Rockin' Robin!

In the middle of May, my friend, Jen, was going out to New Jersey for Bamboozle. Many of you might be wondering what exactly Bamboozle is:

Photo credit- Jen Adams

 Well, it is a 3 day, ocean front music festival that is held on the beach in Asbury Park, NJ. Literally tens of thousands of people attend each day. So in the days leading up to her departure, we were laughing and joking about her cell phone not working while she's out there, due to an abundance of people and overwhelmed reception towers. I let her know that I would keep an eye on Twitter for her, and send a message, via carrier pigeon, if anything noteworthy occured. We had a good laugh about it.

The day she left, I noticed there was a robin sitting on my neighbors roof when I got home from running errands. As I pulled in my driveway, that little robin- crouched as low as her little body could would let her- started hauling ass down the slant of the roof. I just assumed she would fly off once she reached the bottom. Instead, she slammed on her brakes, and came to a screeching halt just before she reached the edge. She damn near fell off! I couldn't help but laugh, as the look on her face screamed that she wasn't quite sure what to make of it either. I knew she wasn't young enough to just be learning how to fly, but I just chuckled and I went about my business.

The next day, it was the same scenario! That same robin was back at it again! Now, feeling very clever, I decided to let Jen know that I would no longer be using carrier pigeons to relay messages to her in her absence. I figured I would blaze my own trail, and use that robin! (Relay Robin, if you will- patent pending lol.) We snickered and joked that the robin was eagerly awaiting her orders ;)

After a few days of seeing my newest "employee", my neighbor mentioned that there was a nest of baby birds that had just hatched in her window sill. A window sill?! You mean to tell me she has a huge tree in her front yard....and the momma bird chose to make her nest on a window sill?! She mentioned that whenever she goes out to turn on her water, the momma bird frantically chirps at her from the tree. Of course, I wanted to see, so out we went. Sure enough, there was my little Relay Robin chirping her little heart out! We didn't want her to go into full blown cardiac arrest, so we quickly took a peek from a distance, and went back inside.

Wouldn't you just know it, something noteworthy did happen, and Jen had to find out via Twitter! When the dependability of my little helper came into question, I said, "Lay off! She's on maternity leave."  :)

This is a picture of Momma I took just a few days ago. She's still pretty nervous about anyone standing on the porch, as it is fairly close to her babies. Welcome to the club, sister ;)

This picture was also snapped a few days ago. Thank God the zoom on my camera is phenomenal! I didn't want to ruffle any feathers, so I stood back a ways and let my lens do the work. 

And because I absolutely had to.......

Day 13: A hobby of mine

There are quite a few things I like to do whenever I get any "me time," however, I'd say out of all of them, my favorite would be refinishing furniture. For some reason, it is very soothing for me, and I love to do it! That is...when I am not on any sort of deadline ;) At this point, I'd say it has become both a blessing, as well as a curse. I cannot, literally, just go to the store and buy a piece of furniture, bring it home and feel good about it. I don't want someone to walk into my house and see things that they see everywhere else, I like to add a unique touch to everything. By unique touch, I mean: sand it back down to its natural wood state, beat the hell out if it with a hammer (or any other blunt, rusty object), paint it a crazy color and make it look as "old" as I can! (I know that wherever my dad will be when he reads this, he is shaking his head with disappointment. "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO GO AND RUIN A PERFECTLY GOOD PIECE OF WOOD?!" Haha! Relax, dad ;)) 

Sometimes, whilst searching for a new piece of furniture that we desperately need to add to our household, I will see items for sale that have already been distressed. Perfect, right?! Wrong. Apparently I'm quite the snob, because more often than not, it's generally not up to par according to my standards. Go figure :)

I like doing it, and I get a sense of accomplishment whenever I finish something. For the most part, I adore all my finished products. So until Ryan cuts me off, I get a little too wild with the power tools and lose a finger or two, or my dad finally makes me realize the error of my ways, I don't think I'll be stopping anytime in the fore seeable future.

An old trunk I found at D.I. that I turned into a coffee table that also holds our blankets for the couch. Originally, it was a honey oak finish.

A TV stand I refinished for my friend, Brandy, for her birthday. Originally, it was a light natural wood finish

This is my kitchen table and chairs I refinished about 2 years ago. Table and 4 chairs, all solid wood. Originally, the table top and chair seats were oak colored, and the table and chair legs, and chair backs were glossy white.