I like to Move it, Move it!

     So, like every single year...one of my resolutions is to get healthier. I had baby #2 in Dec 2010 and feel more blah than I ever had. YES! I know it was over 2 years ago, shush. hahaha. Back in the day, I was a runner. My college bff and I lived in the gym every evening, but alas, now I'm an adult and there are responsibilities and schedules to keep. BUT I have made a commitment to attend no less than 2 zumba classes each week. I have been to two. Don't judge!

     I also just discovered the idea of tracking the number of miles ran throughout the year. Just tallying them up on your calendar at the end of the week. What a great idea! I'm doing it. I usually go in and cool down on the treadmill after class. I'm going to stick some running in there. I know I can do it. I also know that I deserve it and owe it to myself and my family to get fit and healthy again and feel good! My mid term goal is running the Susan G. Komen 5K in June. I participate every year, but this year, I'm running if it kills me. And you know what? There are ladies in pink (SURVIVORS) that run. So for goodness sake, if they can do it, so can I. I cannot wait to see my mile total at the end of the year!

Move your body!
After all...isn't that everything? (To feel healthy!)

~A

The Little Yellow Desk

Ok, I'm doing this for real. I swear. Here we go...

This summer I got into redoing a desk to put in our dining room. We have an old farmhouse. Our dining room is blue with crisp white trim. I needed a space in there to keep the laptop, phone, mom business, etc. So away I went. I read up on a few other blogs on how to redo furniture...and unfortunately I couldn't even begin to tell you which ones or where I found the information to link it back, as I just took what information I found to be helpful and went from there. (Blog fail I know). I took what I found and put it together to best suit my needs...and honestly...motivation.

With an 8 and 2 year old running around I had to make this as easy as possible. My original plan was to paint a beautiful white and distress it. I (obviously) took off the hardware before I started.

1. I started with sanding. Aaaaand sanding and sanding. I used a hand sander. One of those beasts that vibrates your entire body and makes your hand go numb for hours. ha! This is where I became indecisive. The desk looked cool sanded unevenly and "distressed". Now...I had visions of sealing it right then and there! AND I had yellow in the back of my mind as an accent color to the dining room. So now, I wanted to refinish this desk 3 different ways...Here's the desk after that...

Yes I did a crappy job, no I don't care! haha!

2. After sanding I hit the edges w a quick layer of black spray paint. When I distressed it, I didn't want bare wood showing, but the dark.

3. I decided to go for it and paint the desk yellow. After all, it hadn't cost us a dime. If I ruined it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. I attempted to use a spray paint w primer and the desk rejected it. It bubbled and just flat out repelled in some spots. So, after that debacle, I decided to use a canned paint and put it on with a foam roller. That went much better.

4. In between coats I sanded and painted more. I lost count of how many coats, but I just kept going until I was satisfied with the coverage.

5. When the desk was all painted, I finished it with Johnson's Paste Wax, especially the top. Let me tell you, that stuff gives you a workout (either that or I did it wrong). Ha!

Here is the finished product!!

It brings a little ray of sunshine into our little home. And isn't that everything?



 ~Andrea

Welcome!

Hello! Well, I've had this blog officially since 2007! (I have hidden impertinent posts now that I am hoping this will catch on). I've recently really enjoyed following some very wonderful blogs (that you can view to the right), and though I'm not in their ranks, I want to give it a whirl.

I'm in my 30s. Married to the love of my life. J & I really are made for each other. We often answer in "surround sound" and then utter an "Ewwww" afterwards. Our house gets a little rambunctious at times with two boys running around. S is 8 about to be 9 next month and C just turned 2. They keep us hopping!

I grew up in a small town, in a close-knit community and wouldn't trade it for the world. Come college years I attended for elementary and Spanish education. I'm currently a TESOL grad student. I'm a certified teacher and have taught grades 1/2, 4 and Spanish K-12!

When it comes to our boys, we did some things differently this time around. S was just lucky to make it out alive. haha! JUST KIDDING! But you grow and educate yourself on more areas of parenting, etc. With C I got a little "crunchy". I never thought that was me! We delayed vac (just spread them out), BF (did with S too), BW, CD, delayed solids and made our own baby food. None of it was nearly as involved or as "hard" as I thought it'd be. I was working at the time C was born and went back to work ~ 12 weeks. Come June my position was cut to part time and we made the decision that my time and energy was best spent with C. I'm back to subbing and at the moment it's good for everyone. We have a wonderful SAHM that watches C and her daughter and he just love each other.

I like fashion (but reasonable fashion), decorating, homes, reading (when I get a chance). I've gotten into cooking a bit, but I have what I call cooking add, because I CANNOT pay attention when I'm cooking! I get distracted and well...there's ruined dinner. I like to have flowers, etc all around in the summer...but as my husband jokes, I have a "gangrene" thumb. Eh well, I still try.

As we go, I welcome questions and comments. Any that aren't appropriate will be removed, as I'd like to keep this an upbeat and positive atmosphere. You will find I will rant, and I will also rave. There's always balance.

And after all...isn't that everything?

~Andrea