And the TV's Off the Floor

As you may know, we moved into our house in September. Since that day, our living room TV has been sitting on the floor. Just chillin' there. The thing is, I have wanted an enclosed TV stand for pretty much my whole life, but they aren't cheap. So I have been waiting... and waiting... and waiting...and our poor little (literally, little) TV has been sitting on the floor, just wanting some love.

I was okay with it, as I was willing to wait for one I really wanted, but when we hosted a bunch of teenagers for a weekend church event, and one of the first things one of the kids asked me was "Did you just move here? Because your TV is on the ground," I knew something had to be done.

I looked on Craigslist with no luck, and then one day I stumbled upon this (free) beauty in a closet at a local non-profit.  I knew this poor little stand would never see the light of day. But I saw it, and I saw beyond it's exterior and knew I could give it a home. Here's what I found:

I know, the wood finish is a little groovy. So what did I do? I brought it home, and I bought a little sanding sponge thing, and sanded it a little. And honestly, I don't think the sanding did anything, probably because I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm pretty sure it was a big fat waste of time. Anyway, after I "sanded" it, I got a bucket of paint from the garage that the previous homeowners left, and I started painting. And after I put one coat of paint on, I painted some more. And after that I painted more. After FOUR coats of paint, I decided that would have to be good enough. So far, mind you, this project had cost me like $2.00 or however much that ridiculous sand sponge was.

Now for the dramatic and glorious ending. I went to the love of my life Anthropologie, and bought two adorable knobs that were six dollars each. Are you ready for the big reveal? First, scroll back up at the before pictures.

And here comes the after:

Impressed? I have to say I am pretty impressed and I LOVE it. It isn't enclosed, but that's okay. I'll take a $14 awesomely cute stand any day. (-:

What's even better is that I got a few other pieces that I will be working on soon. So... more to come.

And here's a pic for the road of lunch today with a friend. Have a fabulous day!

~Kathryn 

Garden: Take 3

You likely remember me talking about my longings for a garden. Well, as pretty much everything else, nothing ever goes quite as planned, which makes things more interesting. But I am bound and determined to have some sort of organic harvest by the end of the summer!

I decided to go with a raised garden, because that would require the least amount of physical labor on my part, and would be an easy starter garden. So I ordered a kit from Amazon, and visited my local organic gardening store.

The kit came, and I started assembling it. It's smaller than it looks in the pictures - it's 3.5 feet by 7 feet:

 I know. There will be dogs in all the pics. Just prepare yourself. So I laid down that black film so that grass wouldn't grow up into the garden.

 

Next, I got it all sturdy and ready to go for the dirt:

Lookin' good, eh? I was pretty impressed with myself. I was working hard, feeling like I was all...outdoorsy. Oh, except that I forgot to put on sunscreen, so I totally got burned while working outside. Brilliant.

The next task was filling the garden with 100 million pound bags of soil. I don't know how much they weighed in actuality, but I know they were probably like 50 pounds. Seriously.  I almost gave myself a hernia. Here they are:

Notice what is taking place in the picture below. This haunting scene is a re-occurring nightmare that has taken a few weeks to fully resolve. And lots of plant purchases due to the canine appetite for vegetable plants. More to come.

Five bags and lots of sweat later, this is what we have:

Looks pretty stinkin' awesome, huh? So, next comes the fun part! The planting! I purchased a cherokee purple tomato, a roma tomato, some basil, some purple kale, two types of jalapenos, and a red bell pepper. Oh, and some onions, but those became a casualty of war that were not resurrected.

We put up pink trellis things (don't remember what they're called) for the tomatoes, and then I got a green fence to go around the garden, because we realized the only critters we were going to have to worry about sabotaging our garden would be poodles. After they mistook the garden for their own personal sandbox, we high tailed it to the local Home Depot and got the fence. Here is the garden, all planted:  

After we planted everything, I put an organic fish fertilizer on there that's supposed to be pretty stinkin' legit. Ha. No pun intended, but that stuff does stink. Like fish. But it must taste good, because it made my dogs try to eat all the vegetables. So that was impressive.  It amazed me how they managed to get through the fence to the vegetables. Seriously. Through the fence, and they ATE the plants. Back to the store we went. Nature finds a way, I suppose.

By the time it was all said and done, Mark was pretty much BFF with the garden store staff and ended up buying some chicken wire. Fingers are crossed that the problem is solved. I will definitely keep you posted. So far, so good. I can even tell one of the tomatoes that I planted first has grown a lot. WOO!!!!

Any gardening tips from you pros out there? I'm trying to turn my thumb somewhat green!

~Kathryn

The Prom Report

Well, folks, Karlie's first prom came and went. And it was as success... there were some hurdles.... but we all pulled through without harm.

Karlie started getting ready during the day on Saturday, and found out that her date had injured his head while playing rugby that morning. (Now, I don't know what you are thinking, but I was thinking that perhaps playing rugby on the morning of prom day isn't the best idea.) Anyway, so he tells her that he has a "mark" on his forehead, and that it looks pretty bad. Well, of course Karlie is gracious, but she's kind of wondering what this is going to look like. I suggested that she have him send a pic, you know, so there aren't any surprises. But, no, she said she would wait to see it in real life. The plan was for him to pick her up at 4:30.

A few of her friends were over helping her get ready, and at about 4:00 she put her dress on. I don't know if you remember me saying how she had borrowed a prom dress? Well, she had tried it on once before for maybe a minute, and decided to wear it. So here we are, 30 minutes before go time, and she realizes that the dress is slightly too big. And by slightly too big, I mean, the strapless dress won't stay up. Not exactly the kind of show she's wantin' to put on. So, while I am internally freaking out and wondering what dress I have that she might want to wear that would fit because her current one clearly won't work, I am externally the ever calm parental figure that says it's no big deal and I'll just sew the strap back on that once was attached to the dress.

Inside, I'm yelling at myself, "You're going to sew the strap back on? You've never sewn a strap in your entire life! And now you have minutes to make a prom dress fit! Bad idea." So, as soon as I left the bathroom, so did my ever so calm persona, and I started running around like a crazy person looking for my sewing kit, which was exactly where I thought it was, but in my frantic searching, I overlooked it. Mark and I had a stressful few minutes rummaging through everything, and then finally, I found it. Victory. So, I sat down at the table, needle, thread, and thimble in my trembling hands, and sewed that strap right back on there. As if I was a professional seamstress. I'm telling ya, that strap wasn't going anywhere. So, I ran back upstairs with the dress, handed it to Karlie as if it was no big deal and I had done it in my sleep, and she gave me the biggest hug and smile that just melted my heart.

So, did the strap work? Well, sort of. It held the front up. We had to do some additional safety pinning, but with the help of our sweet friend and neighbor, Jane, the dress fit Karlie perfectly and we knew it wasn't going anywhere.

Back to McRugby. So, it's about 4:30 and Karlie hears from her date that he's going to be late because he's icing his forehead. Not a good sign. And that apparently he now has stitches (but they're invisible). Poor guy! So finally, he arrives, and Karlie makes her big grand entrance down the stairs, looking beautiful. And nothing could have prepared us for the mark on his forehead. I mean. Wow. Poor guy. Karlie's eyes got big for a second, then she reeled it in and proceeded with the before prom festivities.

Karlie gave the boutonniere her best effort, but in the end, I had to fix it so it wouldn't fall off. (-:

We wanted to take pictures with Karlie, too, before she left:

Impressed with the strap? Yeah, I figured you were. 

So are you ready to see the injury? I will say that the photo does not do it justice and the poor guy had a headache and a head that was STILL bleeding. Karlie said that more people talked about his forehead than her dress. Which is of course, a huge tragedy on prom night. (-:

Here it is:

And here's the photo-shopped version:

Much better, eh? (-: 

And so they left, had a great time, got home late, and we have successfully gotten through the first round of proms. 

Bring back some memories? Did you have any "prom drama"?

~Kathryn

Prom

Oh, Prom. Do you remember yours? I'm assuming you pretty much all do remember unless you've tried to block it out. I have been thrust right back into prom and all of it's drama, as Karlie is entering prom season.

Perhaps you were the girl who had the steady boyfriend, so there was no drama, just the understanding that you guys would go together and have a great time. Or, perhaps, you were like me. The relationship phobe. The girl who was liked mainly by the weird quirky guys who she was afraid to get asked to prom by. The girl who was afraid to say no when asked by said quirky guy. The girl who was wishing for a certain guy or two to ask her but knew that it wouldn't happen. The girl who took matters into her own hands and asked a guy to avoid being asked by quirky guys. If you were like me, prom brought on some serious anxiety.

Neither of my proms were bad. I went with friends both years. And I had a good time. Hung out with friends, ate good food, danced (even though at my school nobody danced... weird... I know... But I danced anyway since I'm such a good dancer **cough**), and then went to someone's house afterward for more fun. Here's a pic to prove the fun I had at my senior prom:

See? Fun is written all over my face.

Now it's Karlie's turn. She is getting ready for three proms. Yes, folks, this chick has everything goin' for her and is going to three different proms. (She actually got invited to a fourth but turned it down because she figured three was enough. Ha.). She is even frugal enough to borrow prom dresses from friends. And she is even getting the guys to ask her in uber creative ways. When I was in high school you just got asked to prom. Via note or phone call. Karlie completed a scavenger hunt this past Sunday to be asked to one prom, and is apparently looking forward to her other "official" invitations (even though she has already said yes - this is all new to me).

Her first prom is this weekend. So, we are in the midst of spray tans, hair styles, where to eat dinner, who's taking who, and pictures. Here's to hoping we survive April...

So... how was YOUR prom? Does this bring back the memories?

Oh, prom. Whose idea was this anyway?

~Kathryn

My Wall 'O Awards

We all like to get that occasional pat on the back. Heck, we all would even take regular pats on the back if they were given (at least I would). Well, as my friend Cristal said on her blog, the older we get, the fewer opportunities we have to get awards. It is so true.

You all remember those very ceremonious ceremonies in elementary, middle, and even high school. All of your peers were crammed into the school gym and you held your breath hoping to hear your name called for something - as long as it wasn't "most improved". When it was called, your chest all puffed up and you walked forward, suddenly realizing you are in front of all your peers, and then you become very nervous. Your parents were there, taking pictures, and you then had yet another certificate to file away in that box of sentimental belongings.

Well, while I might be almost 26 25, I thrive on words of affirmation and awards, and I don't even care how cheesy they are. I'm of the "Oh, go on" group of people when someone starts complimenting me. My parents have always marveled at how I could always tell if someone was talking about me, even from another room, and I would run in and  say, "What are you saying about me?", because come on, if positive things are being said, I need to hear them. I definitely hear enough negatives! (-: And they say (whoever "they" is) that it takes seven positive things to make up for one negative. Yeah, do the math on that.

So, I decided I needed some positive reinforcement at my place of business. Which is an overall positive place, but sometimes you just need that extra little affirmation. So, I give you.... Exhibit A: Wall 'O Awards:

Working from the top down, yes, I was a cheerleader in high school, and that is from my sophomore year when we were State Runners-Up and were in the local newspaper. I had to remember those glory days. The big blue ribbon is from when I was the World's Best Horse Rider... I mean... I won the Tulsa Fall Charity Horse show because of my awesome equestrian skills. The pink post-it is a note from a choir member because sometimes you just need to know you are loved. (-: And the yellow ribbon is from my awesome music theory skills. The certificate you see directly below that is something that is very much related to my current job. When I was in eighth grade, I won the award for fastest typing when I typed 58 words per minute. (I would like it to be known that this morning I clocked 118 words per minute, so I am much improved since 8th grade.) And then below that is a piano certificate, one of like five million that I got over the years.

So, those are the awards I look at when I need a pick me up. And actually, I just put them up there for some comedic value. I do need some more updated awards, since the most recent one I have is from 2000. Hmmm.....

So, what about you? Do you have any reminders of your awesomeness around? (-:

Happy Thursday!

~Kathryn

I Want A Garden

So apparently, it's springtime. It's no surprise for most people, but for me, it's as if I totally forgot this season existed. Or that perhaps I thought it wouldn't be coming to my neighborhood for a few more months. A few weeks ago this started sprouting up around my mailbox:

You would think that those would have sent of the alarm that spring is coming and I need to get with it. Start planning. But no. I kept hearing people say you need to cut back the monkey grass. What did I do? Well, of course I waited until 10:00 the night before we left for Guatemala in mid March and then took some rudimentary scissors onto my porch and started cutting away.

But yesterday, it really hit me. I saw a garden... planted.... on a friend's blog. The garden I said I wanted my whole life. And then I thought - it's too late. I've ruined my own plans for a garden. I won't be able to have the fresh and free produce I have always wanted.

But then, reality set in and I realized it's still March. I can make this a reality. So. I am now investigating and researching and hoping to get some gardening started this weekend.

Anyone have any pointers? I am wanting to grow tomatoes, spinach, umm... jalapenos for Mark, and I'm not sure what else yet, but there will be more. So... hopefully this project will start soon and you can enjoy all my victories and defeats right along side me. I'm afraid there may be more defeats than victories, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right? (-:

So, if ANY OF YOU have ever gardened, I'm going to need your advice and pointers. Pronto. So press that comment button.

~Kathryn

A Weekend In Denver

I spent this past weekend in the great state of Colorado. As shocking as it may seem, it was my first time to really visit Colorado. And I loved it. I went to visit my sweet and fabulous friend, Allison. Yes, here she is, getting ready to help me pound that cinnamon roll at a local Denver mall. By the way, she's 5' 3" and doesn't even weigh 100 pounds. Small but mighty.

So, outside of gorging ourselves with cinnamon rolls, what did we do, you ask? Well, lots of things! We obviously went shopping! My sister called me a brand name hoar because I got a NorthFace fleece and a Marmot jacket from the local REI, which we don't have around here. The cool thing is that the NorthFace was on sale, and I got the Marmot rain coat out of the kids section, so it was cheaper. And it's purple!!!

I also got lots of cute things, including fun boutiquey clothes from some cute boutiques around town.

Did we see mountains, you ask? Heck yes, we did. And they were beautiful. Here I am, all surrounded by some pretty huge mountains:

Close up:

Perhaps the most epic part of the trip was when we visit the grave of the one and only Buffalo Bill Cody. I know, right? Here I am, paying homage:

And of course when I came across a Bison near the grave, I had to take a pic in honor of my alma mater:

God Bless OBU.

Here we are, giving our best Annie Oakley/Wild West impersonation:

We also had some local root beer that was AWESOME.

Other things we did included watching multiple movies, visiting Allison's church in Denver, which I loved, getting an eyebrow arch from a local fancy salon, eating lots of fun food from all the best places to eat, some football with her friends, and I even tagged along on a babysitting gig to experience the locals. (-:

We had a great time, and Allison was even generous enough to take me to the airport at 5:00 in the morning! My boss said, "She must be a good friend to do that." Yes, she is a good friend, indeed. Thanks Allison!!!

~Kathryn