2011 recap

The year 2011.
Celebrated my first year of marriage with my wonderful husband.
Built a pond on our property.
Husband and I both took on new roles at work.
Started Clayton into his senior year of high school.
Bought a boat.
Bought another boat.
Sold the first boat.
Lost my engagement ring.  (Sunk it in Kentucky Lake)
Celebrated the legal union of one of my uncle's and his partner.
Ran a 4 mile race.  Longest distance I had done yet.
Lost a very special piece of our family.  Rest peacefully Austin Nau.
Cheered Clayton and friend on while they ran the Men's Health Urbanathalon.
Tried to grow our family in the traditional sense. 
Had surgery to aid in above.
Initiated fertility treatment.
Braved the failure of said treatment.
Revisted our options...again.
Decided to begin the licensing process for foster parenting.
And so the story begins...

A new Master bath, for the Master (me)

Sidenote:  Before I let a whole year pass before posting, better get to typing!....

Last Fall (2011) we decided it was high time to gut the Master Bath.  Anyone that has been to our house knows that the bathrooms were definitely next in line for overhauls.

The before pictures are horrific.  Seriously I think I saw our bathrooms in the last Saw movie...  Yikes!
Behold, the before...

EW!

Gross!  Those lights look like Viking weapons!

Blech!



So now that you see just how necessary a full gut was you can understand why we took it down to the studs.  The tile came up, the shower stall came out.  The wall of mirrors= gone.  Nasty sink and vanity... Bye Bye!  Creepy warrior lights...See ya!

I wanted this room to be crisp and bright.  There are no windows in this room... yet.  (I have a future vision of either a window or a sky light in here)  I wanted everything to be easy to maintain and clean.  And in true Becky fashion it all got done on a dime.  Every step of the way was cost effective without settling for something I didn't really love.
Initially I had planned to put pebble tile as the shower floor, but when I went to the home improvement store to buy the shower pan (over $500, not including the tile and other miscellaneous materials) I re-thought that plan.  Instead I spent $120 on a fiberglass shower pan, and let go of my pebble tile dreams.
The tile that I used through out  ranged from $1.08 per tile to $1.28 per tile.  About as cheap as it gets!
I got the sink for $30 on Craigslist.  The mirror was a thrift store find for $11.
Ready to see it??!!

Door still needs a coat of white paint

 Once the room was down to the studs, hubs replaced all the plumbing.  It was all copper pipe and some had started to rot out.  It made sense to replace it now before we closed the walls again.

My tile handy work.  Yeah that's right I did all the tiling myself!

 Once plumbing was done we were ready to tile.  I stopped at Menard's to buy a tile saw that we had seen advertised.  It's appeal was that it could be used to cut tile, wood, metal, etc by just easily switching out blades.  Got it home and got it set up.  Jeff mixed the mortar and I grabbed a box of tile to get set up for cutting.  Jeff came out to the garage and started to cut.  Never got any further.  It would have taken us 8 days to do the cuts that we were going to need to do.  Back to the store we went.  We rented their wet tile saw and got home with it around 8:30 pm.  At 2 am we finished tiling the shower walls.

 The next day I tiled the floor in about an hour.  Floors are so much easier to tile than walls!

 Grout was laid the next day, followed by setting the bead board, afixing shelves, caulking, hooking up the sink, hanging the new door, setting the new toilet, putting in new bath fan, new light, new switch plate, towel hooks and hanging some decor.

 Whew!  Sweet success!

That's our crisp, clean master bathroom.  We are in love with it. 

Holy BMI, Batman!

My husband did me the honor of scheduling a VO2/ CO2 Fitness Test, aka VO2 Max Test.  It's a fitness test that tells you lots about how your body performs including, Calories burned at rest, ideal heart rate for burning fat, ideal heart rate for building endurance, BMI, and bone density. 
I went in for this test Friday afternoon.  I was excited but insanely nervous.  He had his Tuesday and had given me the low down. 
To begin you get a heart rate monitor strapped to your chest and you have seat.  Then they stick a tube in your mouth and you breath into said tube for about 12 minutes.  Teeth clenching around this tube, lips pursed, trying not to drool all over yourself... really enjoyable.  This test tells you how many calories you burn doing nothing all day.  Mine read about 1700.  If I were to sit in a chair 24 hours a day and breath I would burn 1700 calories/ day. 
Test #2-  Oh yes, this is where the fun begins...  Now you are strapped into this awful face mask. 

photo coutresy of VO2 Max Testing website

With the mask on a tube feedng into the machine you get to start playing on the treadmill!  Starting out at a brisk walk for 1 minute and each minute picking up speed up to the 5 minute mark.  At the 5 minutes they start raising the incline.  Incline raises each minute for 5 minutes and then you keep trucking at 12.0 incline until you have satisfactorily maxed your heart rate (for me that was at 188).  At this point my legs felt like jello.  I was seriously unsure if I would be able to dismount the treadmill without falling off and taking the machine (that I was still hooked up to) out in the process.  Mask off finally, head spinning, legs wobbling... I was SO embarrassed!  I probably looked like a fool to this body builder doctor that is administering this test.  (This doctor by the way started off the test estimating that I need to lose 30 or more pounds.  Great doc!  Really feeling good about myself!!  Hey let's watch me approach death on your treadmill for fun!)  Anyway, the point of this test was to determine your maximum oxygen intake.  This told me what my target heart rate should be when I am trying to burn fat (120) or trying to build endurance (wasn't paying attention any longer, just focused on staying upright). 
Test #3- This was more my style.  Lay down for a body scan.  For about 10 minutes I layed there while this scanner was going head to toe determining my body composition; BMI, bone density, etc.  Allow me to point out this was ample time to question myself as to why that treadmill just owned me.  Also, plenty of time to prepare myself for what hilarity was about to come in the form of a BMI number.  "Well, if I can't even hoof up a hill I can only imagine that my BMI must be 137 or something equally absurd."  The output from the scan was a packet of paper that included the most unflattering image of you laying on the scanner, your BMI, % of fat, and the breakdown across different limbs, etc. 
While all of this is wildly informative I can tell you that I got a little girly over the whole thing.  My eyes got a little wet while I was telling the husband about the monstrosity that he married.  Self pity aside, I've moved on to my motivated self and hit the gym Saturday with a Kinect workout on Sunday. 
I go back to the doctor Tuesday when they will provide a tailored meal plan specifically for me based on the docs goal of me withering away to nothing losing 20 lbs.  20 lbs!  I have a feeling I'll be headed down a path of white fish, salmon, and unsalted almonds.... we'll see!

Until then, please stay aware of your own health and wellness.  As easy as it is to deny that maybe you are slacking on the exercise front, it is SO not worth it!  Cheers to doing better!

New Dining Space!

We have gotten so much done around here lately!  Hence, the lack of posts....
First update I have is from the dining room.
We got back from Florida and I decided to post our old dining room table on Craigslist to be sold.  I literally posted it on New Year's Eve in the late afternoon.  As Jeff and I were on our way out to dinner that night I got a call from someone saying it's as good as sold and she'll be over in the morning to check it ou/ pick it up.
Wowza!  The table was fully functional, just not ideally sized for the space.  It was rectangular and just took up too big of a footprint. 
Here's the before:

I'd like to note that the chairs (not including the bench) are the chairs that I grew up eating meals at home on.  My parents had these chairs my whole life.  My Mom gave them to me when I graduated college along with this table.  Getting rid of them was bittersweet.

The table was well centered on the french doors leading out to the back porch, but just took up too much space.  We don't really have regular need to seat 6 people.
The new table and chairs seats 4 regularly, 6 with the leaf in.  Plus we can seat 2 at the kitchen island.

The new table was given to me by Mom.  See the pattern?  I was thinking about building custom legs to make it counter height but it turns out that is a tall order!!!  After not finding any counter height chairs that I really loved at a price that I could feel good about I decided to go for the legs that came with the table.  Mom and I went chair hunting after I returned the cheapo counter stools that I bought the night before as a trial.  We ended up finding chairs that I LOVE!  And even found 2 of the four on clearance for less than half price.  While we were looking through the half price stuff we found two counter stools that were the same style and color also on clearance!!  Can you say LUCKY DAY!!??
Here are the photos of the after....

Much more size appropriate.  The chairs are SO comfortable.  Even though I really thought I wanted a counter height table, I am not disappointed in the least.  I still have the stools at the (interim) island, and we may decide to put a pub table in the now finished basement... more on that tomorrow!

Some like it hot...

I'm talking about yoga.  Get your mind right. 
I took my first hot yoga class last night and let me tell you...Wow.  First, if you are a yogi, this was not a Bikram class.  The temperature of the room was only 85 degrees.  Bikram is of course 105 degrees.  For this class the room only really seemed hot at the beginning, flow part of the class. 
                                                                    
This class didn't get nearly that sweaty.  It started with your typical sun salutations.  Lots of Vinyasa's.  Then to the warrior's with more Vinyasa's in between.
NOTE: Vinyasa= flow of plank, upward dog, downward dog.  ARM AND SHOULDER BURN!
After the warrior's we moved on to balancing.  I don't know if the fact that I didn't have to teach this class had any effect but I was a balancing machine!  I hardly bobbled at all!  Finally we started to move into the mat (stretching) portion of the session.  It was the perfect time too.  I was getting the muscle shakes, aka my arms were about to quit. 
It was really great to be able to unwind and enjoy a yoga class.  And I really loved the hot style yoga.  The cardio benefits were obviously increased with the heat which in turns burns more calories.
In fact, according to various calorie counters I burned about 700 calories in that 90 minute session.  Well worth it, and I will definitely go back for more. 
Do a google search for hot yoga in your area and try it out.  It is really a liberating and strengthening thing to do for yourself.  Enjoy!

Living in the country

Referring to our place as the homestead is pretty realistic.  There are tractors, barns, rolling hills, ponds, and wildlife.  I've learned to adapt to it over these last few years.  At least I thought so.  I am nothing if not an animal lover.  I love my dog more than I probably should.  I am becoming quite fond of the cat that we just learned was never a girl.  HE is in fact a boy.  (Nice of the vet to wait til the 3rd visit to drop that bomb, don't you think?)
Most mornings we awake to deer out in the pasture. 
Upon arriving home late at night you will often see a family of racoons making their way from one field to the next. 
One summer we had a den of foxes living in the ravine along side our house.
There are barn cats perched on the fence hunting field mice.
We owned horses and a mule for a long time. 
This weekend was the first time I had to have a painful experience with the wildlife.  Saturday afternoon as I was driving up the road towards home there was a lone racoon walking in the road.  Now usually the coons will get back in the woods quickly upon seeing a car.  This guy actually rolled over and played dead as I drove by.  That's weird.  Later that afternoon I mention to the Mr. how bizarre it was to see a lone coon, let alone in the middle of the day, let alone playing dead.  The boy chimed in with a story about having to physical move a racoon out of the way with his boot while he was stacking firewood just a bit ago.  Mr's eyes got very big and he abruptly asked if the boy touched  the coon.  He said no, thank god!  Mr.  was just certain that this was the same coon I had seen and it must be rabid.  We talked about calling animal control, but by this time it was night and certainly they wouldn't come out on Saturday night....
Well Sunday morning this racoon was curled up in a cute little furball right outside of one of the basement windows.  Immediately I told the Mr.  I was concerned for the dog's safety (duh.)  He said we needed to call animal control.  I did.  Turns out the county animal control is only in place to deal with domestic animals.  They are not licensed to deal with wildlife control.  I was told to call a commercial wildlife removal company. 
Yeah.  On a Sunday.  The day after new years.  I'm so sure that wouldn't have cost an arm and a leg.
Mr. directed the boy to go get a gun and put it out of its pain.  By this time coon was clearly about at the end of its life.  I'll spare the details and tell you only that I shed some tears.  It was very sad.  We creamated the little guy once we knew he was dead and had to burn the area around him to ensure any risk of rabies getting passed along was also gone. 
It was sad.  I am still a bit disturbed at what I saw when I looked out the window at what I thought was going to be a cute little fur ball before we decided it was time to deal with it.
To top it all off, when cleaning after we finished working on the media wall a HUGE spider crept in somehow.  As if this isn't great enough it was when the boys left to go to the store so I was forced to smash it with the fireplace scooper.... EW!

That was rough to re-count.  But it had to be done.

Crickets.

Can you hear them? You know that repeating, blaring, chirrping sound that often signifies empty or excessively quiet space, aka this blog.
I let the Holiday madness get the best of me and I forgot about my chronicles.  In hindsight I am regretful however, if you learn nothing from your shortcomings they are in fact failures.  If you learn something they are experiences.  So, this is me learning something from my epic failure  learning experience/ blog absence.
I really do enjoy the time it takes to plan, write and edit these blog posts.  Time was very thin this past month.  Ya know why?
Well.....
1.  The mister and I hostedThanksgiving
2.  Preparing for holiday traveling
3.  Going to every wrestling match for C
4.  Working on a BIG project at work that kept us at the office until all hours
5.  Tediously creating, planning and constructing in the basement.... 2/3 done by the way!!!

I know the first one is old news, but it was 4 days of a full house and all the mayhem that goes along with that.  Good mayhem, but mayhem nonetheless.  We spent 6 days in Florida over Christmas and that seriously was a month in the works.  Getting the house ready to be empty, planning for boarding the cat, etc...  The wrestling season is officially in full swing and we spend alot of time hollering from the bleachers for our #1 son.  When we are not cheering on the IB Tigers we are at work.  Working.  Working on a big project that requires many late nights.  Getting home at 7 pm and trying to cook and launder is AWFUL!  But.....Remember that inspiration board for the basement that I posted here a while back?  Well we are 2/3 of the way through making that a reality.  Wanna see?
Well the basement was a concrete jungle blank slate.  This is code for, "I don't have before pictures."

First step was to wall off the laundry room.  Pictures of this will come later as it is a disaster zone at the moment.  Second, we took out the old wood burning stove and replaced it with a 42" Fireplace.  I cannot even tell you how easy this was.  I went to Chicago one morning and when I got back the next day it was done!  But seriously, this was a fireplace kit that was all prefab'd.  Mr. Dubetter did awesome work getting it in place and what not!

My apologies for the photo quality.  This was taken on my Crackberry.  You can see over next to the french doors is the old Ben Franklin style stove.  The new fireplace is not only prettier but SO much more efficient.  The amount of heat this thing puts off prevents the furnace from kicking on hardly at all.  My pocketbook is pleased.  Where you see the studs around the fireplace and to the right is all new and will be drywalled.  To the left of the fireplace is where the real magic happens.  The media center!  Before this weekend it looked like this....

See all the unsightly wires.  I HATE that!  We brainstormed long and hard about how to solve this problem.  The results made the time spent sooooo worth it.  See for yourself.

Of course there is still lots to do.  Drywall, painting, more decorating.  But this is a HUGE improvement to the cold concrete.  The insulation is making a huge difference.  You could literally see outside through some of the cracks... New meaning to going green, huh?  The media includes the new monster of a TV, Sound receiver that is also a DVD player and I-Pod dock, digital media storage for all of our music and movies, and the X-Box.  Plenty I think.

Can't wait to share more progress.  I have lots to blog about and will do so regularly.  I swear it. 

Did you tackle any projects over the holidays?  Or maybe you dreamed up some for the new year.... do tell!

The Headboard

You remember the headboard project right? 
No?
Well you simply must click here to get all caught up.
Ok, now that you are familiar let's talk results!
These are not final results because I have yet to pick the perfect wedding pic to get a giant black and white print of so that I can frame it and hang it about the headboard, but it is in place.  At the head of the bed.  In the bedroom.  On the right track...

So here are the almost finished pictures....

The (hopefully) last bedroom project will be refinishing the side tables.  They are currently a dark stain and I'm really loving the white trim with the chocolate walls so I may do 'em up in some kind of white.  We'll see!

Additionally, we are finishing up the walls and doors for the laundry room.  I'll share pics as soon as there are full walls not just studs in place. 

What are you dong this weekend?  (Other than preparing for Thanksgiving feasting)

A Recipe! Black Bean Salad

Choc full of flavor and nutrition this salad makes a great meal on its own or along side tacos!  It's super easy to make and comes together super fast... Check it out ASAP!

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of corn, drained
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small bunch of green onions, chopped
Juice of 1 lime

Mix all above beans and veggies together.  Drizzle mixture with lime juice, toss to coat.

Serve with homemade tortilla chips* as snack or appetizer or alongside your favorite Mexican dish as part of the main meal.

* I make homemade tortilla chips by cutting store bought corn tortillas into chip sizes pieces (think round pizza slices).  Lay them out on a cookie sheet, spray lightly with cooking spray and lightly salt.  Bake @ 400 degrees until slightly golden brown.

Enjoy this healthy meal and then enjoy how good you feel after the meal!

Cheers to "du-ing better" for our health!!

Before and After- China Hutch

Over the summer I bought a sad looking china hutch from none other than CRAIGSLIST!!! 
Solid Maple= score!
Excellent Condition= arguable, but score!
I knew that I was going to be painting whatever I bought so I didn't really care if it needed a little love.  I also knew that I didn't want to spend alot of money especially if the piece was going to require some work. 
Here is the before pic....

I ask that you notice the awesome gold etching on the glass.  Who doesn't love some sweet gold criss crosses??!!  This girl that's who.  Needless to say those went bye-bye.  Easy as scraping off with a flat razor.  Next, I went over the whole thing with some sand paper to rough it up.  Then a coat of Killz primer followed by a coat of country white to freshen up the look.  I switched out the sad, dated hardware and re-hung the glass doors and VOILA!
A new to me hutch for the dining area!

Hutch-$80
Paint- $15
Hardware= $12
Total= $107

I'm cool with spending a hundred bucks on something that I am really happy with.  The whole project took a few hours to do.  Well worth it in my opinion!

Color Me Bad

What a title... A post about how color relates to your personality.  My maiden initials were BAD...  deep.
My favorite blog to follow (YHL) had a post about this silly color quiz.  At least I thought it was silly until I did it for myself and it came out sooooo right!

Follow this linkto figure out your own color profile.  Hogwash or Legit?  How did yours turn out?



P90X- Week 3 recap

More of the same to report this week.  It is really hard to fit this program in with traveling...
BUT....
Last night we subbed Cardio X for Kenpo to change things up a bit.  Oh. My. God.  I literally cannot think of another work out that made me so sweaty.  This wore me out!  I was toast by the end.  Like wobbly knees and seeing stars toast...
In a good way, though!  I really liked it.  It's a mix of yoga, plyometrics and Kenpo.  Went really fast too!  Today is supposed to be a break day but I think we may do X-Stretch because I don't have to teach yoga tonight.

Next week is recovery week.  Let me tell you, Tony's use of the word recovery is a bit misleading.  In my pea brain I like to think of recovery as long bubble baths, massages, pedicures, glasses of wine..... 
                                                       
In Tony Horton's pea brain he thinks recover involves the hardest yoga EVER, Core Synergistics (OW!) and more stretching.


One of us is confused on the meaning of "recovery".  Which is it?  I'll give you one hint, it's not me!

Thanksgiving Menu Planning

Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away!
Last year I didn't cook.
This year I am.  For what could be a whole big bunch of people.  If you are in the area, stop by!  We'll have plenty of grub to share.
Because I do not like failure, I am planning for this feast.  Not just daydreaming of all the food and drinks, but seriously planning.  Here's what my neurosis has come to:

Similar to an inspiration board, but not.
A PLANNING BOARD!  (Now re-read that phrase but in an announcer voice.  Way more fun, huh?!)
Starting at the top, we have your basic yeast rolls, painted with butter for sheen and buttery-ness.
Next, a glass of Frangelico liquor to take the edge off.  Two if the pie doesn't turn out right or the potatoes aren't cooking fast enough or I drop the cranberry sauce all over the floor, or let's face it, if I feel like having 2 glasses of Frangelico....
Stuffing.  Oh stuffing, how I love thee....  Simple.  Delicious.  From Martha.  'Nuff said.  (I substitute dried cranberries for the cherries)
Pumpkin Creme Pies.  Like the old fave oatmeal creme pies, but pumpkin.  And less processed.  My how C Diddy will love me! 
Sweet Potatoe Fries.  Because no one ever eats the mashed sweet potatoes and because I'm choosing the menu and I think these will be a SMASH!  I sprinkle mine with salt, pepper, and nutmeg then bake them @ 400 'til they are ready to eat or I am ready to eat them (whichever comes first).
Butter... in the shape of a turkey??!!  Don't mind if I do... if I can find this at the store.  I will not be carving butter.  There won't be time for such tom-foolery. 
Turkey.  Duh.  We are American. 
Green bean Casserole.  A non traditional version of the old cream of mushroom favorite.  By using fresh beans instead of canned there will be some bite to the dish.  Some crunch.  Mmmm.
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.  Duh.  We are American.
Cranberry Sauce.  I will most certainly have the awesome canned jellied cranberry sauce because it is bomb- diggy.  But for those more sophisticated tastes I am going to throw this bad boy together.  Looks delish!
Apple Pie.  I love to make Martha Stewart's traditional apple pie with her perfect pie crust.  I am also known to make fun cutouts for decorating the top of the pie.  Please note: I am no artist so don't get your hopes up. I did some little apples a few years ago.  Nothing too crazy.
Last, this wine has quickly become my favorite.  Despite the name "Sweet Red" it's not so sweet it tastes like juice.  It pairs well with everything!  The other night while using a bit of it to cook I poured myself a glass and added some frozen blueberries to chill it.  They infused the wine with a gorgeous flavor and made for a tasty treat once the wine was gone!  I do insist that you try this wine.  A- mazing!

How is your planning coming along?  Are you cooking or just eating?


End note: Barefoot Wine has no idea that there even is a Mrs. Dubetter.  They did not incent me to provide a raving review.  I did that all on my own.

P90- Week 2 recap and a recipe

Photo Courtesy of Tony Horton, P90X

In a word: SLACKER!
While not a total failure, I'm pretty sure Tony Horton would not be pleased.  I'm also pretty sure that every time he says, "I know it hurts!  It's supposed to!", he's speaking directly to me.  As if to say, "Stop with the whining and crying and slacking!  Just work!"
I'm taking it very personal.  Probably because I know I didn't work as hard as I should/ could have. 
I skipped Friday, Sunday and Monday.  Oh god, I really want to delete that because that looks really bad in writing!
Whoa is me, I'm a slacker.
Ok, no more feeling sorry for myself.  Must get amped for Week 3!  Then week 4 is recovery week which means Core Synergistics and Yoga!  Yum!


Photo courtesy of P90X

 Ok, officially inspired. 
We've been doing really well with eating well.  I promise to post some delicious recipes soon.  Last night we had homemade Broccoli Cheese soup.  Followed by fat free cookies and cream frozedn yogurt.  Tonight is Chili!



Photo courtesy of Cooking Light

 Here is the recipe for the Broccoli Cheese Soup (or click here):
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets
2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 203 (28% from fat); FAT 6.3g (sat 4g, mono 1.8g, poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 15.6g; CARB 21.7g; FIBER 2.9g; CHOL 24mg; IRON 1.2mg; SODIUM 897mg; CALC 385mg;

Riddle me this...

Ok so I might as well come clean so as not to disappoint...
No riddles.  Just questions.  But I do encourage you to read on because I just know you will have some comment or criticism to offer.  I know it!
1.  To Wii or not to Wii?  That is the (first) question.  I finally got the hubs to say, "Fine, you want a Wii, go get a Wii.  Go now.  Don't wait.  If you don't go buy one now you will next month so just go."  I didn't though.  Hence the question of whether or not to Wii.  I am currently slapping my palm against my forehead.  "Dummy, he just endorsed going out and spending money frivolously and you are sitting here!"  But I am the queen of buyers remorse.  I had buyers remorse for almost 6 months after I bought a flat screen 19" (mind you) TV.  FREAK!  Needless to say, a Wii costs a wii bit more, hahaha.  Will we use it?  Will it get old quick.  Will it measure up to my exceedingly high expectations?  Ok don't answer that last one, but answer the others will you and put me out of my misery.  I am obsessed with the possibility of owning a Wii.  Help me.
2.  Why is it that I find it so impossible to get motivated to work out?  I already noticed a difference after week 1 of P90X.  I even feel better after each workout.  But the past 3 days it has been torture.  I'm still doing them though so stay tuned for Week 2 update coming later this week.
3.  Why do I keep forgetting to take "before" pics of projects that I do.  For instance, yesterday I finally recovered a foot stool that I bought for $8 at a garage sale a few weeks ago.  [Side note: This fellow Bostonian that I feel like maybe I was BFF's with in a past life love garage sale tales.  I've only technically hung out with him 1 time.  But I think that he would agree it feels like a whole big bunch more than that.  But seriously he loves second hand items.]  Ok but back to the foot stool.  It was pretty ugly, with it's maroony floral pattern fabric.  I felt compelled to funk it out.  Up it's funk factor if you will.  So while you have no before to compare it to, here is the ultra funky after....

3.  Why did I think I would like the Women's Lifestyle Show?  Don't get me wrong, Mama Smith was GREAT company, but 98.999% of the women at this thing were a new kind of crazy.  I got elbowed and bumped more at this show than I did in the front row at the Incubus concert.  For real.  Also, the politicians were in full effect!  With their kids peddling their fliers.  Trust me when I say that I did not come to a womens show to get shmoozed by our local politicians snakes.  Don't get me wrong, Mama Smith's company was great and it wasn't all for nothing.  It began with a rare sighting of the below and ended with a bloody mary.

4.  Why don't men understand the infinite wonders that can be found in a KitchenAid stand mixer?  I mean this thing is the cadillac of mixers!  And, come on ladies, how freakin sweet are all the attachments??!!
5.  Finally, I really enjoyed the sunset last night.  We were outside after the boys had a long day outside on the property.  Hubby rented a Bobcat for the day... (only got it stuck once).  Just look at all that color!  I really try to never take for granted the fact that I can look out my windows and see this everyday.  I love my life.

Cheers to enjoying each day.  Taking the good with the bad and constantly striving to DuBetter!

Inspiration Board- Simple Charm

Project= basement
Timeline= Infinity
We are not technically/ officially starting the basement project.  We have one (more important) financial goal to fulfill before we start this.  I am just really excited/ ready to have a FANTASTIC (!) basement. 
I put together my first ever inspiration board as an outlet for all of my, "Wouldn't it be great if we did this!?", moments.

So, allow me to elaborate.... (don't mind if I do)

1.  This is the style of doors that I aim to install through out the entire house.  Simple charm.  That's the theme.  I think these doors fit the bill.  Classic 6 panel primed white.
2.  Inspiration for the furniture to put in the 4th bedroom/ home office.  Clean lines.  Classic white will be a nice contrast against the floors.  (more detail on those under #12.)
3.  Built in bookshelves and media storage.  We'll also be sinking a panel for mounting and wiring the tv and sound.
4.  I love these faux wood blinds!  I just hung some in the kitchen and they are really easy to work with and easy to clean!  My favorite thing about them is they mimic the look of plantation shutters at a fraction of the cost and no need to special order!  The white keeps the room bright while blocking out the blazing sun... it's like magic!
5.  The decor theme in the family room portion of the basement will be subtle Harley Davidson.  I love their vintage tin signs.  I'll DIY some throw pillows for the sofa and there you have it subtle Harley decor.
6.  Speaking of Vintage Harley tin signs... this is a picture of the first one that I ever acquired.  I picked it up while we were visiting the HD museum last year.
7.  The only other room in the basement other than the family room and 4th bedroom is the laundry room.  We want to have space available to install and toilet and sink at least so stackable washer and dryer would allow for that.  I love the pewter color of these.  So chic!  hmmmm.... chic and laundry, really Bek?
8.  This is almost identical to the sectional that we currently have the family room.  It's ok.  I don't hate it enough to replace so I'm guessing it will stay for the time being.
9.  I love the look of this piece.  I'd try to find something a tad larger so it could be used as a coffee table.  I'd make the legs a distressed black and let the top remain distressed wood.  l.o.v.e.
10.  I'm thinking something in this family of shades for wall color.  I think white trim against this color will look really sharp and the color will help to warm the basement and feel homey. 
11.  We currently have an old wood burner downstairs.  It's really great in the cold months.  The crackling of the fire and the heat pouring out of there.  It's dreamy!  But I hate the way that it looks.  It's small and old and not at all charming.  Wouldn't this just be lovely!?  Plenty of light, but it's an insert so it is more efficient than a regular firebox style.  That white mantle is gorge!  Which reminds me that I still need to post the headboard reveal....
12.  Here are the floors.  Magnificent.  We saw these in Home Depot a few months back.  There is no gluing or nailing involved in installing this floor.  The edges are almost like magnets, but not, and they just overlap to create a snug, secure fit.  No worries about continuing this floor into the bathroom/ laundry room.  It's WATERPROOF!  Check it out here.
13.  Finally, a utility sink that doesn't look like a utility sink.  Remember how I told you space was tight in the laundry/ bathroom?  Well how great to have a utility sink that you can also wash your hands in and not feel like you were washing your hands in a plastic rubbermaid tub?  I know, right.  SO great.

So I dream big.  I mentioned alot of DIYing in the above list of hopes and wishes.  So I'll contribute to the completion of all of this.  Right now it is concreteville, USA.  It's livable but it's not enviable. 

P.S.  Don't tell hubs that I already have this all planned out.  I told him we would arm wrestle for each choice that we had to make and if he won he could have it his way.  What I didn't tell him was that he has to have his arms tied behind his back for said arm wrestling matches.  You know what that means.... I WIN!!!!  Yay for me!

Ow! aka P90X Week 1

Literally just completed the last workout in Week 1 of P90X.  Now many of you readers may recall that we've done the P90X 90 day program before.  We finished about 2 weeks before the wedding.  Once we got home from Jamaica... well, we'll just say there's a reason we are starting the cycle again...
Week 1 consists of:  Chest and Back + Ab Ripper, Plyometrics, Arms and Shoulders + Ab Ripper, Extreme Yoga, Legs and Back + Ab Ripper, Kenpo X.  The week completes with a rest day that can be substituted for the X Stretch workout. 
Already I feel thinner, leaner, stronger, healthier.  I don't have nearly the afternoon slump that I had been experiencing.  I really do feel the transformation happening.  I know that sounds cheesy and sickening.  It's really true.  I can't wait to be reminded of how it feels to complete month 1!
But back to week 1.  There were many days that I took the stairs a little slower.  Days that I walked a little stiffer.  And days that I didn't necessarily want to workout, but overall I think it was a successful week.  I am sore, but feel accomplished.
I've combined a list of my favorite things about Tony Horton and his crazy idea of fun, P90X:
Variety.  Every day it's something new.
Motivation.  Tony Horton is a complete cheese ball, but he really does a great job of keeping you motivated throughout the entire workout.
Fast Results.  Any workout that makes you feel like you are stronger and leaner instantly is a-ok in my book.
Achievable.  Each move has a variation that you can rely on early in the 90 days.  As you get stronger you can transition to the full move.
Feels good.  I'm not one those freaks that enjoys working out.  Every once in a blue moon I crave a workout, but this is definitely not the norm.  Each and every workout that Tony has you do makes you feel like a super hero upon completion.  Pretty sweet.  Now if only the workouts could be done with a cape on...
I am really excited to continue through this journey and will certainly chronicle the honest week by week results.  It'll be even more exciting to get some motivation from you!!  Leave some comment love and keep me moving!!

Here's to week two and trying to "DuBetter" with more reps and more weight as my body is ready!

(Tony Horton did not endorse this entry.  He doesn't even know I exist.)

Happy "Boo"thday!-- Saturday Recap

This weekend was crazy busy!  My mom came first thing Saturday morning.  We went out to buy a baby shower gift then raced home to make lunch (Corn and Potato Soup- recipe to follow).  Then once the soup was done I had to run down to the local bar and decorate for a surprise birthday that I helped plan.  Birthday girls actual birthday is on Halloween so I went with a Halloween theme.  I decided that I don't want to do all orange and black.  I think it would be much more fun to go with green, purple, orange, pink.  Here's how it came out....

Once this place was decorated I had to race off to get ready for another surprise birthday party for one of my Mom's friends.  Left there after an hour so I could get home, get the cake and get back to the local bar to surprise Halloween Birthday girl.  Phew!  You think that was exhausting.  Wait until you hear about Sunday....

Weekend Recap

This weekend was rich with family, love and food!

Saturday we went to C’s cross country meet.  It was a BEAUTIFUL day!  Bright blue skies, crisp air, crazy teenagers...

Hubby and I rode the motorcycle to the meet and then went for a nice long ride after the meet (more on that below). 

C’s old cross country coach told him earlier this season that X-country just isn’t his bag.  He waivers between seething mad at the old guy and laughing it off, using his words as motivation.  Me too.  I give the boy a lot of credit for volunteering to run 3 miles everyday.  C’mon I wish I would stay consistent and run even 3 miles a week! 

This year his girlfriend (whom he met during track season) decided that she would run cross country with him.  That’s dedication!  Mostly because she HATES running.  So not only do we have C volunteering to run X-country as a means to get in shape for wrestling season (which starts 11/8/10- it’s gonna be GREAT!!!) but we also have this girl volunteering to do something she is not crazy about as a means to support and spend time with her young man!  What a gal!  I love that! 

Anyway, this meet was huge, most of them are, but this one seems bigger to me than the others.  Look at how beautiful the day was!

Both the kids did a great job.  Girlfriend K didn’t come in last as she always predicts.  And C had a nice push towards the end.  Proud mama!

Once the meet was done J and I hopped on the scooter and headed up the river.  Destination: restaurant on the river for a relaxing dinner.  Not naming names because the food was a new kind of HORRENDOUS!   We got to said restaurant, played some bags while we waited for food, but quickly quit because the boxes were seriously way too far apart!  When the food came we were ready!  Some ribeye steaks, sweet potatoe fries and a salad.  The fact that the lettuce was beige should have been an indicator as to how the rest of the meal was going to be…  I tried to cut into the steak and quickly tried to flag down our waitress to ask for a portable reciprocating saw.  The steak knife wasn’t gonna work.  She was nowhere to be found.  I figure maybe I just got caught on some of the fat or something.  Cue plate spin and take 2.  Finally got through the meat only to find that it was 3 shades of purple and gray.  No pink.  No brown.  Purple and gray.  I about lost it right there.  I asked J if his was all nasty looking and with a bite in his mouth looked down at his and just nodded yes.  Ok, that’s it.  I can’t do this.  I’m not an order it then complain about it kinda gal but this was TERRIBLE!  I wouldn’t feed this to the obnoxious raccons that live in our woods.  This. Was. Bad.  Waitress finally came back to check on us and was mortified at what was on our plates.  She charged us for our drinks and we were outta there!

On a nicer note, check out these awesome pictures from the ride home that evening!  So lovely.  Yes, motorcycle and lovely can go together.  Just like glamorous and dozer.  (Read why that works here.)

This weekend I have 2 birthday parties, 1 of which I am decorating and doing the cake for.  Pictures will be posted!