Sunday, January 20, 2013

Decorate 3 areas with less than $6


I am not the kind of person who decorates my home once and than just lives with it.  
I feel that your home should always be evolving, just like you.
You are not the same person who moved into your home 2 years ago.
You change and you home would reflect that!
That being said...I don't have the budget to redo my home often.  
So I often redecorate or refresh my home with what I have.

Just because that clock has ALWAYS been in your kitchen 
does not mean it can't now be in your living room!!

Here are my 3 areas I RE did.
Behind the door, next to the window and in the hallway.
So I took down the lattice display and separated it.
I moved the old wood, hinge, wire, & rope and hung them next to the window.
I then took the lattice, picture, & wreaths (from next to the window) and hung them in the hall.
Now I needed to come up with something for behind the door.
I had an old door in the garage.
I made the door into a coat rack with a shelf.
DONE!!!
And I had it all on hand (most already on my walls).
All I needed to buy was the wooden pegs.
The pegs come in sets of 2 and are less them 2 dollars a set.

Check back later this week,
I’ll be posting step by step directions of how I made my door.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

working towards my goals: get healthy


I set my goals for 2013 and one of my goals is to get healthy.

Healthy is so much more than a goal weight.
My first step was to cut out pop…This is a huge one for me.
I won’t even tell you how much diet pop I WAS drinking in a day.
It’s really embarrassing.
I am proud to say I have not had a pop in over 2 weeks. 

I recently got a membership to the gym in town.
I’ve been going about every other day.
I need to start going more and staying longer but I’m making progress.

I LOVE FOOD!!!!
I know it’s not realistic for me to say I’m not going to eat what I like,
so I’m really trying to just watch portions.
I know I have a long way to go….But I’m plugging along.


Last summer I was at the pool with a friend
and she told me she had lost a lot of weight.
I looked at her sitting in her bikini
(yes she is that skinny, she can sit in a bikini)
Thought to myself that she had no idea what it was like.
Well I was wrong.
 Although, now she looked fabulous with the long skinny legs and flat tummy.
She really did win the weight loss battle.
But she didn’t do it alone.
How did she do it????  Of course I asked!
She said that one day she looked at herself in the mirror and prayed.
“Lord I know this is not how you want me to be.
Please give me the strength/willpower/tools to be who  you know I should be.”
Ok I’m not going to lie,
When I first heard this I was disappointed in a way
because I was hoping she would tell me
she took a pill, ate a certain thing, or did a specific workout.
But I soon realized she is SO right.
I often think I can handle things on my own, but I don’t have to.
I have Gods support…why not use it!
Why do I feel like “I got this” when it should we “we got this”.
I know that he has given me to tools to be healthy!
Over the past few months my skinny mini bikini friend and I have became great friends.
We talk about weight loss and health often (duh we are girls).
She is a big supporter for my weightless and healthy changes **THANKS**.



I love it.  I think it is very fitting. 
It reminds me if I want to spend this summer NOT hiding behind 
cover-ups and beach towels I need to get in gear NOW!

I’ll keep you updated on my progress!

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Family Pictures / Hallway display


We have taken a family picture every year since we have been married. 
I always use the picture on our Christmas card.
And then this year I decided to put up a display down our dark narrow hall.
I first painted white stripes down the hall
Then I found a mismatch of frames in the basement
and spray painted them all black
(the pictures and frames are all different sizes and I think it adds more interest this way)
And went down town to the sign shop
and had them cut out years 2005-2012 in black vinyl
(I now have my own cricut to cut them out myself)
I them hung them.
*Tip*
I put a small amount of sticky tack on all 4 corners of the frames
to keep them from shifting at all and getting crooked.

Here are our pictures through the years.
Awe...I LOVE PHOTOS!!!
I set up our photo every year and have someone 
(usually my little brother) take the picture.
2005
2006
 2007
2008
 2009
 2010
2011
 2012

How often do you take family pictures?
What do you do with your family pictures?

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Coop upgrades


We are really enjoying having Chickens.
But as time goes by we are making adjustments to the coop.
First, we had to add more roosts for the chickens.
We originally just had a ladder and it worked great
for our little white bantams.
But when we added our red hens to the mix it didn’t work as well.
Not because there was not enough room
but because they choose to be segregated!
So we added some poles across the width of the coop.
They are actually composite deck spindles.
The hubs first built two like this.
Then screwed them into the wall.
They seem to like it already!
Our next project was a chicken feeder.
We had a typical feeder.
And our ladies always tip the feeder out and eat off the floor.
The old feeder was always filled with straw and poop…YUCK
I HAD AN IDEA!
So I went to town and picked up a 3 pack of desk organizers for $3.00
I simply screwed them into the wall.
I wanted them up off the ground to prevent the chickens from pooping in them.
Also since the nesting boxes are located over the feeders
I don’t have to worry about them roosting over them.
The ladies found them right away and started to eat.
Also in this picture you can see that the water is up on blocks.
This has solved the problem of dirty chicken water!
We did this a couple weeks ago
Should have done it sooner!!!

Here is the link to the original coop post!