:: projects are good for the body...and soul

project #1:
i've been feeling real "handy" here lately. maybe it's all of the TLC i've been watching...all of the cooking and home improvement/design shows. a few weeks ago, i cooked my very first ever homemade lasagna. eat your heart out, stouffer's. eating lasagna from scratch made me (and matt) to not ever want to eat stouffer's again. who would have thought that day would ever come? ha! for dessert, we had "fried plaintains" covered in peanut butter ice-cream. oh wow! soooo good! a recipe from curtis stone, the take home chef. yes, i can really love that show.

yummmm!


fryin' up the bananas. i realized at the last minute that i was out of flour, so i tried using bisquick for the batter...didn't quite have the same effect...haha!


the ice cream was made from all-natural p-nut butter mixed with vanilla ice cream. a potato masher works wonders to do this!



project #2:
i was in much need of a bookcase for my office since i gave my other one to scout...mainly as a toy shelf...she hasn't accumulated a ton of books, just yet. so instead of spending $130 on a bookcase that i didn't really like, i thought i would try making my own. i was pretty pleased with the way it turned out. i think i will go back and put a little "poly" on it at some point, but it's working for me now.

the beginning...


preciseness is key...okay, not really...


scout patiently chillin' while i work on the bookcase. i don't know what is up with that face she is making, but it is a hoot! ha! check out those sweet clemson digs she's rockin'...from auntie ange! :)



project #3:
and over the weekend, i started on my desk that i am, oh, so excited about finishing. i am currently working off of a roll-up camp table that is, well, not very suitable and is too low and is hurting my back. i sold my other desk to christine when we moved here. i really liked that desk, but i needed something larger and roomier for all of my crapitola. so, since i had completed one handywoman project, i thought i would be up for tackling another. we went to lowe's on sunday and got the parts we needed. had some pipe cut and threaded for the legs. (they'll do that for free at lowe's...pretty sweet!) so sunday, we screwed the floor flanges into the desktop for the pipes to screw into just to see how the height was going to be. it's perfect! last night, i sanded and rounded the corners and edges and put some colored stain on it. it was supposed to be orange, but it came out more like a burnt sienna. not really what i was going for. so i may resand and do something else. i'm really anxious to get it finished though, so i'm not sure what i will do. while i was staining, i managed to dip my hair in the can of stain. yeeeah, about 3 inches of it. then i was stupid enough to just wipe it with a rag and let it dry. i paid for it in the shower later on. what a mess. it was water-based, so it could have been much worse. haha!

after the leg attachment and matt's model-worthy feet...


leg attachment detail...


the natural butcher-block looking top that i think i wish i would have left "al natural".. :(


i'll post the completed project when it's finished...


project #4:
i also forgot to post about scout's new furniture. we made a trek to IKEA in D.C. the 2nd week we were here. scout needed a crib and dresser. we found just what we were looking for! that was fun to put together. maybe that was what started the whole need to build something. haha!

the dresser...before assembly


the drill made the assembly go much faster...


yay! we did it! scout is especially fond of the bottom drawer!



the crib parts...


scout patiently waiting for her new bed...she's getting good at the waiting game...


she went nuts when i put her in there! i interpreted that as, "thanks mom...i love it!"

:: the past few weeks...

so i left off a few posts ago with the weekend that mom, kaylee, and barb came up for a visit...and that is where i'll resume the posting...daaaaaaang, i really get behind on all the happenings! ha! here are pics, because pics are better than words...

kaylee was so happy to see her cousin! and scout was happy to see her's too!



we took the ferry across the river, just for kicks. there's nothing really on the other side, but it was something to do. haha! can you spot the E?


we walked up to the observation deck of the ferry to get a better view.


i felt like the paprazzi trying to snag this photo. although, i think the subject of my photo looks a little different than what the paparazzis looks like...hahha! i can't be sure, but i think she was riding a harley and not a honda. maybe we can get her on TLC's "What Not To Wear" show. i'm pretty sure she's a candidate.


after "ferrying", we headed to CFA to see matt and to grab some supper!


scout getting some prunes from mimi..."yo, mimi...how 'bout hookin' a sista up wif some o' dat chicky-fil-a??"


barb, scout, mom, and kaylee before they left to go back home. :(


for those of you who don't know, barb is my mom's "boss-lady" at "let's do lunch". and "let's do lunch" is barb's food business that feeds all of Southside Christian School...my 1st-12th grade alma-mater. back in the day, barb was our softball and basketball coach and p.e. teacher. we used to call her our "2nd momma". she rocks! here's a blast from the past pic. wow, this was 12 yrs ago. i can really be an old sucka. (l to r: karen, barb, me, jamie)


so, sunday morning, after they headed out, i made the executive decision to stay home from church. matt had been working some whack hours at the store, so he was in much need of some zzzzz's. scout and i went in to wake him up at 2:30pm!!! i think that is a record for the mattster. he needed it though. he had been working 17-18 hr days for a solid week. poor thing. scout loves to wake matt up...it's so funny...a few smacks on the cheek and he's up! it's amazing! HAHA!



that evening we walked down to market square and chilled out. it was nice. we got back after dark and there was a little visitor on our porch light. i guess he got lost on his way to the lake.



well, it's late-thirty and i am pooped!!! i'll resume this "to be continued" post later.

peace out...

:: laser beams and king's daughters

well, you see i have gotten behind once again on bloggin'. i hope to redeem myself over the next few days!! :)



today scout had her first, and unfortunately not last, laser/steroid surgery on her nose and belly. for those of you who don't know, she has what are known as a hemangiomas. the one on her nose is "cavernous", or under the skin. and the one on her belly is external. typically, the external ones are harmless and there is no treatment involved for them unless they are on a part of the body where they could potentially do some harm. in most cases, they disappear in a year. the one on her nose is the more serious of the two. because of where it is, it could harm delicate tissue and cartilage thus causing a malformation and potential other problems. so the treatment for this is laser surgery and steroid injection into the hemangioma itself. she will have 4-5 treatments...one a month for the next 4-5 months.

so, today was the first treatment. she did EXTREMELY well, considering she had to go for 8 hrs without eating anything...and then all she got was pedialyte! she only got fussy once, but she quickly fell asleep because it was naptime...haha! the surgery went great. they put her to sleep with some strawberry flavored gas, and 20 minutes later it was all over with! she slept the entire way home including the hour we were stuck in newport news traffic. that city has some SERIOUS traffic issues!! fo REAL! haha!

so anyways, here are some pictures from the day...

cuttin' up in the waiting room...


takin' a walk with daddy while we await surgery time...


"maybe if i just snap my fingers, this will allll be over with!"


all pooped out and ready to go home! all of the nurses were wanting to hold her...she got a LOT of attention! everyone there was so sweet. Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters was where she had to go. isn't that the weirdest name for a hospital? or anything for that matter. it's like, we need more info here!! what king?? how many daughters?! were they sick or something? haha!


"i survived! now...what's up with this RED nose?? i got rid of my blue nose, now i have a RED one?!??! holy majoly! hahaha!" (side note--the drs told us that it will look worse at first but we'll begin to see a difference in the next few weeks)


"oh...wow...yeah, this is JUST what i needed!"



"i'm so hungry i could eat this entire bottle!! YUMMM!"


"i had SURGERY this morning?!?!?!?! are you sure!??! check out these 2 sweet teef i'm sportin' now!!"



so, that was our day today! we have a follow-up appointment next thursday so they can evaluate her and see how the treatment went, so we'll know more then!

take care, everyone! :)

:: happy 6 month birthday to scout!!

happy birthday, little bug!!