I mentioned, of course, that I wanted to make some changes around here, and so I have. This fresh theme is brought to you by the fantastic designers and programmers at WordPress. If you like it, head on over to their visualizer and customize the Superhero Theme for yourself.
There have been a lot of other changes going on in my personal life, too. For example, I recently took an extended leave of absence from my gaming guild. Some of it was guild drama and guild members clashing with my personality, and a lot of it was just realizing that I can’t have it all–I can’t be a full time gamer, and a full time employee, nurturing wife, accomplished artist, consistent blogger, and still manage to cook, clean and get a full 8+ hours of sleep every night. It’s just not happening. So, I nixed gaming.
I joined a new guild, called NerdFitness. I am on the verge of completing my first 6-week challenge over there, and I’ve been exploring the possibilities of going paleo. I am not 100% there yet, but I’ve noticed that on days that I avoid bread and other refined carbs, I feel a lot better than when I eat traditional American meals. I’m more alert, more energized… I’ve got fewer cravings and I’m better able to stay focused on my goals.
As if that weren’t enough change for one blog post, I also got a new job that has been keeping me busy (but you already knew about that). Tonight, I also finished up a large project that has been taking up a ton of my time… I finally finished “remodeling” our kitchen.
It started last year, just with the counter tops. The yellow was so dated and ugly that I needed to do something about it right away. The rest of the make-over took longer to formulate and execute. I was just dealing with the drab brown cupboards until we could renew our lease–the management staff had dangled a juicy carrot in front of our noses with the implication that we might be able to get new cupboards at our renewal. Well, the upgrade was declined, and my request to *paint* the cabinets was shot down.
We are not planning on moving any time within the next year, and this bathroom-themed (red, brown, and yellow–seriously?) kitchen was getting me down. Not to be deterred, I collected points at work and turned them in for a Lowe’s Gift Card. I spent $50 on brushed nickel pulls, then bought a 18″x75′ roll of Contact Paper from Amazon. My total out of pocket expense was just over $14.
I have spent weeks measuring and cutting contact paper to be just-so. I had to wash each surface and then apply the contact paper carefully to avoid air bubbles. I disassembled cupboards (with the help of my own Super Hero, Jeffrah), and made sure that this wasn’t a job that would look tacky on completion.
Now that it’s done… my kitchen is beautiful. It’s bright and clean and inviting–the red walls pop and no one could be reminded of a bathroom or of McDonalds or whatever red + yellow + brown brings to mind.
MegsFitness 