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Friday, July 25, 2014

My First Curtains (And the Most Complete Room)

So I have never hung curtains.  I have never been inspired to own curtains - blinds were always enough.  I can't remember if I had curtains in my room as a kid; I remember blinds.  There are curtains now in what my mom calls the "blue room" but I don't recall them being there before I moved out. Most likely not.   

It only took 31 years for me to have curtains.  I didn't know where to begin. There are many styles and ways to hang curtains, I was lost.  I read blogs and other "how-to's" to get an idea of what I might look for in curtains.  I was still lost and confused.  However, to play off the inspiration I had for the exercise room, I knew I wanted something nature related.  Also do the nice view and the natural sunlight, I didn't want something opaque.  I wanted something sheer. 

I recently painted the room a bluish grey and accented it with three lime green stripes. Matching the lime green stripes was nearly impossible.  I was thinking white curtains with something.  I happened upon a bold pink color curtain from Ikea (which I can no longer locate to share), but I was steered in another direction and am so glad I was.

Side note about the paint. I went to Home Depot with a color in mind (I wanted what my sister painted her living room), and I found an Oops paint for $5.00 that was very close to the grey my sister used. So for $5.00, I took home the grey paint.  The green paint, however, I had to pay the full price because it was hard to find the right lime green and match it with any available oops paints.  Though I didn't need nearly as much green paint as I did grey, so the cost wasn't that much.

Unfortunately, the lighting does lend well for taking pictures of the window and its curtains.  Or I haven't figured out how to take the picture.  I've tried during the day and at night, but between the sunlight and the light fixture, I can't take a clear picture.  So I suggest you come see it in person. :) I swear to you, it's awesome.  These are from Target, and I also found them cheaper (and faster shipping) on Amazon.

The curtain rod is actually a tree limb from our yard that fell during the ice storm back in February.  While perusing Pinterest one day, I happened upon this idea, although the Pin had a white painted limb.  I didn't want white, and I wasn't sure about a bold color, so I left it natural.  I coated it with polyurethane to seal the limb.  No one wants termite bait.  Using the limb took several iterations of trying to put the curtain panels on, and realizing that another knot or smaller limb needed to be cut in order for the panel to pass over it.  It was relatively simple, and the limb really fits the feel I wanted for the room. Nature inspired and peaceful.



So do you want to see the rest of the room? Here are some panoramic views of the room:






And here are some close ups of the equipment in the room:

I use a lot of this equipment for P90X, but I have ventured into using the bands for P90x, but I have used them when I created my own routines.  I have the padded mat great for jumping on or doing push ups.  Then I have the yoga mat, well...for yoga.

The chair is used a lot, and I want to paint it, and I have an idea, so hopefully I'll work on that soon.  I want bolder, brighter colors.

I love to use the elliptical in the winter, but during the warmer months, I prefer to run outdoors.  The pull up stand can easily slide across the floor so the elliptical mat and elliptical extend backwards.  I use the pull up stand for chin ups and pull ups with the assistance of a band.  I also attach bands to the lower portion and do hip adductions and abductions.  The stand can also be used for dips and ab exercises.

My favorite, dumbbells
And the decor:

I wanted a plant in the exercise room.  It was part of my zen, my inspiration, my view for the space.  I like that this plant is growing straight up - it reminds me of the yoga routine where there is a lot of reaching up.  So the plant is reaching up.  The second great thing about this plant is Lowe's calls it the "plant of steel".  I'm not a good plant care giver - I forget to water them.  This is also my first indoor plant, too!  I was also fortunate to find a bold plate pot on sale!  Color! Hot pink - perfect.  Too bad there weren't more pastel pot holder/rolller thingy.  Whatever the technical term is.



So I perused Pinterest a lot to find ideas for sayings that I wanted to post in the room.  I didn't want to buy what someone else made if I could do it myself. Plus, I could have the colors I wanted.


 I searched for white or plain frames that I could paint purple, but I didn't find any locally or on Amazon that was a reasonable price.  So I made my own...but I had one mistake.  I was measuring the frames to frame out a photo that was slightly smaller than 8.5" and 11".  I measured the horizontal side correctly BUT I didn't want to waste any of the wood, so I split the remaining piece into two instead of measuring out for an interior dimension of 10.5".  OOPS.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize this mistake until after I assembled them, painted them and was ready to hang them. That's when I went to print out my sayings using my home printer and tried to fit the picture into the frame.  Too short!  So I ordered one from Vistraprint and the other I created with leftover craft board and letters.




Finally, I saw many motivational sayings with pictures of other people on them.  I loved the saying, but I didn't really want other people hanging in my exercise room.  So I waited until I had the strength to pose for some of yoga positions before I set up a tripod and took pictures of me. (go ahead and puke, lol).  Once I did the photos, I turned them to black and white and used Picasa to add in the sayings.  Finally, I was able to print the photos off at home and add them to the frame.  For the larger picture, I had to send it to Walgreens.  On the screen, all of the text was visible, but I did not check the photo at Walgreens.  I realized after I hung it that some of the words blended in with my shorts.  So eventually, I'll replace the photo.


There are a few other things I want to add to the room as time goes on, but I'm also moving on to the next room.  I have some thoughts for the master bedroom, so I hope to work on it next.

Monday, July 21, 2014

10 Months

Owen has FINALLY decided to eat real food, and some baby food. He's picky though.  I recently gave him fresh blueberries and cucumbers, and he loved them.  Though he makes quite the mess, and I forgot how messy babies/young toddlers can be.  Bo refuses to eat the vegetables that fall on the floor, so he's no help with cleaning up.  Owen has also devoured bananas, and he likes homemade blueberry waffles.   

Since Owen loves to watch his big brother and even his cousin who is doing well taking steps, Owen has tried to take steps.  He falls face first, but he is trying.  He also likes to stand and push up into a stand by himself.  I'm going to have two walking before I know it.  Luckily, at a recent outing, I had practice chasing after two boys who didn't always run in the same direction (Thanks Sarah!). At the pool, I'll hold Owen's hands while he stands to jump in like his brother.  Speaking of the pool, Owen gets mad in his float.  He wants to be able to put his face in the water just like Aidan.  If he's in a float, he will find a way to put his face in the water.  Guess I'll have two fishes... 


Owen is finding out that the job of being the little brother is tough.  Toys get snatched and thrown. Big brother decides to tackle and wrestle him. Bo's tail is the right height to swat Owen in the face.  Big Brother screams and yells, and Owen tries to sleep through it.  Also, if mom has help, she's usually chasing after Aidan while the visitor is holding and playing with Owen.   

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

200

Two hundred statements/facts/words about blogging 

1.        I had a post about our camping trip I never finished that was going to be blog post 200. 
2.        Actually I have many rough drafts that I have deleted 
3.        I think I’m funny, but when I type some blogs out, I decide it was better in my head. 
4.        Owen was 10 months yesterday, and I’ll blog about that…eventually 
5.        Having two kids has really put a damper on blogging. Lots of ideas, but limited time. 
6.        I spend a lot of evenings doing P90X, so that consumes what would be blog time. 
7.        My kids sleep on what feels like opposite schedules, so staying up late means I pay for it the next day. 
8.        Late means 11 PM. 10PM is cutting it close. 
9.        Working on making our house a home takes up blog time. 
10.        I have several updates on the new house drafts, but I never seem to finish it.   
11.        I have a cool video of the house from start to finish, but I need to edit it.
12.        Plus we have updates (like landscaping), so I need to add to the video. 
13.        I took progress pictures of the house from generally the same view with the intent on sharing it. 
14.        Am I interesting? ARE YOU STILL READING? 
15.        I love when my friends post new blogs. 
16.        I get excited and read them right away 
17.        Are you a slacker like me? 
18.        Post something 
19.        Like right now or in the next day or two, I challenge you. 
20.        I have several Pinterest successes 
21.        I’d like to share them 
22.        I took photos 
23.        But I deleted them off my phone
24.        Thankfully there’s Google+, but I’ll have to search waaaaaaaaaaaaay back 
25.        Blogger isn’t always friendly with blogging 
26.        Which is why I’m discouraged or less motivated 
27.        I get frustrated 
28.        And then there’s no wine, and I don’t want beer 
29.        So I go to bed, thinking of what I should write 
30.        And I get to 30 and realize I can’t make up 200 random blogging facts 
31.        Pretend you don’t know how to count 
193. ALMOST THERE 
194.  See what I did there? 
195. No? 
196 Good… 
197. If that fooled you, I worry about the intelligence of my readers 
198. Or maybe it’s the blogger 
199. We’ll debate that another day. 
200. Thanks for following me for 200 posts, and here’s hoping I hit the post button more than the delete button.