The Bookshelf

Yesterday, I started a project that I've been meaning to get around to for a while now. We've got this bookshelf that (I think) used to be my sister's back in the day. I guess she wasn't using it anymore because it went with me to Tuscaloosa when I lived in the dorm until Travis and I got married. And, it's been with us ever since.

I remember staying in Tuscaloosa for the first spring break we were married. It was an awesome week with no class and pretty much no one else on campus but us! We spent the week walking around the Quad, throwing the frisbee, making snack runs to Publix (just a few minutes walk from where we lived), and just hanging out. That week we also decided to tackle one of our first "house projects" together. Repainting the old bookshelf.

It was lime green when I first took it to Tuscaloosa which worked out perfectly because it matched my bedding and accessories in my dorm room. But, unfortunately it looked TERRIBLE with the more "grown-up" look I was going for in our apartment after we got married. Our color scheme was chocolate brown, copper, and red...and lime green definitely did not look good with that! So, that spring break Travis and I headed out to Home Depot and bought some sandpaper, wood stain, and a paint brush. Our plan (ha!) was to sand all of the paint off of the bookshelf and then stain it a nice brown color. It was a nice idea...in theory. After carrying the bookshelf down 3 flights of stairs to a nice grassy area outside, Travis sanded and sanded and sanded and barely made any progress at all. He did uncover a peach color underneath the lime green, but it would have taken HOURS to sand the whole bookshelf down. Looking back on that, what were we thinking??? Haha!

Well, we ended up just "staining" over what was left of the paint. The result was not exactly what we had in mind! Instead of a nice brown color, we ended up with a streaky purple bookshelf with specks of green showing through. Wow! I think we debated over whether or not to just throw the bookshelf away at that point and buy a new one, but we ended up just going with it. It was definitely a unique-looking color, but I guess we got used to it over the past few years. It actually didn't look all that bad once we got it back into our bedroom...at least, it was better than the lime green.

The newly renovated bookshelf!

This was our first apartment together in Tuscaloosa

Fast forward a few years, and now the bookshelf is in our guest bedroom. And again, the color is all wrong. The walls are taupe, and the bedding is navy, light blue, and cream. Not exactly a great combination with our purpley-lime green bookshelf!

Guest bedroom

So, yesterday, I finally decided to repaint the old bookshelf again. This time around, I was smarter and didn't try to sand the whole thing down first! I lightly sanded it before painting it with some of the leftover paint from the walls we had. I'm pretty happy with the results! I may end up going over it with some polyurethane to give it a glossy finish, but so far it's a huge improvement!

The "new" bookshelf!

Painting has been one of my favorite projects that we've done so far in our new house. Probably because it doesn't involve sweating outside and a lot of manual labor! I really enjoy seeing the transformation that occurs in a room or on a piece of furniture just with a simple coat or two of paint. Even something like our old bookshelf can get some new life just by changing the color. Pretty cool.

Maybe I'm just feeling extra sentimental today, but I'm glad we've still got a spot for that bookshelf in our house. It's been with us the whole 4+ years we've been married and with me for 2 1/2 years before that in the dorm. It's moved as many times as we have...from our 425 sq ft on-campus apartment to our off-campus apartment in Rivermont to our basement apartment at Baugay's and finally to our house. It held our textbooks when we were in school and now our "just-for-fun" books since we've graduated. It's been there through all of the changes in our lives since December 2007. I guess it reminds me of college life when things were simpler...study, go to class, have fun on the weekends, go to football games in the fall, etc. That was basically our life until we graduated. Things are different in the "working world"...not necessarily better or worse. There are things I miss about being in college, but I also enjoy just working and staying busy around the house.

College days--ROLL TIDE!

 I'm glad to have little pieces of "college life" still around like that old bookshelf to bring back fun memories of our time in Tuscaloosa. Sometimes it feels like those days were so long ago, and things are really different now...living in a new place, working, and owning a home. But, just like we've changed some since we were in college, that bookshelf has changed too with a fresh coat of paint. It's definitely an upgrade from the old look! Hopefully, Trav and I are changing for the better too. It's a work in progress! Stay tuned :)

November 29, 2001

8 years ago today was a day that changed my life forever. It was the day that I had surgery to correct/stop the progression of my scoliosis. At the time, I don't think I really understood how serious of a surgery it was, but I definitely did after the fact. Let's just say that 8 hours in the OR is no walk in the park. I had an awesome surgeon, Dr. William Horton, and some really great nurses who took care of me while I was at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. And, despite a complication the night after surgery that almost took my life, I was able to leave the hospital after only 5 days. I guess God decided that it wasn't my time to go.

So, at age 15 I learned a lesson about appreciating life and good health while you have it. Every day is a gift, and I try to constantly remember that. I'm blessed with a wonderful family, awesome friends, the chance to get a college education, 2 warm and cozy places to live, and so much more. And, after seeing so many people that I care about get sick and struggle with illnesses like dementia and cancer, I'm reminded about how lucky I am to be in good health right now.

I guess in a way I'm lucky to have the 13 inch long scar on my back because it helps remind me to be thankful for everything I have.

Snow and Lessons from Lindsey

Never before in my life have I seen as much snow as I did last week. It was enough to last me for a long time. I didn't build a single snowman or participate in any snowball fights, but I did ride in the car through a winter wonderland for about 12 hours on Monday. Literally, once we got north of Atlanta, there was snow completely covering the ground (thankfully, it wasn't on the actual interstate) all the way to Richmond! And in Richmond, there was snow EVERYWHERE. It was in the parking lots and on all of the back roads in town. I love the way that snows looks on the trees...so pretty! I will try to post some of the pictures I took at another time. Our internet here is so slow (b/c we are using the signal from the library across the street) that it takes forever to upload pictures.

Probably everyone knows why I went to Richmond last week. My cousin, Lindsey, passed away after having kidney cancer for almost 4 years. She was definitely a fighter though! There were several times that things weren't looking good, and she always pulled through somehow. I can't even imagine what she went though. On top of having regular chemo and dialysis treatments, she graduated in 4 1/2 years from the University of South Carolina. Although I only saw her usually once a year on our week-long Cushing family beach trips, I will never forget the times we shared. I'm really glad I made the trip to Richmond with my family. I was able to see the rest of the family and to grieve over the loss of Lindsey. It was very much worth the hassle of contacting teachers, scheduling makeup tests, and missing clinicals. There were a few things that struck me about Lindsey from the comments made at the memorial service and throughout the whole time I was there:

1. She never said "Why me?" when dealing with her cancer. She simply said, "It is what it is." What a great attitude to have! Even though her life was ended much sooner than anyone wanted it to be, she fought hard and didn't feel sorry for herself.

2. She obviously made a difference in a lot of people's lives. There were over 800 people at her memorial service!

3. There were also several doctors and nurses that made a difference in Lindsey's life. One of her doctors spoke at the memorial service, and her dialysis nurse also attended. I hope that I can do the same for my future patients one day.

4. I really like the quote on the back of the program for Lindsey's memorial service. It was one of her favorite quotes: "Our lives are not determined by what happens to us, but by how we react to what happens, not by what life brings to us, but by the attitude we bring to life. A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, a spark that creates extraordinarily results."

I have now lost 2 cousins under the age of 25 to cancer, one on each side of the family. I really hope that we will find the cure to cancer soon.

It's been over 9 months...

I can't believe it's been almost a year since Travis and I got married. The time has really flown by! We've had a lot of fun this year together, and we've learned a lot too...about each other and about life in general. Life gets pretty stressful sometimes between both of us studying for tests and trying to find time to spend with each other, but it's teaching us how to prioritize I guess. Here's a quick timeline in pictures of our past year together:

One of my favorites :)

The wedding party

At Fripp Island, SC (Me, Trav, and Jenn)

My family this summer

Us with Travis's mom and sisters

Summer 08

Before the Alabama-Clemson game in Atlanta

AFTER the Alabama-Clemson game (looking a little sweaty but VERY excited!)

Me and Alisha during the Western Carolina game at Bryant Denny