Backyard Makeover, part 2

Well, slowly but surely, the yard is coming along.  It is so fun to see progress.  It has been so stinkin' hot here, that not too much work is getting done.  The boys have been going out to work in the yard once the afternoon sun is gone, so they don't have to bake out in the sun!

The rest of the frame for the deck is done, and we have managed to almost completely fill it with dirt from the side yard, one wheelbarrow at a time.  Dave would rototill, and the boys would fill and dump all the dirt into this corner deck area.  We also went and picked up a truckload of dirt from someone locally who was getting rid of dirt. Found the guy on Craigslist, and he even loaded it into our truck with a giant bucket tractor.  Nice.  Here is the almost completely filled deck.  And a dog added in for interest.  You can see the little gas line popping up out of the dirt right in the middle.

Dave lowered the level of the dirt down the side yard to prepare to lay a path with pavers.  I was able to score 300 square 12 X 12 gray pavers for FREE on Craigslist.  I just checked every day, and happened to find these just at the right time.  We took both our SUV and our truck, and loaded as many as we could fit!  SCORE!!!!!  I would recommend if you want to do any sort of project that you check Craiglist before buying new.  Even though we weren't ready for the pavers yet, if you can get stuff you need for free or extremely reduced cost, it is worth the time to check back daily for the things you may need.  I have also scored all the lava rock for our future fire pit for free.  So we just piled it up somewhere out of the way until we need it!

Ok, so back to the project.  We wanted to put a path down the middle of our sideyard, leaving the sides available for some plants later on.  So Dave ran some sprinkler pipe down the sideyard for me so water will be available in the future when we want to plant some things.

In order to create the path, we needed some way to define the path with edging.  I really wanted to use large landscaping rocks, but every time I checked Craigslist and found some, they were either too small or already taken.  Landscaping bricks are cheap, but we have such a long side yard, so it would have cost a couple hundred dollars just for the edging.  Nope.  They make some rubber type edging also, but again, gets costly. Dave is really good at thinking outside of the box, and he found some wood bendable edging stuff.  It comes in like 6 or 7 foot long strips, in a bundle of like 10 of them.  Cost :  $40.  That I can do!

Here is Dave beginning to lay out the shape of the walkway.

This path will go down the sideyard, and then veer off in two directions. It will meet the concrete by the house, and will also continue on to the deck.  Once the path is completely defined with the edging, we will begin laying the pavers down, and then fill with small variegated pea gravel.  I am still hoping to score the gravel free too.  If not, it's relatively cheap anyways!

Well, that's all for now!

Backyard Makeover

A few weeks ago, I posted that we put up a new fence.  I may have mentioned the need for an entire yard makeover, that has been needed for years now but always seemed such an overwhelming and costly task.  However, building the fence sort of motivated us to move forward on it a little at a time.  And when I say "us", I really mean Dave and the boys, since I am sort of useless right now.  It pains me that I cannot take part physically in this process, as I always love being a part of projects.  I love getting my hands dirty, trying new power tools, and just working alongside my husband.  To me, it is so fun and rewarding.  But for now, I will be a spectator, designer, shopping companion, and refreshment coordinator :-)

I thought it would be fun to blog the process of the makeover, because frankly, who doesn't like a good makeover? It's so much fun!  I thought it would also be fun to show others how projects can be done by being thrifty, thinking outside the box, and by considering various alternatives to the "normal". I want to encourage people that they can accomplish their dream projects, even with monetary hindrances!  I happen to be married to a very handy, very mechanical, very creative minded husband, and that is helpful too!  So welcome to...............................................

Project DeShong Backyard Makeover

Left side of yard before.  Nice dead grass, weeds, holes from dogs digging.....

Right side of yard before.  Same story as the other side.

Goal:  To turn a yard full of dead grass/weeds into a beautiful haven for fun, rest, and relaxation.  The goal is to landscape the side yard, plant grass in the backyard, and build a deck complete with fire pit!  Since there is a logical order to doing things, here is the step by step.  This is more for me, so I can organize my thoughts:

1) Rototill side yard (check)
2) Lay gas line for future fire pit on future deck (check)
3) Build frame for deck, so we can move on to step 4 (halfway finished)
4) Backfill deck with dirt from side yard
5) Landscape side yard (details to follow, including how we will do this on the extreme cheap....I can't wait to share)!
6) Rototill side one of the yard, and plant grass seed  (so the dogs will still have access to one side of the yard at a time)
7) Meanwhile, while grass is growing and becoming established, build deck (stay tuned for how we plan to do this for next to nothing in cost)
8) Rototill side two of yard and plant grass seed
9) DONE!  Ah, I can't wait for the day!



Step 1: We were blessed to borrow a rototiller from some dear friends, and since they hardly ever use it, we are able to keep it for a while, and use it at our leisure, instead of the cost of renting a machine for 4 hours at a time.  The first thing Dave did was to kill the remaining grass and weeds with total vegetation killer.  One container did the job, and Austin did the whole thing.  Dave soaked the side yard with water to make it easier to rototill, and then he was able to make light of the job.  It took him a weekend and he had the entire side yard rototilled up.  I wish I had a before pic of this side yard.  It was knee high in weeds, most of them already dead.  It was not a pretty sight.

Step 2:  One of the things we have longed to do in the yard was to build a small deck in the back corner (pretty much where Dave and Vance are standing in the pic below) ,and put in a fire pit.  So the next step before any more work could be done was to dig a trench to run the gas line from the house to our future deck site, since it needs to be buried underground.   Here is breaking ground for the trench.

And here is the gas line.  We had to run it from the house to this spot, about 10 feet.  We now have fire.

Step 3:  Build the frame for the future deck.  This needed to be done before we could level out the side yard, since we needed to use all the leftover fill dirt to fill the deck area.  After considering all our cost options, we came up with the idea to use railroad ties as the frame for our deck!

I have always loved the rustic look, and at $16 a piece, this is an extremely cheap way to do it, as opposed to stacking bricks or other building materials.  And, it takes a jiffy to build.  That's a plus.  The first layer of them had to be buried about halfway in the ground, so here is Dave at work doing this just last weekend.

And here is half of the first level buried.

Once the first level is completely buried, Dave will stack on levels two and three, attaching them to each other with brackets, and using rebar for extra support.   Stay tuned for more pics and an update. Thanks for coming along with us on this adventure!

New Vision

Somebody got glasses!!!!

Austin turns 15!

I can't believe it, but my oldest just turned 15!  I can't possibly be old enough for that.  Ahem.  But seriously, for those of you who know Austin, he has literally had a smile on his face since birth.  He is such a happy child, I mean man.  This year, he has grown so tall!  He is only a couple inches shy of Dave now!  Crazy.  He just finished his first year of high school as well.  Time flies.

We had a low key day at home, and Austin invited his very good friend Bryan over for a sleepover.  They spent the day doing what 15 year olds do.  Playing video games and his new board game, Settlers of Catan Seafarers.

 We thought this shirt was perfect for him.  Haha.  He loves it!

He wanted a vanilla cake with fresh strawberry filling for dessert.  Dinner was steak, potato salad, and a lettuce wedge salad at his request!

Happy Birthday to my biggest boy!  In just six short months, he will be driving!  Consider that your warning. Heehee!

Some F's.....

Finally Finished with school......Fence Building......Physical therapy (OK, it makes the F sound)!  Just a few of the things going on around here.

First,  it is such a tremendous blessing from God in this season of my life and living with daily pain, that He would see fit for school to be finished!  No more commitments for a while, and the busyness of homeschooling dies down for a  nice long summer respite.  Austin is wrapping up a few more 9th grade details, Luke has finished 7th grade, and Vance has finished 5th!  And I just don't know where this year went, along with the last few.  Still enjoying all of joy, frustration, busyness, and blessings of homeschooling.  What a privilege it is, and I am still learning.

Fence building.  Let's just say this has been longggggg overdue.  Along with the entire backyard that has been in shambles for years.  The whole project has just always seemed so overwhelming, and every idea we had to improve the yard was met with large price tags and an overwhelming amount of manual labor.  But sometimes you just need a kick in the pants to get it all started.  Last weekend, our relatively new neighbors that own the hill above our backyard decided that they would have some fun sliding all the way down the hill to the bottom.  Our dogs went ballistic.  Magnum, the dog who knows how to jump our small retaining wall, is thankfully the wussy dog of the family, shamefully afraid of even the sound of the electric toothbrush.  And the vacuum.  And, well, lots of things, frankly.  But he does know how to bark ferociously, and looks rather mean and vicious.  Summer, on the other hand, can't jump the wall (or hasn't figured it out yet).  She is the one we worry about.  Usually, her bark is much bigger than her bite, but we don't want to assume she never would use her bite.  So, we felt the urgent need to get that fence put up.  Wow!  What a difference a weekend makes!  The first day, Dave and the boys had the supporting frame up.  The second day, half of the fence boards were hung.  Finally, the third day, Austin completed the hanging of the rest of the fence boards all on his own while Dave was at work.  I was totally impressed!  It's amazing how much better the yard looks already.  Well, if you ignore the rest of the problems, it looks better!  So this has begun our journey to improving the back yard, and there is so much to do.  Next, we will be rotolling up the whole yard, and planting grass seed, one side of the yard at a time, so we can still give the dogs access to the yard.  That will be a cheap fix.  Among other things, and a little at a time, so as to not disturb the budget, we would like to create a small seating area with homemade fire pit, plant an orange tree, and do a path down the side yard.  I know each small improvement will get us closer to that beautiful refuge I long for!  Here are some before pics of our horrendous mess of a yard:

The right side of the yard....at the beginning of the project.  There was a pile of dirt and junk behind the shed that took a while to clean out before they could even begin.

The left side of the yard, complete with dirt, weeds, and gopher holes!  Our neighbor's ice plant is taking over.


And now:

Getting started!  Looking nice.....

 All done!

Love the look of raw cedar.  Smells good, too!

Finally, physical therapy.  I feel like my life is very simple right now.  Cook, clean, go to physical therapy!  I have dealing with this neck, shoulder, and arm pain since the beginning of March.  It has been a process to get where I am, including three MRI's and a lot of heartache.  I am about 5 weeks into physical therapy, and I am happy to be on this side of a diagnosis. I am also happy to be seeing small signs of improvement.  I have learned so much in the process too.  And I have been humbled by my limitations.  God has been completely and utterly gracious to me in so many ways, that I can't even begin to list.  I am thankful for a great PT and massage therapist, both of which come with my wholehearted recommendation if you are looking for one or the other.  They have made this whole process so much more comfortable for me, no matter how much pain I experience.  It is comforting that the Lord provided excellent hands for me to be in. Above all, I am in God's hands, and nothing I am experiencing is outside of His knowledge and will for my life right here, right now, and that is SO evident.  I will wait patiently for the day in which I hope to be pain free.  I am seeing better days, and even though I still have much pain every day, I will take the good with the bad.  Thank you to those of you who have served us, prayed for us, and loved us during this time.  We are all so thankful.

The saga continues.......

Silence is Golden

I know, I've been silent for a while....maybe that's a good thing? We were plugging along with life in general, and I recently developed a back problem. So right now life is pretty simple. Simple meals, doing the basics, and visiting the chiropractor three times a week. If you need a good chiropractor, please let me know, I have a great recommendation for you!

I was having a pretty good afternoon, so I braved a batch of cookies today for Austin's yearbook committee meeting tomorrow. I just thought I'd post the recipe, because they came out amazing. Something a little different, too!

Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Cookies

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Approx. 1/4 cup Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.
2. Cream together butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Gradually add the flour, baking soda and salt. Drizzle Nutella on top of the dough then swirl it through the dough with a butter knife.
3. Use cookie scoop to form dough balls and place on cookie sheet.
4. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just set and barely browning on the edges.
5. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute and then move to rack to cool.
   
   

Hike to Griffith Observatory

We have been trying out new hiking trails on the weekends lately, and this one was a gem! I have lived in the Los Angeles area almost all my life, and had no idea this trail system existed. We decided we wanted to take a visit to the Griffith Observatory, then found out that there were several trails that led up there. Rather than try to fight with the lack of parking at the Observatory, this seems like a win-win situation! It's easy to find. From Los Feliz, just turn right on Fern Dell. You will see the trailhead on your left, and cars lined up along both sides of the street.

When you begin at the trailhead, you wind through a beautiful tree lined path along a bubbling brook. It's very zen-like and peaceful. Once you hit the dirt path, it is all uphill from there. Literally. I would say the trek up to the Observatory probably takes somewhere between 30-45 minutes, depending on your pace. You would not believe the incredible views on the way up, as well as the sweeping views at the top. Breathtaking. And Hollywood nostalgic, too.

Our first glimpse of the Observatory at the beginning of the hike.

Vance found a nice little niche he wanted to climb.

Luke wanted to hold the cute little Observatory in his hand.

Getting closer!

Oh, and a view of the Hollywood sign on the way up too!

From the top, you can see all of downtown, and even neighboring towns. You can see all the little neighborhoods, and if you are lucky, you can even see someone fall off their bike. On a clear day, you can see all the way to the ocean.
Luke, beginning his planking tour of the Observatory.

Ahhh....finally there after the steep ascent!

A quick pic before heading into the Observatory for an hour or so.

Luke planking next to his buddy Albert.
Taking in the views.

And a final plank for good posterity!

Chick Fil A Tortilla Soup Clone

A couple weeks ago, we took a field trip to Chick Fil A. Since I am watching my calories right now, I opted to eat their tortilla soup for lunch. With only 230 calories, I thought it was a wise choice. It was amazingly flavorful and delicious and was really more like a chili, with two kinds of beans in it. That day, I set out to find a recipe that was just like it, but I could not find anything online with similar ingredients. I looked on the Chick Fil A website to see the list of ingredients, and I about lost my lunch. Figuratively speaking that is. The list of chemical additives is attrocious, including MSG and the like. Yuck.

So with a little experimenting (which always scares my children), I came up with a delicious version of my own, with all natural ingredients. I was so happy with the way it turned out, and my boys said "Mom, this one is a keeper!" Mission accomplished.

I did tweak the spices quite a bit, as I like a bit of a bite to it, so you can adjust to suit your taste. And if are willing to be patient, I think this soup is even better the day after. Forgive me, but I did not take a picture.

Chick Fil A Tortilla Soup Clone

1 onion chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

6 cups chicken broth

1 can black beans

1 can corn

1 can cannelini beans or any white bean

shredded rotisserie chicken, or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1 small can chopped green chilies

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp each cumin, pepper, chili powder

1 tsp cayenne

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Few dashes hot sauce

1 cup sour cream

Cornstarch to thicken if needed

salt to taste

Saute the onions and garlic in a bit of oil, until soft. Add chicken broth and remaining ingredients (except sour cream and cornstarch) to pot. Bring to a boil, and then simmer. Just before serving, stir in the sour cream, and salt to taste. At this point, I mixed some cornstarch with water, and added to the pot to thicken it a bit. You can decide how thick you want it, and can also add more sour cream as a thickener if you wish. Garnish with crushed tortilla chips, grated cheese, avocado, and cilantro.

L.A. Racing Nascar Experience

Almost a year ago, I purchased a Nascar racing experience for Dave for his birthday on Groupon. Do you use Groupon? I have found some great deals! This one was an amazing price compared to what they normally charge, and I knew it would be right up Dave's alley.

Yesterday, we took the drive out to Irwindale to the Toyota Speedway. What an amazing day! It was such a neat experience not only for Dave, but also for the boys and I! I highly recommend it.

We got there a bit early, so we got to watch the first group of racers that were in the time slot before us. It was good to acclimate to the way they run things, and to see what they do out there on the track. The entire operation is very organized and well thought out.

Here's a happy man at the entrance to the building. Look at the excitement in his face. Ready to race!

Here is a shot of the track from the grandstands. It is a half mile oval.

After you take a half hour class on how the whole thing is set up, what to expect, and how to operate the vehicle, you wait to be called for your turn. They send out four drivers at a time, and you get to drive 20 laps. Here is Dave getting suited up.

Putting on the spiffy jacket.

They communicate to you by one-way radio, and your personal spotter pretty much tells you everything to do, when you are clear to pass, etc. Here is Dave just after getting his earbuds taped down.

Pretty much ready to roll!

They ride you out to the track in this golfcart. I even got to go with him onto the track, so I could get close up pictures of him in the car. So fun!

Climbing in through the window! Since they are real late model Nascar race cars, there are no doors, headlights, etc.

Strapped in, steering wheel attached.....window net about to go in, and we're ready to race! He had such a blast, and it was so fun to watch from the grandstands. Austin timed his laps, Luke took video, and I took stills! Such a manly thing to do, I tell you! What man doesn't love to smell race gas and drive as fast as he wants??? Priceless experience! And a trip to Spaghetti Factory on the way home pretty much topped it off!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the DeShongs!

Wishing you and your family a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!

Rejoicing in this truth and the truth of God's Word this Christmas.

Let the festivities begin!