Picture update

I will be uploading pictures this evening hopefully. I am at work right now though. Pray for me yall. I have not been having the best week. The weekend was great but this week is an all time low. Like depression low. I might have to go play some League of Legends and rape ppls faces.... Lol. Well that is all for now. Lunch time is about over.

Not enough Time in the Day!

Hey all,
 Sorry I have not had the chance to post this week. There is so much going on!!!! I have have four big things to do this weekend. I am face painting saturday morning. I am going to gencon Saturday afternoon. Mr. Cox is playing at Cliff's Saturday night. Then Sunday morning is Church and after church, I am going to a Cincinnati Red's game. I am super excited, but super busy. I have to finish my flyer for the face painting. I have to finish my costume for  GenCon. I have to get on designing a new tshirt logo for Mr. Cox. Then for Sunday, I have to get my shirt that i am making done. There is not enough time in the day. Plus do all my motherly and wifely duties. I think i am going to crash and burn hard this weekend. Oh, and did i forget to mention that I have a doctors appt next week!   Anyways, I better run. Lots to do! I will post pictures soon!

Movies to Watch..

The Matador

Pierce Brosnan plays an assassin going through a mid-life crisis as he approached retirement. He’s like 007 on a spree of existential questioning. Very funny.

The Good, The Bad, And the Weird

Two comical outlaws and a bounty hunter fight for a treasure map in 1940s Manchuria while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits. This movie puts a crazy asian spin on the classic western theme. Extremely entertaining.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

A group of college students go camping for the weekend and, through a series of unlucky events, begin thinking that the harmless Tucker & Dale (pictured above) are trying to kill them. Tucker and Dale in turn think the kids are carrying out a group suicide pact. Hilarity ensues.

Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang

KKBB is a murder-comedy (?) with the epic cast of Val Kilmer as a private-eye and Robert Downey Jr. as thief pretending to be an actor to seduce the beautiful Michelle Monaghan, who is actually an actress.

Big Trouble

Big Trouble is one of those movies where all of these different people end up intertwined at the end of the movie. It’s has Tim Allen, ‘Puddy’ from Seinfeld, and it’s freaking funny. Enough said.

Once Upon A Time In The West

This is the most EPIC western film of all time. Even if westerns aren’t your cup of tea, give this one a chance. A master gunslinger returns to town to take revenge on a foe from his past. He makes Chuck Norris look like a total pussy.

Persepolis

A fascinating and truly unique animated film about a girl growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The story follows the girl as she grows up and struggles with her identity as a woman and an Iranian in a modern world.

13 Assassins

Where Once Upon A Time in the West defined ‘epic’ in the western category, 13 Assassins defines it in the martial arts category. As you could have guessed, 13 elite assassins ban together to take out an evil war lord. The final scene is a massive fight within a city the assassins have rigged with booby traps. Can I say epic again?

El Secreto De Sus Ojos

An aging detective takes on an old murder case that was never solved.

The Terminal

Tom Hanks stars as a foreigner from a war-torn country who is forced to live in a U.S. airport terminal until he is granted a green card. Having no money, Hanks comes up with a number of interesting ways to stay fed and comfortable during his stay.

Attack the Block

Aliens are attacking the UK. It’s up to a team of teenage hooligans to fend them off while angry drug dealers and police fail to see the invasion coming. This movie is very similar to ‘Sean of the Dead’ with it’s unique combo of comedy and gore.

Dr. Strangelove (Or How I Stopped Worrying And Learned to Love the Bomb)

The great Stanley Kubrick directs a story about a crazed American general who launches a nuclear missile at Russia during the Cold War and told the bomb squadron to ignore any commands to turn back. Meanwhile the American government races to find a way to fix the situation and prevent global nuclear war.

Downfall

Downfall chronicles the last few weeks of Hitler’s reign before the end of WWII. His highest ranking officers struggle between blind allegiance and fear as Hitler remains in denial of the impending defeat. Extremely interesting.

Tropic Thunder

A troupe of movie actors are dropped into a war zone that they think is all planned for the movie they’re shooting. Best two parts of the film: Robert Downey Jr. is a method-actor taking on the part of a black man & Tom Cruise shows up unexpectedly. I won’t say anymore…

The Fall

A hospitalized man unfolds a story to a young girl, battling his own demons within the story as he goes. Think Princess Bride, but a whole lot more colorful.

The Invention of Lying

Ricky Gervais lives in a world where no one lies, or even considers lying possible. One day he suddenly realized that he can. Everyone else believes literally everything he says, including that a woman must sleep with him immediately or the world will end. His fibbing is slippery slope that leads Ricky to be the only man on earth who knows what happens when you die

Drive

Ryan Gosling is a badass getaway driver (think Transporter) who finds himself falling in love with the married girl next store. He finds himself in trouble when he tries to help her out by driving her husband to a robbery. Amazing soundtrack with a very unique feel overall.

There Will Be Blood

Based on Upton Sinclair’s Oil!, There Will Be Blood tells the story of a small oil tycoon (Daniel Day-Lewis) fights his way to the top of the industry in gold rush era California. The soundtrack, cinematography & dialogue are flat-out AMAZING. I almost didn’t include this one because it’s a well-known academy award winner (Best Actor & Best Cinematography), but it’s too good to not mention.

Brick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt pushes his way through the underbelly of his high school to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend. All of the classic elements of a noir are cleverly translated to the high-school movie format. Is Levitt ever in a bad movie? Think about it…

Man On The Moon

Jim Carrey gives his most transformative and most-overlooked performance as the ‘eccentric avant-garde comedian’, Andy Kaufman. He may look like Ace Ventura in this picture, but I assure you Carrey makes this movie a must-see without any of his usual immature humor.

City Island

A dysfunctional family comes together when they take a troubled youth into their home who disturbs their delicate web of inter-familial lies, including a son with a fetish for watching large women eat and a father with the secret dream of playing a gangster on-screen.

Romeo + Juliet

Check out this artsy, modern adaptation of the classic love story. The lines are still in Old English but this film does a wonderful job of visually translating Shakespeare’s cryptic diction while keeping you entertained.

Artfully Frugal (Fabric Softener)

Recipe:

• 6 cups HOT water
• 3 cups white vinegar
• 2 cups Suave Conditioner {or other favorite scent-I found it for $1}

Directions:

•  Measure out conditioner.

• Whisk together hot water and conditioner.  Make sure the conditioner is mixed completely with the water- no clumps.

• Add Vinegar and mix well (this is the actual softener- the conditioner I think it just for scent.  Vinegar also helps with static sling).
• Use 2 tbsp in a Downy ball or in the softener dispenser in your machine, diluted with water (basically use it like it's store bought)

Get a cute bottle ( i would prefer one with some sort of top/lid ) and pour like normal

This could totally save money and change the atmosphere of my laundry room by getting rid of those ugly containers. 

1st Day of Preschool

Time has arrived! My son is starting preschool on Monday.  I know that every parent says "i cant believe he is going to school already" but i am going to be cliche and say it anyway. I cant believe he is going to school already!!!!  He is so smart already. We have some tough decisions to make once he passes preschool, but for now i just want him to have some fun while getting a head start on his education! Here are some of his school clothes. He tried them all on and had a fashion show.... (don't tell daddy, lol)   Enjoy!

 My Little All Star, soon to be All American!

 Musical Genius

 My  little Mr. Crabs... lol

 Mickey Mouse tractor pull

 Rock and Roll

 Spiderman..  Quote of the day by Matt  "Mommy, spiderman climbs on walls, why can't I?"  This was after i told him to stop climbing the walls. lol

 More Spiderman

 Batman. We have to support the Dark Knight rises!

And last but not least!!!! Hot rod mechanic! Daddy would be so proud!

The Good and the Bad

Hey all,
Well,  yesterday  i had a horrible day! I mean horrible. Everything went wrong all at once. It made me in a horrible mood. I didn't try real hard to fight my frustrations either. But you can only take so much. When i hit my limit, i hit it hard. it does not happen very very often, granted: but i know i was not a very nice person to be around yesterday. Well anywaz. you get the idea. Today was much better. Things at work went great, other than we were slammed and my hubby stayed home today to rest and ended up doing a lot around the house, which i appreciate greatly.  Then a great new friend of mine and I got together for dinner. We had a lot of fun. Then her, her husband, me and Ant all went and practiced my song for Sunday. I actually feel better about singing this song than normal. for one i have people who are going to be up there with me, for two: i can hit the range of this song well. and three: its a upbeat song that i love.  How can things go from bad to good so quickly and unexpectedly.  What do you do to relieve stress and tension. 

Lauren

CMA At Church

August 5th the Christian Motorcycle Association  will be having a drive in a Columbus Baptist. Well, guess who is lucky enough to have to sing in front of a ton of big burly leather wearing men. lol. Me.. Pray for me. I found a song that keeps coming to my mind, so i decided to trust to God and let him pick the song. In the Light by DC Talk. I have an awesome couple at church who are going to sing and play with me, Including my hubby, if i can get him to play. I will have a hard time convincing him. He is so talented but he has a hard time being in front of people. Especially church family. Pray for him to use his God given ability.  I hope that all will go well. I have a hard time getting in front of people too, surprisingly. I am going to try to just close my eyes. lol.  Here is a link for you all. Enjoy DC Talk who were so ahead of their time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWq1XYxtlRs&feature=related

Loft bed for Matt!!!!!

Camp Loft Bed with Stair, Junior Height

Submitted by Ana White on Wed, 2012-07-18 16:30

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About Project

Loft bed plans with stairs. Junior height loft bed plans free from Ana-White.com

Author Notes: 

Before we get to a plan, I simply must warn you.
Do not build this bed if you want any of the following to happen:

Your kids to play independently in their room for hours and hours and hours ...  if you build this bed, you will see your kids 30-40% less ...

Do NOT build this bed if you want your kids to take a nap, all by themselves ... It's like a protected nest up there, with rails on all sides, and easy access with stairs.  They just climb up there and go to sleep.  No snuggling required.

If you build this bed, you will miss out on lots of smiles and laughter and pretend play.  And when you come try to join in, they will start giggling and say, Mom!  Leave us alone, we're playing horses!  Or store or house or pretending the stair platform is a stage.

The only reason I built this bed was because the room is so tiny (8x8 with small closet) it was very difficult for the kids to play, and then put their things away in a space the size of a short hallway.  We'd done a loft bed years ago, but the loft bed was only accessible by children, and there was no where for guests to sleep in our house.

So we needed a loft bed WITH STAIRS that is sturdy and easy to access in a TINY room.  With the window right there, I just didn't know how to make it work.  And then one day, I realized that the stairs do NOT need to go all the way up to the bed.  They only need to go up about 18" to 24" (normal height of kids mattress above floor) below the mattress.

The window was previously the obstacle in the way of building stairs.  Now it's entertainment for the kids as they watch the chickens run around the back yard.

Under the bed, no storage is lost.  I've been debating adding some custom sized rolling toy bins but the giant canvas bag is doing fine holding pillows, blankets and stuffed animals.

It is no exaggeration to say they play in their ALL DAY.  I'm considering making a felt curtain for the front too ...

The best part about this bed is how easy and inexpensive it is to make.  That's all 2x4s and 2x6s bringing the total cost of lumber up to about $50!!!
I am so excited about building this for Matt. I think i will do it this weekend so he will have a surprise when he comes back from Ohio with mamaw and papaw.

Dimensions

Dimensions: 

Dimensions: 

Dimensions shown above. Fits twin.

Materials and Tools

Shopping List: 

14 – 2x4 @ 8 feet long
4 – 2x6 @ 8 feet long
2 – 2x2 @ 8 feet long
1 – 1x2 @ 8 feet long
2 ½” PH screws

Tools: 

measuring tape

square

pencil

safety glasses

hearing protection

Kreg Jig™

drill

circular saw

sander

countersink drill bit

Cut List

Cut List: 

4 – 2x4 @ 65 ½”
2 – 2x6 @ 37 ½”
4 – 2x4 @ 37 ½”
4 – 2x4 @ 75”
2 – 2x6 @ 75”
2 – 2x2 @ 75”
2 – 2x4 @ 30 ½”
2 – 2x4 @ 37 ½”
1 – 2x4 @ 41 ½”
2 – 2x4 @ 20 ½”
12 – 2x4 @ 22”
2 – 2x6 @ 43” (both ends cut 45 degrees off square, ends NOT parallel) – to be trimmed down in later steps
6 – 1x2 @ 7 ¾” (both ends cut at 45 degrees off square
6 – 2x4 @ 20 ½”

General Instructions

Please read through the entire plan and all comments before beginning this project. It is also advisable to review the Getting Started Section. Take all necessary precautions to build safely and smartly. Work on a clean level surface, free of imperfections or debris. Always use straight boards. Check for square after each step. Always predrill holes before attaching with screws. Use glue with finish nails for a stronger hold. Wipe excess glue off bare wood for stained projects, as dried glue will not take stain. Be safe, have fun, and ask for help if you need it. Good luck!

Step 1

Build the ladder end as shown in diagram with 1 1/2" PHs and 2 1/2" PH screws. Use glue to fasten - these joints are permanent.
If you are building this loft bed without the stair platform, add 2x4s all the way down to make a "ladder" for the kids to climb up.

Step 2

Build front end of loft bed same as ladder end.

Step 3

Now here's where we skip the glue. To make this loft bed easy to disassemble, I did not use glue here. The inside width for the mattress area should be 39", insetting the side rails 1 1/4" from outsides. I did this so your PH screws have lots of board to grab into.
This bed has NOT been weight tested or guaranteed. If you feel you need extra support - add metal brackets under the 2x6s.
An alternative method is to attach metal bed brackets directly to the ends if you have those.
Notice the cleat is added in this step to. I used 2 1/2" screws and glue to attach, screws every 6-8" all the way down.
This bed is designed to work with a bunkie board, but we just used 2x6s cut to length as the bed slats.

Step 4

Now we'll start building the stair platform for the loft bed with stairs.

Step 5

Build the floor framing section and attach to the floor legs. I recommend 1 1/2" PHs and 2 1/2" PH screws and glue here.

Step 6

And then the decking is placed on top of the stair platform.

Step 7

The stairs are easy to build - just 45 degree angles! We went ahead and drilled 1 1/2" PHs along top edge of the stairs to connect the stairs to the bed later on.

Step 8

Then we added the stair treads. We also drilled 1 1/2" PHs along ends of the stair treads and attached with 2 1/2" PH screws just for extra strength. Everything gets glued.

Step 9

The bed was finished outside and then assembled in the room.
TIP: We haven't found our bed needs it, but for extra support, you could add another 2x4 @ 75" (at $2 a 2x4, cheap insurance) to the base of the bed to further support the bottoms.

Finishing Instructions

Preparation Instructions: 

Fill all holes with wood filler and let dry. Apply additional coats of wood filler as needed. When wood filler is completely dry, sand the project in the direction of the wood grain with 120 grit sandpaper. Vacuum sanded project to remove sanding residue. Remove all sanding residue on work surfaces as well. Wipe project clean with damp cloth. It is always recommended to apply a test coat on a hidden area or scrap piece to ensure color evenness and adhesion. Use primer or wood conditioner as needed.