Cha Cha Changes



Hi everyone! Sorry for the radio silence around these parts. I hope to be a much better blogger very soon. The hubs and I made a pretty crazy decision. After much deliberation and waffling, we decided I should just quit my job and be a stay-at-home mom.

Whaaaaat???

Yes. That is scary to say. But I have been wanting to do this for years. We've just not been financially ready until now. So I'm going to do that full time mom thing. For the summer. Then when the fall comes around and the boys go back to school, I may look for a part time job.

What am I going to do with myself? Well, that's a good question. I have a 6 year old and a 17 year old that will probably get his license next Monday and be driving. So we may barely see him after that. If he's anything like I was at that age he won't stick around the house much. Riley, my 6 year old, will love to go to the pool and so will I. We won't be able to afford to go there every day so I'm working on building a list of things we can choose from so we (I) won't go stir crazy.

I have been working a full time job since I graduated high school. That's about 18 years worth of non-stop corporate working. That means I am in a big life changing event here folks. But, this is what I have been wanting to do. We ordered a pressure cooker so I can start canning. We're getting some plants and as we can we will start a garden. I'm not sure if we will be ready this year but definitely next year. I need to gather up some info on what I need to do to garden in our neighborhood. We have lots of critters. Lots. The typical raccoon, deer and rabbit but we see coyotes and lots of bears too. Problem is I want to research having chickens but I'm afraid I won't be able to keep them from danger. I've talked to a few people here and there and some strategic coop designs might be our best bet and of course, fencing in the yard is our end goal for sure. We'll just have to see how the budget goes! There won't be much of it!

Anyhoo, I just wanted to share a little bit of what's going on over here at One Girl. I really want to share this journey with you guys, the ups and downs and the question and answers. I've got another week and a half at work so there is still some real life left before the rubber hits the road.

We'll see if I come out alive on the other end.

Riley's 6th Birthday

We celebrated my son's 6th birthday last week. He had his official party on Saturday but his birthday was actually on Wednesday. I made him a little cake in the shape of Kipper, one of his favorite book/cartoon characters, and gave him his gifts from us. Then Saturday the rest of the family came and his friends from school. That was at Chuck E. Cheese which, my friend, is the loudest place on earth. And possibly the best place for a kid to go cray cray.

The little "at-home" party

A bike, NintendoDS Legos game, bubble tape, a ring pop and the cutest little card with a puppet pig



The version of the Kipper cake I found online and then my version:

Not as good as the original but I was happy with it! I had to come home on my lunch break on Wednesday to do it because I wanted him to be surprised when we got home that night. I bought 2 vanilla cake mixes and 2 cans of white icing. One cake I did in a 9 x 13 pan and then the other cake mix I put in 2 8" round cake pans. I freehanded cutting the head out of the 9 x 13 and then I cut the ears out of one of the round cake pans. I found out that you can hide a multitude of sins with icing. Hey...that might be a motto for life....Anyway! I mixed up orange with red and yellow food coloring and then I "tried" to make black but it continued to come out a dark gray. I just went with it. I added the sprinkles to his mouth and nose to kind of seem like whiskers. Then last night when we were watching Kipper I noticed his ears were brown! Ha! I wasn't really tempted to graze on this cake for days while it sat around because it wasn't chocolate! Yay!

On Saturday he got a much needed haircut and then he rocked it out at Chuck E Cheese with his friends from school. He had a blast. Slightly obnoxious for parents but the kids ate.it.up.

The ticket blaster with his best friend

All in all - a great day for everyone. The best part - I didn't have to clean up!!! YAY!!

On the Front Porch Girl

Sweater, tank and Minnetonka mocassins: Thrifted, Skirt: Eddie Bauer

Not quiet warm enough for sandals with this outfit but that's ok. Mocassins are just as comfy. 

Blue Gray Girl

Tee: NY&Co, Jeans: Roses, Sweater: Thrifted, Boots: Ebay

Geez louise it turned off chilly! Glad I grabbed this little sweater on the way out the door this morning.

I am enjoying all the green colors popping up all over.  It is exciting to see the cusp of late spring coming around. 

Well, I'm officially tired of my highlights. I bought my first box of hair color from the drug store. I tried my hardest to match up my natural color to the teeny hair swatches. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow. Let's hope for the best!

DIY: Distressed Cabinets

Finished with the kitchen remodel! Oh my Lord I thought I would never see the end. But it is so rewarding to see the final product. I really think out of all the things around the house, this one and houses in the past, this is my favorite and best project so far. I am so happy with the way it turned out!

What an undertaking! But I knew it was going to be. I took the whole week off from work because I knew I would need that much time. And I did.

After we took all the cabinets down, I painted one coat of primer on all surfaces. Then two coats of the paint color. That's the part that really took the longest. Flipping each door that we had laid out on saw horses and some 2 x 4's to do two coats on both sides. While the doors were drying I got started on distressing the cabinets. I had the wrong kind of sandpaper to start with. It was waaaay too soft. I would've spent a year sanding and would've never seen wood grain. After a trip down to Ace in my painting clothes and a bandanna on my head (sexhay) I had some heavier grit sandpaper that worked a little better. Come to find out, my little hammer was what I used the most. The back of the hammer made a great scrapping tool. It peeled the paint off quite well. Here's some close up shots:

I came back with some dark stain ever so slightly on a fluffy old sock and filled in some crevices. Then, FINALLY, I did a coat of polyurethane over everything. 

Now on the list; remodel counter tops, new stove, microwave and dishwasher to match the fridge...new bar stool covers, rugs, back splash....the list goes on forever.......

A Little Bit of Life

Hi everyone! I'm on vacation! A staycation. I am redoing my kitchen cabinets this week but I thought I would drop in for a little bit of life lately updates!

1. Our beloved little Josie dog being the Easter bunny

2. Cheeseburger Casserole! I wasn't a big fan. It was a weight watcher friendly recipe, but I think I might have added too much of the dijon mustard it called for. Oh well! It was a cute idea!

3. Big Lowe's trip for the kitchen remodel project!

Making progress!!!

Easter Girl

Sweater: Old Navy, Skirt: Thrifted, Oxfords: Bass

The weather wasn't as warm as I had hoped it would be so I layered the polka dot pleated skirt with a sweater and navy tights.  It was a comfortable (and cozy) outfit which suited me just fine!

And an egg scrammble later on...