Summer Olympics 2012

I LOVE the Olympics. I love them so much that Adam hates it. Obsessed is a pretty good way to explain how I am those 2+ weeks every couple of years. It's not even a specific event, although the  standard favorites are mine also I'll pretty much watch any of it. Case in point: Adam walks into the living room on the first Saturday of games. I'm watching, well something. "What is this?!" He sounds a little exasperated. I answer the only way I can, " I have no idea, it's the Olympics." Oh, by the way it was handball and it's nothing like what I THOUGH handball was.
The Opening & Closing Ceremonies are sacred. Gymnastics, swimming, diving, synchronized swimming & diving, equestrian, weight lifting, rowing I could keep going but I'll spare you.... I will admit I have a hard time with badminton, table tennis, water polo & now handball.
As a kid I watched as much of it as was on TV, or at least as much as my mom allowed. Even though at the time I didn't understand the significance of it, I was "there" when Nadia scored a perfect 10. And when the hockey team preformed a Miracle on Ice, my butt was planted right in front of the TV. From 1976 on, if it happened at the Olympics I probably saw it.
I downloaded a couple of handy dandy free apps and all the games, athletes and results were at my finger tips. In fact social media added a whole new avenue to my experience. Checking in on GetGlue gave me a stream of people watching the same thing I was, cheering and adding a perspective other than my own. I loved reading the comments while watching. Just like all social media, there were some idiots out there just to get a rise out of people. But, as a whole, it was a very positive addition to the experience.

Screen shot of London 2012 app

NBC's app

London 2012 medals

The London Games, of course, hold a really special place in my heart. It's no secret that the time Danee and I spent there made it one of the very best place I've been. Top 3. But also when we were there was when London was making their last, big push to be a host city. Sometimes I'm really glad I keep stupid stuff!

Some of the highlights from London for me were Michael Phelps becoming the most decorated Olympian of all time. Keri Walsh Jennings & Misty May-Treanor on the podium for their 3rd straight gold medal in beach volleyball. The girls of the Fab 5 taking gold in the women's team gymnastics competition. Gabby Douglas winning the all around. Every single thing about Oscar Pistorius. 

Do you want to know a really cool fact?! As I'm writing this, right this minute there are:  519 Days 15 Hours 19 minutes until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Aaaand there are 1429 Days 21 Hours 19 Minutes until the 2016 Summer games in Rio! I'll be watching!

xoxo

Lissa

Double the birthday fun

My 2 favorite Leos' birthdays are 17 days apart so 5 years ago someone came up with the idea that when Kelly turned 40 & Adam turned 30 we would combine the party and take a cruise. Well, 2012 is that big milestone birthday year buuuuuut life has a way of changing, and with all the changes that have taken place in the last couple of years that birthday idea had to change too.

Kelly decided that her birthday still needed to include water, although of the river or lake variety. So she set her best friend Meg to the task of finding a house and inviting some of her very favorite people. The decision was finally made on a house on the Grand Lake of the Cherokees.
Meg did a really great organizing that many people. Each person or couple was responsible for a couple of meals and it worked out perfectly.
Adam came home from work on Wednesday and could not find his phone so Thursday morning while I was finishing up the grocery shopping he popped into the T-Mobile store and did a little upgrading. It didn't take nearly as long as I thought it might, and in no time we were on the road and headed for a birthday mini- vacation!
We spent from Thursday afternoon until Sunday afternoon relaxing, playing cards or games, pool, reading, swimming, pretty much whatever you wanted to do you did. Adam and I even turned on the TV the last night and watched some of the last night of the Olympics.
It was a great way to celebrate 2 amazing people. My life would not be the same, or nearly as good without either of them.

The birthday girl & boy. Love them fiercely. 

Fun right?!

The view was so relaxing

Our room

Morning coffee looking out at the lake

As the Summer Olympics were in full swing synchronized swimming was incorporated into the fun

I took pictures. I don't care for lake swimming. I can't see my feet. 

Family dinner on our last night.

Cards and gifts were given. 

Really good ones

Just beautiful

xoxo

Lissa

What's been happening?

For the last couple of weeks I've been wondering (to myself) why I don't write. Stuff's happening. Stuff I'll wish I had written down & recorded. But once again, I let so much time pass that I'm not sure where to start.

Here's the excuse I think I'm going to go with...I'm a summer lover. A sun worshiper even. But this summer has been unreal. I've never in my life (ok maybe Arizona) felt like it was just to unbearably hot to do anything outside. Even go to the pool.

  And it seems like the more I stay in the air conditioned indoors, the lazier I get.  I don't write because I'm being really lazy. So now we play catch up...

Serious hotness

Let's go back to June...We've only had Gabi 1 time this summer (boo). It was the 1st weekend of June and we went to Flat Branch Park downtown for "Movie In The Park" and watched The Muppet Movie. We took a blanket and sat in the grass, got snacks, and had a really great night. I didn't enjoy the chigger bites so much, but that's a  small price to pay.

We took Annie to the trail to walk and played on the exercise equipment on the way. The little  pool from a couple years ago got blown up and it still makes her just as happy. And what's a visit with out some bubble blowing and movie watching? 

We've only been able to use the new fire pit like 3 or 4 times. With this hot weather we've also been in a drought. We did have a weenie/ smore roast when the kido was here though. 

Gabi had my phone and was playing games... and taking about 20 pictures along the drive too. 

Fun movie night in the park

Headed out to the trail

She loved all the equipment to play on

Bubbles in the pool

She's completely satisfied to play games, surf Disney sites or stream movies. She's so good.

I'll continue catching up through the week. :o)

xoxo

Lissa

 

 

A cute little outfit

Don't Blink by lissaatkins featuring baby doll shirts

Blink baby doll shirt
thinkgeek.com

Jane Norman jean shorts
$16 - janenorman.co.uk

Wallis kitten heel sandals
wallisfashion.com

GUESS blue jewelry
$140 - debenhams.com

Curb appeal... garage door

This is one of my favorite projects. Probably because it was all mine. It took a bit of a detour for me to get to this version of it, but I'm completely in love with the finished product. Adam didn't see this one. He just didn't think it would work well, but I figured it was just paint and I'd paint it all white again if I crashed and burned. No biggie right?

It started with carriage door hardware. About a year ago a friend of mine told me I should put it on the garage door to dress it up. I have no idea what re-sparked that in my brain (more than likely it was Pinterest) but I Tweeted this randomness a few weeks ago-

I got a few questions about how I was going to paint followed with some encouragement to "do it" coming right behind this Tweet-

With the idea in my mind that I wanted the boring, white, metal door too look like wood I, of course, turned to Google. I found several really great tutorials, and then I found it. The PERFECT idea. So with a plan brewing in my brain I ordered these.

Even though I thought I knew what I wanted, eBay offered up more options than I knew existed. You can even get magnetic strips that look like these or stencils to paint them on. I decided to go with the 3 dimensional, metal version. Just because it's a faux treatment doesn't mean I want it to look that way.

Generic white, metal garage door. Boooorrring!

 I scrubbed the top panels and down the center really well.

Next, the top row gets taped off around the outside of each panel to create the windows, and sectioned off with a thinner tape to give them panes.

We also taped of and painted a center line to create the illusion that our carriage doors will open.

I'm THRILLED with the results! 

xoxo

Lissa

A little bragging

I'm gonna do a little bragging here. We do alot of projects around here- home improvement and crafting goes on weekly. So when Danee said she had salvaged an old leather arm chair and was going to turn it into a reading chair for Myla's room, I got a little excited. I also thought it would take a LONG time. But she moved moved right along with it and knocked it out. I have to say, I don't know if I would have seen the potential in this that she did. She Googled the name on the plate and it was a company that closed in the 70's, so it's pretty old.

I don't have a tutorial for this. She read some instructional blogs and watched some YouTube. And, of course, there was quite a bit of wingin' it. What I do have are the really dramatic before, during and after pics she took. 

Saved from a moving neighbor's garbage. A diamond in the rough.

They had cats don't you think?

Foot stool

Over 600 upholstery tacks removed with a flat head screw driver and pliers. 

Bare bones

Black for the chair and pink for accent pieces 

Painted black

My favorite detail- all those upholstery tacks 

Finished product! 

Amazing right? She kicks some serious butt in the restoration department!

xoxo

Lissa