How to foul in basketball.

(My child is wearing the turquoise headband.)

This is how you foul an opposing player in basketball.  You relentlessly pursue the other player and when that fails, you throw your body on top of the other player.  And then, you get a stern talking to by your coach because this is your THIRD foul in the first 6 minutes of the game. 

Spain Goalie Training

Both girls were invited to attend a private session with a goalie trainer from Spain.  Aside from the brief translation gaps, the girls had a great time and learned so much! 

Blog Brain Dump ed.1 (2013)

It's been a while since I posted a brain dump so here goes.

Let me first say, that I love my husband.  But, sometimes we don't see eye to eye on projects around the house.  He says I'm more red-neck than he is and most time, I'll agree with him.  But, sometimes his red-necking skills surpass even my wildest imagination.

Take this for example.  This is what will become an elevated garden.

I say... let's build something like this.  He says I'm crazy if I think it will hold up.

See, the problem with where we live is that we have a huge drainage ditch that run through our backyard.  It's not pretty.  We've never pretended to like it.  That's why we got such a great deal on our house.  But, because about once every 4 years when we get a torrential Spring rain, the ditch will flood.  So, in effort to utilize more of the space in the backyard, Randy decided that he'd build elevated planters in the off chance there comes a flood.  In other words... my idea of a an elevated planter will wash away, while his elevated planter will last through the apocalypse.

I'll keep ya posted on how the final product turns out.  He said he's dress it up a bit to make it not such an eye sore, but his "dress it up" is well... not my idea of "dress it up."  Either way, we will have fresh fruits and veggies in our future.

I recently finished up a small project that I think turned out pretty cute, considering I spent $6.50 on it.  I use a stool to sit on while I am at my kitchen computer.  I picked this stool up at Goodwill several years ago and just last month the cushion on it ripped.  So, I decided it was time to give my little stool a makeover.  I found this sample can of paint at the Home Depot for $.50.  (Yep... fifty cents.)  I was looking for black, but when I saw the red paint and the price well, the rest is history.  I found the fabric on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $2.00.  It is corduroy and just shy of a yard, so there was plenty to work with AND some left over pieces for scraps!  (I love fabric scraps!)  And finally, the foam cushion was $4.00 at Hobby Lobby.

I mixed the paint with Plaster of Paris to make chalk paint. I love using the chalk paint because it applies easily, there is not need to sand/prep wood, it dries quickly and is very forgiving.  Plus, it sands nicely, leaving a nice smooth finish.  I definitely recommend trying it on a small project first though.  I sanded the paint to give it a more vintage/shabby look and I finished it up with some Minwax Paste Finishing Wax (which I already had on hand.)  This stuff is awesome!  Just buy it to have around.  It's amazing!

And there ya go.  My stool is a pretty little accent to my kitchen. 

In recent news, I've taken on some volunteer responsibility with our church.  I'll be updating their website and doing graphic design on a "need-to" basis.  I'm happy to be using my gifts and talents in a way that glorifies God.  I had stepped away from serving at our previous church because I needed a break.  So, now that we are at a new church, I knew it was time to get involved again. I'm excited to see what God has in store for me in this new role.

Well, I had another bad eBay experience last week.  To make a long story short, the buyer said my item was damaged when she received it, blah, blah, blah.  However, it wasn't.  And I have multiple pictures to prove it that the jeans were not damaged or ripped. Truth be told, the tear in the denim fabric looked fresh and the rip was at a stress point... i.e. interpret that to mean... the lady ripped the jeans when she tried them on.

But, I have since learned that buyers have the upper hand in all things eBay related (that was a hard lesson to learn...) and my only recourse was to chalk it up to the cost of doing business, issue a refund and go on down the road.  The problem is... that it left such a bad impression with me, that I want to give up all eBay selling and not mess with it anymore.  But, I want to buy a laptop.  So, press on I must. 

And for the record... I cannot stand dishonest people.  And there are so many levels of dishonesty... some not so blatant, but still deceptive all the same.  Just be forthright and honest people.  Is that so hard? Really?

So, how's that for a blog brain dump?  You also got a bonus soapbox too!

Y'all have a good Monday.

Printable Freebie: Valentine's Day Candy Bar Wrappers

Y'all.  I love Valentine's day despite the fact that it is a manufactured "holiday" perpetuated by greeting card companies and chocolate makers alike. Blah, blah, blah... I get it.

But, in the spirit of full disclosure, I'll be honest here... it's really about me.   Mama likes to send cute holiday stuff to school.  The girls could care less.  If they had their way, they'd pick up a box of Vday cards at the Dollar Tree and pass those around.  Luckily for me, I've been creating their Vday cards since they began school, so they don't really know any better.(Score one for mama!)

Anyway... so this year, I went a different route.  I decided to go whole hog and create a candy bar wrapper, rather than a treat bag, etc.  Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, purchasing 20 candy bars, rather than buying 2 bags of assorted candy will be more expensive, but we all know who really gets to eat the candy.  It's the mamas and pappas.  And who doesn't like a nice chocolate bar, right?  Sure beats a box of sweet-tarts any day. (At HEB, you can buy 6 Hershey bars for less than $3.50.  Not bad.)

So, click on the image below to download my printable files.  I've set up the download link to either download the entire set, or you can download each file. Y'all have fun!

Our Weekend

 Elisan and I did this....

While Randy and Kyla did this...

We survived 2012!

Isn't it interesting how we survived 2012, despite the numerous proclamations here and there stating that the end of the world was upon us?  Just goes to show you that no man will know the day or the hour...

Randy went back to work this week, but I have to tell you... I love having my man home.  I mean, there's nothing better.  And, it's for pure selfish reasons, of course, but I have to say, he loves being home with us girls too.

While he was off, we (mostly he) remodeled the downstairs bathroom.  We replaced the pedestal sink (hated it because there was no room for even a soap dispenser!) and put in a sink cabinet (with drawers!  whoohoo!) and a sink with a counter top (love it!).  We also ripped out the cabinet over the toliet and put in a HUGE medicine cabinet over the new sink.

We also primed and repainted the bathroom to a more neutral color... tan.  I know, boring, right?  But the color before it was deep purple... NOT boring.  I was ready to be boring again.

Anyway, Randy was really impressed with the ease of assembly of the IKEA purchases.  The faucet especially... no weird contraptions or hoses that he's seen when he's purchased non-IKEA plumbing stuff.   The cabinets were a cinch to assemble as well... AND, it's not cheapy particle board, but real actual wood.  Who woulda thought?

Here's a few before and after pictures.

While Randy finished some outdoor projects, the girls and I were busy decluttering their bedrooms and closets.  Elisan threw out ONE FULL-SIZE GARBAGE BAG of  TRASH from her room.  She is a squirrel when it comes to her stuff.   Yesterday, we went through their toys and discarded quite a few Barbies without limbs and/or heads.  They swore they still played with the limb-less Barbies, but I forcefully demanded they be thrown out!   We also tossed out a few other toy items, but not nearly as much as I had hoped.  It's true... they do play with all of their toys and as long as they do, I can't get rid of it.  (Heck, I'm still glad my oldest plays with toys!  Sure beats spending fruitless hours texting friends all day!)

There was a lot more going on at our house the week after Christmas, but I'll spare you the boring details. Needless to say, I'm still loving having the girls home and will be sad when they go back to school on Monday. 

So, with a new year, I suppose you're expecting some sort of New Year's resolution or proclamation and honestly, I wish I could say I have a neat list of things I want to accomplish or resolve to do.  I want to do what everyone else wants to do, which is eat better, exercise more and be more intentional in my Bible reading/studying.  I want to do all of these things.  I want to be a good steward of my time, talents and treasure.  I want to be the best wife I know how to be and the best mom to my two precious girls.  I want to be the parent that each of them needs... which is vastly different and I pray that I can work towards that end.  These are things I know that will enrich my life and the life of those around me and I know that it's hard to do these things and do them well... continually.  But, all I can do is try... and pray when I fail.  Because at the end of the day, I'm just me... trying to be the best me I know how to be... a wife and mother.

Finally, in this new year, I'd like to set out to be a better friend.  Because I'm not on 'social media' I tend to not keep up with my 'friends' the way I used to.  And because of that, I have to be more intentional in reaching out.  This past year, I was bad about that.  I need to be a better friend, because let's face it... I need friends and I have a lot to offer as a friend.

So, that's it.  Welcome 2013!