i have a dream

 for my very small kitchen to someday be both functional and pretty!  i love pretty.

allow me to show you my virtual dream kitchen.

(the 'before' pictures are too shameful to show.)

east wall:

in my kitchen you will find the sink in the corner.  it is the only appropriate place for it besides under the window, only we can't put it there for logistical reasons.

the shelf with flowers is actually crown moulding that i hope will replace a very ugly homemade wall of shelving.  the curtain hung from this moulding deceptively makes the (teeny!) window seem larger.

north wall:

our refrigerator has successfully been recessed into the wall adjacent to the basement stairs (to the left of it) and the rest of the wall is turned into cupboards and drawers for storage (including my coveted shelf for the microwave... yay!)  the highest cabinets are actually already in the kitchen, so we wouldn't need to replace them.

south wall:

see that vertical wall of shelves?  it is hiding the chimney.  it would be great for cookbooks or pretty kitchen towels.  i would need to try extra hard not to clutter it up.  the other option would be to install bricks to make the chimney look lovelier than it does now (which would not be that difficult because it is ug-ly.)  to the right of the chimney is a tall pantry that either opens or slides out as a drawer... prime food storage space.

***

you likely have no idea how long it took me to actually come up with a plan and layout for this kitchen that i can actually live with!  

right now it is not only a serious eyesore, but it has very little storage and NO counter space!  i cannot imagine how the previous owners survived without any prep space for food.  

am i spoiled?

Dreams

Why are my dreams so boring lately? I wake up wondering if I really did take chicken out of the freezer to thaw for dinner or if I only dreamed it. My dreams often make for a confusing life, always trying to sort out what actually happened and what happened in a dream, and I don't go to sleep excited anymore, wondering what adventures I'll have in my mind this night. I'd like to have those exciting dreams again where I'm time traveling or flying or vacationing in Paris or Rome. I'd even settle for a good escaping a tornado or turning up naked in a public place or surviving a plane crash dream at this point. I just don't want to go to sleep and dream that I'm going to work anymore. Time to have a heart-to-heart with my head.

Dreams

I have very disturbing dreams. I never really dream anything nice. I think my subconscious must be hashing something out. Yes, I've always been a very intense person; I'm prone to succumbing to anxiety and stress. So I guess it's no surprise that I have bad dreams... but it seems counter-intuitive- my brain can't even relax when relaxing. Sleep is supposed to be restful and regenerative. But when I wake up, I'm very often sore from having been so tense while dreaming bad things! For instance, last night I dreamed that a fire was starting on our floor because of my neighbor downstairs. So I went down to tell my neighbor (by the way, a very sweet older man) and when he let me in, he took a huge butcher knife and stabbed me in the leg (by my femoral artery- yes, my dream was very specific) so as I lay bleeding, waiting for the ambulance to come, trying not to bleed to death, I was actually conscious of the physical pain. Finally the ambulance came and took me to a very very old and dingy hospital room, painted an ugly green with ancient, dirty beds and paint chipping off the walls, I was convinced that I would contract MRSA and die. That's really all I remember, but that's enough. I think I'll start blogging about my dreams more often. Maybe if I track them I'll notice a pattern and be able to see how they're directly related to what's going on in my life. Anyone care to share their dreams with me?!

This is what my dreams usually make me feel like.