Faux Granite Countertops: Decorating on a Budget

First let me say that this was not my idea. I actually got the idea from The Budget Decorator. Give credit where credit is due, right?!

See. Ugly.

 Anyway, I have the best little trick to share with you. My husband and I have been dying to redecorate our kitchen, but we were hesitant to put a whole lot of money into our house because we are planning to build a new house in the next few years. Regardless of our future plans, I could not spend another minute in that kitchen with those horrible countertops. They were hideous. I mean, these countertops were long overdue for a makeover. While browsing all that Pinterest has to offer, I stumbled upon this post about a faux granite painting technique, and I fell in love! Since I wanted new countertops anyway, I figured I wouldn't have lost much if I tried it and failed. We headed straight to Home Depot to get all of the supplies. The only materials that we couldn't get at Home Depot were the acrylic paints, and we got those at Hobby Lobby. I had an idea of the end product when I was buying the acrylic paints, but if you don't you can just grab a granite sample from a home improvement store for inspiration. The sample will also help you get an idea of the 'design' you're trying to get. 

Materials:

• Primer

B-I-N Shellac Base Primer & Sealer Stain Killer 00904 (1 Quart)

• Small Dense Foam Roller w/roller tray (I'd get extra rollers)

• A few acrylic paints in 'natural' colors (grab a granite sample for a reference)

• Polyacrylic (especially if you're doing the kitchen. It is safe on food prep surfaces.)

Minwax 63333 Satin Polycrylic Protective Finishes, 1 Quart

• Extra fine grit sanding block

• Foam Brushes

• LOTS and LOTS of paper towels 

Martha Stewart 32228 Sea Sponge, Set of 6

• Natural sponges (this is up to you, I actually prefer the paper towels over the sponge)

The left is two coats, the right is just one coat.

Step 1: So, first you need to prep your counters for the primer. Obviously you've got to remove all the junk (I just stuck mine on the stove and other inconspicuous places). Since it is the kitchen, you probably need to clean the counters very well with some type of degreaser. I used a Magic Eraser first to get all of the tough stuff then I went at it with some Dawn dishwashing liquid and warm water. Make sure it is dry, dry, dry after all of that cleaning otherwise the primer will get goopy. 

Step 2: After you clean it, roll some primer over those bad boys. You heard (saw? read?) me right, no sanding! The primer eliminates the need to sand them. So anyway, you roll on two coats of primer with about 30-45 minutes to dry between coats.  

The 'base' color all dotted on there.

Step 3: When the primer is dry the fun stuff begins. Take a paper plate and squirt a lot of the acrylic paint that you
want as your dominant color on it. Roll a couple of paper towels up into a little rose shape and dip it into the paint, then just start tapping the paint onto the counter. All over the counter. There's really no rhyme or reason to it. Don't worry about what it looks like yet, just get the color on there.   




Step 4: After you get the dominant color smudged on there, do the same with the other colors. The amount of each color depends on what you want your final product to look like, it's not an exact science. Just use your best judgement and I'm sure it'll turn our just perfect! There I'd one thing I figured out though, you'll want to layer the colors as much as your arm can stand. The more you layer, the better it looks. Also, you don't have to wait for the paints to dry between layers, I actually like the look you get is you smudge one color into another color that isn't quite dry yet. I don't have any picture for you because I got too excited during the process to stop and take pictures...sorry!

Just look at the shine. Enjoy it. Take it all in.

Step 5: So you're finished smudging now on to the shine. My hubs sort of created this technique where he rolls the polycrylic on first (not recommended), let's it dry, sands it lightly, rolls it again, foam brushes more polyacrylic on top of the still wet layer he just put on, let's it dry, sands it, and repeats the cycle once more with the exception of the sanding on the top layer. The 'normal' method took about six coats to get the shine we had in mind, but his technique only took three coats (and I must admit, it's more like the granite shine). 



 Let the top coat of polycrylic dry and put your kitchen back together :) My 'after' picture is at the bottom. I'm sure you'll notice that I also had G put up a new backsplash. I'll let you know how to do that in a post soon. You'll never guess what we used!! 

Now go paint your countertops and fool everybody into thinking you splurged on granite. Everyone except for me that is...I know your little secret.  

Before: Old Busted

After: New Hotness (I still need to paint my cabinets, so you don't get to see the whole kitchen yet!)

my child is my reason, not my excuse

Something hit me the other day. Okay, it was really more like I hit it. The floor. Yep, I hit the floor. Just went straight from standing to laying flat out, unconscious on the cold, hard bathroom floor. Right there in front of my sink. No big deal, except that it happens more often than I care to admit. I'm kind of like one of those cute little fainting goats...except without all of the adorableness.

Luckily, it has happened only once in the 8 wonderful months since J was born. You don't really want to be passed out on the floor while your baby screams his head off in the other room, you know? The reason I pass out really isn't a big deal. It is something called dysautonomia. I really don't know much about it except that it has something to do with my blood pressure and it causes me to hit the deck a few times every year. I know how to manage it, and I handle it pretty well. BUT, the fact that I was sprawled out on the bathroom floor while my baby was crying IS a big deal. 

As I came to my senses, it dawned on me that this is not okay. Being physically unable to be there for my child when he needs me is not okay. I'm not really talking about passing out every now and then. It makes me feel bad for a few hours, but I get over it pretty quickly. I'm talking about diseases and ailments that may happen to me in the future if I don't start taking care of myself now. Problems that I can prevent by being proactive about my health now. I need to start taking care of my body with diet and exercise. And that's just what I'm going to do.

In my post-faint stupor, I decided I HAVE to make a change. I have to change my lifestyle. I can't keep living like my health will just take care of itself.

I don't abuse my body per se, but I don't exactly take care of it either. I don't drink, smoke, or take illicit drugs. Come to think of it, I can't even remember the last time I took Tylenol. But, I also can't remember the last time I really exercised. Most days, my eating habits resemble that of an adolescent football player. All bad carbs and bad fats. Quantity and convenience over quality nearly every meal. Pizza, burgers, Doritos, Hot Pockets, and lots and lots of Coke. Sounds yummy, right?

I know how to eat healthy. I just don't. I know how to follow an exercise routine. I just don't. So what's my problem?

Motivation. I've been trying to motivate myself with the wrong goals. I'm not motivated to lose weight. I don't care about wearing a size 2. I'm probably never going to put on another bikini, so why would I care what I look like in one? My husband tells me that I'm beautiful just the way I am, so why change?

My son. He's why. I always want to be able to be there for him. I couldn't get myself up off of the bathroom floor to comfort him when he was crying. I didn't have the energy to take care of him after I fainted. I had to send him to his grandmother because I got winded from picking him up. No more. I will not keep treating my body like a trash can. I will do everything in my power to keep myself healthy and active for decades to come.

I have to start actively taking care of my body so I can always be there for him. I'm young, I know. My body is not going to start breaking down on me next week or anything, but I want to start delaying that breakdown now. Maybe if I start now, I can keep up with J when he wants to play baseball in the yard. Maybe I'll be there to watch him grow, get married, and have his own children. Maybe I can sit cross-legged under the Christmas tree with my great-grandchildren one day.

God gave me one body. One day I'll have to answer to my Creator what I've done with all that was given to me. Everything that was given to me. How will I explain how I treated my body? Do I want to have to explain how I wasted it? Or, do I want to proudly say that I strengthened it with diet and exercise to better do His work? 

So, I need to figure out a plan to keep myself on track. As I pondered diet plans and HIIT workouts, it struck me that healthy living shouldn't have to be so hard. I have used diet and exercise in the past to lose weight, but I didn't have a child then. When am I going to find the time? How will I eat healthy, whole foods when I struggle to get my husband to eat anything green? 

I don't know, but I am going to figure it out. It will not be easy, but it will be worth it.

I've made my decision. I am doing this, and I plan to update on my progress. Is anybody willing to join me? Please share what you plan on doing to get healthy. What is your motivation? Do you have any tips that I can follow to keep myself on track?

I didn't choose to teach.

I'm a teacher, but I didn't choose to teach.

I bet if you asked the nation's pre-service teachers why they want to teach, the majority of them would tell you that they want to make a difference somehow. I know because I was there once, and I chose to make a difference, too.

I didn't choose to teach because I wanted to spend my days checking dress code. I teach because I want to be there for a student who doesn't have a coat to wear in the freezing cold of winter.

I didn't choose to teach because I enjoy listening to adolescents tell stories about who partied at whose house last weekend. I teach because I want to be a shoulder to cry on for the students whose best friend hung himself last night.

I didn't choose to teach because I wanted to be able to tell the difference between a student who really needs to go to the bathroom and a student who just wants to get out of class. I teach because I want to be there to help the student who just came back from cutting herself in the bathroom.

I didn't choose to teach because I like to hear the ramblings of the self-professed 'pot heads' in my classroom. I teach because I hope to be the one person who actually gets through to them and shows them that they can have and be more.

I didn't choose to teach because I enjoy giving directions multiple times just to hear someone ask what we're doing immediately after I'm finished. I teach because I love seeing their eyes light up when they finally understand what they're doing.

I didn't choose to teach because I like eating my lunch in less than fifteen minutes while sitting in a lunch room exploding with the sounds of high school. I teach because I need to be there for the student who tells me on Monday that she hasn't eaten since Friday because she doesn't have any food at home.

I didn't choose to teach because I wanted to spend hours every week writing lesson plans that will not go as planned. I teach because I love how it feels when those lessons fall perfectly into place and I can feel my students learning.

As I pulled my projector screen down and wrote the date on the board this morning, I thought about how bad I wanted to go back home. I caught myself wishing the day would pass by quickly. Then I reminded myself that that is not why I do what I do. I don't come to work to pass the time. I come to work for my students.

We motivate the unmotivated.
We love the unlovable.
We teach the unteachable.
We are teachers, but we didn't choose to teach. We chose to make a difference, so that's what we will do.

I love my cowlick. Do you?

I love my cowlick. I got mine from my mother who got her's from her mother, and my son got his cowlick from me. His is much cuter of course. My cowlick puts me in some pretty great company.

Photo Credit: http://wonderopolis.org/wonder/what-is-a-cowlick/

I try hard every morning to blow dry, straighten, and tease that cowlick into submission. I spend about 20 minutes performing the same ritual every day just to have that cowlick show up a few hours afterward. It's nothing too obvious. It has nothing on Alfalfa's mop; it's just always there. I'll never tame it. It has a mind of its own. But, I love it.

I love it because God gave it to me. The bible says that we are 'fearfully and wonderfully made,' (Psalm 139:14) There is no clause to that verse saying 'except for cowlicks' or 'except for gapped teeth' or 'except for big ears.' There is no exception. Our whole selves were specially made by The Great Craftsman for a specific purpose; there is no benefit in dwelling on characteristics that society tells us are flaws. My son may one day learn to dislike, maybe even hate, his cowlick. I want him to know that he is made exactly how God intended...cowlick and all. Everything on his body was placed there by his Designer, and everything has it's own purpose. I will tell him this. I pray that he'll understand. As he sleeps in my arms, I pray that that adorable swirl (or any other perfect part of his little body) never bothers him or makes him self-conscious. 

I spent too many years criticizing my body. Criticizing what I believed were flaws on the body God created just for me. I don't want that for my children. I don't want that for anyone. So, I pray for you. I pray you'll learn that your 'flaws' are not really flaws at all. Your 'flaws' add character. They are beautiful.  They are what makes you unique. They are part of you and you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Whatever your cowlick is, love it. It is beautiful, and so are you.

I love my cowlick. Do you?

Be blessed! 

New Year, New You....Right?!

What is your New Year's resolution? To lose a few pounds? To pay off a few bills? Does it matter? Do you ever really accomplish your New Year's Resolutions? I don't, and I recently became aware of why that is.

I attempt to lose those few pounds I resolve to lose on my own. I try to get my bills paid off on my own. I try to change whatever bad habit I have on my own, and it has never worked for me. And it never will. I have to start relying on God to help me change. Without Him I'll never be able to change because The Devil will always be there on my shoulder telling me "A cupcake won't hurt!" or "You know you want to go shopping!"

This year I resolve to 'give it all to God' all year. I have plenty of things that I want to change, but I'm not going to concentrate on those things until I get closer to Him. Without Him, I will always fail.

So, I'm asking y'all to join me! Let's get closer to God, so we can actually accomplish the small things we set out to do and always fail!

6 Ways to Fly With Time

You hear it all the time. Mothers telling about their baby's newly reached milestone followed by pleading for Time to 'please slow down'. I'm pretty sure I've asked Time to take a more leisurely pace more than once since The Nugget was born, but I don't want to be at the mercy of Time anymore. Not when it comes to my baby.

Time may fly, but I'm going to do my best to not let it fly by me. I'm going to fly with it. Since I'm a list maker, I thought I'd jot down a few suggestions that I plan on following to help me keep up with J as he grows.

Photo Credit: http://www.freerangekids.com/free-ranging-under-the-clock-of-fate/clock/

1) Put down the camera/phone. Be in the moment. Don't be a spectator. Sure, it's nice to have your smartphone at your side at all times so you can catch the first smile, first roll over, or first steps on video, but I'd rather not be the mother who only gets pictures of annoyed children because they are tired of having a camera shoved in their faces. Technology is a wonderful tool, but it takes away from the moment all too often these days. I will do my best to capture memories without letting it take me out of the moment, and I will trust my family and friends to capture the moments that I am too wrapped up in to worry about a photograph or video. Memories are no good if you are not part of them.

2) Stop worrying. Easier said than done, right?! I know better than most that worry can be a poison. It can poison your marriage, your career, and worst of all it can poison your time with your children. I recently posted about how I resolve to 'give it all to God' this year and in the year's to come. I cannot tell you how much of a stress reliever that has been in just the past few days. It is not a cure-all. You cannot go on a shopping spree and say, "It'll be okay! God will make sure my bills are paid!". But, you can do your best with what is given to you and have faith that the rest is in His hands.

3) Stop with obsessing over everything. Do you know what is going to happen if your child gets chocolate ice cream all over that specially made monogrammed Valentine's Day outfit that you bought her? Nothing. Do you know what is going to happen it you don't get to take your baby through his exact bedtime routine and the exact same time every night? Nothing. Do you know what is going to happen if you forget to put the breast milk you pumped today at work in the freezer before it goes bad? Nothing. This one actually happened to me. I went into hysterics (worry much?!), but J was fine. Your child will not remember how cute her clothes were; she will remember how nervous you made her by fussing over her every move. You child will not be harmed by a deviation in his routine. He may actually learn a little flexibility and patience. Your child will be fine if he has to have a little formula because you made a mistake. Really, plenty of babies thrive on formula. Note to self: stop being so crazy.

4) Your house can wait, but your children can't. If you are too worried about a messy house to let your children play freely, see #3. You could pick up all of the toys that are all over the living room, but they're just going to dump them all back out again. Sure, keep the floor clean so the toddler doesn't pick up some unidentified object and decide to see how it tastes; . I'm not saying don't clean; I'm saying to do what is necessary, but never let it come before your child or your child's happiness. I will keep my house as clean as possible without taking time from J. I will teach J how to clean, but I will never break his spirit to get a spotless house.

5) Comparison is a thief of joy. It is a famous quote for a reason; it's true. Stop rushing your child's next milestone because your best friend's baby (of the same age) reached the same milestone week's ago. All children are different. My friend's baby started sleeping through the night very early; J still doesn't sleep through the night. My friend's baby started crawling at 5 months; J has no intentions of crawling...ever. I'm not comparing him to anyone. He is his own person, and I plan on treating him that way. I will enjoy each and every milestone, no matter how big or small, but I will never rush him to reach the next one. He will get there in his own time.

6) They are children; treat them (love them) like children. They are not clocks. Small children have no concept of time. Stop with the scheduling already. When the baby is hungry, feed him. When the child is sleepy, lay him down for a nap. Don't worry about whether it is time for a feeding or for a nap. Routines are great...schedules are not. Babies also need love. It is a need just like food or air. Pick them up, rock them, let them sleep in your arms. You will not spoil them, but you will teach them that you are a safe place and that they can always depend on you. All of this worrying about whether your baby is eating enough or whether he slept too long for his last nap is stealing time that you could be enjoying with your baby. (My mother and grandmother have been telling me this for, I don't know, 8 months! Apparently, I'm a slow learner. Ha!)

Babies grow. It's what they're supposed to do. Growing and reaching milestones are things that should be celebrated, not mourned. Time will pass. There is no slowing it, stopping it, or rewinding it, but what we can do is use the time we've been given in a more powerful way. Stop wasting it on the things that don't really matter and start enjoying it with the people who do! 

Now, go love on those babies! Be blessed!