Closed for the Holiday!

Back before Miss J was born I was an aspiring photographer looking to leave my full time job in Oil & Gas and become a full time photographer. As a newbie photographer I took every job imaginable and worked overtime to maintain my client base. This overtime included working holidays not just shooting weddings and portraits but also editing and communicating with clients. I really worked myself to the bone in an effort to go above and beyond.

Well, as is the case in most service industries, you'll always have that ONE client where your best is not good enough no matter what you do.  When this happened to me - after processing all the negative feelings - I took a step back and decided that I, along with my family, deserve the TIME to be with one another. I would never take that time away from my clients and I should not give them the power to take that time away from me.

As a small business owner I have the advantage to make that choice for me and my family and I feel bad for the employees of Walmart, Target, et al who don't and have to work tomorrow.  Thanksgiving is a day out of the year where families and get together, enjoy and meal and genuinely enjoy each other's company. Hopefully, in time, the big businesses will remember that as well.

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 21, 2014: Miss J at her Thanksgiving Feast

Miss J's class reciting Psalm 100 at their Thanksgiving Feast

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy Down In My Heart!

Under the tutelage of our friend Mrs. Debbie we have been decorating for Christmas early the past 3 or 4 years.  This year decorating the house only took a week which is AMAZING considering all the remodeling we've done the past two months.  I could not resist turning all the Christmas lights on and snapping a few pictures before I left for work this morning.

I left them on for Miss J to enjoy when she woke up and whispered in her ear to enjoy them before My Nerd turned them off. (he's a scrooge and does not want us turning on the lights until after Thanksgiving for fear we'll burn the bulbs out)

As I was walking out the door I sang, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!" and I truly do!

Conversations with Miss J

November 25, 2014: Julianna helping my Nerd at his research lab

Miss J: OOOOOO Daddy...a crescent moon! What's that hole on the moon?

My Nerd: I don't know. You should ask Mommy.

Miss J: Yeah. . .but you're the scientist!

LOVE IT!

Our Cheerleader

October 26, 2014: Before the gym Show Off at NRG

Last Christmas, Miss J was gifted with a Minnie Mouse Cheerleader Costume complete with pom-poms. She was so adorable all year bouncing around the house pretending to be a cheerleader that I asked her if she would like to join a team. I don't know why I asked because the answer was a resounding, "YES!"

After Googling I found a cheer gym not far from our home that a show team for girls 3-5 years old. So, after paying a pretty penny for uniforms, etc. Miss J is a member of the Lil Diamonds show team.  The Lil Diamonds compete only 4 times a year and is a perfect introduction to cheerleading - they learn a routine, stunt sequence and tumbling passes.  The first few practices were a bit rough for Miss J - the coaches don't fool around - but now she's really into it and LOVES performing.

November 9, 2014: At the Houston Cheer Showcase

She's had two performances two far and it is great to see her forming a bond with her teammates in addition to having a team mentality. At her latest performance Grandpa, Grandma, Pop, Gigi, Uncle Tyler and Aunt Bonnie came and she was OVER THE MOON. (even though she didn't show it as she was speechless to see them there)

November 9, 2014: With everyone after her performance at the Houston Cheer Showcase

She has her first "competition" in a few weeks and then 3 more after that - she tells me she wants to join the next level team next season. We'll see. . . .

Texas State Railroad Pumpkin Patch Express

This past weekend we traveled to Palestine, Texas with Miss J's Aunt Tiffany, Uncle Jeremy and Cousin K. We had an awesome time on this mini-road trip and I have a feeling many more trips will be in our future.

Tiffany and I decided that we wanted to take the kids on the Texas State Railroad Pumpkin Patch Express after they experience the Polar Express last Christmas.  Well, we decided on a date, booked the hotel and then procrastinated buying train tickets.  Word to the wise - DO NOT WAIT TO BUY TRAIN TICKETS.  A month before our trip we decided to buy the tickets - lo and behold it was sold out for Saturday. Thankfully tickets were still available for Sunday afternoon and it worked out. We drove up to Palestine on Saturday, had dinner, the kids played in the pool and then went to bed.  Honestly, there isn't much to do in Palestine - the downtown area has so much potential but it was a ghost town when we drove through. The next morning we had breakfast and drove to Rusk, TX and hopped on the train.

October 18, 2014: Miss J and Cousin K swimming in the hotel pool

October 19, 2014: Nelly & Miss J waiting to get on the train

All the kids were in costume and the minute J saw this she immediately put on her Darth Vader.  She was the hit of the train because how many Darth Vaders are sporting a pink bow and leopard print shoes?

October 19, 2014: Miss J as Darth Vader

October 19, 2014: Cousin K as a construction worker and Darth Vader

Once the train started moving their smiles could not be contained! It was adorable!

The train ride was about 30 minutes to the pumpkin patch. At one point I turned around and did a double take when I spotted this: :-P

The train dropped us off to the open field that had a pumpkin patch, trick or treating, games, jump houses - everything a kid could want.

October 19, 2014: Cousin K and Miss J in the corn bin

Darth Vader in the Pumpkin Patch.  See the line and shacks behind Miss J? The kids would knock on each door and trick or treat.  Beats the pants at of walking through the neighborhood!

The pumpkins were kid sized and they had a station setup under a tent to decorate them. We ran out of time and were unable to do this but when we got back on the train the employees passed out extra decorating kits.

After a few hours (we had lunch at the patch) we chose to sit in the open air cars to get a break from the heat.  By this time the kids were done with their costumes and happily sat back and enjoyed the ride.

October 19, 2014: Miss J, my Nerd, Cousin K and Uncle Jeremy

This two have such a great bond and it is such a joy to watch them grow up.

Check out our other family vacations by clicking here.

Kindergarten!

My baby is in Kindergarten!! Where did the time go??

and as has been my tradition I put together a video of her first day:


Check out Miss J's past first day of school pictures by clicking here.

2014 Pensacola Beach Vacation Music Video

2014 Pensacola Beach Vacation Vlogs

Painted Cinder Block Planters

Pinterest made me do it!

I’ve seen seen this pin on Pinterest in various forms – strawberry gardens, planters, raised beds, etc. As luck would have it, when we were cleaning up our backyard we found a few cinder blocks under our deck that we had used to keep the dogs from digging.  As Hubby was throwing them into the junk pile I immediately yelled, “NO – I’m going to turn those into planters!” to which he looked at me like I was nuts.

This is a great project to do with kids. Spray paint is such a simple, easy update to boring, gray cinder blocks ESPECIALLY if you have this handy gadget:

You slip it around the spray paint can and it makes it SO MUCH EASIER to get nice even strokes – even a 5 year old can do it!

The steps are pretty explanatory but I’ll offer a few insights and tips.

Tip #1: No need to clean the dirt of the blocks since it’s going to be covered by paint anyway

Tip #2: Cinder Blocks soak up ALOT of paint. I had to keep this in mind while Miss J was spraying to her heart’s content as we only had one can of pink paint.  See how porous  the stone is below:

Tip #3: Paint the best looking sides (smoothest) no one is going to care about the bottom of the Cinder Block is painted. . .who’s going to pick it up to look?

Tip #4: Let go. . .if your 5 year old wants to spray paint one side dark purple and the other light purple because “it will look good that way.” Who am I to argue? This project is for her and her alone.

and wouldn’t you know it?   She was right! It does look good!

Master Bathroom Makeover

I am so excited to show off the work we’ve done in our master bathroom. We started this project back in February and let me tell you it wasn’t without its own set of challenges. If you’d like to see what this room looked like before the makeover please watch the video below from our YouTube Channel (and take a minute to subscribe if you haven’t already ). Otherwise if you’re all about the “after” pictures please scroll down below.

The walls are Sherwin Williams Sea Salt (used Olympic One Paint + Primer) and the trim and doors were painted in Behr's Brilliant White.

We also replaced the light fixture and added moulding around the mirror.  One day I will write a blog post about changing the light fixture. . .it was probably the most stressful DIY project we have ever done.  What was supposed to be an easy replacement ending up involving electrical junction box, drywall screws, drywall, joint compound and so on.  It taught us that in an older house (our house was built in the early 80's) you NEVER know what you will find behind the walls.

Mrs. Debbie and her daughter Brooke took me to Home Goods to help accessorize and finish out the room.  Those ladies can fill up several Home Goods carts like no one else!

We also replaced the 1980's globe light with a recessed canned light.  After taking down the original light we discovered that a roof joist was right next to the junction box of the original light. After telling my Nerd he COULD NOT use the sawzall (My Nerd's favorite tool) to cut the roof joist (HELLO?! It's a ROOF joist for a reason?) we ending up purchasing a 6" Hole Saw and drilling a new hole for the recessed canned light. We patched up the old hole and still have to paint over it.

We also replaced the shower rod and curtain with a 96" long curtain that runs from the ceiling to the floor.

The rug is a square rug purchased from Overstock.com.  I was little uneasy about purchasing a large item online but the rug turned out great! It is soft and did not shed a bit!

For links to all the products we used and purchased please visit our Pinterest board : Nelly and her Nerd's Master Bathroom Home Improvement Project