This summer while I was learning a whole slew of things, Mr Hunter was learning something too.

Like, "how many drum sets and drum parts can one fit into a 350 square foot room?"

Mr Hunter loves a bargain. He loves the whole "buy low, sell high" game and I tell ya, this man is incredible at it. My "surprise" reaction has become desensitized with just how easily these deals fall into his hands. Law of attraction much? I've finally convinced him the universe is on his side now. ;) Yet, he never falls short of that high he gets from a great deal and I still find it adorable how he giggles like a child Christmas morning just before the deal goes through; him selling the item for a considerable profit.

How that happiness I see on his face is worth far more to me than most things...

...like having the purpose of a room changed into another purpose.

Since this summer, drums have been the theme in this buying/selling game. And while I took these pictures, the title of this post was the exact words I said to him.

Two drum sets in a room doesn't look too bad, right?

How about from this angle? Photobomb by Boy Dolphyn, the shirtless muscle man.

Zoom out this is how the room really looks. I have no shame posting this online but if you were to come over to my house and see this, I would be mildly mortified. And by mildly I mean I would go hide into my room until you left.

Mr Hunter's snare drum collection just had to be put on display if we're going to have them for a while, right? When I mentioned my desire to use these items for decorative purposes, Mr Hunter became a deer in headlights. But when he saw this, my decorating skills became welcome. We're considering adding the mess of cymbals he has on the walls. 

These cymbals. Believe me when I say that this collection has grown.

And I think we have more stands than fingers and toes on all five of us living under this roof! 

Oh, did I say we have two drum sets in this room? I forgot, I meant THREE. 

But my all-time, favorite part of these summer deals is when we took the parts of another drum set Mr Hunter bought and I turned one bass drum into....

A toy box. I love it! Whodathunk that drums can be multi-purposeful! And had the rest of that drum set's drum shells had not been ruined, I would've used them as storage for other things. 

No worries, I'm confident I'll have another chance to do that. :)

Do you ever compromise things for those you love? As hard as it is?? Sure, I'd like to have my sitting/laundry folding room back, as well as a broad walkway to the laundry room and garage. But seeing my husband's talent being put to use makes me just plain happy.

That man seriously needs to open a shop though, before the whole house looks like this! ;)

Have you seen the Instagram posts of those joining the no makeup selfie trend?

Have you joined them?

I wear makeup daily.

That's right, DAILY.

And I sleep in my makeup. 

I know.

"It's wrong." Funny how friends still tell me that's wrong to do.

Am I gonna change it.

Probably not. 

One day, a couple years ago, I didn't wear makeup, thinking I was safe (or that those living in the outside world was) until I had an unexpected errand to run. I was so mortified, thinking everyone at the location I was at would die from their eyes burning outside of their heads at the sight of me.

Since that time, I have realized that I don't look THAT bad and that honestly, people don't care all that much about whether you wear makeup or not.

But lately I've been seeing these posts of ladies showing some sultry pout with a completely bare face. 

And then I started seeing more. 

And while most of these women are women who have had work done on their face, skin, teeth, lips, and what-have-you, they aren't the regular day-to-day women who have under or overgrown brows, unsightly mustache hair, peach fuzz on places that a face shouldn't have them, wrinkles that NEED makeup to cover, zits in abundance (ahem, even at the ripe age of 31), and yellowish teeth, which, thank God, we got lips to cover. 

Most of us are just average and yes, we're still beautiful! Just as beautiful as the next woman. All in our own unique way.

But just because we like wearing makeup and don't care to join this raging trend doesn't mean that we love ourselves any less than those with the confidence and natural beauty who are enjoying this time of being empowered without their makeup on. 

Do you like to wear makeup? Then wear it, dang it. 

Why follow the crowd?

Do you like not wearing makeup? Then don't, dang it.

All in all, what matters is the heart, not the face, anyway. :)

...because your inner voice is screaming for you to do something.

Something that you wouldn't imagine doing, at least during this present time.

Something you haven't done in nearly 11 years.

Something you used to dread.

Something you honestly believed 11 years ago that you never have to do again in your life.


Friday Mr Hunter treated me to lunch. After lunch and on a whim I remembered an old gift card, given to me by a friend nearly a year ago. I tried using it twice, once online but couldn't find anything I wanted and the second time I went to a location that was closed. I had forgotten about it since.

Mr Hunter and I drive 15 minutes to the nearest location.

A little sign on the door entrance read that they were hiring. I thought little of it until I walked in and

fell
in
LOVE.

Have you ever been at a place that you know you've never been in before and immediately felt at home and as though you belonged there?
I walked in and instantly felt as though this place was without me, that I belonged there, and could almost envision myself walk from behind a bookshelf, books in a cart and putting them in their designated location. My every fiber felt right about it. Even the employees did I feel a special connection to, though I talked with none of them. I felt I knew them.
It all oddly made sense.

As we walked throughout the little shop my inner voice kept saying, "Ask what hours they're hiring. Ask what hours they're hiring!" I can only work mornings and early afternoons during week days. So if I were told they're looking for weekend workers, it would at least appease the voice within, as well as the future Ladee who would look back and wonder, "What if?" And if they said they needed someone for mornings, I would ask how I could apply.

We get some things for the kiddos and while at the register I asked the cashier.

The sweet man, about my age, said, "We're hiring all hours. It doesn't matter." and handed me an application.

I felt joy.

The tri-folded pamphlet, which inside had the application, felt oddly weighted and beamed in my hands as we drove home. I set it on top of my laptop, as though to not forget about it when in the back of my mind I knew there was absolutely no way I could.

I finally filled it out tonight.
...even though I realized real quick that I have no idea how to fill out applications to make myself sound awesome enough for an employer to want me.

That made me anxious, until...

I realized that I'm freakin' 31 years old, I'm not going to ask for help filling this thing out, I'm going to fill out my application with the exact words as I would SAY if asked me in an interview.

I'll be handing this in Monday. Poor handwriting with poor execution and all.
At least I'm being real, right?

If they don't hire me, I've lost nothing, I just go back to doing what Ladee does.
But if they hire me, it'd be pretty sweet.

Three months travel in the blink of an eye, doesn't it?

I remember my friend counting down the days to his cruise. We were in the bone-dry, dead of winter, and my friend was dreaming of the Spring. My mind pictured a calendar, each month titling a square page and inside this square, 30 little squares lined in rows of four and five. I tried to imagine us jumping months ahead in this calendar, to a new season, when we seemed so stuck in this one.

"Five more days!" He said a week later.

No, it wasn't a week later, but it certainly felt that way.

"Dang, Rocky! Is it really happening this soon?"

"Can't happen soon enough!" He said with a smile.


Then there are those times when it seems like three months couldn't be any longer. Like the last three months of high school. I can't tell you how those days dragged, each hour felt like 3 hours, I felt like every teacher used all the effort in their power to make the hours feel like chinese water torture, monotony, and my backpack heavy with extra homework.

Hindsight tells me that this wasn't so. But it sure seemed like those days would never end.

And once it did, I ran off to college and since then, my life has been running at the speed of light.

For the most part. ;)

This summer was one of those seasons that wasn't slow, but I learned a lot from.

The first thing I was certain about, going into this summer, was that it was NOT going to be like last summer.

Come see what I am talking about and hear what I have learned!

Have I told you how awesome corn starch is instead of dry shampoo! Only downfall, it's WHITE and therefore A LITTLE must be used. Hmmm, am I foreseeing a tutorial in my future?

Don't like the white of the cornstarch or the white of the dry shampoo? Easy! Use MAKEUP POWDER! Get the color that matches closest to your hair and brush it in! Remember to start with little as you can always work up. :)