One Day At A Time (Not the TV Show)

You know that feeling where you start thinking about loads of stuff you have to do and somewhere inside, your emotions form a ball that starts rolling and picking up speed and eventually you know that ball is going to crash straight into your husband who didn't know you had this sphere of anxiety and can't figure out why you've suddenly turned bad on him? Maybe it's just me but that's how I feel sometimes when I know I'm faced with a to-do list that unfolds like a scroll. I started to get that feeling last night because we're back in town now after being away for a week and a half. Last night I did something I've never done before whilst in the middle of a complete high-speed downhill run. I stopped it. Not sure how I did it but I suspect is has something to do with pulling that lovely little red emergency bar called perspective.

On our trip, we visited my grandmother, Theda, who is battling lymphoma. To see her struggle to breathe was agony. She's never been sick; never even had a hospital stay. What I saw in her eyes was a mix of suffering and determination. She said she's really just taking everything one day at a time and for a woman who's always planned, plotted, volunteered, and worn out her walking shoes on a daily basis, that in itself is a very big deal. After we had already left, she underwent another procedure which cleared away a blockage so she's now able to move and breathe more freely without exhaustion. Every part of me is relieved to know she's able to now do, or partially do, the things she's loved doing and will have more time to do them before her next chemotherapy/radiation treatment. She'll have a little bit of that life back that she's had for all these years.

So today, I'm going to build some toy boxes, be with my family, and thank Grandma for stopping that damn ball.

Summertime

A few posts back I very sincerely said I'd be writing more on this blog and I really did mean it. Somehow, however, summertime got in the way. And in a very good way, it slowed me down and gave me better perspective. It's hard for me to stay in the moment like all wise people say to do especially since I'm always looking ahead on my production schedule. On a weekly basis, I'm plotting what I need to order, what I need to build, and planning what DVR shows to watch while I'm polyurethane-ing. But lately, I've been swinging on my porch swing, playing in the ocean, and reading books that most people read four years ago. And it turns out, I really like not being on the move every second.

I keep trying to plot what I want to do next with Mod Mom Furniture but every time I get close to making a step towards growing the business, I remember how nice it is to just be. So for now, I'm gonna build a few toy boxes per week, take my kids who are constantly bored despite a trampoline and Wii to see Karate Kid and Shrek, get lots of use out of my new wetsuit and boogie board, and drag my friends who think Twilight is unbearable to see Eclipse. Meet the new and improved summertime Kiersten.

In Honor Of Memorial Day

Last Veteran's Day, I wrote a post about my family members who were in the service. I think about them often and the sacrifices they made in their lifetimes and how my sacrifices seem so small and irrelevant in comparison. I'm so grateful for all the military families both past and present. Thank you for all you do.

From my Veteran's Day post....

Happy Veteran's Day! And a big thank you to veterans, soldiers, and all those amazing military families who miss their loved ones on a daily basis.

I've been thinking a lot about my family members who served today and wanted to honor them in some small way . My mom was kind enough to share some of what she knows about my grandparents so I've included it below. Thanks Mom!

(Juanita Pennington, 1945)

My grandmother, Juanita Pennington was member of the WAVES (Women's Navy) and worked in D.C. during WWII. (Photo above was taken in D.C.) One of her jobs was to decode Japanese messages. She was put on a train with other WAVES. Juanita had no idea where she was going or where she ended up due to the black-out curtains hanging in the train windows. She got off the train at a secret location and worked on the messages. The women would be brought back to their bases the next day.

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My grandfather, Lawrence Pennington was a paratrooper during WWII. He was in Africa fighting Rommel (German) as well as parachuting into Europe where he was one of the first paratroopers to drop over the Ziegfreid line when Americans invaded Europe. Most of the men were killed as they parachuted, but he landed safely and hid under a snow-covered tree. He was discovered and held as a prisoner for nine months. The Russian army liberated him and when he came back home to the US he was sent to the Biltmore House Estate in North Carolina to recuperate due to his poor health.

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(Clifford Parsons with my dad, Barry Parsons)

My grandpa, Clifford Parsons, was in the Army Engineers division who was responsible for building the roads and bridges before the rest of the troops advanced. He fought in Europe and was ordered to invade Normandy. A week before the invasion, his units' orders were changed or he would have been one of the first men there.
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(Charles Hathcock)

Scott's grandfather, Charles Hathcock, also served during WWII. Charles came from a family of six siblings; he was the youngest of four brothers. At one point during WWII, all of the Hathcock brothers were serving in the war. Charles was recruited much later in the war and served in Austria Germany in two main roles. His first role was as a Military Police(MP) officer watching over German war prisoners. His second role gave him the opportunity to explore the German countryside as part of the communications reconstruction team. Charles helped hang telephone lines and open back up communications between German villages. He never had to fire a single shot in either role but instead left the war with an appreciation for the German Austrian people and their countryside.

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My grandpa, Calvin Deeter, served in the Navy aboard the The USS Conklin DE439. There's a wonderful website dedicated to those who served on the Conklin: http://www.ussconklin.org/index.htm.

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If you have more info, photos, or different memories to share, please let me know! I'd love to add them to this post.

Just a few fun photos that say "I have absolutely nothing exciting to report in Mod Mom Furniture Land"

A friend made this for me. I sure wish I knew who that guy was she has me holding. Must be some young whippersnapper. :)



So in between wood stuff, Scott and I celebrated his 39th birthday with dear friends on Saturday. We met at a restaurant all dressed in 80s corporate attire. We even made up name tags with positions. I was lucky enough to be Scott's (who was the CEO)executive assistant. I have to say the silk suit and pantyhose were actually pretty comfortable. I think I'm gonna bring back suntan hose and white heels. Click the photo to reveal the secretary!



Oonagh, our Dir. of HR, and Kierstie, the Exec Assistant to the CEO of our fake company

Festivus AKA Stevenson Rocks

(Jukebox Entry Way - it's over 12 ft high and didn't fall down! WHOOHOO! The wind blew the silver streamers that hung in the entryway unmercifully so you don't see them in this shot much.)

As you know from a previous post, in between Mod Mom Furniture stuff, Scott and I have been working on decorations for my kids' elementary school fundraiser: Stevenson Rocks Around The Arts 50s-style. Basically, like the rest of California public schools, teacher jobs are being cut and programs like art and music are no longer funded by the schools but rather the parent booster club. In a nutshell, we had to raise A LOT of money at this outdoor, carnival-like fundraiser.

Check out the pieces we created for the entry way walkway. First impressions are everything, right? Some of these pieces can be used year after year for Stevenson events. And some were built from what's in my garage, i.e., one of my workbenches, old IKEA table legs, etc. Many thanks to Stock Building Supply for donating much of the wood used and many, many thanks to my husband who worked tirelessly painting realistic detail on almost everything you see. The amount of artistic talent he has in his little finger is unbelievable.


(This soda pop stand was made from one of my workbenches. I also used old table legs, luan and 2x4s for the backdrop frame to complete the build. I painted the base coats on the bottom and top and then asked Scott to have a go at it and paint the background and he came up with this amazing scene. I built the faux bar stools from 3/4 inch wood for the seat, veneer for the edge of the seat, old cardboard packaging tubes that originally housed my veneer sheets, and another 3/4 piece of wood for the base. The drapes you see hanging are from Grace's room.)



(In an effort to add one more large element before the hallway out to the festival, we built a "drive-in" complete with cars with working lights. Scott did all the painting on the cars as well as the drive-in sign. I built them and did the oh-so-fun "how the heck do we make all this stable" work.)

There is absolutely no way I could write this post without including a video of my very talented husband and BFF who agreed to perform two sets of 1950s lounge music on the main stage. If I only had one tenth of the singing talent that my dear friend Oonagh Delaney has, I'd be a happy, happy woman!!! Thanks again to both of you for all the time and love you put into your performances.



(This is from a portion of their second set. I was the cameragirl and the cd-button-pusher so you'll see the camera move a bit. :)

Elle Decor, A Room Makeover, and OMG MY SON WILL SOON BE A MIDDLE SCHOOLER

I'm starting off with the obvious choice given the title of my post today. Seriously, Elle Decor!!! OK, I really meant to start with the fact that my son is about five weeks away from "graduating" from elementary school. He's almost as tall as me, has an ever-deepening voice and says amazingly witty, spot-on things like, "Mom, as long as you have your belly fat and your good sense of humor, you'll be all right." God, I love that kid. Just can't believe he's almost 12.

Now, back to other important things happening around here at Mod Mom Furniture headquarters. I'll just list them because I've already had seventeen cups of coffee and can't be bothered to eloquently transition from one topic to another. Look! Over there! A bird! See. I'm all over the place today.


Elle Decor: Check out this cool article on Elle Decor's website about The Bertie Box! Here's the text from Elle:

Our animal roundup wouldn’t be complete without a kids-only piece. This sweet and simple toy box made from birch plywood is just the height for little ones but mod enough for the older set. We love the way this bird’s stick legs sit on the side while its orange body lies on top. Plus, its unusual design makes cleanup a bit more fun—kids can lift the lid via the cutout wing and stash stray toys in snap. Bertie Toy Box by Mod Mom, $475; DesignPublic.com



Green Your Decor: Ja' Naya's mom, Jennae, writes Green Your Decor and she contacted me about possibly donating an Owyn Toy Box for her daughter's room makeover. Ja' Naya is battling leukemia at age 4 so the family recently moved closer to her doctors/medical care. Jennae wanted to give Ja' Naya an eco-friendly room makeover and she made it happen! The last piece is the Owyn Toy Box which I will building in June. Check out the article HERE!

More to come on other EXCITING events here at Mod Mom! Crazy amounts of excitement around here like just the other day, I rearranged my workshop to fit a 12 foot high wooden jukebox. And the Fed Ex guy waved "hi" to me from the store across the street. It's a good thing I have my belly fat and sense of humor to help me manage.

Manual Labor

We're at it again! This time, in between orders, Scott and I are building decorations (think set design) for an upcoming fundraiser at school. We love doing it -- it really is fun to design this kind of stuff and for such a good cause....but (you knew it was coming)I'm finding it's taking more of a toll on my hands that I figured. Especially the painting part.

I may have mentioned this before but I'm the lucky recipient of a form of arthritis that will eventually disfigure my knuckles to the point I won't be able to do certain things. It's in my family and my mom suffers from it so I'm expecting it but I didn't think it would start at age 36. Thankfully, I picked a career where hands aren't really needed. :) I'm doing lots to combat it or at least slow the growth: reiki healing, glucosamine, vodka tonics but sometimes it's just a real pain in the arse.

In my next career, I'll choose something that isn't so dependent upon my digits. Like maybe the career where I order pina coladas from my beach chair. Care to join me? :)

Better Homes and Gardens - 100 Ideas Real Rooms

I was watching something extremely high-brow and educational on TV (American Idol) last week when I got a text message from my friend, Dia, saying that she spotted the Owyn Toy Box (on the right-hand side of the page) in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine she just bought.

It's pretty funny that I never really think about the fact that my furniture is actually out there living in people's homes. And that kids really use it to store their stuff. That's just crazy!

Anyhow, I have no idea which client's home was photographed for this issue but it's very cool to see the Owyn alive and well.

Been M.I.A.

(Random pic of me and my adorable niece, Riley Paige McMullen. I know it makes no sense in this post really but I like it -- she's really looking at me and I like that green background color. I think I have a thing for babies and the color green (see Owyn Toy Box))

My blog has taken a back seat lately to sanding, painting and family. But I should be back with more wickedly smart, amazingly poignant posts very soon. OK, they've never been those things but I will write more grammatically incorrect, daily life stuff over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, here are some tidbits for the day...

1. Got a message that Modern Tots (they went under and when they did, failed to pay me for an order) has been taken over by a new owner. So I guess Modern Tots is back!

2. I'm excited to put a new bird toy box on the market. Similar to the one I designed for the Haitian Relief Raffle. Look for that soon...

3. I need to get off this computer and work so I'm ending at number three.

Hope you're all having a wonderful Spring!!!

That Crazy Bar

My friend Emily designed what she named "That Crazy Bar" many months ago and ask me to build it for her. I thought to myself, how hard can it be?!?!

Um....let's just say I really love sitting at bars and am happy to do that regularly. Building of bars, however, will not be a regular activity for me. I modified her design just a bit to account for my lack of specific woodworking skills and thankfully, she still seems pleased with the result.

Cheers, Em! Can't wait to belly up to your bar!


Look! A drawer! First-ever drawer installed by yours truly. And the stemware hanging thing-y is on mounted on the underside of the bar to the right of the drawer.



All shiny!