A Time for Everything...

It is Time to GET SERIOUS, Ladies..... Seriously....


"Sometimes" Personal trainer and strength training coach...



Get to Work Mom. I will help you only if you are committed to do what I say.





DO OR DO NOT....THERE IS NO TRY!



I'm going to the gym. If you haven't done your charted workout when I get back...I'm gonna double your routine!!!!!!!

This is it.. no more excuses. It's Do It time. As the Marines say DO or DIE!!
I am not kidding. Get in Shape! Lose that Belly! Time to start up and keep up...or JUST SHUT UP and Be Unhealthy. In two months I will turn 50.












Anybody else out there feel the same way?

This girl is my inspiration. She is just reporting all kinds of success with her plans and goals to lose weight. RAH!!!

Keep it up, Joyce. You are my encouragement and kick in the rear!

http://mamssite.blogspot.com/

My Own Little Spot

Today I am linking up with Leigh for her post party about Thriftiness. Go to this link to find many more participants revealing and sharing their fun thrifty treasure finds..

http://lbratina.blogspot.com/




I (heart) Mary Engelbreit. Always have...always will. When I got the note in the mail announcing that her magazine HOME COMPANION was no longer going to publish their monthly issues, I truly almost started crying...(crazy I know...but I really did enjoy my moments drifting through her magazines and dreaming) Hoping that in a better economy she will start back up.

That little illustration above is what my "thrifty post" is based on today.
Truly everyone needs their own little spot.

Yesterday, after spending the morning with my mom, I came home ready to roll my sleeves up and move some furniture and carve out a little spot for me.
Here.....are the results.




This is a wall standing between the master bath and the walk-in closet. HERE is my little computer and inspiration spot....now! See the wooden vanity the computer is sitting on? About five or six years ago I found this at a Veterans thrift store in my sister's town when I was visiting. Valentines Day. Everything was half price. I got it for 35.00 -(it has a mirror that attaches)It was painted. My hubby stripped and refinished it for me. Another Valentines gift ... of love. :-)



My initial (Michael's sale years ago) and a little gem of truth in this life journey.
(plaque-GW)


cute little lamp (GW) a beach photo of my honey from our honeymoon years ago. (frame-GW)
and a favorite 3 tiered wire heart shaped basket to hold what-nots. (consign. shop)



natural twiggy wreath (GW) and a pretty carved mini plaque (GW) and a sparkly glittered Christmas ornament with one of my favorite words on it. (HOPE!) bought a number of years ago after Christmas when the ornaments were 90% off.



My fav...white heart birdcage you saw last week. (GW) and a cute little shelf-topper doggie guarding my little spot. (consignment shop)


Old window frame (I have lots of these from years back when my neighbor changed out his windows and put the old ones at the street- another neighbor and I were on top of that lickety split!) I hope to make a mini conversatory out of some of them! :-)
Arched carving on top (little thrift shop down the road)
IN that frame you see a photo of my four honorable and cherished men, and one of my precious and treasured daughter. Love them to pieces. The other panes have quotes and art from none other than Mary Engelbreit.
Inquire Within
Feather Your Nest
A Little Piece of Quiet
And the fourth extra pane has a framed print Keep Calm and Carry On.


**one of the neatest secrets about these windows was found when I was blowing this one off with the air compressor to get some of the loose chippy paint off. It was at one point a Robin's Egg Blue, and that is now showing in places...woot!

++Below the window is a gold leaf frame from Salvation Army. (in full view photo above)



And last but not least is some whimsy...of course. If it's me, you know there has to be some whimsy... a little awesomely detailed Peter Rabbit clock I saw on the Goodwill shelf from far away. (yes it was calling out my name!! (I LOVE Beatrix Potter works) The clock part is broken and needs new arms, but my Dad can fix that in a jiffy. He hand makes little clocks out of wood and has lots of clock kits!

And there you have it. A little spot of my own to create, decorate, change around, be inspired, love, and blog. And you know me...it will definitely change throughout the year.

Thanks so much for visiting with me today. I hope maybe this post will inspire or encourage you to carve out a little spot, no matter how small, that you can call your own!!! All I did was "shop the house and the closets. All of this was on hand here at home. ..so I know you can do the same!

Again I thank all of you for praying for Justin and all our heroes giving their days to protect our privilege to freedom and a wonderful life over here...

Hugs and God bless YOU!

It's What You Make Of It!

Okay.........

What's up with this?

Here is what is at the foot of the bed...



Here is what is ON the bed.....


Something is not right....Hmmmmmmmmm

I would love to have a beautiful comforter or quilt on this bed. But it is what I MAKE of it....for now...

So, for now, we will stick to the old bleached out white shabby quilt, and these warm furry bodies will continue to claim their spots on it.

Because they sure are cute, and I sure do love 'em!
And they sure do love unconditionally...


A warm heartbeat at my feet...

Thanks to ALL of you who continue to lift up Justin in your prayers...and all of those over there protecting our country from more terrorist acts...
SURE hoping, and waiting, and praying for a phone call soon....


Have a blessed day.

Heated and Forged...Works of Art

The Smithy


What is it about the metal objects that I am drawn to? I like softer things, feathery, fluffy cottons, pretty fabrics... I like beautiful hardwoods full of character with scars and memories, I love statuary and 3-D relief objects, carved into stone...but I do love the swirly, curvy, scrolley, forged, welded creations of metalwork.
How about you? Do these type of things reach out and grab your gaze when you go thrifting or shopping?

You all know in order for this very strong material to be shaped and molded into an object of art, it has to be heated to a very high temperature under a torch or in a furnace to become soft enough to be reformed....shaped into something of beauty from something that was plain and really not outstanding.

This is how God works on us too...It is only in the heat of fiery trials and walking through the fire of adversity that God can soften us enough to make us turn to Him and cry out. It is then that He does His BEST work on us. We are soft and supple in His hands. We can be formed into beautiful creatures in our hearts. He designs and bends and shapes us. It is then that we are truly defined as HIS work of art. And it is to Him that the glory goes. When we submit to His careful Creator skills, we become something better than we ever could have been without Him! Thankful for the work HE does on me in my harder times on this journey through life.



Next time you are feeling the heat of the fires in life...think on this...you are being forged, you are being shaped into a work of art. When things cool down, you will be stronger and more beautiful, because you endured and learned a life lesson...
God is Good!

Here are some favorites of mine that have been thrifted over the years.



















"The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the LORD tests the heart." (Prov. 17:3)

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Please continue to pray for our military as they are forged physically in the heat of the Afghanistan deserts, and mentally and spiritually in the stress and battles of combat and a radically different way of life.... Thank you.


God bless you all who stop by here...

Met Monday - Got My Chairs!!

I have another metamorphosis change that I will share in today's Met Monday with Susan over at:

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

This is also another shout out for Craig's List. I have found many great buys on that site for sellers...and at absolutely fabulous prices.

I found a table with two chairs for my Dining Room last Fall at the Salvation Army store. Two chairs were not enough, so I decided I would just watch and wait for the chairs I wanted. I had been looking for cane back chairs ever since, but they were way over my budget every time I found some listed for sale. (used)

Back in May I saw a set listed on CL that said "wicker back chairs". I called quickly and went over to see it. WOOT! It was a yellow set probably from the 60's or 70's. The table was very heavy! She only wanted $40. for the entire set with 4 chairs.

I sold the table in a yard sale. It took until this month for me to get around to painting and recovering the chairs. The temperatures have been TOO hot to be painting chairs outside. In the last week...we got a break in the weather and I set to work..... Here's the makeover.


BEFORE:

Yellow wood - yellow and lime green stripe tweed upholstery...


Here's all four chairs, blown off with the air compressor, wiped down , seats removed, and ready to be painted. Again, I used the Heirloom White color on the chairs which is what I painted the chandelier in the Dining Room.



Two hours later...here are the new and improved soft white chairs...



While on a trip to Hobby Lobby to buy the paint, I found this fabric on sale. Loved it!


Simply laid the old covers on top of the fabric, and cut them out.



I then just happened across this very cute, handy-dandy, jack-of-all-trades hunk who said he would help me recover the seats!! (woot!)


He has an air gun stapler that attaches to the air compressor which we think works much better than some of the other types available.





attaching the newly recovered seat cushion to the chair.



Here's the set coming along. One to go. But just to show you that not everything always goes perfectly...does anyone see something "NOT RIGHT" in this photo?
yes...that cushion (we did not attach it) to the far right. I placed the fabric on UPSIDE DOWN!!! acckkkk..FIFTY staples later, we had the fabric back off, and turned around and restapled on, and well...all is well that ends well.


AFTER:

And here ya go....the new chairs in the dining room.


I have to tell you. This room is no formal "Sunday eatin' dining room" only. It is more like the family activity room. At the other end is the home of Kam's laptop. To the left is where his dad's laptop would be sitting except he had to work yesterday and took it in with him. At this near end is where all my petsitting client contracts and forms sit along with stashes of bagged supplies and foods for Justin's next care box that goes out each Friday. This table got MAJOR EPIC cleared off for this one photo. In that far corner is a black tiered storage tower for all of Jonny's extra supplies just for him (teas, protein supplies, foods, supplements that I don't have room for in my kitchen. This room is WELL used. But I am a girl, nonetheless, and I still like to have it pretty for me. :-)

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!! Thanks so much for visiting. It was fun telling about my makeover today.

Being "thrifty" takes:
*time (to search and watch)
*patience (because you may have to wait QUITE a while for what you really want - at the right price)
*gung-ho "I can do this" determination
*sweat equity work and elbow grease!

But it really makes you appreciate it that much more in the end. :-)
The WAITING was worth it!

If you like reading and viewing about makeovers of all kinds, hop over to Susan's blog today (above link) and keep reading!

Thank you all so much for continuing to support our military and my Justin with prayers and thoughts. We sure do miss him. God bless them all and keep them safe....

God Bless YOU!