2nd Mile

I don't even know where to start with this one.... It's slightly confusing and I don't even know the whole story.... So this is my story...

My dear friend Tiffany and her husband, Dave, recently took over a ministry called 2nd Mile. It, to my limited understanding, is like Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Craziness. But awesome. It is funded by donation and most all of the work is completed my volunteers. Their first project as leaders was Brentwood Elementary in East Palo Alto. Generally speaking, East Palo Alto is not the best neighborhood and has low socioeconomic standing. So the school was in need. For this project over 700 people showed up to help over the two days. I wish I had some pictures of the school before and after but I don't. The whole exterior was painted including most of the trim. The bathrooms were painted along with the gym. New landscaping throughout and updated playground equipment. The front office, Principal's office, counselor's office, library, and conference room also got a makeover. I'm probably forgetting something. It was such a busy weekend.

Tiff asked me to help her out with the project but taking charge of the teacher's lounge. So it was my job to redesign the room and buy the necessary items.

Here are some pictures from my first trip to the school:

It was pretty boring. I talked with one of the teachers and she expressed how depressing the room was and how she spent as little time as possible in the room. I wanted to change that.

I forgot my camera the first day of the project. That day we cleared out the room and painted.

Here are some pictures from halfway through the second day. At this point we have most of the new furniture in the room.
Here is the crazy work table I made. It is two Expidit shelves from Ikea with a door on top. In this pic you can see the way we connected the three pieces. Just flip over the door and it all fits together. That way if it needs to move it just comes apart.




The new kitchen is amazing. It was done by professionals the week the school was on spring break.


Yea! It turned out great and the teacher's love it! But what a busy weekend!

Another box

Another box has come and gone. It is surprising how fast we eat the produce. We are loving mashed sweet potatoes lately. And now with the nicer weather we have been grilling. Zucchini and broccoli are great on the grill. I made some chicken and wild rice soup yesterday with the carrots and celery. I gave the kiwis away to our favorite cat sitter. The only thing left are the green peppers will be used this week in some fajitas. Yum!!