Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-in: I am so mad at IKEA!


Last week, my dad and I went to IKEA Atlanta to buy the boys' furniture-- step 2 of Project Move the Boys. I had checked their website about a zillion times because finding the exact pieces to fit their rooms was essential to the success of our remodeling project. I chose IKEA because they specialize in small spaces, and Brian's room in particular is teeny, tiny. There was nothing on their website to indicate the horror of all horrors that would meet me once at the store: the loft bed for Bri's room has been discontinued. I think it is available in the store in Washington state, and although I'm dedicated, that would be a bit far to drive. Sigh.

So, let's just say it was a stressful week which involved more soda than it should have. lol 

How did I fare? Well... you'll have to click over to my new blog, Wednesday Weigh-in Club, to find out! It's super cute so click that link, K? I have decided to get back down to business here at Olive Plants and keep things more homeschool/homemaking focused. If you are interested in following my weigh-ins, please follow or subscribe once at WWC. I look forward to seeing you there (and here!).

Blessings,
Dawn

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Wednesday Weigh-in: Round one is complete!


You might think my title implies I have reached my first weight loss goal. That would make a lot of sense, since this is a post about weight loss. But, no. I could never keep things that organized and logical.

Variety is what you get here, folks. Variety!

Most likely, several weeks will pass before I hit my first weight-loss goal; however, we have completed round one of project "Move the Boys." You saw Brian's room earlier this week. Ben's room is now painted and ready for furniture, too. We're done with yard sales, and other than a few items that I just couldn't send to Goodwill and hope to sell online, the house has been purged!

But you want to read about weight loss, don't you? This is a Wednesday Weigh-in after all!

This week I lost 1.8 pounds!
That brings my total to 16 pounds.
 

I was really happy with the scale this morning, especially after last week's itty, bitty little dip. Add to that all the stuff we removed from closets and under beds and I feel much, much lighter this week! I don't feel as jam packed into my house or my clothes. It's a nice feeling.

By this time next week, we should have all the new furniture assembled and in place and all of the boys' belongings organized. Felix and Oscar (aka Ben and Brian) will not have to share a room any more. Felix (I'm not saying who's who) will be in organizational heaven. Oscar... well, we'll help him get organized, but will he stay that way? Here's hoping! :)

You can pray for my stamina this week. I really struggled to get it all done last week and felt rotten by the weekend. If Michael weren't at home to do more than his share of the work and if the boys weren't old enough to do their fair share too, this project wouldn't happen. I'm thankful for my guys; however, I'm really struggling with "spoon contentment." (So that will make more sense, you can read The Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino.) It is really hard to feel good about yourself when everyone around you feels exhausted because they have lived a full, very active life while you're totally spent because you painted one wall. When you have a chronic illness, the wrestle with feelings of inadequacy is fierce. If that sounds like a pity party, well, it is. I'm working through some stuff over here. Thanks for keeping me in your prayers as I learn new lessons in contentment.


Blessings,
Dawn

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Olive Plants Graffiti


Warning!
You may need protective eyewear to read this post.
Please put on your sunglasses before scrolling down.
 
 
 
Brian's favorite color is YELLOW
 
BRIGHT YELLOW!
 
A few weeks ago, we started the discussion about what his new room would look like. I wanted the boys' new separate rooms to reflect each of their personalities. Not that I think that's something kids have to have; however, my guys are less than 13 months apart in age and have always shared a very small bedroom. We think it's time for them to spread out a little and see what's it like to have their own personalized space. 
 
Well, Mr. Yellow-loving, almost-teenaged, artistically-inclined boy wanted his room to be... drum roll... YELLOW! In my mind, I pictured a lovely butternut, or something-out-of-Martha-Stewart-Living kind of yellow. Brian, however, longed for taxicab yellow. *sigh
 
I decided we could do a wall or two of the brighter yellow, but that we needed some other colors in the mix as not to be blinded overwhelmed by the yellow. That's when I got the bright idea (pun not intended) to do splatter paint on two of the walls. We could paint those walls a nice, crisp, clean white and splatter some complementary colors on it. If we added a little taxicab to the splatter mix, it would tie in nicely with the yellow walls and soften the room a bit.
 
The complementary colors of Brian's choice?
 
ORANGE!
 
And RED!!
 
Oh dear....
 
I must be in the running for World's Best Mom because I took the boy to Wal Mart to buy the paint colors of his dreams. Sadly for him (hooray for me!), the mixing machine would not accept the code for taxicab yellow, and we had to go down a few shades to "yellow snapdragon." (Must have hurt the computer's eyes, too.) Phew! 
 
However, when I went to pick out two quarts to have tinted orange and red, I experienced a bit of sticker shock. They were only $1 cheaper than the gallons. I wasn't going to buy 3 gallons of paint AND I wasn't going to pay that much for the quarts. That's when inspiration struck.
 
I bought paintable wallpaper and spray paint! We would be able to spray paint the paper outside, keep the mess out of the house, and save money all in one fell swoop.
 
Genius!
 
Or so I thought. (Ahem, *cough, cough)
 
Once home, the first thing Brian and I did was paint the trim white and two of the walls yellow.
 
His new loft bed will go on this wall between the window and the corner.
Beneath the loft, we will put a desk and shelves for his school work.
Did you put on your shades?
I warned you, yet you haven't seen the brightest part.
Prepare yourselves, now!
 
Next, Brian took the wallpaper outside and got down with the spray paint. Instead of splatter paint, we had graffiti. (So much for genius.)
 
He LOVED this step!
 
Once dry, we hung the graffiti paper on the two unpainted walls. Then I did a little touch-up spray paint along the seams to make the sheets blend together.
 
I did this part very carefully so that I would not get spray paint on the floor,
windows, ceiling, or doors.
I would advise covering everything with plastic before beginning.
Spraying outside first kept it from being too messy of a project, though,
and I was able to keep the paint on the wall and off everything else.
However, Dad does have some yellow, orange, and red grass to mow.
 
Once the spray paint dried, we removed the painter's tape, and VOILA! We had a yellow, red, and orange graffiti room.
 
The loft wall is to the left.
The graffiti wall between the door and the window
will serve as his "art studio."
We are buying him a long, red table to fit in that spot
and will hang red and white shelves above
for storing supplies.
 
 
The graffiti wall between the two doors is opposite where his loft will be.
It will have a tall, red and white bookshelf with drawers.
 
 
Here is another view of the wall between the doors.
I like how the corner turned out. :)



We will head to IKEA in a week or two to buy furniture. We have to paint Ben's room next week before making that trip. In a few weeks, when everything is in place, I will post pictures of the completed room with furniture.
 
Happy Painting!
Dawn

Wednesday Weigh-in: A Roller Coaster Week


I know you're not supposed to weigh yourself everyday. "Your weight fluctuates daily," says my dieting guidebook. However, I can't help but peek every couple of days. Seven is just TOO many to wait. :)

So, last week I weighed myself again on Thursday. I was down 3 whole pounds. IN.ONE.DAY! Unable to believe this, I continued to weigh daily and the 3 pound loss held... until Sunday morning.

On Saturday, we participated in a multi-family yard sale. I was outside all day, mostly seated to protect my joints, but still more active than normal. I didn't check in at MFP because I was just too busy; however, I also didn't eat very much that day because I was just too busy. I naively thought that if I had lost nearly 3 pounds in one day after doing very little, surely I would be down at least that much after so much activity.

WRONG!

I was back up 2 pounds on Sunday morning.

That, my friends, is why you have to stay off the scale and wait for the weekly weigh-in. I was so depressed!

However, instead of being a big cry baby and grabbing a tub of ice cream and the big spoon (cause that's what I really wanted to do), I put on my big girl panties and dealt with it. I kept eating within my budget, and here's what happened...

I lost 0.2 pound!
That takes my total weight loss to 14.2 pounds.
 
So, two-tenths of a pound doesn't feel that fabulous-- especially after seeing 3 pounds lost and having lost so much in previous weeks. However, I weigh less than last week. That's what is important- to keep losing a little at a time as I can.
 
I won't be an overachieving perfectionist about this.... I won't be an overachieving perfectionist about this... I won't be....
 
This week you can pray for me as I paint Brian's room and have another yard sale this Saturday. We did great last week and sold enough to pay for the new furniture in both rooms; however, we have so much stuff which has collected over the years that we must get rid of. Pray that God will grant me grace and patience needed to pace myself, that He will keep my pain levels down, and that I will be stay true to counting calories while very busy and fighting fatigue all the way. Lupus never leaves you alone, but life must move on anyway....
 
Blessings,
Dawn