Thursday, December 25, 2008

Presh




My wonderful husband got me a really great necklace...and turned me on to a very cool new designer of jewlery. He apparently did all this research and then went to 5 different boutiques in Santa Monica and Hollywood to find it for me. I was blown away by his taste! He knows me! Here are a couple of pics of necklaces that are kind of like mine. The designer takes vintage fabrics and sets them in jewlery. Mine is most like the one on the left, but it's shape is like the one on the right.They are all one of a kind...THANK YOU JOHN!!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Today at the Dollar Store

I was shopping at the dollar store with Char and Lou today and told them they could pick out a toy. They both found guns that they wanted and right as they were telling me what they picked, this elderly lady walked up and asked how old Louis was because she had a grandson that age and she wondered what kind of toy he might like. I said, "Well, today my boys want guns. Those are always fun." to which she replied, "Oh, I would never get a gun for him. I never even bought guns for my own children. It's a bad idea." I pretty much shrugged my shoulders and let her know she was on her own then when Louis grabbed another toy and said, "Actually, Mom, I think I want this tool set instead." Charlie got really excited and shouted, "Louis! Did you know that you can KILL people with tools?"

The woman turned her head toward me and raised her eyebrows. Yeah. Whatever.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Louis' Christmas Wish


Louis got to sit on Santa's lap and ask for a present at the ward party the other night. I'm pretty sure he asked for a bulldozer. He doesn't even know what one is. When he got home that night, Miles went and layed in bed with him to help him sleep, and was asking him what else he wanted from Santa. Louis (who shares a room with Miles and Charlie, and sleeps on a crib mattress on the floor) said, "Miles! Maybe he could bring me a new bed! A real one!" to which Miles replied, "Yeah....maybe." Louis thought a bit more and added, "But a real bed probably wouldn't fit in here, would it...But MAYBE a REAL LITTLE bed would!" Miles laughed and told him it was a good idea.

Louis' bed situation is not permanent, nor is it ideal...but we have NEVER discussed it with him once. He must lie there thinking about these things at night while everyone else is snug and already asleep in their REAL beds!


Sunday, December 7, 2008

Louis on the Bunkbed

Louis was disobeying, and I chased him into his room, where he climbed up on Miles' bed to try and escape me. I wasn't REALLY mad at him...we were just playing. Then when he started in with the baby voice, I had to get the camera. Too funny!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Our New/Old Floor!

On Monday, I set out to refinish our 1911 hardwood floor that is in the living and dining rooms. My dad had promised to do it for me in January, but I got anxious, and curious to see if this was something I could do. My brother, Paul assured me that any idiot could, so I set out to prove him right! The first step (and the only step on which I received any help) was to remove the furniture and put it out on the front porch. John was my muscle-man...thank you Johnon. Next step was to rent the floor sander from the rent-a place in Pomona. It was $80. This is me, sanding with that mother-of-a-power-tool:After that, I had to return the sander and go rent an edger from the same place. $40 later, I was in a squat position, scooting myself around the edges of the room, trying to keep control of that CRAZY edger that wanted to pull me in any direction but the right one. Also, whenever it went over a nail head that I hadn't pounded far enough into the ground, sparks shot out and threatened my wool socks!

When the sanding was done, the floor looked like this:
The next step was to vacuum and sweep and wiped down all of the dust. Then I stained. I used a red mahogany stain, and applied it with a rag...at this point, I reminded myself of Daniel LaRusso in The Karate Kid, waxing on and waxing off. My shoulders, forearms, thighs, and buttox had all gotten very sore by the time these 3 steps were over. Here are some pics of the staining process:

Gotta protect those lungs!!!
At this point, John and I moved some of the furniture back onto the dried part, to protcct it from an especially misty night.

The next step was to polyurithane it all. This, I applied with a brush. I tried a bristle-type brush for awhile and then went with a foam one, which I preferred. It seemed to go faster. At this point, it was my knees and lower back that were hurting mostly. After one coat of the clear stuff, I lightly sanded with 220 grit paper (I wish I had used 320 or even higher, but it's ok) and then wiped it all up...and applied another coat of poly. So, Friday night, at 6:18pm, it was finished! I threw my arms up and drove to get expensive take-out food, because, man...I deserved it. Here's the finished product! We're loving it! Total cost...$165
Oh yeah, the hole in the floor is our old-fashioned gas heater (that is not in use...we have central air/heat) and someday, we will replace the flooring over it, but for now, we cover it with a grate and a round rug.

Here are some of my favorite boards. I know them all intimately now: