Maiden Voyage...

I'm posting from Edinburg, VA right now as we wait for some assistance(see last photo).  I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures, I took them quickly yesterday before we left and my camera battery was dying(making my camera act funny).  

Ok, so this is the maiden voyage of the new camper. She is about 10ft longer than the old one and has a full bunkhouse for the kids.  She isn't my dream camper but she is so much better and roomier than the old one, and we got a super deal on her.

Of course I had to decorate her... I wanted some color without having to do a total makeover. So I went with bright apple green.  I'm so happy the manufacturer chose not to put the ugly wall paper border around the middle of the walls, makes adding decor so much easier.

Here is walking into the camper...

 To the right is the master bedroom. I changed out the curtains for thicker ones that I already had and added some wall decals to the headboard(they don't show up very well, but it says "always kiss me goodnight". The blanket on the foot of the bed is actually a nice green color, just looks off in the pic.

 Hung a goodwill find on the wall after I spray painted its frame.

 Looking into the left of the camper...I used the green spray paint to paint all the baskets and accessories that I found.

 Kitchen...

 Family room...I will eventually recover the cornice boards and sofa.

 Dining area and it's big enough for all of us to sit.

 I had to make some art...

 Took a lamp from the boy's room that they weren't using, matched perfectly.

 Took down the brown curtains and replaced them  with green ones.

 Added a mirror(which needs to go green too).

 The bathroom... I did in light butter yellow.

 Looking into the bunkhouse...

 Made a dishtowel into a wallhanging.

 Kids bunks... Made them all special camper pillow cases...

 I'll add some more camper pics as I take them.

Oh, and here is what we were waiting on.... I locked the keys in the van!   The guy just came and opened it up, so we are off to seem some caverns.

Have a great day,

Tiff

We are So Crazy...

Last night hubby and I had a long talk about our trip out west... the end result.... we aren't going.  Don't worry, we are still going on a much needed vacation though.  After much discussion, we decided we didn't want to spend 75% of our vacation driving in the car, we want to have time to relax and have fun. Also, the fuel alone to California and back would have cost us $3500, not leaving much fun money for us. While we still want to head out west one day, we are going to wait until Mason is a bit older.

So, where are we going you ask?  We are heading south...

First stop will be a day in Virginia(Shenandoah Valley area).  After that we are heading to Pigeon Forge, TN and Dollywood!!  After that, Ruby Falls, TN.

 A one night stay in Georgia and then we are headed to Florida!!
We aren't doing the touristy Disney thing.... we are doing the summer in the sun thing. Beaches, pools, and nature parks. Plus I get to see family and friends.  We are staying at a brand new rv resort and I can't wait to just relax and lounge by the pool.(oh, and have to catch some lizards for the kids, they have never seen any)

 On our way home we are going to stay in Charleston, SC for a day...do some history things.

Then we are headed to Schuyler, VA!!! Earl Hamner's home and the Walton museum(The Walton's is my favorite tv show).

 And our last stop will be at Mount Vernon. I have always wanted to go here.

So there you have it.  Ya, we are crazy like that and totally change a 3 week summer vacation 2 days before we leave on it :o

Anyone have any suggestions on neat things to do and see in these places?

Off to pack some more,

Tiff

Do We Cross Paths?...

We will be heading out on a cross country trip very soon and I was wondering if any of my blog friends want to meet up?  That is a very rough map of our journey, bing or mapquest wouldn't let me save the picture of our exact route, so I kind of fudged this one with a free map I found online.  Do you think you live anywhere near my lines and want to get together? Email me!!  It would just be for a quick stop and say "Hi" unless you happen to live by where we will camp(or have something fun to do in your area for the kids).  I've already emailed Sarah(Makin Projiks) and we will be visiting with her, so I would love to add you to the list.  Think of the fun blog posts we could make!

We are busy readying the camper, making last minute sewing projects, cleaning the house( for the couple we have house sitting, someone has to water the plants and take care of the kitties), and figuring out how we are going to do this long journey. We are excited, but I have to admit I'm a bit nervous...that is a lot of time in the car.

I hope to hear from you!

Tiff

Family Pictures

Since all my babies are home, I decided we needed family pictures.  We headed to the park at the top of our street and had my oldest daughter's boyfriend take some photos for us.

 I'm loving the "tintype" option on befunky.com  :)

 It's incredibly hard to get everyone to look and smile at the camera at the same time.

 
All the kiddos...

All my men....

Us girls...

Me and my love...

Later this afternoon hubby and I went on a date. We stopped at a local state park on the Saco River.  We decided to see what the water was like. It was perfect and hubby was wishing we had our swimsuits on.  I kept telling him to be careful because the rocks were slippery and he kept "almost falling".   Guess what?! About 5 minutes after this picture was taken, I FELL in  the water up to my waist!  Scraped my foot and hurt two fingers too.  Not a fun ride home soaking wet on the back of a motorcycle.  But all is fine. We went home, I changed, and then we headed out again for dinner. A memory to add to our list :)

Have a beautiful day,

Tiff

What I've Been Up To...

We are enjoying having our Marine home for two weeks and I'm dreading when he has to leave.

I've been trying to stay cool in the little heat wave we have been having, but I honestly don't mind the heat as much as I used too(one of the benefits of losing weight I guess).  My sewing machine has been humming with lots of clothing makeovers.  I've altered a number of skirts, made two skirts from a pair of shorts and a pair of pants, changed a few tops, made over a couple dresses, and I still have more to do.  Trying to make a new wardrobe before our vacation :)

 I'm also keeping up with my exercising.  I had to take a few days off from running because of shin splints, but I got on the treadmill today and ran 3.5 miles!!!Holy smokes!! I've never done that in my life.
The pounds are coming off slower now, 53 lbs gone, but I think my overall strength and health are improving.  I'm telling myself I'm in the " slow weight loss/ toning up " phase of things.  I don't think I mentioned it on here before, but I was a size 18/20 I'm now down to a solid 12 and I have a few 10s too!! I really want to be a solid size 8, hopefully by Christmas I will be there.

Have a great weekend everyone!!  It's a grilling night for us, yummy steaks!!! Can't wait.

Tiff

This was Me, last night....

I've been jogging every other day and yesterday was my 5th day of jogging. I jogged for 2 miles straight!! And this wasn't all on flat ground!  I can't believe I made it that far. I know that doesn't seem far to some of you, but that is a huge amount for me(someone who never played sports and hates to sweat). Plus, it was raining, but hubby, Becca, and my self are committed to losing weight and getting in shape, so we went out.

This is how I felt afterward :)

 I was hot and tired and soaking wet, but I feel good today.

Don't worry, Zoe is fine in these pictures, she just likes to sleep in the weirdest positions.

I took down my blog sale and I'm just going to head to the flea market next weekend.

Cameron is coming home from Arizona tonight!!! Yay!!! We pick him up at the airport at 11:30. I can't believe it's been six months since he left for training.

Have a great weekend,

Tif

My New House...

OK, so it's not new and it's a doll house, but it's still mine and I love it!!  I think I have mentioned before that strange phenomenon that happens to me where I just know I need to go to Goodwill ;)  Well, it happened again on Sunday.  So my youngest daughter and I went to town and this was the first thing I saw when I went into the store. I immediately grabbed it and put it in my cart before even looking at the price.  Then I looked at the price tag. I was kind of expecting a big number because their prices have been going up, especially on things they know are old or vintage. However.... I was very pleasantly surprised to see it priced at $9.99 !!!  WOO HOOO!!!  I did good right?  I really know nothing about these houses, other than what I have seen on line and blogs. I've never seen one in person. It's a Key Stone Boston house(that's what it says on the side) and from what I have gathered so far, it is from 1947 or 48.

It's far from perfect condition....missing the chimney, the windows, and the staircase. Plus some chips from the roof and the front door is a replacement. But hey, it's an old house and they always need some work, right?  I think I will fix this little beauty up and may have the beginning of a lovely new collection.

 I love all the detailed graphics...

See, the front door needs some help...

Now, my favorite part... let's take a look inside.

The kitchen.. look at that border.

The front entry...

The family room...love how the whole house is faux wall papered.

Even decor over the fireplace!

An upstairs bedroom...pretty blue.

Upstairs hallway, with doors.

An the other bedroom... a perfect little boy's room or maybe a bathroom.

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to put it. I don't want to hide it away, but I'm not sure where it will fit.  If you collect doll houses, where do you display them?
Oh, and I found 6 green depression glass sandwich plates too. I'm gathering a hodge podge collection of green glassware that we use on Christmas day. (also found some things for the camper that I will share later)

Have a great day,

Tiff
ps.  Anyone else noticing problems with blogger? It's taking forever for blogger to show a new post, like it isn't recognizing that I posted, even though it is there.

Berry Baskets

Thank you for all the weight loss love :)

This morning hubby and I went to the barn sale right over the hill(she is having it once a month) to see if she found the door to the little white cupboard I bought. She didn't find it, so I will just enjoy the cupboard as is, or maybe I will make a new door for it.

Anyway, I did find some berry baskets she had.  I got 32 of the little baby ones, 5 of the larger ones, and one square(to replace the one that got crushed in the set that goes with my wood basket carrier).  Some of them I will use for craft storage and maybe some I will dress up and sell. They all need a good scrubbing before I can bring them in the house.

 Here is my wood carrier. I used to have wool stored in it, but I have since gotten rid of all my wool so I need to find a new use for it and a new spot for it. It's not little, so finding where to put it isn't easy.

Have a lovely weekend,

Tiff

A Milestone Day...

This morning the scale revealed a huge milestone to me.... 50 lbs shed(not lost, because I don't ever want to find them) !!!

It motivated me to get up and try out my new sports bra this morning. So at 7:10 this morning(before it got too hot), my daughter and I hit the pavement. We made it 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood jogging, but we had to walk the steep hill(I'm not that in shape yet). I think that is the most I have ever jogged in my whole life!  I don't see myself becoming a runner, but I will try to keep up the jogging thing to reach my goal.

Oh, and Cameron called to wish his brother a Happy Birthday last night and said that he should be coming home for leave some time next week!!! Yay!!  And maybe a cross country road trip is in our near future(super excited to think about it).

Have a super fantastic day everyone!!

Tiff

Happy Birthday America and Noah!!!

Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Americans! I hope you had a moment to reflect on how blessed and fortunate we are to live in this great country.

Happy 10th Birthday to my sweet son, Noah!!  You are a very special little boy who has an amazing future ahead of you.  You are truly brilliant and can do math in your head like a calculator. You are also kind, compassionate, and thoughtful.  You make a great little brother and a terrific big brother.   You are loved by all us and we hope you had a marvelous day!!

(that's another ice cream sandwich cake there, my 3rd one so far, and everyone's new favorite birthday cake... thank you pinterest!.  And this time we had two layers of mint chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches with one layer of cookie dough ice cream sandwiches. And it was scrumptious!!)

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Tiff

Pinned It Made It !!

I didn't work on the half bath yesterday, instead I decided to make a pinterest inspired project.

Here is my version of the "places you've been" map art.  Mine consists of places hubby and I lived as children, where we were born, and where we have lived together. It also has places we have traveled to in the camper....

 Here is the pinterest inspired work...

 So you can see that I did mine a bit differently.  I think the one above just has the heart maps tacked down somehow on the paper backboard and then is framed.  I used an old kitchen cabinet cutting board that I picked up at a barn sale. I whitewashed the inside area, leaving the natural wood as a frame. Then I used watered down glue to adhere my map pieces to the wood and then gave it two coats of watered down glue over the whole thing.

 And of course you can see that I didn't use hearts. I used my own house template for the places we have lived and my own camper template for the places we have been with the camper...

 And because my craft supplies can be a bit disorganized, I didn't want to chance losing the templates, so I taped them to the back of the board.

 I left extra space for more camper travels, but I will have to figure out the house thing if we happen to move again.
For now it is just hanging in the bathroom, but I'm not sure where it will end up permanently.

It was a fairly quick project, the longest part was just waiting for the paint and glue to dry.

Have a productive day,

Tiff