Kitchen Facelift

I've been wanting to paint the kitchen for awhile. It was yellow. Some of the paint was chipping and starting to look, well...old. We didn't have any touchup paint. I would have been fine painting over the yellow with another yellow, but we decided for a change. We spent Saturday morning giving our kitchen a makeover!

Here's a few before photos:

Getting started:

Like my fashionable pants? They had a huge hole so I wouldn't be sad if they got paint on them...

First coat

Almost finished!

Done!

Voila!

I love it.

Total facelift? $14.97 (one can of paint).

Ooooh yeah!

Tag!

Oh, I don't usually play blogging games, but I've been struggling to blog, so this will keep me going.

I've been tagged by Lauren

The Rules:
1. You must post the rules. (and then break or create your own)
2. Post eleven fun facts about yourself on the blog post. (Not posting fun facts)
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post, and then create eleven how ever many new questions to ask the people you've tagged.
4. Tag (eleven) a few other people and link them on your post. (Too many people have already been tagged, so I'm only going to do a few.)
5. Let them know you've tagged them!

My Questions from Lauren:

1. What is your go to snack this week.
G's mom gave us a giant box of pretzel M&Ms I've been devouring. Usually I'm not a big snacker though.
2. If you had the whole week off what would you spend it doing?
I would love to spend it with my two favorite guys, doing absolutely anything together. But it would be sweet to travel somewhere. We're going to the beach this summer, so maybe the mountains?
3. What accomplishment are you the most proud of?
My son Vincent. If that sounds like a cop out then I would choose my career, which I love.
4. Favorite photo from 2011.


This one is definitely up there. It was taken by Sofi at Sofi Seck Photography. I really do love photos though so it's hard to choose just one!
5. What are your guilty pleasure(s)?
I like to crochet, like an 80 year old woman!
6. What is something you wish you were better skilled to do?
Take photographs!
7. Flats or heels?
Heels,though my chiropractor bff tells me this is terrible. :s
8. If we hung out, what craft would you want to make together, if any?
If we hung out, we could make any craft because everything. Lauren makes amazing projects! But since I'm in wedding mode I would make you help me make my save the dates or my wedding shoes that aren't really shoes.

Source: weddingshoes.havewedding.com via Karen on Pinterest

9. Favorite movie?
I'm really nerdy and I love musicals like Little Shop of Horrors, Hairspray, Footloose, etc. I can't choose a favorite. I love romantic comedy.
10. Are you doing something sweet for your Valentine this year?
I have to work. It's an early day so I have to be in by 7 and I have a meeting directly after work until 7 p.m., so probably not. But every day is special with my two valentines.

Tag your it....

Emily @ Glitter & Ink
Adam @ AB Transplant
Matt @ Matt's Mind Musings or The Haus of Jamieson
Kholood @ Kholood Eid'sBlog
(She's obsessed with Cardinals and photography!)

Here are your questions. Disclaimer, some of these ARE stolen from Lauren.
1. What is your dream job?
2. What is the first thing you notice about a person?
3. If you could drop everything and go anywhere, where would you go?
4. If you could eat lunch with one famous person, who would it be and why?
5. Is there something you wish you were better at?
6. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
7. What is your favorite thing to watch on TV?
8. If you could change one thing about yourself what would it be?
9. Favorite photo from 2011?
10. What is one thing you couldn't live without?

If you weren't tagged and you want to play, go ahead! I would love to see your answers!


...and if you don't want to play I WON'T be offended. In fact, I'm 98% sure 3/4 of these don't even look at my blog. ever. But I added them anyway in case others wanted a new blog to drool over.

Quiet Morning

This Monday morning, in the midst of all the hustle to get to work and get Vin to preschool, I went outside to start my car. For some reason, everything seemed... peaceful, calm. Now, I live within a mile of six schools (private elementary, public elementary, middle, lower elementary, high school and one state school) and within three or four blocks of three of them. Needless to say my street is usually packed with buses, school children walking and parents driving their children to school.

Ohhhh, It's Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Day, the kids are off school. So I figured out why it was so darn quiet. The sky was looking pretty, so I decided to snap a picture.

Then, I walked to the back yard to feed my pups. The sky looked really pretty back there too! This was within two minutes of the other photo with one in the front yard and one in the back yard.

Anyway, I've been really unmotivated to take photos lately. Unmotivated to do much of anything... I've been feeling quite lazy. I'll try to do more blogging. I promise. My blog is really suffering from my winter lazy-itis. Ugh. I need some sunshine!

I did spend my lunch Monday walking on the riverfront trail. It was so beautiful outside I couldn't miss out. I mean, almost 70 degrees in January?! I'll take it. I saw an awesome woodpecker and took a few photos of him, but as I got closer he flew away. I couldn't get a good angle. But, I did get to enjoy watching and hearing him peck (It's loud!) on a nearby tree.

Happy Wednesday guys. I hope you are enjoying your week.

Brilliant Mind

I love when people can say things so eloquently, that whoever is around stops to listen. I know Dr. Martin Luther King Day was yesterday, but I wanted to share a few of famous quotes.

"A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus."

"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see."

"Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness."

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

"Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness. "

Wasn't this man brilliant? Do you have a favorite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. quote?

Brr!

It's freezing outside! But don't be sad! It could look like THIS outside:

Brr! This photo was taken last February. If you think this looks awesome...don't worry. I'm sure it's coming...

2012 Resolution

After quite a bit of contemplation, I've decided to go easy on myself this year.

You see, 2010 was a busy year. I had graduated college and gotten my dream job. Somehow, even though I had met my goals, I felt like this wasn't enough. I was left with this empty feeling of “now what?” I had been working toward graduating and once I grabbed my diploma I was left feeling like I didn't have anything else to do. “That's it?”

Not that going to school and working and interning was easy. But I was goal-less. I mean, I was out of short-term goals.

So I set this massive list of things I wanted to do in 2011 from finding a church, to running a 5K, to family and work stuff. But some of the things were just there to give me a goal, not necessarily something I even wanted to do.

2011 is gone.

We celebrated my sister's graduation. She moved away. We celebrated birthdays, holidays and other “firsts,” including taking Vincent to Six Flags and his first time camping at Lost Valley Lake. We took our first real vacation since Vincent was born and visited the Gulf shore. My mom turned 50! My twin sis and I hit our quarter-century birthday. My amazing son turned 5 and started preschool. He learned to read and write better. He learned to tie his shoes. He started “working out” with Dada. He got his first real bike.

Several of my friends are expecting babies or had one in 2011.

We visited Lone Elk Park, the World Bird Sanctuary, the botanical garden, butterfly house and many places on vacation. We went to the fair.

Gary got promoted at his job, twice.

I got engaged!

I lost my grandfather.

And this list probably leaves out a ton of 2011. But you get the idea. Even though I felt like I didn't have anything to do, I did a ton. We did a ton as a family. We grew closer and celebrated our love daily.

That's why, in 2012, my resolution is to enjoy the small things.

I read a blog post recently about how “only tourists look up.” Since they're not used to the sights you see every day, they take more time to notice and look up, so to speak.

I resolve to have the tourist attitude and continue to enjoy each day for what it is and keep celebrating the small stuff. After all, it's all the small stuff that makes up a person's life.

My other resolution is to exercise more and get tone. I don't want or need to lose weight, but I want to look stunning in my beautiful wedding dress, which is still to be determined.

I hope that whatever you resolved to do in 2012 you can accomplish. But even if you don't, even if you fail miserably, I hope you enjoy the small stuff.

I realize that my my blog is starting to have waaay too much text. I'l try to get some photos in this week. That's all for now.

New Year's Resolution Recap

Well, well, well- here we are- embarking on a new year. I know I'm a little late but I haven't really thought of a good resolution for this year. I thought before I made a resolution I should look back at my resolutions from last year.

Before I copy them, it's important to note I was feeling a little...off...at this time last year. In 2010 I graduated from school and got a job. In 2011 I was thinking "now what?" on more than one level. So I was a little, maybe, overly ambitious. That said, here we go.

At home:

To be a good, loving mother to Vincent and partner to Gary.

To teach Vincent to read and write, which we're already doing really, really well on. Also, to get him ready for preschool or kindergarten, whichever comes first.

Recap: Vincent is reading and writing like crazy. He reads everything, sounds out words and is really smart. Vincent started preschool in 2011 too and I think he was ready. He is doing so well. In all, my 2011 "home" category is a success!

Personal:

Find a church I can call home

Complete a 5K

Spend more time with my family

Spend less time social networking

Get back into scrapbooking

Crochet more

Pay off the Jetta, credit cards and make a good dent in my student loans

Take my family on a vacation

Recap: I did not find a church I loved. I visited one and didn't "feel"right and that's as far as I got. I applaud myself for trying, but am disappointed I didn't succeed or try harder.

I didn't run a 5K. What was I thinking? Pay money to run? I went to a few for photos at work and I contemplated running one just to say I did, but I didn't.

I did spend more time with my family!

I did spend less time social networking!

I did not get back into scrapbooking and basically decided I didn't want to. I have other hobbiesright now like taking photos and crocheting that I would love to work on. I don't have to print them out and scrapbook them for the memories to be there. Maybe someday I'll get back into it, but not right now.

I did crochet more. A lot more! I love learning new things and that I can curl up on the couch to work on a project. Also I can grab a bag and throw it in my car to work on during breaks or if I have free time. I just finished my first poncho, though that was a 2012 project. I also made a full size throw, a star blanket, a small granny square baby blanket, a few "cute cuddly" animal hats including a dog, an owl, two penguins and a skunk and several other hats, catnip mice toys, an ornament and other small projects. There's still a lot to learn and I'm having fun learning all kinds of new stitches.

I did pay off one Jetta and bought another! I paid off the credit cards at one point, but spent more, dangit, and we've been doing well with the student loans.

I did take my family on a vacation! We went to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida and had an exceptionally fun time!

Work:

Be more concise- say more with fewer words, as needed

Make fewer mistakes, and avoid making stupid mistakes

Become a better photographer, practice and read manuals

Get more responsibilities as they are available

Recap: Overall, I would say I'm happy with where I am at work and with my work goals. I don't want to talk about each one individually.

Oh, and I was going to take a photo each day and post it on my blog. I did really good for a few weeks, but then I...failed. I'm still working on taking better photos and trying to notice things and be observant and honestly, if it were just taking a photo per day I could do it. I don't like being obligated to get online each night and post things if I don't feel like it. Lazy it may be, but sometimes after a really long day I just want to come home and crash or spend time with my family.

I was going to go in to NEW resolutions, but I think I'll save that for another post.

Busy Hands

"True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new."

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I've been busy crocheting lately. My friend Jennelle asked me to make a newsboy hat for her little baby, due in February. It was fun and the hat turned out super cute!

I don't have a baby model, but I can only imagine that it will be insanely cute on her little newborn baby.

Gary's mom had been asking for a poncho. I didn't have a pattern and I couldn't find one I liked. I thought if I made a bunch of squares I could connect them and voila, poncho. It kind-of worked out. I had to fill in on the back and collar of it. I didn't have a mannequin or model, but I made it work. Gary brought it to his mom tonight and she loved it! I'm so glad!

Front

Back

Me modeling

And I know this is a terrible photo, but G sent me a photo of his mom wearing the poncho. It's a cell phone photo but you get the idea. It looks pretty cute on her!

Pet Problems

Well, if you guys didn't think I was crazy before, I'm sure you will after this post... That is...if you don't think I'm a genius.

I'll start from the beginning. I have this little Chihuahua named Milo. I also have a Chihuahua pug mix named Lexi, but she's not the topic.

Anyway, Milo has "little dog syndrome" in a big way. He barks and goes crazy to Gary's mom's great dane Boo, even though Boo could eat him in one bite. He also marks things like crazy. Vincent and I took him for a three block walk and he probably peed on 15 things.

He never used to mark in the house, but its recently become a problem. I don't know why. We had some pup visitors and I think it may have made Milo want to prove he's the dog in charge.

Gary's mom had luck "bell training" so I thought maybe I would too. I bought some bells, to no avail. There more like decorations hanging on my door.

The pups stay outside during the day. They have a nice insulated dog house and yard to play in. Plus they have sweaters and coats too. I know, I spoil them.

It got to be where I would let Milo in at night and he would immediately come in a pee on something. I don't have much carpet in my house, so it was easy to clean up, but still very, very frustrating. I bought spray to try to clean his scent out of everything (thinking he could still smell it even thought it had been cleaned,) but he still did it. I scrubbed and cleaned. I told him no and put him back out to be in trouble.

Gary finally banished him outside. He said Milo had to be an outside dog if he couldn't keep from peeing in the house. I was sad. I didn't know what do do. I like pets that I can pet, not ones that I have to look at outside.

So I googled how to take care of it and found tons of cute little wraps called "belly bands", but they were expensive! Well, they ranged from about $8 to about $40 depending on how fancy you wanted to get. I found a pattern for one. I didn't have any velcro to make one and I wanted something until I could get some. So, I used a fuzzy sock. It's nice and soft and I can double it up.

Even better? The problem has been fixed! When he comes in I just slip it on and he doesn't even sniff around anymore! The idea of the belly band was like a diaper for a baby. He would figure out that peeing in the house was uncomfortable for him and would eventually stop. But he hasn't even tried to pee in the house.

And, he's used to wearing clothes, so he hasn't tried to take it off. He does seem a little bummed out about it, but I'm sure he'll get over it. And, I get to have both my cute sweet puppies in the house without any problems.