Spring Break!

OK, so technically, since I no longer teach or attend school, I no longer have a Spring Break.  Now that I'm a full time mom, I look at it as every week is Spring Break!  Which, ironically, means none of them are lol.  But this year, I actually did get a break that coincided with Spring Break!

To start off with, we were all in various stages of sick around here.  A few weeks ago, my parents kept Caylee.  Unfortunately, without knowing it, mom had a really bad cold during this time--she just thought it was her normal seasonal allergies.  Well, no such luck.  Thankfully, Caylee's version wasn't as severe as my mom's, but she decided to share with us too.  Bryan was actually pretty sick, and I didn't feel well at all.

Originally, the plan for Spring Break was for Bryan to go with Ethan on their motorcycle trip to North Carolina, and for little bit and I to load up with my mom and head to Fredericksburg to see my Gan Gan.  Bryan, of course, still went on his trip lol.  With the baby and mom still getting over being sick, and me smack dab in the middle, we decided to cancel our hill country run.  However, mom and dad offered to keep Caylee until Wednesday anyway because 1) I was still sick and 2) they pretty much adore their granddaughter :-).  Bryan headed out Saturday morning and mom and dad came and got Caylee Saturday afternoon/evening.  All of which meant...

I WAS COMPLETELY ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BEFORE I WAS PREGNANT!!!!!!

It was absolutely wonderful!  I got to just be sick for a few days, which, as any mom knows, is just not feasible when the hubby and the kiddo are sick at the same time as you.  When everyone is sick, mama can't be...even when she is.

Once I was feeling better, I ran some errands and worked on some projects that I hadn't had a chance to accomplish with Caylee-bear in tow.  I went to Hobby Lobby and made progress on decorating our bedroom.  I watched a LOT of anime--52 episodes to be precise--and got a lot of knitting done at the same time!  I didn't go to bed until at least midnight every night.  I also didn't get up before 9 at all :-).  One particular night, I was so engrossed in the anime that I was watching, and so determined to finish the hat I was knitting, that by the time the end to both came, I realized it was 5 AM!  Needless to say, I wasn't up before noon the following morning.  That type of schedule has always been my preference, but obviously Caylee's schedule takes priority now.

Of course, I did miss my munchkin and my hubby.  I FaceTimed with Bryan a couple of times, and with Caylee and my parents every day.  Good thing too, because during one of our FaceTime chats, Caylee crawled for the first time!  She crawled right over to me (well, my face on the phone)!  She also showed off her pulling up skills, using Grandpa for a ladder.

That said, it was pretty wonderful to only have to take care of myself for a few days.  I did an amazing job staying on plan for Weight Watchers, and ate their frozen dinners instead of cooking.  I decided I wanted to run an errand, and left the house in under two minutes.  I was able to get all of my chores done and still have time to read, watch TV and knit.  It was a true break.

That said, I was really glad to have Caylee-bear back Wednesday night.  I had missed her sweet smiles and snuggles.  Bryan made it home late Thursday night, which was wonderful.  We put Caylee to bed together and then I got to hear all about his trip.  Friday we just relaxed around the house.

Saturday, Bryanne-Michelle came down and she and I went out to a girls' lunch while Bryan and Caylee had some daddy-daughter time.  Then we all hung out at the house that evening, eating Dominoes pizza, drinking margaritas, and watching TV.  Yep, we're a wild bunch lol.
Sunday was Bryan's yard work day, while Caylee and I relaxed in the house.

All in all, it was a wonderful Spring Break that combined good friends, family time, and a true BREAK for this mama!

Pergola Project

Well, things here are going pretty good!  My shoulder is on the mend, and I actually am cleared to drive again!  I started therapy this week, so if all continues smoothly, my shoulder should be fully recovered by the time Caylee makes her debut.  I can't believe I'm already 30 weeks!  Or that we only have about another 8 to go before she's here!  I'll have to do a separate post about preparations, and one about my amazing baby shower that my mom and Victoria threw for me!  So many people came, and everyone truly showered Caylee with gifts.  She is going to be one well-loved little girl, that's for sure!

Anyway, on to the topic of this post--our new porch and pergola!  When we moved into our house, back in December 2008, we were very excited to have a covered porch.  However, we both realized that eventually we would want to expand it later...it might have been covered, but it was also a bit small.  So, we started saving our pennies, and this Spring decided to go ahead and find a contractor to tackle the project.

Alan with C&G Construction, along with his amazing work crews, got our project done in about a week!  We are so very pleased and excited about our new porch and pergola!  Here's the progression:

Hooray pergola and porch!  And the dogs, of course, believe we did it all for them lol.

I Won!!!

I am SO EXCITED!!!

My friend Arena has one of the best blogs ever: The Nerd's Wife!  It's all about her marriage to "The Nerd"--who is also a friend of my hubby's from back in college.  They are both absolute sweethearts and such an amazing couple!  Along with all the nerdy things she's learned and experienced in her marriage, she also shares her passions for her family, reading, cooking, and photography.  Her blog was actually the reason I finally did something with this one lol.

Another super-fun aspect of her blog is her AWESOME giveaways!  A couple of weeks ago, she had a giveaway for an 8"x10"x.75" canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints.  The canvas that Arena had made was absolutely lovely, so I entered the giveaway thinking how wonderful it would be to have an 8"x10" canvas for the bedroom.

And I won!!!!!!

Now, the fun part!  We're painting the bedroom in a light blue, and going with a beachy feel and decor.  So, I've been going through Bryan and my pictures from our honeymoon in Aruba and our Costa Rica vacation.  I don't really want to use a picture with people in it, so I'm focusing on the scenic shots that we took.  I've narrowed it down to 3 main choices, with a few "runner up" choices.  When Bryan gets home today, we'll make our final choice!

Here's the main three:

 Aruba 2008

 Aruba 2008

Aruba 2008

And here are the runner-ups:

 Costa Rica 2010

 Costa Rica 2010

 Costa Rica 2010

 Aruba 2008

Aruba 2008

So what do y'all think?:-D

'Tis the Season: Craft Project--The Poinsetta Bowl!

Since I was put on disability back in September, I've been doing a lot of redefining.

For example, contributing to our household used to mean that I worked outside the home to bring in money.

Now, it means that I keep the house nice, plan meals and cook, make sure we're keeping to our budget, etc.

For another example, I was never the artsy craftsy, interior decorating type of girl.

Now, I've found that I actually enjoy crafty things--at least, of the floral variety.

And I love setting things up in my home so that it looks beautiful and well-put-together.

And doesn't Christmas just provide the perfect opportunity to implement these new definitions!

So, on to my most recent project!

I got my inspiration from several arrangements of lillies in bowls that I've seen, like the one below.

I decided to take a Christmas approach to such an arrangement, using a rounded bowl, fake pine needles, holly berries, and poinsettias.

The first step was to use my pretty pink wire cutters to snip off all of the branches from the pine bough.

Next, I bent the wire stems of the pine branches into arcs, and placed them in the bowl.

I continued to layer the bent branches so that, from the outside of the bowl, it looked like a wreath of pine needles nestled in the bowl.

The next step was to use the wire cutters again to snip off the branches of holy berries.

Then I took each little holly berry stem and wove it among the pine needles and branches in the bowl.

This way, from the outside of the bowl, the bright red holly berries peak nicely through the pine needles.

Next, I used the wire cutters to snip the two best poinsettias off of the branch.

I tucked the two poinsettias into the bowl on top of the pine needles.

This serves the dual purpose of covering the middle of the bowl where the pine needles don't entirely intertwine, and looking pretty!

So, in the end, I have a very pretty Christmas floral arrangement that I have placed on the end table!

Time for A Goal List

I haven't set out some specific goals for myself in a few months.

In those few months so much has changed--I'm on disability, I'm a stay-at-home wife, I've started working out again, I'm trying to find new hobbies, and am still adjusting to the new realities of my life and health.

Thinking on all of that today, I'm kind of surprised that I haven't set out some goals--after all, I've been complaining about feeling directionless and goal GIVE DIRECTION!  Da da da DAH!

So, here we go!

LIFE CHANGE GOALS:

Eat better--PORTION CONTROL!  MORE VEGGIES!  MORE FRUIT!  LESS EMPTY SNACKING!

Establish and maintain a workout routine--Water aerobics at least 2 days a week, recumbant bike at least 2 other days a week

Church shop and though that establish volunteer activities

Finish writing SOME kind of story lol

SHORT TERM GOALS:

By February, loose 15 pounds.  (Granted, I'd be happy with more, but I really want to get back down a ways).

By February, get the junk room/future nursery cleared out and cleaned up.

Make a Texas Flag decoration for the guest bedroom by Christmas.

Make a centerpiece for the island and a wreath for the front door before Christmas.

Get all the other decorations out and up for Christmas.

By January, have the attic decked out so all that stuff in the junk room/nursery can have a place to go (granted, this is more of a "honey do" than a personal goal--I sure can't haul plywood up into the attic!!!)

A New Hobby!

I have lots of hobbies.

I like to read, write, and watch TV and movies.

I also enjoy cooking, baking, gardening and water aerobics.

This gives me an acceptable combination of sedentary and active hobbies, as well as physical and mental.

Lately, I've also enjoyed playing with interior design-type tasks.  For example, I love the way our guest bedroom turned out!

I also arranged a fake dried fruit basket centerpiece for our kitchen island.  I decided it was time for some sort of accent color to go with all of our greens and browns--and red it is!  (For now :-D).

However, there is one type of hobby I have never tried.

I have never attempted to be "artsy craftsy"--mostly because my few ventures into that arena have ended in catastrophic failure.  

I don't consider the fake dried fruit basket to be craftsy because, well, I didn't actually make any of it--just arranged what was already there.

I've always wanted to be able to engage in some sort of craft, but I could never find one for which I had some talent.

Until now!

I am so excited!  I found a craftsy thing I like--flower arrangements!

I've always enjoyed buying fresh flowers and arranging them in a vase on our breakfast table.

However, the one vase I had was too high-profile for that particular table, and the flowers made a huge mess as they started (or rather finished) dying.

So I decided to take a different approach.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a small, round vase on sale for 50% off.

I also bought Craft Water, and some fake flowers by Fresh Picked.  The flowers were also 50% off (I love Hobby Lobby), even though the Craft Water was not.

I came home and got to work on my very first flower arrangement.

My first step was to gather my materials.

I place the Craft Water and tongs on the cabinet next to the stove.

I then placed the Craft Water bottle in a pot, and filled that pot with water until the bottle was 2/3rds covered.  I turned the water on high heat.  I let the water boil for 15 minutes so that the Craft Water gel turned into a liquid.

While the 15 minutes were passing, the flowers went on the island.  I used the vase as a measurement tool and proceeded to trim the flowers off their main stems, keeping the leaves and stems needed.

Once 15 minutes had passed, I used the tongs to remove the Craft Water bottle from the boiling water and set it on the counter.  Using hot pads, I poured the boiling water down the sink and killed the fire under the burner before returning the pot to its original place.  Next, I placed the vase in the still-hot pot.  This allows the vase to come up to the same temperature as the Craft Water.  I then carefully poured the liquid Craft Water into the vase and let it sit for 10-15 minutes (this makes all the bubbles go away!).

After the time had passed, I carefully removed the vase--succeeding in only burning myself once!

I then had fifteen minutes to get my flowers arranged as I desired. 

Then I let the vase and arrangement set for another 20-30 minutes to make sure the Craft Water had set.

Finally, my first arrangement ever took it's place on our breakfast table--and when my husband got home, he thought it was real!

I'm very happy with the way it turned out, and glad I stepped outside of my comfort bubble and gave this craft I try--I now have a new hobby!

Guest Bedroom Face Lift!

When Bryan and I first looked at our house, back in December of 2008, there was one room in particular that left quite an impression.  It was painted in alternating fat stripes of light pink and dark pink, had a large rose-themed wall hanging, and rose curtains to match.

The impression it left?  Absolute hatred!

When we decided to buy the house, we asked that the builder paint the room in the same color as the game room, which they readily did--and did again for the dog-name walls in the library and the damask-pattern walls in the dining room.  The rose-themed wall hanging went in a trash can in Ft. Worth when Victoria decided that she actually did not want it--but the rose curtains remained.

After careful consideration, Bryan and I decided to go with a western-cowboy theme in the guestroom, complete with deer pelts from his past kills.  We put all of our antique pieces in that room.  My great-grandmother's bed (once we bought our king size) and hope chest took up the center, Bryan's great-grandfather's vanity went on the wall next to the closet, and his dresser was stuck awkwardly right inside the door.  There was also a bookshelf to the left of the window, where all of the college textbooks we didn't want to part from reside.

We kept the dark navy blue and white comforter, complete with a dog-caused hole, on the bed.  And, even though they were completely out of place, the rose curtains remained.

This summer, with Victoria's future in-laws coming to stay with us for her shower, I determined to give the guest room a face lift, and Annabelle and Haley decided to keep me company!

The first thing I tried was bumping the bed over and moving the chest of drawers to sit beside the bed on the left.  Even though the dresser is fairly light, it took forever to move because I had to take many, many breaks, and Annabelle was no help at all.

I thought it looked ok, but Bryan hated it (and yelled at me for moving furniture without him while I was on restriction--apparently taking breaks doesn't excuse breaking restrictions--hey, it was a few days after Dr. G first put me on restriction, so I wasn't really thinking about it, and I DID wear my brace.  Now I know better.) 

So, he took over moving the furniture.  The bed was bumped back over a bit, and the hope chest centered.  The bookshelf was de-booked, moved to the dresser's old spot, and rebooked, while the dresser took the bookshelf's place.  

Once the furniture's positioning was agreed upon, I undertook the task of unifying the room's theme and making the space not feel as dark (because of the comforter).  JC Penny's and Hobby Lobby became my best friends!

I bought (on SALE!) a new comforter that, while still incorporating navy blue and a hint of black, also had touches of light blue, white and tan.  In and of itself, it lightened the space.   At Hobby Lobby I found two little stars, and Bryan and I mounted them on the wall on either side of the large star that we were given as a wedding gift.  I also finally bought a lampshade for the lamp and found an awesomely western metal welcome sign to hang on the wall above it.

We tucked the John Wayne picture (who's frame is falling apart) and the vanity mirror (for which we can't find the hardware at the moment) into the future nursery (aka the current junk room).  Don't worry though!  The mirror will eventually get mounted, and, once we get a new frame, John Wayne will grace the wall, along with a framed Texas flag!  

And finally, FINALLY, the rose curtains were replaced with nice light blue tab top buttoned curtains!

So now when guests come to stay, they will come into a unified, light-feeling room, and hopefully feel very, well....

One room (mostly) down, the rest to go!  I think I've found a new hobby! :-D

A Splash of Aggie

On May 16th Bryan and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary!  It was a wonderful day.  We grabbed lunch at McAllister's and then my sweet hubby suffered through Letters to Juliet so that I could watch the chick flick I wanted to see.  After the movie, we came home and Bryan set up my present--a wonderful hammock!  I made us both mugs of ice cream and we laid on the hammock, eating our ice cream and reading.  Of course, it was super hot so after about 30 minutes we decided on a change of plans.  We disassembled the hammock and took it upstairs!

Before we started reassembling, we looked at the game room, and then at each other.

"Do you want to?" Bryan asked me, with a mischievous look in his eye

"Sure," I smiled back at him.

"Really?!"  I nodded.  And so, we went ahead and....

...went to the Home Depot!  Had you going there, for a minute, huh? lol

We finally decided to paint the accent wall in the game room.  Long ago we had selected two color samples and we decided to go with the lighter shade of, you guessed it, MAROON!!!  We purchased the tinted tintable primer and the can of paint.  Once we got home, we took the first step of taping the wall.

Next step was to crack open the primer and get to work!  Once we were done, had we been going for a gray wall, it would have been perfect!

At this point, it was already pretty late.  We had gone for our anniversary dinner--sushi! and Bryan even found one he likes!  He was so sweet to me.  Anyway, we started on the wall after dinner, so by the time we finished priming the wall it was time for bed.  When we got home from work on Monday, we started with the actual color!

As you can probably tell, the first coat dried thin in some places.  It was very frustrating for me, having never really used a red-type pigment for painting.  I should have done a bit of research before starting--apparently, even with tinted primer, it is normal for red pigment paints to take multiple coats.  We let the paint dry for the night and then picked back up with another can of paint on Tuesday.

I did some technique research before starting, and we also bought a better roller pad.  With the thicker pad and good advice, I painted without pushing down hard on the roller.  The second coat looked great right from the start.

We let it dry overnight and then Bryan untapped the wall.

We cleaned up the painting supplies, and rearranged the furniture.  We put the TV on the old entertainment center and put the futon in the library.  And then, for kicks, we set the hammock back up...in the game room!

I'm just extremely happy to have finally started decorating and arranging the upstairs.  And I have to admit, swinging in the hammock upstairs is much more comfortable than being out in the beginning of the Texas summer heat!