Furniture Do-Over

I have never been very good at being "crafy" but because of youtube I have been inspired. There are so many how-to-do-it-yourself videos on youtube. I have found I like working with furniture in particular. I buy cheap, 2nd-hand or garage sale furniture and try to make it different. I tell myself if I screw it up, hey it was cheap and try again. 
Here are a few pieces I have done a Do-Over too.

Simply just sanding and repainting this end table and hatstand a color I liked better.

Sanding, repainting and reupholstering. Reupholstering is super fun by the way.

Here's my patio table. 

I broke colorful plates and arranged the pieces between glass pebbles then put sand-grout in between. It's a small table but a colorful one.

I found 4 random chairs and a table from 4 random places.

I painted them all and reupholstered the chairs. 

Then I laid lace fabric on the table and spray painted through it to get the top-table design.

Being "crafty" is all about having the guts to give it a try :)

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Music to my Ears #3

Driving Exotic Cars

I do love me a Lamborghini. So one day I decided to find a way to drive one and oh did I find a way. Say hello to World Class Driving in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

These guy are awesome. They have exotic cars and muscles cars and they are all available for anyone who wants to drive them. They have several different package deals to pick from. I picked the 3 Exotic Car Experience. This package includes several different cars: Mercedes, Bentley, Audi, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Corvette and so on.

Depending on what you want to drive and spend, there are many options. You can spend anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to a few thousand.

To join me on this bucket-list adventure was my fabulous brother, Steven. 

Here's how it works. I looked online and decided which package deal I wanted. Then I made my reservation and placed a deposit. Next, I jumped on a plane and headed to Las Vegas. 

My brother and I arrived wearing the "casual wear" clothing "no boots or heels" the website had recommended. Then we, a single driver and another couple all sat down with one of the staff to discuss the plan. She gave us a quick run down of the "do's and do not's". Such as "do stay together with the other drivers, don't get a rock chip in the windshield, do take lots of pictures and don't get pulled over by the cops". Then we all piled into a van and they drove us out to the Lamborghini dealership where our beautiful rides were waiting for us. 

There were three other instructors there waiting for us. We each jumped into our cars (I of course ran to the Lambo) and got in. 

My fabulous instructor was Julie. She came and gave me a quick run down on how to drive this beautiful machine. It was just me and my brother in the car and a handheld radio. Julie would be driving in a Dodge Charger behind me. 

The other drivers and another instructor, Trevor, would be driving in from of me. The idea was to drive in a caravan line to Lake Mead Nation Park. Trevor, in another Dodge Charger, led the way with the Ferrari, the Audi R8, me in the Lambo and Julie all following behind. With the radio close by, we were off. We cautiously drove through town then arrived at the beautiful national park entrance. Still staying together and in line, we cruised our way through the bends, turns and hills of this amazing park. 

I didn't realize how different driving a Lamborghini was going to be but I figured it out fast. It was amazing! We had the tunes cranked, the engine roaring and I do recalling squealing for joy a time or two. Being in super-fast, super-powerful cars we of course always drove the speed limit (wink wink). Talk about a memorable moment. It was so much fun. I'm smiling just writing about it. 

After a few miles, Trevor our fearless leader, pulled over and we all got out and took pictures. Our instructors had water for us and were pleasantly willing to take a ridiculous number of photos for us. 

Then is was time to switch rides. That's right, not only did we get to drive a Lamborghini but, oh darn, we got to drive the Audi and the Ferrari as well. I jumped in the Audi and was amazed at how smooth it was. 

Then to finish off our 30 mile route we ended with the Ferrari. 

Driving a Lamborghini was a huge bucket-list moment for me and my heck was it fun! The instructors at World Class Driving were awesome. Special thanks to Kenny, Trevor, Julie and David (left to right). You guys were awesome.

If you ever find yourself in Las Vegas, I highly recommend this experience. 

http://www.worldclassdriving.com/

Handicap Parking Sign

Saw this sign at a gas station in Wyoming.

What not to say on a date...

Him: So what do you do for fun?

Me: All sorts of things. I play according to the season, skiing and snowmobiling in the winter and lots of boating and horseback riding in the summer.

Him: Horseback riding, you're an animal person then?

Me: Yeah, I have two horses and two dogs.

Him: Really? Do you take care of them all by yourself.

Me: Um... yes.

Him: Huh, that seems like a lot of responsibility.

Me: ..............

Him: What else do you like to do?

Me: I like to do the fun weekend get-away stuff. Like I went to went to a hockey game and I'm going to Las Vegas soon and next month I'm going to the snowmobile climb in Jackson Hole.

Him: Geez, that sounds like a lot of work.

Me: ..............

Fat Bikes!

That's what I said Fat Bikes. Check this out. It's a mountain bike you ride in snow. 

These super light weight bikes float over the snow on fat inner-tube tires. It was really fun. They are a bit different than riding a normal street bike but if you can do one you can do the other for sure. They are designed to travel on groomed  ski trails. I rode them everywhere from downhill ski slopes to cross-country ski trails. 

They are fine in a little top powder but get into the deep stuff and that front tire instantly sinks and you do one of these. 

Which by the way was the softest crash landing I have ever experienced :)

You can rent these fantastic things at Kelly Canyon Ski Resort in the ski rental shop. It is $35 for a whole day or $25 for a half day. To go up the chair lift it is $5/ride. I recommend practicing in the parking lot for a second to get the hang of things on a flat surface then it's off to lift #4. Once to the lift there are designated chairs with hooks attached to them. The lift workers were fantastic and knew exactly what to do. All I had to do is get on the chair lift just like I do when I go skiing and the lift worker placed the bike on the hook for me. The bike hangs off the left side of the chair and you sit on the right side (to keep the chair balanced). 

Once to the top the lift worker will be waiting for you and he will slow the chair down and remove your bike for you. 

A few pointers. 

1) On freshly groomed trails you want your tires a little deflated to give you more surface area. 

2) When going down hill, sit farther back on your seat then you would normally on a regular bike. 

3) If you get going faster than you are comfortable with there is always the brake but I found it more fun to turn and circle up hill to slow myself down. 

4) You will come across skiing and snowboarding traffic so use the normal traffic flow of things. I like to yell "on your left" when passing people just so they know I'm coming. I startled a few skiers when I passed them for I don't think they were expecting me to be peddling a bike when I came by :) 

5) Of course my last piece of advice is wear a helmet. I like my head just the way it is and my helmet helps to keep it that way. Helmets can also be rented at the ski shop. 

This was a super fun winter activity. Not hard to do, super fun and a good workout. I think I worked my abs more than any other muscle because I was laughing the whole time :)

(Big thanks to my friend Lyndsey Norr for coming on this adventure with me!)