For the past few months, one of the greatest sources of smiles for my two boys (now ages 12 and 9) has been a computer game called Minecraft. The game is basically a computerized 3D lego world, and playing it clearly gets my kids’ creative juices flowing. Strangely, my boys both spend far more time talking about the game (with each other and with their friends) than actually playing it.
Whenever my kids are really into something like this, I always try to make an effort to learn a little bit about it so that I can understand their conversations and perhaps offer some suggestions. A few weeks ago, I sat down and watched them play the game for half an hour and I was mortified to see how much trouble my home PC was having running the game. Minecraft is certainly not a very demanding game, as the graphics are very simple and retro, but my system clearly couldn’t handle it. The amount of lag and crashes that the boys were having to deal with in order to play the game was just painful for me to watch (full disclosure: I do work on computers for a living). ..
As Missouri winter kicks into high gear, this is the time of year when many Midwesterners start to check out the job and housing markets down in sunny Florida. Shorts and flip-flops sound quite nice when compared to the stinging cold face slap that we get when we step outside. I know that it was only a few short years ago when I was considering selling my home and packing the family up for warmer pastures.
But when all the cards are on the table, I know that we aren’t going anywhere. The job market down in Florida isn’t the best, and the concept of the “sunshine tax” is very real when considering moving South. In addition, pretty much all of our family is here in town, and we absolutely adore our home and our neighborhood. Sure, we do have to tolerate some annoyingly brisk days in the winter months, but all places have their pros and cons. ..
Hi friends! I have a confession. I hope that I’m not the only person that does this, but I’m really awesome at starting projects and really terrible at finishing them. The built-ins above have been mostly finished for months, but just recently did I put the finishing touches on the crown molding. This is how life goes, and I never estimate correctly how much time to allot for each project. I really think that if I were truly honest with myself (and my husband) about how much time and energy every job would take, we would never start anything. So you see, my optimism (cough: naivety) pays off in spades!
For this project, you will need:
Before beginning the built in bookcases transformation, I over-confidentld get the prep work done in one day, and the first coat of paint done by the second. If you’re laughing at this adorable burst of verve and idealism, it’s okay; I’ll assume you’ve done a project like this before. It took me the first two days to finish the prep work. Prepping is very important for this project, because if you have natural toned wood and are wanting to paint over, the wood likely has a coat or two of polyurethane, and possibly a stain as well. You’ll want to sand until the wood is completely natural and smooth. Sounds like a whole lot of work, right? Well, here’s that upper arm work out you’ve been looking for! You’re welcome! ..
In the past few weeks, I have been writing a lot about the effect that having children has on your decision making process. Michelle and I have two boys, ages 12 and 8, and a sweet little one year old girl. Every day I come home from work and try to give all of them a little bit of my attention. I try to remember to hug them and tell them that I love them every night, and I consider it “mission accomplished” if I somehow find a way to make them laugh at some point in the evening. As I look into their beautiful faces, I know that these tiny humans and our ability to provide a positive future for them, really does mean everything to me.
We try to teach them how to make friends, how to be good people, and how to make the world a better place. We share with them our loves and our passions, our hopes and our dreams, hoping that seeing the fire inside of us, will motivate them to be willing to work for their own goals one day. As we have spent the past year struggling to learn about money and working to get rid of this burden of consumer debt, we have shared this journey with not only you all, but also with our kids. At the same time, we have taken steps to show our children the correct way to relate to money, and to understand the difference between wants and needs, so that they can avoid going down the same rocky paths when they enter adulthood. ..
You know what they say about one man’s trash? Well, they didn’t lie. It’s one mama’s find on craigslist! It’s also a weekend project,
because no one ever sells beautiful, perfect items on craigslist for cheap. They’re either in need of some TLC and in my price range, or they’re not in my price range at all. Since the light
fixture I had in my dining room wasn’t my style (stained glass, heavy, and masculine), I couldn’t just update it with a face lift and a coat of paint. I could however rescue a perfectly working brass
chandelier, give it a little jushing up, and voila — let there be beautiful, glamorous light!
The best aainting a brass chandelier is to remember that it is a very slick surface. In order to make the paint adhere smoothly is to clean the item with regular dish soap and warm water on a dampened rag. Next, you’ll want to use 220-grit sandpaper to scuff it up lightly. The reason you sand is not to remove anything, but to create tiny fissures in the slick surface for the paint to grab onto. ..
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