Merging Two Lives

One of the things I get from my mother is the desire to start & complete a project in the same day, no matter how big it is... for fear that if we stop working on it, we'll never start again. Inevitably, we push ourselves to exhaustion and subconsciously program ourselves to not want to start that project again -  because we were so exhausted by it the last time!

I'm thankful to be living with Daniel, with his much more logical male brain. I was a little surprised on Saturday when he came home from working a 9+ hour day and was ready to do some yard work. When I look at the yard full of leaves and bushes that need trimming and plants that need to be planted and others replanted... and compost that needs to be spread and twigs that need to be picked up... I see the whole job, and I wonder how in the world will we ever find the time to take care of this mess?

The same way you eat an elephant - one bite at a time... We put in a good hour of yard work, made a nice dent in the mountains of leaves that threaten to overtake our sidewalk and driveway. And then we went inside and relaxed a bit.


It feels that way when I look at the inside of our house also.

My stuff + his stuff + wedding presents = not enough space in our house

We are gradually wading through the items we have (when I say we - it's mostly me because I have the most stuff), deciding what is non-essential and getting rid of it in favor of having space to live in. It's so easy to hold onto items because of various attachments we have to them
- memories associated with the location we purchased it
- the person who gave it to us
- how long we've had it for
- or maybe it's that favorite zip up red sweatshirt I have that the color is fading and there are holes starting in the sleeves and I can't bear to give it away, but I also find myself hesitant to wear it because it makes me look slightly homeless (can you look slightly homeless?)

I don't want to be so attached to my stuff that it takes away from living my life. I don't want to have a home filled with items, making it difficult to keep the house clean and to have people over, to be unable to find what I know I have (possibly have at least 2 of) so I need to go out and buy another one... cluttering things up even more. I don't want to accumulate physical things. They're all so temporary. I want to live with what's essential and to be as loosely tied to this world as possible.

It forces me to approach shopping in a different way. I enjoy shopping and purchasing new items and imagining the possibilities that go along with the new items. I know that sounds a little cheesy, but if I'm honest with myself that's what I do. I see a cute shirt and think how nice it'll look on me (even though I already have plenty of nice shirts). Or there's a new pan or kitchen gadget that will help me prepare something new and different to eat (even though I could probably make it with what I already own). I remember when my cousin Beth bought a Jeep and said she was so excited about getting it, thinking - this will be great, we'll go off-roading and camping and all sort of fun outdoors stuff. With a shake of her head she said - no, it's not true. It doesn't matter what you buy - you're still the same person.

I try to remember to ask myself some questions when I'm shopping. Do I really need this? Do I have something already that can perform this task for me? Do I have space to keep this (that answer is almost always no right now!)?  Is there something I can bear to part with to make the space to have this?

Looking in my closets, you wouldn't think that I wrote this blog. Most of them are a scattered mess... but we're getting there... gradually.

Pictures of the House in Progress

sorry for the slight messiness... this is my new master bedroom closet!
living room from the entry doorway...
freshly tiled entryway...
living room from the family room...
family room...
new stove and range hood...
new fridge!

My First Steps as a Homeowner

So I closed on my house this Monday. It seemed like a long road to get there (but from what I've heard of others' stories, mine wasn't too bad).

I had the electricity turned on Monday, so I was able to go over there and relish the fact that I now own a house. Unfortunately, the water company takes a little longer so there have been no sleepovers at my new house yet. The previous occupants left the water on when they moved out, so there was a bill left, and then the account had to go through delinquent accounts to be separated from the property...and so on. So, I didn't have to pay the bill, but it took longer to get to water-turn on stage. Hopefully, Tuesday I will have water!

I took a vacation day on Friday and let the natural gas guy in to turn that on, light the pilot lights in my ancient, icky, yucky stove that will be replaced as soon as humanly possible. He showed me how to do the hot water heater, but that has to wait until there's water in it!

The carpet guy came from home depot to get measurements for a quote as well. I'll be interested to see how much $ that will set me back!

I have successfully installed one new ceiling fan, I'm close to finishing a second, and the third will quickly be completed (because I am now an expert at installing ceiling fans).

A friend came and helped me start painting (actually, just priming) today - it's nice to see something different on the walls - even if it's just white.

And my bro helped me (well, I helped him) get all of the branches and logs out of my yard that had been left there. It was a bit of an eyesore. But now that there gone, you can see how long the grass is and how badly it needs cutting. If only I had a lawnmower...

Plans for next week? Finish the ceiling fans, as soon as I get water, clean the kitchen and bathrooms!!! Painting party on Saturday, hopefully. I already got some paint at the discount paint store, but I'm not satisfied with the colors... so I might be procuring some more paint.

Lets see... I'll have a contractor stop by Monday or Tuesday night to check out the roof that needs repairing in the apartment (and maybe to look at the new leak I discovered in the family room - thankfully, it's not bad....yet).

Wow... there is no end of projects to be completed. Well, I guess that's part of the reason I got the house. I like projects and opportunities to be creative. I was a little surprised to find that putting one of the ceiling fans together had a calming effect on me when I was in a bad mood. I'm definitely thankful it didn't put me int the bad mood!

Oh, and my car broke down! On Friday, when I was going to bring it to get new tires, it wouldn't start... so that was an extra expense I did not need... sparkplugs and wires and 1 tune-up later... there were still issues it had to go to the dealer for, but hopefully all those issues can be resolved by the recalls on the car that hadn't been performed yet. And then, I'll get my car back on Monday (2 tow trips later!).
Ah, the joys of owning things.

Pictures of the House!

I wouldn't want to disappoint... my house from the outside...
family room...

entry room...