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!

Cha-cha-cha-changes

Oh boy...we have big things afoot at the Loribeads household! I have been quiet because I've been so busy! Desiree has her cosmetology exam coming up on April 1st so there has been lots of panic, lots of studying, more panic, more studying, etc.
Big news on the driving front! Desiree has conquered FREEWAYS! YAY!!! She even drove highway 17 to Santa Cruz - a drive that makes me want to hurl - with barely a bit of nervousness. I'm so proud. Next month, she turns 21. God, help me.

Mark is home with me for a while. We spent last week fixing up the house and getting it ready to put on the market. We had a real estate agent in on Wednesday and got a listing price set, along with a short list of stuff to do before we list the house. Exciting stuff! The market here is still pretty stable, knock wood, so we are hopeful it will sell soon and we can be on our way! Where? Well, not sure yet but we are thinking Washington state. Desiree is out of school and Mark's work doesn't require us to be here, we've no family in the area and we have an urge to make a change. Change is, of course, scary. But I'm so excited about it, too.

New video on YouTube

I did a video of me making a bone bead - this time it even comes with narration!!!! YAY!!!

http://www.youtube.com and just type loribeads into the search box.

Lots of new stuff

I've been making beads! http://www.loribeads.etsy.com/ is where they all are.

In other news...Mark and I are thinking about moving. Maybe the pacific northwest - Washington. I know this is a crappy time to try to sell a house but prices in our area have been holding up pretty well, for now. Who knows how long that will last, though. I have been making beads to try to keep my mind off the sheer number of things I have to do before we even think of putting the house on the market. Cleaning out the garage, for example. *shudder* We've been saving furniture for when Desiree moves out into her own place. TV, a desk, stuff like that. It may have to all go to the charity shop at this point. We are going to need the room, I think. Ack! I'm going to change the subject before I hyperventilate. The good news is, though, that in order to procrastinate on the house stuff, I have moved up the bead stuff to the front burner. LOL!