Emali's Desk Re-do

So, Emali's been wanting a desk do to her homework on for a while. We finally found one we liked at Goodwill. We sanded it, primed it, and painted it. Emali picked out an eletric blue and plum purple. I made it have a chalkboard top. She LOVES her desk. And for < $40, I do too.

 After sanding. Sorry I dont have pics before sanding.

The finished (sort of) desk. We still need to find drawer pulls she likes, but I like how it turned out. (Please forgive the crap on her floor. She refuses to vaccum and I'm sick of arguing about it.)

30 Day Challenge - Day Thirty

A picture of someone you miss

My Grandpa. This is the only picture I have of him. This is me and him when I was just under a year old. He used to do this all the time with us grandkids. I may not have many pictures of him, but I have millions of memories. He died when I was right before I was a teenager, and I still miss him fiercely. I'm tearing up right now thinking about him. I think that's how you know how wonderful of man he was. That it's been this many years and I still miss him. I remember the walks and the stories. Listening to his records. Reading the dictionary. Watching Mr Rogers Neighborhood with him.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Nine

A picture that can always make you smile

Alvin at a year old in his DOC band giving the stink-eye. I LOVE this picture. It makes me laugh every time I see it. No, not because of the DOC band. Because of the stink-eye he's giving.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Eight

A picture of something you’re afraid of

Spiders! Omg....*shudder* I hate hate hate hate hate spiders. Big ones. Small ones. Doesnt matter. Terrified of them all.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Seven

A picture of yourself and a family member

Me and my brother. We arent as close as some siblings I know. That makes me sad. One day I hope that we are close again.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Six

A picture of something that means a lot to you

Our guest plate from our wedding. It has our friends and family on it. Including Eric's Grandma Rice. Eric's really grateful that she was able to see him get married and meet Alvin.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Five

A picture of your day

Yep, that says 18 inches of snow. That's on top of the foot we got over the weekend. So my day was spent watching the snow fall. Whee!

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Four

A picture of something you wish you could change

The relationship with Eric's dad and step-mom that went all to hell. The details of what happened arent important. I just wish things could have been different.

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Three

A picture of your favorite book

Yep...I cant choose just one book as my favorite. I love to read. Love books. Love them! I

30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty Two

A picture of something you wish you were better at

Time management. I suck at managing my time. I'll sit down to read a book for 'only 20 mins' and end up reading for 2 hours. I'm a procrastinator too. Put off til tomorrow what you can do today. One day I hope I can manage my time better, however, I'm 30 now. So I doubt it's going to change.

Eric's Birthday

So, Eric turned a whole whopping 31 yesterday. So, for the next few weeks, I get to torment him incessantly about being 31 and I'm not. Granted, my own 31st isnt that far off. Anyway, it was a good birthday for him. At least he says so anyway. We got about 8 inches of snow in the overnight before his birthday. So he got to play with the snowblower. Then everyone went sled riding, and built a snowman. Later on, the kids and I made him a chocolate fudge cake.

I covered it in carmel frosting and made fondant stars that I had the girls write message on with food markers. It was very very very sweet. Then the girls gave him their homemade birthday gifts. I had given him his Christmas/Birthday present on Christmas. Yes, cheap I know, except, it wasnt. I bought him an Invicta SubAqua watch. Yes, I bought him a watch. He's been wanting a good watch for a while though. So, I bought him one. But because of the amount I spent on it, I combined it into both Christmas/Birthday.

SNOW! Yay snow!

So, Eric got a wonderful birthday gift: 6+ inches of snow! The weather people had said we'd be lucky to maybe 2 inches at the most. Well, surprise, surprise! This is going to be a picture heavy post, so consider yourself warned. Oh, look for the birthday post for Eric later on!

 The hawk that lives near here.

 Blue Jay

 Red-headed woodpecker

 The snow as it was falling. We got 6 inches in 2 1/2 hours. It was crazy.

 Charley playing in the snow.

 The woods behind our house.

A cardinal in the bushes. Isnt it gorgeous?

 The kids and their snowman

Alvin and the snowman.



30 Day Challenge - Day Twenty One

A picture of something you wish you could forget

The house in Ohio. Because to forget about it, would be to forget about all the horrid crap that happened in it and because of it.  To forget about all the hurt, and pain and drama that 'she' put me through. To forget all about all the drama that was caused after 'her'. Unfortunately, the house was tainted by The Wench, and I'm glad to be away from it, though I miss the house itself. 

30 Day Challenge -- Day Twenty

A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel

Yep, Australia. It's one place I plan to visit shortly after Eric retires.

30 Day Challenge - Day Nineteen

A picture and a letter

How about a picture of a letter? Or, more specifically, an email. The email that got it all started. Eric's email via MySpace to me. The email that started us talking after not speaking since high school.

30 Day Challenge - Day Eighteen

A picture of your biggest insecurity

Yes, my that is MY waist. Well, it was. Before I got pregnant with Alvin. Those were size 6 cargo pants. Sad to say, I'm nowhere near a size 6 now. :( So, I have to say that my biggest insecurity is that I'm NEVER going to lose the weight I gained with Alvin. It's been 3 years and I've not lost a single pound. Not a single one. I've tried. Oh how I have tried. Nothing works.

30 Day Challenge - Day Seventeen

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

I dont think it gets any bigger than what Tegretol has done to our lives.  Sub and nuc disquals. Living life in limbo for over a year now. Not knowing what Eric will be doing in Navy. Tegretol has made a HUGE impact in our lives. Our lives are forever changed because of it.

30 Day Challenge - Day Fifteen

A picture of something you want to do before you die

See Stonehenge. I've been fascinated by Stonehenge since we learned about it in school. Eric's been there once already, but I want to see it myself. Not just in his pictures. I want to 'feel' it. The ambience around it. Ya know? Eric has promised me that we'll go there at some point in our lives. It may not be til after the kids are gone, but we WILL go.

Valentine's Day wreath

Yes, I know I'm early on making things for Valentine's Day. However, there isnt a 'decorating' holiday between now and then. I dont really even like Valentine's Day, but the girls enjoy it. So, we do decorate some for it. Today was a silk organza wreath. It was time consuming but turned out well.

30 Day Challenge - Day Fourteen

A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without

My kids. My life wouldnt be the same without them in it. They bring me joy, even when they are testing my patience. I'm really proud to be able to say I'm their momma.

Happy New Year

Here's to an awesome 2011!