
  8. Elzie

    You are really good on delegate the work in your home *LOL*. Couldn’t help laughing at your fint.
    Hope you have a great day.
    Love Elzie

    Reply
  9. Vee

    Great job, Melissa! Done like a real pro, too. :) Hope that you dear hubby gets lots of praise as well.

    Love the color of your vanity. It’s going to be so fresh and new with just the cost of a can of paint. Now that’s the best part!

    Reply
  10. the feathered nest

    Melissa, Thanks for the tag I’ll do it later today! I USED to like painting. But you know how you can get too much of a good thing! I really don’t like big paint projects. Little quick ones are o.k. cause I have instant gratification, but walls and that dining room table – that’s another story!

    Manuela

    Reply
  11. Julie

    You’re so funny! And a little, smidge bit of a deviant. And I love that!! I can’t wait to see pictures of the finished ok-for-now project.

    When you visit PA again – be sure and drop on by my house. I’ll fatten you up maybe, but you’ll leave happy!

    Love,
    Julie

    Reply
  12. rosieswhimsy

    hehehe…..I’d say you have your hubby wrapped around your finger….in a nice way…just the way it should be :-)

    Reply
  13. Ruth Welter

    Hi Melissa,

    Very funny. I have a similar tactic to yours with the painting situation. My husband always does the painting but I try to make it look like I want to help (I too hate to paint walls). Once I start helping out, I whine and complain and in general, just go really slowly. He will always say, ow, ok, I’ll just do it….you go do something else. :0) Music to my ears!!

    Reply
  14. Wanda

    Haha! I do the same thing! Usually, he’ll see my feeble attempt to do something and take over. I eventually slip out to do something more enjoyable.

    I also tend to start projects, or attempt to finish some, when the holidays are fast approaching when I really need to just be cleaning and cooking.

    Reply
  15. Sweet Cottage Dreams

    LOL!!!! You are so funny! Your husband is a great sport to be in there helping out!!! What are the colors of your tiles on the wall and bath area? Your tile looks a lot like the tile we have in our master bath…kind of a greenie blue color – like an ocean color. I love ours and it goes so nicely with white, but would be even nicer with white beaded board. hahaha.

    Doogs loves you too, Melissa. Awwwww shucks, that was so sweet of you to say. He would love to frolic around with Winston I am sure.

    Have a beautiful day!

    love,
    Becky

    Reply
  16. rochambeau

    Hey Melissa,
    I HATE TO PAINT TOO!
    BUT, it sure does make a gigantic difference. Can’t wait to see your “after”.

    Let’s eat Mexican food! Can you take it hot? I like spicy!!

    You have lived in two places that I have never been, but I must say every person I have ever met from Minnesota is such a good person and I heard that Oregon is a beautiful state.

    Reply
  17. Elizabeth

    I adore your bathroom tile! So pretty!

    Reply
  18. cielo

    You are so cute! I had to laugh at your “shabby in a not so chic way” comment. I know what you mean. Some of my own stuff can be catalogued into that… ha!

    Well, have a good day, and come back to my house in the roses for some tea.

    Love,

    Cielo

    Reply
  19. Laissezfaire

    haha…I actually thought I like painting until I actually tried and….well…lets just say I would rather my husband do it for me too. =))

    Reply
  20. Rhoda

    Ha-ha, aren’t you a sneaky one! Wish it worked that easy at my house, but unfortunately I’m the only one who paints. He’s never even helped with prep stuff, so I just know if I want it done, I’ll have to do it all. That’s OK, but good for you to get some help! Painting can be tedious.

    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Melissa!

    xo,
    Rhoda

    Reply
  21. accessoryalamode~Deb

    OH, I know what you mean about the painting…seems I get the idea in my head around February, but then it actually doesn’t get painted until November as I, too, work under pressure of knowing that company is coming :o) I will be painting this week too my bathroom cabinet. :o) LOL! and will be thinking of you :o)

    Reply
  22. Lynn

    Melissa, I gotta tell you. That bathroom looks EXACTLY like my upstairs guest bath…same everything…even the chipped cabinet. I just finished cleaning that bathroom getting ready for the Thanksgiving house guest. Have a wonderful turkey day. xoxo Lynn

    Reply
  23. Amanda Jones

    You sound just like me… I will start something and keep asking my hubby for help and before I know it he is doing the work and I am enjoying popcorn and a coke! Aren’t husbands the best??!!

    Reply
  24. kari & kijsa

    We love a little project avoidance when it lets us read such fun things about you! Thanks for sharing, and good luck with your painting! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    blessings,
    kari & kijsa

    Reply
  25. Brenda Eason

    How do you get him off the couch? I bet it looks great I need mine done and I double despise it!

    Reply
  26. marita

    i love the checked border on the chair in the first picture ;))
    looking forward to see the result of the make-over of your cabinet!
    you like to love in the netherlands? come over, i’ll show you what it’s all about ;))

    Reply
  27. Esther Sunday

    you are so funny! You handle your hubbers just like I do! Enjoyed reading more about ya.

    Reply
  28. cd&m

    That is the sort of painting I like, when the man of the house does it!

    Reply
  29. Liberty Post

    I love how you trick him into finishing the project! Good tip to remember. You’re so funny!

    Reply
  30. Melissa Mashburn

    HA! Melissa, that is GREAT!!! I HAVE to remember to try out your “technique” on my husband…I am dying to renovate our guest bathroom and he is just NOT wanting to start a new project! (We do maybe ONE project a year…he’s not super handy)

    I am so glad I popped over here…I read your comment on KJ’s blog and had to come meet another Melissa.

    Nice to meet ya! If you get a chance pop over to Mel’s World sometime!

    Take Care,
    Melissa ;)

    Reply
  31. Jenn and Jacqui

    Hi Melissa, nice to know a little more about you!! We’d rather be in France too :) Good on your hubby, wish mine was a handyman sometime! The bathroom will look great :) See you at the Prom! Jenn and Jacqui

    Reply
  32. Monicaa

    How funny about your hubby , i do the same thing!
    He cant stand unfinished projects..haha!
    Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

    Reply
  33. Lynda

    *giggle* So that’s how it works, Melissa! I’ll try that the next time I’m stuck with one of those jobs that I hate to do. I actually like painting though … strange, I know. ~ Lynda xo

    Reply
  34. Terri Steffes

    Hello! I am thrilled to come here and see your blog! You have left me such wonderful comments but I couldn’t find your blog! I am adding you to my blog roll if that is ok, I love your sweet comments!

    Reply
  35. Abby from The Blissful

    What a fun game! I’m in the mood to play games this week, too. Must be the impending Holidays bringing out the kids in us.

    Good luck with your painting project. I’ll look forward to seeing your stunning finished project photos…no pressure, though!

    Reply
  36. Christine

    Sassy you! I did that when we were siding our house!lol!
    I know your project will turn out beautiful..hope you have a Fab Thanksgiving.
    hugs

    Reply
  37. Tam

    hahahahahahaha….Hubby LOATHES painting, probably because I am so fickle about color that we have painted every room in our house TWICE (and some three times) in the last 3 years. Maybe *fickle* doesn’t quite describe it…. : )

    Where, oh where did you find those lovely pots in the first pic?

    Reply

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