Key to Consistency

I am consistently inconsistent.  Over and over again I tell myself that I want to try something new but then I never stick with it!! For example, I wanted to start blogging once a week, well I post 2 posts and then not another one in sight for  for months. Then I wanted to stop eating carbs..well we all know how that turned out (that one is truly laughable). It doesn't help that I am married to the King of consistency and routine. Travis works out every day and eats almost the same dinner every night- some people find that refreshing, all I can say is booorrriiinnnggg. I never do the same thing every morning or every night. I rarely put something in the same spot every day, which is probably why I am always searching for my keys, purse, credit card, and phone. I just lack the need/ motivation/whatever it is for routine and consistency. So I started doing some research on things that can help keep you consistent and on a routine. I really do want to start having a routine so here are a few tips I found to help me do that:

1) Make short term goals: Don't say- for the next year I am going to workout everyday. Nope, that will never happen. Instead, say- for the next month I am going to workout 4-5 days a week. As you get into the groove then you can add more demands such as, I will try a new exercise once a week or I will run X amount of miles or I will start eating more spinach.

2) It takes 3-6 weeks to form a new habit: So don't be so hard on yourself if you still want to sleep in instead of working out- it will become a routine eventually. Just keep going and trying! Don't give up!

3) Reward yourself:  Tell yourself that if you eat X, or stop biting your nails, or stop watching so much tv for X amount of time then you get to buy that new movie, shirt, jewelry, etc. that you have been wanting to get for a while. There needs to be something fun to look forward to and you deserve it!!

4) Forgive yourself: Stop comparing yourself to others. Who cares if Sally B workouts 7 days a week for 2 hours each days and has the same smoothie for breakfast everyday. It is great if it motivates you but don't let other people make you feel bad about yourself. It is OK if we mess up. Don't dwell on it just move on and do better tomorrow.  Everyone is different and some people (like me) just have to work harder at being consistent. Acknowledge that and adjust accordingly.

5) Write your goals down: It is much harder to give up something if you make in concrete. Once you write it down put it in a place where you see it or set daily alarms. I have an alarm that goes off everyday and asks if I have worked out today. But it can be one for "have you read your bible today?" or "have you prayed today?" or "have you drank enough water?" I like having it in the form of questions because then you have to answer it.

I am going to try all these things but please add some more tips!! I'd love to see other suggestions!

The Key to Painting Kitchen Cabinets

Women everywhere have been bitten with the pinterest bug.  Some have just been barely affected by it or some, like me, were attacked by it and are now in severe need of an antidote. At first, I was in awe of pinterest and the fact that it was a treasure chest of crafty and unique people who could do anything! I desperately want (wanted) to be crafty and thrifty! I yearned to be able to turn a yard sale dresser into a Pottery Barn replica in two hours with just a paint brush and some leftover paint. So with this goal of becoming the next great thrifty pinterest superwoman, I came across a pin on pinterest about a kitchen that had been completely reformed by painting the cabinets and I decide that this is what our kitchen needs, just a little paint!  Mind you, Travis and I moved into this house about a year ago and at that time we asked the landlord if we could paint the horrible dark wood cabinets in the kitchen. He agreed but we just never got around to doing it. Between studying for the bar, moving to Moultrie, and planning our wedding we didn't have time but now that the wedding is over we finally had some time! And isn't married life just a ton of Home Depot trips anyway (plus we had some wedding gift cards that needed to be spent)? So after some begging and pleading, I finally got Travis to agree to paint the cabinets! We made our trips to Lowes (and then our 2nd and 3rd trip) and 2 weekends later and about 100.00 poorer we were finally done! We were really in over our heads with this project and it ended up taking a lot more time and money than we thought but we are happy with the outcome! Below is our adventures in pictures!

 BEFORE PICTURE

After some diligent research, we realized that we needed to sand each cabinet door first. So we go about removing all the contents of the cabinets and taking off the doors. Note: make sure to never paint and sand at the same time. You need to make sure all sanding is done before painting or there will be wood particles in the paint. Once you get done sanding before painting, make sure to wipe everything down really well.

Here is Travis sanding, without a shirt of course

2) Once all the sanding was complete, we painted everything with an oil based primer and once the primer was dry we painted on a paint and primer in one in a semi gloss finish. I can't remember the color right now but we went with a bright white.  After several trips to Lowes and Home Depot we finally learned that a small roller worked so much quicker and easier when painting the cabinets. Make sure to have plenty of paint thinner or mineral spirits on hand because that oil based primer is a beast. Basically plan on buying twice as many rollers as you think necessary.

Notice that the counters are darker too, we stained the counter with a oil based stain. Just a small jar was plenty. We choose the stain with the polyurethane already mixed in and used a brush to apply it. We had a little trouble with the stain accepting in some spots so I would suggest thoroughly sanding any counters that you are planning on staining.  

3) We painted 3 coats on all the doors and once it was all  dry we reattached the doors and drawers.

4) Two weekends later we repeated the above process on the top cabinets and finally the kitchen was
 finished!!

Ending Note: The kitchen still needs some work. We (I) would like a back splash and to paint the vent the same white color as the cabinets but for right now we are satisfied with the outcome. Project 1 as a married couple, check!

AFTER 

 (Please ignore the items on the counter...Travis clearly did not care that this picture was for my blog...geez..... husbands)