Cleaning up a big mess...

Cleaning up a big mess…

I’m doing a little housekeeping in my blog world this week. One of the things I was trying to straighten out turned into a monumental mess last week, for which I apologize.

I’m trying my hand at a capability called “IFTTT.” Which stands for “If This, Then That”…it’s a website where you can connect social media, blogging, mobile apps, and even smart home apparati together and you can have things work together pretty seamlessly. I like the idea of it, but I’m still learning here. More »

The final result. I LOVE it!

The final result. I LOVE it! We have a few things to still put back but we are waiting for the mantel to completely dry.

Tonight Dave finished up the fireplace paint job. Today’s work was mostly just correcting the bleed-under at the tape lines.

(That’s a whole other rant: we have tried EVERYTHING and can’t seem to find a masking tape that can completely avoid bleed-under. We invested in the good “Frog Tape” and we’ve tried the 3M “Blue” tape. Those run $6-8 per roll but I think we do a better job just not taping at all and being VERY careful. /rant).

Jacob thought the fireplace was looking very bright as Dave was working on it, but once we put the bookcases and white baskets back in place, he seemed to warm to the color.

For reference, here is a “before” picture:

Our next (small) DIY project, freshening up our fireplace.

And for fun, here’s a “really” before picture, from when we walked through the house right after going into contract in May 2013:

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From May 2013. No, your eyes aren’t playing tricks on you. The walls were “blotchy yellow” on purpose. Some sort of feather painting thing, I guess.

Many thanks to my dear husband for making this happen.

04. April 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 48: Colorado Springs Labor Day Liftoff Balloon Festival · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , ,
Okay, so I was a bit of a madwoman photographing all the balloons.

Okay, so I was a bit of a madwoman photographing all the balloons.

In case you hadn’t noticed, I don’t write quite as much as I used to. Blame my full time work, but you can also blame this lack of motivation issue that I have these days. After a full day of work, I tend to come home, make dinner, and then not want to do much.

This evening I was cleaning up the photos on my iPhone and realized how many things we’ve done over the past couple seasons that I have failed to share here. Those of you who follow me on Facebook have seen some of this before, but in case you just follow my blog, let’s catch up with some of the things we did. More »

03. April 2016 · Comments Off on DIY Fireplace Transformation: Work in Progress · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,
After one coat of gel stain and one coat of primer. But the difference is profound.

After one coat of gel stain and one coat of primer. But the difference is profound.

I thought you might like to see our progress. Frankly, I haven’t done much personally with this project. Jacob unloaded the bookcases for us, and Dave is doing everything else. More »

20. March 2016 · Comments Off on DIY Fireplace Transformation · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Our next (small) DIY project, freshening up our fireplace.

Our next (small) DIY project, freshening up our fireplace.

We’re at it again. Dave and I had been contemplating our fireplace for quite some time…with some of other changes happening on the main floor of our house, we wondered what we could do to make our mundane, builder-grade fireplace more modern-looking. More »

20. March 2016 · Comments Off on Review: Outliers: The Story of Success · Categories: Uncategorized

Outliers: The Story of Success
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If you were a fan of 2005’s Freakonomics by Dubner and Levitt, you’ll enjoy this compilation of examples of how successful people might or might not have had some amazing opportunities and circumstances that led to enhanced success. Outliers author Malcolm Gladwell delves into anecdotes of famous personalities such as Microsoft’s Bill Gates and Robert Oppenheimer. He explores how hockey players’ birthdates correlate with their successes and likelihood of making it all the way to the pros.

But Gladwell contends that it’s a bit more than just being in the right place at the right time. There’s also an element of hard work. The second half of the book takes a look at the work ethic of successful people and groups.

Gladwell’s use of data to support his claims help solidify his assertions.

View all my reviews

02. February 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 47: The Royal Gorge Route Railroad · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,
We got a nice photo of the family before boarding. I wish Dave's Dad was more visible.

We got a nice photo of the family before boarding.

As you might imagine, being the wife of a train guy, I’ve been on a lot of trains. From the Amtrak Auto Train to dozens of tourist railroads, we’ve experienced rides that range from luxurious to utilitarian, with lengths from just 15 minutes to 7 hours.

We have been driving past the Royal Gorge Route Railroad depot for the past couple years on our numerous day- and weekend-trips to Monarch Mountain. We kept telling ourselves “We need to check out that railroad.” but hadn’t gotten around to it for a while. The Royal Gorge takes a 20 mile route along the Arkansas River that one can only see via this train or whitewater raft (or the Royal Gorge pedestrian bridge at the park).

In 2014 we tried to get tickets for a ride, but the Holiday Train route we were interested in was sold out. The boys are too old for the Santa Train that dominates the holiday season, and besides, it didn’t take the complete route. Dave would have wanted the complete route.

Dave’s parents visited during Christmas week and we got tickets for everyone for a daytime Holiday Train for the day after Christmas. We got the tickets nice and early (around Veteran’s Day) and were very pleased with the number of options available to us. We choose to do a 12:30pm trip so that we could see the beautiful gorge. More »

01. February 2016 · Comments Off on Colorado Discoveries 46: Breckenridge on a Budget · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

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I know, it’s been a while! I’m here, really, but with my full time work and the kids’ activities, I have had to re-prioritize my blogging. This also goes for GeekMom, where my writing is now at a bare minimum (despite having ideas for posts all the time), but I still do editor duty every few weeks.

I have numerous things to write about here on the home front, including a stunning ride on the Royal Gorge Railroad back in December but for now I want to share what a fun weekend our family had in Breckenridge. We didn’t ski (I’ll explain in a minute) but we found many other things to enjoy without spending much money.

Breckenridge Ski Resort is like the Walt Disney World of skiing. Tourists come in from all around the world for some amazing skiing, and the town of Breckenridge keeps up with that tourism industry with premier shopping, restaurants, and lodging options for their guests. More »

27. November 2015 · Comments Off on Review: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children · Categories: Uncategorized

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun read, which I think would be especially exciting for Rigg’s intended YA audience. However, I didn’t give it 5 stars because I saw numerous parallels to other stories I’ve read over the years. For example, Jacob discovering he’s a “peculiar” reminded me of Harry Potter discovering his wizard identity. The World War II exposition of the younger children in the country in Britain and Wales reminded me of the The Lion, the Witch, and the WardrobeChronicle of Narnia stories. The incessant pursuit of the peculiars by the wights reminded me of both Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and The Fellowship of the Ring.

I commend Riggs for the imaginative storytelling. I enjoyed the fun vocabulary he incorporates, which is great for pre-teen/teen readers looking for SAT-caliber words used in context.

View all my reviews

16. November 2015 · Comments Off on DIY Guest Room Transformation: The Final Reveal · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

IMG_3635

I know, I know, I know…I showed all these in-progress pictures but then disappeared off the face of the earth before I showed the final result. More »