Foyer remodel and dining room colors

We have been trying to paint our foyer for about a month now. We have gone through 4 different colors and still don't like it. This last time I bought a different brand of paint and realized THAT makes a huge difference! Needless to say, I won't be buying that brand again. Here is what our wall looks like now...

and this is what I "think" I want it to look like. I love the dark chocolate in this room, yet I am afraid it will be too dark, so in the meantime I have spent way too much time and $ on other colors!


Here is our foyer. It is not very big and the lighting is yellow. Maybe I should switch the light bulbs. That would be a novel idea.

What to do, what to do. I've already spent $60 in paint I will probably never use. Any suggestions?

In other news, I love how my dining room turned out. Here are the colors:

I am debating what type of fabric to use for the window treatment. What do you think of this? Maybe I should add more color somewhere? I am not good at these things. Help please?!

Marathon is completed!

To read and see more about my marathon, click here. It was an amazing journey!

26.2 in San Francisco!

Fundraising is completed! nice. Around $4200 is what I raised all together. Thank you to everyone who participated in making this a success for me. I am so excited to be on my way to San Fran in 9 days! Yes, 9! 26.2 here I come.

Ready. Set. Run! and run and run and run...

Here is what I have planned on this trip so far:

A night tour of this place...


And a slice of this cheesecake, dolloped with cream (fortunately the Cheesecake Factory is right across the street from our hotel!) This is my post race reward, maybe I'll take the whole cake...



A visit to Portland to see Grandma Hari

and Ursula (sorry Ur, I don't have a picture but am excited to come!) both of whom I am running in honor of.

Of course none of this would be possible with out the wonderful support of this person,



who has watched the kids every Saturday morning for more than 3 months now and helped me with fundraisers without complaining I might add! You are amazing and thanks honey (can I get a massage now please?).

What have I been up to?

I must say, there hasn't been a whole lot of creative projects being accomplished at my house lately. In fact, this summer has been filled with all kinds of other events that there hasn't been time to sew. Fortunately I haven't been sitting on my butt all summer eating bon bons (although I did have Godiva Cheesecake from here last night...I thought I'd died and gone to heaven!) but have been very busy with running, fundraising and playing with my kids. So here's to my summer fav's:

1. Cynthia and I have been hard at work trying to figure out ways to raise money for our race. Here we are at a charity car wash and I am glad we were able to capture this moment. Cynthia is an amazing person who has overcome many obstacles. She is a caring person and goes the extra mile in all that she does.
 

2. We joined our pool this summer and man was that the best decision EVER! Won't miss another summer without that. The benefit of being members of the pool meant that Sadie could participate with the swim team. I was so proud of her for all that she accomplished. She was very proud of her trophy!
 

3. This young man is growing up to be such a polite and thoughtful kid. I have really enjoyed watching him help with Derek and be kind to those around him. I enjoy his energy and laughter. We enjoyed a trip to Grandma & Grandpa Johns' house this summer where we lived the high life.
 

3. This about sums up his summer! Always on the go, but also very patient and willing to go along with the flow. Derek is such a pleasure to have around and I love having him as my constant side kick.
 

So, here's to a summer well spent and fall just around the corner. I can't wait to start creating again, that is after my marathon is completed!

Running for Ursula, Gabe , Grandma Evelyn and Uncle Fay!

Running for Ursula, Gabe , Grandma Evelyn and Uncle Fay!

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My friend Cynthia and I have been out asking the business managers/owners to help out with our fund raising efforts. We have been fairly successful so far and feel like we are ready to do more! Thanks to all of the businesses who have donated and offered to have a day of fund raising for us! See the calendar to the left for more information and if you have any questions, please ask!

Today my letters went in the mail. Yay!

I have been training in this humidity...I know the weather is not as bad as it will get, but what's an Alaska girl supposed to do? I think I am going to melt away this summer, literally. In this heat, I run slower, I need more water when I run (lots of it) as it just turns to sweat and I have to get up really early, which isn't a bad thing. My ipod has been great, tracking the many miles I am running. I think I need to buy one of those cool water belts. However, I don't want to look too professional when I run! (like that can happen!)

Marathon Fund-Raising for Ursula

I am going to run in the Nike Women's Marathon and I need your help and support. I am raising funds for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a participant in their Team In Training program and I'm asking you to help by making a donation to my fund-raising campaign. I am running in honor of a wonderful woman and family member who's name is Ursula. Ursula is one of the sweetest people you will meet. She has such a giving heart and a perpetual positive attitude. Ursula has always enjoyed helping others and she has worked in many facilities in order to give care where it is needed. Ursula was recently diagnosed with a malignant myeloma- cancer of the plasma cells. Currently she is undergoing a chemo treatment for her illness. Each of you most likely knows someone who is selfless with their time, love and energy, well this is Ursula. Please help me in finding a cure for myeloma as well as other blood cancers. Here is how you can help:

The goal of TNT is to increase funding to support the Society’s mission while promoting fitness and healthy lifestyles. TNT uses the medium of endurance sports to raise funds for vital patient services and life-saving research.

Please click here to donate online quickly and securely plus learn more about my progress. You will receive a confirmation of your donation by email and I will be notified as soon as you make your donation. You can also click on any of the links to the left to support my campaign.

Each donation helps accelerate finding a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. More than 823,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers. I am hoping that my participation in Team In Training will help bring them hope and support. Any size donation, great or small, makes a difference. I really appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress.

On behalf of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, thank you very much for your support. I greatly appreciate your generosity.

Katie Johns - soon to be marathon runner

IGP Quilts

We accomplished great things last Thursday. With the quilt sets given from our day of service at church we were able to get all of them layered and the edges sewn. Next month we will learn how to machine quilt and tie them. Thank you to Shirley, Cynthia, Felicia and Heidi for coming and helping! Please join us in June.
  
 

IGP for March!

Lyric came and taught us all about applique! We had a great time learning and sewing. Thank you Lyric. I'm sorry I am such a slacker in posting so late, but I had lost the pictures and finally found them again!
  
  
 

Sadie's quilt...at last!

Here it is. I have been working, slowly but surely and it is finished. Thank you to AmandaJean for all of the great tutorials to help me finish this quilt. And to Randi for her great fabric shop where I purchased the fabrics. I love how it turned out. It still needs a washing and I'll post more pictures when it gets on her bed!