Deb's Dabbles

BEFORE pics of the old kitchen  Just about 14 months ago I was wrapping up a project that I had dreamed of since the moment I first walked into my kitchen when it was owned by someone else. That had been one of those "it has good bones" moments and I knew the features of the rest of the house more than made up for the awful blue countertops and outdated light oak cabinets that matched all the amazing built-ins and custom wood work in the home, so I overlooked the ugliness and never let the aspects I didn't love keep me from entertaining. The space has always been functional and for what it lacked in room, I made up for in creativity and basement storage. As I've posted the remodel pics in various forums over the last year, I've had a number of people ask the usual "how did you do that" and "what kind of paint did you use and did you sand it all down first" types of questions so I figured it was time to share the story of my kitchen.  Despite wh

As I'm sure I've mentioned before, I am no stranger to the whole process of budgeting. I have a solid 2 years under my belt of documenting every penny spent and, though I sucked at digging my family completely out of debt for the 20 years of my marriage, I was amazing at doing what it took to stay within our paychecks on a monthly basis and keep our credit scores around 800. But times are a changing and I'm no longer living in the "Every Dollar" or "Mint" realm... I've ventured into "You Need a Budget" (aka YNAB) territory.  To those of you not familiar with the subculture of budgeting that is YNAB, this is one of those applications that has a cult following.  As with most cults, whether real or follower-proclaimed, this one has quite the learning curve and throws a wrench into the life I had been happily, somewhat passively living.  Throw in my recent obsession with insisting that I hit my $6000 annual Roth IRA contribution limit and decid

I was blessed to be able to receive the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination less than 48 hours after the first injection was given in Iowa. Though the unknowns of a new vaccine are very scary, I take it to protect myself and to help eradicate a virus that has killed thousands including many of my fellow nurses worldwide working on the front lines. 👩🏼‍⚕️💛👩🏻‍🔬 Update: less soreness in my left arm than I ever had with tetanus or flu shots. Next shot in 3 weeks.  

Boy has it been a very long time since I sat down to post in Deb's Dabbles... so much has happened over the last years I hardly know where to begin but while listening to Chelsea Brennan’s podcast today I realized that it didn't matter WHERE I started I just HAD TO START!! I have and have had so much going on in my life and inside this crazy ecclectic head of mine that I need to tap into this creative outlet to share it even if it's for no one else except myself.  The last 5+ years have been a wild ride with  huge changes that have included going back to work prn then going through a divorce and returning to work full-time while having custody of the kids all but a couple weekends a month and trying to establish a new normal that some days feels too heavy or impossible to bear.  I've dabbled in remodeling my kitchen and getting the flooring in a number of rooms redone while also working on overhauling the paint throughout the house.  I even managed to get the roof repla

Near my highest weight I started Weight Watchers on January 5th, 2011.  I was 196 lbs and in not-so-great shape with a cholesterol as high as ever. The worst condition I'd ever been in and nearly the highest weight I'd been with only pregnancy tipping the scales any higher. Working out consisted of taking care of my kids and occasionally going on a one mile killer run to make myself feel like I was doing something good for my body (killer because I felt like dying, not because it was a great run!) I was a foodie and was all about nutrient-dense & organic food, but the addiction was slowly killing and immobilizing me. Fast forward 12 months: having lost over 35 lbs and had joined the Y, I had just completed a Thanksgiving to Christmas challenge to workout daily and was loving my workouts. I was also getting a little bored and needed a goal to help drive my ambition.  I decided I was going to do my first triathlon and signed up for the SheRox Sprint Tri in Napervill