Birch Trees Part Deux

The first four months of 2017 were amazing. The last eight, however, were full of life changes, stress, and turmoil. I am now divorced for the second time, I have relocated to Des Moines, and have been working diligently since mid-September to make my new house a home. One of the things I miss most about my old house (besides my totally kick ass neighbors) is the wall of birch trees I painted in the living room. 

I had a wall picked out in my living room for this very project, until I was showing online pictures of my new place to my friend Jason and he brilliantly suggested the stairway wall, which could still be seen from the living room. PURE GENIUS. So this wall would not be near as amazing without his help. THANK YOU, JASON!

Since this is round 2 of birch trees, I decided to chronicle this one a little better. I have each stage and each color used ready to show you in case you feel like trying this at home. It's not as difficult as it looks. 

Here's the original stairway.

Here are the supplies I used for everything except the tree details. LOTS of small sponge brushes, a trim roller, four background colors, and three colors for the trees.

My first step was using the sponge brushes and my bedroom paint color for the base layer. My reason for using the sponge brushes and multiple colors is to create a textured look to the wall even though there is no texture.

It reminds me of one of those melted crayon canvases on Pinterest. This first color took 2 hours to do. Here's what it looked like when finished.

The next day I added the second layer of color. This one a little more blue, less green. Sherwin William's Barrier Reef. It took 90 minutes.

After that second color, I lost my ambition and a few weeks went by. I then found my motivation again, and painted the third coat. Sherwin Williams Oceanside Blue. I feel like this one only took an hour. Mostly because I didn't do much edge work with it. 

The last background color went on on a few days later. Valspar's Classic Teal. Back to a color with a little more green in it. This one took 90 minutes again because I paid more attention to the edges. 

On colors 2-4, I painted in 6"-12" sections. This allowed me to work my way from left to right and kept me from missing any spots. Below is the difference between the 3rd and 4th colors. 

December 23rd I added the trees using the small roller brush to do placement, and then a paintbrush to finish up. I needed 2 coats of paint, shown below. 

There are 7 trees, completely random placement, and because I wanted this mural to be different than the last one, so there are no branches, and I decided to have a leaning tree that goes across the light switch, for no other reason than to be a little "offbeat". 

Then I lost momentum again, with Christmas in Cedar Falls, and the day after Christmas driving to Florida for a much needed vacation with my boys, a friend of mine and her son. When I got back I had to turn around and fly to Seattle for work. And I was still in need of some detail brushes, as none of my old ones moved with me. Last weekend I bought the brushes, so Tuesday night, slightly more than 3 weeks after the trees went up, I finally decided it was time to finish the trees. 

 

I used a small angled brush for the "shadow" and a fan brush for the bark. I put some paint on paper plates for the bark, so it was more of a dry brush technique. And I channeled my inner Bob Ross to make my happy little trees using these colors:

Here are a couple of close up pictures:

And now...

drum roll please... 

The whole wall!

I LOVE IT!! See how the light switch just blends in? The texture looks amazing, and I am very happy with the effects of the fan brush. LOVE LOVE LOVE!

And because I am such a dork, I named my trees. You heard me right! With character names from some of my favorite TV shows and movies. From left to right: Olive (Penderghast) Easy A; Iris (Simpkins) The Holiday; Samantha (Jones) Sex and the City; Summer (Finn) 500 Days of Summer; Regina (George) Mean Girls; Fat Amy - Pitch Perfect; Lorelai (Gilmore) Gilmore Girls. 

It's just me and my BIRCHES. 

See what I did there? 

For more design updates of my new place, organization ideas, and general awesomeness, please LIKE my Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ElocinDesignsIowa. Thanks for visiting my blog!

Niki

FATTITUDE

*WARNING*
This post is full of REALITY and swear words.

I thought I was fat in high school. I wish I could go back and bitch slap my 17-year-old-completely-delusional self. I mean seriously. I have about 100 pounds on that girl. What an idiot!

I gained the freshman 15 + another 35 or so in college. Gained more weight after getting married, moving to Des Moines and not being able to find a job for awhile. Gained more weight with my first pregnancy. The one benefit about being fat BEFORE you get pregnant is that you can fit into your pre-pregnancy jeans as soon as you get home from the hospital. Take THAT skinny bitches! (just kidding, I love you all and don't think you're bitches just because you're skinny).

I had a reprieve with my second pregnancy. I didn't gain much weight, and after Tyler's birth, I actually dropped below 200 for the first time in what seemed forever. I think it was honestly only 6 years, but it seemed like so much longer.

When I first got fat, I bought clothes that were much bigger than I actually was to try to hide my weight. And yes. I said fat. It's just an adjective. Like blonde, tall, funny, creative. Why give it a bad connotation? It's just a tiny little 3-letter word that accurately describes my extra adipose tissue. So what? The media and the website trolls...these are the people making the word bad. It's not. Anyway, here's a hint ladies (and gents)...that oversized clothing only makes you look bigger. It hides nothing. People aren't stupid. They can see you are fat. But they can also see you aren't comfortable with it. Some plus sized clothing that's available out there does NOTHING to make us look good. For example:

Courtesy of Zulily

And for the love of fashion, someone needs to rid the world of pleated pants and low rise jeans. Only the skinniest of the skinny girls can wear the latter and not have muffin top. And plumber's crack. Seriously. I miss the jeans Courteney Cox wore on the first season of FRIENDS.

While I was searching for pictures of the high waist pants on Friends, I came across this awesome picture of Fat Monica. I love that girl! She sure had fun despite being plus sized!

So yes, I am fat. But I am also able to play volleyball twice a week, and get on a bike and ride several miles. My cholesterol is fine as is my blood pressure. I haven't needed any knee or hip replacements. So despite all this extra adipose tissue, I'm pretty healthy.

Once I learned how to dress for my size, it didn't matter much anymore what that size was. I actually had more guys ask me out when I separated from my ex than I ever had in high school or college. I was an overweight mom with two kids in my 30's. And no one cared. Because I didn't care. I was comfortable in my own stretch mark covered, cellulite dimpled skin.

This year I am resolving to STOP focusing so much on the number on the scale. I'm going to just live life and see what happens. I've taken the MyFitnessPal app off my phone and iPad. Looking at that line graph of weight lost and gained gives me heartburn. 

This is literally my weight over the last 5 years. The beginning was not a steep drop, however. I changed my starting weight so I could feel better about myself when I lost a pound while weighing more than my original starting weight. Seeing "has lost 12 pounds" is much better than "has lost 0 pounds."

I've been unsuccessfully dieting for well over two decades and I am just DONE with it. Fuck it. If I am fat, I'm fat. I can still look good. Everyone can. You just have to dress for your weight. If you need help, just call me. I'd love some new shopping buddies!

Dress Up: Tulle Skirt from Charlotte Russe, Jacket from Express Men, Tank from Vanity
Casual: Jeans from New York & Co, shirt and vest from Maurices
Work: Pants from JCPenney, Tank from Vanity, Sweater from Zulily

I Made It!

I actually made it to 2017! And in one piece. One giant, blubbery, wrinkly piece, but one piece. 

I fell off the blogging wagon, mostly because I decided no one really cared what I had to say. Well, now I've decided that I don't care if no one cares... I like to write, so I'm going to. It just happens to be in the form of a blog. 

This year is already starting more optimistically than last. The end of 2015 was not a pleasant one for me, so the beginning of 2016 wasn't that awesome. Toss in some professional disappointment, relationship problems, and financial woes, and it sucked pretty hard. But I also decided to do a Happiness Project that lasted through May, where I wrote down something good that happened every day. I put more effort into my marriage. I let old grudges go. I worked hard at my job and scored a couple of nice projects. Despite so many of my childhood heroes falling victim to the Grim Reaper (mostly of their own doing...DRUGS ARE BAD, PEOPLE), as well as some family and friends, 2016 ended with more happiness than grief. And 2017 gets to start off with Betty White still alive, so there's that. 

I'm going to write in my blog whenever the fancy strikes me, instead of some arbitrary weekly date on my calendar. I'm going to write about interior design, food, how to dress a fat body (that keeps getting fatter so I'm just going to embrace it), organization, my new and devoted love of my Roomba I named Sherman, the crazy antics of my kids and my dogs and my awesome neighborhood. And of course I will also write about my wonderfully creative husband who just finished the final episode of the pirate web series he worked so hard on this summer and fall. Just Google "Charcoal Sails" and start with Episode 1. Even if you've already watched some of them, watching them back to back is pretty amazing. I highly encourage you to do this.

I will be thankful if you read what I write. I will be honored if you pass on what I write because you love it. But I also know everyone has their own lives to live, problems to work through, triumphs to share. So just know I'm thankful to you all for being a part of my world.

Below is how I rang in the new year. Surrounded by some pretty awesome people and a great time! Talk to you again soon! ~ N

Fallen Off the Wagon

I have a serious case of the “fuck its.” This has led me to fall completely off the wagon as far as food goes. And that leads me to be pissed for a couple of reasons. I’m pissed because I let myself somehow crawl dangerously close to my highest weight ever…when I gave birth to Jake in 2000. I’m pissed because what I eat affects my body more than the same food affects other people. I have counted the calories. I have logged the exercise. 

Most people can lose weight with this combo. I can’t. I have found the only way for me to lose any weight is to cut out carbs. Like ALL carbs. Including fruits. Which sucks because I really like fruit.

I have read SO many books on the subject. One that makes sense to me is “The Metabolism Miracle” by Diana Kress. She’s a registered dietician who figures there are a couple of types of metabolism. One where diet and exercise work. And one where someone like me eats the amount of food appropriate for someone half my size. But is still BIG. And not losing weight.

I read it a couple of summers ago. I had great luck following the guidelines until Sturgis Falls and Eric’s half birthday party threw me off course with delicious mini donuts and birthday cake. And I never had the motivation to get back on it. So that was the least I’ve weighed in almost 2 years.

So I’m trying again. The premise is making sure you eat often throughout the day, never having more than 5 hours in between eating. This is not a new concept. But it is hard for me sometimes with back to back appointments and long sessions on the road. Or even long sessions on my computer where I lose track of time. I might need to set an alarm.

For 8 weeks you can’t have more than 5 net carbs within 5 hours. The small amount of carbs in cheeses and most veggies don’t count. Then the next phase you add a few carbs back in. You stay on that phase until you reach your goal weight. Then you can add a few more back.  This in essence is supposed to reset your metabolism so that having 3 potato chips doesn’t add a pound onto the scale.

I’m writing this not to hear other people’s advice, because I know there is A LOT out there. Paleo, Vegetarian, Vegan, Atkins, South Beach, Mediterranean… There are SO many ways to eat. I’m trying to find my own way. So I’m just writing this for accountability and support.

My biggest problem is my household filled with boys. And their love of carbs. And their unwillingness to eat the way I NEED to eat. But also, they don't have the problem I have. So they don't NEED to eat the way I do. And honestly, they probably shouldn't. It makes meal times and snack times difficult.

But I have to try. Because I am disgusted by how I look. I am livid that I can’t fit into the clothes I love. I have come to accept the fact that I will NEVER be thin. I’m strong and muscular under all this flab. So my goal is just to be less squishy. Make me accountable. Help me along. Send me ideas for meals and snacks that are really high in protein and very low in carbs. And thanks for being there for me no matter what I look like. I love you guys. 

What is it you do again?

Unless you are in the field of architecture and interior design (A&D), it's very hard to wrap your mind around what I actually do for a living. My parents don't even really understand. Hopefully this helps.

Architects and designers work together to create beautiful spaces. Whether it's a church, school, shopping mall or house, someone had to design it. They had to draw up the plans with dimensions and details showing how all the parts and pieces fit together. They had to choose the flooring, paint, wall paper, tile, doors, windows, roofing material, plumbing fixtures, electrical components, etc. Every little detail is put into the plans and specifications. The specifications are all in a book or set of books that describe every last detail of what needs to be in the space. It goes over all the characteristics and testing that needs to be done to the products that will be in the space.

Most of these spaces need furniture. There are hundreds (probably thousands) of furniture manufactures. The way these furniture manufacturers let designers know about their product is to have sales reps. The sales reps make appointments with the designers and come in and show them the latest and greatest from that manufacturer and they also remind them of the older products still currently in the line. This gets designers thinking about that manufacturer's products and if they are working on a project that can use those products, they consider showing them to their client. The client might then consider buying that product. If they do, that sales rep gets a commission for it. 

Some of my products displayed at a local trade show.

Here's a real life example. Architecture Firm A is working on drawings for a common eating area on a college campus. The designer from the architecture firm calls me and says, "I need sturdy seating for this college campus common eating area." I create a visual document with pictures of this seating and budgetary pricing for the designer to look at. Other sales reps are doing this same thing with their seating products. So the designer now has several options to choose from. The designer picks out a few of these products that will best suit the school's needs. Then the designer shows these options to the decision makers at the school. A decision is made and the designer writes the product into the specifications. Most of the time, the decision is set and no substitutions are allowed, other times only guidelines are written into the specs, so anyone's products that fit those guidelines might be the product chosen in the end. 

When all the drawings and specifications are done, they go out to bid. General contractors, sub contractors, and furniture dealerships bid on their portions of the spec. The furniture dealerships call me for pricing on my portion of this bid. One of them will be awarded the contract. The project moves forward, and when it's time to purchase the furniture, I work with the furniture dealership who won the bid and help them get their order into my manufacturer with the correct products from the specification. If there are any problems with the products once they are delivered, I help take care of those problems. If there are any problems with the furniture within the warranty period, I take care of those as well.

From the first time a designer contacts me about a product, it could be 3 months, 6 months, or well over a year before the product is purchased. This is not a sales gig where the commissions are immediate. It takes a long time. A VERY long time. It's also not direct sales gig like selling printers and copiers or DirectTV.

I sometimes work with the furniture dealerships directly, because they have their own projects as well as projects they bid on. But for the most part, I am showing something to a designer, who then has to "sell" my products to their client, and then someone else does the purchasing. So I have to have the information and special details for the designer to understand my product well enough to do that.

I am an independent sales rep. There are also manufacturer's sales reps. The latter work directly for the manufacturer and usually receive benefits and have expenses paid. This is ideal for bigger companies with high sales volumes. For the smaller companies, it is easier to employ independent reps, like myself. Independent reps represent multiple manufacturers. We sometimes cover larger territories. We are straight commission, no benefits, no expenses paid. So it is in our best interest to push all of our products to try to make the most sales.

The company I work for has gone through a few changes this past year. The owner retired and sold the company to another person. We went from 4 sales reps covering 4 states, to 2 of us covering 4 states. I have different products that I represent in Nebraska but not Iowa because those manufacturers divide the territory out differently and they grouped Minnesota and Iowa together. I represent furniture, fabrics, and architectural products so I have a nice range of manufacturers to access to find the right product for the need.

A display wall at NeoCon (huge design tradeshow in Chicago every June) for one of the companies I represent.

Several bar chairs from Aceray, one of my furniture manufacturers.

Not having benefits or expenses paid really sucks. Having to find space in my house for all the literature and samples for multiple manufacturers sucks. I feel like I work harder and put in more hours than someone at a typical 8 to 5 job because I am ALWAYS AT WORK. There is always something to catch up on or emails to send or product to organize or expenses and mileage to figure or appointments to schedule. But since I make my own schedule, it allows me to schedule work time in Des Moines coinciding with the boys' events like concerts and parent teacher conferences. It allowed me to schedule time around Eric's deviated septum surgery in November. It allows me to say, "NOPE, the weather is too bad today. I'm rescheduling my appointments and I'm staying home."

I love my job. I have been here longer than any other job in the past. I get to live vicariously through the designers I work with. I get to help them find the perfect products for their projects. I get to travel around Iowa and now Nebraska and see friends and family that are spread out all over these 2 states. 

So there. Hopefully that helps you figure out what I do. Send me good vibes for a successful 2016 so I can continue doing what I do!  

The Day After Toxic

Anyone who has attended a Myszkaville Toxic Waste Party understands it's more than a party, it's an experience. Eric diligently sets up the exterior of the house starting a full month before the party. Most of the props he uses are stored offsite, so he has to bring everything back over here and start sorting through it. He has added props every year. This year was the pirate fort originally created for a RAGBRAI party this past summer when the annual event had an overnight stay in Cedar Falls.

We LOVE this party. We usually have costumes worked out a year in advance. We rearrange the back yard. We rearrange the inside of the house. We decorate the hell out of the place. We set up mood lighting, music, food, beverages, and have even added a circus tent to keep everyone dry in case of rain since we have too many guests to fit in our tiny house. 

After all the planning, the night we have been waiting for arrives. We are absolutely AMAZED at the creativity of our friends. The costumes are always amazing. Everyone seems to have fun. As a hostess I seem to just flit around, never REALLY getting to talk to anyone at length but I say HI to everyone I can and I run around with a big stupid smile on my face because so many of my friends are gathered in one spot. 

The time FLIES. People are usually still here past 3:00 am. But it goes so fast. And then... and then we have to wake up the next morning, knowing it's all over until next year. 

I have seen MUCH worse, but this is how the day after Toxic Waste 7, Radioactive Riot looked. 

The kitchen was not in horrible disrepair. It looks like the food was enjoyed. 

Some pirate left their cannon in the dining room.

The remnants of an Amish beard were left in the living room.

Grumpy Cat memes and House of Corks (Cards) playing cards could be found on the deck. 

The witch couldn't deal with the disappointment of the party being over. 

The pirate ship which was part of a spectacular skit, looked just as spooky in the sunlight. 

One word: FIREBALL.

The yard wasn't looking too bad. 

Here's what it looked like around 3:00. Note our little helpers. They work for practically nothing and aren't hungover. We love it.

Eric didn't sleep in as late as usual. The number of costume parts usually left was unusually low. The puppies were surprisingly alert until mid afternoon. 

The house has been swept and vacuumed. The kitchen has been cleaned up. Much of "party residue" has been purged. The party was a raging success and we are already planning the next one. It'll be on October 15th next year in case you are wondering. And pictures will be posted soon for those of you who are asking for them. It was a great time! Thanks to all who helped make it a night to remember!

 

s

I Wasn't Born a Leader

My mind works in VERY strange ways. I can't even explain it, but because I was driving behind someone of a certain ethnic background going entirely too slow for the street I was on, it led me to think of someone else I know with that same ethnicity who drives that same way, and I wondered if it was a stereotype. Then I thought more about that person I know, and I wondered how he was doing. He used to live in my neighborhood, or more truthfully, I used to live in his. It was a new townhouse development and technically he bought his first. I wondered if he was still there. And I wondered what happened to the home owner's association he and I were both a part of. He was the president for a couple of years before I ran against him and won. And THAT got me thinking about how many committees I have been on, how many board positions I have held, and wondering how the hell that all happened. 

Those of you who know me, know I am not a shy person. However, growing up, I never took initiative in anything. I was never the team captain. I was never president of a club. I certainly wasn't homecoming queen. There are instances too numerous to count where I knew an answer in class but never raised my hand, just in case I was wrong. I didn't want anyone to think I was stupid. I even waited through a whole class period and asked the teacher afterwards whether one of his supply and demand graphs was correct. It was not and he asked why I hadn't said something during class. I didn't want the attention, so I kept my mouth shut. 

I am not sure when this all changed. At my first design job out of college, I was given a personality test. However I answered made them think I should be in sales. They asked if I had ever thought about it, and I vehemently shook my head NO. No way was I EVER going to do sales. Guess what I do now? Sales.

That same job paid for a membership to IIDA, the International Interior Design Association. I had been a member for a couple of years when someone asked if I would be the secretary. I agreed. I was a horrible secretary though. My meeting minutes were almost verbatim. I was then asked to be a student liaison. I also wasn't much good at that, because I was actually intimidated by the Iowa State students since I was a UNI grad, an inferior program (not really - but that's how I felt they would see it). I think I might have been a couple of other board positions too, because I held various positions for 4 years. Later on during that same time period I was also the secretary for our very new home owner's association. I had developed better note taking skills by that time thankfully, since people just want the gist of things when they don't attend the meetings. 

I then decided to run against the incumbent for president of the home owner's association because I didn't think he was doing a good job. He was a "yes man" that would tell the home owners whatever they wanted to hear just to get them off his back and then he wouldn't do anything about it. I won the election. And I got stuff done. I worked with contractors to fix ongoing issues, dealt with insurance, signage, lighting, etc. I ran meetings, listened to concerns, made decisions, and I think I did a pretty good job. Then we moved. 

I became City Center Director for IIDA (basically in charge of local events in and near Des Moines). I separated from my husband, found another place to live, and started selling Uppercase Living products to supplement my income. I had never in my wildest dreams thought I would be in any type of entrepreneurial business. 

Then my friend Leslie was nominated as President Elect of our IIDA chapter, covering Nebraska and Iowa. She asked if I would be her President Elect when she moved up the following year. It's a three year commitment because even the Immediate Past President stays involved. It took a little nudging, but I finally agreed to be on the ballot, and was voted in along with the rest of the slate of board members. 

As President Elect of the Great Plains Chapter, I was in charge of getting a committee together and putting on our big auction event called Design Montage that the chapter did every other year. With the help of several committee members, the event was a success and we raised over $12,000 for our chapter and a charity of our choice. I felt pretty good about myself and what I had accomplished. 

As President, I oversaw everything, but it was a much more laid back position since I was not in charge of anything in particular except keeping everyone on task and scheduling monthly meetings. Which was good, because during that time I took a new job, lost the new job (this was 2008-2009 when the market crashed), and ended up moving back to Cedar Falls. I still drove to Des Moines for the monthly meetings and continued to hold my position. 

Even as Past President I showed up to what I could and helped out. 

Being in Cedar Falls with no job and no committees, I felt lost. Eric's friend Molly is a director on the Sturgis Falls Board, and thought I might fit in. I did, and became the Band Shell Director, in charge of all the entertainment and emcees on the Band Shell Stage in Overman Park for the entire event. The first year is a trial year and they liked me enough to vote me in for the standard 3 year term after that trial year. 

When my commitment ran out, I stepped down and turned to Community Main Street. I now hold a position on the Organization and Development Committee. I help plan many events in the downtown area for the general public as well as for downtown business owners and our volunteers. 

I've also been sucked into Holiday Hoopla, a series of events that starts with the arrival of Santa on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and runs through Christmas. I decorate for the Breakfast with Santa and this year also helped with the float entry for the Sturgis Falls Parade. And I somehow volunteered myself to help emcee that event this year. I hope I can keep everyone excited and happy as they wait, freezing their buns off, for Santa to arrive. 

I went from just a sub, to a regular player, to captain of my always evolving volleyball team. I run a side business making cards and organizing and helping people with interior design projects. I'm still involved in IIDA. I sign up to mentor design students every year. I help with portfolio and interview critiques. I take care of my house, my dogs, my husband and my boys. I help my friends and neighbors when I can, and I like it when someone thinks to ask me for advice. It feels good to support my community, my profession, my hobbies, and my friends and family. 

I was not born a leader. But somehow, I feel I've become one. Or at least it's within reach.