Building a Kitchen Table: Part 1

I think I've mentioned in the past my great tendency to over estimate my ability and underestimate the effort a project will take.  There were the aprons that took 3 months to finish (and the two that are still half finished in my closet), learning to surf (I swear they make it look so easy), and baking that infamous Triple Layer Chocolate Mousse Cake (It was delicious, but it took two days to make and when I moved out of my house last year I was still finding chocolate on the walls). 

You would think I would have learned my lesson by now.  I can just hear my past self yelling, "DON'T START ANOTHER PROJECT YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO FINISH!  You remember the mountain biking incident don't you?" 

But the small voice in the back of my head never tells me to put down the absurd project and slowly back away.  Instead, it echos, "It can't be that hard.  You're an intelligent person.  You can figure this out.  And even if you can't, just Google it.  Google knows everything."  And besides, this year is the Year of Do.  If there is ever an excuse to start an absurd project, this is it.

And so...I give you the most over involved project that I am under equipped to do. 

I am building a kitchen table.  (Or rather, I've convinced a friend to help me build a kitchen table.)

That's right, the girl who isn't really sure how to hang a picture straight on a wall and hates to measure things because it takes too much time is going to attempt to build a kitchen table that won't collapse the first time a fork is placed on it.  Do I know the first thing about "planers," and "routers," and "saw horses?"  Nope.  But, the people on Pinterest say, "It's the easiest project I've ever done."  And the Internet never lies...right?

Here's the look that I'm aiming for

A rustic reclaimed wood table from Restoration Hardware

 

And here is what it looks like right now

 

Don't let the picture fool you.  It's all just placed very strategic to make it look like I have some idea of where this is going. 

 

The cool part is that all of the wood for the table came from an old dock at my parents river house.  This dock has been washed away in two hurricanes and has been hunted down and towed back by kayak at least once before it was replaced with the concrete pier that now stands in it's place.  I have long loved the idea of a rustic, barn wood kitchen table that is big enough to fit an army around, but even more, I love the idea of having a piece of furniture with a story behind it. 

 

Don't worry.  This is just Part 1 in the saga of the kitchen table.  I'll post more as this project gets underway.  It should be an adventure to say the least.



The Timeline of A College Reunion, Late Night Pizza Run and All

6:30 pm- reunite with college friends.  Lots of hugs, lots of laughs, and lots of "do you remember that time when..." statements.

7:30 pm- Dinner downtown at a favorite Mexican restaurant.  More reminiscing and laughing.

9:00 pm- Stop into another restaurant when you hear live music coming from within the building.  Lots of laughing, although your not quite sure at what because it's hard to hear over the music. 

9:30 pm- Wilmington friends show up and meet said college friends.  This inevitably leads to immense amounts of high pitched laughing and story telling as lots of your favorite people end up in the same place.

10:00 pm- Pile into someones Jeep and take an impromptu drive on the beach (because this is just one of the perks of living in a beach town, and your friends are amazing).

10:34 pm- Climb out of said Jeep onto the beach and attempt to watch the stars.

10:39 pm- Realize that no one in the group can feel their fingers or toes because it is March 2nd, 30 degrees outside, and you're are standing on a beach.

10:40 pm- Load back into the Jeep and explore the beach a little more, this time, from the comfort of a heated vehicle with Drew Holcomb playing in the background.  Ahhhh...much better.

11:20 pm- Convene back at a friends house to start up a bonfire in the backyard.

12:03 am- Realize you are starving and warm up the only thing you can find in the frig/freezer, Stoffers Macaroni and Cheese.

12:30 am- Sit by the bonfire and enjoy not only reminiscing about fun times in college, but also what is new in your friend's lives.  Start making plans about the next time you can all get together again.

2:15 am- Realize how late it is, but it's been such a fun night, and since you're already reliving your college years tonight, why not end it with a late night Pizza run.

2:30 am- The five of you finish off a large pepperoni pizza.

3:30 am- finally crawl back into bed, exhausted and happy.  Look at the clock and think to yourself, "I haven't been up this late since college."

10:00 am- Alarm goes off.  Promptly turn off, roll over, and go back to sleep.

10:30 am- Wake up and think to yourself, "I'm too old for this."

Sometimes in the Year of Do, you say "yes" to random opportunities and it's some of the most fun and unexpected times in your life, and other times, you say "yes" to random opportunities and wake up thinking, "How did I do this on a regular basis in college?  Did I not love sleep back then?"  Luckily, this past Saturday was mostly extreme amounts of fun, with only a little exhaustion thrown in.  And if I had the opportunity to do it again, I'm pretty sure I would. 

The Intrepid Speaker

Ugh...I hate public speaking.  Have I mentioned that?  I guess I did write a blog post recalling my fear of public speaking based on the tragic/epic fainting epidemic in my seventh grade English class during a speech on Colonial America.  But, in case I need to say it one more time to reinforce the point, "There are some things you were just made to love and enjoy doing.  For me, public speaking is the exact opposite of that." 

And that's actually how I started my talk entitled A Biblical Basis for Social Justice at this past CRU meeting.  My plan was to come over prepared for my time, and then set low expectations so if anything bad happened, like another spur of the moment fainting attack, I would be covered.  In the end, it was unnecessary.  On two feet I stood, firmly planted on the middle of the stage, bible in hand, ear microphone wobbling ever so slightly in front of my face, with fifty sets of eyes either fixed on my every move or checking Facebook on their smart phones.  (It's hard to tell on stage with all of the spot lights shining in your eyes.)

And as uncomfortable and scary as it was, I'm so glad I did it, for a couple of different reasons.  First, and maybe most importantly, there has been a HUGE resurgence of Social Justice platforms lately among college students.  It affects almost all of their choices, how they spend their Christmas Breaks, which shoes they will buy, what stores they will shop in, which campus organizations they will get involved in, what they will major in, and what job they will eventually have.  As they contemplate how they will use their lives to meet some of the needs in this world, they need to understand that Social Justice fits perfectly into the heart and plan of God as well.

Secondly, and a far more selfish reason, it provided a great opportunity to step further out of my comfort zone and try things that are all together intimidating for me.  Call it nerves, or adrenalin, but it's kind of a rush to look at something with complete fear and walk into it non the less.  It may be one of the biggest perks of the Year of Do.