Easing In

It's weird that with all of the end of the year talk of busy-ness and the scramble to get everything done, I haven't been feeling that way at all. I've taken a break from a lot of things, and Margaret isn't super busy (her school doesn't get out until LATE June-- yuck). It's weird to not be needed every second. That feeling was hard to imagine when the kids were younger and they were all up in my business, but it's kind of a quiet empty nest-y feeling and I can't say that I care for it.

We have sports a couple of days a week, church activities on Sundays, and that's about it. I've been working on getting advance reader copies of  my book out, and coming up with some marketing strategies. I realize I get more done when I'm busier, if that makes sense, so I may need to beef up my schedule a bit. And while I know there is a time for slowing down and making space in one's life,  it's not as if I'm at home praying and contemplating all day or even going to an exercise class.

I'm just being quiet in my house, doing laundry, and waiting. Not sure for what.

While I was waiting last week, I painted two very sturdy, lovely end tables from Hickory Chair Company. They looked very good as-is, even though they had some scratches and cosmetic damage on their surfaces. They were very shiny and formal, however, and I don't think that look is selling these days. I thought they might be more likely to find a new home if I painted them a soft gray.

Before:

After:

Ooh! I hope someone special loves them as much as I do.

I hope your week is starting off well. Mine began with a 9 am mammogram, so I think that counts as hitting the ground running (squeezing?).

Almost-FREE Decorating Ideas

So my computer died and I can't upload photos from my camera. I have to limp along on a borrowed computer and use cell phone pictures. If you can excuse the poor photo quality, I'd like to share 4 no-to-low cost ideas I used in Molly's tween bedroom re-do.

1. Ribbon drawer pulls. This inexpensive dresser previously had TWELVE knobs butterfly knobs that Molly didn't like anymore. I did not want to pay for 12 new ones, which would probably have cost more than the dresser itself, so used satin striped ribbon for drawer pulls. Because the drawers glide open easily, the ribbon is an easy, inexpensive solution that will last a long time.

2. Carpet tile area rug. The shag rug we wanted from Target was 60 dollars, which was more than I wanted to spend. I went to a carpet store and asked for carpet samples. They gave me as many as I wanted for free! I put them in a pattern I liked, flipped them over, and used duct tape to secure them to each other. When I flipped them over again, I had a rug for ZERO dollars!




3. Spray painted hardware. On the room's other 3 dressers (yes, I know-- too much furniture!) I spray painted the hardware to match the room. This should be an easy change when Molly wants to change her color scheme again (ugh!)
4. Duct taped stool. Molly's new bookcase is very tall. Fortunately, Tom secured it to the wall for me. Still, I needed a way for Molly to reach the top shelves. We found an aged (gross!) step-stool on the curb and I covered it with turquoise duct tape. Nearly free and super fun! Colored and patterned duct tape is very popular with the tween and teen set right now. In fact, I think Molly's favorite part of her room was the extra roll of duct tape I gave her to go with it.

Before:

After:
So there you have it. If I've learned one thing from my kids, it's that their taste in room decor does not last forever. Having some free-to-low cost projects helped me create a fun room without breaking the bank.

Putting the Nasty in Nastia

Molly and I went to the Gymnastics Superstars event last night. It featured Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liuken, as well as the entire men’s 2008 Olympic team. Molly was beside herself with excitement, and so was I! I can still remember how enamored I was with Mary Lou Retton in 1984 and how I would have done anything, anything, to meet my loves-- Bart Conner and Mitch Gaylord. Tim Daggett? Yeah, him too.

Last night’s show was put on by Disney, so I expected a little Disneyfication, but I figured for the most part, it would be watching girls and guys in leotards performing amazing feats on the rings, the beam, etc, just like in the Olympics. The sweat of the gym, bright lights, grunts of exertion, some chalk dust in the air.

I hadn’t seen any commercials for it, so I was unprepared for the pseudo-sexual teenybopper rock aspect of last night’s show. Rather than leotards, the women wore sparkly bikini-like costumes or tiny school-girl skirts paired with thigh high stockings. The men’s team was shirtless with blue jeans (made out of very stretchy material, I presume) and cargo shorts. The lights were low and music blared the whole time.

It was weird to see Shawn Johnson, that beautiful little fireplug of muscles and power, tarted up in mesh and sequins flinging her hair around during her floor routine. Check out Shawn in this clip.

It’s funny b/c I’ve always thought that the Olympic leotards should be much more flattering, but after last night, I’ve changed my tune. Even though some leotards look like a sparkly duck died on the shoulder, and the bottoms tend to creep up during strenuous maneuvers, they lend an air of athleticism rather than voyeurism to the whole scene.

These young men and women are world-class athletes who have trained for years and years to be able to do stuff 99.95% of people could never do. I think their get-ups and gyrating dances took away from this. I mean I could dress up in a skanky outfit and dance with a ribbon. You wouldn’t want to watch me, but still.

Wires came down from the ceiling, transporting the gymnasts upward for a Cirque du Soliel effect. There was an all-girl rock band playing, plus Jordan Pruitt, whom I had never heard of, but Jake says is a Disney rocker he saw on a box of Mac and Cheese last year.

There was a whole Hannah Montana send-up and the male gymnasts dressed up like the Jonas Brothers. Good cross promotion, Disney.

Toward the end, Nastia donned a plain white, conservative leotard and did a floor routine set to “Ave Maria.” It was beautiful, albeit jarring after everything else we had seen up until that point. I couldn’t help but think that last night highlighted the Nasty over the Nastia.

I really believe we all would have enjoyed it just as much if it had been a straightforward gymnastics event. Oh well, the tweens ate it up! It was the best night of Molly’s life and Jake is sad he missed it. Nastia and Shawn looked like they were having a blast, too. Now I need to go get Molly into her Hannah Montana Halloween costume. Go figure.