Faux "Before and After"

So this really isn't a "before and after" as we didn't really DO anything other than move everything back into the kitchen! (And some random piles on the table..and the floor...) But it made a HUGE difference so I thought I'd share.

Before:

After:

Our beautiful china cabinet is so happy to no longer be a makeshift pantry!


I almost forgot there was a door there!!

Where I'm going and Where I've Been...

WARNING!! TEXT HEAVY POST!! Since most of the people that read this are still friends and family I ask that you all indulge this personal update!

For the past 4.5 years I've been working towards my Ph.D. in clinical child and pediatric psychology.

Micheal and I at my Masters graduation in December 2008.

My mom and grandma came for my graduation, it was very special.

I posted a little over a week ago that I successfully defended my dissertation and one of my readers (Hi Ann!) asked for a little blurb about what my research was on. So quick blurb:

Title: Maternal Depressive Symptoms and Health Outcomes in Young Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes: A Mediational Model.

Across research studies about 25% of mothers of children with type 1 diabetes report clinically elevated symptoms of depression (which is much higher than the general population.) My results showed that mothers that report high levels of depressive symptoms also report being less involved in their children's diabetes management. In turn, when mothers are less involved in diabetes care their children didn't check their blood sugar or use insulin as frequently and they ate less frequently.


This was a HUGE step in my education (duh) and is also very appealing to internship sites so the impact of being done has even bigger implications. Over the next month I'll be traveling to Maryland, Delaware, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas and Oklahoma for interviews. There is a chance that the F2F family will be split up for a year but we're hoping against hope that this won't happen! Thank you all for your support and I'll keep you updated!

Weekend (Life) Update and WWL 12.19.10

I guess it really doesn't count as a "weekend update" if it spans about 10 days, but I figure when you've got something that works just roll with it. :)

Turns out we're kind of in a rut when it comes to home stuff - my life was consumed with dissertation and internship applications for so long that now that those are over I can't seem to get myself rolling again in the DIY world. So I'm coming back to the blog to try and remotivate myself! (I feel a New Year's Resolution coming on...)

We have decided to "finish" the kitchen to a usable stopping point leaving the tile backsplash and new tile floor for the spring when we've recovered financially from my internship travels in January. We actually only have a few things left to reach that goal!!

1. Window and pantry trim
2. 4 cabinet doors and 1 drawer
3. Pantry door
4. Paint touchup

HOLY CRAP!! I honestly can't believe the list is now that small - remember this list??!

I KNOW you all want some pictures so I'll share a cute/quick little redo I did of a vintage kitchen stool we bought. We got this at the Arlington Flea Market over the summer for a whopping $8!


Loving the beige vinyl?? Kali was...



A quick switch out of the fabric and this updated step stool/chair is a perfect addition to our MCM decor!





I looove it. :)

Last but not least - What We Have Learned (recently):

1. Cats somehow magically know the difference between the cat carrier when it's just sitting out and when it's going to the vet. Try to put Indi in the cat carrier on vet day? Watch out for devil kitty!! Leave them in the living room? They fight over who gets to sleep in them...
   
2. People in DC STILL panic over 1-2 inches of snow even after Snowmaggedon and Snowpacolypse last year.
   
3. Constantly refreshing Gmail doesn't make internship interview emails (or rejections for that matter) come any faster.
   
4. Toys R Us is well prepared for the shopping madness that is the last Sunday before Christmas: 10 checkout lines running, in and out in 2 minutes. World Market is NOT, line halfway through the store. I got a lot of shopping done while Micheal was waiting in line. :)
   
5. Buy a pashmina and/or a cheap fondue pot for your next "Dirty Santa" gift exchange.
   
6. Puppy chows is kinda like snack crack.
   
7. It's silly to buy two rolls of Christmas wrapping paper (no matter how cool it is) if you're buying and shipping all your gifts online.
   
8. I'm awesome at charades!!

What a week!!

So many things going on right now!! Just a few things that happened this week:

KU beat Memphis (again) - WOO HOO!

My fantasy football team somehow squeaked into the playoffs with our win last weekend - Go Maryland Modsquad!!

I successfully defended my dissertation!!!!!!!!!!

Here I am rockin' out a slide during my practice talk about bootstrap confidence intervals and sporting the signature Dr Pepper. (Micheal needs to work on his photog skillz...)


Celebrating with a few of my girls afterwards!


AND we tore out the old counters and sink and installed NEW BEAUTIFUL ONES!!

Here's a sneak peek!



GOODBYE UGLY LAMINATE!!!!

Pantry Party!

I'm almost ashamed to share these before and after pictures with you, simply because it means I have to admit I actually stored FOOD in this pantry before I made it pretty. (Hangs head in shame...)

It's clean and happy now!! It's AMAZING what a coat of paint can do!

Dirty ashamed pantry:



Ick...


Double Ick!

New happy pantry!

I need to work on straightening my camera shots!





I am SO happy with the bright clean look! The wall paint is "Celery Sticks" by Behr and the shelf paint is the same as our cabinet paint, Glidden's Swiss Mocha color matched with Behr Premium paint.

Micheal also caulked in the corners to make the shelves solid and so no crummies can fall down in the cracks! We've got the trim ready to cut and paint and the famous door is being given new life.

If you're still receiving my blog entries, thanks for hanging in with me during the off and on posting! My dissertation defense is scheduled for Wednesday which is a HUGE life moment for me. Maybe after that I'll have some free time. That is..until I start internship. ;)