Domestic Geek

I love having blinds on my windows and will never again live anywhere that doesn't have them. I don't know a whole lot about the various kinds that are available, though. I wished I had before we bought plain ones from the local home improvement store.

That's why you need to consult people who are passionate about their products when making window treatment decisions. The staff at Blinds Bar, a UK-based blinds retailer, have an employee blog where they share "All We Know About Window Blinds" with their customers. They offer all sorts of practical tips, tricks, trade secrets, news and personal opinions. Who knew there was so much information to be learned about blinds?

For instance, using blackout blinds not only helps keep your house warm in the winter and cooler in the summer, but they can help keep pets from waking you up too early in the morning. That is just one of the great tips you can find. Do you have a shed or children's playhouse in your yard? I bet you never thought to pretty them up with window shades.

If you're thinking of adding blinds or shades to your decor, go check out the Blinds Bar blog and benefit from the wealth of knowledge presented by the company's employees. They actually make the topic of window blinds interesting and entertaining.

This is a sponsored post.

One of the things I notice as I'm in a new housing development is the lack of mailboxes. It makes the neighborhoods look so generic. These areas have opted for the community mailboxes where everyone gets mail from one central point. That's all right for an apartment building or a mobile home park, but not for a residential community. I don't know if it was the doing of the home owner's associations or the postal service, but it is a trend I definitely don't like.

Have you ever been to an older neighborhood or out in a rural development? You may not notice at first, but one of the things that lends charm and character to these neighborhoods is the variety of mailboxes that line the streets. You see such a wide array of styles, from classy to comical to outright gaudy. The nice thing is it is up to the homeowner what his or her mail receptacle looks like (as long as it meets certain postal codes). There is a really cool one out in Bennett, CO that is shaped like a tractor. I smile every time I see it.

When I have my own home, I want to live in an area that allows curbside mailboxes. I've always wanted a classy one that was set into a brick pillar. No community mailboxes for this gal!

I have a confession to make. I am out of control. I had some major revelations today. It's weird how something will hit you out of the blue even though its been staring at you in the face for months.

I whole heartedly believe that your life is what you make it. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to live in the "someday" and "if only" mode. I rarely live in the now and pay attention to what is going on around me. The truth is, I've been stagnant. Worse, I've regressed. My body, my finances, my home, my appearance...it's all in a huge state of disarray. I need to stop wallowing in depression and despair and get myself back on track. Right now. I've got to knock off the negative self-talk and the doubting and set some goals and get with the program. What I'm going to reveal here may shock some of you. Others may not be surprised at all. I just want to warn you that it's not pretty. It's also going to ramble.

The fact is, I'm good at using excuses to avoid doing things. It's one reason Marcus dubbed me the Queen of Procrastination™. I've got excuses for everything. My Christmas decorations still aren't 100% packed. First it was because we put the dog down, then I had to have help getting the tree down, then I had to wait for the snow to melt. Well, The lights have been down and in piles in my kitchen for well over a month. My tree stand is still in my bathtub. The snow has been melted for a couple of weeks, but the tree is still outside.

I've been using the underemployment and unemployment excuses for a lot of things. It's why I gained a lot of weight (bull), it's why I was too depressed to clean, it's why I haven't bought clothes or had my hair done or even wash my car. Well, I've been full time employed for almost 3 months, yet the problems persist.

I decided I needed to document where I'm at now so that I can see improvement. I grabbed Marcus' camera and started snapping pictures. As soon as my new blog is up, I'll post a link so you can all go look. I want my problems out in the open. Hopefully that will give me the kick I need to fix them. I was a little disgusted as I walked around my home. How could I let this happen?

I have to come clean. Literally. My house is a freaking pig sty. I've never had great housekeeping skills. It was something that was never instilled in me growing up. Our house was always a pit. I'm slipping back into that way of living. My steam cleaner still sits in the same place it did when I tried to clean up the urine stains from the dog. We're coming up on 4 months since we had to put him down. I haven't vacuumed the carpet in the family room in over six months. There's still dog hair under our dining room table. I have dishes on my counter from before Christmas. There are still piles of stuff that came over from storage. I've got paperwork all over the place. I haven't gone through my junk mail since before I was employed (I got the job early November).

I get my FlyLady emails every day and wish that I could have an organized home and be on time to work and all that. I tell myself what's the point of having a shiny sink? It'll be dirty again tomorrow. It's this kind of thinking that is holding me back. Marcus used to help me with housework, but I think he's given up, too. I can't blame the guy.

The sad truth is I'm not even crafting or doing anything creative (except for a few feet of popcorn garland that I crocheted at Christmas). All I do is sit and think and surf and wish and dream. If only I was rich...If only I was thin...If only....

I have dreams of getting my drawings on iStock or a t-shirt on Threadless. Still more excuses. My desk sucks. My mouse is broken. Nobody will buy them anyway. I wanted to open a design site, but the self doubt crept in. Too many people already do that. Who will want your designs? You can't even get your own design changed, why would anyone use you? It's appalling how my own worst enemy in all this is me.

I want to lose 150 pounds, but I can't ride my bike because of our neighborhood and Marcus is too busy to ride with me. I can't exercise in the house because of the dust and the carpet is dirty. I can't join a yoga class because I don't hae any money. Isn't it disgusting how I can always find an excuse? I wish I knew the answer to why I continue to participate in this self-destructive behavior. All I know is, I must cease now. I'm not getting any younger and I don't want to look back on my life with regret about the things I didn't allow myself to try or do. I know I'm an amazing and wonderful person. I have a kind heart and a brain full of knowledge. Why am I so afraid to let the real me come out?

The big picture is I've been complaining about the same things about my life since I was in high school. I graduated in 1984, you do the math. I've been afraid to take risks, had trouble making friends, been afraid to do what I want, resist losing weight, make excuses, procrastinate, blame others for where I'm at. Since the only constant in these many years has been me, it's seriously time to change something.

Anyway, I'd better wrap this up and get back to some cleaning. I have so much more that needs to be said, but it's all a jumble in the old noggin. I guess there will be a lot of fodder for the new blog.

Marcus and I are seriously concerned about the security of our possessions. We don't live in the safest of areas in the first place. Couple that with the the fact that we have a lot more higher value possessions that would normally be in this neighborhood and we're at a pretty high risk of being robbed. We don't even call for pizza delivery anymore because we don't want strangers getting a glimpse of what we own.

We really got a wake up call about how vulnerable we are when we saw a video on our local news similar to this video about how most locks can be opened with a bump key. Available on the Internet for as little as $5 including videos how to use them, many thieves are getting these and easily getting into people's homes. It's frightening, especially since it was widely shown on major news stations and even criminals that didn't know about it now do. I was a little angry at first that these news stations aired these stores, but I'd be a fool to think that a lot of unsavory characters out there didn't already have this knowledge. I guess it's better in the long run that all parties have this information. It's now up to us to take action.

So, in addition to getting a camera surveillance system and doing a complete home inventory that we will keep at a friend's house for the insurance company should be get robbed, we have been looking into getting bump key proof lock for each of our exterior doors. BrickHouseSecurity.com has several bump proof/biometric locks starting at $195. The locks are a little pricey, but a good investment considering the amount of valuable possessions we've accumulated. The good news about all of this is these biometric locks are activated by fingerprints, so no more locking myself out of the house when I don't have a key. I really like this one. --->

So, after watching the video, are you concerned that your home locks are basically worthless? I'm curious what you guys feel about this.

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As I'm sitting here at my computer in my craft room, my feet are freezing. This is the farthest room away from the furnace and on chilly days back here I have to pull out the space heater just to be able to stand being back here. I'd love to eventually tile this room because cleaning craft paint and stuff up from the carpet is a real pain. The downside to that would be that the floor back here would be even colder. One option that could eventually make this room really comfortable would be to install a radiant floor heating system.

Warmup Underfloor Heating has three different floor heating products depending on the type of flooring you're going to install (tile or laminate). They are applied directly to the subfloor and are really thin so they don't raise the floor level. You simply lay the flooring over them and you're good to go.

I was reading some posts on the Warmup Blog and I'm intrigued by the benefits of radiant heating. Since heat rises and the heating source is spread out across the whole room, there are no cold spots in the room. You get the ideal heat profile of having warmer feet and a cooler upper body/head area. The cost of heating is lower because you can control rooms individually and the heat is not wasted by being blown up to the celing. There is also not the problem of allergens and dust being blown out of ducts and the drier air associated with furnaces. That's one of the biggest problems I have in the winter here—the dry, dusty air riles up my allergies and makes my nose dry out and bleed. In a home that's well insulated, you can even use it as the sole source of heat and not have to deal with ugly baseboard registers.

The only downside is that their products can not be used under wood, vinyl or carpet. Since I'm wanting a tile floor, it still seems like an ideal solution for this craft room and the other non-carpeted areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms.

This is a sponsored post.

Anybody that has been to our house knows that I'm organizationally challenged. Marcus and I have little free time and who wants to spend that time house cleaning? I was so thrilled today when I found a site online called The Housekeeping Channel. There is tons of information there that I can not wait to delve into. They feature articles and tips from experts in the cleaning and time management fields to help readers have a clean, healthy home in less time.

I love how the various sections of the home are targeted in the sidebar menu. It's a breeze to find help for just the area for which you're looking. You can also find information by type, such as tips, reviews, books, tools, etc. If I could get Marcus and myself to put some of these practices into place, maybe there's hope for us to have a tidy, organized house after all.

My little Subaru Baja is back on the road. I haven't been able to afford to register it and the brakes were bad. I got tags for my plates the day before yesterday and Marcus lent me the money to get the brakes done. I want a name for my car. I usually have one for my vehicles, but for some reason, nothing has come to me. Any suggestions?

My digital camera blows.

It's sad because Marcus mounted a campaign two Christmases ago so that I could have one. Various friends and my father all chipped in Apple Store gift certificates and cash. I was so excited that I was finally going to have a digital camera all my own and I wouldn't have to borrow Marcus' any longer. I agonized for days over which camera to get. I compared features. I read reviews online. I narrowed it down to two choices and I went back and forth over which one would be better. I finally made a decision, purchased it and took it home.

I made the wrong decision.

Now, I'm not going to tell you what kind it was except that it was not an HP product. HP products rock — my CP1700 large format printer is awesome! At first I thought it was just that I didn't know how to set it right. Almost every other picture I take comes out fuzzy, no matter how still I stand. It's insane. I sent it back under warranty. They replaced parts and sent it back. It still doesn't work. So here I am, two years later and still borrowing Marcus' camera. That's what I used today to take pictures of Marcus out in the blizzard. I tried using mine and it's a crap shoot about the picture quality. I have to delete most of the pictures I took. Besides, wouldn't it have been better to get some video of Marcus out rowing his boat in the snow today?

This hasn't been my year. In fact, it's right up there in the top three of worst years I've ever had. I know next year is going to be better and receiving an HP digital camera and printer to document that year would be a wonderful way to start! Besides, I'd finally be able to participate in some of those awesome PayPerPost video opportunities. C'mon Ted, hook me up like you did Tamale. You know you want to see what I can come up with!

This post is sponsored by HP.