A Pinterest "Meh."

I love me some Pinterest.  I'm AWESOME at pinning all sorts of things, but my execution is lacking.  Being that it's summer and I am a lazy bum haven't been motivated for major projects, I decided to try an easy project that popped in my mind.

The post I saw showed a flat paint with a same-color high gloss paint as a contrast.  Knowing my patience level and tendency towards the OCD, I thought it would best to keep it simple.  To the foyer I went . . . well, after Home Depot!

Before.

I considered doing chevron striping, and I'm sssooooo glad I didn't.  It would've sent me into a compulsive leveling and straightening from which I might never recover.  Instead, I did two wide stripes.

Taped off and first coat of paint.

Then I didn't like two big stripes & taped off/painted a smaller stripe in between.

 The tape came off much easier than I thought, and I was thankful for that.  There just isn't much of a difference in the two paints.

After.  Not much of a difference, huh?

Kinda looks like shadows, but Todd said it's not too bad.  So - it stays.

Overall it was an easy project - maybe 2 hours total.  I only wish it wasn't so "meh."  Oh well . . . off to find my next Pinterest project!

Summertime!

After a reallllly long, realllllllllly difficult year at school for both of us -- it is officially SUMMER!  We plan on relaxing, recuperating, and doing a few things around the house.  It won't be much, but it's what we need.  Todd and I will both be working with new people next year, so we need the downtime to prepare us for August.

For our official first day, I made the dogs "pops."  They LOVE their pops, and they are a healthy way to treat the dogs and cool them off during the hot Texas summers.

Pops are very easy to make.  Here's my so-called recipe:


DOG POPS

1 large tub of non-fat, plain yogurt
1/2 c. or so peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
leftover meats and veggies

Pull out the blender and add non-fat plain yogurt, some peanut butter, and whatever leftovers you have in the fridge.  (This time it was chicken, some corn, and a piece of zucchini.  Literally any meat and/or veggie we have goes into the blender.)  Puree and pour into ice trays to freeze.

Remove pops from ice trays after frozen and place in a sealable baggie.  Label as "DOG POPS" unless your dogs don't mind sharing.  :)  Enjoy!

Pippin and Steve waited for me to hand out seconds, then got embarrassed after I tried to take pictures of them begging!

Sprucing Up for Spring

A few weeks ago, I noticed (yet again) that the rockers we have on the front porch were definitely looking more than ragged.  It was time for a fix.  Thanks to Pinterest, I learned about an awesome sprayer gun thingy for spray paint cans.  I found one at the local Wa.lM.ar.t for less than $3!  I got my favorite Rust-oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2x in black, slipped on my spray gun, and got to work!

Have sprayer, have paint, have dingy chair - will paint!

Chair before (front) and chair after (back).  So much better!

FINISHED!  It was so easy, so fast and looks so much better.  Best of all - there was NO paint on my hands or really anywhere but on the chair!  How did I survive all these years without my easy spray gun????

Need to put my Cricut to work and monogram the chairs again.

Now I'm going through the house and getting ready to paint anything that needs it or is not nailed down.  :)

(**Note: I am not being compensated for my opinions or handiwork.  I just like sharing great stuff!)

Kristin Go BOOM

Had myself a lil' car accident.  Wellllll, "lil" is putting it very lightly.  Almost totaled my car.  It involved a red light that looked green (to me), some speed (by another), and a few automobiles.  Luckily, my car can be repaired . . . to the tune of over $14,000.  Thank God for good auto insurance and accident forgiveness coverage.

OUCH.

Actually looks a lot better than it really is.

Both my airbag and the entire right-side curtain airbags deployed.  Scary & stinky.

To add insult to injury, when the ambulance arrived on scene it ran into the REAR-end of my car.  Seriously???  We were sitting in a heap in the middle of the intersection, so it's not like they didn't see my huge Honda Pilot!  Glad I wasn't in the car or in between the crunch of cars.  Add another repair and another claim and another report and another contact.  FML.

Rear-end damage courtesy of Dallas Fire and Rescue.

I am so thankful that nobody was seriously injured.  As soon as I started to get out of my car, I was barely able to remove my wedding ring because my hand was swelling very quickly.  While the airbag luckily saved my face and head, it did hurt my hand and forearm upon deployment.  I refused treatment on the scene but wound up at an urgent care clinic the next day since I couldn't use my hand at all.  A week later (after being unable to use my hand for days), the swelling and bruising was slowly subsiding.

My big, fat hand - finally can see some knuckles.

Lots of finger bruising a week later.

Two weeks later, I am able to wear my wedding ring again although my hand looks a little green-tinted.  Just glad that was the worst of my injuries and my car can be repaired ---- eventually.  God was watching over me that day, and while I hope He continues to do so, I am tired of all the ridiculous stuff going on in my life this year!

California Comes to Texas!

For the first time since I can remember, a large part of the California Clan of our family came to Dallas for a visit.  My Uncle Al (my Dad's brother), Aunt Ruth, Cousin Jeff, Cousin Alicia, her husband Tom, and their kids Kelsey and Kaeton were here for only a couple of days.  They flew from California to Missouri, where they then drove through Oklahoma and to Texas.  Quite a tour!

We all went to lunch at The Pub in downtown McKinney.  Afterwards, Jeff and I hit the Landon Winery for a tasting while the others shopped.  Later in the afternoon, the "grown ups" looked around downtown McK.  I introduced Alicia and Kelsey to Sam Moon while we dropped off Tom, Jeff & Kaeton at Dave & Buster's.  Dinner was catered BBQ at Dad and Marilynn's.

Here are some pics.  I hope to get more sent to me by the CA gang.





We always have such a great time together.  It was great to see everyone, but the time was too short.  We're hoping they visit again soon!  (Hint, hint:  I know you're reading this, Aunt Ruth!!!!!)

Busy Summer!

We are a few weeks into our summer vacation, and it has already been so busy!  Todd is beating his head against his desk taking two grad school classes during the first five weeks of summer.  He is in class three afternoons a week in addition to an online class.  Working to maintain his stellar 4.0, Todd is working hard to get it all done.  I'm trying to entertain myself without making a bunch of noise in the house.

What's happened so far?  LOTS!  Our a/c motor was replaced ($$) after over two days without a/c, Whitney graduated from high school, my Dad's brother and his much of his family came in for a visit, happy hour with friends, a focus group to score some cash, and a "beginning of summer" party with school friends got our summer started.  Aeva turned 8, Will turned 4, and Todd had another birthday, too.  The pups are enjoying having us home and are (of course) still cute as ever!  I spent a handful of days in the Denver CO area visiting one of my sorority sisters, and we are now headed towards July.

Next on the blog: Posts with pics!

Thanksgiving 2010

All I need to say is LOTS of amazing food and loved ones.  What else would Thanksgiving need to be????  The spread of food was enough to truly feed an army.  That's just how we do it.  There was turkey, ham, dressing, 2 gravies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, green bean casserole, blackeyed pea soup, salad, creamed spinach, jello salad, deviled eggs, and probably other stuff I can't even remember.  Other family members took photos of the spread, but they aren't good about sharing photos like I am.  (hint hint)

This year we enjoyed lots of family - my Mom & Rick, my brother Jeffrey, my Dad & Joyce, Pat & Linda (Todd's Dad & his wife), my brother Michael, Danielle, Aeva & Will, and Todd and I.  We also had two friends - Jeff, who rents from my mom & Rick, and Diana, a friend of the family.  It was wonderful to be together, enjoy all of the food, and count our blessings.



Jeffrey & Dad



Dad, Linda & Pat

 

Todd, official family carver of all birds and pigs.



Linda & Joyce being pretty while waiting on food.

 

Nobody was willing to quit eating & look up to smile.



Thanksgiving dinner is a serious affair for Mike.



Will (age 3 1/2) loves Thanksgiving!



My sister in-law Danielle.



Mom sneaks a taste.  :)



Papa & Aeva (now 7 1/2)



Linda & Mom (my Mom & stepmom in-law)

The Happy Couple

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and found the opportunity to recognize the blessings in your life.  As I've told myself and others, "Life doesn't have to be perfect for you to be able to count the blessings you already have."

Rewind: Day Three in California

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Obviously school and life has gotten in the way of me blogging.  Well, here's a rewind (from about 90 days ago!) from our third day in the San Francisco Bay area.

We woke up very late in our awesome Monterey hotel room.  The biggest decision of the morning was whether I wanted to take a bath or a shower.  (I opted for the tub in case you are wondering.)  Upon checking out exactly at 12 noon, Todd and I headed over to Monterey's Fisherman's wharf  to find some lunch.  Walking around and sampling chowder from a few places on the way, it made it easy to decide we wanted chowder for lunch!

We had some fairly good food at a decent restaurant with really crappy service, and I got some more good pics while we sat there (forever).  Our primary entertainment was the seals.  They were great!  Reminding us of our dogs at home, the seals played, swam, showed off, sunbathed, and barked.  It was as if they were doing it all simply for our entertainment.  I really couldn't get enough of them.  Since I loved so many of the shots I took of seals, I'm including all of them.  :)

We left Monterey late afternoon & drove to Los Gatos to see my friend Penny, her husband, James, and their son, Matthew.  Penny and I met a few years ago, and their family recently moved to California.

Todd enjoyed driving the winding roads lined with tall trees.

I enjoyed the views from Penny's balcony.

Matthew enjoyed having company from Texas that expressed interest in his Hot Wheels.

After enjoying some good pizza at a Los Gatos restaurant, we said goodbye to our friends and headed back to Niles.  We spent a long evening chatting, drinking, and hot tubbing with Greg and Shareen, and prepared for a busy weekend ahead of us.

Ahead: Day 4 - Todd and Kristin hit Niles!

Rewind: San Francisco - Day Two

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Wednesday morning, we woke up to the cool breezes at Casa Pacifica and prepared for a new day of adventure.  After I learned to use the orange tree picker (which may have an official name), showered and packed, we headed out for Monterey.  It was about an hour drive from Niles, and we were looking forward to enjoying the scenery on the way down.  Not far on our trip, signs were beckoning us and we had to stop quickly.  The Gods of all things burger & fries were calling our names.  Who were we to ignore them?

Since there is not an In-N-Out Burger to be found in Texas (coming soon though!), you know we just HAD to!  If you've had In-N-Out before, then you know exactly what I'm talking about.  If you haven't, then you're missing out!

After ordering some good burgers and fries, eating them outdoors without sweating to death (another thing not to be found in Texas in July), we were again on our way.  Notice Todd's arm in the background . . . nobody touches the food before a photo is snapped!  :)

We headed into Monterey and went directly to our first destination --- The Monterey Bay Aquarium.  While as teachers we prefer not to be surrounded by children during our summer vacations, we were really excited about seeing the aquarium.  Enthralled by all it has to offer, we saw amazing exhibits of sea life and enjoyed the fantastic views of the bay.  Because of the tons of pics we took at the Aquarium, I'm adding a slide show here.  :)

 After a few hours at the aquarium, we ventured out for some shopping.  Of course we had to buy some t-shirts and postcards, and I tried to convince Todd that this hat was awesome!  I don't think he quite agreed.

I still laugh my ass off every time I see this!

After our shopping expedition was over, we hopped in the car and headed towards Carmel.  We took the famous & beautiful 17 Mile Drive.  Although we only drove maybe half of 17 Mile Drive (that's the actual name of the road), it was so beautiful that it took us a long time because of all the stops and photos taken!

There were amazing views, sea life, beautiful beaches, deer, amazing homes, chilly water, and crisp, clean air.  We truly could have spent hours just cruising around and taking pics. As we headed in to Carmel-by-the-Sea, we stopped at Carmel Beach to admire more beauty, remember how freaking hot it was in Dallas, and relax. 

Walking around Carmel, we saw many shops and restaurants. After checking out menus and using our trusty tourist map, we decided on Flaherty's for dinner.  They had awesome seafood, so it was a great decision.  We were spent, but we had no hotel reservations.  Since we knew the area a bit better and there were more hotel options, we headed back to Monterey.  We landed at the Hotel Pacific.  Another score!

Since we arrived so late (after 9pm), the hotel upgraded us to a suite and we enjoyed all of the space and amenities.  As you'll see in the pics, the suite had an awesome king-sized feather bed, big tub and separate shower, open windows, fireplace, flat screen TV, breakfast nook, patio/balcony, and more.  It was so "California!"  We wanted to spend more time there - as in move in for a while.  :)

By the time we got settled, we hit the sack.  We slept for almost twelve hours (!!!) and took our own sweet time getting ready.  We literally left at noon the next day - check out time.

Tomorrow . . . Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf, dining, seals, lots of seals, even more seals, a drive to Los Gatos, views from my friend Penny's house, dinner, and back to Cafe Pacifica for beverages and bed.  I promise to try to finish blogging this trip before  . . . Christmas.  I really do.