Rachael & Brooklyn in Town & Blue Jacket Winery

Rachael came in town to visit last weekend and stayed from Wednesday evening until Sunday, so it was nice to have a family member in the house for that long.  Along with her came my family’s dog and her new kitty because my parents were away on an Alaskan cruise.  Brooklyn, Rachael’s kitten, was probably the highlight of the weekend, especially for Chase.

I'm sorry Rachael, but she is just not photogenic, but she is adorable in person.

We introduced them in a bedroom where Greg had to pin down Chase so he was forced to interact with Brooklyn.  After several mean hisses, they were best friends, and spent the entire weekend following each other around and literally rolling around playing.  Rachael took tons of great videos that she will have to share with me some day so I can post them.  I took a short one, but it's not nearly as good as what they worked up to.

The weekend was pretty relaxing playing Playstation Move Frisbee Golf and Bow & Arrow, going out for Spin Pizza, renting Hunger Games, and shopping on the Plaza.  We also took Joe and Abby to Shawnee Mission Dog Park and walked around talking about our futures. 

It’s very interesting how unique all of us girls turned out.  I always thought I was the odd ball going into engineering when my sisters studied the arts, but our differences are deeper than what we chose to do for a career.  We each treasure diverse things whether it’s a career, economic stability, being healthy, relationships, dream of owning your own business, and/or family.  It's interesting how those things influence our everyday decisions.  I found myself "lecturing" Rachael to choose things for her life that make me happy in mine, but in reality, her dreams are different than mine, and it's weird to think that someone else wants something completely different than you.

 

On Saturday afternoon the plan was to hit the Lawrence Wineries, but the rain pushed back our plans so we were only able to go to Blue Jacket Winery just outside of Lawrence.  We met up with some friends and enjoyed some wine under a covered patio.  That evening we went to Jack Stack and called it an early night.

After a long weekend, we rested on Sunday and got energized again to go to our first Sporting KC soccer game that evening.

DIY Painted Nightstands

I love the look of two nightstands on each side of the bed.  I wanted to have this in our spare bedroom that we are decorating, but I didn't want to spend too much money since this room is primarily used when guests come in town to visit.  We were able to find some nightstands from a garage sale for $7 each, and instead of painting them a darker color or restaining them, I decided that I wanted to paint them white and give them a nice, clean look. 

I have never painted any furniture white, so I wanted to make sure that I did it right the first time.  There are many blogs on painting furniture, and I was able to find directions on a blog called, Young House Love, that I have fallen in love with and encourage you to check out as well by clicking here.

To start off, one will begin by sanding the furniture to get rid of any clear finish that is on it.  I used sand paper that we had in the house, which was around a 150 grit.  I wouldn't use anything greater than a 120 grit or less than a 220 grit.  It is just the finish that needs to come off, not the stain.

The next step would be to clean off and dry with a towel the dust created by the sanding.  After that, a Kilz oil-based priming coat should be applied to the furniture.  This will ensure that none of the stain that is on the furniture will leak through to the top coat.  I applied two coats of Kilz to make sure that it was covered, but it still wasn't an even coat on the surface.  One should at least allow a couple hours between coats.  I also used a small, foam rolling brush to apply all coats, and another foam brush to get the edges and corners.

Now, onto the white paint.  I brought home so many color cards of white paint to make sure that I was getting the right shade of white.  If you are trying to match the color to another white piece of furniture or your baseboards, it's a good idea to bring these home to compare and match as close as possible.  Once a color is chosen, the color should be mixed into a latex, semi-gloss paint so that it has a durable finish that can be wiped clean.  Apply two or three coats of the paint to the funiture, letting it dry between the coats, until you have an even coat over the entire piece.

Finally, one will want to apply a finish coat for that added protection and glossy look, in which I used a water-based polyurethane "protective finish" in clear gloss.  I asked the associate at the hardware store which finish provided the most protection, and he suggested one with "superior durability".  This will allow items to be set on the furniture and not scratch the surface or allow it to be cleaned.  I applied 3 coats of this to the nightstands.

I also decided to update the hardware on the nightstands to make it fit into the decorations of the rest of the room.

So, to sum up the steps:
Step 1: Sanding - 150 grit
Step 2: Oil-Based Kilz Primer - 2 coats until covered
Step 3: Latex, Semi-Gloss Paint - 2-3 coats
Step 4: Water-Based Polyurethane with Clear Finish - 2-3 coats

One can expect to spend around $10 per quart of paint that is purchased.  So, I spend another $30 on the primer, paint and finish coat, but I do have a bunch left over for another project in the future.

Things Around Here

Things around here are busy... I'm sitting in our office during what seems like a huge thunderstorm outside because it hasn't rained in literally a month.  It's almost refreshing in a way seeing the wind blow through the trees, streets getting soaked, and hearing the sound of the wind howling.  It's almost as if life was breathed back into nature.  

I worked from home yesterday afternoon after a meeting, and I sat up my computer in our kitchen to finish my day, and I couldn't get past how awful our house looked and I became overwhelmed with the amount of work that I wanted to do in our house to get it to the point that I consider satisfactory.  So, I did what I do best and made a list of the items that I could accomplish from now and throughout the weekend, so I could have a clear goal of the things I wanted to get done and have the joy of crossing tasks off the list.  Then, of course, Greg called and asked if I wanted to go biking on a trail by our house, so I decided it was more important to spend time together since our week is so full of activities of our own.

The items on this particular list were to do the dishes, fold the laundry, sew the curtains for the Dining Room, fix the paint in the half bath, patch the wall in the Dining Room, mop the kitchen floors and apply the Orange Glow finish, wipe down the kitchen cabinets and fix the stain where it has been removed for whatever reason, wipe down all the baseboards and doors, organize the back of the basement, pull out all the dead plants in the yards and pull weeds, spray paint the exterior fixture in the backyard, and clean our bathroom.  And to also mention that we have to cook and clean up after ourselves throughout the week, go grocery shopping, the wood on the stairs needs to be dusted, we have to do our weekly vacuuming, we're installing a fence this weekend, AND we have no energy.  I think I'm just writing these down for you, so I will be held accountable for finishing them. 

A typical week for us is Mondays - the Bachelor is on and I go to my friend's house to make dinner and watch the show, Tuesdays - Greg plays on an ultimate frisbee team in Lawrence, but he hasn't gone to most of his games because he is worn out, Wednesdays - Greg plays on a work softball team in Olathe, Thursdays - no plans, but typically we are preparing for the weekend, Fridays and Saturdays - usually always hanging out with friends and inviting them over where we speed clean to make the house look presentable, and Sundays - catching up on sleep, being lazy around the house, running errands and going to church...

So, back to the matter at hand.  Things around here are busy, but I guess I'm somewhat guilty of this because this is the life I'm choosing for myself.  I love to be busy, but I feel like I'm drowning with things that aren't important.  I've never been a procrastinator, but now more than ever I don't like starting a project that I can't finish.  I had dreams of a perfectly put together house, evenings of coming home and loving to work out, and possibly working on a craft project or being able to read a book. 

We've all had these dreams or similar ones and my life is no different than yours.  We are all busy trying to get by as best as we can, sometimes finding success and other times failing miserably.  It's hard to find that balance in our lives because each week our needs change, and we have to work towards a new goal and dedicate our time to something different; all along not forgetting to love those near and dear to us.

It's very awakening, and might I say uncomfortable, to sit back and self-reflect on what's going on in your life, where you're headed, and what you consider important, and if you're going to get there on the track that you're on.  I think if we really thought about it, we would probably be encouraged to change a few things, be inspired by the simple things in life that make us happy, and love ourselves and those around us unconditionally.

Somerset Ridge Winery

Another weekend went by packed full of events.  Friday night we had plans with friends to go to a sushi happy hour at RA Sushi and then see the new Spiderman movie; however, we arrived too late and it was over an hour wait, so we had to reschedule the happy hour for Saturday because we didn't have enough time before our movie.  I was thinking about going to Somerset Ridge Winery in Paola, Kansas suggested by one of our friends because the scenery was better than the one up the street from our house. 



Mom - I want you to make me this "Wine" cork holder for Christmas, please.

So, we all packed some snacks and carpooled to the winery on Saturday.  It was only about a 45 minute drive from our house.  The place was pretty cute, but I was expecting a view as pretty as those in Augusta, but I forgot we are in Kansas and the rolling hills are about as exciting as it gets.

For the wine tasting, we split up by who preferred sweet wines versus dry wines.  There were 7 of us, so it was pretty evenly split.  The wines were just okay, but the prices were great.  Greg and I usually prefer red wines, and we actually ended up with a white and pink wine.  I wish we would have asked to try the sweet wines as well.  They did have some different tastes, though, then most places that we have been.  They prepared some of their wines in stainless steel barrels rather than the oak barrels, so the fruit taste was more apparent.

There was a nice breeze in the afternoon, so we were pretty lucky.  We played the game Celebrities to keep us busy.  We have played this with the Schomburgs before at a winery in Columbia.  It was quite entertaining. 

We left early in the afternoon so we were sure to make the sushi happy hour.  It was really good!  After a long day, one of the couples came back over to our house to play some cards and sit out by the firepit.

Sunday we relaxed for most of the day and decided to make sushi again for dinner with a grape and apple juice.  This is our second attempt at making sushi, and I would say it was better than the first, but we still aren't pros.  Our eyes are bigger than our stomachs, and we both ended up with leftovers for lunch on Monday.

Triathlon

Two weekends ago I participated in the WIN for KC Women's Triathlon at Smithville Lake in Missouri.  The triathlon was created to promote women's health in KC.  I did this event 2 years ago with 2 women from my work, and this year there were 6 of us participating from McCownGordon.  The race consists of a 500 meter swim, 10 mile bike, and a 5K run.  It couldn't have been a better day for the race.  Temperatures were at 75 degrees that morning, and I was actually cold waiting for the race to begin, and I finished before it got too warm outside.  Greg and I had to get up at 4:30 AM in order to make it to the race on time.  We had to switch drivers on the way up because I was falling asleep at the wheel.
We were able to look up my score from two years ago, and I was able to beat it this year.

I'm the lonely girl in the back with the striped shirt looking for my coworkers.

Swim Time:  2010 - 14:47 / 2012 - 12:52
Transition 1: 2010 - 2:15 / 2012 - 2:11
Bike Time: 2010 - 36:36 / 2012 - 36:14
Transition 2: 2010 - 1:18 / 2012 - 1:14
Run Time: 2010 - 30:35 / 2012 - 29:26
Finish Time: 2010 - 1:25:21 / 2012 - 1:19:54



Yes, I am as miserable as I look...

I wouldn't say I trained all that much harder this year in order to improve my time.  I don't even know if I trained at all.  My co-workers printed off training schedules that they were going to follow (and never did), and I received a copy, and it would have the week's laid out building up to the distances of the triathlon.  So, let's say Week 1, you would spend Monday maybe biking 2 miles, Tuesday, swimming 4 laps, Wednesday, biking 3 miles and running 1 mile, Thursday, swimming again, etc.  So, instead of spacing the activities out because it seemed to easy to me, I would just bike for 5 - 10 miles, and then Abby and I would go running however long the weather allowed us to run that day, since it is so crazy hot outside.  We would do this around 3 times a week.





Abby throughout the months up to the race was call my "Triathlon Dog", and I think she knows that name means if she waits for me downstairs while I bike, then she will get to go running with me.  And yes, I trained on our stationary bike in the basement in the air conditioning while watching TV and having a fan blow on me.  It wasn't until the week before the race that I got on a real bike...  Next year, that could probably be an improvement to help improve my score more.  Greg did go out and buy another road bike in order for us to be able ride together since I was using his bike.  So, on Wednesday before the race we rode 4 miles to go get icecream, and then rode 4 miles home.  I'm not sure if the icecream helped with the training either, but it was a fun date.

Still looking miserable, but at least I'm passing some of the older women.

Everyone else seemed to be smiling at this point to the Cameraman when looking at the pictures.  He must have been hiding when he snapped my picture because he caught me at my worst moments.

Another improvement would be to go swimming more than twice.  For the race, you line up with how long you think it will take you to complete the swim, and then they allow people in the lake every 6 seconds.  Two years ago we started at the 9 minute mark, and I swam around 14 minutes.  This year I stayed back with my coworkers around 11 minutes and did pretty well.  However, I didn't even waste my time with freestyle.  I swam the entire 500 meters on my back.  I just couldn't put my head under the water because I was breathing so hard.  We went swimming in our neighborhood pool once with another couple who teaches swim lessons.  She gave me some pointers, but all I could remember was just how hard I was breathing.  It's a lot of work to swim well and make everything sync up with your arms, legs and breathing.  I just needed more practice, but every time I would swing up by the pool (okay, let's be honest, there were only 2 attempts, but I thought about it a lot more), there were just too many children and they would scare me off, and I would walk back home.

There were 1000 participants.

All in all, the race was a personal success of mine, and I'm happy again that I participated and finished.  I signed up again because I knew I could do better than the first time, and that goal was met.  I could probably improve, yet again, by more training, and my bike chain did fall off during the biking portion of the race (luckily I was able to put it back on in less than a minute), but that could give me some more time to work with.  Greg thinks I could train enough to win the entire race... I appreciate that he has hope for me, but I told him to keep dreaming...