Office Redo

I have started redoing our home (Lord, help me!) room by room. This month I started on Hubby's office. I didn't take a true "before" picture because I wasn't thinking about it, but this is how it looks at the moment. Forgive the crappy photos and the mess (it was much, much worse!).

We ordered new carpet and are waiting for it to be installed and in the bottom photo, you can see that I was playing around with the paint. I painted a swatch on the wall of the color Hubby choose and didn't like it so I played around with a couple of glazing techniques, but in the end, I started liking what he originally picked out. The desk in the bottom photo is staying. I picked it up at a moving sale last year to replace the monstrosity that you can somewhat see in the first and second pictures. Hubby had that poor desk for years before we met and it made 2 moves with us. When we moved into the house we have now, Hubby had to screw it together in key places in order for it to stay together. I finally decided that he deserved a new desk and was thankful when I found the "new to us" one.

That bookcase standing there in the corner, which is still holding the Harry Potter series and a few odds and ends, yes, that one, I kid you not, I took off 2 plastic containers worth of books and "stuff" and that doesn't include all the Consumer Reports magazines (2003-2008) and crap that ended up in the garbage (yes, the CR mags went into the garbage too). I'm not telling Hubby that I threw them away or anything else! I promise you he won't miss any of it!

I'm picking up the paint tomorrow and I'll start painting on Friday. I want to have it all painted BEFORE the new carpet is installed, that way I don't have to worry about getting paint on it.

I'll post more pics when it's painted and the carpet is installed. Pray for me!

Friends uplift the soul

When did I get a social life? In high school, I didn't go to town every weekend and cruise with my friends. In college, I didn't have dates. During my first marriage, I had my ex-husband's family and very few friends. But today, my friend Lisa called me and had a list of things she wanted to invite me to! Now, don't get me wrong, I've had invites from friends before, but this afternoon, as I was telling Hubby about her call, he said to me, "You're quite the social butterfly, aren't you?". I stopped. And then I thought. In the past year, I have had to actually start using my "calendar" feature on my iPod Touch in order to keep up with everything I'm involved in. Every time someone calls me and inquires about a certain date, I have to say, "Let me get my calendar."

So, what's changed? In all honesty, not too much, but on the other hand, a lot. And I have to give Lisa quite a bit of the credit. Her infectious enthusiasm for life has changed me. She and I have started a twice-a-month knitting group at the local quilt shop that I frequent. I have invested in a line of yarn, in said quilt shop, and my little side business is doing pretty well (the cooler weather is helping). And another friend and I are in the process of setting up a retreat for a group of women, us included, that sew/quilt/knit together on a regular basis.

Just a few short years ago, I was very depressed. Hubby worried about me and I was even worried for myself. After infertility treatments, a failed adoption and turning 40 (my self-imposed cut-off age for having kids), I was a mess. The quilt shop saved me! And I mean that literally. This awesome group of women embraced me and included me and pulled me out of my depression. I found my niche. Now, again, someone has come into my life and has pushed (pulled) me into not just participating in my life, but actively living it. Oh, what a feeling!

Good news/Bad news

Good news:
Hubs found a new job! Yay!! He will be a state nursing home auditor. He starts his training a week from Monday. It's a traveling job, but I'm actually looking forward to him being out of the house since he's been home 24/7 for the past year.

Bad news:
Step-daughter is engaged. This would fall into the "Good news" category if she wasn't engaged to "The Jacka$$".

Good news:
I've started selling yarn in the local quilt shop that I go to. The summer was kinda slow, but now that it's starting to cool off, sales have picked up and I start teaching knitting classes this weekend.

Bad news:
Our AC quit last Saturday. The compressor went out and it looks like it's going to be an expensive fix.

Good news:
Even though our AC went out, it happened on the last hot day we've had and this whole week we've been able to open the windows and use the attic fan.

I'm looking forward to our library knitting group tomorrow. I get to see my friend, Lisa, and she always cracks me up. She's a new friend and I have to say, she makes me smile just thinking about her. She's a hoot-and-a-half and a truly amazing woman. She has a blog here. Give her a visit. She'll appreciate it.