I feel like there is so much negativity around me lately that I need to combat it. I feel an overwhelming need to put some positive out there. I'm keeping it simple. Here are some things I LOVE, right now!
*Yoga
*My Dogs
*Living in Paradise (And it *IS* paradise!)
*The smell of Plumeria Trees
*Having a good friend point out the beauty of a view I see every day, but never really noticed.
*Zumba
*A good sweat, when I work hard for it.
*A good deal, especially when I don't work hard for it.
*Products made in the USA
*Recycling
*Making things myself
*Supporting local businesses, and small business owners
*The sound of waves - big ones, little ones, and everything in between
*Waving to my husband's submarine, even if he's not coming home
*Babies that smell like baby powder.
*Beautiful fabric
*Vitamin Water - I'm addicted, and I wish I could by it in a gallon size
*Rainbows
*Cool morning/evening walks with the dogs, trade winds blowing
*Being able to walk to the homes of so many friends
*Driving the Jeep with the top down on H2, heading to the North Shore
*Hanging out with Sea Turtles
*Wading in the pool of a waterfall
*Hiking to waterfalls I can't wade in
*Mexican food at the beach
*Frozen Yogurt by the ounce with toppings galore
*Snails with the coolest shells ever
*Emails from my husband
*Yellow tangs that swim along the edge of my favorite walking path
*Open air restaurants at the Marina
*The sound of Jets overhead - makes me proud to be American.
*Hibiscus flowers in my backyard
*Tiny little finches in the chain link fence
*Myna birds acting like maniacs
*Mongoose - so darn cute!
*Tide pools
*Skiddle Skedaddle crabs skittering every which way
*My Lipstick Plant
*Thrift Stores
*Yard Sales
*All things beachy and vintage
*Searching for sea glass on Sand Island
*J. Crew - Especially when they have more things not made in China than usual
*Nordstroms
*Window shopping for designer clothes I'll never buy, but love to look at.
*LuLu Lemon
*Champa Thai Vegetarian Curries - Delish!
*The view when you drive through the H3 tunnel to Kaneohe
*Fresh pineapple all year long
*Lava Flows
*Picking Mangoes, and eating them still warm from the sun
*Tea Sorbet floats
*Genki Sushi's String Bean Tempura
*Edamame with sea salt
*My new camera
*Volunteering for something I believe in
*Reading a good book - at home or at the beach
*Having magazines galore, and someone to share/trade with
*Being organized, even though there's still a lot of room for improvement
*Cartwheels and Round Offs
*Talking on the phone to my niece and nephews without paying long distance fees
*Daydreaming about port call trips of the future.
*Reminiscing about port call trips of the past.
*Singing at the top of my lungs when no one can hear
*Dancing around the house when I'm getting ready
*A good massage
*Feeling tan even though I wear sunscreen
*Seeing muscles emerge where there was just fat before
*Candles burning, and smelling wonderful
*Loving where I am in life... there could always be somewhere better, but there could always be somewhere worse. I love where I am right now.
And ok... I do have one thing I don't love... dog farts!
Friday, August 28, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Take the Saver Pledge
I'm taking the militarysaves.org Saver Pledge. Want to join me?
"I will help myself by saving money, reducing debt, and building wealth over time. I will help my family and my country by encouraging other Americans to BUILD WEALTH, NOT DEBT."
And I'm adding to this, that I pledge to help my country by choosing American products and services whenever possible. And I pledge to help the Earth by choosing green products, and to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as much as I can.
www.militarysaves.org
www.saveandinvest.org
Join me in taking the pledge! It's frugal and patriotic!
"I will help myself by saving money, reducing debt, and building wealth over time. I will help my family and my country by encouraging other Americans to BUILD WEALTH, NOT DEBT."
And I'm adding to this, that I pledge to help my country by choosing American products and services whenever possible. And I pledge to help the Earth by choosing green products, and to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle as much as I can.
www.militarysaves.org
www.saveandinvest.org
Join me in taking the pledge! It's frugal and patriotic!
Saturday, August 22, 2009
A Great Day for Deals!
Yard sales are a big deal in Hawaii. Today was the MWR Super Garage Sale, and I am so happy with the deals I brought home.
We used to have an old tool box like this in the basement. I'm going to take the shells off, paint it, sand it, and reinvent it. Maybe I'll use it to hold my herb pots. Or maybe I'll keep my favorite books propped up in it. I'm not sure yet, but I know I love it!
The ladder is my favorite find though. I had just been eyeing a similar one, painted sea glass blue. It wasn't for sale. Then I found this one for $4!!! I'm not sure if I'll keep it in the house, but it's definitley getting a coat of paint, and then attacked with sandpaper. I might keep it on the back porch, or I might just use it as a display rack when we do craft sales and our own yard sales. Or maybe I'll find the perfect use for it in the house. Either way, I am in love with this ladder!
Even though I got great deals at the Super Garage Sale, I think the best part about it was seeing friends. I love shopping with my best friend Lacie, and I also got to meet up with my new friend Kennesha. And all along the way I ran into people I've met since we moved here in April, and I realized just how many friends I've made. That's the best deal of all!
After the Super Garage Sale, we headed out to the neighborhood sales, and then Goodwill. Here are a few more treasures I found. Today was defintely a good day!
Ribbon boards, $1 each.
Faux Bois dish, $0.99. I'm going to a soy candle party on Friday, and this is what I'm pouring my candle into!
There were more treasures, but I think that's enough for now, and these are definitely my favorites. I love days like this - successful thrift shopping for projects and deals, and helping to do my part to reduce, reuse, recycle!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Finally! The Guest Bed Revealed!
It sure took me long enough, but I've finally got the guest bed finished and all made up. The painting was easy compared to the finishing touches. They took a lot longer than I expected! And of course, I'm still not really done, but close enough.
The before:
This was a bed from my grandfather's basement, one of a matching pair from when my Mom and Aunt were growing up. After I started prepping it for painting, I realized it wasn't actually a set! Somehow over the years, we'd gotten the headboards and footboards mixed up. So I have the headboard from the pair of matching beds, and the footboard from another bed. Oops! Still works though, and it's just a little more interesting that way!
Now, the after:
Here you can see what's not done - that sea of blank white wall is screaming for artwork, and these curtains are not staying... but there are a lot of completed projects showing in these pictures.
The bed is the obvious one. The nightstands are a junk store find that I painted roughly and fell in love with. The picture frame is made from salvage wood, spare paint, and extra hardware from hubby's shed. My best friend and I made a bunch of these for a craft show last year. The pillow on the bed is my first attempt at a removeable pillow case... buttons and all. And my favorite piece in the whole world - the couch that belonged to my great grandmother. It used to sit in her row house in Georgetown, and then it made its way to my grandfather's basement for many years. It got a quick revival with forest green fabric some years back, but still looked boring and dated. When I took it home, I decided to really make it mine! I did the painting and distressing, and then had a designer upholster it for me. Ok, enough blabbing, more pics!!!
Here you can really see the couch. I love how the blue-green coral in the fabric pairs with the paint on the bed frame.
Here's my pillow, close up. I'm so proud of it!
In this one, you can really see the homemade picture frame. This is actually my least favorite of all the frames we made, but I wanted to use these hazy, grainy pictures of my Mom and I at the beach on a foggy day, and this frame fit them the best.
One more, just for fun, because I can't contain myself! :)
So that's it! I'm so happy I was able to find bedding for it that wasn't made in China. And I'm so proud of the pillow too.
So what's next? Well, here's what I'm thinking. I've got this old gothic mirror frame, also from my great grandmother's house by way of Grampa's basement. I'm thinking of making it a pin board, painting the frame and distressing the heck out of it. Then I could put a poufy insert wrapped in delicious fabric, and hang it over the headboard. But I'm still brainstorming because I don't want it to get too busy. Here's what the frame looks like now. Got any brilliant ideas?
Meanwhile, I'm working on the curtain change. I've got some khaki and white coral patterned sheets that I picked up on clearance, and they were not made in China! I'm working on making those into curtains, and I think they'll be going up soon. I just need to figure out how much I want to embellish them first.
I can't wait to have a *the whole room is done* post! Thanks for looking!
The before:
This was a bed from my grandfather's basement, one of a matching pair from when my Mom and Aunt were growing up. After I started prepping it for painting, I realized it wasn't actually a set! Somehow over the years, we'd gotten the headboards and footboards mixed up. So I have the headboard from the pair of matching beds, and the footboard from another bed. Oops! Still works though, and it's just a little more interesting that way!
Now, the after:
Here you can see what's not done - that sea of blank white wall is screaming for artwork, and these curtains are not staying... but there are a lot of completed projects showing in these pictures.
The bed is the obvious one. The nightstands are a junk store find that I painted roughly and fell in love with. The picture frame is made from salvage wood, spare paint, and extra hardware from hubby's shed. My best friend and I made a bunch of these for a craft show last year. The pillow on the bed is my first attempt at a removeable pillow case... buttons and all. And my favorite piece in the whole world - the couch that belonged to my great grandmother. It used to sit in her row house in Georgetown, and then it made its way to my grandfather's basement for many years. It got a quick revival with forest green fabric some years back, but still looked boring and dated. When I took it home, I decided to really make it mine! I did the painting and distressing, and then had a designer upholster it for me. Ok, enough blabbing, more pics!!!
Here you can really see the couch. I love how the blue-green coral in the fabric pairs with the paint on the bed frame.
Here's my pillow, close up. I'm so proud of it!
In this one, you can really see the homemade picture frame. This is actually my least favorite of all the frames we made, but I wanted to use these hazy, grainy pictures of my Mom and I at the beach on a foggy day, and this frame fit them the best.
One more, just for fun, because I can't contain myself! :)
So that's it! I'm so happy I was able to find bedding for it that wasn't made in China. And I'm so proud of the pillow too.
So what's next? Well, here's what I'm thinking. I've got this old gothic mirror frame, also from my great grandmother's house by way of Grampa's basement. I'm thinking of making it a pin board, painting the frame and distressing the heck out of it. Then I could put a poufy insert wrapped in delicious fabric, and hang it over the headboard. But I'm still brainstorming because I don't want it to get too busy. Here's what the frame looks like now. Got any brilliant ideas?
Meanwhile, I'm working on the curtain change. I've got some khaki and white coral patterned sheets that I picked up on clearance, and they were not made in China! I'm working on making those into curtains, and I think they'll be going up soon. I just need to figure out how much I want to embellish them first.
I can't wait to have a *the whole room is done* post! Thanks for looking!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
A trash to... well not quite treasure. But still useful!
Did you know I'm a volunteer at the Navy's Fleet and Family Support Center? I love the idea of helping sailors and their families, but lately, it's become an opportunity to help the environment at the same time!
They do recycle at Fleet and Family, but in an office so big, there is still a lot going in the trash. So much packaging, colored paper, outdated materials - way too much stuff to toss! Luckily though, they are not too concerned with my trash-pilfering ways, and I've recently brought home two fantastic finds that were headed for the landfill.
First, I found a perfectly good binder. I'm serious about the perfect part. Not a blemish on it, still fully functional, and heavy duty at that - a 3" D-Ring! Where did I find this gem? The trash can. It hurt my heart, and I certainly couldn't leave it there.
It was meant to be trash, but now it's the lovely home to all my resource sheets for my other volunteer job as the Ombudsman for my husband's command.
Today, I burned mass quantities of cd's, and emptied out one of the spindles. I asked what they did with them when they were finished. In my mind, they are too sturdy and useful to throw away. There must be someone who wants to keep a stack of discs neat and organized, right? Nope, they throw them in the trash. I asked if I could keep it - I already had an idea in mind.
It was a lonely, empty cd spindle, but now it's the new home for some of my ribbons!
It's keeping them neat, dust-free, and easy to see! Not all ribbon spools will fit on such a thick spindle, but plenty do. Even better is that the spindle is hollow form the bottom, so I can totally mount this on a peg board in the future.
With all this in mind, I'm thinking of proposing a "Don't Need it? Leave it. Need it? Take it." pile at the Fleet and Family Support Center. Not only for within the office itself, but also for the many volunteers that work oustide of the Center for the individual commands. How great would it be for other Ombudsman and Family Readiness Group Presidents to know there was a stash of used supplies, free for the taking? And maybe people would think twice about what they were throwing away if there was a place they could leave it instead. I'm going to brainstorm on it, and then write up a proposal. I hope my success in reusing their trash will be an inspiration for them to put my plan into action!
They do recycle at Fleet and Family, but in an office so big, there is still a lot going in the trash. So much packaging, colored paper, outdated materials - way too much stuff to toss! Luckily though, they are not too concerned with my trash-pilfering ways, and I've recently brought home two fantastic finds that were headed for the landfill.
First, I found a perfectly good binder. I'm serious about the perfect part. Not a blemish on it, still fully functional, and heavy duty at that - a 3" D-Ring! Where did I find this gem? The trash can. It hurt my heart, and I certainly couldn't leave it there.
It was meant to be trash, but now it's the lovely home to all my resource sheets for my other volunteer job as the Ombudsman for my husband's command.
Today, I burned mass quantities of cd's, and emptied out one of the spindles. I asked what they did with them when they were finished. In my mind, they are too sturdy and useful to throw away. There must be someone who wants to keep a stack of discs neat and organized, right? Nope, they throw them in the trash. I asked if I could keep it - I already had an idea in mind.
It was a lonely, empty cd spindle, but now it's the new home for some of my ribbons!
It's keeping them neat, dust-free, and easy to see! Not all ribbon spools will fit on such a thick spindle, but plenty do. Even better is that the spindle is hollow form the bottom, so I can totally mount this on a peg board in the future.
With all this in mind, I'm thinking of proposing a "Don't Need it? Leave it. Need it? Take it." pile at the Fleet and Family Support Center. Not only for within the office itself, but also for the many volunteers that work oustide of the Center for the individual commands. How great would it be for other Ombudsman and Family Readiness Group Presidents to know there was a stash of used supplies, free for the taking? And maybe people would think twice about what they were throwing away if there was a place they could leave it instead. I'm going to brainstorm on it, and then write up a proposal. I hope my success in reusing their trash will be an inspiration for them to put my plan into action!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)