I'm Speechless.

wow

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Christmas presents for Grandparents

While at the Goodwill today (browsing for more frames) I noticed some very nice photo albums. Hmm, Grandparents like pictures of the grandkids right? Just how expensive are these albums? 50 CENTS!?

Score!

Now how to fill them? I know Walgreens has deals on 4x6 photos from time to time. Usually, 10 cents each. I think I could swing that. It looks like the grandparents will be getting more pictures of the grandkids this year. Won't that make them so happy?

The coffee table said what!?

Well let me just go deal with that!

Ok I'm back and I think the coffee table took the worst of it. Ok, ok. I'm not punishing the family coffee table. I'm merely bringing it new life. Follow along with my sporadic posts as I refinish this wonderful piece of history. Well it should be history. At least if you consider a hand me down from your mother in law a piece of history.

Step one: Sanding off the old finish.
We'll call this step half done.

The annual Halloween creation!

Last year, a pumpkin. This year, a Fall Fairy! Ok so I like the whole orange, green, brown color scheme. So sue me. I'll post more pictures when it is finished but for now I have most of the skirt finished and I need to start on the head band and wings.

My "new" old picture frames

I have some old picture frames that just don't match. You know the kind, every shape, size, material, and color ever thought of. Some how my taste has changed over the years and I decided to buy new frames while never throwing out the old ones.

I finally got fed up with my frame fetish and decided to fix the problem only to discover a new and much larger problem.

I'm broke.

So what to do? What to do? Hmm... Don't I still have a can of spray paint around here somewhere? I do. I do! Hooray!

I am now the proud owner of 7 "new" black frames. All it took was a little bit of time and effort. No my frames don't all match in size or shape but they are all the same color. It gives it a kind of eclectic feel without being overwhelming. Since the color scheme in my living room is pewter and black this worked out pretty well for me.

Tips for decorating on a tight budget:

• Look around. You may have something you can use. The picture frames and spray paint I already had.
• Check resale, yard sales, and charity stores. Since I'm painting all the picture frames the same color and don't care if bevels or sizes match I could get any frame I want.
• Redefine your limitations. For the longest time I wanted frames from only one collection. One shape, one size, one bevel. I'm much happier with reusing my old frames and actually being able to display my pictures than having to wait and save up to buy the new frames at $8 a pop.

My next project will be a DVD stand that currently has a wooden finish. It will soon be black to match the rest of the living room!

Stay green,
Yasha

Let's talk Safety!

The American Academy of Pediatrics has now changed their guidelines on rear facing car seats. They have rewritten the guidelines for clarity. They also encourage everyone to follow the new guidelines as they are deemed more safe for children.

Remember the AAP is not trying to take over your car, impinge on your rights, or interfere with your parenting style. They publish the results of all research in an effort to inform parents. They are only trying to provide important information on how to help keep your child safe.

The report states, "The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday. [...]

New research has found children are safer in rear-facing car seats. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.

'The ‘age 2’ recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition,” Dr. Durbin said. “Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age.'" (American Academy of Pediatrics).

In a NY Times article written recently about this new policy it provides a quote from a Pediatrician at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital in New York, “It’s a horrible term,” she said, “but E.M.T.’s call the rear-facing seat ‘the orphan seat’ because in a bad car accident, that child is often the only one who survives,” (New York Times).

Many car seat manufacturers, until recently, did not make car seats that allowed children to be rear faced upwards of 20 lbs. With these new recommendations those same manufacturers are now providing alternate choices to consumers concerned with the safety of their children. Many companies offer car seats that can fit children up to 40 lbs in a rear facing position.

American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP News Room. 11 March 2011. 10 July 2011 .

New York Times. NYtimes.com. 22 March 2011. 10 June 2011 .

Where have I been?

Oh here and there. Went into early labor and now on bed rest. I don't get around much so I may not get a chance to update often!