So ... Pinterest ...

I've always been a crafty-ish/handy-ish person. I like to knit, always sew/manufacture my kids' Halloween costumes, have painted, wallpapered, spackled my entire house more than twice over. I even refinished all of my hideous 1970s kitchen cabinets.

Best costume I ever made. Blinking lights!

But nothing prepared me for the glut of crafty goodness and inspiration and wonder that is Pinterest.

I've found so many ideas for foods to make, gifts to create and give, and household improvements to implement. And most of them have turned out wonderfully! (not like these) I have a few more things in the works ... but here's a nice run-through of my recent accomplishments around the house.

SOOO much better than before.

This gives you some idea of the kitchen "before."

First of all ... the aforementioned kitchen. In October 2011 we had a minor kitchen fire (everyone's OK!) which resulted in an insurance claim and replacement of the countertops, wallsplash, range and flooring. We took this opportunity to also install pendant lighting over the island (LOVE!) and to replace the grimy and paint-peely range hood with one that vented outside the house. Since I knew paint drips on either the countertop or the floor wouldn't matter, I also took up the challenge of refinishing the cabinets. I used Rustoleum's Cabinet Transformations product in their "Frost" color. The DVD and printed instructions were easy to follow and I think the project turned out great! This was my first time attempting any sort of faux finishing or even painting wood, for that matter. I lucked out on some brushed nickel hardware in the clearance section at Lowe's and a coordinating light fixture in the sale section. I love the finished room! (Please ignore the counter and fridge clutter ...)

Next is a serious of smaller projects. Some took a weekend, some a few hours, some several days ... I'm proud of the way they turned out, or I wouldn't be sharing them here, obviously.  I don't have before-and-after pictures of step-by-step pictures, but if you ask for more info or tips, I'll gladly fill you in.

OK, so I didn't make this. I bought it on Etsy ... but still a great Pinterest idea.

Antique printer's tray purchased on eBay ...

Converted to jewelry storage/display

Using wasted space for measuring spoons and cups.

More are on the door of the neighboring cabinet.

Tie-dye Mickey Mouse shirt!

Remove pictures from frames and spray-paint them all black

Frame out an old builder's cheapie mirror without having to take it down from the wall

Next project due to be finished ... Mod-Podging a world map to multiple Michael's-bought canvases and hanging as a grouping. Pics soon!

--End--

As Time Goes By

Inspired by Adrienne ... as are so many things ...

Interestingly, I, too, have been reminiscing about the early days of my babies' lives. This is my prep period, and one of the teachers has his 8th grade class in the lab, researching historically-significant women for Women's History Month. The students are on Day One of their 3-day stint parenting "Real Life" babies. The lab is filled with the sound of crying and cooing (most of it coming from the robo-babies).

This inspired me to go back and look at early pictures of my own babies. They're all still up at my first blog. Which looks very dated and low-tech, but it is what it is.

This lovely cherub, my first-born, my little peanut is turning 13 in eleven days. I goggle.

And, this one ... my baby, my ever-smiley sensitive boy. This one is now 5'1" tall and wears a (men's!!!) size 10 shoe. At 10-1/2 years old. Again with the goggling.

My babies. I find it hard to remember that I built them inside of me way back when. The brain and body both forget so much. The pictures and the memories do evoke powerful feelings and misty eyes, though. Some part of the heart never forgets.

--End--

Halloween Fun

Joe and I were invited to participate in a lovely Halloween event yesterday. We were cast as Mary Shelley and Dr. Frankenstein's monster (click for a video clip taken by a local reporter). There were a bunch of others from Mystic Realms acting other parts and performing various literature-based Halloween stories, with moral lessons for the kiddos. Ours was sharing and friendship. In the video, the monster was making friends by sharing (albeit reluctantly) some candy. This gallery has some more pictures from the event (I can't get the gallery to work except in Internet Explorer). I've posted the gallery pics* of us in this post, but if you want to see some others (mixed in with some Trick-or-Treating pics around the area), feel free to click through

It was a gorgeous day to be outside and Joe was an amazing entertainer. He had hordes of kids following him around, playing with him, giving him hugs. I felt like a Disney World costumed character handler. We had the best time!

--End--

ps. For the record, as he's not in any of these pics, Matthew was Obi-Wan Kenobi. :)

* Thank you to The Daily Journal.com.

Pictures

I posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook from the production of Moon Over Buffalo ....

and from our recent trip to New York City. Enjoy!

--End--

SO Beautiful

The universe is such a beautiful place.

Scientists agree. I haven't listened to all the sound clips yet (I'm at work), but these pictures are worth more than their requisite thousand words all on their own.

--End--

Second Verse, Same as the First!

Actually ... even better than the first. This event had more walkers (3,100 starters vs. 2,300) and consequently raised more money ($8.1 million vs. $6.3 million) than last year's. The weather was way more suitable to walking (highs in the upper 50s/low 60s vs. the mid-80s). And I just knew more of what to expect (aka ... I packed better and paced myself more).

Walked all 60 miles again this year. Had one very minor blister I had to deal with starting on Day Two. The medi-tent folks said it was kind of unpreventable and that I'd obviously done some training and self-treated it as best I could. Day One was upbeat and felt pretty good. Night One was cold and bitter and resulted in an even colder morning. Day Two was slow and plodding and both traffic lights and lots of stepping on and off curbs wore us down, caused some pain and crushed our spirits. Lots and lots of layers resulted in a better Night Two which resulted in a fairly good (but even colder) third morning. Day Three felt good ... surprisingly good. No real pain or discomfort at all ... and a moving-as-always closing ceremony.

I haven't yet decided what my 3-Day situation for next year will be. Fundraising is difficult in a tough economy, but I'd like to give it a try. I kind of want to crew for one of the walks in the summer, before school starts. And then if my fundraising goes well enough, I'll also register for a walk. If fundraising goes poorly ... I don't know. My brain is too mushy right now.

I've posted a bunch of pictures with captions in a web album, but here are some highlights.

Dana Fantini and I on Day One...still very happy.

Being greeted by schoolchildren along the route is always a highlight.


Our row in the City of Tents (we had Lot I-86)

The Sneaker Salute for the breast cancer survivors as they walk in is a Breast Cancer 3-Day tradition.

--End--

More Pictures

I've uploaded more pictures from the show, backstage, etc on Facebook. Here's the album.

Also, special thanks to Kelsey's mom for taking pics during final dress rehearsal so I could have the good ones of the actual show.

--End--

New Photos! (and videos)

I posted some new pictures in my Facebook albums, from the Wizard of Oz, and other stuff this summer. I'll be taking more Wizard of Oz pictures through our next weekend, I'm sure. In the meantime, here are a few videos for ya!

Pulling into the station at Steamtown, USA (Scranton, PA). This was just after we'd gotten off the train.


Emily riding on the Segway we rented (Joe is debating changing his commuting vehicle to save gas)


And....Matthew's turn


And...the kids having fun with the ambient music at Hershey Park.


--End--

Photo Update Bonanza! 2

Finally in between trips out of town, Wizard of Oz rehearsals and set-building, the afore-mentioned slideshow, I've finally finished weeding through and cleaning up a bunch of pictures from May, June and July.

And here are some of the fruits of all that labor! I know some of these go by a little fast, but you can go directly to the Picasa album by clicking.

The National Education Association Representative Assembly, Washington DC July 1-6


Stuff in June 2008


--End--

Old Time Photos

I'm working on a slideshow for my Grandma Schierer's 80th birthday party this summer. Various family have sent me piles of family pictures. While most of them are relatively modern, there are some oldies in there. These are probably the coolest, overall.

My Grandma and Grandpa Schierer, in about 1945

My Grandma, Mary (Morrison) Schierer on her first bike, 1933

My great-great grandmother, Leibbie Ensign, in 1880

My great-great grandfather Albert G. Morrison, taken in 1886

--End--

Seven Years Ago

Seven years ago at roughly 9pm, Matthew James Dugan was born. Running over with joie de vivre from the moment he learned how to smile, a big kid with an even bigger heart, Matthew is our tough guy who still loves to cuddle and hug (and I hope he always will). We love you, Matthew! Happy Birthday!

Then and now ...

--End--

Love it!

Oh my gosh I just love this print so much. SO MUCH! It's a kind of I want to type everything all running together without any spaces I'm sort of feeling gushy over it LOVE feeling.

I just want to buy it (and maybe a couple of others by the same artist) and re-do Emily's entire bedroom based on it. I want to buy it and save it and have it in reserve for when she decides she no longer wants flowers on her walls and curtains and spaceships and moonscapes on her bedspread and autographed photos of astronauts hanging about.

Wouldn't it look gorgeous in a room with beigey or teal-y walls? Or better yet, beigey walls with one teal-y wall? Curtains and bedspread to match the red.

Anyway, Joe said, "no." Stinkin' practicality.

--End--

Music Galore

Em has been in two recent concerts. One, with the local "Renaissance Youth Chorale" (RYC) was last Friday, and the other with her school 3rd-5th grade chorus, was Wednesday night. Be sure to check out the video all the way down the page.

Here are a few pics from the RYC concert, taken during their pre-show warmup. The group is directed by Deborah Laird (a past music teacher and current singer with the Philadelphia Orchestra) and works out of the Trinity United Methodist Church here in Millville.

And, now during the Rieck Avenue School Spring Concert:

The whole 180-member group, directed by the Fabulous Mr. Howard Raudenbush
(also Emily's piano teacher, and the accompanist for the RYC)

Short kids get the front row (not that there's anything wrong with that)

Emily and another kid (who is the tallest 4th grader in the whole group)
introduce "Old Dan Tucker"
Emily and her best friend, Jared, after the concertAnd, finally ... the video. Emily sang this song with the Renaissance Youth Chorale as part of the whole group. She's featured here in a trio during the Rieck Ave Spring Concert.
The next day at Em's piano lesson, Mr. Raudenbush couldn't stop raving about these kids and how well they blended and stayed on pitch. (forgive the wobbles, please...this was shot with my digital camera, not my camcorder)

--End--

Texas-sized Photo Post

Pictures from Texas ... I have over 100 I've kept and PhotoShopped to the beautiful creations you see here. I've uploaded the lot of them to the Picasa Albums, but you can see some highlights by scrolling down...

down...and down some more.

Enjoy!

--End--

ps. Jonny was doing a school science project -- a PowerPoint presentation featuring at least 40 different varieties of flower. I had fun showing him my camera's macro feature and then he used the camera throughout our visit to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. Some of the pics in the Flora Album were taken here in SoJo, but most are from our trip. I'm enjoying taking close-ups, so there will be more additions to this album, for sure.

Photo Update Bonanza!

Let's see...January and February involved

Sasha's First Birthday


The Pinewood Derby


A Weekend in the Poconos

--End--

ps. Click on them to pop over to Picasa and read captions, see bigger images.

pps. Just got an email from our Cubmaster about this article in the local paper. Check out the picture for my two munchkins and their hand-made walking sticks.

Williamsburg Pictures

I've uploaded these in a couple of ways .... the really brief Highlights Album and the I-Can't-Believe-I-Ate-the-Whole-Thing version. The Highlights are also Slide-showing here for your convenience. There are quite a few good shots in the big album, too. So stop on by for more Dugan family Christmas getaway to Virginia's Historic Triangle goodness.



--End--

Resemblance Results

Well, Joe wins by a considerable margin (which, honestly, we kind of already knew). Matthew is practically the spitting image of young Joe.

One last picture, though ... regardless of who my kids most resemble, parent-wise (Joe), no one can deny how very much they look like each other. I present, my "twins."



--End--