Did Y'all Survive 2016? | My Hot Mess

Did y'all make it?I mean, a lot of people on social media are saying that 2016 was the toughest year ever.Was it though?

Many people say that 2016 was rough on their childhood stars. We lost many 1980's actors and actresses. We had a phone literally blow up in our faces. The presidential election was ca-ray-zee.  A gorilla was shot ... a mass shooting in a club in Florida and the terror in Niece, Italy. An alligator attacked a toddler at the happiest place on earth and then there was Ebola and Zika scaring everyone. Hurricane Matthew and the bombing in Brussels and the Berlin attack. A boxing legend passed and the death of Prince.  Wild fires and shootings in churches.... I could go on and on and on.But .... here's the thing. There were a lot of good things in 2016 as well.Think about it : 

The Cubs finally won the World Series, The Cavilers won their first championship and a military BRAT freaking took the Olympic gymnastics by storm (and not to mention the Final Five took Gold!)! Americans can freaking visit Cuba now! Pandas are no longer considered endangered and tigers have increased in number enormously. Leonardo Dicaprio FINALLY won an Oscar -- that in itself is amazing right?! Catholic and Orthodox leaders met for the first time in 1,000 years and freaking Harriet Tubman is on the $20 bill! Hey, and Americans apparently became Measles free. Hello?! That's awesome. And not to mention teen pregnancy is down AND high school graduates are on the rise!Guys, there's a lot that you can sit and sulk about. But I mean, I'm pretty sure 2016 was NOTHING in comparison to 1347 when the "Black Death" plagued the world and claimed 50 million lives ... Or in 1918 when the flu claimed the lives 675, 000 Americans -- roughly the same as the Civil War.What about 1929 when the stock market crashed and we were sent into us into years of depression?Sure, we lost Princess Leia, David Bowie, Professor Snape, Willie Wonka & George Micheal, but guys ... people live and people die.Unfortunately, when it comes to humans, there's going to be hate, terror, and lots and lots of sarcasm.But remember, there's also love, admiration, heroism, bravery and did I mention love to be shared and idolized? We need to focus on that.Don't dwell on the bad. If you do, then of course your 2016 and your other years to follow will be terrible. Believe that there is good in 2017 and your 2017 will be "good." Personally, my 2016 was pretty alright. Sure I had some downs ... but I also had a lot of ups. You know what that's called? LIFE.An exciting life -- a life worth living is full of challenges and struggles - because without those, our successes and triumphs wouldn't exist. Count your lucky stars that you lived in a year that most consider horrible, because, shit - you're a badass for surviving! Y'all, I want you to party your little hearts out tonight and be safe. I want you to kiss your loved ones and hug your friends. Because face it, 2017 isn't guaranteed to anyone. So make the last hours of 2016 the best hours of your life.

And let's make 2017 a year to remember!Good luck and Happy New Year!

Stocking Holder When You Don't Have a Fireplace | My Hot Mess

As you know, we have recently moved from North Carolina to Texas. We've lived in our old home in NC for 11 years... we had a fireplace. We never used the damn thing, but we had one. 

Flash forward to our Texas home ... we don't have a fire place. Did we notice this when looking at the house? 

No.

I mean, it's just something you don't really look for when trying to find an affordable home for three years and you tend to look over the little things like that because ... well ... it's not your forever home.

Do we need a fireplace?

No, I mean, we had one for 11 years and never used it. The realtor asked us if it worked because the buyers were asking ... we just looked at each other and shrugged our shoulder.

Shit. We didn't even try. 

Well, we tried once ... but nothing happened and we didn't feel like getting blown up (it was a propane...gas?) one so we just turned off the air vent and went along with our lives.

With Christmas finally here in the desert... I started pulling out our holiday decor ... and that's a whole other fiasco because face it, you buy the decor to fit your house. The lights (we had to buy more because the new house has more roof than our old), the tree/tree stand (there really isn't anywhere to put the tree so we had to move the dogs bed and confused the hell out of them), the garland (Have way too much for such a tiny space) and the stocking holders. 

Wait ... shit. The stocking holders. Where the hell am I going to put the stocking holders? We don't have an mantel. We don't have built in wall shelves. I didn't want to add holes to the walls .... What the hell was I supposed to do?

Pinterest to the rescue. You'd be surprised some of these crafty people came up with! Hooks on a beat up fence. Hooks on a reused pallet. Hooks on a 2x4 that they hung on their wall. Cardboard boxes to look like brick and pile them up to look like a fireplace. And then there was an old fence pole with antique hooks on it. Self standing. No additional holes on my rental's walls AND it was cute!

So, I made it.

The fence pole is from Home Depot - $15

Long, skinny piece of wood - $3 (I had originally grabbed 4 pre-cut designer pieces in the table isle but when I found the long piece for cheaper, I knew I'd be able to cut it and still look nice.)

The paint - FREE, was left in our rental's garage (I think it's the interior wall color) - Free

Antique hooks from Hobby Lobby - $6 (total for all four)

Also used cabinet silencer thingies - FREE (had already) on the bottom of the stocking holder since we have tile and I didn't want it to wobble or scratch the floor.

I had originally found cheap pack of 2 hooks from Home Depot but when I went to Hobby Lobby, they were having 50% off antique hooks and knobs. So instead of paying just $3 for plain hooks from Home Depot (and they looked harder to put into the pole), I paid just $3 more and got hooks I really loved.

Tools - circular saw, wood screws, electric drill/screwdriver (all in which we had laying around the garage)

Total project: $24 and some quality time with the hubby

I wrapped some garland around it to make it more festive ... I had it laying around and figured I should use it. I know this defeats the purpose of the antique hooks ... but I still love it and it looks great in our odd corner where the tree is.

And oh look! I transformed our Halloween pumpkin decor into Christmas decor! ;) Just bought the $4 white spray paint and used acrylic paint for the features, my sons hat, and my "Gru" scarf from Halloween 2014. :) When you pay $30 for your pumpkins you make them last through Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!

What are some DIY projects you've come up with since moving to accommodate your new home?

Update: So, two nights after I put up the stocking holder ... the dogs grabbed the Elf on the Shelf from a stocking in which he was sitting in and pulled the entire stocking holder down. Yeah ... momma was not happy ... and the kids were traumatized. LOL Don't worry, our elf is safe and sound - and healing just fine. The bandages and cast are completely off of him now. Just a sweet cheek scar is left of the "attack" but shit, chicks dig scars  ... right? ;)

12 Days with the Damn Elf | Raising the Boys

Please tell me I'm not the only one that dreads this damn thing. I mean, it started out as fun and cute for my eldest. He was acting up in school, saw the Elf at Barnes & Noble ... thought it'd scare the shit out of him ... Bought it. And Ta-da! End of misbehaving right?

Nope. Not even close.

This damn guy has been on strike due to behavior, has went back to the North Pole and threatened not to come back, he's given writing assignments and he's been chewed up by the dogs ...

He's given secret missions for the kids to spread kindness, and he's made them go out and find things for exercise ...

Given them crafts to make for loved ones ... told them that they're special ....

Shit, he's even portrayed a favorite book character to get them to behave.

And yet? Nothing. The kids aren't scared of this guy. They enjoy waking up to see what sorta thing he's been up to during he night. And to be honest, I don't even think my eldest believes he's moving by himself any more.

I purposely didn't have him show up after Thanksgiving this year ... why? Because I'm running out of ideas to do with this guy! We've done Ninja, Minecraft, Star Wars, Spiderman, Harry Potter, This Day In History, Crafts, Threats, Daring Feats, Silly Mischief, Camera Fun ... I even hand cut damn snowflakes into Star Wars characters! What more does a mom have to do to make their kids happy?

Apparently keep up the charade of this damn elf going back and forth to the North Pole every night to tattle on the kiddos to Santa - the big boss. And my creativeness is just going to have to rely on Pinterest and Google searches! Good luck out there parents! If you get an Elf on the Shelf ... be prepared! And if you wanna follow our elf, Raheem, every holiday season ... check out my photography Facebook Page and my Pinterest!

God Speed!