Collin Raye

11.17.2010

After Seeing Collin Raye Perform Last Year,

at a Local Dinner Theatre,

We Knew We'd Be Back Again,

This Year.

And Due to a Unique Tie that He has Developed

With My Mother In Law,

and a Special Letter from My Father In Law,

Collin Raye's Manager Came to Us,

and Said Mr. Raye would Like to Meet Us,

after the Show.

So We Did.

He is Such a Genuine and Sincere Person.

So Sweet and Thoughtful.

My Favorite Part?

When I Got

Not One,

Not Two,

But THREE

Big Ol' Crushing Hugs from Him!

[He Said, "You're So Tiny, ]

[I Can Get My Arms Around You Twice!"]

So,

I Let Him.

[Sigh]

The Drowsy Chaperone

We Saw this Off Broadway Production,

In 2006,

During our Trip to New York City,

and

We LOVED it!

When the Touring Company Came to Town,

and When the Local Theatres Put it On,

We Always Make Plans to Go!

This Time We Got to Go with My Folksies-In-Law

[Ma-In-Law and I, With "Aldolpho"]

This Show is Always, always Good for a Laugh!

This Week's Summary:

Pulling Up a Gazillion Staples

and

Living in a Disaster Zone.

[Getting Ready for the New Floor]

The Showdown

We Got Together

With Our Friends

To Watch the Little Friendly Competition of

{Our Team}

[Kansas City Chiefs]

VS

{Their Team}

[Denver Broncos]

*Cough*

Their Team Won

*Cough*

Rematch

December 5th.

They're.

Goin' .

Down.

Kitchen Cupboard MakeOver Part II

{Just a Sneak Peak}

Here's How You Can do It, Too!

Using a Sander and Course Sand Paper,

I Sanded all the Places I Planned to Paint.

Since I wasn't going to Be Actually Painting

the Center Panel, I Skipped Sanding That Part.

I Sanded with All My Might

to Get as much of the Shiny finish I could Off,

Then I Wiped it Down with a Wet Paper Towel,

to Remove the Sanding Dust.

Then I Primed it,

Using

"Contractors Bonding Primer",

I Got at Lowes.

I Primed each Piece

3 Times.

Until the Yellow Stain from the Cupboards,

Stopped Showing Through.

I was Using White Paint,

and I Wanted to Ensure,

I didn't Have any old Yellow Stain

Showing Through and Making

My White

a White-Ish!

Then Husband Cut Bead Board

and I Glued It Into the Centers,

Using a Glue for Paneling and Wainscoting,

That I Got at Lowes.

I Used Clamps or Heavy Cans

to apply pressure while it dried

Over Night.

Then I Caulked around the Edges,

Where there was a crack between the

edge of the Beadboard and the Cupboard

Not Knowing much about Caulking,

I Learned that Using a Wet Finger Tip

Works Wonderfully.

After the Caulk was Dry

Over Night,

I Gave the Whole Thing

2 Coats of Paint.

I Used

Swiss Coffee in Semi Gloss by Valspar

and a Foam Roller Brush-

Leaves a Smooth Finish

and Has an End

that Can Get in Cracks Super Good!

Then, Using My Tinted Glaze,

by Valspar in Fired Earth,

I VEEEERY Carefully

Went Along all Edges,

and Added Detail where I Wanted it.

You CAN put the Glaze (Antique) on the Whole Thing,

But it WILL Give the Whole Thing a Dark Coat.

I Wanted to Have a WHITE Look,

that Had "Worn/Old" Places.

I used a Foam Paint Brush to Apply,

and a Wet Paper Towel on My Finger tip

to Take off the Excess.

Then a Clear Coat of Semi-Gloss

Poly Acrylic.

YES,

There was Lots of Steps and

"Waiting for Things to Dry" Time.

This Took Me 2 Months,

as it was Always the First Thing I Wanted to Work on,

But Usually the Last Thing I'd Get to in a Day.

I Wasn't even Sure if the Idea of

Putting the BeadBoard IN them Would Work,

[And I Had Several People Tell Me It Wouldn't].

But it Did.

And?

{I LOVE IT!}

Where's Kitchen Cupboard MakeOver Part I?

Check Here

This is just a Quick Peak of the Kitchen,

Just have to get the Floor in,

and then I'll show the whole

Kit'n Kaboodle!

Brick Back Splash

{A Little Sneak Peak at}

{What's Been Going Down}

{in My Kitchen}

Before

After

This is How We Did it:

First We Took "Chicken Wire",

Got it at Lowe's,

in the Tile Section.

[CAREFUL It's Sharp!]

Cut it to fit where You Want it,

with Wire Cutters,

Using Staple Gun,

Staple to Wall.

Then I Used "Thin Set"

Over in the Tile Section, as Well,

Mixed it up,

and Smeared It On,

Not Perfectly,

and Not Super Thick.

Let It Dry

for Approximately 16-24 Hrs.

Then,

Using THIN CUT Brick,

Brick that has been cut to 1/2 Thickness,

Got it at a Brickyard Store,

and Mix Up Some Mortar,

I Find the Consistancy

of Peanut Butter is Good- Keep it Pretty Wet,

Make a Mound of Mortar on Your Brick,

and Stick Those Babies On.

Keep in check that Your Keeping Things Straight Across.

I use Strips of Foam Board for My "Spacers".

Let Everything Dry.

We usually wait about 24 Hours,

then Remove the Spacers

You can get a Giant "Frosting Bag"

from a Brick place or Hardware Place,

and Mix up some More Mortar,

and You Squeeze it in between

all those bricks and Smooth it Out,

I Find My Finger Tips Work Best,

But it also Wears the Skin Right Off,

and Drys Them Out Something Horrid.

[Just so You Know].

And There You have It,

Your Own Brick Back Splash!

Want to Brick Your Fireplace?

Click Here

Spook Night

Festivities of Fall

My Mom

Always Plans an October Saturday

For Fall Festivities:

Hay Rides,

Pumpkin Picking,

and Lots of

Cinnamon Rolls and Chili

I haven't Been Home for the Big Occasion,

For Probably a Good 5 Years.

It was Wonderful to Go This Year.

The Weather was Perfect,

The Countryside was Beautiful,

and the Company was Fabulous.

It was Good To Go Home.