Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

Well this has been a great week as most of you know I have been in Montana with Jarr's family on vacation. It is so beautiful here and the weather has been pretty great everyday. It rained on Tuesday so we just hung around our little cabin but that was still nice. We are headed home tomorrow morning and are planning on rolling into Oklahoma on Sunday evening. Then it's back to work on Monday morning for me.

This week has been so good for me to just relax and take a look at how beautiful the world is. I've had the opportunity to read some books this week and spend a lot of quality time with Jarr and his family. This week is has shown me once again how blessed I am to have Jarr and his family in my life.

We have hiked all over Glacier National Park as well as went to Canada one day and we have rented kayaks. So far we have only seen a long horn sheep but I am hoping we see a bear or moose today.

My Peak of the Week- has definitely been being in this amazing place with amazing people. I have had a great week with Jarr and his family. Also, going to Canada this week. It was my first time ever and I can't wait to go back some day!

My Pit of the Week- has been the altitude in Montana. It's definitely been doing some things to my body I'm not fond of.

My Praises of the week- are that we made it safely to Montana and have had a good vacation. Also that I got to go to Canada for the first time!

My Prayers for the week- are that we make it home safely without any problems. Also, that my family that is traveling this weekend is safe and has fun.

What are your peaks, pits, praises, and prayers this week?

Junky Old Barn #2

To find out about my junky old barn and where I found all of these lovely treasures go and read my Junky Old Barn post. I got to Jarr's after work one day and find him there also still in his work clothes. So what do I do? I ask him very sweetly if he will come help me with something. Little did he know I was dragging him to the barn to get out some of the treasures I had spied last time I was digging around at the door. With Jarr's help I managed to actually get into the barn this time and we got some pretty good stuff. I was really excited when we brought all of this back up to the house! And I saw a few more things for new time! :)

Here is a good picture of all the things we brought back up to the house. I was jumping around like a little girl when we got it up there and Jarr was getting a pretty good laugh at house excited I was at his family's "junk".

These are two wooden frames I found in the back of the barn on a pile of wood. I'm not exactly sure what they were for but I already have some ideas of how to use them. Gallery wall anyone?

Jarr saw this can and grabbed it for me. I love it! I think its so pretty, rust and all. I didn't take it into the house because I'm not sure what kind of oil was in it and how sanitary/safe it is. So I'm doing a little research before this baby comes inside. Does anyone know anything about these cans?

This is one of the few shovel's we found. I'm not sure what will happen with this little guy but I have a few ideas. He is pretty dirty and rusty but a good cleaning will fix him right up.

I'm not exactly sure what this is. Its like a little table but it looks like a mini podium. It needs a little work because it sits uneven but we can take care of that no problem. Its really sturdy other then that and you can tell it was well made. This might turn into a nice little side table.

I found this basket laying under a box and I wanted it. It's a little bent and needs some TLC and a coat of paint but I think I can fix her up to be a beaut. I'm really excited that I found her because I've been looking for something like this for awhile. Who knew I would find it in Jarr's backyard!

I also found a few more of these jugs. I just love them so much! I am so excited to have more to decorate with. Sadly as I was moving these into the house I dropped one on the concrete so I only have 3 now not 4. But its better then none so I will take it!

If you haven't noticed yet I tend to give everything I find a gender and they become my babies. I am a grandma at heart who just takes in everyone.

What goodies have you found this week?

Shine

Today I want to share with all of you something that I recently found and kind of fell in love with. If you haven't met Ashley at The Shine Project then you should. This girl is amazing, let me just tell you she is such an ispiration to me. She is all about bringing joy to the world and trying to make it a better place. She talks about giving to others and how to be a better you. Right now on her blog she is also getting some help from a few other lovely ladies with recipes, work-outs, and diy's. Ashley also posts inspirational things about life, and the things she is doing to try and Shine.

The Shine Project has a scholarship foundation for Cesar Chavez High school and they are trying to send its students to school. They are constantly doing fundraisers and trying to help these students get a good education so they can make a difference in the world. If you want to help TSP you can go and buy something from The Shine Shop or you can make a donation on her blog.

 

I bought this shirt from the shine shop and the necklace I am wearing. First of all this is one of my favorite quotes so that made me love it and its yellow. So I had to buy it.

Along with my shirt and necklace came a Pass it Forward card.

I think what Ashley is doing is so inspiring. I know I've said that a million times but she really is trying to do everything she can to change the world. It's so impressive to me that she has done all of this and is making such an impact. I really encourage you all to go and check out her site and what she is all about!

What do you do to shine?

Fiasco turned New Adventure

The other day I decided to try something new and spray paint a t-shirt. To find out all about it go read Spray Paint Fiasco and get a good laugh at my DIY fail. Well being a true DIYer I couldn't just toss the shirt. I decided to try something else I've been thinking about and take this shirt and make a tank top out of it. I didn't think I could make it any worst then it is so I just went for it.

This is the shirt I started with. I started off getting an old tank top of mine and using that as a guide. I just laid it on top of my shirt and started cutting. I made the straps bigger then the one on the tank so I could do something with them.  Then I decided to cut out the top of the shirt and make it deeper and more circular.

Sorry I skipped some steps with the pictures, it was late and I just wanted to see if this would work. So this is the basic picture of the cut of the shirt. Ignore the right side, I didn't think about the fact that I should be taking pictures until I got to this point.

To make the strap you need to cut three slits as deep as you want the strap to be. Make them all even and cut both sides of the shirt. If you know how to do a 4 strand braid you could also do that here.

Then you will take the strips you have cut in your hand and braid them just like you do hair. Don't braid them very tightly just a loose braid that stays together.

You want to make sure that you pull each strip all the way through and make sure it braids on both sides of the tank. Doing this it should braid the front and back at the same time. It takes a little bit to get the hang of it but just go with what looks right to you.

After you are done with one side it should look like this. you want to take the tree straps and wrap one completely around the other two at the top. Then you will get out your handy dandy needle and thread.

I just grabbed a needle that had thread on it and started sewing, I went over the meeting of the two sides pretty good so it would all stay together.

This is what it looked like and I knew I needed to do something with the straps in the back because it was to loose like this.

So I cut out the back a little more and make it more narrow.

Then I turned the shirt inside out and started sewing the braids together on the back. I started out about an inch below the braids and then just sewed up until I ran out of thread. Really its a personal preference on how far up to sew.

This is what it looked like after I was finished sewing it together. I tried to go threw the middle of both braids each time I sewed a stich so it would stay together well.

I only sewed up the braids about 2 inches and then I stopped. I made sure everything was going to stay together good and then stoped sewing.

This is what the back looks like on. I think it turned out pretty well for just winging it.

This is the front of the tank with the braids. If you look at the black stripes you'll notice they aren't as dark as they were before. That's because I took my sanding block and sanded those babies down. That's right I sanded a t-shirt. Why not? It worked really well and made them a lot softer. I think it made the tank a lot easier to look at and the stripes don't look as bad now.

Here is a close up of one of the front straps. I think they turned out really well. I think it would also look really cool if you painted one of the strips or all of the strips different colors. Maybe on the next one.

This is a side shot of the shirt. I wanted to show you how far down it goes on my body. I think its perfect to wear to the pool or to work out in.

And here is the back one more time. I think for my first try it turned out really well and I'll defintely be wearing this around for different things. Its really comfy and didn't take long at all to make.

For those of you who read my Spray Paint Fiasco and know about all the problems I had with this shirt to begin with. I wanted to let you know I did paint another one and it turned out way better! I took some of your advice and made sure I firmly pressed down the tape and I did really light coats of spray paint, I also kept it about 12 inches away from the shirt when spraying it.

Here it is after my first coat. I did 3 all together and let them dry for about 30 minutes in between each spraying. I only sprayed from left to right and I kept it pretty far away from the shirt to try and keep it from dripping and running.

After it thoroughly dried I pealed tape off and this is what I found. I am so happy! I screeched like the girl I am and did a little happy dance. I was so pumped that it worked and I want to thank you all for your lovely advice and encouragement to not give up!

The side wasn't perfect but I didn't expect it to be and with a little sanding it came right off.

Thanks so much everyone for all your advice and encouragement again! What do you think about the tank?

Peaks, Pits, Praises, Prayers

Guess what everyone, its FRIDAY!!! I know, do a little happy dance because I know you want to. I love Friday's because that means weekend and lots of time to work on projects! Today isn't a regular Friday for me though because right now we are headed to Colorado. We are on our way to Montanta for the week and making a stop for the night in Colorado to see Jarr's grandparent's and spend a little time with them. I love vacations and getting to take another one so shortly after we got back from Cozumel is really exciting for me. Last summer I only took one short 4 day vacation with my mom and sisters to Memphis and it made my summer really long and boring. So it's been really fun to go on a vacation with my family and now we are going on one with Jarr's.

Jarr's mom is actually from up around Montana and used to work in Glacier National Park so we are going to visit all the places she lived as a little girl as well as heading into Canada a few days.  I have never been north of South Dakota so I am really excited to venture into Montana, North Dakota, and Canada. I know it is beautiful up there so I am really excited to see everything and take lots of pictures.

I have heard that its still pretty chilly up north, especially compared to our 100 degree weather here. So packing is going to be interesting, I just packed for Mexico and it was all swim suits and dresses. This trip its going to be all jeans and caridgans. I'm planning on talking Jarr into letting me use some of his suitcase also though because these clothes are bigger then the ones we took to Mexico so they take up more room.

Now on to what this post is supposed to be about. I hope you don't mind my ramblings above.

My Peak of the Week- has for sure been sleeping in my own bed again, I really missed it in Mexico. Also drinking sweek tea and water, being able to work on my projects and getting so much encouragement and positive feedback from all of you lovely ladies.

My Pit of the Week- this has been a hard week, for Jarr's family and for mine. Wednesday was the 2 year anniversary of my Papa passing away and you all know how close my family is. He was like my dad and we were really close so its hard. I know he's in Heaven watching me and smiling at his pumpkin heads but we still his him. Thursday was Jarr's little brother's birthday. He would of been 13, I never knew Aaron but I feel like I did from the way Jarr's family talks about him. They amaze me with their faith and hope in God.

My Praises of the Week- having dinner every night but 1 this week with Jarr's family. It has been so nice to spend time with them. I love them so much, I feel like they are my family and I know they call me one of theirs. It has been such a blessing to spend time with them this week.

My Prayers of the Week- that we have safe travles to Montana and everyone has a good time. For my grandma, I know this week was really hard on her and I just pray she turns to God and lets him comfort her. Also, I want to say a little prayer for my office, we have been trying to hire someone this entire year and it just isn't going well. I pray that God puts the right person in this position.

What are you Peaks, Pits, Praises, and Prayers of the week?

Here is a picture of my little sleepy head, long car rides are always good for naps!

Desk Pinspiration

I have a desk that my mom got me at an auction for like $8. It's a really nice wooden desk that has been taken pretty good care of. I love the desk but I hated the light color of the wood. All of the wood furniture I have is darker so it doesn't match at all. I have decided to paint it but I'm just not quite sure what to do on  the design of it. I think it will end up being a cream color and I know what my handles will look like but I'm just not sure about much else except that I know I want to do something fun to it. So I've been all over Pinterest looking at furniture to try and decide what I think will go best with my room and what I like the best.

I love how this dresser has bright drawers. I think it makes it so unique and its very unexpected that it will be hot pink when you pull out a drawer. I am really digging this color pop and it might be something I have to do. I'm not sure about sticking though, would the drawers stick awfully bad if they were painted like this? To check out this dresser and see more Johnny Egg funiture go check out his website.

I adore yellow, I have an obsession with it and I want to make everything yellow. However, I think people would call me crazy if they walked in to an all yellow house with some other bright colors as accents. So I have to push down my urge to paint everything yellow and I go for cream and soft colors so the yellow I do have isn't so overwhelming your eyes hurt from looking at it. I think this yellow desk is lovely, I love the hand on the middle drawer of the desk and I just want to take this home. The crazy part is this is very similar to the design of my desk so maybe it will end up yellow. To get this desk go and check out Minthome on Etsy, you won't leave without buying something. Their shop is amazing!

How cute are these? Adorable right, when I first looked at them I thought holy moly someone must have super strength to stack them like that. Nope they are jewlrey boxes. I was so impressed when I realized they are just little boxes, they look like pieces of furniture and I think they are gorgeous. I really like how they all have their own little touch of uniqueness. Go and see Happy Day Vintage to see the transformation of these lovlies and make sure to check out her Etsy shop Happy Day Vintage.

This one is my favorite, it has yellow knobs which go with my yellow obsession but I also love the stencil. I think I will end up doing something similar to this in the end. I love the gray, white, and yellow together. That is kind of what my room will be in my knew home. I couldn't find a blog for this photo but I'm sure it comes from one so if you know please leave me a comment with its home! This photo took me to Casasugar and their how to transform a dresser series go and check out all the ideas they have!

So what do you think? Do you have any ideas for my desk redo?

I'm linking up to

Heathly Choice Challenge Week 4

How did you do making a healthy meal for your family? Did you enjoy finding something and making it fit your families tastes? I love cooking so this challenge is something that I really enjoy doing and I've been striving to do. Jarr isn't the biggest fan of vegetables so that is my biggest struggle. The meal I made for my family was my Chicken Zucchini Pasta. I thought I would give you a break last week because I was gone and its summer, we all need a break sometimes right? So this week get ready for something hard core, no I'm just kiding, I'm not hard core at all.

If you are just joining us make sure to check out the Healthy Choice Challenge Week 1, HCC Week 2, and HCC Week 3 so you are all caught up on what we are doing. Feel free to start at the beginning and then just read the challenge that goes next, you'll be a few weeks behind but then you won't miss anything important.

I'm going to share a secret with you, I love summer. It is my favorite season of the year and I am so happy that today is the first day of summer. One of my favorite summer activities is swimming, I love to scuba and snorkel, and I didn't quite get my full last week but it should hold me over for a while. In Oklahoma we don't have the ocean but we do have lakes, so if you are a land locked state like us then I know you don't have an excuse for this challenge. We can't all live in beautiful Florida, but we can all have some fun in the sun regardless of where we live.

There are so many water activities you can do if you don't have a pool or the ocean nearbye. A water balloon fight is always a good time, or if you want something that will last all summer you can check out Aimee at Its Overflowing and find out how to make her Sponge Water Ball.

Doesn't this look super fun? I'm tempted to make some and have a water fight with Jarr. Another thing you could do is go to a water park, those are always fun. We always played in the creek as kids and had a blast. Water guns are a great way to get wet and have fun at home. My all time favorite as a kid was putting the sprinkler under the trampoline and jumping on it or even just running through the sprinkler was a fun thing to do. We also liked to make our own slip in slides with a tarp in the backyard. We just used an old tarp, a water hose, and some soap, this was lots of fun on hot days.

There are loads of things you can do outside with water so my challenge this week is that you do something outside with water, whether is is swimming or one of the activities I've listed. Feel free to come up with your own thing and let me know what you do!

Please grab the Healthy Choice Challenge button on my side panel if you are participating and put it somewhere on your blog! Also if you are a new follower let me know and I will follow back!

What water activity are you doing this summer to keep cool?

I'm linking up to