Camping Fun!

As is always the case, summer is a time that challenges my blogging schedule.  We've just got so much going on and I'm so busy having fun and being, well, busy, that I just can't seem to gather my thoughts to put them to "paper".  Still, things ebb and flow and I find myself in a relatively slow period following two really hectic weeks.  I thought I'd take the time to update you all.

Two weeks ago, we headed on our first much-anticipated camping trip of the season.  I confess that I forgot what a hassle it is to schedule around a working teenager's work schedule, but still, we made it happen!

Our travelling home away from home.

A few days before, Buttercup and I were quite productive and got the trailer ready to go:  Sheets on the beds, the refrigerator loaded up, and all the supplies made ready. 

Buttercup's bed...

Buttercup took the time to make sure that her new hamster cage would fit, as well.  What?  You don't take your hamster camping?  Seriously?  That is strange.

Froyo is ready for her first camping trip!

Finally, the big day came.  We tried to get a picture of the giraffe for Superman, but it really didn't work out well.  We did end up getting a bad one on the way back home. 

See the giraffe...our summer friend!

Before that, though, we had fun in the sun.  In the water...

Valiant and Buttercup playing on the buoys that outline the swimming area.

And out of the water...just hanging out.

Hiding her face from the sun with a big hat!

Reading good books.

Bunny enjoying the view from our campsite.

Enjoying beautiful scenery.

The bunny and the hamster, just hanging out...

After five years of camping, my "camping slippers" finally gave up the ghost.  This was their last hurrah...they served me well, but their time had come.



Last camping trip for my "camping slippers"...

 All too soon, it was time to head out again.

Bunny is noticing that we're not moving quickly enough.

 "Bunny" has been on so many trips with our family, he supervised our closing up camp.  He's actually pretty good...quite the motivator!

Chop, chop, Buttercup!  Move faster!!

Let's go...get those sway bars in place!

Finally, we're ready to head home!


We made it home just in time to get showered and have me head off to a Ladies' Luncheon and for Valiant to head off to work.  Cut it a little close, actually!  Still, it all worked out...

Those were definitely some productive days...and if you're counting along with us, today is day 100...I've added a counter to my blog page.  (Not that we're excited or anything!)

A little bit of creative productivity in between prepping for fun!

My family is headed out for a camping trip this week.  I'm beginning to realize that scheduling camping trips gets more and more difficult as the kids get older...with jobs and other commitments getting in the way.  Still, we got it to work and I'm so excited.

Fresh bloom!

In between getting the trailer loaded up, I took the time to spruce up some garden ornaments and I'm so pleased with how they turned out, I just have to share them with you.

Five years outside haven't helped these faded flowers.

These were colorful resin flowers when we got them...they were NOT all the same color, despite what you might think when you look at them.

Look how faded they are...the painted one pops, while the others
fade into the tarp.  So sad and neglected!

A few coats of "for plastic" spray paint later and they looked like this.

Painted the front and the back...so much brighter!

A little bit of craftiness by hand and some clear coat had them ready for their close-ups!

Look at how creative we got!  Don't they look happier now?

Valianted wanted us to embrace this flower's tropical heritage.  I did my best.

I love how bright they are on "their" fence.  Quick, easy, and so worthwhile!  It is really amazing what a little spray paint can do, don't you think?

Quite an improvement, wouldn't you say?

So, Days 115 and 114 were productive and now we're driving off to be productive in our campsite...reading some good books, playing games together, splashing around in the river...all very productive!!

Phase 1 of our "Big" Kennel Project is completed...Day 116 of our Productivty Project

A few days ago, I left Superman a hair raising status update on FB detailing how I'd spent the afternoon and evening in the garage playing with just about every power tool we own, plus paint.  I think he nearly had a heart attack, especially after I wouldn't tell him what I'd been working on.

Phase 1 - Finished!

I've finally done the last of the painting, so I can say we've finished Phase 1 of the Big Kennel Project and I'm ready to share the pictures of our progress to date.

This is where we began:



Dog kennel:  Unfinished dry wall, exposed insulation (thanks to Lucy!)
Unfinished fence boards to protect the drywall from the chewer (aka Lucy).
Basically, it was a terrible eyesore.

Honestly, the dog have never complained, but it was certainly an eyesore.  I've been promising Buttercup that I'd do something about it for more than a year and my productivity project seemed to have been the perfect motivation.  Still, we had the self-imposed constraint of using stuff we already had laying around to manage our transformation.  This had to be a completely free project.

Step 1 - Buttercup was itching to get painting, so I handed her the "mango madness" left from our formerly "Macaroni & Cheese" basement and set her free.

Buttercup makes quick work of the painting.

She made quick work of it, even with it needing two coats.  (We didn't primer first.)  After that, I got to work with the "construction" part of the project.

This wall needed to be insulated, so I used a box
cutter and a knife and cut a piece of rigid insulation to fit.

Since my plan was to use the leftover wainscoting from our bathroom project, I added 1x1 for structure.  The nails needed somewhere to go, right?

After that, I pieced together the wainscoting and installed it all.   The fiberglass insulation was fine, it just needed to get tucked.

It was hotter than heck in that get-up, but those are my "grungies", so that
is how I geared up for this project.  (Plus, I used my nifty work gloves my
sister sent me...they really project your hands, but your exposed fingertips
make working in them a breeze!

This is how the wainscoting part of the project turned out.  Doesn't it look fabulous?

Finished wainscoting and trim board...

After that, I added some trim boards and moulding, painted the fence boards, and added a decal for fun.

A few coats of paint did wonders for these boards!

 Phase 1 finished and we did it all with scrap materials we had in the garage.  It was a great way to get more familiar with all of our power tools.  Phase 2 will be astroturf, a new food dish holder, and a new dog bed.  Oh, as I'm looking at the picture, I'm thinking ceiling paint should be added to the list, too!

Phase 1 is Finished, but Phase 2 is bouncing around in my mind.

116 Days and counting til Superman comes home.  I'd say we get to count this one as productive, too, wouldn't you?

The Conclusion of the Holiday and a Cool New Shirt

Patriotic deck...love the view...we've been lucky that no one has built in
the field behind us the entire time we've lived here.  I know it is coming,
but for now, I remain oh so grateful for our amazing view.

I keep my patriotic decor up from Memorial Day through Independence Day...kind of a festive welcome to summer.  After July 4th, however, I'm definitely ready to put it all away.  So, in a little bit of productivity for the day, I got it taken down and put away for next year. 

Until next year...

Hmmm...I'm thinking pinwheels for the remainder of summer.  Wouldn't those be fun, festive, and inexpensive?  Here is a quick and easy DIY tutorial.  I love it.  What do you think?

Anyway, moving right along.  I should have been working in the yard today, but realistically, that is going to wait a week...there is nothing that needs to be done urgently enough that I'm going to brave 100 degree weather to do it.  Nope, just not doing it.  Instead, after a morning spent running errands like getting another package off to Superman, after Valiant headed off to work, Buttercup and I retreated to the basement where it was nice and cool, even without the air conditioner on.

Cleaned my desk, ironed some napkins, and watched "My Cat from Hell".  Love that show.  Jackson seems to really care.  I'm just astounded by how little common sense people have.  Then again, I'm a cat person, so maybe obvious to me isn't obvious to non-cat people.

In the meantime, I needed to keep busy in the basement.  I'm not good at sitting around doing nothing.  I had one more plain t-shirt in Valiant's size and I knew just the image that would bring a smile to his face.  So, I got out my Silhouette machine and some heat-transfer vinyl and got to work.

Heat transfer vinyl is so cool!  Just remember to cut the mirror image of your
final look...

Once I cleaned up the image, I flipped it so I had a mirror image and sent it through the Silhouette.  A few minutes weeding the excess vinyl and I was ready to iron it on.

Ironing it on takes 30 seconds...

A few minutes later, I had a finished product designed to appeal to a teen-aged boy. 

"Everyday, I'm Shufflin'"...

When he came in from work, the smile on his face told me that Valiant did, indeed, like his new shirt.

Day 117.  Another day closer to Superman coming home and I was successfully productive again!  Woot!

118 Days of Productivity

As I mentioned at the end of this post, my husband Superman will finally be home for good in 118 days.  After almost three years of contracting overseas, I can't overstate how excited we all our that this part of our family's journey is concluding.  Still, we have "short-timers" in a big way.  You know about short-timers, right?  Short timers is that feeling you have after you've given your notice at a job and you're just waiting for the two weeks to be over so you can move on.  It doesn't mean you hated your old circumstances, it just means you're beyond eager to take that next step.  It is an exhilirating time.  Still, we have 118 days to get through.  Superman is tackling the challenge of short-timers by blogging each and every day of the end of his journey here.

When I posted the time on my FB, my friend Melissa (she wrote this awesome blog a few years ago and is a great one for meeting goals) said she was going to use that block of time to create a deadline for her own challenge.  I loved that idea.  So, I presented to the kids and to Superman that I was going to be productive every single day until he got home.  I don't just want to "wait" for him to come home.  I want to make the time fly.  I don't just want to kill time.  I still want this time to count.  I want each day to be productive.

productive

Definition

pro·duc·tive

[ prə dúktiv ]

ADJECTIVE

1.  producing much: producing something abundantly and efficiently

2.  worthwhile: producing satisfactory or useful results

3.  producing something: producing or able to produce something

Thus, I've challenged myself to be productive every single day for the next 118 days.  I especially like the second and third definitions of the word.  (I am not really worried about producing abundantly, but efficiently will definitely work for me!)  I want to cross things off lists, I want to meet my goals, I want no day to conclude with the thought "what did I do today?".

I'll be back later with a little bit of productivity for today.  In the meantime, I've got stuff to do!

Have a great day!