Since moving into our house this past February, Jordan and I have slowly been adding pieces to our decor. We have done a pretty good job, but the back room/den/office/guest room/Shadow's play area had a lot of blank space on the wall and was in some desperate need for color.
Pintrest to the rescue! I looked around for cheap ways to fill up the space without having to spend a lot of money. And since Pintrest never disappoints, I found what I was looking for within two minutes. However, the project would take longer, much longer, than that. It's funny how Pintrest makes you think you will become the next Martha Stewart, and then you attempt the project and realize you are just a girl with a staple gun.
This was the end result.
You will need:
insulation board from Lowes
Staple Gun
Staples for your Staple Gun (because they don't come with the gun like you would think ;)
Fabric
Something to hang the board
The insulation boards at Lowes are 8' x 4' and come in various widths. I chose a 1 inch width and the board was about $13. My original idea was to split the board into 3 even panels to hang, but my utility knife had problems making clean lines while cutting. If you had a space big enough to keep the boards whole I would recommend that. Or find some other tool that will make a cleaner cut.
Next, I found some fabric at Hancock Fabrics on sale. I got 2 yards of upholstery type fabric and paid maybe $10. Then, just like a Christmas present, I wrapped the board with the fabric and stapled along the edges. Since the fabric I used was striped, I had to be very careful not to pull too hard with the fabric because the striped would start to look a bit zig-zagged. I sure felt pretty fierce using a staple gun though. Quite fun.
Jordan helped me hang up the board, centered above our futon. We attached a little bracket to the back. (I'm not sure what they are called, but they have the jagged edge at the bottom.) So, here is what the back room looks like now. (We already had the wall sconces on hand.)
Even though I didn't get my three panels like I wanted, Jordan was sweet enough to convince me that just one looked fine and got the job done. The room does look a bit warmer now so I am pleased.
One of the many great things about living in Lexington is its proximity to other cities and fun things to do. Cincinnati, OH is about an hour and fifteen minutes away so Jordan and I thought a day trip one Saturday would be nice. We had wanted to take Shadow to the Newport Aquarium for some time and woke up one morning saying, "Let's do it." So, another Smith adventure was underway.
Newport, KY is just across the river form Cincinnati. The Aquarium is in a promenade among restaurants and shopping with a great view of the Ohio River and downtown Cincinnati. We took a few minutes just walking around, taking in the views, and then the seasonably hot weather lured us inside.
The Aquarium is home to thousands of fish from all parts of the world. Some very pretty, some very ugly, and some that make you wonder, "Is that really a fish?" But I think the thing Jordan and I enjoyed the most was watching Shadow's reaction to everything. That is what is so fun about having children, you get to see the world again through there eyes.
One of the main attractions at this aquarium is a 14 foot alligator they have named Mighty Mike. Shadow wasn't sure what to think about him, and I wasn't either. He is enormous. I tried to imagine what I would do if I saw this monster in the water or on a boat next to me. As much as I wanted to tell myself I would be brave and be able to escape Mighty Mike, all I saw in my head was myself freezing in horror as I gave Mike an easy kill. We quickly moved on.
This picture was taken after we had to get after Shadow for wanting to climb on the walls and beat on the glass. He is too young to understand, but I had to tell him that it scares the fish and embarrasses mommy when he does that. He ponders on this for a few moments and simply says "okay".
The Aquarium is home to penguins too! Shadow kept laughing and saying "bird!" They all were very cute and properly dressed in their natural tuxedos. Shadow wanted to take these home.
But the thing Shadow liked the most was the shark tank. Every time one would pass us he would cry out and laugh and then look at us to see if we saw it too. I was afraid he would be a little scared like he was with the alligator, but he was having too much fun. It was hard to pull him away when it was time to go. You can see a video of Shadow and the Sharks below.
We quickly exited through the gift shop, trying to avoid the numerous displays of bouncing balls and stuffed animals and found some lunch at Five Guys. We filled our tummies and were ready to head back to Lexington. That is, after Mommy had to stop at H&M and Shadow went to the Disney Store. :)
There is something to be said about the way journalists pounce on a horrifying tragedy involving innocent Americans and use it as a way to promote their own political agendas, as well as their ignorance when it comes to the origin or cause of the event. Since every one is talking about the Batman movie massacre and using it to defend or argue against our 2nd amendments rights, I think it's only fair that I jump on this as well. And I can, because I am not a journalist :)
When I first heard the heartbreaking news, my mind quickly went to prayer and not politics. It wasn't until I started hearing the typical liberal media make an immediate biased attack on conservatives by reporting that the shooter, James Holmes, had joined the tea party movement in Aurora last year that I started getting huffy. Jordan and I both knew conservatives would be targeted and that debates about gun control would start to take over the evening news. However, one minor detail: this James Holmes was a middle aged man, while Psycho James Holmes was 24 years old. Clearly not the same person. Aren't journalists supposed to research and confirm things before they report them? Sorry libs, I'm afraid Sarah Palin had nothing to do with this one.
Guns are dangerous. Criminals and the mentally disabled in possession of guns is catastrophic. People with guns have protected people. People with guns and killed innocents. What do you do? We are granted the right to bear arms by our Constitution, yet I'm sure our founding fathers didn't mean for us to grab the coolest assault weapon we can find and keep it conveniently located under our bed. I like to think they entitled future Americans with this right as a way for us to stand up and protect our family and possessions. Then you think about Gabby Giffords and Trayvon Martin and you wonder, if guns were harder to possess, would these incidents have only ended up with minor injuries that boo-boo bunny and a Dora the Explorer band-aid couldn't fix?
I can't help but answer yes. However, I also can't help but answer no. I believe evil will find a way if it is determined. If someone wants to hurt a mass amount of people, they will do it, with a gun or without. What if someone in that audience had their own gun handy? Could they have taken down the shooter and saved lives? What if Holmes didn't have a gun and only came in with a toxic gas bomb, would less people have died. Again, I can't help but answer yes to both questions.
Like so many things in our lives, I think this issue is an issue of balance. The first video below is of Hilary Clinton making some comments on gun control and I felt like she really says it best. The second is one of Chuck Norris because all good republicans always check to see what Chuck Norris would say.
I shake my head in anger when I think of the families effected by this horrible event. I hate that it takes something like this to fire up the people to think about possible solutions when , like Hilary says in the video, we should be smarter than this. Something should already be in place, something in balance, to prevent mass murders like this from happening. So the next time something like this happens, which I hope it won't, time won't be wasted on evaluating the conservative or liberal influences.
I think about my role as a teacher. I think about the students that are always angry, shy, and bullied. I pray that I am given the strength I need to reach these students in effort to give them hope and a positive outlook on life. I strive to be a good role model and to make an impact on them so if they ever get into a situation where they will harm themselves or others, they may one day think back to "something Ms. Smith said."
I think about my role as a parent. Perhaps this is where it must start, with family. I humbly ask for God to guide me in my role as a mother so I can prepare Shadow with what he needs to lead a life pleasing unto Him, but also a life that will serve others. A life where he will be devoted to taking care of his family and community and not to destroy it. And, most importantly, I hope he knows that it is very impolite to ruin a good movie!!!
So maybe this answer is as simple as this: Let the hunters have their rifles, let the people have their little handguns. Keep the bad-ass-assault weapons locked up unless their is a military worthy situation. Hire good teachers. Be good parents. Pray.
While most people are spending their summer vacations hiking in the mountains, soaking up the sun at the beach, or embracing the magic at Disney (I hate you by the way), Jordan and I took a day trip to the most exciting city of Little Rock, AR. And it was a good time! We were already vising family in Missouri and Arkansas for Independence Day so, being that we were already in the neighborhood, we decided to take a little trip to Little Rock.
If you know us at all you will see why Little Rock was a perfect choice for a happily married, politically savvy, history loving couple. Fine, we are nerds. But at least we have each other, right?
Our itinerary was as follows:
Jordan and I started our trip by enjoying the very scenic-less 3 hour drive to Little Rock, by way of Hastings in Jonesboro, AR. Jordan sold a lot of books he found at his parents house in hopes to make a few dollars for our trip. But to Jordan's chagrin, the lady only gave him store credit which he used to buy a DVD combo of Arthur/Arthur on the Rocks and I finally got my hands on a copy of Mockingjay.
We arrived in Little Rock in time for lunch and decided to try the local fare at Doe's Eat Place. It's a small joint just blocks from the State Capitol and was a popular lunch destination for Bill Clinton while he was governor.
One cheeseburger and catfish platter later, we were at the Arkansas Governors Mansion for our (free) tour. It was here that we decided we should challenge ourselves with the task of touring every governors mansion in every state....we shall see. The mansion was beautiful, of course. We looked around thinking to ourselves, "Did Bill sit here?", "Did Chelsea use these stairs?", "Was Hilary angry about the placement of the silver in this room?". However, I suppose I was more excited to be in the former home of Mike Huckabee.
The gardens were very pretty but in 100+ degree weather they were even prettier from inside. I think we only stayed out long enough to get this picture. Poor little Socks is even buried in the gardens among the roses and magnolias.
After the tour we were so tired and hot that we decided to go ahead and check into our (free) hotel room. But first we took a quick look at Little Rock Central High School, the historic site where 9 African American children bravely walked into their new school for the first time. Unfortunately, they were not greeted with open arms and President Eisenhower had to call in the national guard to keep the angry mob at bay. (Tangent: for all the Kennedy and MLK lovers, this is case and point that Republicans did indeed start the battle to end segregation and promote Civil Rights across the nation. This is not to discredit the incredible leadership of MLK or the pretty face of JFK, but just trying to give credit where it truly is due.)
After a bite to eat and a puzzling but entertaining showing of Prometheus, we turned in for the night to prepare for our day at the Clinton Presidential Museum and Library. I was very impressed with the collections and exhibits the Library had. I enjoyed learning more about his administration and found a new found appreciation for his work. I can honestly say I would vote for a Clinton over Obama any day. (Only if their isn't a Republican on the ticket.) You could look up his schedule for every day he was in office and The Museum had an exact replica of the Oval Office as it had looked during his time as President. There are several things from Bill and Hillary's childhood which I found endearing. Sometimes we forget that everyone was at one time a child with great dreams. I remember there was an essay on display that Hillary wrote in the 6th grade saying she wanted to be a teacher or a physicist when she grew up. It's funny to think that lawyer, First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State hadn't crossed her mind yet.
We ate lunch at the restaurant that is at the museum and then hit the road for the 3 hour drive back to Jordan's parents house. We were excited to give Shadow his prizes and to share our pictures and stories with our family. We arrived only to find that Shadow hadn't missed us that much because he was having too much fun with his cousins. And you can't really blame him. They are great kiddos and always love having little Shadow around. This is a picture of them at McDonald's after they went swimming. It looks like fun was had by all during our little trip to Little Rock.
