Corey Stokes

As many of you know, I’ve jumped feet first into this DIY craze! I must tell you, a midst the pain, heart beak and tears, this journey is turning out to be one of the best times in my life. A few weeks ago I started working on a project that my wife and I have nick named “The Beast”; and rightfully so, this piece weighs a few hundred pounds.

This has been one of the most difficult yet the most rewarding pieces that we’ve built yet.  We saw the designs on The Design Confidential and instantly fell in love with it.  We started out looking for a project that would use some of the existing scrap wood that we have accumulated.  We jumped right into the project without fully reading the instructions. Needless to say, we made multiple trips to Lowe’s, to buy more wood.   It took 3 long weekend’s to complete the building. Now all that remains is agreeing on a color (we’re thinking a honey colored stain). Throughout the process we had some issues with the measurements of the frame and the cuts for the top. We went through about 5 pieces of 2x10s before we got it right. We ended up using the extra 2x10s to build a quick but beautiful bookshelf.  What’s more, we did not use any of our scrap wood, as we planned to (what wasn’t too short, wasn’t wide enough).

One of the thing that I’ve learned from this experience was not to be afraid to take your project to Lowe’s or Home Depot to ask them questions. After 3 broken jig saw blades, I finally went to the experts who recommended I use a hand saw to cut the space out for the 4×4 legs, in addition to the jig saw. All in all, this is an amazing piece of furniture. Hardest part was fitting the top.  Now, not only do I have this beautiful buffet, I also have someplace to place food during movie night with the kids so the dogs wont get in to it.

With the help of TheDesignConfidential.com we saved $1200 on this Big Sur Inspired Buffet . Take a look at the real Crate and Barrel product

written by Corey L. Stokes

I have often heard the statement you don’t have to be rich to live richly. In fact, my wife reminds me of this quite often. I hear her conversing with friends telling them about a great times we’ve had, awesome trips that we’ve taken, and great experiences that we have created for ourselves and the kids. To listen to her and to see the pictures, you would think that we often go on some extravagant vacation. Friends and family members all assume that we pay lots of money to create the experiences we share, when in truth the term staycation is the gold mine in our household.

There is a variety of reasons one would choose a staycation over a vacation. Lack of time and funds are two that top the list. Whether you have little time, or little funds staycations can be a way to still have a rewarding vacation time at low cost.

In the beginning when we would talk about vacationing at home, we would hear concerns about getting away from the daily hustle and bustle of being home. We’d simply smile and say that is exactly what a staycation for us is all about!

A normal staycation for us is usually a summer long event consisting of everything from going to beaches to zip lining over treetops, with the extra option of only occasionally stepping foot inside the house.

From one of our last staycations, here is a recap of a weekend, of a summer staycation:

• Day one – After getting off of work we packed a bag, food, and the camping gear, and made our way into the back yard. We set up the tent, started a fire, and began our staycation
• Day two – After a campfire breakfast that rivals any local dinner or International house of pancakes we drove to the local biking trail and set off. We had lunch at one of our favorite restaurants and followed that up with some time at the beach with some friends to cool off. We arrived back at our luxurious campsite in time for dinner, games roasted marshmallows, smores and bed.
• Day three – Breakfast, camp breakdown then off to a hike on the Appalachian Trail.

It was a great weekend! During this particular summer, several camping trips,in the national forest along with trips to water parks and local day trips, extended the summer into one of the richest experiences that we have ever had.

When we are told staycations are not real getaways we give people a look into the many trips we have had like these, to include a trip to Spain which we paid less than 2 cups of coffee (Now that was a real interesting week).

With a little planning and creativity, your staycation doesn’t have to be just added time at home. With the summer now beginning, I for one, look forward to the adventures that await. What do you have planned for the summer(Staycation for Vacation)?

Once or twice per week my daughter will bring up the fact that all of her friends have some type of social media account, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, in some cases they had all three.  I don’t know about you, but something just doesn’t sit right with me about letting my 11-year-old online with unrestricted access to say or do whatever  her (or his) heart desires.  There is still a bit of learning that needs to happen there before giving off the reigns of that much freedom. So my and my wife’s accounts end up being the family accounts for all internet social access. We’ve even had to unfriend a few people because of the items that they post.  Who wants their children seeing such things unfiltered?

Yes my kids, have access to all sorts of technology, tablets,  laptops, game systems, online movie players, all of which are monitored and controlled to give security  when needed.  Even before letting your child run free on the internet a basic conversation is still needed

Jas Dhaliwal says it best in his blog post The next generation of cyber leaders – http://blogs.avg.com/community/cyber-security-month-future-generations/.  He provides three tip to help keep your child safe while connected to the web.

• Teach your child that the internet is forever. Once you post it, it is there, and it is public record for the world to see/search/ and comment on.

• Talk to your child about Cyber-bullying. That’s right, in the classroom is not the only place you need to worry about bullying.  Especially if you child has access to unmonitored social media.

• Teach your child about safe browsing habits.  Talk to your children about what you believe is an appropriate site to visit, as well as what an inappropriate site is.  Don’t assume your child knows what you are thinking.

Even for a techie like me, there is a line drawn when it comes to the safety of my kids.  Something as simple as talking to you kids will not only keep them safe from predators, but it will also keep you child’s computing experience pleasant.