new blog

come follow me at http://Joshuahomeprojects.blogspot.com where I will be updating my various projects and inspiration that comes my way. I won't be at this blog much anymore.

update

Well work is starting to get very busy. We had the teen/children auditions that I got to run the dance call for. We have had Wichita and OKC adult auditions where I was able to assist with the dance call and be the greeter. I am learning a ton!

Our auditions in OKC are held at my old college at OCU during the Spring Dance Show. While there this year it really brought back so many memories of college and all the friends I never get to see anymore. I sure don't miss college but I do miss all the memories and people that were a part of my life during those very important four years of my life. I also remember my parents and sister being able to come see my senior year spring show. My double broke his foot right before tech week and I was able to be in all my parts for every show. It was sad that he broke his foot, but it was neat my family got to see me perform extra!!!

Below is a picture I just had to put on here. I have seen it floating around the internet and it just makes me laugh. If you agree with it or not. I feel it really relates to what is going on right now and I find this picture very intriguing and should give us all something to think about.

Update on House

I got the crazy idea to remodel my kitchen. After getting quotes for new cabinets and counters that were WAY above my price range I decided to take on a little (or not so little) project of my own.

I wanted to start small at first and I primed all the doors and the body of a laminate tv hutch I have in my basement. I got some paint and put two coats on it all. I found some cheap wallpaper and lined the inside of the hutch with that. I then sanded the edged of the doors to make it have a worn/rustic feel to it. I then had some help from my Wichita Family to put the TV back in...because it was so heavy! I think it looks real good and it looks like real wood furniture now!

After attempting and succeeding with that project I was ready to take on the kitchen. I took the cabinet doors off of and started priming all the cabinets. Then started painting away. I got some rope looking trim to put on the edges of the new open shelves. I also used that border for the beadboard that I used on one wall (not finished with that yet so you don't get to see pictures of that!). I then removed my sink...Which was quite a project in it's own!!! I ripped out the old tile backsplash and then I prepared to tile the counter and sink. I found this tile for only $5.00 a square foot!!! It was quite the deal. I tiled and grout sealed all the tile and while the sink was out I installed a new faucet. Put the sink back in and the counters were finished! Next I added the beadboard and trim on the wall where my buffet will go. I then painted the room a grey granite color and the hallway adjoining the kitchen the same color. Next was the mason jar chandelier. That was the hardest thing to do!!! You would think tiling or removing a sink would be the hardest....BUT the mason jars were what did me in! I finally got them hanging and working! So the kitchen is finished for now.

I have been going to estate sales, flea markets, and antique stores and have found some great frames! I have painted them white and have done a collage of frames in the dining room. Also made a wall of tin signs heading towards the basement.

I think I am finished withe projects for a while!

UPDATE!!!

I got to go home for Thanksgiving and it was a lot of fun. I got to spend a week at home and see lots and lots of cousins that I only see every two years. I have some favorites but I will never tell!

My Christmas Show CELEBRATE! found a new home at the Scottish Rite Center with The Signature Theatre. It is a great space and I think it was a great show with over 55 performers this year. My friend Chris Clark took some publiciy photos for us and donated the program covers. It all looked very good. My family was able to come and see the show again and they are always so much help. Cassidy takes video/pictures and sells them with all profits going to the CELEBRATE! fund. Jan and Sami took charge of decorating the stage to make it look very Christmas like. They were going to miss the last show because of their flight, so I took them to the airport and as soon as I got to the theatre I got a text from them that said they were delayed several hours and they were able to come see the show again....and help STRIKE! haha. Dad stayed at the airport with all the bags.

I got to go home for 9 days for Christmas. It was a lot of fun to be at home. We made gingerbread houses and were very competitive, of course. Watched LOTS of movies, played with the nephews, went shopping, visited some friends, and relaxed. Sami and I got Sam two panoramic pictures from the mountain and framed them. They will be really cool hanging up in the cabin once it is finished.

I am starting to choreography projects at two different high schools. ANNIE GET YOUR GUN and SUESSICAL. I have never choreographed either of those so I am very excited. Right after that will be teen auditions for work, company auditions, and than the summer will be here already!!! Time sure does fly.

Wood Floors!!!

When I started looking for a house almost three years ago I really wanted wood floors. The house I bought was wonderful and had everything I could ever need and want....except wood floors! Lately I have been wanting them even more. I had been looking at how much it would cost and checking craigslist for any super good deals. I was reminded that since my house is so old that there is probably wood under my carpet. I went home during lunch one day and pulled up the carpet in one corner and low and behold!!!!!!!!!!!!! There was wood!!!! That night I just got the impulse to rip up all the carpet in my dining room. I must admit I had a little something to drink which helped that impulse come to pass. :)

I the next few days I proceeded to move all of my dining/living room furniture into the front bedroom and onto the front porch (with some help of some great friends!). I ripped up the carpet in the living room also. After it was all ripped up I started pulling up all the carpet tack along the walls and the MILLIONS of staples! That was the worst part. After the floors were clean of things I got the impulse (sober this time) that I wanted to paint the two rooms. After looking at some different colors I decided to go with SMOKEY SLATE. A green/grey color. I painted all the walls in both rooms and it looks good.

I started researching how to sand and stain your wood floors...I watched all the youtube videos and read all the online tutorials. I was READY! I went and rented a sander and all the sand paper. It was amazing what I could do in just one day. It was starting to look really good!

After what seemed like an eternity of sanding I was ready to stain! I picked a medium color calle PECAN and applied it with a mop. It worked really well and the color is pretty even throughout. There was some water damage on two spots on the floor and those are a little darker but not that bad at all. After the stain dried I started to apply the polyutherane. I got two coats of that on the floors and called it good!

When everything had dried my base boards and the trim around my windows and doors looked yellow! I could not have that. So I repainted all of those and now they look just like new!

I had the men come back and help me move my furniture back into place. Now that I have been in the rooms for a while there are a few spots where the finish isn't as even as other places and a few little bubbles in the floor. If I had paid someone to do this job those things would NOT be acceptable. But since I did it and worked my butt off I think it just gives the house a little more character. :) So $219.00 later I have a remodeled living and dining room, sore muscles, and an experience I will never forget!

before..........

AFTER!!!

before.....

AFTER!!!

Interesting

WARNING!!! Please respect my blog and my opinions in this post. Thank you.


Why when a church is supposed to bring everyone ultimate happiness and truth does it seem to do just the opposite of that? Family members are always going to do what the church says and have that mindset no matter what. That puts a block on my relationship with them that prevents it from further growth and development.

My mother jokingly told me I should listen to conference (I think knowing that I wouldn't do it) but I got bored and thought I would look online to see what was going on. I sure wish I hadn't! All the google searches brought up Boyd K Packer's speech. I just couldn't believe how things were said. I read articles, watched video clips, and made sure I was uptodate and knew what really went on. I stood back and watched facebook posts and blogs about members of the church justify what this very closed minded, conservative man is saying. Part of a post said "we hear what we want to hear." I think that is an excuse and a way out to not have to disagree with what was said.

Six gay boys have committed suicide in the recent past due to homophobic abuse in the home, school, and community. These are only ones that have made the news. I am certain there are more and more attempts by others. This was in the headlines right before General Conference started. You would think that the leaders of that church would have shown some type of condolences or sympathy towards them or their families and if they decided to approach the subject than to do it in a matter of love and understanding, not ignorance and closed mindedness. Instead Boyd K Packer added fire to the flame and my heart goes out to those confused teenagers and young adults who had to sit there and watch a leader of a church say things like that in the matter in which he did.

Here is a quote that actually makes me giggle from Brigham Young: "The government should stay out of the business of the Saints and let us worship to the according to the dictates of our own conscience. If there ever comes a day when the Saints interfere with the rights of of others to live as they see fit, you can know with assurance that the Church is no longer led by a prophet, but by a mere man." First of all Brigham Young had married 56 women!!! Of course he thought that the government should stay out of his business so he could have more wives!

A lot of members are using that quote in their favor. I seem to think the opposite and see it. The Church is interfering with people's lives and rights. The biggest example is encouraging members to donate their money and time to Proposition 8. If that is not interfering with the rights of other to live as they see fit then I don't know what is! Stopping people from having the rights that they deserve. If the government didn't interfere then all the mormons would still be polygamists!

I remember reading online (I can't remember where though...) that the church is like Mary Poppins. It is suppost to be "practically perfect in every way" but it isn't, just like Mary isn't. Mary Poppins came into the lives of the Banks home to help and assist the family understand, love, and appreciate each other. At the end of the movie Mary Poppins leaves because there are other families that need her help. By that point the Banks family has each other and that is what is important! They don't need Mary Poppins anymore. She was vital and the key component in the story but her work was finished. I feel that same way about the church.....if only others felt the same way. :) I am grateful for the values and the lessons I learned growing up in the church, and all the fun activities and events that took place. Some things I will always take with me the rest of my life....but not everything!

I feel I am always going to disagree with my family and friends I grew up with on the subject of the church. The church is going to be the thing that drives us away from each other. I will be the one who doesn't go to the "Celestial Kingdom". I am a good person with a good heart who is contributing to the good of my community. If I don't get to spend time in Heaven with my family and friends because I was not follower of the church than I don't think that is Heaven. And frankly I don't want to go to a place where there is ignorance, closed mindedness, and hate.

If you are jewish, a minority, gay, handicapped, an outcast, or even the popular kid we need to accept eachother with love and understanding. We need to celebrate diversity!!!!! It is the only true thing we all have in common!

Holiday in Scotland

I left Wichita at 5:30pm to meet up with Cassidy and Sami in Atlanta. It was a long flight that I tried to sleep through. We were in the middle of the plane so our air and lights were not able to be reached unless we stood up. Part of Sami's light fell on her. I made a big deal about it to the flight attendent.... Little did she know I had something to do with it falling down. :) We took a train to the hotel we would be staying at while in London. I thought living in NYC and walking up 5 flights was rough. We walked up 4 very narrow and steep stairs to our closet of a bedrrom. So small! And the bathroom was a closet. That day we went about London and explored/toured House of Parliament, Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, House of Lords, and Big Ben! We took the subway to save some money and man it was so hot and humid and we were down there for 2 hours with some lines closing and using alternate routes. We ate dinner at a Pub that night (the first of many!) and I had a british beer named after Sam. That night we went to LOVE NEVER DIES. It was actually better then I thought it would be. The Phantom was great and I love his song he sings in the first act. The special effects on the screens were really cool and the technical aspects. We sang three songs from this show the entire trip! "Love Never Dies..." "Bathing Beauties...." and "My Christine.." people who heard us (mostly me) would think we are crazy. Which we are!

We woke up early and had a Traditional English Breakfast which consisted of a fried egg, ham, sausage, beans and a tomato. Sami ate the beans and some peaches! We headed out to Westminster Abbey and went to the War Cabinet Rooms that Mr. Churchill set up during WWII. The underground rooms/quarters are where people lived for over 16months with no light or windows. It was pretty amazing and very interesting. We headed over to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard and then we toured the palace. I want to live in a castle. During the Changing of the Guards we looked over and there was a little boy peeing and his dad was so proud of him and gave him a kiss. The rest of the trip I kept saying in my horrible British Accent "Mommy...there is a little boy over there peeing on the queen's flowers!" Took a taxi to the Tower of London and I never realized so many executions took place there. We took a taxi to Traflaga Square and had some photo shoots there. It was quite the site to see me and Sami get up on those lions!!! I even helped a little boy down. I am so Christlike I know. Cassidy and Sami finally found the candy store and bought a lot of it!!! I bought some and shared it with the office at home. That night Sami and Cassidy went to Wicked. I went to Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I can't wait to see it again when it comes to Broadway. The dancing, costumes, singing, and the bus were absolutely brilliant!!!

The next day we checked out of our four story walk up hotel and took a train to Salsbury to go see Stone Henge, Old Sarum, and the Salsbury Cathedral. I loved it all. It is all getting so commercialized but it is just breathtaking to see all these sites that I have heard of since I was a young boy. There is so much history over in Europe that I absolutely adore. I loved the city of Salsbury. I thought it looked like the town that Pinocchio took place it! I was just waiting for people to break into song and dance! The tower in the Salsbury Cathedral is the tolest in the UK and the 4th tallest in Europe. It was quite the site inside and out. There was a boy who kept staring at Sami ever since the train ride and I kept calling him her boyfriend. He was always where we were that day...Interesting. Cassidy met a nice family from Spain and chatted it up with them in Spanish. We got back to London and took a flight to Edinburgh to spend the night there.

Edinburgh is my one of my favorite places we went to. The old architecture is beautiful and all the hills that the buildings are on are cool but were quite a workout for my calf muscles. We walked up the cobble stone streets to the Castle and had a wonderful tour of that and even saw the cannon go off! We saw the Scotland Crown Jewels and THE STONE OF DESTINY!!! There was so much history with this castle and all the events that had taken place there. After the castle we walked down the main street and there were street acts, mimes, singers, performers everywhere. We were there during the Fringe Festival. We stopped and watched a few of them and they were very entertaining. We looked in the shops and decided to shop at one where they were very friendly and wanted to know all about it. The son was quite embarrassed when he made a joke about me and Sami and she responded "the gent is my brother" his face turned red... We thought it was funny. All of there things are made in Scotland unlike an Indian fellow who owns 30 shops on the street who ships stuff in from India. I thought that was interesting. That is where I got some scarves and my kilt!! We ate at a pub called Whiskeys and I had some fish n chips. I also had an Edinburgh beer and some whiskey of course. That night we headed to the castle for the annual Military Tattoo Festival. It was like a glorified Marching Band, motorcycles, dancers, army trainees, horses, and even a band from North Carolinia. It was quite the show...Just wish it didn't rain most of the entire time. The show must go on! Don't forget fireworks at the end.

We left Edinburgh and took a train to Inverness where we picked up our rental car after waiting an hour and not understanding where to meet the rental car lady.....but then we were off and we drove by and waved to Nessie and were on our way. We were nervous about driving on the left side of the road but we did well. The country was beautiful and one of our first stops were the Steps of Whaligoe. They were old fishermen steps where they women would get the fish from the boats and walk up with the fish on baskets on their heads. There were supposed to be 365 but I believe there were a lot more! We stopped by several castle ruins along the coast. It reminded me of Avonlea. I bet the two of them got sick of me saying that all the time. :) but it really did look like Prince Edward Island, Anne of Green Gables, Avonlea, etc... Cassidy's driving wasn't the best and Sami got a little sick and laid down. We stayed the night at a B&B and it was very nice. The next day we had a Scottish Breakfast. I even tried the black pudding. We were off to Orkney Island. We got on the ferry and it was like a cruise ship!!! We arrived in Stromness and drove around that little town for a bit before we were off for our day of history. We stopped by the Stones of Stennes which are currently three standing stones between two lochs of water. Down the road was the Ring of Brodgar. This is the oldest set of ring stones in the world! Even older than Stone Henge. We then took a guided tour of Maeshowe. It is an ancient burial with graffitee in it from the Vickings! It was really neat. We drove up to the Brough of Birsay which is an island that can only be accessed at low tide. Sami and I got some seashells and touched the ocean!!! We also went to Skara Brea Prehistoric Village. It is the oldest ruins in the world. Older than the Great Wall of China and the Pyramids. It was neat to see how the houses were set up and the surroundings. They were built in the ground with connecting hallways from house to house and common areas. We were runing short on time so we just spent a little time at Kirkwall. Looked at a shop and the cathedral and we were on our way. We kept driving and stopped at the Italian Chapel that was built by some Italian Prisoners during the war. We made the ferry back to the mainland and had dinner at the School House. Cassidy saw a review for it online. It was good, but a little...A LOT...pricey. A very friendly and very talkative lady and her son ran it.

The next day we did a lot of driving. Our first stop was in Durnass where we climbed down to a cave. We stopped at an craft fair and got some hot chocolate. I bought some truffles and some chocolate there also. This area is completely different than the rest of Scotland that we saw. Mountains, trees, waterfalls, etc.. It was beautiful. We stopped at a beach and walked around a bit. We got to our B&B and went out and watched the sunset. We went to a pub and got some food and drink. This experience entertained us for a long time. Listening to the locals and their choice of words and actions! haha. The next day was another long day of traveling to and on the Isle of Sky. We stopped at the Eilean Donan Castle. It was pretty neat and a great location. We stopped at a local craft fair and it was really neat. We found some hand woven shops that I bought a sweater and a vest from. I am excited to wear them when it gets cold. Made stops at Kilt Rock, Mealt Falls and to Dunlum Castle. A Great location for the castle...but not much of a castle left. We eventually found Fairy Glen after some wrong turns and it was very magical. Looked like it was out of a movie. Cassidy and I got out and took the hike to Neiss Point (Sami was sick again from the driving). It was quite a hike but the views were absolutely to die for. I sat down for a bit and looked out. There was something very spiritual about the whole atmosphere and experience there. I tried to take some short cuts getting back to the car....and low and behold my shoes were covered in mud. That will teach me. We made it to our B&B and the best one of the whole trip! The ladies name was Jan!!! Just like our mother.

We drove down to Glascow to get on our flight to London. We spent the night in London and then made the journey home. None of our T.V. screens had sound for the entire flight!!!!!!!! AHHHH. But we are alive and able to talk about it. It was a beautiful Country and I am glad I got see all that Scotland had to offer.