Kitchen Design

Our new (new to us) custom kitchen cabinet are all in and Papa Bear purchased our cast iron kitchen sink and faucet. I am excited to have this large sink.



I have always loved the look of white cabinets with a white tile backsplash. But our cabinets are a beautiful cherry wood and so I had to do a little research on what look color counter tops to go with these cabinets. We will have oak wood floors put in to match our existing oak floors in the rest of the house. So that is a lot of wood and darkness especially considering that the kitchen doesn't have a lot of natural light; we only have one big garden window. So I thought that light colored granite counter tops would brighten up the kitchen and would go nicely with our cast iron sink.

I haven't found a picture of a kitchen that clearly depicts how I picture it in my head. This kitchen is fairly close. It has light colored counter tops and simple white tile backsplash, which is along the lines of what I am going for. Plus the island is white cabinets, which we have a cabinet that joins the kitchen and dining room that will also be white. This picture shows me that all those parts can go together.



I shared my thoughts with Papa Bear and while he like the idea of light granite to brighten up the darker woods, he wasn't too thrilled about the white tile backsplash. He had installed some under the cabinet lighting and he wanted a backsplash that would pick up the light and be a little more exciting. He wanted something a little more special.

He suggested glass tile. I wasn't quite sure about the glass tile backsplash, the glass tile I had seen are usually small and look like mosaics. While beautiful, it just wasn't my style nor was it the classic look that I was going for. Then he found this white glass tile backsplash (the white tiles beneath the cabinets in the picture below).



It is a white glass tile that is larger in size than the smaller tiles you usually see with glass tile. I love it. It brings a modern touch to a classic traditional white tile backsplash. Plus, the under the cabinet lighting will really make these tile pop and bring a little specialness to the whole design. Those are the ideas for now, as we go things may change as a I am sure they will. Papa Bear ordered some samples of the glass tile and soon we will go pick out granite. I may totally fall in love with something else as time goes by.

Home remodel back on track!

For three years, we have been living in the back apartment while the front house was undergoing a remodel. We put the remodel on hold when the recession started and Papa Bear's business slowed down. Then I got pregnant and we once again started on the remodel. But Papa Bear's work starting to pick up again and when there is work, Papa Bear has to work. We had hoped to be in the house by the time Baby Bear was born, but that did not happen since Papa Bear was pretty busy with work. It was a good thing that Papa Bear was busy because that meant income, which is important when you have a baby.

Now Baby Bear is a one year old and walking! Papa Bear is really motivated to get us in the front house and has told me that we will be there by Labor Day. Papa Bear has been working really hard the last few weeks and has taken some time off to devote to our home remodel (usually he is working on other people's homes, so our home usually falls down on the priority list).

Our house was built in 1913 and Papa Bear has had the electrical work redone in our garage, had the exterior paint touched up and finished, had the rock work on our chimney and porch fixed, and had our hardwood oak floors patched up. Papa Bear has made a lot of progress on our kitchen. Initially, we did not plan to replace our cabinets since that was out of our budget. So we were going to live with the old cabinets for the time being. But Papa Bear was able to get us some beautiful custom built cherry wood cabinets for our kitchen for almost free! A client was tearing out these beautiful kitchen cabinets and replacing them. Papa Bear offered to demolition the kitchen for free and in doing so was able to take the kitchen cabinets. So we got custom cabinets for the cost of labor to have some of his workers remove the cabinets. Papa Bear measured out all the cabinets and got out his trusty pencil, graph paper, and ruler to design a kitchen that would work with the cabinets and he did a wonderful job! It was almost as if those cabinets were custom made for our kitchen.

Over the weekend, Papa Bear demolished our existing kitchen cabinets with the help of his father and he installed the cabinets. The other day he purchased our new stainless steel LG kitchen appliances:




Aren't they beautiful. They go very nicely with the dishwasher that we got from the Ellen Show last year (which Papa Bear designed the cabinets around). I am so excited to have a beautiful kitchen. I can't wait to use them.

There is still much for Papa Bear to do: granite counter tops and tile backsplash, our bathroom, refinishing the hardwood floors, paint, etc. We are well underway. I will post some kitchen in progress pictures soon. I am so lucky to have such a talented husband.

Ran fo the Red!

I completed my 10K yesterday. My legs are a little sore today. I ran the 10K in 1:12 and I feel really good about that time. My goal was to do it in under 1:20 and I was hoping for 1:15, so I made it well within my goal. It is the first 10K I have done since Baby Bear was born and the last one I did was 4 days after finding out I was pregnant and I did that in 1:11. So I didn't do too bad.

It was a great run through the Claremont Colleges. Fortunately, I know the terrain well. No crazy hills, just a nice scenic run through the colleges. It was the first annual Run for the Red and for the first time putting on the event, it was organized very nicely and had a nice turn out. I think I will do this one again. It is close to home and it is at work. I run this area every week, so no real surprises. Just a fun run.

A few friends ran as well and did really well. For my friend, Aileen, it was her first 10K and she did a wonderful job. We had been training on the weekends and she does better and better every week as we add distance. I am very proud of her! What an accomplishment.

Despite being a little sore (I didn't really stretch after the run, which was a mistake), I feel great. It was nice to have Baby Bear and Papa Bear at the finish line cheering me on. I am ready for the next one!

10 years ago I met a boy

Ten years ago today I met a boy at Cinco de Mayo party. Seven years later on Cinco de Mayo I married that boy. After 3 years of marriage and a decade as a couple, we are still smiling and loving each other. Happy Anniversary my love!

Photo by Amy Squires

Time for myself

I need to remember to take the time for myself. I get so consumed with being a mom, wife, and employee, that I often forget to take time to just be me. I have carved out time to workout and go for runs, so that has been a start. But nothing more than that. Until today; I had a pedicure. The first professional pedicure that I have had in 10 months!! My last one was the day I went into labor. A professional pedicure is just so much better than painting your own toes.

I am so fortunate to have such a wonderful husband. He took Baby Bear for the morning. I went of a jog/walk with a friend, took a nice long, hot shower (it is nice not to rush through a shower), and got a pedicure. I also had time to vacuum and start a load of laundry without a baby yelling at me for my attention (I couldn't help it I had to get some chores done).

I love my Baby Bear, but sometimes I just need some time to myself to relax and unwind. Sometimes I need a little time without Baby Bear to pick up around the house. Baby Bear can be very clingy and demanding of my time. I want to spend as much time as possible with her, but a little time away helps me to be a better mommy. A person can feel a little trapped by having someone so dependent on you. And I was beginning to feel that way. I was beginning to feel like I had to run away. I do get time away when I go to work during the week, but I am work working. I needed time to just be by myself and relax.

To top of the day, Mr. Bear and I had a date night. We went to dinner, just the two of us. I had the chance to eat dinner without rushing through dinner. I even ordered a mai tai with my dinner. I only drank half of it, when I realized that I was feeling a buzz. Wow, it has been forever since I've had a real drink since I am still breastfeeding.

Run for the Red 10K

I signed up to run the Red Cross Run for the Red 10K. I've been running 3 days a week and working my way up to running a 10K. I decided that a 10K would be more challenging and motivating for me versus the 5K. I haven't ran a 10K since the relay triathlon that I did just a few days after I found out I was pregnant.

I don't have a particular goal except to finish the 10K. I would like to maintain an 11-12 minute mile and try to finish in about 1:15 or so. That is not a speedy goal, but I have never been a very fast runner and that has seemed to me my average speed right now, so if I can keep that up through the 6 or so miles I would be pleased.

I have been running with two different friends during the week. That has really helped to keep me accountable to getting out and running at least 2 days a week. Having someone to run with also helps pass the time. I try to get a another run in one more day a week on my own to get 3 days in a week. So far, so good. I have a little less than 2 months until the 10K so I have plenty of time to train. I am excited that I am getting back in the groove and help me to lose the last 5 lbs that seems to be holding on. Although it may hold on until I finally wean Baby Bear for breastfeeding, but a girl can hope.

The Desert Dash 5K

This weekend we went to the river. A few friends and I ran the Desert Dash 5K while we were out there. It is a 5k that ends at the Desert Bar. What 5K ends up at a bar? Well, Papa Bear and Baby Bear were at the finish line to support me. This is a 5K that Papa Bear enjoys to cheer me on ! Especially, since he gets to wait for me at a bar, LOL.

It was the first 5K I have ran since having Baby Bear. I have been getting back into running, so I was excited to run this 5K. It was a pretty tough course; the terrain was rough (being that we were running a dirt road in the desert) and the majority of the course was uphill. I did pretty well for the first 2 miles, but that last uphill mile was killer and I ended up walking the majority of the last mile. I don't know what my time was because I forgot to check. But I was just proud of myself for finishing and making an attempt to run as much as I did (especially with it being a lot of uphill running). It felt good to get a 5K under my belt. I still have a ways to go to get myself back into shape. Although I do not know what my time was, my time was pretty slow. Plus, the fact that I started to poop out during the last mile tells me that I need to work on my stamina more.

Tennis elbow - Confirmed

Last year, I found myself injured and self-diagnosed myself with tennis elbow. Well, I finally went to the doctor and she confirmed it. The treatment, other than anti-inflammatory medications, is to change the way I use my right arm. Easier said than done, especially with a baby in tow. What I find myself often doing is carrying around Baby Bear with my left arm and using my free arm to lift and do everything else. That is most likely what led to the inflammation in my elbow. With Baby Bear so clingy lately, it will definitely be hard to change things up right now. But I really don't have much of a choice if I want it to get better.

Sadly, for now I have to lay off lifting weights, which I actually prefer to do over cardio. My buff biceps will have to wait. Hopefully, I can heal before the weather warms up so that I can tone my arms before the tank top season comes.

Run time

My run time has once again improved! My mile time today was 11:40. Not the fastest time in the world, but then again I was never the fastest runner. This is pretty close to where I used to be. I am very proud of myself. Now that I have improved time and ability to actually run a whole mile, I need to work on distance to get myself 5K ready.

It feels good to be moving again. Now if only I can sleep more again, but that is a whole other story.

Yay, it's February!!

My favorite month of the year!! Why? Because it is my birthday month and it means that 27 days until my birthday! Wohoo! It doesn't matter that it is a short month or that my birthday falls on the last day of the year (except on leap years, where I get an extended birthday). It is just hands down the best month of the year!!

I am turning 35 this year and that is kind of crazy. A lot of people freak out when they turn 30, but I welcomed my 30's. I have enjoyed my early 30's. It was a great time. Turning 35 is something different. I can't quite pinpoint how I feel about it. But there is something about it. I will have to reflect on this a little bit more.

Here is to February!! Although shorter than the other months, the best month of them all. After all, good things come in small (shorter) packages. :)