Overheard At My House: Friends...

I love these moments when one of the little people in my house says something that makes me stop and take note. I always say I'll remember, but if I don't write it down it's pretty much gone forever. Here's the latest that made me stop down:

Here's the scene: We've just put the kids down for bed. My daughter has started the habit of coming out of her room several times to inquire about something/ask a question/get another hug/put off falling asleep. And she's getting quite creative with the stall...

little gal: "Mom, I've been thinking..."

me: "Yeeesss....."

little gal: "Friends are like fingers."

me: "Really. How is that?"

little gal: "Well, it would be terrible if you lost a finger, just like it would be terrible if you lost a friend."

me: "Good analogy you've thought up there (quietly reveling in the 7 year old deepness of it). Now off to bed with you."

little gal: (with one last ditch effort to stay up) "I was thinking you should make a card with my quote on it."

me: {smile} {squeeze} "Now off to bed with you." {squeeze} {smile}

I've been getting lazy about writing things down. That's why I just ordered the My Quotable Kid: A Parents' Journal of Unforgettable Quotes and I'm giddy about it coming in. I know I could just jot this down in any old notebook, but I think I'll be better about it in this cute little journal... It's kind of like getting new sneakers to encourage a new workout routine. It can only help, right?

My Painted Floor

The kitchen floor is done.

D-O-N-E.

Take a look:

Well, okay. Here's the whole truth... We still haven't moved the refrigerator back into the kitchen, so the make-shift kitchenette in the breakfast room still remains. We have a few touch-up areas, and we're still deliberating on a protective coat. (The paint peeps say we don't need one with the floor paint enamel, but it just seems like we should. Thoughts?) We haven't put back on the molding around the baseboards yet. But considering my kitchen floor isn't in it's original state any longer, or in some unfinished limbo stage in between, I'm calling it a successful (almost) completed project! I'm sure if you've hung out with me here for more than a few days, you've figured out that I don't move all too quickly in the big-decision department. I have what I've learned is called analysis paralysis. (Thanks, Ruth, for that great term!) I tend to think and rethink and consider and research and talk about and weigh my options and... Nothing ever gets done, speaking about my kitchen at least. So I am thrilled! As is my ever-so-patient husband.

Take a look at our process (pretty much followed This Old House's step-by-step, except the measuring part: we started in the middle of the floor.):

1. Rip out old linoleum, sand (biggest whipping of it all), and prime remaining subfloor plywood.

2. Paint first color over entire floor. Our choice: Sherwin Williams Porch and Floor Enamel in Van Dyke Brown.

3. Deliberate on pattern, other color, and hem-ha over the tough decisions. Cutting out poster board squares in varying sizes helped me to visualize. We decided to go with 16 inch squares laid on a diagonal in a checkerboard pattern.

4. Measure, draw, and tape off the checker board pattern. This step took quite a bit of time and math skills. Yes, that is a glass of wine in the picture because, yes, that is a head lamp and straight-edge I had to use. It took some t-i-m-e, and hey, it was a Saturday night.

5. Paint second color of Sherwin Williams Macademia. We used the method of painting over the tape, starting on the tape and dragging the brush onto the square. Then using a small roller over it all. I will say that Frog Tape is so great! (And that bright green is such a delicious color, don't you think?) We only had a few spots seep under and I think that was due to the tape job, not the tape itself.

6. Peel off the tape before the paint has dried, and I chose to pray the whole time too. It worked!

7. Brush on 2-3 coats of water-based polyurethane. We deliberated on whether or not we needed to do this step. It made a world of difference in the ease of cleaning and durability.

I really do love the way it turned out. I think if I were to redo it (which I'm not) I would choose less of a contrast between the colors, but really I'm not disappointed at all. I'm on the hunt for a fun rug to put down in front of the sink.

And now it's on to cabinets and countertops and all kinds of fun stuff. Maybe, just maybe, we'll step up the pace. We'll see... Don't hold your breath.

Ordinary is Okay

{found this here... thank you!}

I appreciate this lovely reminder.

And I appreciate your awesome comments about our painted floor. Thank you for being so encouraging!

Monday Meal Plan

{I'll share this cute little cooking invitation I was asked to make since I don't have a pic for today...

How fun is a cooking party?! I love this idea.}

We're not completely moved back into the kitchen yet, but it's back to cooking for me because... the floor is painted!! So exciting! I'll share some after pictures with you tomorrow. (Just as soon as I can locate my camera's battery charger??) Here's the plan:

Monday:

leftover assortment

Tuesday:

out

Wednesday/Thursday:

angel hair pasta with pesto sauce

grilled chicken breast

salad

Friday/Saturday:

chicken tenders

raw veggies and ranch to dip

Sunday:

paninis (I'm thinking with ham, cheese and granny smith apples.)

fruit salad

Whatcha got cookin'?

Happy Friday!

Why do short weeks end up feeling so long? Here's to the weekend...

Hope it's a colorful one!

Seriously Stellar Site

I've always loved Pottery Barn's cubby system, but the price tag always stops me in my organizational dreaming tracks. Well, if I want to get my build on, Ana over at Knock Off Wood has the "easy-to-follow" plans for building it at a fraction of this cost!

How about this Parsons Desk from West Elm:

Or this from William Sonoma:

Oh yeah, she's got these plans and so many more. I found her blog while doing a bit of blog-hopping and completely got stuck for a l-o-n-g time perusing her pages and pages of plans. Definitely check out her site!

Here's the plan that's got me itching to build something. It would be perfect in the little guy's future big boy room:

Seriously stellar site. What do you think?

Color Names

{image here}

So I'm realizing I'm completely influenced by the name of a color.... I'm drawn to a pretty name and can totally talk myself into (or out of) a paint choice just based on its name. Throw in a coffee connotation and I'm in. Loving latte, coffee bean, java colored paint swatches. On the other hand, anything with the word beige in it is a turn off. So right now while I'm deliberating the lighter color of our floor, colors like sand beach and macadamia are way winning out over balanced beige or accessible beige (even if they might just be the better choice). Drowning in nutmegs and tiki huts and antique earths, and trying to see past a nice name:

Oh, and I'm the same way with nail polish colors.

So impressionable. You?

7 Years Ago...

... I was at the hospital working on becoming a first time mommy! I feel so blessed to be this little gal's mom. She is just such a neat human being, and I can't believe it's my responsible to help grow her into an adult. Amazing really.

Happy Birthday to my sweet daughter!

We'll be slumber partying it tonight with two good friends. Wish us all luck and at least a little sleep!

Progress Pics and Color ??

Ripped up, sanded, filled, and as of today, primed:

Now what color?? Love the look of all of the following floors I found on Harmony and Home and a couple other places I didn't bookmark:

I'm having a hard time settling on two to go with. You would laugh at my stacks (and stacks) of color swatches... I've always loved the typical retro black and white checkerboard on a diagonal, and my 1950's house could work it, but I'm being realistic with my lack-of-love for floor cleaning and am shying away from white. So, what about black and tan or maybe black and brown?? All of the pictures I've found are painted wood-plank flooring. Do you think the black would look too bold on the solid plywood? I'm also considering two shades of brown, a light and dark version of each other. And I do like that last picture with the red in it. Oh goodness, I'm in a color conundrum.

Insider info: The walls in my kitchen are currently red, but will soon be a dark grayish brown color, as well as the surrounding rooms. The cabinets are white. Not sure on the countertops, but there will most likely be some butcher block in there somewhere. I have white, tan, black, red, and many different woods in the surrounding rooms.

Thoughts... Opinions... Guidance?

Heading (back) to the paint store this AM.

**update: There is no update. Still haven't settled on colors, and I'm driving my sweet hubby nuts with the deliberation.

***another update: One color chosen and painted... Doubts ensuing.

****final update: IT'S DONE! Check out it out!

Painted Wood Floors

Did you see that? It says, "You can do it!" And I'm going to do just that. We're redoing our kitchen floor! Finally. I know you don't believe me. And really, you shouldn't considering my kitchen floor was covered with the same nasty, old linoleum since we moved in 10 years ago, and then has looked like this for the past 3 months, but I'm moving forward. Seriously.

I was at a stand-still because I couldn't make myself settle on a tile. It's such a small space that it felt unnatural to add a new material to the mix. I really wanted the hardwood floors to continue through the space, but considering that would entail a major redo (read: pricey), it just wasn't going to happen for me in the near future. And, well, we had already pealed up half of the floor, so there was no going back.

After finishing pealing up the 3 layers of vinyl, we found plywood. Not the best of discoveries, but it was flush with the wood floors which made me happy (and future sweeping tasks sound so much simpler). Shortly thereafter, I came across the above article in my inspiration files. (From Cottage Living 2004... Been dreaming of kitchens for quite sometime now!) I thought this might just be the answer for us for right now. I did a little internet research and was further convinced... Take a look at these as well from Cottage Living.

So, my temporary and immediate flooring solution:

I'm going to paint my kitchen floor.

Really.

Are you with me?

**Update: I did it!!**

Monday Meal Plan: To not to

Only two weeks into the new year and I'm already to this:

Monday: take out

Tuesday: sandwiches

Wednesday: take out

Thursday: sandwiches

Friday: take out

Saturday: hopefully back to cooking???

Sunday: hopefully back to cooking???

Well, it's for good reason. We're finally doing something about that kitchen floor of ours. I know: Gasp! They still aren't finished. We're remedying that though, temporarily anyways. More on this tomorrow...

So although it seems there is no meal plan this week, this is the plan.

Goals

As if I needed more pressure to get these resolutions that are swirling around in my head down on paper: Dave Ramsey passed along this little nugget to me (okay, and to the rest of his listening audience).

I'll be putting pen to paper and making it official this weekend. (Am I the only one still mulling it over?) Makes sense: It'll be like my own personal map to ensure I get to my desired destination. Thanks Dave!

Don't forget to fill me in on your own favorite inspirational words to live by. Thank you!

Happy Friday to you!

(We made it! Phew.)

Motto Search

I'm on the hunt for a new motto for 2010. I loved last year's so very much, and I just haven't found one that resonates quite as much to me. I didn't even know I was looking for words to live by when I heard them, but they just made so much sense to me. I'm not retiring "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle", but rather adding to it. Do you have a quote or verse that you think would be fitting for a personal motto? Please share! I'm on the hunt and would love, love your input. I'll share everyone's suggestions here, in hopes that you find some inspiring words to take along with you as well. Thank you!

This Time Next Year?

It's the time of year to start thinking about changes and improvements and goals. I'm in the process of making my list for 2010. I'm really thinking about it and hope to have something tangible to go by in the next week or so. Something that has helped focus me was a little "vision board" activity I did with my mom's group...

For our December meeting we were to bring a stack of magazines, scissors and a glue stick. The instructions were to visualize your life in a year, and then just start cutting: words, images, phrases. At first, I was a bit skeptical. Although I was so looking forward to getting together with these women, I wasn't real sure how this would help me. I totally underestimated it. When I finished with my little board, it was oh-so-clear where my priorities and focus were, even if it wasn't so obvious to me before. Take a look at what I created:

Notice the lack of white space? Yeah, I've got a lot I want to do! (You might also notice that everything is aligned horizonally... That might just hint at an underlying issue that we won't be tackling in 2010.) Half of my board focuses on family time. Something I found interesting was the amount of mom & daughter pictures that I cut out. This is definitely an area that I would like to nurture, as my almost seven-year-old is already feeling way too cool. And you definitely can't miss the beaches/paradise/getaway places. And the kitchen: THIS is the year. (Maybe. Hopefully. Ha!)

It was an excellent exercise to focus in on what's really important when setting immediate goals. I highly recommend it. Not only was it focussing, it was almost therapeutic to just sit and cut and paste. I would like to do this every year. I could see it being done on my own or as a family, but it was so nice to sit with a group of women and see the similarities and differences among our visions. Take a look at a couple others:

{And check out some more vision boards from the group.}

What are your goals in 2010?

Do you think this would be a good activity for you?

I would love to hear/see what you come up with.

Meal Plan Monday: back at it!

Back to the ole Menu Planning Days... It was my 2009 New Year's Resolution to start planning my meals, and look at me: I'm going to call it a success! I know I owe it to you guys. This here blog held me accountable. While I wouldn't score an A+ on the menu planning report card, I'm still pretty darn (or is it darned? Anyone?) impressed with myself. I started off with a pretty attainable goal of cooking at least 3 times a week, with hope that that would feed us for 6 days. While I hear some folks plan for and prepare 7 meals a week, I know that's just not realistic for this gal. I'm sticking with my original deal and not upping the ante. Hey, if it's works...

So here we go with the first meal plan of 2010:

Monday/Wednesday:

stuffed pork tenderloin (my mom froze a section from Christmas Eve and passed it on. Bless her!)

strawberry salad (baby spinach, strawberries, sliced almonds, Brianna's Poppyseed dressing)

Tuesday:

mac & cheese & peas (hubby out: kid meal)

Thursday/Friday:

tamales (from Costco: The sample lady totally sold me on these :-)

mexican rice

black beans

Saturday:

out for burgers (Yeah!)

Sunday:

grilled chicken salad

I perused back through my early menu planning days, why I do it, my goal, and the process. I think I'm going to continue posting them up. I know they're not the most interesting/inspiring/creative of plans, but the fact that it's part of my routine helps me to keep it up. What do you think?