Grown up Furniture

I've officially been an adult longer than not. I've been watching home improvement shows since BEFORE HGTV existed. Think Changing Rooms BBC. All those years and home improvement projects, and my bed still sits on a college level metal frame.

I've used Anna White's plans before, I have many of my own tools, I even have my very own collection of safety goggles. Norm from the New Yankee workshop would be proud. The weather is nice, my girls are old enough to entertain themselves in the yard. It is time.

I assembled all the wood. I went with basic inexpensive pine, in hindsight I would have spent a little more and gotten a nicer, harder wood, or even used some salvaged wood, but it is what it is. 

I borrowed a drill press from a friend to make sure that my holes were perfect 90 degree angle.

It was very easy to put together and it turned out very pretty, and heavy. 

Then it went bad. I wanted a darker look and went with a gel stain. Next time I take it apart I might attempt to change the finish though as It didn't turn out exactly how I had hoped, But since My work space isn't heated. Winter put a stop to finishing, so I installed it as is.

Installation of the headboard was a breeze, I simple drilled holes that lined up with the holes on the bed frame and attached with bolts, washers, and nuts. My cheapo bed frame did not have holes for the foot board. Bummer again. I could used 1X6's to make rails that run along the side of the bed and attach the foot board. By now I wasn't loving the finish though and didn't relish the idea of buying wood to finish in a way I didn't like so that it would match. I was also having some issues with the softness of the wood. So I did what anyone would do I asked my friends at Google for some ideas.

That brought me to Amazon and something called a Bed Claw which is just an extender that attaches to the end of a metal frame and provides a plate to attach foot boards too. I wasn't too excited at spending another $30 toward this project. Did I tell I don't like the finish? But decided to go for it any way. It was easy to use and in about an hour the foot board was attached, and I officially had a REAL bed.

Goop and Slime

At Wednesday night church I got the opportunity to show 2nd Graders how to make a variety of fun sensory muck. We made some pretty good messes and all in all had a fun time.

The recipes include Bible verses, because I like to help the kids have word pictures and sensory recognition to help them to be able to remember verses easier.

Click here for printable recipes to send home with your own group of kids.

Slime
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1_R0SwkUcuByacFqMhfCCFonDhjx0waPlM1GSbgmpZL0

Floam
https://drive.google.com/open?id=14JehL68qkkqSQV-og08VZHKUT838CaUUV_vwxYRj6is

Moon Sand
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xMo9Tl1gkbeDSufljTYHviVIqjM-oPoTyPm0fjsgxzs/edit?usp=sharing

Play dough
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p_9IevkIBiTdAtiviH8LWyU5LnQAcr47VADkrfEyT5s/edit?usp=sharing

Sand Foam
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zA2SDi2ao6-g4e0uaNOY7mzx71HXrrbEPd_nSH4kYto/edit?usp=sharing

Sidewalk Chalk
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1A3fyDgFPcFBEyLGYdFWqSMTvDS5Z3QKLZ4EbISwpumo

Chai- Tea for Two

***The product you see in the photo was given to me in exchange for my honest evaluation. All opinions expressed are my own.***

I have lots of recipes for Hot drinks, some I've even shared with you, I've drank premixes, and even had a Keurig for a bit, and just this week got free Caribou Coffee for a year!

It's Minnesota though, and winters are long and sometimes pretty rough. which means I have plenty of opportunities every year to drink all of my favorites and try new ones! This time I get to try Tazo, Chai Filterbag Tea or Latte Concentrate.

Several years ago I got to stay at a Resort where the served Tazo, Wild Sweet Orange Herbal Tea in the workout room. I've been a fan of Tazo since. So my expectations where high.

Thankfully I was sent samples of the prepackaged tea for steeping in hot water as I could only find the Classic Latte in my local store.

All of the flavors where yummy. the Classic Latte was my favorite, but a much higher calorie choice. Overall it was a delicious sample!

You too can sign up to receive free Samples for you to try and share from Smiley360!

Partial Solar Eclipse

OK, so this is a pretty old photo. Is is from October 2014! I started this post and then never got back around to finishing it. I've been on a personal mission since Thanksgiving though, (Thanksgiving resolutions are a thing right?) My mom and sister decided to come for the weekend to visit. Those of you who've been following me for a while may remember how terrible my family views my house keeping skills. I have gotten significantly better, but I still panic a little anytime they come to visit. Long story short, I made a decision to complete things when I see them instead of setting it aside for later. So here we are January 10th 2016 and I am sharing this photo.

Disclosure - This has been a long, often frustrating assignment. For example I walk down the stairs to get a can of beans to cook with, see a toy to put away, then grab the dirty clothes and put them by the washing machine, wait better start a load, need to fold and put that other one away, these drawers need to be reorganized, this needs to go to the garbage, I need to empty all of the garbage cans, "mom, I'm hungry", doh, that can of beans are still in the basement! After several months I still have moments like that, and my to do list never seems to go away, but so many things have been crossed off, and I've even started to notice things that are done more than not done!

You can see the top portion of the sun is blocked by the moon. This was a neat thing to share with my kids. When I was a kid I didn't always enjoy science class, as an adult science things cause me to geek out a bit. We saw several of the blood moons in 2014/2015, the meteor shower in August, and chose Astronomy for our curriculum this year. I love seeing my kids searching for planets and constellations in the night sky. They've asked some great questions, notice moon fazes, and even know that Thermal Nuclear Fusion describes the explosions on the sun's surface.

The day of this Solar Eclipse, our local girls soccer team played their first ever game at the State Championship Tournament. We went directly from cheering them as they left town forever changing the history of our little town, to witnessing another rare sight.

All that meandering to say. Be different, find your passion, read, learn, try new things, practice! 

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein