DIY Week 16

DIY Week 16

This Week:

This week we made major headway on the room! Finally!!! Yay!

Tuesday: We worked for almost an hour and a half to hang the white board back in the wall. It literally took a village to do it! Sarah and I couldn't do it alone, clearly. So in a matter of ten minutes we had several people from the swim team and half of the boys water polo team in the room directing us and telling us what to do (and criticizing how lame we were at doing construction work). We learned a lot about how to drill things in to walls. You need a drill bit...now i know what that is :) yay! DIY!

 Thursday: We finally got curtains up!!! They are navy blue with black curtain rods! It was much easier to put up since we knew how to put holes in the wall already from Tuesday. I have to say...the rooms looking pretty fancy :)

Friday: I brought all of the picture frames, that I painted black, back to the school. It was super hot in the room and we were afraid that the picture frames (that had to be taped onto the wall) would fall. So far so good...we will find out on Monday how they held up. Sarah and Connor also put the shelves back up with the projector.
Next Week:
Next week we will finish hanging pictures, vacuum the floor, and put the couch covers on the couches. We will stage the room and make sure it is looking spick and span for the big reveal on Wednesday!!!

DIY Week 15

DIY Week 15

This Week:

This week we were in the administration building about a thousand times because we needed to get the non-profit letter from the principle. I think that the secretary was a little bit irritated after we kept coming back in asking for the letter. She wasn't really informed on what we have been doing with the team room and why we wanted a non-profit letter. Finally, Friday morning we got a letter stating that we were a non-profit organization. However, Home Depot was only able to give us two $25 coupons. We are going to go to other stores to see if we can get more vouchers to help pay for the floor.

I seemed to be the design consultant for the project. Sarah and Connor went to Home Depot to get the vouchers and to Big Lots to buy curtains and rods. I couldn't make it because I was out of town with family but I was able to FaceTime in. We got black rods to match the picture frames and navy blue curtains. 

IM STRESSING OUT ABOUT FINISHING ON TIME

The flooring situation is not going to be able to be completed until after school gets out most likely. We also are going to have to tape up the pictures like before because we dont have enough studs underneath the walls to hang all of the pictures up. 

Biggest problem: our coach won't let us work during 6th period, everyone leaves after that, and we are all really busy

Next Week:

This next week is going to be on turbo speed to work on this project. The weekend is crazy busy for all three of us so it leaves this week to get the room ready. 

Tuesday: hang white board and curtains

Wednesday: Bring pictures and t.v. in

Thursday: hang pictures

Friday: clean, stage, make it look presentable

DIY Week 14

DIY Week 14

This Week:

This week was really fun for DIY! We brought over twenty pictures of all sizes, that were once on the wall of the team room, home to my house. I went over to home depot and bought black spray paint to turn the oak and extremely out dated picture frames into black, sleek, and modern. I laid clear painters tarp on my grass, taped newspaper around the glass, and got ready to spray. I did one picture but the frame turned out rough and really dusty with paint. It clearly wasn't looking too nice yet. I had to "adapt and overcome" this situation. 

I drove back over to home depot and bought semi-gloss black paint and brushes. I got home and laid down newspaper in the kitchen and once again prepared to paint. I sanded each frame to make the paint stick first. Then, I painted the first four frames really quickly! It was really fun and sort of relaxing. However, after about seventeen frames I began to dread doing this part of the project all alone. Four hours later, I was done and the picture frames looked fabulous! 

Picture frames drying in my living room

After I was done, I realized I had yet another rode block. I was looking at the pictures and realized that the most current pictures, that I am in, weren't painted. Those pictures either didn't have frames, or the glass broke from the frame. So, I had to buy five more black frames for these pictures. 

We also wrote a non-profit letter for Mr. Herzfeld to sign so that we could try to get a grant from Home Depot for the flooring and seating for the team room. We will find out in the next few weeks!

Next Week: 

Next week we will be able to clarify if we can get a grant from Home Depot on the flooring. If we can't, we will be steam cleaning. Also, we have to hang the pictures back up, the whiteboard, and get curtains. 

DIY Week 13

DIY Week 13

This Week:

This week I unfortunately was extremely busy with school (2 AP Exams), swim (CIF prelims and finals), and family (Mother's day). Because of all of these things, I didn't have time to go with Sarah to go to Home Depot and look at flooring, talk about getting it paid for by home depot, and negotiating. I know that we have to get a few coaches to fill out forms if we want to offset the cost of the flooring or else it will be around $300. It was good that she could go and look at what the next step will be. 

Since I couldn't make it, I researched online what the cheapest prices would be for couch covers, curtains, rods, and command strip hangers for pictures. It looks like our best bet will be Big Lots. Luckily we have one right down the street! Again, these things will cost money but I know that our coaches might donate and if we get the flooring paid for, then we will have extra money in our budget to buy these items. 

Big Lots!

Next Week:

Next week we will need to bring in the T.V., DVD player, and furniture we have so far. We can also buy the items from Big Lots, hang the pictures back up, put up curtains, re-hang the white board, and put a couch cover on the old couch. :) 

The hardest parts about the project so far are finding time on the weekends to take a chunk of time to work and having enough money to make it happen. 

DIY Week 12

DIY Week 12

This Week:

This past week Sarah, Connor and I all had Sunset League finals for swimming on both Wednesday and Friday. The boys placed third over all and the girls got second. It truly was an incredible meet and a day that I will always remember. Since we were so busy actually swimming and also studying due to AP tests the upcoming week, we didn't make any progress on the room. 

Sarah after our big win last Friday night in the 200 Medley Relay

Next Week:

Next week we will be calling flooring companies and trying to get someone to donate flooring to the room. Also, we will probably go to Big Lots and get a couch cover, curtain rods, and curtains for the windows. After all of that is completed, we will need to re-hang the pictures, white board, and shelves. Lastly, we will do the flooring; the room will be near completion except for a few design elements to spiff it up for the big reveal at the end. 

DIY Week 11

DIY Week 11

This Week:

This week was definitely my favorite week working on this project so far. This past Sunday, Sarah, Connor, and I all met to do the painting in the team room. First, we cleared out all of the couches, pictures, racks, and other miscellaneous items that we didn't want to get paint on. Connor and I both brought tarps and laid them out so that we didn't stain the carpet. We finished sanding the remaining spackle on the walls and then got to work painting. We did the job really quickly. We thought that the paint would need another coat but after it dried, it looked really good. It was such an improvement to the room! It looks much bigger now with the lighter and less drab color called Pool Party. 

After, we were instructed by our coaches to make the room livable again. Basically, that means that we had to put the couches back, remove any glass, nails, etc. that could potentially be a danger to someone in a bathing suit or with bare feet. 

We cleaned out the couches and were truly amazed at what was under/in them. We found forks, old 

speedos, money, and lots of food. It was sort of gross but it makes me happy to know that its a little bit cleaner. 

Blue Man Hands

This was a really fun day because we got to get messy and have fun all together. My clothes are covered in paint, my body was covered in paint; I would say it was a success. 

We also learned how to paint "correctly" from Connors mom. Do the edges first, then work inward and in a vertical direction. 

Next Week: 

We arent sure what we are going to do next. We have a few things on our checklist left:

- hanging pictures

- flooring

- couch

- bring entertainment cabinet and t.v.

- curtains

Something on this list will get done by the end of next weekend :) 

DIY Week 10

DIY Week 10

This Week: 

Spackling the wall

This week Sarah, Connor, and I made MAJOR progress with the team room. We all went Saturday morning and afternoon to paint the room. We brought lots of supplies, snacks, and other essentials to get the job done. Connor and I arrived first and lifted the couches out of the room. Then, we began to take the pictures off of the walls. We realized that we had a much bigger job to do than we thought. As we began to take the pictures off, some came off easily whereas others had to by pried off. One would think that pictures would be hung on a wall. However, these were taped with what seemed to be the stickies tape in the world. Some pictures had been up since the 80s and those were the hardest to get off. Some of the pictures even ripped of the wallpaper and some ripped off the wall, creating holes. 

Sarah's hole in the wall

The stubborn screw

After that, we had to patch up the millions of holes on the walls. I was the chief spacklerer. I had to spread the spackle into the hole without taking up more wall and scrape it to fill up the hole. Then, Sarah arrived and she began to sand down the dried spackle. In the mean time, Connor was trying to get the white board and cork boards out from being screwed into the wall. Once the tape was taken off the wall and it was sanded down and speckled, Sarah and I tried to help Connor. He had gotten the entire white board out except for one screw that it was hanging by. So, Sarah got up on the ladder and used a crow bar and go the white board's last screw out by yanking with all of her force. She created a giant hole that we

haven't decided what to do with yet... but we got the screw out so thats all
that matters.

We were quite tired because that had taken about 3.5 hours to do. We all had other things to do that day and we all knew that the paining wasn't going to get done. Therefore, we moved the mess into the middle of the room and we put off the painting until the next week. Sadly, we left the room in worse condition than before, but the walls are ready to be painted for sure!

Next Week: 

We will be painting the walls next saturday, selling the furniture at my garage sale, and cleaning the mess that we have created in the room. Hopefully the walls will be looking perfect in no time! 

DIY Week 9

DIY Week 9

This week: 

Theresa mixing the paint

This week we made another trek back to home depot to buy supplies to continue the room renovation. We knew that our next step would be definitely painting the room. So, we went to buy paint and spackle to patch up and paint the walls. We knew that we would need at least one gallon of paint. However, when we talked to a very helpful worker, named Theresa, she told us that with the dimensions of the room, we would need at least two gallons. We picked the color "pool party". It sort of goes with the theme, don't you think? Its a nice blue color in between baby blue and royal. After, we picked the sheen that would suit the room best. We got egg shell which has very little shine and is easily washable. Theresa then put all the information in the computer and we got to watch how they make the paint. The information in the computer measures how much color to put in the white can and then it goes into a mixer for five minutes. Then, we went and found the spackle and checked out. It was about $60.00 so we split it three ways. 

Next Week: 

Next week we are going to paint the room. We will need to take all of the pictures, racks, and shelves off of the walls. We will also need to clear the room by putting everything in the center and cover it with a clear plastic sheet so that the paint doesn't get on anything. Luckily, we have brushes and other necessary materials at home. We are going to do the painting but we are going to ask around to see if any other team members want to help. 

Connor modeling our paint cans

DIY Week 8

DIY Week 8

This Week: 

Sick at home over spring break

I had such high hopes for what I was going to accomplish on the team room this week. I was going to get paint samples, try them out on the wall, clean the room, organize the coach's room, and the equipment room. Sarah called me the day she returned from Germany and asked what I had gotten done and if we could work on the room the following day. I sadly had to inform her that I didn't have a very productive spring break. I got sick. Again. This is the second break this year that I have come down with something. This time it was a double ear infection and a sinus infection. I didn't even stray from my bed hardly at all. Therefore, I didn't make any progress on the room... :( Good thing the deadline isn't next week! 

Next Week: 

Next week I will go buy the paint samples for the room. Then when everyone is back we will paint them on the room and decide which we like best. Then, the following week/following monday we can paint the inside of the room and patch up the holes in the wall (once we clear out furniture of course). After, we will need to get the steam cleaner and clean the carpets. After, all we have left is the cosmetics. :) 

DIY Week 7

DIY Week 7:

This week: 

This week I haven't done much for the project. I have been really busy and since we went to Home Depot last week. We had two meets this week, Sarah left for Germany, and Connor is leaving today. I have mainly been planning what day I will work on the project over Spring Break next week.

Next week: 

Next week is Spring Break and I will be on the pool deck quite a bit since we have practice every day. Since i will be there so often, I can definitely begin to make some headway in the room. First, I will buy the paint samples to test out what color looks best inside the room and what my coach will want. Also, if I can get Mr. Farrow to help, I would like to patch up the holes in the wall. Next, I will start to clean the room. My plan is to dust, vacuum the floors, just to make some progress.  After break, Sarah and Connor will be back and we can get the paint they like and complete that step of the room. 

This link shows the colors we are planning on testing out...Behr Paint Samples

DIY Week 6

DIY Week 6

The Trek to Home Depot

This Week:

This week Sarah, Conner, and I all set out to complete the task of picking what paint we will use for the room. Our only limitations were that it must not be lead based, which wasn't really a problem because there isn't much paint in the stores to buy today that is made of lead. So, we went out to Home Depot to find the perfect shade of blue to either match or change the wall color of the team room. We decided that we would want paint that has primer already built in and that we should get indoor/outdoor paint because the room is a portable, not an actual well-insulated room. We looked and looked at samples and decided that the two best brands would be Glidden and Behr. Behr seems to be less expensive but Glidden had better colors to choose from. Here are the paint swatches we chose: 

Next Week: 

Next week I plan to go to Home Depot and pick up the paint samples and test it out on the room. Connor and Sarah will both be gone over spring break and some parts of next week. So, its up to me to make some progress. After I get the paint samples I will probably measure the room and find out how much paint is needed. Ill purchase it and wait until they come back to do the painting. I will also be looking for cheap sofas we can buy, an area rug, and a company or call around to friends to see if anyone has a steam cleaner for the floor. 

DIY Week 5

DIY Week 5

Santa Barbara Travel Trip

Progress this week:

      This week we were busy, busy, busy! We had so many practices this week and three meets! This took away from manual labor and planning with the project. However, we began to organize all the new equipment my coach ordered in the shed that some of the people on the team helped to put together. Also, we had to plan for our project pitch. We were going to our Santa Barbara travel trip on the same day of the pitch so we had to figure out if we were going to make a video, FaceTime in, or pitch it another day, since the deadline was approaching, we had so much practice, and we didn’t know if we could FaceTime in on the bus. My coach informed us that we would be on separate vans to the meet, so the FaceTiming option was out. Also, we didn’t have time to make a video so Mr. Z told us to present on monday. We made a powerpoint presentation with the pictures of the pool and each divided up who would say what.

What’s planned for the next week:

We still need to finalize the prices of the flooring, paint, and shelves. All of which we will take care of next weekend when we all can get together before Sarah leaves for Germany for two weeks. Then, while she and Connor are both gone, I will continue to organize the rooms and start to clean the team room since i’ll be here over spring break and there won’t be as much traffic in the team room.

DIY Week 4

DIY Week 4

This week:

      This week started competition season for the swim team. There are a lot of people on the pool deck at all times and soon the meets will start and there will be even more traffic. The team room has been started to be used quite often lately for people that have practice later in the afternoon and want to start their homework. I'v noticed that there isn't enough sitting room or writing room. And when people are not doing homework in there, they have nothing to do. So, I have decided that the T.V. and entertainment systems need to get in there as quickly as possible.

      The T.V. that my grandma is going to donate is 32", plenty big enough for the team. It will be able to be used for presentations, movies, exercise videos, and movies. Connor's mom has also decided to help us with the room and donate furniture to enclose the T.V. when it isn't in use. 

      We talked to two more coaches and they have also suggested to paint the door, organize the equipment room, and stabilize the white board to the wall. 

      This week, we really needed to finalize the flooring situation since it was extremely important to the cost of the project. We decided that since we don't know what is under the flooring,  and what else to put in that will be cost effective and water proof. So, we have decided to steam clean the floor and also buy a small floor rug for the center in case someone wants to sit on the floor. 

Next week:

      Next week, we won't be able to make much progress because we will be gone for the weekend and one night during the week for swim meets. However, we will need to record the pitch for the project since we won't be able to do it in class on Friday. We are going to interview the coach and other swimmers to give input in our presentation as to why the team room needs a re-do and what needs to get done. 

DIY project Week #3

DIY Project 

Week #3

This Week:

       This week my group and I have actually made a lot of progress on our project. I know that Sarah and Conner have both spoken to the activities director, the girls, and boys water polo coach to get the "Okay" to work on the room. They have all given suggestions as to what we should do to improve the room. The girls head water polo coach said that she would like all gaming systems enclosed to prevent any distractions, curtains on the windows, and to hang the pictures. Mrs. Lawler, the activities director said that it sounds like an awesome project and the only thing that we need to check with her on is to make sure the paint is "safe" for all students. (we just have to run it by her first) Also, I spoke with one of the "deck dads" on the swim team Mr. Farrow who will be our "contractor" to help with any installations we can't do on our own, such as flooring. 

 We also have begun to prepare the space for the remodel. We measured the room to get the dimensions of the walls and to get an idea of what we can fit in the space. I measured the windows which were 4'6.5" wide and 4'7" tall. I purchased curtain rods to hang the curtains on and also curtains for the windows. They weren't very expensive so I dipped into my piggy bank and didn't ask the boosters for any money. I have also been researching flooring to replace the carpet. We aren't sure what will be the best choice. Laminate is cheap, but it can't get wet. We are leaning towards either rubber mats or carpet. Lastly, we took pictures of the room to further show how bad it is in need of a remodel. 

Next Week:

       Next week I know our plans are to finalize the flooring dilemma. We just need to make sure whatever we get is cost effective, will be able to get wet, and can be installed easily. We will also need to prepare to pitch our project. Since all three group members will be absent, we may have to do it over skype on the bus ride to our Santa Barbara travel meet. 

DIY Week 2

DIY Project Week #2

This Week:

       Throughout this week I have really just been thinking about how my group will be able to execute this project (mostly financially). We have so many wonderful ideas that I know we can finish and that will really improve the space and therefore benefit the team. However, all of the things that we really want to do are extremely costly.

My Grandma

      One huge chunk of the money would need to go towards a new TV and gaming system for the room. However, I have the solution :) My I asked my grandma about our spare room in the house that has no purpose but to accumulate clutter. There is a DVD player, flat screen TV, and Wii that hasn't been used in at least a year. She has decided to graciously donate all of these devices to our team room because she isn't using them anymore! Additionally, we have loads of paint and supplies that we can use to get the room looking spiffy.
      Also, we have made progress as a group: Conner has spoken to the water polo coaches and we have the "Okay" to begin the demolition whenever we are ready!

Next Week:
      Monday morning starts the season officially and it also begins the complaining about the team room. My plan is to get to work. First, I have to measure the dimensions of the room. Next, I am going to take pictures of the room for our "pitch" to the class. Then, I am going to assess what is underneath the god awful carpet on the floor of the room. I will also need to price shelves, cabinets, sofas, and carpet.
    Overall, I think that this will be really fun to work on. We have already gotten several members on the team involved to help us do the hard work cleaning, putting together, and re-doing the room.

    

     

DIY Week 1

DIY PROJECT

Team Room Re-model

       For the DIY project, Sarah Yao, Conner Reilly, and I have decided to demolish the disgusting, out-of-date, and dangerous "team room" for swimmers that spend time during meets and while waiting for practice in there. It is in desperate need of some TLC and a complete remodel. Conner has been impaled by random sharp objects sticking out of the couches and from the walls. Speaking of the couches, there are springs and stuffing spewing out of them that further dirties the room. Additionally, there are years of pictures dating back to 1998 lying on the floor and wishing to be hung up on the wall. Also, the coaches have to set up a table each time they want to set up the projector for a presentation. The door doesn't work, the carpet is disgusting, it's unpainted, and the curtains consist of make-shift towels; it needs help. That is where we come in. 

Coach Nichols

      I have already begun the first step for the project this week. I discussed all of our plans with the swim coach here at FVHS, Mike Nichols. He thought that it was a fantastic idea and even gave some input on how to accomplish it, what days we should work, and additional things that he can do to try to of set the cost. He suggested that we should call local companies to sponsor just like how the baseball and track teams are sponsored by Under armor. 

Here are the plans of what we have to do so far: 

• New couches
• shelves
• TV
• curtains
• carpet
• paint
• organize equipment room
• hang pictures
• projector mount

       This may seem like a hefty list...and one might ask, "How are three high school students going to pay for all of this?" We have decided to call companies for sponsorship, we have money from the booster board, and we can sell some of the materials already in the room. Also, we don't need to hire anyone to do the manual labor because we can organize a deck day to get the team working and we are three very able teenagers. 

     Our mentor will be Coach Nichols along with the deck manager Mr. Knott. The schedule will rely a lot on away swim meets. We have to do the demolition on the weeks when people won't be using the room and we can keep people out. A lot of the actual work wont begin for a few weeks but we will be planning what to buy and how to get it for a few weeks. 

Nutrition

Swimmers in general are usually able to eat whatever they desire due to the amount of exercise done every day and the amount of calories being consumed while we are swimming. Most of the time I feel quite powerful in the pool since I can eat a lot, all of the time. However, I do have those days where I feel awfully sluggish and a lot slower in the water than I usually do. I was reading in a nutritional magazine for swimmers how to not "hit the wall" as they call it. That feeling when your legs are burning and your arms aren't moving quite fast enough in the pool could be due to a number of things ,not just because you're not coming to practice enough as a coach might say, or from lack of sleep. It could simply be from not eating the right foods or not eating enough. Nutritionists say that it is from using up all of the glycogen storage in our bodies. We simply run out of gas. 

Before Practice: At least a few hours before eat a high-carb meals and snacks. I like to eat quesadillas with chicken, a PB & J, or spaghetti and meatballs. 

During Practice: Drink a lot of fluid and eat high-carb snacks. (sports drinks, power bars, power bar or gatorade gel snacks). With a well nourished body, practices can be longer and harder; giving better results.

After Practice: Replenish the store of glycogen (carbs) in your body with high-carb food and drinks. 

At a Meet: 15 minutes before a race have one bite of an energy bar with a lot of protein and during a little bit of Powerade for the extra protein and electrolytes before the race.

I personally believe that this is why I get fatigued rather fast in practice. I need to nourish my body better in order for it to keep up with the rigorous exercise I'm doing. I think this will definitely help me from "hitting the wall" at practice and at a meet. 

The "Cool" New Look

For all you trendy swimmers out there, make sure that this year you are with the new fad.

 Jolyn bathing suit tops, tech suits, and Nike’s. At sectionals a few weeks back I was a little out of place. 

I walked into Belmont Shores swim complex to the fresh smell of chlorine (not) and the buzz of people talking 

and splashing about. Finally, I looked around and realized that I was missing something.

Every girl I passed by had Nike running shoes on, the new cool and vibrant colored ones (Nike 5.0). There I was, all bundled up in my Ugg boots. Clearly I didn’t get the memo. I met my team, warmed up, and went to the bathroom to get my skin-tight, toddler sized tech suit on.

I walked out of the bathroom and again had the same feeling of awkwardness. All of the girls had their tech suits half rolled down and had a Jolyn two-piece top on. They walked around in their Nike’s, the tech suit, and the bathing suit top. I suddenly realized that I needed to get with the new “cool swimmer” program.

Don’t worry! If you are behind too I gotcha covered! Here are some websites that will help you get-cool quick! 

 http://www.jolynclothing.com

http://www.nike.com/us

http://www.swimoutlet.com

London Medals

This first week of Christmas vacation has been anything from what I thought it would be like. I planned to be in the pool every day, twice a day, (except on Christmas Day and New Years Day). However, I have not been in the water once. It is killing me! I have had a fever and a bad cold all of break so far! I feel as if my swimming ability is completely lost, even though it has only been a week.

With all of my extra time, I have yet again dug deeper into what now seems to be my favorite magazine, Splash. So, even though I’m not in the water, I am still learning about what I wish I could be doing. I came across the “Medal Standings” of the athletes and between the countries at the 2012 Olympics in London. The USA team (31 medals) doubled and even tripled the amount of medals earned from Japan (11), China (10), Australia (10), and France (7) in swimming alone.

 

Two of these top medalists for swimming were Missy Franklin and, of course, Michael Phelps. Missy Franklin earned four gold medals and one bronze medal in London, which was her first Olympics! She did not let the nerves get to her at all! Michael Phelps, who didn’t plan to return this past summer, ended up winning four gold medals and two silver medals. Over the past two Olympics, he has earned a total of 22 medals!

Out of all 104 medals earned in London from all of the sports, swimming earned almost 30%!