The saga continues...

We are still plugging away on the home improvement front. I wish I had taken before photos so I could show you the before/after progress that's been made. I am very pleased with how much we have gotten done in less than a month. I especially love the new color of the kitchen. We went with a shade of pale beachy green called Beach Bum( www.kellymoore.com ) in a very nice, subtle sheen. The kitchen color before was a color that I had originally planned on being butter yellow but turned out to be more of a sunshine yellow that was just a little too bright, a little too shiny and a lot grating on my last nerve at the end. I gussied it up with a kitchy cat border that I actually liked but wasn't much good for selling so it had to go. The recessed lighting really makes the whole kitchen look so spiffy.

Desiree's room is the next room that received a complete makeover. Gone is the blood red enamel wall. That thing always looked like it was bleeding to me. The inside of the closet was painted the same glossy red so it really looked like the portal to hell. She liked it but I think even she was beginning to tire of it. The whole room is now a peaceful shade of sand and it looks amazing. She also got a new light fixture that, thankfully, doesn't hum every time you turn it on. Progress!

Her bathroom has been repainted the same color (pacific sand - again, from Kelly Moore) and is ready for us to install the new light fixtures, mirror and cabinet.

Gee, it's so pretty that maybe we'll just stay...

My baby is no longer a baby

Desiree is now officially 21 years old. How did that happen? You know the drill...just yesterday she was toddling around, etc, etc. But, seriously, where did those years go? Now she's a full-fledged adult with a driver's license and everything. Eek.

Work on the house is progressing. We got recessed lights to replace the horrible fluorescent light fixture that Mark has hated ever since it was installed. Why did we have it for so long? I wish we had gone with these lights in the first place and city permit codes be damned!

Desiree and I painted the shutters on the outside of the house last week. They look fantastic. Didn't take us long to finish that job, either. We had a great time, too. Laughing and talking while painting makes work easier, for sure.

So. Very. Tired.

My husband isn't the 'sit around and veg' kinda guy. He's definitely Type A. I'm more of a Type B-. We have been clearing out all excess clutter and stuff from the house (even the stuff you can't see!) and donating it, recycling it or giving it away. So far, it's been nothing but hard work!

Yesterday I went through the metric ton of books we had stashed away. Well, the kid books, anyway. There were books from when I was a kid in there, too. I whittled it down to only the very favorites (I can't tell you how many times I've read The Little Mermaid) and gave the rest to the new library down the road.

Mark did his part, too. He whittled his collection of DVDs down to levels that reflect merely an obsession rather than an actual addiction. :D The man does like his movies.

I used to collect teapots. I had way too many. I got it down to my five favorites. Everything else goes to Goodwill! I am not a garage sale person. I've had one and it was a total PITA.

I managed to get a few beads done here and there. My torching is mainly done in a couple hours each morning before Mark wakes up and starts cracking the whip.

New Beads

www.loribeads.etsy.com

Desiree and I are back from Sacramento. She passed the written part of her cosmetology exam! She has to retake the practical part. She only missed it by 25 points. We are very proud of her!