The Armoire Make Over

 

This was a Hutch/Armoire that I Found in My Classifieds

 for Not Very Much $.

Truthfully,

there was nothing wrong with it,

but I Wanted a different Color

than the Yellow-y Whitish Color that was on it.

I Re-Painted My Room in a Gray

{"Metropolis" by Valspar in Semi Gloss},

and Wanted this to Match,

So I Chose a Gray Color that was One Step Down

on the Color Card I Picked Out.

{"Gravity" by Valspar in Satin}

 

This is How I Did It:

First I Sanded It.

Did not take all the Paint or Previous Finish Off,

just sanded it enough

 to give the next coat of paint something to grip onto.

Then I Wiped it Down with a Wet Paper Towel

to remove Sanding Dust.

 

 

These are the Paint Brushes/Rollers I used.

Both are Foam.

 

First I Primed it,

Then Painted it with My Color,

{"Gravity" by Valspar in Satin}

 

then Sanded with This:

See it Says

"Between Coats"?

It helps make a smooth finish.

After You Sand,

then wipe with the Wet Paper Towel again

to Remove the Sanding Dust.

 

The I Put the Second Coat of My Color On.

 

Then I Sanded with This:

It will also Help with a SMOOOOOTH Finish.

I Use it before I Put my Glaze On.

And of Course,

Wipe Everything Down Again,

To remove the Sanding Dust.

 

I Add My Details using This:

It's a Glaze that I have had Tinted to "Fired Earth" by Valspar.

I Work in Small Areas as I use it.

I put it on with a Foam Paint Brush,

then Wipe it off with a Wet Paper Towel,

Leaving some Glaze where I want it to stay darker,

or give it the Antique look that I Love.

For Some of the Areas where I Wanted to Create a "Wear Mark",

I took a Kid's Paint brush and just applied the Graze in the shape of the mark,

or along the Edge or in the Corner Like I wanted,

and just left it- not wiping it away.

 

Also,

I Kind of have a Thing for Crystal Knobs.

 

 

 

If You have any Questions about the Steps,

 Check out Some of My other Projects.

I use the same steps On Each One,

and I've Tried to have a Link Over There

(on the Side Bar)

to Each One.

 

For the Wreath,

I Hung it using the Same Technique I used to

Hang the Mini Wreaths on my Kitchen Cupboards HERE,

Except, I placed the Hook on the TOP of the Armoire.

11.03.2012

We had a little Family Get Together

 with My Sisters and Their Families

and Some of Our Folks.

 

We Got to Explore an Old Abandoned Silver Mine and Ghost Town,

Hike and Wander Around the Beautiful Area,

Eat at a Yummy Ma and Pa Grill,

Make Bottle Rockets,

See a Play of Beauty and the Beast,

Explore Dinosaur Tracks,

and Have a Good Ol' Time Relaxing,Visiting, and Stuffing our Guts. 

Halloween

10.31.2012

Marathon-er

October 20, 2012
26.2 Miles
DONE!

Holy Smokes!

That was Hard!

But?

The Hard is What Makes it Great!!

26.2 Miler Highlights:

 

- I was Excited ALL Week! Not Nervous; Excited! I was Ready to Get Out on that Course and See if I Could Do This!

 

- At About Mile 4, I Started Talking with a Lady- She is 66 years old, and this was her 53rd Marathon! She Started Running when she was 51. In the years she has been Running, she has Overcome Cervical Cancer, Back Surgery and a Brain Tumor. This was her 8th Full Marathon this year, and she had done 20 Half Marathons this year. Her Training? She said she runs Once a week, and its a Marathon. Her Strategy? Slow and Steady. I Told her she Truly Inspired Me, and I Couldn't Wait to Share her Story. Wow.

 

- I Cried. A Lot.

Before we even left the house, I was teary, because My Dear Friends, had put signs up in My Yard during the night with Good Luck Wishes and "You Can Do IT!"s .

I Cried as I Crossed the Starting Line. (I'm Running a Marathon!)

I Cried at the Amazing Sun Rise.

I Celebrated as Each Mile Ticked by, and Thought "This is Going by Too Fast!!"

I Probably Hollered, "I'm Running a Marathon!" about 79 Times.

I Got Emotional thinking of all the Training We had done. All the Hundreds of Miles and Wondering IF I can Do it, or How in the World I was Going to Do it. Now, here was the easy part- just go run 26 miles.

I Got Very Emotional every time I saw My Fan Club alongside the road at random Miles, Waving Posters and Shouting and Clapping. Truthfully, I Sobbed. And Lemme tell You, its Hard to Sob and Run and Breathe at the same time- Quite Ugly.

In the last 4 Miles, I was Crying over Signs other People had made for other Runners.

And I got a little choked up at the Aid Stations and the Volunteers handing out Water.

At One Point, I think mile 24, I got a little Teary-Eyed

because I wanted to Be Done or Die!

And Yes,

When I Crossed the Finish Line? I Bawled. Big Time Ugly.

 

I had NEVER in My Life wanted to Run a Marathon.

But My Curiosity about "HOW and WHY in the World would Someone Ever...?" Won Out.

 

In My Running and Training, I've Learned that

I Learn So Much More about Myself in the Moment that I Decide to Keep Going,

than I Do in the Moment that I Decide to Quit.

I've Learned that I'm more Capable, and Stronger,

and Diligent, and Determined

than I Ever thought I was.

 

Also, I have the Biggest Support of a Husband.

He was Out of the Country on a Business Trip, Came Home to Support Me on My Marathon, then Flew back the Next Morning. Who Does That?

And? So many mornings when He has Gotten the kids up and dressed and fed for School, while I'm out Running, so that as soon as I Run home, I can take the kids to school. He Picked Me Up after 16 Milers and 18 Milers and drove me home. HE Believed I could Run a Marathon, before I Believed I Could. I Believed in Me, because He did.

 And? This was for My Birthday.
My Birthday was the Next Day, and I wanted to Do Something to Celebrate ME.
Five Years ago, On My Birthday I Held My New Born Baby in My Arms.
Last year, I Held My First "See Your Strength and Beauty Everest Birthday Run" and Invited any Friends who Wanted to join Me to come Run with Me up a Steep Hill we All Love to Hate. We Celebrated with Smoothies and Chocolate Cake Afterwards.
This Year, I Ran My First Marathon.
Then Celebrated with Friends and Hogged out on Chocolate Cake.

One of My Favorite Quotes is from Socrates:
"It is a Shame for a [Woman] to Grow Old
without Ever Seeing the Strength and Beauty
of which [Her] Body is Capable".

How Blessed am I to See and Do all the Beautiful Things My Body is Capable of.

In the Last 3 or 4 Miles of the Marathon,

Running Partner and I said

that this was the Stupidest thing We had Ever Done.

That we would NEVER do this AGAIN!

But,

The Next Day,

We were searching for more Marathons. 

10.27.2012

It's that Time of Year:

Happy Birthday

To YOU!

Breakfast in Bed

The Big FIVE 

J says the Funniest things,

LOVES to Play with His Brothers,

and Gives Mom and Dad Huge Ol' Hugs!

WE Love this KID!

Pumpkin Patch-ness

You've Had a Birthday

Shout HOO-RAY!

Breakfast and Presents in Bed

Look Who's 10!

 

I have to Say that B has really become so Helpful to Me,

He Does what he needs to,

he's Thoughtful and Responsible and so Smart!

We Love this Dude!

 



Surprise!

We're Going to DISNEYLAND!

 

We kept our Plans to Go to Disneyland

a HUGE Secret 

for Months and Months!

Then One Regular Dull Monday Evening,

We went on a Little Drive to the Airport,

and Dad Said,

"Lets go in and buy a treat at the Airport,

but We have to take these Suitcases with us,

so that they don't know that We really Don't have any Tickets,

We're just here for some Treats".

We go in, but don't find any treats, Dangit.

We walk back out,

and Start Wishful Talking about

If we could go anywhere Right Now?- Where would we want to Go?

Eldest Child Wishes outloud to Go to Disneyland.

And Mom and Dad Look at Each Other,

and Say, "Let's GO!!"



The Kids thought We were Joking.

[I Think they were Wondering who We were,

and What Happened to Their REAL Parents]

 

Even Better?

When we Got to Our Gate,

and the Families of Good Friends,

are also there,

Going to Disneyland!

Yah, We all Planned it all like that :)

 

 

On the Last Day,

the Coolest Thing was Seeing This:

Seeing the Spaceship Endeavor on its Final Flight.

The crowds of people all came out,

and looked up at the sky

(the Shuttle was so Low!)

and then

Everyone Started Clapping.

That?

Was Awesome!

 

On the Short List of Favorite Rides:

Cars Land, California Soaring, California Screaming, Tower of Terror, Pirates, and Splash Mountain.

 

We? Had a GREAT Time!! 

San Antonio

 

We Spent a Few Days at a Convention for Husband's Business.

And Because He is in Business with His Brothers,

that Meant,

that My Sister-in-Laws and other Family Members

were there, too.

So,

While the Men Folk had to spend their

time in Borning Ol' Meetings,

Me and the Ladies Got to Kick it,

at Pedicures and Manis.

 

I was SUPER Proud of Husband and Co.

for Getting a Huge National Award,

that has come with Years of lots of

Hard Work and Stressing!

 

After the Meetings Concluded for the Week,

We went out and Explored

The Alamo-

You know,

as in "Remember the Alamo!"

[Yes, well, now I know why One should Remember the Alamo].

 

And after the Alamo,

We got to Get all Gussied Up

for a Fancy Night of  Dining and Celebration.