Kastling...

...no not like in chess!  :-D

So, I bought drywall mud and tape - the man at the hardware store explained what I needed to do and I *thought* I had it down.  HA!

My first few attempts were, shall we say, not quite as tidy or pretty as I'd have liked.  Google and Youtube to the rescue.

PART I

PART II

Which made a MAJOR difference!  I still need work on the outer corners.  If I had it to do over, I'd spring for the doo-hickeys which have the corners and tape combined.  Much easier than trying to 'build' them...really, trust me...splurge if you're doing a corner and buy them.

When I went to the hardware store to purchase paint they had 3-1 (filler, primer, paint) on sale (don't buy it...really it's not worth it and unless you have a color which dilutes it considerably, its like spreading mud) I decided to go ahead and buy paint for:

Bathroom

Bedroom

Kitchen

Dining Room

Den

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Master Bath

Really...and since I had the mud and tape out, and was going to be pulling tack strips, you know I may as well do all these rooms (except for the Master areas)...I like tackling elephants...really.  Plus I had ALL this time off from work at the end of the year - almost 2 weeks - plenty of time.  HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Living Room before I started pushing and pulling stuff into the center of the room.

<2nd spare bedroom on the left, yes I crammed most of the stuff from the den into there and then a shot of the den on the right of the picture.

And on the left and below, pulling stuff away from the walls...literally there were 5 rooms torn up at once...and though I don't often cook, it was the kitchen that really began to drive me nuts!

To be continued...really, I did make progress.  :-)

Multitasking or Distracted?

I originally posted this elsewhere - thought I'd share it here as well.

Are you a multitasker? What is a multitasker?

From Dictionary.com

mul·ti·task [muhl-tee-task, -tahsk, muhl-tahy-]
verb (used without object)
1. Computers. (of a single CPU) to execute two or more jobs concurrently.
2. (of one person) to perform two or more tasks simultaneously.

Do we really multitask?

This answer from About.com on the article Can People Really Multitask? sums it up well:

The short answer to whether people can really multitask is no. Multitasking is a myth. The human brain can not perform two tasks that require high level brain function at once. Low level functions like breathing and pumping blood aren't considered in multitasking, only tasks you have to "think" about. What actually happens when you think you are multitasking is that you are rapidly switching between tasks.

The cerebral cortex handles the brain's "executive controls". Those are the controls the that organize the brains tasks processing. The controls are divided into two stages.
The first is goal shifting. Goal shifting happens when you switch your focus from one task to another.

The second stage is rule activation. Rule activation turns off the rules (how the brain completes a given task) for the previous task and turns on the rules for the new task.

So when you think you are multitasking you are actually switching your goals and turning the respective rules on and off in rapid succession. The switches are fast (tenths of a second) so you may not notice them, but those delays and the loss of focus can add up.

According to this article on NPR - with Clifford Nass, The Myth of Multitasking:

NASS: The research is almost unanimous, which is very rare in social science, and it says that people who chronically multitask show an enormous range of deficits. They're basically terrible at all sorts of cognitive tasks, including multitasking.

So...Another article, The Myth of Multitasking by Christine Rosen:

In one of the many letters he wrote to his son in the 1740s, Lord Chesterfield offered the following advice: “There is time enough for everything in the course of the day, if you do but one thing at once, but there is not time enough in the year, if you will do two things at a time.” To Chesterfield, singular focus was not merely a practical way to structure one’s time; it was a mark of intelligence.“This steady and undissipated attention to one object, is a sure mark of a superior genius; as hurry, bustle, and agitation, are the never-failing symptoms of a weak and frivolous mind.”

Even Forbes weighed in on the topic, as well as this article: Think you can multitask? Congratulations, you're probably living a lie.

I particularly liked this article, Don’t Multitask: Your Brain Will Thank You - which quotes Clifford Nass.

Lies Women Believe...

...and men too.

"Both women and men had to be made to perceive diamonds not as marketable precious stones but as an inseparable part of courtship and married life."1

I'm involved in a ladies study, we're currently working through the book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

This isn't a review of the book - yet, rather, I'm amazed how easily marketing can mislead and deceive us.

"The diamond invention—the creation of the idea that diamonds are rare and valuable, and are essential signs of esteem—is a relatively recent development in the history of the diamond trade."1

Diamonds are a girls best friend? True or false?

First we might want to describe the term best friend. I'm having a hard time 'agreeing' with an inanimate object being a best friend! A dog perhaps, but not a rock...not even a pet rock!

Diamonds are forever. True or False?

"The illusion had to be created that diamonds were forever -- "forever" in the sense that they should never be resold."1

Diamonds have value beyond sentimental? Or phrased differently, they have long term value, they increase versus maintain (or lose) their value?

"The diamond-holding public, which includes people who inherit diamonds, had to remain convinced that diamonds retained their monetary value."1

Interest in researching this topic was stirred by a recent post from American Vision titled, My $3,500 advice to couples contemplating marriage regarding spending money on an 'asset' which really isn't and quoted Epstein's Have You Ever Tried to Sell a Diamond. I recommend reading both articles.

For those who interested in reading Epstein's book on the topic:  The Diamond Invention.