I have been planning to buy a display for my bibs and medals. Something I can look at and remember every race, cherish every mile. I have seen several examples on Pinterest and Facebook. Each had a little different look with a different saying. I really liked this saying.
As my Running Buddy and I are bracing ourselves for 35 and training again for our next half marathons - the first we will run together - I found myself thinking about how great it was that our lives have come full circle from Kindergarten to a couple of mother runners.
I kept thinking it would be an awesome gift to get her a bib/medal board. As I searched online, I couldn't help but think, "I can soooo make something like this!" And handmade is always better!
I remembered seeing some pieces of wood that I thought would be perfect for what I was brainstorming. Leftover pieces from when we finished our basement. I double checked with Handy Man that he didn't have any plans for them and I started my DIY project.
I used some of the left over, blue paint from refinishing the nightstand. I couldn't help but sand the edges just a tiny bit to distress the board and add a little character. I bought stencils, hooks and hanging-thingy-majiggy-hooks for the back.
I grabbed a pencil, drew a faint line so all of my letters would be straight and traced the saying I wanted on the plaque. Once I had carefully traced all of the letters, I went back and started erasing the guide lines.
Son of a monkey's uncle...
No! NO! NOOOOO!!!!
Well, shit. I had to go back and repaint over the darn letters I had just perfectly traced.
Plan B was to tap into my inner Macgyver and I whipped out an old roll of medical tape I took home after my second c-section the day Mr Blue Eyes was born. Handy Man wanted me to toss that in the trash years ago as well. SEE!!! The tape came in handy. I laid out perfect lines and then traced my stencils again.
I used some leftover white paint from the Milk Can Makeovers to paint the letters.
I was ready for hardware!
I attached the hanging-thingy-majiggy-hooks for the back.
I had quite a few hooks to put on the plaque. Handy Man agreed that pre-drilling the holes would be the easiest and fastest way to screw them all in. So, I found Handy Man's drill bit set while he was at work.
And grabbed his drill.
I then spent the better half of an hour trying to figure out where he kept that damn attachment to the drill that held that tiny little cork-screwy-drill-bit-thingy. I searched high and low in every darn drawer of his tool chest. I looked in his tool belt, all over the tool bench, and in every random bucket of crap. Finally, I was so mad that I couldn't find the missing piece, let alone do this on my own, that I almost threw myself on the ground in the middle of the garage and started to cry. I may or may not have had a welling of tears in my eyes at least one time because of my frustrations.
Just as I was about to toss the entire bloody project into the dumpster, I found a tool case and this was inside...
Why do all of these darn tools have to look the same?
If I were in charge, this crap would be color coded.
Back on track, I laid everything out like I envisioned the final project would look like.
I pre-drilled the holes and started manually screwing in all of the hooks for the bibs and the medals.
I was VERY pleased with the results.
Handy Man got home and I met him at the door with my masterpieces.
Yes, I made two. One for my Running Buddy and one for me!
Handy Man approved my craftsmanship but I could tell he was biting his tongue through a masked smile. I asked him, "What?!?!"
Handy Man said, "I just don't understand why you need to display your trophies on the wall at your age."
Oh really?!?!?
With daggers in eyes I said, "Right. Cause you never display YOUR trophies on the wall... at YOUR age?"
And that was the end of that conversation...
What a year.
What a pile of miles in these shoes.
And I cherish every single one!
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