The Chair Transformation

A couple weeks ago I bought this absolutely hideous looking chair at Good Will for 10 bucks.  You might not be able to see from the picture how hideous it is, but believe me, it was.  In fact as the employee from Good Will was helping me load it into my car he said, "I didn't think anyone was ever going to buy this thing.  It's been here forever".  Despite its appalling appearance, it was a good sturdy chair and I figured I would be able to put it to good use in one way or another.  So I decided to try my hand at painting and reupholstering furniture.

VOILA!

Reupholstering was not nearly as hard as I though it was going to be.  Granted, I probably didn't do the best job, but good enough for who it's for.  It was a fun little project to do!.  Now, on to the armoire!

Freezing with a chance of snow cones

We are learning quickly that the weather in Indy is completely crazy and unpredictable.  Thanks to today we experienced our first ice storm.  Last night it started raining the weirdest icy slush rain.  It wasn't hail, rain, or snow...but a combination of all three.  Kind of like a snow cone mixture.  There was 1/2 an inch of ice covering the ground when we woke up this morning.  We got some awesome pictures of the icy blanket. All the schools closed down and most of the stores closed early.  I wish I would have gone to school in Indiana.  There are so many snow days here!  Lucky Hoosiers!  Growing up in Utah, I had exactly 2 snow days my whole school career.  I'm pretty sure Utah's policy on snow days is, the snow has to be level with the roof of your house to be considered a snow day.  Not so in Indiana though.  An inch of ice on the ground is all it takes.  The ice was so bad that when the mailman came around today he would stop at the mailbox, take out a rubber mallet, give the mailbox a good whack to brake off the ice, then put the mail inside.  Matt and I thought that was hilarious and watched him whacking icy mailboxes until he was out of sight.  Despite my phobia of the cold it was very fun to be trapped in our "igloo" of a house all day.  Matt was even brave enough to venture out in the weather to pick up some emergency supplies from the store, just in case the power went out or something like that.  He came home with a bag of candles, a case of water, and 3 boxes of PopTarts.  Oh yeah, we are definitely ready for a natural disaster!

The greatest invention...in my book

One thing I absolutely love is learning alternative uses for different products. Some examples: The white part of an orange peel can be used to whiten teeth, coffee grounds can reduce the appearance of cellulite, Vodka removes water spots from faucets handles & disinfects surface areas, WD-40 gets tomato & lipstick stains out of clothes, and vinegar does about everything you could possibly imagine. Vinegar has to be the greatest invention in the world! Right next to the wheel and peppermint patties. I feel like the dad from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and his addiction to Windex. I carry a bottle of it where ever I go and sleep with it at night to ensure better dreams. If Matt broke his leg right now I would probably soak it in vinegar. That ought to fix it! Okay, maybe I'm not that addicted to it, but seriously for cleaning it is the best. I have always hated using chemical cleaning products to clean my house. No particular reason. I just have never liked the thought of chemicals being all over, especially since we have a dog and a tot running around. It puts my mind at ease knowing that if Livvy licked the water faucet the worst that could happen is she would be a little tipsy for a while. Also, I hate having 20 different bottles in the cupboard that only accomplish one specific use. I found one website that listed 131 uses for vinegar! Talk about a multipurpose product. And it only cost about 2 bucks for a gallon. The only down fall to this amazing product is the smell. But I've also learned, the smell doesn't last too long. 5 minutes tops. I think that pretty much wraps up my feelings for vinegar.    

Kids + Christmas = Magical???

We had a great time in Utah this Christmas! It was so much fun to be with family and friends! I'm always amazed how fast it all goes by. We were in Utah for 10 days but it felt more like 10 minutes before we were back on the plane flying home. We squeezed in a lot of fun in those 10 minutes though! Baking, sewing, movies, games, restaurants, Parson's donuts, chatting, basketball, temple sealing, laughing, etc! The down side to the trip was that Livvy got sick a couple days before Christmas so she wasn't feeling so great for most of the trip. So the actual day of Christmas went a little something like this...with a positive, magical twist!

It started out with tears...tears of joy of course

Livvy was so thankful for her presents she wouldn't stop praising us

A Christmas scowl any mom would be proud to receive

More praising of gratitude

Overwhelmed with Christmas spirit, she laid down to contemplate the true reason for the season

Though the photos of our lovely little Livvy may not show it, we really did have a great Christmas with her. We are so lucky to have her! Even being under the weather she truly made our Christmas more special and magical!

The Biggest Loser - Meet Denise and Sarah - Video - NBC.com

One of my best friends and her mom are going to be on the Biggest Loser next season! I am so excited for them! They will be awesome! Be sure and watch their slim-down journey starting on January 4. Go Pink Team!

The Biggest Loser - Meet Denise and Sarah - Video - NBC.com

It's gettin' cold here

The past couple days have been pretty cold. We woke up to snow this morning. The snow in Indy is very light and airy. Kind of like the fake snow they use in the movies. Since the wind is so strong here the snow wisps all over the road. It actually is very mystical looking. I'm nervous for winter to come this year since we are in a new state and don't really know what to expect. Snow I can handle...but cold 50 mph winds...that's a different story.

I think this picture of Livvy is so funny. It's like Driving Miss Daisy meets Look Who's Talking.

Wearing white after Labor Day and lookin' goooood

Matt had his white coat ceremony yesterday. I am so stinkin' proud of him! The white coat ceremony is a ritual schools have to welcome students into the professional medical field. They wear a short white coat while they're in school. After 4 years and a small fee of $200,000 they will give Matt the rest of his coat. I never thought about Matt being a Dr. until yesterday at the ceremony. He looked so good walking across the stage and getting "cloaked" with his white coat. And I have to say, he looks pretty dang sexy in it too. My parents were able to come out for the ceremony and it was so fun having them here for the weekend.