The Pact

About a week ago I was talking to my best friend Bridget. It went something like this…

B: So i am thinking of starting a blog…any suggestions on what program to use?

Me: I like wordpress a lot. Blogger is easy, too.

B: Okay, I will have to check them out. I have never been good at blogging, because I lose interest or I am doing because someone else is doing it, ie myspace, livejournal, etc.

Me: I have the same problem.

B: I feel like if I start this one, it should be a goal of mine to stick with it

Me: We could attempt to keep each other going on it. Set a goal like 1 post by Friday each week or something like that.

B: That is a GREAT idea! Be held accountable…

So as of this week, I will be posting at least once per week. If not, Bridget will be on my case 😉 From now on, expect at least once recipe, craft project, tutorial, picture of my garden, mommy moment (you may be hearing about the glories or potty training- fair warning), or something else of my choosing every week. Since goals need to be both specific and time oriented, here is the official wording:

I will post something in my blog every week by Friday for one year from today.

Taaa-daaaaa! Simple goal that I will stick to because B is holding me accountable…and I will be doing the same for her. B’s goal, however, is a bit bigger than mine. She will be posting once a day for a year. Whoa. Now…I almost felt like, since we are after all in a blogging pact, I should be doing the same in posting daily, but then I realized that I barely remember to brush my teeth every day. There are some days where I wonder if I actually showered…or was it just a memory of yesterday (or the day before!). Between the toddler, the puppy, the husband and the job, I barely know which way is up most days. If I can’t keep up with my normal daily routine, then daily blogging is just not a feasible goal for me. B is brave, so I will help her out in blogging daily and I will go for once a week. And I will only bug her on Fridays about not posting enough. Since this is a big undertaking for both of us, we really could use your help, too:

• Check out B’s blog Zen and the Art of Being Type A. She’s a really cool person and I know you will like her.
• Subscribe to my blog (it’s over in the right sidebar). You’ll get an email whenever I post…and if I don’t do at least one a week, you can harass me about it, too!
• Comment! We need to know someone is reading what we write (someone other than our moms at least HI MOM!)

So go head on over to B’s blog and let her know that you love her so that she will keep posting every day. And then go subscribe to me so I don’t feel lonely. Oh yeah. and let me know you love me, too…because I am really going to need your help to keep up with this new goal!

Twisting the Twine

Spray painting tubes is kind of hard. Paint flies everywhere and so much less gets on the project than needs to be. I was not about to try to cover the stabilizing legs in paint after how frustrated I was with the rest of the chair already. These chairs are also going to spend a significant amount of time outside, so the metal bar pressing up against bare legs in 116 degree mid-summer heat would not feel good. My answer? Twine!

It took a while to figure out how to get it tight and even, perhaps longer than it should have since I had Ash’s “help.” I really like how the twine color accents the lighter creams in the fabric and adds a bit of fancy to the chair. Definitely not looking like they came out of 1989 anymore.

Here’s a close up of the paint, twine, and fabric together. Pretty nice match considering it was all chosen from memory. I think these are going to look really nice once the flowers start coming up all over the yard.

Ashton loves modeling the chairs- even if they don’t have seats yet! I’m hoping to start tearing those apart tomorrow. It shouldn’t be too difficult, right? Dusty fabric and rusty staples….perhaps it will be a nap time project.

We are quite happy with the results so far.

Introducing: The Chairs

I have been on a crafting and creating kick the past few weeks. It’s been my sanity-saver lately. When the stress of family, keeping up with chores, work, etc etc etc has started to get to me, I have been diving into projects to keep my mind and hands busy.

So when I saw that my friend Julie had put out a set of 4 dining chairs for the garbage men, the lightbulb went on in my head: I can re-finish these chairs for the porch! Into the back of the car they went.

I didn’t know this until a few days later, but the chairs had belonged to Julie’s grandmother and it had been hard for her to put them to the curb in preparation for her big move. I am really excited to give these  chairs a new life with some spray paint and lovely fabric. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!