Labor of Love Part II

I changed out the hardware and added my own style to it all
I love my milk glass and owl!
I plan to keep all my craft supplies in the bottom and
use the shelves for seasonal things
I am so in love with this!
The hubs said I should sell it
No Way! It was a labor of love!

Labor of Love Part I

I inherited this china hutch when my Mother in Law passed away in '03.
It stayed  downstairs in the basement FOREVER
and then I began to prime it for painting sometime in '05 or '06
then I never finished it
I was thinking about giving it away selling it on Cl for cheap
BUT
I changed my mind and decided I was going to keep it and make it look great again!

My first big mistake was priming with this horrid pink primer and not allowing
enough time for it to dry before pain int the first coat of red.
Apparently, red is a hard color to get right when mixing and
I knew it was going to be bad after the first coat.

The pink you see in the above pictures is the primer
when you add red on top of that
you get HOT PINK!
WoWSERS!
Hot Pink was not the look I was going for so I had to go back
to Home Depot and figure out if I wanted to pain it all over again or
strip and start over

I chose to start over and buy stripper
$40 later with stripper and cheap brushes
I began to strip this over fall break in Oct.
Stripping pain is a lot of hard work and a huge mess!
when the paint comes off, it looks like gooey snot
just sayin'
Grant wanted to help scrape so I let him
Always wants to help DO something!

I didn't take any pictures of the stripping part
But it took a really long time and I had to use a lot of elbow grease
to get the paint out of creases and corners

Oh and I forgot to mention that I took off the smal spindles you see
I filled in holes with wood putty and let dry
after stripping and cleaning it all of
I had to sand it!
AGAIN, a lot of work and time
I had to sand with 120 grit first
all over
then go back and sand with 220 grit paper
When it was all sanded down
she got one more good washing with water and
I let it dry for a couple of days

FINALLY
my hutch was ready to be painted

Go to Part II to see Before?after

cali

I guess I should post something before everyone thinks I've dropped off the planet....well I guess the handful of people who I know read about my boring life.
We start the 2nd week of Fall Break around here. I love the school system we are in for that reason alone....oh, and two weeks in the Spring! Love that whole modified year round thing-y!
Heather and I hosted our 2nd Craft Camp on the 29th, it was a blast! Go HERE and you can see her pics! I was a lame-o and didn't shoot anything. My photography skills are lacking! By the time we wrapped all of that up, I had to rush home and change my clothes and get to the airport for a 2:50pm flight to SoCal! That's short for Southern California....just an FYI :D
I told Grant man that I was going on s Scrapbook retreat and yes, I know we are not supposed to lie to our children but he wouldn't let me live it down if I told him where I was actually going! One of the perks of having family work for the airlines is that if there are any open seats in 1st Class, they put you there! I was really fortunate to get First Class to Dallas where I changed planes and then right as I got comfy in coach headed for LAX, the gate agent ushered me up front to First Class. I felt special, honored, relaxed! They served a yummy dinner and I had a little bit of wine to ease my rushed nerves. The weather in CA was hot but nothing like here in TN. I spent all day Sunday at Disneyland with Melody and Angela. That was wonderful, no agenda, no cares, it was fun just being there with them. We spent Monday in downtown L.A. at Doctor's appts. My "sister" Susan is having neck surgery in a couple of weeks and she had to get some pre-op stuff done. When we left the last Dr.'s office, we went to a place called The Grove. I've been there before, it's like an outdoor mall, very high end kinda stuff, a little bit awkward for this Nashville girl. We ate a late lunch at Cheesecake Factory, went thought a portion of the Farmer's Market (to die for Heather!) and then meandered over to Santa Monica Blvd to pick up cupcakes from a notorious place called SPRINKLES. Yes they were good but truly if I want a good homemade cupcake I go to this place! We headed on back to the house and chilled. We did some shopping and I got to indulge in In & Out burger which again, also a great hamburger joint. Wednesday was kind of a slow day and we ate dinner at a place called the Lazy Dog cafe which was yumm-o! I have to say compared to restaurants around here, CA has a million more choices than we could ever imagine! I had a red eye flight back to Nashville so when we finally got off the ground @ 11pm, I tried to sleep but really dozed in and out of conciseness, no First Class this time, but there was a seat between me and the other person so it was all good!
I landed in Nashville at 4:30am and I wasn't as tired as I thought I would be. I came home and crashed for a bit. There is a two hour difference and I feel it every time I come home. I know it sounds really crazy but each time I get on a plane, I feel so much closer to God and when I saw the sun set on the horizon above the clouds, it just makes me almost want to cry looking at the glory of God's handiwork. It's just amazing to me.
Well, this last week of break I'm working on finishing up a china hutch that I painted the wrong color, had to strip and now I'm at the sanding stage. I am also cleaning and pressure washing the deck to get ready for a stain. I will be pausing a few times for fun and Grant and I are on marathon of UNO games. He loves beating me!

random=ness

I haven't blogged in awhile. I certainly haven't been using my fancy pants camera either. I don't think I've picked it up since May. I guess I can attribute that to the circumstances of the pst few months.
I am still job hunting, DAILY! I pray fervently for God to open up a different opportunity for me meanwhile, I do what I can to make a difference in a few students. One student that I am so concerned about was in my RTI group last yeaar. This year he's in 5th grade and I can bet hewas already failing the 3rd week.I can't for the life of me figure out his issues. He's very disorgancized and I offered to tutou him for $10/hour. That's dirt cheap but his mom has yet to call me back to schedule anything. As concerned as I am about him, I won't be chasing parents down to tutor their kids. The saddest thing of all is that there has to be proof that he's failing in order to receive SpEd. I think that's crazy but I'm not the rule maker. He doesn't have a clue what he's supposed to be doing. He is in survival mode. I pray for him and hope that the school psychologist will be able to get some answers. I'm just mad as heck that it has tken 9 weeks to figure out he's not prerforming at grade level. I for one as a parent can't imaging having a child who is in this situation and not wanting to do something quicky and fervently to get the help my child needs. This is the part of being a teacher that truly frustrates me. The responsibility of parents to ensure that theri children get a decent education has been overshadowed by coddling them and their kids that they are just too precious to push higher expectations on. Even if I wasn't a teacher, I would still be very involved in Grant's school work. I am so blessed ad thankful that he is one smart kid and school isn't a big frustration for him. I know we aren't perfect parents but surely we should all agree that we can help our kids be succesful no matter what extent we have to go to. Okay, I'll get off my soapnox!

In other news, I am spoiling myself in a few days and going to CA.! I have to keep it on the DL so Grant doesn't find out or he'd have a hissy fit. Not I only do I need some time to myself but I deserve it with all the crap I've been through. But first, I have to do Craft Camp and I just can't wait! I love this idea and I love that I get to do this with one of my bestest friends in the whole world.
Speaking of bf's, she is having a baby soon and I decided why not "try" to make a blanket for the budnle of sweetness! I started and finished my first quilt top and now I have to baste it and bind it. Almost sounds like I'm cooking something. I can't wait for the finished product. I think I have found a new form of therapy. Quitls!
When I get back from CA, I've got a list of "to-do's"for fall break including some time fro fun. I can't believe how quickly fall has come and right around the corner is Christmas.
Well, that's it for now I suppose.

Saturday

Bill took Grant off to Bible Quizzing this morning. This opened up a window for me to clean my little heart out around this place. Every time I think my house is a complete disaster, I make myself feel better by watching an episode of Hoarders. Now that.....is crazy!
My house is cluttered, I know this but there are 3 adults and 1 child living in this 1200+sq. feet house. I can't tell you how many times I have cleaned Grant's room while he's "out" and today was no different. The kid could probably win an award for the most Lego pieces owned by an 8 year old. Legos and I have a love/hate relationship. Yes, they keep him busy but he leaves them everywhere. I try not to fuss too much, unless I step on one and then I'm perturbed. I spent about two hours trashing, cleaning, and re-organizing. I took out a utility table that I was hoping he would use as a desk but ended up being a catch all for all the Legos. It looks really good now, but it won't stay that way forever. While I was working away, I had this grand idea. I started making a list of all the activities Grant could do whenI hear those two annoying words...."I'm Bored". I made this list and as of now,there's about 14 things on it for him to choose from. Cool huh?!
I have been catching up on all the laundry, my mom swept and mopped the floors and vacuumed. I took things up and down the stairs to the basement. Found homes for all the staples we bought at Sam's Club last weekend. Stripped the beds and changed the kitty box. I'm still not done but I had to sit down for a bit because my bones are hurting.
I think Bill took Grant to the TN Vols game. It wasn't that big of a match up so tickets are probably pretty reasonable. Grant has never been to a game so I know he'll be excited.
Tomorrow is church and then I will probably come home and do nothing!! This week at school will be a bit different. I have to go to a workshop type thing on Monday and Tuesday is Parent/Teacher conferences. I have a few appointments on this day so that's nice I have one day to get that done. I will be pretty busy the rest of the week so I'm looking forward to a shorter one.
Well, that's all for now.....c-ya on the flip side!

nothing about nothing

I just finished mowin the backyard and I am thoroughly disgusted with the landscaping around my fence. I just hate all those weeds, vines and kudzu! I want to be one of those people at Lowe's on a Saturday morning and have that yard crashers guy ask me if I need a backyard makeover! Yes Please!!!!
I am beginning to wonder how much it would cost to get all that killed, removed, whatever it takes. Ever heard of kidzu? I neve knew what all that stuff was until I was watching a show that discussed weeds. I figured out tht tthis is exactly what I have in my backyard and it grwos like a monter. When we first moved into this house, the tree in the back corner was tiny. Now it has grown about 50 ft. high and the trunk of it has grown into thechain link fence. Also, my the neighbor has some sort of vine that is choking out the tree limbs on the tree. It's disastrous and I hate it! I wish I could do it all myself but I know it would just frustrate me and it wold be totally worth it for someone else to do it and removeall that garbage.
oh well, just cmplaining about nothing.....I guess!

a Message

Romans 8:31 MSG
"So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:  They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us."