Bit by Bit

The past few weekends have been dedicated to making the yard look nice. All of our sweat is starting to pay off. Our progress is not lightening fast, but it's coming along. The front of the house is the first finished project. It now has curb appeal! Next spring we'll do some planting to fill it in, but that'll be cake.
Here are some pictures of the front.


Before:

Here are some of the after photos

We did some work in the back yard, but I will post pictures of a more finished look.  Stinson has turned into quite the fan of doing yard work, this weekend was too hot for me to get into it.  Oh well, there's always next time!

To Paint or Not to Paint

Stinson and I have been trying to decide what colors to pain the house.  We have talked about lots of different options for our house, but I am not quite sure what to do.  Things always seem like a great idea in my head, and then once I act on them they never quite turn out like I hoped.  So, I am going to ask some advice and opinions of those who wish to give them.

My initial thoughts on painting our house were to do the base color of the house a light shade of grey, pain the scallops that are under the eves of the house white, and paint the front trim black because we have a black iron fence on the porch and our screen door  frame is black too. We would top it all off with a red front door.

I think the black trim is a little risky, but I thought it might frame the house nicely.  Another thought for the trim is to do a darker shade of grey so the contrast isn't quite so drastic.  Here is a mock up of what it could end up looking like.  I think it would give you a better feel if the garage door were closed (which is white).  The garage is nearly identical to what the house would be.  We plan to do a test run on half of the garage before we fully commit ourselves!

This is a rough sketch of what it will look like from the Sherman Williams Site

Longest Blogging Vacation Ever

I am sure that by now many of you have given up on me and my blog, but I am vowing to make a come back starting TODAY! I finally found the will power to sit down and write about what is going on around the Dean household. I am going to try my hardest not to lull you to sleep with the things in our lives, but I have to warn you, your eyes may be overwhelmed with pictures.

The reason I have been away for so long is wrapping up the school year takes a lot of energy, it takes even more energy when you started two summer school classes for a graduate degree on top of it. Then it takes about two weeks of sleep to have a fully recovered brain that is ready to put into words what has been going on.

We are making progress with the house. While ripping out the mountain of ivy in the backyard we discovered a cement patio slab. We both shouted with glee when we made this discovery because this was something that we were going to put in, hurray for saving time and money! Also, we uncovered a small bomb shelter underneath. Stin made me climb down there to check it out. Nothing but nasty spiders and lots of wet dirt. Stin was disappointed not to find any hidden treasure in it. Here are a few pictures of the progress we have made out front.

Stinson and I are both hard at work with grad school classes.  Over the duration of the summer I will be working on completing four classes.  I had forgotten how much reading and work goes into college classes.  I am enjoying my classes a lot and learning some interesting things.  I have already found a few things that I will be able to take back to my class in the fall.   Stinson is into his first MBA class, and he is loving it.  In addition to going to class he has been busy running football camps up at MidAmerica.  He is enjoying taking ownership of running some of the camps, and loves working with the players.  He is also helping run summer work out for the MNU players.  The dogs and I enjoy heading up to campus to walk around the track while he does his coaching thing.   The summer is flying by!

Our biggest news is that we have another dog!  Stinson has been wanting a big dog, so at the end of May we ventured over to Wayside Waifs to find a dog.  We fell in love with one, and now he and Mia are the best of friends.  Our new dog's name is Jake, and he is big.  He is about 80 pounds.  We think he is a lab, German Shepard, Rottweiler mix.  He has the personality of a lab, and is so sweet.  I think I will end this post with some pictures of the dogs.  I know there is a lot more I could put in here, but I am sure you are ready to be done reading!  More to come in the next few days!  FYI we have turned into those people who talk about their dogs ALL THE TIME!

Newest Family Member Jake

Jake loves Maggie and Mia, especially Mia

How do you not fall in love with this face?

Maggie enjoying some sun in the laundry room

And of course Miss Mia, don't you want to just kiss her cute face?!

Hope all is well with you.  I vow to be a much better blogger, at least for the summer!

Finishing Touches

I was hoping to post the pictures of the finishing touches of the house decorating sooner, but I never brought myself to sit down and just write or post pictures. My last post I left you hanging.  I know you have been losinng sleep over the reveal of my snow day project #2.  Without further ado here it is!

Snow Day Project #2

Don't you just love it?!  I sure do.  I have envisioned this in my head, and as I was slaving away over it I was praying it would turn out as awesome as I had dreamed.  The whole project cost less than $25.  Here is what I did:

1. Went to Goodwill and purchased thses 8 frames for a grand total of $11.

2. Went and purchased 3 different spools of ribbon and 3 cans of spray pait (with gloss finish) for $12.

3. I arranged the frames on the floor how I thought I wanted to hang them. I took out the glass in each frame and wiped them off with a damp cloth.  Then I decided witch color each one would be.

4. I coated each frame with several layers of spray paint, then let them dry over night.

5. I cut ribbon, (I just estimated, if you are a perfectionist you could measure) varring witch kind went on the various frames.

6. To attach the ribbons I just used hot glue, it may be more secure to use a staple gun, but I don't own one and the hot glue has worked perfectly.

7.  I used pin head nails to hang them on the wall.  I love how it turned out and it really adds some fun and color to the empty space on the wall.

Last week one of the teachers on my team helped me sew drapes for the kitchen window and valences for the laundry room.  Both rooms feel finished and look exactly how I imagined them. 

Kitchen Window

Kitchen Wall

Laundry Room Valences

In other news, it is spring break.  It could not have come at a more perfect time.  I think I was in desperate need of some time away from the classroom.  With our state test coming closer each day, the pressure of things to get in and review continues to build.  For those of you who are teachers, you know what I am talking about and all of the pressure that comes with state tests.  I am doing my best to not let it get the best of me, but I so desperately want to push my studnets thinking and ensure that I am preparing them for not only the test, but for the challenges that will come throughout the rest of their academic careers. 

In order to fully enjoy my week off I am going to be heading to Florida on Wednesday to visit my brother Ryan and his wife Bailey.  I am so excited not only to go to warm place, but also to see them. I have not seen them since July when they passed through on their way to Florida.  Ryan is planning things for us to.  Hopefully the weather will change its mind a bit and the sun will shine so I can get just a little bit of color to my pale skin! :)

Stinson and I will be adding to our family this May!  No not a child adding, but adding a puppy!  We will be an loan adoption family for a local miniature dachshund breeder.  The litter of puppies was born on Sunday.  We will picking out our puppy very soon.  Our puppy will be breed by the breeder 2-3 times, and then it will be forever ours.  It is a really neat program and her dogs are wonderful!  Here is a link to the litter if you are interested in checking them out.  I will be sure to keep you updated about which one we pick, names, etc. 

Snow Day....No It's a Project Day!

Today marked the sixth snow day of the year, some of you may think I am lucky until I tell you that we now get out six days later than planned.  Instead of wasting my day, I decided it was time to complete some "art" projects to help spice up some walls in the house.

I headed out the door on a mission to collect my supplies, and for once I ame home with everything I needed! 

The first project is one that I got from my clever siter-in-law Sara.  If you don't already, you should check out her blog because she is always up to some nifty home-improvement project.  Anyway back to my project. To start you need some foam board, and scrapbooking paper.  I used 12"x12" and 8.5"x11" (which I cut into 8.5" squares for the 8.5"x11"), acrylic paint and a glue stick.

For more detailed how to insturctions visit Sara's blog.

Here is the foam bord ready to be beautified!

Here is the paper I selected

Then I glued the paper to the foam board and just like that they were breath-taking.  Then I used those sticky wall hanging strips to hang them.  I love the red board, I think it really makes the paper pop!

I made these to help spruce up the laundry room.  This Wednesday, I will be sewing curtains for the kitchen and valences for the laundry room that will really set these little beauties off.  I know the anticipation is going to kill you! :)

Here is the finished product!

These are the 12" squares

And the 8.5" Squares

The whole project was complete for a cost of $12 dollars! Sara did hers for less but I had to buy paint and foam board.  Still pretty cheap though!

On to project number two.  This project unfortunately was not completed today due to the layers of spray paint not being completely dry.  I will show you the before picture, and let you use your imagination for the after picture until its revealed later this week!

You should know the whole thing costs me less than $20!

Recently I decided that I need to learn how to sew.  So, the first step in doing so is buying a sewing machine.  Last night I found the perfect one on Craig's List!  Of course it was a steal of a deal, and no it is not fancy or brand new, but it works and is in good condition.  So, tonight to top off my very crafty day I went to pick up and pay for this little beauty:

Of course I will be using this a ton!

Well, that is all of my crafts and deals for today.  I promise to reveal project number two and the new window treatmens ASAP!  Until then....

 

I'M BACK!

Lately I have gotten into this habit of disappearing for a while, but this should change now that we have internet at our new house!   I am so excited to keep you all up to date on the home projects and life in general!  The bummer thing about not blogging for so long is there is so much to tell.  The long-winded girl is going to try to bullet point life the last two months.

• We are moved in. We have rearranged furniture and decorations 1,000 times we finally found the ideal look.
• The plumber probably hates us because he has had to come back 3 times to fix our kitchen sink, but it seems that everything has been fixed, fingers crossed.
• The new house has enjoyed having lots of friends over for meals and hang out time.  Our limit is about 4 people at a time! :)
• Stinson is full time in the football office now.  He comes home on cloud nine every night, we get to go to church together and eat dinner together!!!!
• I will be learning how to sew on Wednesday. One of the teachers I teach with is helping make drapes for the kitchen window and the laundry room windows.  Be looking for pictures at the end of next week.  
• Owning a house has given me the desire to own my own sewing machine.  Craig's list will be my new best friend until I find the best buy.  I am sure that I will be finding lots of projects for the house and my classroom as soon as I have a sewing machine in my possession.
• I am currently doing the Esther bible study by Beth Moore.   God is speaking to my heart in some amazing ways.  Some of the words she writes seem like they were written just for my heart.  The book of Esther holds truths that I never took the time to look closely for, and God is knocking my socks off with the things He is revealing.

• Yesterday, I got my first truly fancy cell phone.  Thanks to the mom of the boys I watched last summer, and will watch again this summer, Stinson and I were able to change to an incredible cell phone plan where we pay for both of us what we would have paid for one.  (Hurray for saving money!)  The plan includes internet access and a world of widgets I never could have imagined! 

• My darling sister is coming to visit Brady (and me) next weekend!  I can't wait to see her and do a few wedding things.  She will be our first out of town visitor to stay at the house.
• Spring break is quickly approaching......need I say more?!
• We are doing a biggest loser competition at school and I am excited.  I am looking forward to shedding the extra pounds and inches I managed to put on this winter......

I think that is all for now.  Sorry if you're totally bored, I promise to have a much more exciting, project oriented post later this week!

Our 1st Place

I know that so many of you have been waiting so long for these.  So here they are FINALLY!!!!  I don't have time to type or update much because I have to run off to boot camp in about 30 minutes, so the pictures will do the talking.  I promise one day when we get internet or I have a connection longer than 30 seconds to write about our incredibly exciting lives!


Here is the final unvailing of our first house.  We love it and are so enjoying call it home.

Living Room

Master Bedroom

Guest Room

Bathroom

Kitchen

There may be more to come later.  Thanks to Sara for my new look!  Hope you like it too.

Snow Day Galore!

This week I am a very fortunate employee of a school district where school was canceled for the entire week.  While some may find me very lucky (and at moments I agree), in reality it is not nearly as awesome as it sounds.  The reason being, is every snow day must be made up at the end of the year.  We are now up to 5 days added to the end of the school year....oh well at least we are not into June yet!

You are probably thinking that I have been very productive this week, and I wish I could tell you that is true.  I have found a way to get a few things done around the house, including shoveling the snow (my workout for the day!) 

In preparation for the move we have taken apart a few beds and moved some more boxes.  It still seems like there is a lot to do.  Stinson will have some time to help me move some bigger things tomorrow.

Home ownership is quickly upon us.  I can't believe how close it is.  I know you are eagerly awaiting the pictures, they will be up before you know it.

The first few days of the new year are going well.  I have managed to do a lot better about what I am eating, and can tell the difference in my energy level!  This week I started a new bible study at my church.  It is a Beth Moore study about the book of Esther.  I can so excited to learn more about being a woman and realizing what it looks like for my walk with Him. 

Hopefully we'll have school next week!  I would really love to get back to teaching.  I am beginning to miss my students and their sweet faces!

A Much Needed Update

Hi!  Yes, I know it has been a while since I posted any exciting news about my life, but don't worry I'm back!  Thankfully moving in to the new house is drawing closer every day.  Our goal is to be moving in this coming Saturday!  Despite my bad attitude, I managed to pack a lot of our stuff up into boxes.  This week as I jump back into the school life I know I will be enternally greatful that I did muster up some motivation to pack. 

Stinson and his friend Adrian started making a platform for our washer and dryer.  I can't wait for it be finished.  I haven't taken any pictures yet, but I promise that I will.

With a new year already begun, my mind has been busy thinking of a few things I would like to achieve in 2010.  1.) Maintain a healthy lifestyle. ( I am really good at gettig fit, but then I slack off again.  This year I want to keep that healthy mindset and actions going all year)     2.) Find a way to support and meet each of my students' needs.  3.) Try out some new recipes and host more dinners with close friends.   4.) Continue to get involved in our church and meet more people.   I think that should be plenty to keep me busy this year!

I know this post is gettin long, but I guess tha tis what happens when you are absent for a couple of weeks.  I promise to wrap it up soon.

Christmas was wonderful!  We flew out to New Jersey, where Stinson's brother Brantley and his wife Caroline live.  As soon as we landed it was nothing but laughs and tons of fun.  Brantley and Caroline cooked up some amazing meals, including a 5 course Christmas Eve dinner.  I think we all starved our first few days back home without our world-class chefs fixing meals for us.

While we were they we were able to expierence New York City.  I would love to go back when it is a tad warmer to shop and explore the other side of the city.  My mother-in-law, Jennifer, treated us all to the Lion King.  Words cannot describe how amazing this show is.  The stage alone was incredible.  I never knew that a stage was capable of doing so many technical things!  The costumes were breath-taking.  Overall, it was quite the experience.  I would highly reccomend seeing the Lion King in New York City!

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking.  Hope that the first few days of the new year have been good to you!

Here is the front of Macy's (you could spend a day in here and still not see everything!)

30-Rock

Huge Christmas Tree in the Rockefeller Plaza

The Metropolitian Museum of Art ( it was incredible!)

Stinson and I inside the Met

The Dean Brothers in Central Park

The Dean Sistes in Central Park

Hanging out in Time Square, practicing our kiss for NYE ;)

Hanging out on the subway

One las thing before I let you go.  I forgot to mention that I am growing out my hair, so if you see pictures with ugly hair you know why.  It has only been a month and I am already ready to cut it back to the way it was, but I am determined to make it!!!!

P.S.  Check out Courtney's blog for a blog design giveaway.  Her sister Jenn does such an amaing job!