What's Old is New Again

I recently became the owner of my step-dad's hutch via my baby brother Chad. This poor little hutch had seen better days and was an awful shade of oaky brown with yucky bronze hardware. After a little TLC this baby looks AWESOME!! It is now in the kitchen and as Miss S exclaimed "It really warms up the kitchen".

Here's what I did:

1. Cleaned it REALLY well.
2. Removed ALL the brass hardware
3. Roughed up the paint a little with sandpaper
4. Tried staining it dark brown, which was not working - went to Home Depot and got paint
5. Painted it with two coats of a a beautiful semi gloss - I think it was Behr. The paint color was Bitter Chocolate.
6.  Went back to Home Depot and Lowes looking for the perfect hardware
7.  Returned the hardware cause it wasn't right.
8. Finally ordered hardware off of Lowes.com
9. Moved that sucker in to the kitchen after bribing Chad to help in exchange for dinner
10. Waited 10 LONG days for the hardware to come in.
11. Made lovey eyes at Hubby until he put the new hardware on for me.
12. Filled it to the brim with kitchen stuff
13. Stood back, admired it, and am now on the hunt for my next project!

The Before:

And After:

 
 

What do you think? What projects have you been working on?

A Little Completed WIP

This sweet little quilt has been a year in the making and I'm SO grateful to my darling partner who so patiently waited for it.It measures probably 10 by 12 inches (surprisingly little for how long it took me to finish)...it was just one of those projects that I was all excited about then it got pushed aside. All fabric came from my scrap bin and I bound it with cute black and white patterned fabric. It turned out so cute and my partner loves it - YEAH!!!

What WIP (work in progress) are you currently working on?

Happy happy Monday!!

Make this Monday a GREAT one. It's not my favorite day of the week but at least it's a short work week for me - just today and tomorrow and then Wednesday I leave for the second week of BSA Wood Badge training!! WOOHOO!!!

 

Why Howdy There!!

Suffice it to say, this is fitting to be posting on Administrative Professionals Day! For the last month I have been busy beyond belief at work and in life. To catch you up a little bit, I'm a paralegal for a family law firm. Our other paralegal left due to health issues about 6 weeks ago so that means for the last 6 weeks I have been the only paralegal at work juggling ALL of our cases....it made the time go by really fast but I have been working my butt off!! Last week our new paralegal started and it is a paralegal that has worked for us before so that meant NO training, NO newbie stuff, NO getting them up to speed which has been AMAZING!! PHEW!! Today we were spoiled by our boss with a fancy schmancy lunch and gift cards for all of us.

Additionally, I've been hard at work with Boy Scout commitments - staffing at the current Wood Badge course which started last week and our annual Blue and Gold banquet. Blue and Gold was last nice and it's so nice to have that crossed off my list for another year. Next week is the second half of the Wood Badge course and then that can be crossed off my To Do list also!! My poor husband and daughter have hardly seen me the last month, well at least it feels like that. But those who know me know that I really do like to be busy but this has been a little TOO busy.

We also fit in a quick trip to Golden CO for my brother Ian's Un-Army party. After 3,456 days in the Army he is now a civilian!! WOOHOO!!! Golden was AMAZING and we packed a lot of fun into the 48 hours that we were there.

Mixed in among all these I have fallen madly, deeply and obsessively in love with The Walking Dead. I'm on my third watching of Seasons 1 and 2 and am chomping at the bit for Season 3 to come out on DVD. I tell you guys - I'm obsessed. And Daryl Dixon is my new heartthrob. Eeehhhhh gads I love him!

Quilting

My latest blocks - these will be sent off to my three partners today. One set to England, another set to Australia and one set to the USA. Once these are mailed off I'm taking a little break from block swaps - I have so many AWESOME blocks now that I need to get some quilts actually put together and finished up.

These blocks were SO much fun to make - I used all scraps and just randomly pieced them. I pieced them while watching some Top Gear, Glee and Once Upon a Time. It's always fun to quilt and watch TV - I just carry my Ipad with me to my sewing table or my ironing board.

Here's the tutorial I used if you'd like to make some of your own. Super super easy - but does take a little  time and a little concentration on putting your squares together.

My Poor Neglected Blog

Why hello there!!! Holy moley - I did not intend to take a two month blogging break. I have been crazy busy since the first of the year though so blogging took a back seat to my increased activity on Facebook, Instagram and Flickr.

In January I took a daily class from my friend Lain Ehman about Crafting Your Biz.....I've been contemplating starting an online scrapbooking/crafting company. Crafting is such a huge part of who I am that it's time that I start nurturing it more, sharing it, and hopefully making a little bit of money from it too. It's still in it's infant stage so I have a ways to go still before it becomes reality.

Then in February I signed up for the LOAD challenge, again with the fabulous Lain Ehman. LOAD = Layout a Day challenge and it was FABULOUS!! We had daily prompts, discussions and so much fun posting our layouts in our Flickr group. We ended with just over 6000 layouts posted for the month - I think there were about 450 participants. I personally completed 38 layouts which is more than I've done in the last 3 years COMBINED.



This is my final layout - highlighting what I accomplished this month.This was such a kick in the pants for me - I learned, stretched myself creatively and had an amazing time. The theme for this LOAD was Scrap Happier and I really really did. I will cherish these pages I created. Visit my Flickr page to see the rest of the layouts I completed this month.

One Little Word

Thanks to help from my Facebook friends, I've decided on my word for 2013. MORE.

As in...
More positive.
More organized.
More peaceful.
More present.
More time with family.
More faith.
More meal planning.
More proactive.
More dedication.
More action.
More learning.

I want to take the good parts of my life and make MORE of them. Do you choose a word as your theme for the year? If so, please share! I love this method of goal setting.

Merry Christmas!!!

Wow - it has been a FULL month!!!! Hope you've been following me on Instagram or Facebook for my December Daily posts. If not, here's a recap of the past couple days.

Celebrating Miss S 12th birthday on the 23rd, dinner and fun with my brother, his fiancé, her three girls and her parents on the 24th and a wonderful, quiet, mostly relaxing Christmas Day.

I have so much love in my hear today. For my family, my friends, for you. For phone calls and skyping with family near and far, for beautiful presents to open, for the bounty of cards received...but most of all for the birth of our Savior. Merry Merry Christmas!!!!

December!!!

I've been so MIA here lately -I'm having too much fun on Facebook and on Instagram!!! I'm documenting my December Daily on Instagram and absolutely love it. So this little blog will be quiet probably until after the new year. I need to find a good balance of my social media outlets:) To keep you occupied through the holidays - enjoy this little meme:):) I'd love to see you post it on your blog too - if you do leave me a comment so I can go check out your answers too:)

I found this fun little meme here....

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?

Hot Chocolate 

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree?

A little of both

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white?

White

4. Do you hang mistletoe?

Never

5. When do you put your decorations up? 

The day after Thanksgiving - it's my personal Black Friday tradition:) We don't go shopping - we decorate the house instead:)

6. What is your favorite holiday dish?
Posole and tamales. I don't know what I'll do if we ever leave New Mexico.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child?

Big Christmas Eve dinners with extended family and lots and lots of cousins.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? 

 What? I still believe in Santa. He lives in our hearts and will always be real to me:)

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve?

 Yes - just one.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree?

Total modge podge. Lots of homemade ornaments and ornaments we've collected throughout the year. I've always wanted to do a themed Christmas tree but have never done it - I love our mis match stuff:)

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it?

 I love it, love it, love it.

12. Can you ice skate?

 Not really.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift?

The rolodex my dad bought for me when I was maybe 16 or 17? It was the first Christmas my dad did some secret shopping of his own in addition to all the presents my mom bought.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?

Being with family!!!!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?

Pie - any kind.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Sending a TON of Christmas cards!! I usually send out about 125 - if not more.Christmas Eve we always open one present and have tamales and posole for dinner. Christmas Day we have cinnamon rolls and OJ and then a big dinner that night. Usually it's just the three of us but now that more family has been moving back to NM I'm looking forward to working on some new traditions.

17. What tops your tree?

A gold star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving?

I love both but I think I prefer giving.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum?

YUM!

20. Favorite Christmas movie?

Elf

21. Saddest Christmas Song?

I'll be Home for Christmas - mostly cause I  haven't been "home" (aka my mom's house) for Christmas in probably 20 years.

22. What is your favorite Christmas song?

I have so many - 
We Three Kings
God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
Angels We Have Heard on High

Gratitude: Day 15

 For our beautiful earth. For Mother Nature. For the warmth, the cold, the beautiful seasons that come and go. 

I'm enjoying my daily Gratitude postings on Instagram - are you playing along? Follow me #raeshadrz

 

PS This picture was taken about an hour from our house - in the beautiful canyon we drive through to get to the Girl Scout Camp.

Thank You

Gratitude: Day 2

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"Gratitude: Day 2: For my awesome Subaru. 

For listening to the promptings to pull 

off the freeway just before my clutch gave out. 

For sweet tow truck boys and

for hardworking honest mechanics."

Follow along with me on Instagram - @raeshadrz

Gratitude: Day 1

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"Gratitude: Day 1: My rock. Not the one
on my finger but what it represents.
My husband - my rock, my foundation, my love. "

Holiday Mail for Heroes

My darling Cub Scouts and I will be working on a fabulous service project for the next month -  we will be collecting Holiday Cards for Heroes for the American Red Cross which will be distributed to military installations, veterans hospitals, and other locations. 

There are TWO ways for you to take part in our Holiday Mail for Heroes service project. First - you can collect BLANK holiday cards for us. Second - you can get together with your family and sign holiday cards and then send them to us.

Card Guidelines:

• Ensure that all cards are signed.
• Use generic salutations such as “Dear Service Member.” Cards addressed to specific individuals can not be delivered through this program.
• Only cards are being accepted. Do not send or include letters.
• Do not include email or home addresses on the cards: the program is not meant to foster pen pal relationships.
• Do not include inserts of any kind, including photos: these items will be removed during the reviewing process.
• Please refrain from choosing cards with glitter or using loose glitter as it can aggravate health issues of ill and injured warriors.
• Each card does not need its own envelope, as envelopes will be removed from all cards before distribution.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

We will be collecting cards through NOVEMBER 15, 2012. We have a goal of collecting 250 cards. If you would like to participate please email me privately at raeshadrz at yahoo dot com for my mailing address.

 

Sacred Sunday

We started our Thanksgiving piece in choir yesterday -Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - what a beautiful hymn. I love the words, the music and the message.

COME THOU FOUNT OF EVERY BLESSING

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
I'll praise the mount I'm fixed upon it
Mount of thy redeeming love

Here I raise my Ebenezer
Hither by thy help I come
And I hope by thy good pleasure
Safely to arrive at home
Jesus sought me when a stranger
Wondering from the fold of God
He, to rescue me from danger
Interposed His precious blood

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee
Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above

Sandals

It's officially too cold to wear sandals in NM but I just couldn't resist this pair of dansko sandals. They are in my closet waiting for the first warm spring day of 2013. I love danskos and I always get a thrill when I find them at the thrift store. I paid $7.99 for these beauties.

Halloween

Holiday decorations have become pretty sparse around our house as of late. I'm tired of everything we have and I'm slowly slowly slowly purging down to the holiday decorations that I love the most. In fact I haven't even pulled down the Halloween box from the garage. Guess I should get on that. For now this is the one Halloween decoration in our house and it's hanging on the inside of the front door. And it's a beaut!! I used the tutorial found HERE. Don't you love it?? Only change I made was I used a green foam wreath instead of a straw wreath and I didn't cover it before I started tying my ribbons on. Any little peeks of green showing match the green ribbon I used. All supplies came from Hobby Lobby and I think my total was about $10 - both the ribbon and the wreath were 50% off. And I have plenty of extra ribbon to add to other Halloween projects.

Balloons

October brings Balloon Fiesta - this year Rick and Ryalin came with two of their kiddos. We never made it to a mass ascension this year but spent two nights at the field for balloon glows. It was beautiful!!!

Rick and Ryalin:

San Antonio

Miss S and I flew to San Antonio for a quick trip two weeks ago for my sweet nephew Logan's baptism. What a great fun weekend. My mom and my granny were both there. Granny told us lots of stories of her childhood. Ryalin typed them up and we plan to continue to add to it and eventually print them in book format for the family.

Funny

This was on my car when I left work last night. Gave me a good laugh cause there was no one parked next to me when I got to work or when I left work. So what was I parked "too close" to? Guess I'll never know :)