Conquer Fear 2011 - Gators

Back in December/January I decided to make some goals for the new year. Well, one goal specifically, to conquer fear. I named this year Conquer Fear 2011. I made a list of stuff that I avoid to prevent an uncomfortable feeling. I'm not naturally a fearful person, but there are certain things that hold me back from living as full as I could. I'm definitely not the type of person to say I can't do something. But I kept finding these little things that I would avoid just so I wouldn't be uncomfortable/afraid/scared. I wasn't made to live in fear, so I'm going to conquer it. Take it head on. Then laugh in it's face.

My list consists of very specific to activities that send me into "freak out mode". Some of it may not make sense to other people, but it's all stuff that I avoid due to fear. So here it is (straight from my iPhone list labeled "2011"):

1. Canoe gator infested Wekiva Springs
2. Hold a spider
3. Learn to Fly
4. Ride a roller coaster

Small list but I can add to it. Today was gator fear conquering day. It worked out really well. I went canoeing with my best friend Maribel, and Jordan and her brother tagged along in kayaks. She and I had been canoeing down the springs before and I remember the sense of desperation to "get out" when I saw any gators. Didn't help that it was me and another female in a canoe, which means we were definitely not going fast and I was a brand new canoer so I wasn't very good at it. Trapped, inexperience, gators, ya, that sums up most of my anxiety inducers right there. But I love water. I love being outside in the Florida sun. I love a good physical challenge. There was no real reason for me to hate canoeing besides the unnecessary anxiety. So that was definitely first on my Conquer list. I made a couple videos while going down the springs. I have no video editing skills so it is what it is.

The Lived In Room

Its transition time around here. I've been "sitting" with our living room in a mess to get an idea of what I want and where it's all gonna go. We've been moving furniture in and out, deciding on colors to paint the furniture, looking at fabric choices. This is where we are so far.

The sofa, ottomans, rug and mirror stay where they are. Everything else is standing in for something that either doesn't exist yet, or is being painted. The chair over by the mirror is staying, but it currently stripped down to it's cushion. It used to look like this.

My friend found it for me at a thrift store for $25. The fabric was stained and dry rotted so all of it came off last night. Which means I have to learn how to reupholster a chair (fingers crossed) so I don't have this sitting in my living room for long.

We also found these end tables at the same thrift store for $15 each. They did have marble inserts in the top, but one was chipped and we broke the other in the thrift store parking lot. I'm having pieces of glass cut to replace them, and plan on putting some kind of decorative paper under the glass. The pedestal table is from Home Goods for $40 and is getting the same coat of paint as the other tables to help unify all 3.

This is in the middle of painting them. The white is primer and the green is actually my kitchen cabinet color with white mixed in to make it a little lighter green.

We still have a long way to go but I'm enjoying the little DIY projects to make this living room unique and all my own.