Third week into the new year and I'm already falling behind on this writing thing. What is your problem, Miranda!?
Overload. Complete and total overload.
It really started back before Thanksgiving with a pie fundraiser I helped with at our church, and then rolled right into Christmas and trying to settle into 2014 without resolutions I knew I wouldn't keep. Oh, and I tied into some hardcore menu planning and budgeting strategy - things I have only mildly attempted in the past.
All of that combined with the thought and energy that went into my last post kind of left me empty. And the weather has been shitty so I haven't done anything extraordinary with the kids, who are usually the fodder for this space on the Interwebs.
Let's all rejoice with a collective *sigh*.
Feel better? A little more relaxed? Good.
I have a house to sell. Yes, the same one I've been talking about for MONTHS. But we're finally to the point of getting shit done over there so we can attempt to get it on the market.
We met at Former Home with a realtor last week and when we got in the car to come back to the new house I left feeling hopeful, yet defeated ... like there's just way more to get done than we have time to do on our own. The money isn't there to hire a general contractor to just go in and hang the trim in the bathroom, frame in that closet in the spare room or replace the few broken tiles in the kitchen.
So we're doing it ourselves and will call in reinforcements as necessary.
We started on Saturday - the laundry room has a fresh coat of white paint. Blindingly bright. You never realize how dark a room was until you slap a fresh coat of paint on it, I've decided. I mean, I knew this, but I don't paint entire rooms very often so every time I do it's a shock to me how nice the end result is. When my mom and I repainted Josie's bedroom at the new house we went from two white-ish walls and two dark blue walls to all antique white. The difference was amazing.
But I kind of hate white paint, so I don't use it all that often. I used to really love dark colors - that is, until I lived in a house with a tiny ass kitchen painted a darker green that I loved. That kitchen made me feel claustrophobic. We're now in the process of changing that dark green to a pastel yellow. The best part about choosing three different colors to paint and sponge paint Josie's bedroom when we were prepping for her arrival is the leftover paint. We also have almost a gallon left of pastel green.
Glad I had the foresight to go ahead and buy the large containers instead of quarts, particularly since covering the green is probably going to use all we have left of the yellow. The difference in the feeling of that room is pretty astounding, though. By the time we left on Saturday to go pick the girls up, the room was feeling much more welcoming.
Now we just need to get back over there without the kids so we can finish the kitchen painting and move on to another room. I suppose it's time to make a(nother) list.
With the January Thaw in full effect, I'd be smart to pack the kids up and just go get it done now since I could potentially open one window without the furnace kicking on over there. But the thaw has brought with it some thick fog and it just puts a damper on my desire to leave the house today.
Baking would fix that. Baking fixes most things. Baking would alter the trimness my waist has recently found, but baking might make this house warmer ... so would the chimney guys showing up today to fix the damn chimney so we can use the woodstove for the first time this winter.
Being a homeowner has some major low points.
There are some high points, too, and I'm going to choose right this second to take the high road where Former Home is concerned and say I'm pretty damn proud of the work we have done on the house and the touch-ups we're doing now. I just hope I keep feeling that way when we have a buyer on the line and they try to low ball us ... because we know it's going to happen.
And here completes the drivel. Check back frequently for something way more awesome.
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