Bye bye Birdie

Birdie has arrived safely in Texas.  Where she will be working, studying and living for the next two longest years of my life.

Charlie is ready to roll while Strider takes a few more minutes to chow down.

Seats 3--PERFECT!

Last trek down our street...

Bye Birdie. 

I'll update with pictures of the apartment, etc. as soon as Birdie figures out where exactly it is she packed her camera! 

It's Friday HOP Time!

It's the end of another week!  That means it's time for FIVE QUESTION FRIDAY!  This HOP is a great way to get to know each other better and to meet new friends!  If you click on the button, it'll take you right over there to join in the fun! 

Questions for Friday, July 22nd:

1. If your husband had the BIG V and you got pregnant what would your first reaction be? For the dudes, what would your first reaction be if your wife told you she was pregnant after the Big V? Who's is it?  LOL  Seriously, shooting myself comes to mind and then.....nope.  Just shooting myself.  And, maybe a law suit against the doctor? Not that I'd go on record for the oldest woman to become pregnant but FOUR Lovelies are quite enough for me! 

2. Best memory about this summer so far.  So far, I don't really have one.  We've been so focused on Birdie preparing and then leaving for her two year stint in Texas that I've not really enjoyed summer.  Plus it's ridiculously HOT.  HOWEVER, DoodleBug will celebrate her 20th birthday on Sunday and that will fast become my favorite summer memory for Summer 2011. 

3. How often do you change your sheets? Your kids sheets?  I'm a once/week changer.  Even when the Lovelies were little.  I hate it--mostly putting them back on the bed.  But they feel so darn good after they've been washed!

4. Having just gone through TSA, would you rather have a full-body scan or a pat-down?  I choose neither.  I'll just stay grounded thank you very much.

5. Since it is fair time...what's your favorite fair (county or state) memory?  It's not fair time here until the end of October- and it always seems to bring cooler weather towards the end--which is the only thing I like about the fair.  My favorite memory is taking the Lovelies when they were little.  They so enjoyed the rides and the food and even some of the exhibits.  But you won't catch me there since they've all grown up.  I don't care for the fair.  Too many people and too much oppressive heat. I've never been to the state fair---never wanted to go, still don't.   

Recovery

As promised- here are some shots of my very first attempts at re-covering---anything!  We've had this table for a few years--it's from the 70s I believe.  I don't love the chairs, but I do love the table.  At one point I thought I'd like to have six different chairs around the table.  But, for the time being, things are staying the same and it was way past re-covering time!

Please bear with the technical terms.

This is what the chairs looked like.  Yeah, I really needed to do this re-covering project EONS ago but, better late than never?  Anyway, the seats were all stained and some of them had rips in them.  This was one of the best looking ones.

So we tried covering them up with cheapish seat pads from Walmart.  This was not that much better as the pads deflated rather quickly and didn't look that good either.  But I thought they would be ok until I figured out what to do about the chairs--re-cover them or get new chairs that I would like much better.

Re-covering won. Ok, after unscrewing the seats, it was staple remover time.  This was a pain in the...fingers, hands and arms.  What did they do back then, super glue them in there?

This icky foam was under the fabric and it was NASTY.

Under the ICKY foam was this stuff and those s shaped spring thingys. 

This is what the seat looked like without the ICKY foam stuff and that other junk.

I replaced the ICKY foam with new foam.  And the new foam is 2" thick.

I glued this meshy kind of stuff down onto the wooden frame--

and then glued the new foam on top of that---are you bored to tears yet?

Once I had the fabric stapled onto the frame and around the foam, I glued and stapled another piece of the meshy stuff onto the bottom.

And VOILA!  Looks like new!

And now, five of the six chairs look like this one. 

Revelation time: what have I learned from this whole re-covering of the chairs project?  

• I do not enjoy re-covering chairs; old, ripped and stained isn't all that bad.
• I can do a better job than I thought, but have no desire to do it again. Ever.
• Re-covering chairs hurts my fingers, hands, arms, shoulders and neck. 
• The job does NOT get easier with each chair.
• Taking the old staples out and getting the new fabric on are the two hardest parts of this kind of project
• I hate trying to get a tight fit of the fabric around corners and curves. 
• I was very proud of the first couple but the novelty wore off quickly.
• The chairs really do look nice now so that sort of made it worth the trouble.
• I was able to complete the entire project for only $66. (Foam is EXPENSIVE--it was more than the fabric--but then, I did get the fabric for 50% off...gotta love sales)

Anyway, we sat on the newly re-covered chairs for Birdie's farewell dinner last night of Mom's Shrimp Scampi on veggie linguini and a HUGE garden salad. 

At least she has some things to look forward to in Texas:

The Alamo

Cowboy hats...

Cowboy boots....

Texas Rangers...

Cowboys...

THE Cowboys- 



A little band you might have heard of:

Tommy Lee Jones

Yee haw, Y'all!

The Wednesday HOPS!

If you're stopping by for the weight loss portion of today's post, just scroll down.  If you're here for Wednesday Hodge Podge, it's the first HOP today.  If you're here for BOTH, just start reading and keep on to the end!

FIRST is WEDNESDAY HODGE PODGE from Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  This one is a great way to get to know some wonderful new bloggy friends and learn more about some old ones...not that I'm calling anyone OLD, mind you.   

1. July 20th marks the anniversary of the first time man stood on the moon. Flash forward 42 years to July 8, 2011 which marked the start of the final Space Shuttle mission. Should we continue to explore space? Should nations devote more or fewer of their resources to exploring space? Would you want to go into space if the opportunity arose? I do appreciate space exploration and I believe we should continue to with the programs---nothing ventured, nothing gained.  However, would I go?  Hell to the N.O.  I'm way too chicken for that!

2. What are three things in your freezer?  Ice, ground turkey, and baby broccoli florets.

3. If you could see any band/artist perform live tonite who would it be? It has to be someone living...no Beatles, Elvis, etc. There are several...a lot of my favorites have actually passed on...and it would totally depend on my mood at the time....David Garrett for sure- not only is he quite talented but he is a fine specimen of the male species.  Fine indeed.  And then there's Sting who has been a feast for my eyes (and ears) for many, many years.  And then there's Jason Mraz whom I heard gives one of the best live concerts.  Probs wouldn't mind seeing a Stones concert again.  Maybe Jack Johnson.  A little James Taylor.  Oh geez, the list just goes on and on...but would not include country or Lady Gaga or Katy Perry or the Jonas Brothers or anything like that.

4. Ice-cubed or crushed? Or are you one of those people who don't like ice? Either way but crushed is my fave!  Wait----there are people who don't like ice?  What?!  When hurricane Hugo blew his nasty self through here in '89 we were lucky because our house was still standing, we suffered VERY LITTLE damage, and we went without power for ONLY 11 days.  But, during those 11 days, the thing I missed MOST was cold beverages.  I never want to go without cold drinks again EVER.

5. The owner of a small restaurant outside of Pittsburgh recently announced he was banning children under six, saying they regularly disrupted other customer's meals. You can read the story in more detail here but isn't this a perfect topic to discuss in our Wednesday Hodgepodge? Have at it friends...what are your thoughts? There was a restaurant here in the Charleston area whose owners discouraged families bringing their children.  We never dined there because of that and, during a storm one year, that restaurant was demolished.  I call it Karma.  However, I will say that the Lovelies were very well behaved in restaurants.  They never talked in loud voices or ran around the place.  They were well-mannered from a young age for some reason unbeknownst to me.  But it was great!  Probably because we never took them anywhere when they were feeling bad or tired or having a bad day or whatever.  Had they misbehaved, we would have removed them from the restaurant immediately.  I have been in places where parents seem to not care how their children behave and it does get annoying.  So, while I understand about the annoying part, I don't think I would patronize a place that banned children.  It's seriously NOT the fault of the children---it's the parents'.

6. What was your first car? How did it come to be yours? I got my first car in 1974 from my granddaddy.  It was a 1965, navy blue, Ford Galaxy 500. 

7. If I had a nickle for every time I said "I told you so" (sometimes it comes out as "What did I say?!" or "What did I tell you?!") I'd be rich. With four daughters and a husband, I get to say this quite often.  And yes, I might get some sick twisted pleasure from saying it.  What can I tell you?  I quite enjoy being right.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  The youngest of the Lovelies will be leaving the teens behind her on Sunday.  This is so depressing.  How did this happen that she should reach 20 in such a short period of time?!  The next to the youngest of the Lovelies leaves us tomorrow for Texas.  I'm having an exciting week of depression.   

The SECOND HOP is from Patrice, at Everyday Ruralty, who hosts Wednesday Words of Weight Loss every Wednesday!  It's a fun HOP that offers encouragement and company on the issue of weight.  It's never too late to join!  Come on, this is your week to join in the FUN!  

Patrice will be back next week with our questions for this fun meme.  Being a farmer's wife and friend and amazing mother of homeschooled lovelies and getting caught in bad traffic--the busyness of life---got in her way this week.  Anyway, Patrice is looking to revamp the meme, or maybe not.  She's looking for suggestions.  Click on the button up there and give her a visit and some input!  

It's All Good at ALL GOOD

It's DoodleBug's HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK!  She will be 20 on Sunday!  

For her birthday, she asked for her ticket to the All Good Music Festival in West Virginia.  And, being the most awesomest parents that we are, we said, "SURE!"

And so, from last Thursday until Sunday, DoodleBug and a few friends had a blast camping out and enjoying the festival!

To start her birthday week off, here are some truly lovely shots of DoodleBug and company at the All Good Music Festival in West Virginia.  

The welcome sign-

DoodleBug and Gibbsterrific-

Their campsite-what a FANTASTIC spot!

View from the top of a hill-

DoodleBug, Westerful, Gibbsterrific, and the Robster-and the venders...

Gibbsterrific and DoodleBug-I believe this is self-explanatory...

The 'and company'--DoodleBug was taking the picture...

Apparently, planking was popular at the festival...random dude and dudette...

Talk about a crowd---

A night shot---DoodleBug said there were lit lanterns all around--

that made the sky look like Hogwarts!

Ah, to be so young and carefree!  More DoodleBug to come--this being her birthday week and all---and the re-covered chairs!  Stay tuned...

Fessin' Up Day: Week 6

Another summer Monday has arrived and that means it's time for the Slimmer this Summer update/check-in/fess up post for week number 6.

My goals for the challenge are safe, once again.

Water intake: Nothing new here either. I drank the usual 64 oz of water each and every day followed by the usual 16-24 oz of my beloved iced green tea made with spring water, Splenda, and lemon juice. 

Exercise: I walked every day again for a WEEKLY total of 17 miles and  I continued Pilates 5 of the 7 days- the focus being on abs and arms.

Calories: The calories remain within the challenge limit and I am STILL giving credit for this to 1- livestrong.com (where I record my caloric intake and exercise); b- Debbi's delicious recipes; 3-my own sheer determination; and d-the challenge.  Consider me forever grateful!

Here's the breakdown for week 6:

• Monday: 1272
• Tuesday: 1361
• Wednesday: 1163
• Thursday:1135
• Friday: 1098
• Saturday:1264
• Sunday: 1295
• WEEKLY TOTAL:  8588 calories

Discoveries?  Yes.  I downloaded some new music to listen to while walking and it really has helped me increase my speed!  A few of the songs even enticed me into a jog!  Music does make all the difference! ALSO, as I do with everything- I found myself getting bored around here.  So, instead of sitting around eating, I have started those projects that need to be attended (translation- all materials have finally been collected).  I will be posting pictures of my first attempts of re-covering the dining chairs tomorrow.  IF I don't throw them all out the door first. 

Goal changes? None this week.

Here are the numbers for week 6:

Weight loss:  -3 lbs (Total for 6 weeks: 30 pounds gone forever!)

Inches: -0 total (chest:= no change; hips = no change; waist = no change; neck = no change)  Total for 6 weeks:-17.5 inches off forever!

 I am tired of waiting on the proverbial 'other shoe' to drop.  It's either going to or it isn't.  I'm certainly hoping for the latter of the two options.  Regardless, I'm not going to sit around and stress over it anymore.  What a waste.



We're halfway there!  I have to say that this challenge has made all the difference for me so far and I'm so grateful for it and all of y'alls most wonderful support!

Hope everyone has a fantabulous week!