Sunday, July 27, 2014

Everyday Happenings

With each passing year the summers go faster and faster.  Here is a snippet of what we've been up to.

**Most importantly, my Dad turned 80!  We all went out to dinner at our hometown restaurant, Pica's, to celebrate. 


#mosthandsomedadever
Grandpop with (most of) his grandchildren
My Dad, my Uncle, siblings with spouses, and panoramic distortion--sorry Bob!

My Dad with his brother in law, Uncle Art.


Happy Birthday Dad!

**Time at the pool:





**Mary had her silks team over to practice:


**The 4th of July:





**Vacation Bible School:



**Cooking



Neither meal got eaten, by the way.

**Washing windows: He's thrilled.

We followed these directions here to make it as easy on us as possible.  It wasn't perfect, but we were pretty happy with the results.

**Makeovers:


**And finally, dress up and selfies:




They made me promise not to post these. 

Don't tell them, okay?

Monday, July 14, 2014

A Guest Post: Perfectly Imperfect

Her assignment was to write about something you believe. 

   Perfectly Imperfect

by Mary S., March 2014 (7th grade)

Perfect: entirely without any flaws, defects, or shortcomings. 

Nobody is perfect. But to me, that isn’t exactly right. People say that nobody’s perfect.  I think we are all perfectly imperfect.

So, that is what I believe. 

I believe everybody is perfectly imperfect.


Being perfectly imperfect also means having and accepting your differences. You see different people everywhere. People have different skin, hair, and eye colors. Everybody has different styles, and personalities. There are different heights, and so much more. There are even differences you never even notice, like different fingerprints, and even patterns on your tongue!


What would it be like if everyone was the same? Wouldn’t life be boring? You should show how unique you are. There are probably times when you feel like a waste of space, or don’t belong on the face of the earth. You have to tell yourself that you are here for a reason, and your imperfections are perfect. And no matter what you look like, being perfect is about what is on the inside. To me, being perfect is not being flawless; it is being who you are. Everybody has flaws. They shouldn’t be something to be frustrated over, but something to improve.


People are like puzzle pieces. Nobody is exactly the same, everybody has their own place, and everybody was meant to be here, in this one giant puzzle we call Earth. If we all weren’t unique like puzzle pieces, we wouldn’t fit together. We would know everything about each other if we were all the same! We are all snowflakes, each one different and meant to be admired.


Our uniqueness, differences, and imperfectness are just part of life. Learning to accept your differences is important. Life is the opposite of boring when you show how unique you are. Some people say that nobody’s perfect. I do not think that is true. I believe that everybody has beautiful flaws and differences. I believe that everybody is perfectly imperfect.



And always remember: YOU are perfectly imperfect.
~Mary

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

A Little Project

Trash to treasure.  That's what was on my mind when I came across this little chair at the thrift store.


The price tag read 97 cents. Perfect. A good practice piece.

I immediately thought I could do something like this with it.

320 Sycamore blog
 My chair didn't have quite the detail, but I still thought I could make it look pretty.

Mary Kate was on board and it quickly became her project.  I told her we should keep it under $10. That way if it didn't work out well, we wouldn't be in the hole for too much money.
When it came time to look for fabric, of course we liked a pricey pattern.  That's where our budget sort of went out the window.

She worked at taking off the cushion and did some sanding.



She spray painted.



She cut fabric and fit it on carefully with a stapler. (yes, a regular stapler.  Hope it holds:) )

Drumroll please....

 Ta-DA



The finished piece.  We think it looks great for first timers.  It sits under her bedroom window.

In the end, we learned some things.  Such as, yes, it's a good idea to spray paint outside, but if you're doing it in grass, use a tarp or you may end up spraying blades of grass to the legs of your chair.

Also, it takes a certain technique to spray paint without leaving drip marks on the furniture. We also learned that a small seat cushion didn't need a whole yard of fabric.  All tidbits of info that we now know for our next project.

The final numbers:

Chair: 97 cents
Can of paint: 5.99
Fabric: $8.99/yard

Total cost:$15.95

Time spent together was well worth the $5.95 over budget.

 

Sunday, July 6, 2014

Scenes From A Birthday

On July 2 Matthew turned 6!!

 Morning Doughnuts:




Two strange birthday requests....deodorant and a trick toy knife, the kind with the disappearing dagger.




After a play date at the park with Moms and Tots in 91 degree weather, we cooled off with some Oreo Coolattas.  It had to be done.


Unfortunately, a bad storm came our way in the afternoon so we couldn't go to the pool like he wanted to. 

Dad's home:


Pizza for dinner and brownies for dessert.


I have had so much fun with this little guy over the last six years.  He's our most strong-willed child, for sure.  But he makes us laugh and has been a joy in our lives.

We love you, Matt.  Happy 6th Birthday.

Friday, July 4, 2014

Treadmill Anxiety

Every summer our family gets a three month membership to our town's community center.  We do this so we have access to the outside pool, but the center also boasts a workout room, indoor pool, weight room, gym space, etc.

Bill has been encouraging me to take advantage of the workout room, in particular the treadmill because I like to run.  I tell him that I am a road-runner and there's nothing like the open road under my feet as I stretch myself to the limit with my 12 minute miles.  He convinced me today to try the treadmill and he would show me how to use it.  And so began the formation of this blog post as to why I am not a treadmill kind of girl.  Let me explain.....

So, we get there and there aren't any treadmills side by side.  I don't want everyone seeing that I need a lesson on treadmill usage because that would be embarrassing.  I tell Bill I am perfectly happy to jog around the inside track and he should go ahead and run on the treadmill. Before he has time to convince me otherwise, I bolt out the back door of the room and start walking the track.  After one time around I am completely bored out of my skull and want to start jogging.  I see a lot of people walking on the track, but no one running.  My mind starts telling me that maybe running on the inside track isn't allowed.  I continue walking. There is an annoying couple taking up way too much space and not allowing me to pass them. My heart rate is up, but not because of exercise.  After about 15 minutes of this and only one mile in, I see that the treadmill next to Bill opens up and it's the last one available to boot.  I tell myself, "You can do this" and I quickly scoot in the back door of the workout room and head straight for it.

As I get closer to Bill and the open treadmill, a guy I know walks in the front door of the workout room.  Knowing he's there to run, I pretend that I just want to say hi to Bill and check out the numbers on his machine. I say "hello" to the guy, and walk back out.  I mean, how could I take the last treadmill?  Who does that?

I see kids running on the indoor track now.  I wait, just wait.  Someone's going to come and tell them there's no running on the inside track.  No one does.  Maybe running is allowed after all.  But then I see Bill finishing his run.  Darn! Just as I was about to start. Oh wait, Bill is getting on the rowing machine.  He's not really looking so good. Maybe I should tell him to stop his workout.  Selfishly I leave him alone and start my jog on the inside track.  I get a quarter mile in and Bill finishes his workout.  I take this as an opportunity to leave this completely stressful situation.

On the way home I reiterate the fact that I am not cut out for this kind of thing. I have so many questions.  What kind of person can take the last treadmill and not feel guilty?  How do you continue running when there's a line for the treadmill and people with evil eyes are staring at your back?  Do you still need to wipe off the treadmill if you haven't even broken a sweat?  Is there a book about gym member etiquette anywhere? So many unknowns!

The moral of this story?

I am too insecure to use the work out room.