what color should i paint my living room.
By on August 24th, 2010
my living room is very large, with 6 huge windows and a glass door going outside. im planning on painting soon but i cant decide if i should paint the living room and kitchen the same color (they are two separate rooms but open to each other) the kitchen has 3 large windows. WHERE can i get good advice on painting. what are some basic rules. i want to paint the walls and the ceiling but i dont want plain boring white, and i dont want it to look like a hospital or institution. i want something nice looking, but fun and modern.
if it helps any, in the living room we have a pool table, and the decorations on the walls are paintings of landscapes from the area i live (rural iceland) and huge old world maps in silver frames. right now i have brown leather couches but those will be replaced soon.
Can you give me feedback on my short story.
By on August 23rd, 2010
I am in Year 11 and every writing task I get 9/15. I am determined to make this one different.
Please be critical and specific about what I need to change to get a better mark.
I am a pretty standard guy. Wife, two kids and a dog, the usual mix you know. Currently living in a pretty standard house, white fence, a veggie patch out the back, some of the doors don’t close properly but it doesn’t ’t really matter because we never stay in one place for too long.
The door squeaks as I shuffle through the frame, I shrug off my jacket and collapse into the worn couch, dust flies up and the smell of moths and old wine fill my nostrils. I pinch the bridge of my nose and squeeze my eyes. How should I tell her this time.
Moving house, really, is just humping your goods from one place to the next, like a tortoise. But for some reason she gets all emotional about this sort of thing. The gears in my mind refuse to formulate a line I haven’t used before. I sigh, better tell her now and get the waterworks over with, sooner I tell her, sooner they will be over and the sooner we can start packing.
“Doreen” I call, stretching the name out to three syllables as I trudge into the kitchen.
“Just a second Hamish.” She enters, wheezing under the weight of a moving box and exhales loudly as it hits the bench with a “ca-thump”.
She smiles up at me through her long hazel curls that shape her pink face.
When I first met Doreen I thought she was another one of those girls who sits up the back of the class, starring out the window because of her lack of interest in any subject matter that Was’t directly related to herself, Joan Jett or Vogue magazine. I was wrong, turned out she was three steps ahead of what the teacher was saying, uncommonly bright. Which is why her friends nearly choked on their cherry soda’s when she let me take her to the prom.
She still was slender and place, freckles scattered all over her perfect face, a bit tired round the eyes though. She has swapped the Vogue magazines for better homes and gardens magazines, but she still dottes her ‘i’s with hearts like she did 20 years ago.
Her energies augmented rather than diminished with the hours she spent in the garden, and re arranging the furniture until it fit with the walls to give enough space for the kids to run around.
She reaches into the box and starts unpacking the crockery. I grab her slender wrist, gently mind you, and she raises her eyes to mine, she wears a puzzled frown.
“Doreen, there is no need for that.Anymore” I say clearly and simply.
I watch at the face that stares back at me changes; surprise, realization, and the shaky bottom lip and she realizes that we have to pack again.
Her eyes turn pink and glassy and she swallows hard on the growing dry lump in her throat.
“Next place will have a bigger kitchen, maybe even a gas stove”
Now I love my wife, don’t get me wrong, but I can not fathom why she built up a deluded fantasy that ‘this’ place would be different. Does she think that if she changes enough photo’s on the wall, if she plants enough flowers in the backyard, fills the shelves, if she places a ‘home sweet home’ doormat on the porch, that if will be enough to make us stay.
Honestly, you think she would understand by now.
Doreen:
My throat tightens, my chest heaves in short breaths, and my eyes tingle with the bitter sting of tears. I place another ornament in the box with a foreign address scribbled in the front, surrendering all that I never got to cherish.
Cops, Lawyers, Politicians, Americans, think about it.
By on August 22nd, 2010
Imagine a workday for a hardworking young man trying to earn his way. On the scene of a newly built house, a lot of finishing work is necessary.
The first part of the day is carrying 200-lb spruce trees, the bottoms are wrapped in burlap and handling the irritating branches with bare arms is almost unavoidable (should have brought a long-sleeve shirt but can’t do anything about it then). His shoes are filled with dirt and the only parts of uncovered skin are either covered with welts and scratches or nicely saturated with the sticky pine resin. The next job happens conveniently around noon, in the heat of the day. The work is nothing less than installing R-18 fiberglass insulation (known to contractors as the worst thing already irritated arms can possibly touch) in a hot attic. After that the last task is to unload a large trailer full of cement board (the most inconveniently shaped and unbelievably heavy form of drywall) into a kitchen. And immediately after that reload the trailer with extra drywall (140 lbs per sheet) from the basement carefully maneuvered through a kitchen cramped with expensive Chinese cherry cabinets (Chinese cherry is a rare wood that is almost impossible to find online and the set is priced at over $80,000 dollars–for the record i would never spend that much on a set of cabinets but apparently the people having the house built have nothing better to spend their money on.). Now this may come as a surprise, but in this time of bad economy, this young man is happy to do this at minimum wage.
I am not an illegal immigrant and I am not a high school dropout, I am about to move into my senior year this coming semester; and the money I am saving will be going directly into my college fund so I can honestly earn a living in this day and age. My family isn’t below the poverty line but I’m not born into the “Rich and Famous”, and I don’t get many breaks. No one is making me work and this is the most reliable job I have been able to find. I haven’t had a car given to me and often after work i will be waiting for my dad (a computer programmer) to leave work for the 20-mile commute to the countryside where we live.
Now the punchline.
Imagine at the end of the day in the two uncomfortable hours before a shower is even possible, a substance exists that could make the passing of time even to the point of comfortable and fun.
Now say just what you think about such a substance, and remember.you are anonymous on here.
Although my title suggests it, this isn’t a fight towards legalizing marijuana, and its actually not about illegal drugs at all, and it’s not about getting “permission” because quite honestly I just don’t give a fig about what I am or am not aloud to do as long as I am staying out of trouble and accomplishing what I’d like to. Rather it is an outcry to the public about your opinions about what some people would consider substance abuse. “dudeman” thank you for taking the time out to write a long answer to me, and much of what you said makes sense, and congratulations on never using substances to “ease your pain”, but do you feel like a better person because you lived a harder life than I am. To better answer my question you could just give me reasons not to then explain how much tougher you are than me.really, it isn’t helping and i don’t think many people care about how hard you worked just like I expect them not to care about how much I work.
Planning a wedding on small budget. What do you think about my ideas.
By on August 20th, 2010
I plan on having a beautiful wedding on a small budget. way less than $10,000 dollars. I plan on having 100 or so people. So do you think I can pull it off. I truly think it’s very possible. I want to prove to the wedding industry that I can do this. Here is the website that inspired me to have a not so stressful wedding on a budget: http://2000dollarwedding.com/
I’ve already found a wedding reception hall that is way under $1,000 and the place is beautiful. The reception hall will provide us with tables and chairs. I might have to rent chair covers and table cloths. (Which I don’t mind.) The reception hall will also provide us with plates and few other kitchen items.
I think I’m going to recruit a lot of my family members and friends to help me out with the wedding. I want a family oriented wedding where my friends can feel as if their apart of my family. I don’t want a huge expensive show. That’s why I’m choosing to have a DIY wedding reception that looks expensive. Everyone I know is pretty creative. I’m a very crafty person so I plan on making all the wedding favors, wedding programs, boutonnieres, decorations, wedding invites, wedding pillow, etc. I found a beautiful scrapbook in my room that I plan on using for my wedding as a guestbook. The cost: Free. I’ve got beautiful picture frames in my room of my fiance and I. Those pictures will be used at my reception. I even might have my finance and I grow our own flowers for the wedding. The more things that I can make by hand for our wedding, the more money my fiance and I will be saving. Which I believe to be true.
I found a restaurant that caters on great budget. I don’t plan on getting a fancy wedding cake from a bakery. I might just get myself a store bought wedding cake. My moms friend owns a dress shop and she can get me a great deal on a simple wedding dress. I might hire my aunt who takes professional looking pictures in her spare time to be my photographer for the wedding. I also know other people who too are good at photography. I will hire a DJ because my fiance and I love music so much. I think that I will be buying my own liquor for the wedding and having a family member of mine who doesn’t much like to dance be a bartender.
I’m so excited to be planning my wedding with my fiance. I think he’s going to be excited too. Were both crafty people. So we plan on using our imagination for this wedding. I love my fiance so much and I can’t wait for our special day that will occur sometime next summer. Wedding planning for me has been very exciting because I don’t feel so stressed out. My wedding is just one day and it’s day that I want to remember but I also want my family and friends to remember the day as well. When I first started doing wedding research I felt overwhelmed. Now I don’t feel that way thanks to the 2000 wedding budget website.
So what do you all think of my ideas. Can I pull this off. I think it’s possible to have a beautiful wedding on a small budget. I hope to inspire others also when they plan their wedding. So I want your input.
where can i find lebanese language to learn.
By on August 19th, 2010
like Modern Lebanese Arabic dialect as el matba5 (the kitchen); Béris (Paris) etc. also translator too.
I do not want learn Arabic calligraphy only modern Arabic word and slang on website. Thank you :]
Hunns, should I audition for SYTYCD.
By on August 18th, 2010
Hunns, this morning I went into the kitchen and there was a horrid little mouse that ran across the floor. Well, I immediately went on my tip toes, spun around, and leapt through the air landing squarely across the room. Well, Maid’s sister, who is visiting, happened to see me do this and she told me that she’s never seen such grace and strength in body movement as I had just demonstrated. Years ago, she used to be a world famous choreographer in Des Moines, Iowa so you can imagine how flattered I was. Anyway, she suggested I pursue a career and now my children are saying I should audition for next year’s “So You Think You Can Dance.”. Well, all of them except my 14 year old Amstel. He said, that the flimsy costumes would embarrass him in front of his friends at school. I’m so excited about this new career possibility. What should I dance to for the audition. Any suggestions. I wanted to do a modern jazz interpretation en pointe with some tap and clogging mixed in to show my versatility.
how long should I wait for a proposal.
By on August 17th, 2010
My boyfriend and I have been best friends for 7-8 years. We began dating a little over 2.5 years ago and have been living together for 1.5.
We both have good jobs, and steady income. He is 26 and I am 27.
We began talking about marriage 6 months into the relationship (initiated by me). I know that typically dating for 6 months is not nearly long enough to get married– I felt that we were different, however, as we have been best friends for so long that we know each other better than anyone else. He also came and lived with me for 6 months during our friendship while I went to school out of state.
I’ve become pretty impatient to the point that it has lead to arguments (yelling). I feel really bad about that and I hope that I haven’t ruined a proposal or made him feel bad, but I can’t help but feel resentment. The reason I feel resentment is that over the years we’ve had many conversations about this. I’ve asked him when he wanted to get engaged, when he thought an appropriate time for us was, and the things he wanted to accomplish before doing so. He told me that he was thinking around 1.5-2 years of dating was the right time. He also said that he wanted to be done with school. Well 1.5-2 years have come and gone, and although he didn’t finish going to school, he stopped going over a year ago. I asked him last night if “finishing school” was just an excuse– as he doesn’t appear to be in school at this point, and there’s still no engagement. He said no and that “he still wanted to finish school first.” I said “well you must want to marry me very badly because you’re not even in school.”.
Anyway, you can see how the arguments go. I don’t want to argue. I don’t want to even talk about it. I feel like after the couple has made it clear their timelines and goals and that they both want the same things and both want to marry one another that a proposal should just come naturally–and relatively soon. I think it’s a shame that it hasn’t and that our relationship has come to fighting over it.
After some pressure put on him by some friends of ours he encouraged me to look for rings. I was ecstatic. I found one– a one-of-a-kind antique, very much my style, and showed it to him. I thought for sure since it was an antique and not guaranteed to be around forever that he would buy it, but he didn’t. A few weeks went by and asked him where he was on the ring thing and just if he had thought about it any further. Although I would like to not talk about it and let it be a surprise, I also know that my boyfriend is a huge procrastinator, and unless he feels motivation to do something he’ll forget all about it (we’ve had a half-remodeled kitchen for 6 months now to show for it). At that moment, when I brought up the ring, he went online to the site it was on and contacted the owner and asked if the owner had any payment plans available. He did this in front of me. I thought it was a very sweet gesture just to say “hey, I’m on this, I won’t let you down.”
The owner of the ring responded that he could buy the ring in 3 payments (don’t get me wrong I didn’t pick out an outrageously expensive ring, I asked him his price range first). Well a couple of weeks later he says to me that “he thinks he’s just going to hold off for now and try to save some money for the next few months.” Well, in a few months the ring isn’t going to be there, so once again I feel kind of drained/let down. I kind of feel like I’m being teased and it’s really emotionally draining.
So i guess this was kind of a vent/rant session, but out of it I have a few questions for which I would appreciate opinions:
1.) I know that a relationship is supposed to be about what both people want, but that’s just it– I am a person in this relationship too, and I would like to get married by the time I am 30. This was a compromise for me, as when we first started dating (when i was 24) I said I wanted to get married by 27. How much longer should I wait before I decide that maybe we’re just not the right fit. I suppose I have two options here, either determine that he is the man for me, and wait as long as it takes. Or, decide that having the same goals/respecting each other’s goals is too important of a relationship aspect for me to compromise on and try to find someone who respects my goals. If I chose the second, how long should I wait before making that decision.
2.) Have I ruined the proposal/engagement by fighting about it/making ultimatums/nagging.
3.) Would you take his continuous procrastination and lack of effort as a sign that he’s “just not that into me” and maybe doesn’t want marriage.
4.) I told him I felt that it was mean of him to have me look for/pick out a ring if he didn’t intend on proposing. Am I wrong to feel this way. I
Actually my post had great paragraph structure, but you are limited to 5,000 characters so I had to eliminate many spaces, and when I submitted the formatting was changed by the website, not by me. So thank you for the smart-ass response.
Thank-you. Although harsh, at least your response has some decent advice now.
Could I build a child’s picnic table from an old door.
By on August 16th, 2010
We just moved into an old house and I took several of the heavy wood doors off their hinges, as I didn’t want doors on some of the rooms. Our kitchen, for example, has two large pantries. One I am converting into a breakfast/dining area for my children. I took the old door off of it, trying to find a way to repurpose it. I was thinking about using it as the top part of a picnic table. Does any one know if that will work or how to go about it. Any other ideas for what to do with them. They are great, just dont need them.
It has stain/varnish on it, but I would sand it down and make it smooth, removing all of it. Also, any suggestions on what kind of paint I could use to repaint it. It has to be safe for them and weather proof.
Should I kick him out.
By on August 15th, 2010
So I’ve been having some problems with my friend/roommate. You can see my previous questions. Especially the last one.
This current problem, basically he’s 42 and lived at home up until three years ago, where his parents still cooked for him and did all the cleaning. When we moved in together he told me he was going to pay half of everything and clean every week. Neither of us are neat freaks, but we are not total slobs either.
For the first two weeks, his idea of cleaning was mopping the kitchen floor. Ok, that’s fine. But then, he stopped. I have an odd work schedule where I’m on for a few weeks without a break, working 14 hour days, and then I’m off for a week. Basically I don’t get weekends off. He works 40 hours a week and gets two days off a week.
He wakes up in the morning, goes online for two hours, gets ready for work, goes to work, comes home, and is online until 3am playing games. He doesn’t clean at all. I spend my entire off season break, which was a good few weeks long, cleaning the house and the yard (he won’t go out in the yard because he saw a spider out there). When I talked to him about this, he would tell me “Well tell me what to clean.” Like he couldn’t see what needed cleaning. I told him I wasn’t his mother.
I took the advice of some of the other posters and put a reminder up for him about what to clean. At the moment it’s very simple. We both shed a lot of hair which makes it hard to do a good cleaning in the bathroom, so I put a sign up on the door at his eye level reminding him to wipe the hair and dust off the sink and toilet before he leaves.
I drew a picture of the sink and the toilet and arrows pointing to exactly where he has to wipe it off.
That is his ONLY cleaning responsibility at the moment. However, today, when I went into the bathroom after he had left, there was hair all over the toilet seat.
Is it unreasonable for me to kick him out.
Can I change my apartment floor plan.
By on August 14th, 2010
Hi, I live in a 50 square meter (538.195 square foot) apartment. I’m planning to have a family and am wondering how I could change the floorplan to make more bedrooms, etc.
I have a few questions about this:
1. Is there a special job title for someone who could come to my apartment, then make a new floor plan based on my needs, etc. Or is it just an architect.
2. Is there software to do this online or that can be purchased somewhere.
3. Any suggestions. This may be stupid, but I’m just going to describe my apartment’s current layout (no access to a scanner/drawing software) and see if anyone has any good ideas: The front door opens onto a high-ceilinged hallway that runs the length of the apartment. Immediately on your left is the toilet, which is a very small square room with a random long bit behind the toilet that is about 1 foot wide and 5 feet deep. There is a small window at the end of this random bit. The next room on the left side is the kitchen, a room of about triple the size of the toilet in all dimensions. There is a large window. After this, still on the left side of the apartment, is the bathroom (this is a European-style apartment, so toilet and bathroom are separate). The bathroom is maybe half the size of the kitchen, give or take, with a bathtub, sink, and a big window. At the end of the hallway is a closet space/washer-dryer space. This is about 5 feet wide, 8 feet deep, with a high ceiling as in the rest of the apartment. Then, on the right side of the apartment are two large rooms, each with an almost floor-to ceiling window taking up about 2/3 of each far wall.
Sorry because I’m sure that description is a bit confusing, and I wish I had a floor plan I could scan here, but if you have a general idea, and it helps, I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have.
Okay, that’s all. Sorry for the complicated questions, but I’d really appreciate any helpful answers. Thanks.