2009 January — We are THAT Family

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

7:00 am Bykristen

I like my comfort zone.

It’s nice and well, comfortable. And I try to keep it nearby.

But I will be leaving it for a few short days (the first weekend of February) and that makes me very uncomfortable.

Um, yes, that would be a real live blogging conference. With people. In real life.

All by myself. Without knowing another person face-to-face.

Comfort zone? Completely obliterated.

I have a couple of really good friends (yes, I’m talking about you, Cheryl & Jen) and we take a girl’s weekend trip every year. I emailed them and suggested they attend the conference with me. They don’t have a blog, but both of my creative friends need one and I thought this would be the perfect start!

{See how nice and thoughtful I am to think of them?}

Except I wasn’t banking on the fact that these girls know me very well.

They saw my desperate plan and said, “We love you and we think that you should go alone. This will be good for you. You need to get out of your comfort zone. This will help you grow.”

So, now I have two openings for real life friends.

Oh, I kid.

As much as I hate to admit it, those girls are right! Just getting on that plane and actually showing up will be huge for me. Not to mention taking this introverted body and meeting other people I read in the real world.

I feel faint.

So, I need your advice. What’s the best two cents you can give me? I’m seriously nervous about the whole thing. And I’m resisting the urge for a full body makeover. {Can you get those on clearance?}

How often do you leave your comfort zone and do you take your favorite blankie?

Secondly, what does one wear to a blogging cocktail party? Is it the same thing I would wear to a sweet tea party?

And finally, would y’all pray that when I enter the plane, there are no birds in sight?

Because if I so much as see a feather, I might just get back in my car and spend the weekend in the fetal position.

Filed UnderBlogging, My Life, Uncategorized 61 Comments

And This is Where I Give Away Something Really BIG!

12:01 am Bykristen

*Update* I’ve closed this contest down and am busy cleaning up the comments and will announce the winner today!

I’m going to forego all the funny business and skip to the biggest giveaway I’ve ever done on this blog o mine.

Through an unplanned turn of events, my hubby’s company awarded him some shopping points and we got this in the mail:

A beautiful pink Kate Spade Hobo Handbag, valued at $245.

And it’s just not his color.

Since I’m still toting the beautiful purse my hubby gave me last Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d give this one away!

{And let me add, this is a gorgeous purse. It’s big (13″ tall, 13″ wide) and roomy, with pockets and zippers. It’s a great shade of pink for the Spring with an adorable black and white polka dotted interior. I better stop or I will want to keep it).

So, if you’d like to win this designer purse that comes with a protective bag and lots of class, do the following:

How to Enter

Please leave a comment for EACH of the following for multiple entries (i.e. 2 entries, 2 comments). This will keep it fair! BUT YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE MORE THAN 5 ENTRIES TOTAL

The Couch Isn’t the Only Thing Floating

6:00 pm Bykristen

We’ve lived in our little corner of Suburbia for 5 years.

During that time, we have renovated most of our house. We’ve replaced the flooring, painted every room, reconfigured the floor plan and survived a kitchen makeover.

And we are still married and not completely broke.

But I’ve never moved my couch. It’s been against the one solid wall in our living room since we moved in.

Before

The other day on Twitter, I read The Nester’s tweet that she rearranged her furniture and moved her couch. I responded with couch-moving envy.

Before

I’m pretty sure she nearly fell out of her nest when she learned that I hadn’t moved my sofa in 5 years! (And I won’t go into detail about the items found under the couch. Let’s just put it this way: I should be ashamed and pictures will not follow).

So, with her encouragement and while my kids dug a hole to China in the backyard, I did it.

I moved my sofa to the center of the room (termed: floating), facing

the fireplace:

After

I grouped the chairs together and put the lamp table between them, next to the fireplace:

After

I used our table with toy bins as a sofa-table and put it behind the couch.

I love the way this little corner feels now:

Here’s a view from the second-story landing:

How about you? Are you a mad-furniture-mover? Or are you boring like me?

We do most of our living in our family room (former formal living room):

Don’t ask me how long that couch has been on the wall….

Hope you enjoyed my little living room tour! Check out Kelly’s Korner for more.

Filed UnderDecor, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

THAT Family Tree Society-Issue 27

7:00 am Bykristen

{If you would like your blog featured, please email me the answers to the following questions}

Picture of the Week:

The Week in Review: My older kids decided to dig a hole to China. It worked out well since I was rearranging my living room furniture (pictures/post to come later today). The toddler got in on the excavation with baby wipes. Seems the dirt needed to be cleaned first.

Introduction into The Society: Dawn’s Diversions! Please go visit her (we all like a Sunday social call!) Plus, her answers are pretty funny……

1. Tell us a little about your blog (name/reason why you blog):

The name of my blog is Dawn’s Diversions. The reason I started bloggingwas because some of my friends were doing it. But, I soon realized that itso fit my personality. It is so SOCIAL! It is addicting. I tend to have an addictive personality and I’m very social. I now covet comments.

But, I have to say, I love talking about my girls. They are my favorite topic.

2. How long have you blogging?

I’ve been blogging since March of this year. But, it seems like much longer. I did my first give-away with my 100th post. That was so much fun!

3. How would you define THAT family?

THAT family is one that can laugh together at anything life throws at them.

4. When did you discover you were a part of THAT family?

Maybe when my first daughter was 20 months and trying to put in a tampon? Or, when at 3 she painted our dog orange? Or how about when I caught her squatting over the toilet and asked her what she was doing. She informed me that she was perching like a bird! Duh! Oh, yeah, what about when she decided to paint her fingernails red along with the carpet? Or when she told her k4 teacher at a Christian school that her grandpa doesn’t like mean SOB’s!?! AYE!!! Oh, yes, we ARE THAT family!

5. Where can we find your blog?

You can find me at http://dawnsdiversions.blogspot.com

Filed UnderTHAT Family Tree, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

DIYP #31 Old Tin

7:00 am Bykristen

Have y’all heard of junk shopping?

Some call it junk-tiquing, others trash to treasure.

It probably should be called “I can’t afford real antiques.”

Call it what you may, but I enjoy it.

I like mixing old things in with new and my bedroom is full of both. Today, I want to talk about old tin. There are so many great ways to use these old ceiling tiles. Here are some great projects using old tin.

I found mine at a flea market for $2-$5 a piece. But don’t let that stop you. You can actually find some great affordable pieces on Ebay (buy old tin) Mine has the original white paint that is now chipping off:

I’ve seen picture frames made from tin and I thought this would make a cool double frame.

Please note: This rusty old tin is sharp!

Please also note: My hubby was very involved with this project.

Please note the above note: I didn’t want to get a boo-boo.

First, cut an X in the center of the tin. We used tin snips, but if you have a jigsaw or dremel saw, they work best. (And let’s just pretend I know what a dremel saw is, shall we?)

Next, carefully pull back the four triangles that make up your X. We used pliers.

My two favorite guys working on a home decor project: Beautiful!

This is what the tin should look like with all four pieces pulled back with pliers. (The picture opening on mine is about 5×5). I just taped pictures to the back of the ‘frame.’