2013 Goals!

Here's my shiny-new goals for 2013! 

 

 

1.       Do a fun craft with Parker every month.  I'm not much of a "crafter" but there are so many fun toddler crafts I see on pinterest.  Parker is a very hands-on type of kid (as I'm sure most are), so I know he would really enjoy doing a neat project every month. 

2.      Take a daily multi-vitamin.  This really shouldn't have to be a goal, but I have a bottle of Vitamin Code vitamins in my pantry that expired in November.  That's how long I've had them.  I'm horrible at remembering to take vitamins, but considering the fact that I'm a mommy, I really should try to take better care of myself.

3.      Wear a bikini this summer.  Don't get me wrong; I've wore a bikini every summer ever since my parents finally allowed me to do so.  Even while I was pregnant (because being pregnant doesn't equal being fat)!  However, I wore a bikini last summer, and really, someone should have stopped me.  Holy cow!  Literally!  So, while I'm not technically saying I'm going to "diet" I do have several plans to help bring my weight down before I hit my all-time high, which, sadly, I'm very close to hitting.  How will I do this?

A.  Do not eat seconds.  (This was so hard to do last night when I made meatloaf and broccoli, cheese and rice casserole).

B.  Do not finish Parker's meal.  (This was so hard to do when he was sick and didn't eat all of his home made lasagna).

C.  Do not drink soda.  I was in denial by telling myself that I only drink one or two Coke's at home.  However, every time we go out to eat (and if you read my last blog post, you can tell we tend to eat out a lot), I order a soda.  No more!  I am now the queen of water or iced tea.

D.  Work out on my wii.  ( I haven't done much of this, but I LOVE doing the Just Dance game and last weekend I bought a Jillian Michaels cardio workout.  )

E.  Have a friendly little weight loss competition with Greg.  (We started keeping track and weighing in right after Christmas...which was dumb considering we always have a big NYE party and then a week later we were going on vacation)  However, I'm proud to say that today is weigh-in day and I'm already down 4 pounds!  Woot!

F.  Eat more fruit.  (Yesterday the box of brownie mix in my pantry was practically screaming my name.  I ignored it and ate a kiwi instead.  Small victories, people!)

4.      Paint all the doors in my house and bunk house.  Sometimes when you do so much remodeling you tend to just say, "eh...screw it!" when it comes to detail items.  But, it's been a year now, and there are several doors in my house that need a coat (probably two) of paint:  my master bedroom door, Greg's closet door, our back door, and if we install a new door for our hall bathroom, that will need to be painted as well.  Also, there are three doors in our bunk house, none of which have been painted. 

5.      Plant sod in my court yard.  Last spring we rocked most of our front yard, but made a "court yard" in the middle with rail road ties.  The idea was to sod it, but we never did, so instead it's a big octagon of weeds and dirt.  It's pretty ugly.  I'm ready to have a nice pretty patch of green!

6.      Read a piece of classic American literature.  Don't ask me why, but I just want too.  And, if I don't accomplish this measly little goal, then someone needs to slap me.  Why?  Because while at a library book sale a few months ago I bought two classics:  The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger.  I read The Catcher in the Rye in high school, and while I remember enjoying it (mainly because it had a lot of curse words, which made me feel like a little bit of a rebel), I don't remember any of the plot.

7.      Go on a Valentine’s date with my husband.  *ahem*  Since VD (the term we lovingly referred to Valentine's Day as when I worked at a florist) is on a Thursday, I would even settle for a day-after date instead.  Anyone want to baby sit?  Mom?

8.      Re-decorate Parker’s room.  Now that Parker is approaching three, I want to give him a proper little boy room.  His nursery has a star theme, and now I'm going to upgrade it to a rock-star theme!  I'm so excited!  In fact, today I even bought some pictures for the walls!  I have visions in my mind of re-doing his entire room on his birthday while he is at day care, so he has a surprise.  We'll see what happens!

9.      Refurbish our living room furniture.  Our coffee table and two end tables are all pieces of furniture Greg had when I met him.  For several years now we have wanted to refurbish them.  However, now that we are trying to make our house look like a beach house, the idea I had pictured for them has changed.  I'd like to paint the two end tables an antique white and then on the drawer and doors, paint a crackle paint with turquoise blue showing in the cracks.  Then, I'd like to paint the coffee table turquoise and distress it. 

10.   Clean out my file cabinet.  This is a task that probably needed to be done a few years ago, but it's one of those "out of sight; out of mind" type of things.  However, with both me and Greg being self-employed, with another business on the horizon (opps, did I just say that?), I think it's time to be a lot more organized, and we need extra filing space!

11.   Organize my kitchen pantry.  It's a little embarrassing right now.  I'm hoping to get some pinspiration real soon!

12.   Become a public notary.  Not only will it be another service I can provide as a Realtor, there are other ways I could use being a notary to make some additional income.  I've toyed with this idea for a few years now and think now is as good a time as ever to become one!

13.   Make a scarf.  Years ago my sister went to some foreign country and bought me some fabric that is a burberry knock off, so I could make a scarf.  However, the scarf has never been made.  I think its been long enough (I can almost see my sister nodding her head!).

14.   Make a facebook page for Texoma Remodeling.  I've been trying (and usually failing) to take before and after pictures of different projects that TR has done.  Now it's time I put those pictures to use! 

15.   Clean my car out at least once a month.  Being a responsible 31 year old woman, I really shouldn't have a car that is always so cluttered.  So, this is my attempt at change (my husband is cheering!).

16.   Have family photos taken by Art and Soul Photography.  I have several amazing talented friends who are photographers.  But there is just something about Art and Soul Photography that I absolutely love, and I have followed her blog for about three or four years now!  I think it's simply that the pictures are always so vibrant and colorful!  I would be proud to hang a family photo on my wall and say it was taken by the amazing Angel Porch.

17.  Yell at Parker less.  I know what you're thinking; HUH?  Before  becoming a mom I knew a mom who constantly yelled at her kids.  I always thought, "I am not going to sound like her when I have a kid".  Now, guess who I sound like?  I feel like since becoming a parent I have lost all patience.  I need to remind myself that the first time I say, "No", I don't have to scream it.  I know that a "no" that is spoken, can still be effective.  I also need to remind myself that I didn't like being yelled at when I was younger, and yelling needs to be reserved for when it's really important or life threatening.

18.  Go to a play.  I have really been having the itch lately to be on stage.  But, since I know that's not going to happen any time soon, this would be the next best thing!

19.  You know.  And although I hate to admit it, this sucker is going to stay on the list every single year until it's done!  I will not give up!

Oh, How Pinteresting!

Its been awhile, but I'm linking up again for Oh, How Pinteresting, Wednesday!  Yay!



I had these when we went to Colorado a few weeks ago (blog on that coming up soon!) and they were sooo yummy that I had to make them myself!  I made a batch on Sunday and yesterday we finished them off!  The hardest part is just un-wrapping all the hugs!  I also made mine with only one m&m because I figured that would make them less fattening.  ;)

Source: beckyhiggins.com via Felicia on Pinterest

We will begin remodeling our hall bathroom soon and I thought this was so cute!  However, my mom AND my husband were not impressed.  I guess their sense of humor is not as awesome as mine.  ;)

Source: nattynook.net via Felicia on Pinterest

I love finding stuff like this on pinterest!  So simple, yet purely genius!  *Note to self:  buy tic-tac's soon!*

Source: simplyfrugal.ca via Felicia on Pinterest

This would be such a fun activity for Parker, and then a fun game to play with afterwards!  The fact that it will cost next-to-nothing is a bonus!

Source: alittlelearningfortwo.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

I have such an obsession with jewelry made from spoons and forks!  Beautiful!

Source: wanelo.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Until next time, happy pinning!

Day Care!

Parker's first day of day care was yesterday.  And no, I didn't break down into a sobbing mess.  I actually didn't worry about him at all!  Mainly because I knew he would have a BLAST!  Parker is such a social butterfly and he loves kids!  The director of the day care was so impressed with how well he did when I picked him up.  She praised how much he talks and repeatedly said how smart he is.  Talk about a proud mommy moment!  She said that he loved the slides and every time they went into a new room, if there was a slide in it, he had to go down it.  This was no surprise to me and I am currently on the hunt to find a cheap used toddler slide on craigslist.  The only thing I was worried about was nap time.  Parker takes excellent naps, but he is always confined to his crib.  At day care the kids sleep on mats, so I didn't know how that would fly.  The director texted Greg last night and said the cutest thing was when Parker saw one of the workers patting one of the childs back, he got up and patted the other childs back.  How sweet is that!



Parker's first art project

In case you're wondering why the director was texting my husband, the answer to that is because they communicate by text fairly often.  Why?  Because this day care just opened it's doors to the public yesterday.  Prior to that, the owners hired Texoma Remodeling, LLC to do their remodel!  This was Greg's first commercial remodel with his business.  Here are some before and afters:



Before

After

 

Before:  Reception Area/Front Door

After:  Reception Area/Front Door

 

Before:  Reception Area

Before:  Reception Area

After:  Reception Area

After:  Reception Area (still needs trim around counter top)

Before:  Media Room

Before:  Media Room and a peek into the Pre-School Room

After:  Media Room (Hard to see, but there is new sheet rock/texture/paint/trim)

After:  Preschool Room

Greg and his helpers did a great job on this remodel!  The owners of the day care are so sweet and relieved that after 5 contractors accepted the job and were no-shows, Greg finally entered the picture.  They had a small chip on their shoulders after having been burned by so many other contractors, but eventually Greg won them over.  I'd say it was a job well done and I know they are already planning on hiring Texoma Remodeling, LLC to add an additional bathroom to the facility.

2012 Goals

Here it is:  another year, another batch of goals!

1. Give my blog a makeover.  Since my hubby is no longer a "wind farmer" it's time to re-name this blog!  I'd love to have a tab to click on to buy my jewelry, too!  Hopefully I can figure this out.
2. Drink more water.  I should have learned my lesson when I got too dehydrated this summer, but nope.  Anyone who has ever spent a day with me probably knows I am horrible about drinking eight glasses of anything in a day.  I don't even finish a full beverage with a meal.  So, I'm hoping that by the end of the year I'll be able to guzzle down 8 glasses of water a day.  This is truly a challenge.
3. Read 10 books.  Ten books that I already own, to be more specific.  I counted the other day, and there are 37 books on my book shelf that I have never cracked open.  That's a little ridiculous. 
4. Get caught up on Parker's baby book.  When I packed all of our stuff up from our Colorado house I thought, "I'll be unpacking in a month and I  can catch up on his baby book then."  Well, we all know how that turned out.  Six months later I finally unpacked the box with his baby book; and still haven't got caught up on it.  This needs to be addressed, pronto!
5. Have a tan.  I mean a real, honest-to-goodness, I've-been-at-the-beach-all-day, kind of tan!  Not the, I-just-got-sprayed/laid-in-a-bed/rubbed-orange-lotion-all-over-me kind of tan.  Granted, this will probably take all summer to achieve because I'm a big believer in sun-screen (yes, you can still get a tan wearing sun screen; it just takes longer).
6. Take Parker on a fun outing every other month.  Not only do I feel like my little guy misses out on social interaction with other toddlers, I also feel bad that we live in such a remote area and he doesn't get to experience very many things.  I figure a special trip every other month can make up for it, even if it just means driving an hour to play with a friend.
7. To only eat out 75 times the entire year.  Yup.  Re-read it and let that soak in.  Considering our family eats approximately 1,095 meals a year, I have a feeling this is going to be pretty hard.  But, I'm going to attempt it nevertheless.  I've already added a little running tally to the top right of my blog so you can keep track of how often we eat out, along with *gulp* how much money we spend doing so.
8. Refurbish Parker's rocking chair.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  I have everything I need to do it, I just need to make myself actually get the job done.
9. Personalize my home-office space.  Our new home doesn't have a room I can designate for a home office, so when we remodeled our kitchen we added a built-in desk.  I have a vision in my mind as to how I want it to look.  And, since it's in the heart of our home, I also want it to match the "beach" theme I want our house to have.  Lets see if I can make it work!
10. Learn how to make fork jewelry.  I know this was on last year's list, but I never really had the time to give this hobby a go.  I can't tell ya'll how desperately I want a fork ring just like this.
11. Learn how to crack an egg with one hand.  Because that would make me feel like a complete culinary bad a$$.
12. Exercise at least four times a week.  Granted, I'm not going to be hitting up the gym, but I do have this awesome inspiration I found via pinterest.     
    
    Source: iowagirleats.com via Felicia on Pinterest
       I am also dying to have a hula hoop!  I plan on re-visiting my fifth grade hula hooping club days!  Oh, yeah!
13. Contribute to our family financially.  This means make my family some money, and not cost us some money like I did last year.  Hopefully real estate in this sleepy lake town will start hopping real soon, if not, I'm gonna have to figure something else out.  Any ideas?
14. Find a church to attend regularly.  Preferably one that my husband won't gripe about would attend with me.
15. Take a wild guess.  If you've been reading this blog for the past few years, you probably have a small idea as to what this is.  I just know this is the year I'll accomplish this goal!
16. Write a will.  I think Greg and I have learned the hard way that a will is a very important document for a parent to have.  I think this would just be a responsible thing for us to do.
17. Open a Savings Account for Parker.  Sometimes Parker receives money from various family members and I like to put it aside for him to use when he's older.  It only makes sense to protect this money in a savings account.
18. Go to a concert.  Greg and I love going to concerts but we haven't been to one in years.  I'm hoping we can go to a concert that we will both mutually enjoy, and not my husbands beloved Jason Boland *gag*.
19. Begin working on my Brokers license.  I really think that this is a goal that most Realtors hope to achieve.  I would like to start doing my classes this year.
20. Become active in the community.  I don't really know how I'm going to do this yet, but I keep having an urge to give back in some way.  Plus, it will be a good way to meet people!
21. Learn CPR.  Way back when we owned a home that came with a swimming pool I thought it would be in my best interest to learn how to do CPR.  But, I procrastinated and never learned.  I also have this weird theory that all parents should know how to do CPR.  Am I one of those parents myself?  No.  Which means I'm a pretty big hypocrite.  I don't necessarily care about being "certified", just as long as I would know how to do it in case of an emergency.

Did I accomplish all of my goals for 2011?

Nope.

Actually I did slightly better than I thought considering this year did not turn out the way I had thought it would.  Meaning:  I had no idea we would be moving, let alone moving twice!  Yikes!  So, I feel like I can't be too hard on myself.  Then again, is that just me making excuses for myself?  You be the judge.

To read my goals, click here.

1. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums.
*SIGH*  I'm so disappointed in myself, so lets just not even talk about this, OK?

2. To learn and use baby sign language with Parker
I actually did this!  Parker can sign the words:  milk, more, again, please, love, and all done.  Now that he is starting to talk more I don't really push the sign language.  Really there is one other sign that I would like to begin using and that is the word, "help".  I think that one would come in handy!

3. To use coupons
I do occasionally use coupons.  In fact, I've even began shopping at my local Homeland because they double coupons daily!  However, I haven't been printing coupons from the Internet or actually buying the Sunday paper to get coupons.  My mom has actually been helping me with this goal!  If she gets the Sunday paper, she saves the coupon section for me and gives them to me whenever she sees me.  Since I don't see her on a regular basis, I don't get coupons all the time.

4. To paint all the closet and bedroom doors in our house
I did this!  And just in time for us to sell our house!  ;)  Take a peek for yourself:  Don't the doors look better white?

Our master bedroom the day we bought the house.

Our master bedroom right before we sold the house.  Much prettier with white doors!

5. To bake a pie.
Sadly, I didn't do this.  But, now that we've moved back to Oklahoma I have visions of both my mom and my grandmother actually helping me bake a pie.  Doesn't that sound like a lot more fun?

6. To contribute more to my family financially
This is a tough question to answer.  If I want to get technical, I've actually cost our family more money than I have made us.  How is that?  Well, I started selling real estate again.  Which means I had to catch up with my continuing education ($100), then I had to sign up for the MLS and the Board of Realtors ($765), order business cards and car magnets ($135), purchase name riders for my For Sale signs ($85), and then I just had to pay my dues for membership for 2012 ($749).  So far I have had one sale and my commission check was $645. You do the math. 

7. To learn how to make spoon and fork jewelry
I didn't do this.

8. To begin working on my book again
I didn't do this either.  But, I did read the few pages that I had written...does that count?

9. To host a few more Bling On A String trunk shows
Nope. 

10. To finish The Harry Potter series
Finally!  Right when I was beginning to mentally beat myself up, the last thing is something I did!  Does it really count though when I was in the middle of reading the last book when I added it to my goal list?  At this point, I'm going to say YES!

My newest crush!

Wanna know what my latest obsession is? It's pinterest! And I am in LOVE! First, who doesn't love looking at awesome pictures of items that peak ones interest? I know I sure do! But this website takes it one step further. I can plug in a word, say driftwood, for example, and it pulls up all kinds of pictures with driftwood. Pretty cool, huh?

I discovered pinterest when a friend of mine suggested I check it out after I posted a question on facebook asking where I could get ideas for remodeling our lake house. When I think of a "lake house" I picture a cabin with lots of decor involving fish. Maybe because that's what every lake house that I've been in at Lake Texoma is like. Since I'm not that into fish, I figured I had to do something different. Since there is a beautiful sandy beach within walking distance from our lake house, I figured why not have our "lake house" look like a "beach house"? I may not be able to see the beach, but at least I'll know I'm close by and can still feel like I'm "at the beach" or "on vacation" when I'm inside!

We're going to begin a total renovation of our "beach house" beginning in late August and Pinterest has absolutely been a good source of inspiration for Greg and I. I'm not the type of person who can instantly visualize what a room or house will look like. I like to see pictures and drawings. This is where pinterest has been a huge help. My thinking is that we'll have the main area of the house painted in a pale gray (my new favorite neutral) and hopefully we can find some cool "beachy" flooring. Then, I'll accent with pops of turquoise and orange, along with some lush greenery. (I'd love some actual palm leaves if anyone wants to mail me some!

With that being said, here is the board I curated on Pinterest with ideas for our "beach house"!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I'm linking up again with Jamie for her Wednesday blog party!

I'm loving that after several days of being horribly sick, my little baby finally seems to be on the road to recovery and is finally acting like himself again!

I'm loving that I'm hostessing a Celebrating Home party tonight!

I'm loving that tomorrow our friends Randy and Shannon, along with their little boy, Braxton, are arriving at our house and staying through the weekend!

I'm loving that I have about 18 episodes of Sex In The City on my DVR!

I'm loving that one of my best friends from college, Angela, is engaged! Better yet, I'm loving that her and her fiancee, Vaughn, are entered in the Crate and Barrel The Ultimate Wedding Contest! Please click here to vote for them! I would love to hear that they won this contest; they totally deserve it!

I'm loving that out of nowhere the other day my husband told me how much he loves how I look in my new skinny jeans and he thinks we should buy a few more pairs! (I wasn't even wearing them when he said that!)

I'm loving that the ad about our house for sale began running in the newspaper today!

I'm loving that we are having an Open House this Sunday!

I'm loving that I will be able to enjoy our remodeled house for about a week before I have to start packing for our move to Texas!

Happy Wednesday, ya'll!

What I'm Loving Wednesday!

I'm linking up again with Jamie for her blog party. Click here to see what other people are loving this Wednesday!

Today, I'm LOVING that we finally finished remodeling our upstairs bathroom! Here are the before and after pictures:

This was our bathtub before. The tiles were falling off the wall so for over a year now we have been taking showers with plastic hanging over the tile walls. Ghetto, I know. Those shower doors were disgusting as well. Rusty and covered with hard water spots. We removed those a long time ago and have just been using a plastic shower curtain liner.



This is the vanity. Sometimes, Tiffany blue just isn't a good thing! The floral print boarder near the ceiling was also a nice touch!



There was a wall of wallpaper next to the toilet. Can you say random? Also, the long wall to the right had the same wallpaper as well. And, who likes having carpet in a bathroom? Not me! Gross!



Here is one of our "work in progress" pictures. My husband loves to watch Holmes on Homes on HGTV, and the orange subflooring is a product that Holmes uses instead of using cement board prior to laying down ceramic tile. We are no strangers to laying tile (my hubby used to do it as a side job) but this was the first time he used this product. Since we had just painted the walls orange, it literally looked like the room was glowing. We thought it was pretty funny.



Ta-da! The finished product! Complete with new texture, paint, flooring, tub and shower surround, curtain rod, and towel rod!



This bathroom is upstairs, where three of our bedrooms are located. If a new family purchases this home and has a family of four, they could each have room for a towel on that super long towel bar. Want to know a secret? It's actually a curtain rod! (My husband's idea!) Also note the newly painted white doors! I'm slowly making progress on one of my goals for 2011.



This is our new toilet. It's elongaged, which is so comfy! ;) Also, we moved that cabinet from our kitchen into our bathroom, where it just makes much more sense. I painted that white and installed new hardware.



The vanity area looks much better! I painted the vanity and installed new hardware. We also installed a new countertop, faucet, towel holder, lighting, and decorative mirror.



Now that the bathroom is newly remodeled, what I'm also loving today is that my friend Bri is having a Celebrating Home party! Maybe I'll find some fun bathroom decor to purchase!

Happy Wednesday, ya'll!

My 2011 Goals

For the third year in a row, it's time for my yearly goal list! (I can't believe I've been blogging this long!) Here we go!

1. To print, label, and organize all the photos that are on my laptop and place them in photo albums. Yup, it's appearing on my list for the third year in a row. I think I'm starting to get on every one's nerves about this now...but putting this out there really is helping me! Let's see if this is the year I can finally mark this one off the list!

2. To learn and use baby sign language with Parker. I probably should have started this months ago since he's almost nine months old, but I don't really know where to start with this. I'm hoping the library will have a book or two that I can borrow to learn some basic signs.

3. To use coupons. I was so inspired by the "Extreme Couponing" special that TLC did last week that I decided it was worth the time and effort to begin clipping coupons again. I actually went to the store yesterday and used coupons so I'm hoping I can make this a habit. I'm going to Wal-Mart today and will be buying the supplies I need to make my own coupon book to take with me on shopping trips!

4. To paint all the closet and bedroom doors in our house. When we first began remodeling our house our plan was to replace all the closet and bedroom doors with raised panel doors and to paint them white. Currently they are all the brown stained wood flat slat doors. My husband recently decided that since we won't be living in this house very long anyway, it really isn't going to pay us back to replace perfectly good doors. However, thinking about all the priming and painting I'll be sneaking in while Parker is napping already makes me want to pull my hair out!

5. To bake a pie. Two pies to be more specific. I actually love pies but have always been too intimidated to bake one. I have two favorites in mind: my mom's lemon meringue pie and my grandma's chocolate cream pie. Did I mention I plan on making the crust from scratch?

6. To contribute more to my family financially. Greg would love for me to find a well paying full time job. I would love to find a stay at home job so I don't have to put Parker in day care. I'm open to any suggestions!

7. To learn how to make spoon and fork jewelry. I have to say, I've been obsessed with spoon jewelry for a long time now. My mom can vouch for me! The other day I was doing some browsing through etsy and I was curious if anyone had a spoon jewelry store. Guess what else popped up. Fork rings! I was hooked. The next day I told my husband what he could buy me for my birthday (which is all the way in August). He asked what it was and when I said a fork ring and that it cost $150.00 he looked at me like I had lost my mind. But I promised him that it wasn't just a piece of jewelry....it was a piece of art! They are absolutely stunning!

I pulled up the rings and my husband said that he thought I should try my hand at making them myself. He even did a little research for me! I love it when my husband seems supportive of what could be a new jobby (job + hobby) for me!! I think it helps that since I would have to use some pretty heavy duty tools I would be working in the garage and my husband loves any excuse to hang out in the garage!

8. To begin working on my book again. Notice I didn't say specifically how much I would work on it! The only thing that is somewhat motivating me is when I occasionally overhear my husband talking on the phone to someone about my blog. He always tells them that I started writing a book and he doesn't know why I quit. Again, it's nice to know I have his support!

9. To host a few more Bling On A String trunk shows. I think this one is pretty self explanatory! To visit my store click here!

10. To finish The Harry Potter series. This one was on my very first goal list. And, sadly I still haven't finished the series. However, this is one goal that I'm cheating a little bit on. That's because I'm reading book 7 (the last one) right now! Sneaky, aren't I?

There you have it! What are your goals this year?

Our downstairs bathroom

Since my husband and I are no strangers to fixing up a house or two, I've noticed we always tend to fall into a pattern when it comes to remodeling. And that's that we work hard-core on a house for a few months, and then we get burned out. Sometimes we "burn out" due to lack of funds and we just have to wait to get caught back up. That was the case this time. However, since we sold our fifth wheel, we feel that we can now start working on the house again. But, that doesn't mean we get real motivated to do the work. However, just like our burn out pattern, there is also one sure-fire way to get us motivated on fixing up a house again. What is it, you may ask? Having company! We've known for a few weeks now that my sister and her family would be visiting us this month, so that gave us a goal to get our downstairs bathroom remodeled! We finished just in the nick of time considering our guests will be arriving tomorrow!!! (Also, my parents are driving up to see them as well, so we will once again have a house full!) Now, keep in mind we still haven't remodeled our upstairs bathroom, which happens to be the bathroom that is attached to the master bedroom. I am a little jealous that my family members will be using the "nice" bathroom while Greg and I will be using the "crap" bathroom. But hey, we figured they would enjoy it. Plus, there was literally a hole in the downstairs shower which meant it needed to be fixed before we remodeled our upstairs bathroom anyway so we'd have a place to shower while the other one is being fixed. Sheesh!

This is what the bathroom used to look like:






And this is what it looks like now!





Do you want to know what our inspiration was for the color scheme? The shower pan! Greg didn't want to have to install a new shower pan when the one that was in place was in good shape. However, it had blue flecks in it. I figured, why not work with it! And thus, the blue/gray tiled shower was born! Luckily the shower door was in good shape as well, so even though it's gold trimmed, we figured we'd cut cost by re-using it. We had originally bought some marble tile to re-do the vanity top with, but decided there would be too much tile going on. So, we decided to use the same tile that we used in the shower, and I'm so glad that we did!!!

Next, we painted the vanity and the medicine cabinet white. Also, Greg did some "modernizing" to the medicine cabinet. Everyone who has seen it can't believe it's the same one! It's amazing what some paint, new hardware, and new trim will do to a piece of furniture!

I figured the best color for the walls that would go well with the tile was a gray color. Typically I like a warmer color palette, and since the grays and whites really gave the bathroom a "sterile" feel, I decided some pops of color were in order. Originally I wanted hot pink, but figured Greg would kill me. I think red was a good happy-medium! I already had two of the black towels and one black rug. I bought another black rug and towel at Wal-Mart and the three red hand towels at Wal-Mart as well. The flowers came from a Hobby Lobby run I did while we were in Oklahoma. Those happen to be my favorite flowers (antherium) and were used in our wedding! OH, I'm forgetting one of the most important things! Ever since we purchased this house, I kept picturing a decorative ladder to hang towels on for that bathroom, since there is so much wasted space in there. Low and behold, I found one at a garage sale for $5. All it needed was a coat of white paint! Also, do you like my curtain tie-backs? They are actually pony tail holders! Yes, sometimes I can think outside the box!

There you have it! I think next on our agenda may be flooring for our dining room and kitchen. Which means, who's coming to visit? We may need some motivation!

The piece de resistance

Out of all of the rooms we've remodeled in our house, this is definitely the one that I'm the most proud of! The only thing if needs is a cute little bundle of joy!Without further ado, I present The Nursery:


The closet is filled with clothes! The ones hanging are all 0-6 month! Courtesy of my sister and gifts from loved ones!



I put stuffed animals from both mine and Greg's childhood in the crib for our little boy to snuggle up with!




There is the rocking chair that my mom and I refurbished! (Greg did his part, too!)



Another DIY project that I forgot to take a before picture of. This platter was actually a yellowish color and said "Believe". Greg spray painted it for me and then I free-handed Parker's name on it with the same paint we used on the walls.


It took a lot to bring these curtains up to par. For one, they were way too long, so I had to re-hem them. Then the valance was too long as well so that had to be taken care of also. The finishing touch: silver star Christmas tree ornaments sewen onto the valance! Sometimes I amaze even myself!

The Second Floor: Before and After

I promised I'd post some pics of our second floor. I just didn't realize it would take me this long to do so! Keep in mind, like the third floor, it's not completely finished. We still need new flooring in the dining and kitchen and will eventually be replacing all the doors in the house to raised panel doors and painting them white to match the trim! So without further ado, here's the living room:



I'm really hoping that our next house won't have wall paper that we'll have to painstakingly scrape. At least I think it looks a lot better now!




Our kitchen was what I'd like to call a "hot mess". I'll just let the pictures do the talkin'



Actually, it doesn't look quite that bad from the pictures. But believe me, if you saw it in person, you'd agree that it needed some work. All of the appliances were missing, including the garbage disposal. Needless to say we survived with a big gaping hole on one side of our kitchen sink for at least a month. There was just a cut out above the kitchen sink with a two by four and another two by four was used as the support to the ceiling. (You'll see it in the before pics of the dining room). Then, on the far South wall was a lone random cabinet. Very strange. It now has a more appropriate home in our upstairs bathroom above the toilet. It makes much more sense there. And, I mentioned before that my awesome husband turned the oven connection into a gas line for me so I could get a gas stove! I really love it! Here's the after pics. It's hard to tell, but the walls are painted a chocolate brown. Unfortunately, most of my decor I had on hand to decorate above kitchen cabinets was also brown, so the decore kind of fades into the background. It'll get worked on eventually, but first we need to focus on the house itself!

What can I say? I LOVE my sink! The head of the faucet pulls out so I can rinse all the way around the sink, and it also has a button for a vegetable sprayer. It's oversized, so my crock pot can sit on one side with room left over. Even Greg loves it! (Why yes, Kohler, I'd love to be your new spokesperson!)


Had I known that my camera was going to pick up all the smudges on my stainless fridge and microwave I probably would have cleaned them first. Key word: probably.



See? Doesn't a wall of cabinets and countertop space make much more sense than one random cabinet? I think so!


As you'll see below, the dining room had a ton of nasty wall paper. Yuck! Thankfully, that's all gone now! I've never had an actual dining room before, we've always just had a little breakfast nook in the kitchen. So needless to say our dining room table looks a little lonely in there. We'd love to add a china cabinet soon so I can display all of my beautiful crystal! Also, remember the cut out above the kitchen sink I mentioned before? Greg turned that into an actual bar. I think it looks great, the only things it's lacking is barstools!






So there you have it! Now, don't be expecting any pictures from the first floor anytime soon. There's a LOT of work to be done down there, but we are probably going to focuse on the top two first. I can tell you that downstairs is a den, utility room, bathroom, and guest bedroom/sewing room/Greg's jam session room. Another fact I can tell everyone, is that I've been a horrible blogger. So, as a teaser, here are some of my upcoming posts:

* Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
* Snowboarding weekend with friends
* A visit from my parents
* My Colorado Baby Shower!
* A creative baby gift idea

So stay tuned!!! Hopefully I'll be a better blogger this week!