Motivation

I like to eat junk.  In fact, I just made a bowl of  "Chex Krispy Treats" and ate it.  I know that it's junk for me and my body, but I can't help it because I'm addicted to junk food.  I hate junk food and too large portions.  I hate eating because I'm bored, or I think I'm bored.  Ugh...  I keep trying to lose the rest of this baby weight and then I "reward" myself with junk because I was so good that day.  Not cool Ruth, no cool.

So, I need help, motivation, a community of wonderful people who will help me lose the 25 lbs I'd like to get rid of.  I know that I look sooo much better than I did.  Anyone would after loosing 40 lbs!  But it's not good enough for me.  I need to do better and move my butt and eat the good food that I buy each month.  I've read so much about food and what is good for you and I'm at the point where it is almost a sin to not follow what I've learned because I know what is right.  Ten years ago I would have been okay eating sugar cereal for breakfast everyday, but I've learned what processed sugars can do to your body.

Anyway, I may look good right now, but I want to look better.  I want to feel better!  And I don't want to be in as much pain with my next pregnancy like I was with my first.  My body just can't take it unless I build some serious strength.

I'm coming up with a plan and I should post it here to hold myself accountable.  I know that I can do this!  I can do hard things...I have in the past.  This losing weight stuff is a whole different hard though, so it's a challenge for me.

I want to look like this (minus Ken), and fit into medium shirts and size 8 or 6 jeans.  I want to wear some of my old skirts and maybe I'll be able to talk Shem into letting me buy a few new pieces of clothing, but mostly I want to wear what is currently in my closet  without the bulge around my waist.

Now.

I know that I can do this!  I just have to be committed and determined and stick to a plan.  I'm not fat and I am considered perfectly healthy, but I know that I can be better and I wan to be so that I can live healthy for a long time with my family.

Out takes from Christmas photo shoot

I forgot about these photos that I took of Asher for our Christmas card.  He's so cute I can't help but post them!

Happy Valentine's Day by the way.

My refinished dinning table

Back in November I started to refinish my dinning table.  I got the idea from this blog and I plan to also paint my chairs bright red once I find the time to fix them.

I think the overall lesson that I learned with the project was that sanding takes forever!!!  And you HAVE to sand it to make the stain stick!  My table had a glossy finish on it, so that made it a bit more difficult to sand, but it was worth it to spend the time on it.

Here are some of my in progress photos and some finished photos with the baby attached.  Again, I will never post photos about this if I were to wait until the table were perfectly staged... it's just not going to happen right now.

 1.  First you have to sand like crazy.  Plan on sanding for what seems like forever!  It will be worth it because then your stain will stick to the wood.  I used Minwax in Dark Walnut for my stain.

 2.  I applied my stain with a very expensive purdy brush and I wish that I had just used some paper towel or a rag because the clean up of the brush was so annoying!  I let the stain sit for a good 15 minutes before wiping the excess off and then I let it dry over night.  BTW, don't stain furniture inside in the winter...fumes all night long!  Like I said, I learned a lot from this project. :)

 3.  So, I wasn't happy with how my first coat of stain adhered, so I went back and sanded it some more and then applied more stain in my carport.  Don't forget to run a tack rag over the table before staining to get all of the dust off.  You don't want dust particles in your finish.

 Pretty!

 5. After the stain dried I lightly sanded it with 400 grit paper to smooth it out and then applied my varnish.  For the varnish you want a new or high quality brush to apply because this will be the finishing coat, or coats.  A few nice thin and even coats will do the trick with some light sanding in between and then you'll have a very pretty table!

 6.  I also painted the legs antique white just like on Katie Bower's blog and I love it!  It's more modern and fits my style and I think with my blue walls once I paint the chairs red everything will look amazing!

 
Do you think I should choose a different color for the chairs?  I'm looking for something to pop, but I'd be open to suggestions.  I'm not going to paint them until the summer when we have multiple sunny days in a row, so I still have some time to decide.

My Kitchen!!!

I've been waiting for months to post about our kitchen remodel, but I've been reluctant to post because: 1: my kitchen is never quite clean enough, 2: it's still a work in progress, and 3: the lighting is never quite right.  Enough is enough and I'm posting the progress that we've made on this once hideous 70's kitchen.

 Missing drawer and crusty cabinets.

 Microwave on counter which was almost always blocked by dirty dishes.

 Awesome wood paneling on the wall for an added rustic look.

 To bright and white and clean!  Oh so clean! (Except for the dishes that I just washed and all the junk on the counters, but I do have a solution for all that clutter and soon I will update you on what I've done.)

 Above range microwave and fan.  it looks bulky, but it's functional.  I'm hoping to balance out that wall with some open shelving on the left.

 Awesome contrast to the floors.

 This is the wall that will have the open shelving.  I'd like to put up three shelves, but I'll probably only do two that cover the length of the counter to the cabinet.

As a side note we also painted the insides of the cabinets and replaced all of the old hardware and hinges.  I'd like to add some pulls,but with how close some of the drawers are it wouldn't really work, but maybe I'll find something.  Would it be weird to have pulls just on the cabinets doors and skip the drawers?  I wonder.

It took forever to clean, sand, prime, and paint everything!  Oh and to make a new drawer.  It was so worth it though!  I'd still like to replace the counter tops, but we're going to leave them alone for now.  I'd like a black marble/ soap stone with a white subway tile on the walls if we were to do the counters.