Finished with furniture projects - at least for a while

This weekend we finally finished the hutch for our dining room. It was quite a project. I forgot to get the camera out and take some pictures of what it looked like when we bought it from the resale shop, but it was stained a very dark color wood. The bottom of the hutch was almost completely rebuilt by my Dad and Chad after we got it home. We sanded it first, and the most awful musty smell came out when we started. It was like you could smell the house it used to be in...yuck. After sanding it, we put a primer on it. We bought a paint sprayer to complete this job, and it seemed to save lots of time. Kurt definitely wanted to use the new gadget, so he did the spraying with the primer and then our coat of paint. We painted the hutch green, the same color as one of our chairs. Then we used a gel stain and wiped it on and back off of the furniture, in hopes that the dark stain would stay in the crevices of the furniture. There were some spots we had to go back and complete, but we were pleased with how it turned out. Kurt put the cabinet doors on and we got some new hardware too. I guess we're officially on the lookout for our next project. After sanding...the bottom piece.

Getting started with the sanding...the top piece.

Spraying on the primer

Finally finished!

Just a cruisin'...with the family!

Over Spring Break we went on a caribbean cruise with my Dad, Johnette, John, Chad, and Mamoo. We left out of Galveston and our first stop was Cozumel Mexico. Chad, John, Kurt, and I took a cab from the pier in Cozumel and went to Paradise Beach where we soaked up some rays and enjoyed Mexican beverages. Then we went to Carlos 'n Charlies cantina before heading back to the ship. Dad, Johnette, and Mamoo took a tour of the island while we did our exploring. After leaving Cozumel we headed for the Cayman islands. It was beautiful weather, so we did an open-air trolley tour and ate lunch at Breezes cafe. In the Caymans, the ship didn't actually dock so we had to take tender boats to get to shore. We had a wheelchair for Mamoo, and she was such a trooper. She never slowed us down, and kept up the entire week! After leaving the Caymans we headed for Montego Bay, Jamaica. The scenery in Jamaica was beautiful when we docked early that morning. We took a tour bus around the island and stopped at Margaritaville before getting back on the ship. The Jamaican drivers that took us around the island ended up staying in Margaritaville with us for the afternoon. It was interesting to learn about their customs and everyday life. Jamaica was a real eye-opener, as it appeared beautiful but when we toured around there were lots of very poor areas and 5 or 6 people at every corner selling things they made in order to make a living.

After leaving Jamaica, we had 2 full days at sea. As far as you could look there was nothing but water surrounding us. It was so relaxing, and the weather was beautiful. It got a little rough coming back into Galveston on Saturday night, and we arrived to find very cold, windy weather. We had an amazing trip! It was a wake-up call having to come home and fix our own meals, as we had gotten so used to eating 3-course dinners and being waited on hand and foot. Ah, what a life it was...and a fabulous Spring Break 2010! Hanging out for first day at sea at one of the bars on the ship. There were windows surrounding the bar, and it was a great place to hang out.

Formal night on the boat

At the pier in Cozumel...our boat in the background.

In the Cayman islands

Mamoo sporting her new look

The Voyager of the Seas stops in Jamaica

Kurt and I at dinner on our last night.