Okie dokie. So, our Lifetime shed arrived and we read through the assembling directions. Now that we had the general idea of what we were about to undertake, we were ready to start building our shed! Well, sort of. Before we could actually start assembling our Lifetime shed, we had to prepare the shed site.
As you may recall, we plan to put our 8’x5’ Lifetime shed right up against our back fence. But, our yard has a pretty significant slope and we can only dig about 6” before we hit solid rock…practically boulders in some spots! And, lucky us, we also had a tree stump and roots we had to take into consideration. Fun times. So, our first step was to level the ground to be flush with the tree stump by removing weeds, rocks, mulch, adding dirt, etc. Ground ready? Check. 
The Lifetime shed directions recommend building the shed on a concrete slab. However, if that is not an option, they recommend building the shed on a wood platform covered with plywood or on a wood frame filled with pea gravel. Great, more work. Arrgh. However, in reality, that would be the case for any type of shed (whether it was metal, wood, or plastic), especially with our sloped yard. BUT, here’s the best part…Lifetime actually provides step-by-step directions on how to build the wood platform or wood frame! They show awesome pictures, list the exact materials you will need, and provide the precise dimensions including where to place all of the support beams. They’ve seriously done all of the work for you except the manual labor! Even someone who isn’t very good at woodworking can figure out how to build the shed platform with the directions Lifetime provides.
One piece of advice the instructions didn’t mention that might be handy…if you’re building the wood platform or frame, if possible, build it on a flat surface (like a driveway or in your garage) first and then carry it to your final destination to make it easier to ensure you have it level and squared. That’s exactly what we did. My husband and I constructed the wood frame on our concrete driveway…it only took about 30 minutes. Super simple.
Then, thanks to my massive muscles (ha!), we carried the wood frame back to the future shed site. We placed it on the ground to see how much more leveling of the ground we would need to do. We had to ensure the platform would be above the tree stump and roots that we couldn’t remove. (Plus, Lifetime also reminds you that any platform or similar structure should be built above ground in order to avoid water pooling inside the shed. ) So, we placed our platform on cinder blocks - three under each of the four shed sides. I’m going to be honest with you…this part took forever!! If you’ve ever tried to lay pavers, flagstone, etc., you know what I mean. Leveling a cinder block foundation is tiring and tedious work. Add a little dirt, add a little sand, too much sand, need to pack it down more, oops packed too much etc. Ugh. Finally (about 4 hours later) it was level and we were able to place the wood frame on top of the cinder blocks and quickly nail the plywood on top. Ta-da!
Building the wood platform was a piece of cake. Unfortunately, preparing our yard was not. But, we knew it was going to be challenging before we even started thanks to our rocks, tree stumps, and slope. If you already have a concrete slab ready to go (or at least a flat yard), lucky you! We spent almost an entire day preparing our site. Geez, I bet you hope building the actual shed was a lot easier, huh? Stay tuned to find out!
Oh...one other great piece of preparation advice that Lifetime reminds you of several times in the directions...be sure to check all of your city and county building codes to learn if you need a building permit. Fortunately, for us, we did not need one. Since a Lifetime shed does not have real shingles, our city does not consider it a permanent structure and, therefore, a permit is not required.
It’s been several months since I first wrote about wanting/needing to build a shed in our backyard. Great news - you no longer have to read any more about my shed planning or problems. Why? Because last week we finally built our Lifetime shed! Whoo-hoo! Applause please.
So, let’s start at the beginning. We had our shed delivered to us. Before the delivery truck arrived, we assumed we would have to move our car out of the garage to keep the shed package until we were ready to build. We are building an 8’x5’ shed so naturally the packing is going to be huge and in several boxes. WRONG! When the driver opened his truck, he only had two…yes, 2… small boxes. Trust me, I double-checked the packing slip to make sure he brought everything. After that, I then noticed Lifetime actually prints right on the box in big print “box 1 of 2” and “box 2 of 2”. We were so surprised and completely impressed at how well Lifetime has figured out how to minimize packaging for such a large product. Wow! Don’t get me wrong, the boxes were long (slightly over 8’), but they were very compact. We were able to stack up our kids' gazillion riding toys and bikes and easily make enough room for the boxes without having to move the car out of the garage.
I thought we simply ordered a shed in a box. Silly me. To my kids, it was an instant new toy! The kids climbed on the boxes in the garage for almost an hour that night and several times the next few days. First they were stairs, then it was a pretend bed. Crazy how kids can have so much fun with a box…why do we spend money on real toys?!? So…when buying your shed, allow for extra box playtime before assembling your shed. :)
Anyway, I digress. We opened Box 1 in hopes of easily finding the directions…bingo, right on top. We wanted to read through the directions entirely before we started anything to get a good feel for what we were up against. Wow, again. HUGE kudos to the Lifetime tech writers for the shed directions! I’m telling you, these are like “Shed for Dummies" directions. Not at all like most assembly directions I’ve seen lately. We assembled a simple nightstand a few months ago and it was like playing a big game of Pictionary drawn by preschoolers who only knew a few capital letters. Not Lifetime shed directions. They use easy-to-understand language with complete sentences! They even incorporate a bit of humor every now-and-then with things like “don’t do it this way, trust us, we’ve tried it and it doesn’t work!” I felt like a good friend wrote the directions just for me and knew exactly how I might try to skirt around the steps. Busted!
Know what else makes the Lifetime shed directions so awesome? The pictures. The drawings are not your standard tech drawings that pretty much look like stick figures. These pictures really look like the actual parts, and are even shown actual size in some cases. And, for the more difficult steps, they even included a separate “Construction Tips” brochure with large, full-color photos detailing the process! How neat is that!?! If you want to see for yourself what I’m talking about, you can actually check out the directions online at www.lifetime.com in the Customer Care section.
Now that we had read through the shed directions, we simply needed to find a day to build our shed. I’ll let you know in my next post if things were really as easy as the directions made it sound!
The new Lifetime Kiddie Table Sweepstakes has reminded me of some fond memories. My mother came from a family of 8 children, so when her side of the family gets together for holidays many of us cousins were told to sit at the kiddie table... usually a Lifetime adjustable height table. When I was finally big enough to sit at a table where I could swing my legs I was ecstatic to say the least. But as the years passed, I started to look at the kid's table again with a little more fondness. Being one of the only female cousins my age, I had a serious shortage of friends at these occasions. So I decided to start sitting at the kiddie table again. When you are in your teens and you start paying attention to children you get an instant fan base. After this move I became a family celebrity. You may laugh, but it's true. When I was elected student body VP at Weber State University they all asked for autographed campaign posters. Though I doubt they still have them now, the friendships created at the kiddie table will stay with me forever. In fact, I'll see all those cousins in a few weeks for Thanksgiving. They have graduated from the kiddie table now. Most of them have their own cell phones and boyfriends and are dressing much cooler than me. But every now and then I see a few of them return to the kiddie table for a visit... and that makes me smile. Do you have memories of the kiddie table? Please share!
We all like free stuff, right? Well, here’s something pretty cool…Lifetime is sponsoring a Kiddie Table Sweepstakes for the holidays. Five lucky people are going to win two Lifetime 4-foot adjustable-height folding tables, eight Lifetime folding chairs, holiday table decorations, tableware, art supplies, games, puzzles and a $300 gift card to purchase the holiday food!
It’s super simple. Nothing to buy or even asked to buy, no surveys to answer, no ads to view, no essays to write. You simply type your name, address, phone number, e-mail and birthdate in the online registration form, click “submit”, and you’re entered in the contest. Quick and easy. Seriously, it takes about 30 seconds. Here’s the best part…you can even enter more than once! Each person can submit up to one entry per day! There’s no catch, I promise. Your name and information is NOT going to be sold to a third party. You are NOT going to receive spam e-mails and solicitations from Lifetime. (Although, there is a box you can check if you would like to receive future e-mails from Lifetime…but even then I can assure you Lifetime does not regularly send out advertisements or promotions.)
So, what’s the deal? Well, it’s pretty straight forward. According to a survey, 61 percent of American adults and 72 percent of American children have sat at a holiday “kiddie table”. This year, instead of making the kiddie table an excluded place where kids sit dreaming of the day when they will graduate to the big table, Lifetime wants to make sure the kiddie table is a place that kids will rush to and that will leave adults wishing they could be a kid again! And, what better way to do that than with a table just the right size for kids, complete with special decorations, art supplies, games, and more!
If you’re not familiar with the Lifetime 4-foot adjustable-height folding tables, you’ll quickly become a fan and wonder why you ever owned a table that didn’t have adjustable heights! Use them at the lowest height for a children’s table, use them at the middle height for a regular table, or set them at the top countertop height for buffets and standing work stations.
That’s the scoop. I’m so excited to tell you about this chance to win FREE stuff! But, you need to hurry…the deadline to enter is December 1, 2008 at 4pm. (Winners will be selected December 5 so you won’t have to wait long at all to find out if you won!)
Click here and submit your first entry today! Good luck!
So, my hubby Mike did something pretty cool last weekend. I think I’ve mentioned before that he is an F-16 pilot in the Air Force. Right now he is stationed at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas as an Instructor Pilot for the T-38 jet. Anyway…last weekend he (and some other guys from the squadron) did the flyby for the Nationwide NASCAR Series Race up in Dallas. Thanks to the wonders of technology, I was able to pause live TV and snap this photo of his flyby as shown on ESPN. :)
After doing the flyby, Mike and the other pilots were escorted into pit row to watch the race. Mike said it was a pretty cool experience being right down by the action. They met Jack Roush, owner of several NASCAR teams and fellow aviation fan, and they stood within arms reach of Kyle Busch during his celebration in victory lane. However, what surprised Mike the most was how much the pilots were treated like the celebrities by the fans and even the racecar drivers. He was the one looking forward to meeting the race personalities, but it turns out they were just as excited to meet the fighter pilots. I guess we sometimes take for granted what he gets to do for a job since flying is what he does every day.
But, to most people, being a fighter pilot is still a pretty unusual and “cool” job that most people only get to dream about as a kid.
Mike was so amazed at how welcoming all of the NASCAR fans were to the pilots. When they walked through the rows and rows of tailgaters, they were bombarded with offers of food, photo requests, and sincere appreciation for what they do for our country. One thing Mike noticed while he was talking with fans was how many people had Lifetime tables set up for their tailgate parties. Unfortunately, he decided pictures of Kyle Busch and T-38s were more exciting than tables so he didn’t take any pictures to back up his story! But, I’m sure he’s telling the truth.
In fact, since Lifetime tables are such a staple tailgate item, in 2005 and 2006, Lifetime actually hosted a giant “Tailgate of a Lifetime” party with over 40,000 NASCAR fans attending at the Michigan International Speedway! Whether it’s a camp table with wire rack to set the grill on, a banquet table to set the food on, or chairs to put your rear on, Lifetime products are pretty much ideal for tailgates.
So, regardless if you’re a football fan or NASCAR fan, ‘tis the season to tailgate! And, if you’re tired of serving the traditional burgers and hotdogs, be sure to check out the yummy recipe for Grilled Flank Steak Sandwiches, as well as other tailgate tips and solutions at www.lifetime.com.
Oh…and hope you enjoy this “bird’s eye” view of NASCAR as seen from a T-38!
Happy Veteran’s Day! As a kid, to me, this was just another day to get out of school. But, now that I’m an adult and my husband is in the Air Force, the holiday obviously has a much greater meaning to me and I appreciate the significance behind this annual day of recognition. With Veteran’s Day today, as well as election day last week, it’s seems only appropriate to show our American pride.
Did you know that ALL of Lifetime’s sheds are made right here in America and are backed by a 10-year warranty? My Lifetime shed was delivered last week and one of the first things that caught my eye on the packaging was the American flag with “Made in the USA” printed under it. (Stay tuned to future posts for my shed building progress and videos!) Yep, made in the good ‘ole USA…. in the state of Utah to be exact. That’s pretty cool, huh?
Lifetime Products is proudly headquartered in Clearfield, Utah. That’s where the owner started the company almost 25 years ago. So, on this patriotic holiday, I thought I would enlighten you with a few more “proud to be an American” facts that should make you feel good about your purchase and proud to own a Lifetime Product:
- ALL Lifetime sheds are made in the USA.
- ALL Lifetime folding chairs are made in the USA.
- ALL Lifetime trailers are ASSEMBLED in the USA.
- ALL Lifetime yard carts are ASSEMBLED in the USA.
- ALL Big Stuff (made by Lifetime) playsets are made in the USA.
- 98% of Lifetime basketball products are made in the USA.
And, of course, manufacturing all of these products translates into jobs, jobs, jobs! Lifetime employs 1,550 people in Utah, and 2,200 worldwide!
Now that’s just good news! I hope you enjoy and appreciate this important American holiday today. And, to all of our soldiers who are protecting our country and our freedom (and those who have done so in the past), THANK YOU!
The basement, after almost two years of work, is finally finished. We are very happy with the way it turned out. This past Saturday I decided to move my tools out of the basement and into the garage, which meant that I needed to organize the garage to fit everything. I have been parking my car out in the driveway for the past year and-a-half because my side of the garage has been used to store stuff from the basement.
I strive to be a minimalist but with a wife and two kids you are bound to accumulate stuff. Fortunately, I recently purchased a Lifetime Fold-in-half trailer. Well actually... my dad bought the trailer for himself but I claim it as mine whenever I need it. He also stores it at his house which isn’t that big a deal since folds up to only 29” wide.
With the wife and kids gone I wanted to get started on the cleaning out the garage. Its easier to throw stuff away when the wife isn’t watching over your shoulder. I went over to my parents to pick up “my” trailer to find out they were out of town. Rats! no help from my dad today to get my junk loaded up.
I was amazed at how easy the trailer was to work with and get set up to take over to my house. This was the first time I have used it. I was able to pull it out of their garage, unfold it, and hook it up to the SUV all on my own without any trouble.
Once I had the trailer, cleaning the rest of the garage was a snap. Pretty much everything in sight that I didn’t absolutely need to keep got thrown into the trailer. Once the trailer was loaded I just threw a tarp over the top and tied it down. Pulling the trailer was a breeze the only problem I had was arriving at the dump trying to back it into where the workers wanted me to be. Backing is tough for an inexperienced trailer-puller like me. I did manage to jackknife it on both sides of my car and I am sure I gave the workers a good laugh. Here is a hint… Trailers respond a lot quicker then you would think to minor adjustments in your steering so go slow… 
Once I finally got it to about where I was supposed to be I was able to pull out the back panel and quickly empty it of all of my junk. Don’t worry, I separated my recyclables out.
Taking the trailer back, folding it up, and wiping off any noticeable dirt so I wouldn’t get busted for using it, was easy. Another thing I learned for you Lifetime trailer owners out there was although one person can move the trailer around by hand (I have the 5x8 model) it is a lot easier if you move it without the front and rear panels inserted. You need to remove these anyway to fold it up or unfold it so just sit them off to the side to move it around and them put them in after.
It is nice to have a finished basement, and a clean garage so my car can park inside this winter.
Earlier this year, we bought a GMC Acadia. I LOVE it! It was the first crossover SUV of its kind and now several other automakers have followed suit. The Acadia is an SUV on the outside with the seating configuration of a mini-van on the inside. Perfect for those of us who like the idea of a mini-van, but not all the psychological baggage that comes along with them!
Over the past few months, as friends see our vehicle they will often say comments like, “This reminds me a lot of a Saturn Outlook.” Or, “Is this like a Saturn Outlook?” Well, you know why? They are the same car! GM owns both the GMC and Saturn brand and, consequently, the Acadia and Outlook bascially come off the same production line. (And, the Buick Enclave too!). For various marketing and sales strategies, companies often make the same product with slight variations and sell them under a different brand. We probably notice it most often in the automobile industry, but clothing manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, food manufacturers, etc. all employ these brand tactics. And, yes, so does Lifetime.
As Katie pointed out in her “What’s In A Name” posting, customers know and trust the quality and reputation associated with the Lifetime name. The majority of our products are sold under the Lifetime brand. However, I thought I would point out that we do have a few other brands that are still products made by Lifetime.
So here’s our list…
Basketball system brands made by Lifetime
Lifetime
Mammoth
Atlas
Reebok
Table and chair brands made by Lifetime
Lifetime
Executive Choice
Playground equipment brands made by Lifetime
Big stuff
So, keep your eyes open for these brands when you are shopping. Despite sporting a different logo, you can be assured our other brands are of the same high-quality as those with the Lifetime logo. One important thing to note is that all of our sheds, trailers, and yard carts bear ONLY the Lifetime name…so don’t sacrifice quality and be fooled by imitations!
Oh, and here’s a little tip if you’re in doubt whether a product is made by Lifetime… all products made by Lifetime, regardless of brand, will have printed (in words, not a logo) “Manufactured by Lifetime Products, Inc.” on the box or label where the manufacturers’ name and address is listed.
It's been a long campaign, and today is the day it all comes down to you. It's November 4th - Election Day!
Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican, or an Independant, this is your day. Excercise your right as an American and let your voice be heard.
And if you don't know exactly WHERE to vote, this link will help you find exactly where to go.
God Bless America!
In Syracuse, Utah, We’re lucky to have a community center that houses workout equipment, a running track, double-gymnasium, and has various classrooms and meeting rooms.
Recently my fellow web developers attended the Davis County .Net User’s Group which was held in one of the Community Center’s classrooms. These user group meetings are generally held lecture-style, with the speaker presenting at the front of the room with their laptop computer hooked up to a projector displaying the material on the far wall.
In this setup both the speaker and the attendees had plenty of sitting room and table space available. In the room were half-a-dozen Lifetime folding tables, Lifetime folding chairs, and a Lifetime chair cart loaded with even more folding chairs.
It was nice to see that my city had taken the time to research the best product and make the investment in products that will last a very, very long time… and were comfortable to sit in for hours or learning geeky stuff at the meeting.
What brand of tables and chairs does your city use?
A few days ago we helped my son Nathan make his first homemade Halloween costume. I’m embarrassed to admit, but this is the first year we have fully embraced the fun and festivities and attempted a homemade costume. I’ve always wanted to, but normally Nathan has always eyed something in the store that he really wanted to be like Elmo, a spider etc. (except last year when he wanted to wear his own flight suit to be a fighter pilot like Daddy!). And, it just made things a lot easier anyway.
This year Nathan is really into Disney’s Wall-E, and robots in general. So, we made our own robot. First, we spray painted two rectangular boxes with silver metallic paint. Next, we cut the bottom out of the “body” box, and we also cut a head hole and arm holes. In the smaller “head” box, we cut out a big rectangle for his face to poke through. Then it was time for the creativity and imagination of a 5-year-old to take over. Naturally, every robot must have lights. So, I covered some of those Stick 'N Click lights with colored plastic wrap to make red and blue lights. (Best use I've found for those things yet!) Nathan added some pipe cleaners for antennas; old caps for eyes; and stickers, nuts and washers for control panels etc. I must admit, it turned out really cute and I can honestly say I think it’s one of my favorite costumes so far!
But, the whole homemade costume idea got me thinking. I wonder if anyone has every tried to be a Lifetime product for Halloween. Sure enough, after just a few quick Google searches, I came up with some creative ways to be a table or basketball hoop for Halloween!
So here are the links I found to few ideas for you if you’re crazy about Lifetime, tables, or basketball. Some are cute (like the one in the photo above), some are scary... but, all of them are pretty funny and creative. Of course, I’d add one other small detail to your costume that these people skipped…the Lifetime logo! :) Seriously, if you do dress up as a Lifetime product, send us a picture, we’d love to see it and post it on our blog!
Basketball Hoop Costume
>http://family.go.com/2008-halloween-costume-contest/costumes/basketball-hoop-688/
http://www.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/coolest-basketball-hoop-costume.html
http://www.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/coolest-basketball-goal-costume-2.html
Dinner Table Costumes
http://fun.familyeducation.com/halloween-costume/halloween/35395.html
Scary Head on A Platter Table Costume
http://www.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/scary-halloween-costumes.html
Happy Halloween!
For a fun family activity last night we thought it would be fun to do some pumpkin carving. It was an amusing evening that our two boys thoroughly enjoyed.
As soon as I left work, I picked up the boys and we drove down to a local outdoor produce stand that always seems to have a great selection of pumpkins, all in different shapes and sizes, each one seemed to have their own personality. I think Josh and Jake changed their minds on which pumpkin they each wanted about eight times. Originally Josh was really set on a small pumpkin just a little bit larger than my fist, (I don’t think I have the patience to carve a pumpkin that small), so I had to use my best diplomatic efforts to convince him to choose a different pumpkin. He eventually chose another one-- the largest one out there. Jake also chose one that I am sure outweighed him. I thought I would have to look up my car’s towing capacity in my owner’s manual to make sure I could get the pumpkins home.
After we arrived home and ate dinner, the boys were ready to get started. Before dinner, I picked out a great jack-o-lantern design from the tips and solutions pages on Lifetime.com, and printed it off. I chose the “happy template design”.
Since Mom was still cleaning up dinner and working on a treat for the family in the kitchen, we decided to take our pumpkin carving adventure out to the garage. I set up a 4-foot Lifetime folding table and placed a disposable plastic table cloth over it so that clean up will be really easy when we are finished. We set the pumpkins on the table and went to work. The boys were hovering over me like hawks, asking me what I was doing at every move. The best part was when I finished carving out the “lid” of the pumpkin and got to hear their squeals as we pulled on the stem and revealed the “guts” of the pumpkin.
The boys were having a great time. Cleaning out the pumpkin was a messy job that I thought Jake, our youngest, would love to do. But he was pretty tentative about sticking his hands in the pumpkin, so he was satisfied with just using the metal tongs provided by his mother.
After marking the template, I started carving the pumpkin. 
The boys were really interested while we were carving the first eye of the jack-o-lantern but by the time we started on the second eye, their attention span was gone and they were ready to wash their hands and ride their bikes around the garage. Before long, our “family activity” turned into dad, a lone man, carving a pumpkin in the garage.
When I finished the first pumpkin, we gathered everyone back together to place a light inside the pumpkin and set it out on our front porch. The boys were really proud how well their pumpkin turned out. The second pumpkin will have to wait until this evening, it was a school night and the boys had definitely had plenty of Halloween fun for one evening.
Jan's post about her favorite fall recipes got me thinking about Halloween. I'm a big fan of making spooky treats for Halloween parties, and October is the perfect time to cook with your children. Simply pull out a Lifetime table, some sugary ingredients, and let your kids go to town. No matter what they invent you know it will still be scary ;). Here's a fun idea posted on a personal blog by my good friend Jennifer, from Lifetime's own IT department.
Spider Cupcakes
1 pkg. (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding & Pie Filling
1/3 cup KOOL-AID Orange Flavor Sugar-Sweetened Soft Drink Mix
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 can (16 oz.) ready-to-spread white frosting
24 OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies
12 pieces black string licorice (32 inch each)
48 miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces
PREPARE cake batter as directed on package; blend in dry pudding mix. Spoon evenly into 24 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Bake as directed on package for cupcakes. Cool completely.
DISSOLVE drink mix in hot water. Stir into frosting until blended. Frost cupcakes, reserving some frosting for attaching can