Projects

{WARNING! THIS BLOG HAS A LOT OF PICTURES!} haha.

Here are pictures of all of the projects that we did last Saturday.

Here is the dresser before:


And here is the dresser after, matching the rest of our bedroom furniture:


Here is my chandelier with new glass {I love the crackles that it shows in the light!}:


And here is the mirror that I got at Hobby Lobby to go above the piano...It had a big dent in the side so it was on sale. All I had to do is hammer the dent out. Duh. I felt like there would have been at least a few people at Hobby Lobby {the store of craftiness deluxe after all} that would have discovered this easy fix and bought it before me....but I was really lucky in this find:


The best part about this mirror:



This past week I have been working out and hanging out with my friend Jennie Karges. She is part of the Vaterlaus family that my family has known for at least 30 years in Tucson and now, up here in Chandler/Mesa/Gilbert. I've known her for a while but this is the first time her and I have really hung out.

Jennie is trying out her hand at {photography}! She is getting more experience by having a lot of free photoshoots with her friends and she let me come along with her on one {with my cousin as the model}! It was fun and her and I helped to give eachother pose ideas and camera angles. She had a really nice camera she was trying out and she had a lot of great pictures and angles that helped me see a different perspective.

I just took along my little point and shoot cannon and edited a lot of these on picnik but I still think they turned out nicely. Here are the photos that I took on Thursday:

This one was outside of Milano's:



Jennie was able to find a lot of cool backgrounds with texture. She is a lot more motivated than I am! haha. I just got the benefits of taking pictures too:



The Mesa Art Center:



Blue wall:



Abandoned House:



She did a great job and wasn't afraid to get a little dirty...



We had fun!


Kevin had fun too. He wanted to see if he could make this jump across the canal. {he made it twice!} crazy legs.


I am more motivated to actually consider photography. Jennie is taking a class in the fall and I will probably join her. YAY!

Busy

I have been so busy.
Started a new routine/ritual with Jennie Karges.
Work out every day through the week and relax at the pool after.
Today was day one and we weighed and measured ourselves for the "before" effect. I will have to take pictures too I think. Funniest part is we are only an inch off on a few measurements and we happen to weigh EXACTLY the same.

Good Sore: my quads are killing from the squats.
Bad Sore: I got a mega sunburn due to my lack of common sense and sunscreen.
Remedy: Apparently if you rub Noxima onto your skin like lotion and just rub it in, it will take the red away. Hopefully it will leave somewhat of a tan.

Kendall and I did so much for the house this past weekend.
We...
-Finished painting the little strip of vaulted wall in our front room.
-Painted all of the baseboards.
-Bought new chandelier glasses for our front room (hung them up).
-Sanded and Painted our bedroom dresser.
-Bought knobs for my rolltop dresser (put them on the dresser).
-Hung up our curtain rods and curtains for the living room.

all on Saturday.

And now I have to go because I am too busy and I will have to post more later.

Down

I'm feeling down.

For a lot of reasons.

Books

From the time I was in kindergarten and learned to read, I have been an avid reader. It runs in my family which is pretty neat because we trade books back and forth and suggest new ones to read. I am the kind of reader who can read for hours and hours until the book is done {or until I'm sore}. I really value my summer reading time because I can read in a completely carefree, guilt-free way and not stress about any textbooks that I should be reading for class instead.

However, I have a BIG issue with books. For some reason, I have the hardest time bringing myself to buy a book unless someone has told me to buy it. I can't read a book unless someone suggests it or gives it to me or tells me to read it. I feel like it's too much of a risk to just randomly say "oh here this looks good". What if it sucks? What if it is so boring that I can't even finish it? What if I waste the money on a horrible book when I could have just really enjoyed a book that was recommended? What if....

Maybe this is because my dad always gave me books from his bookshelf and I liked them. Maybe it's because my sister and I always exchange. Maybe it's because until I got married, my mom would buy me books at Christmas and Easter. All I know is, I CAN'T do it!

Luckily, I have found a quick and easy solution to my predicament. The LIBRARY! This way, I can pick out random, non-suggested books without the many negative consequences of purchasing such books. If the book sucks, I can take it back! YAY.

I am a nerd.

Now this epiphany happens just after I get this Bookman's gift card that I need to spend. So, I decide, I will ask for some opinions and suggestions on books to read. There have got to be people out there with similar tastes in reading and they will give me an out. They will give me the name of a book so I can buy it and be done with this whole "gift certificate" nonsense. So I ask, and people do respond with book names and I decide to read the publisher's note to check out the books they've suggested.

Do people realize that I don't want to educate myself with a textbook? Do people actually enjoy reading political jargon and viscious attacks against other political parties? Do people read for PLEASURE? HELLO??

Half of the suggested books were political, philosophical, or historical... which is great if I'm feeling ambitious and smart and it's during the semester or something.

I want to read for fun. Which to me excludes all learning and enters the world of {fiction}.

Granted, I didn't specify that I wanted to read fiction. I just really think it is rude that people can't let others think for themselves and give an honest suggestion without trying to impose political stance and philosophical views upon someone. I feel like it's a big push saying "You need to believe what I believe on this matter. Read this."

Apparantly, I should no longer ask for suggestions on this matter so I will have to leave it at that.

And maybe all of those poli sci and philosophy nuts are thinking "What is with this girl? Doesn't she want to read about real world issues and real things and educate herself?"

And maybe I'm silly for not wanting to.

Newest Family Member

SPARTACUS!

Let me tell you, the past two days have been {crazy}! A friend that i've known since Junior High posted on facebook about her mother giving away a free kitten on Tuesday. Coincidentally, Kendall had told me a few days before that if I found a kitten or cat for free, I could get it. So, I texted her, she texted back, and we came up with a time and place to meet and for me to take the kitten away with me!

Silly me, I got so excited and spent Wednesday morning looking up cat names and making a list of things to get at petsmart afterwards. Everything was going well, and I had my shoes on and keys in my hand to go get the kitten when I get a phone call from my friend, telling me that her family waited until {this moment} to tell her they decided on keeping the kitten.

I was so wrapped up and invested in this kitten that this refusal took a big hit on my emotional high and put me in tears. Maybe it was because the only pet i've ever actually called my own was a beta fish when I was 12. Maybe it was because my brother's cat used to be my buddy and i've missed his companionship. Either way, it was a very sad afternoon.

And let me say that I have the best husband ever. When I told him that it was a no go on the kitten, he texted me "what the crap, now I want a cat!".
THEN
He didn't text me back for a half an hour and eventually sent me a name and a number of some lady he found on craigslist that had free kittens out in queen creek!

We called, went to her house and came back with our new Tabby/Calico mix : Spartacus!





He spent the night pouncing on my head and eating my hair so he's NOT allowed to sleep in our room with us for a while, but other than that, he's had a great time pouncing around the house and taking naps on the sofa.

So, I still got my kitten...and i'm actually glad that the other kitten didn't work out because the other kitten was found and had its whiskers shaved off and who knows what else...poor thing!

Pictures

Lots of pictures this weekend.

It was my niece's baby blessing so my sister and I got her all dolled up a few days before and took a bunch of beautiful pictures so that we could put them around the house for Sunday.

I'm still learning and I'm starting to realize what is and what isn't adequate lighting.

I really wish that I could take a {photography} class at ASU but they are always completely full every time I try and grab one.

I want to be a better photographer and actually learn.

Right now I am just one of the millions of people who know how to photoshop and therefore call themselves a photographer and an artistic genius...but I only call myself that at home ;)

My father in law is a photographer but he only does small side projects and weddings in his spare time. His full time job is a lot of work so I don't want to bother him about it in his spare time to relax....one day I will find the courage.

It was also my niece Claire's birthday so I took a few pictures of her outside in the BEAUTIFUL weather.

Homemade Motivation

I might just have to blow this up big and give it to Kendall for something...haha. I made it myself thanks to this {create your own customized motivational poster} site. What do you think? Can you tell me who said this and what it is from?? haha

San Diego

Well, the bad news was that it was rainy and cold the entire time so our plans {aka beach day, the zoo, sea world} were all canceled for this trip and will have to happen some other time.... :/ I was really bummed at first....but the good news is that we still were able to enjoy a weekend away, on a boat, in a different state where it wasn't hott for once and relax!

I took a lot of pictures so here is a huge amount of photos for you to see:

crazy parasailer:

us on the boat:


Kendall stealing money from a fountain... :)


soldier cemetary:


View from the boat:


Random bull art:


Kendall and his new friend:


Kendall on the boat:


Some duck friends that hung around the whole weekend:


View from in the boat:


There's more but I figure this is good for blogging purposes. It was still a fun trip, and the good thing is, I can still get a tan here....just not with a nice beach :)