Home Improvement, vol. 57

The list of things we haven't done to this house would now be much shorter than the things we have done in our almost 13 years here. Today, we get to cross off one more 'to-do' and put it in the 'ta-da!' column. We're getting a new garage door installed. It's the triple-layered steel kind, complete with insulation which will help keep the basement even cooler. We're also having him install a brand new garage door opener, complete with an exterior keypad. I am envisioning this as a new point of egress to the yard and in from the carport after work. The garage has essentially become Dave's workshop and family storage because to actually park a vehicle in it would require a 48 point turn and nerves of steel.

Family Fun Outing: Landscaping and Lunch

We're nearly complete making all the major improvements on the inside, so Dave is getting his wish and we're redoing the outside. We have hired a landscaper to re-vision our whole outside, front, back and side. We met him today at the greenhouse to select plants, shrubs and trees. He'll start in two weeks and we're excited as all getout to have a green make-over.

The kids did well with the greenhouse and we had a great lunch at Chik-fil-a. A great, quiet, lovely day together, topped off with my very own visit to the Confessional. Absolution, yay!

Running Two Fevers

Dave and I both have house fever. This morning, we met with our realtor at a home I'd been eyeing for weeks. We spent about an hour there. So...tempting....to....have.....bigger....kitchen.....must....resist.....temptation.....

Our realtor wisely suggested that if we were really serious about wanting another house, we should start by listing our house first. Then, we'll know what we have to put down, etc. Dave has said that he'd rather take an a$$ kicking than move. I would, too. I told him if we're going to put this house on the market, we'd have to rent one of those P.O.D.S. because, God help me, I watch the home improvement shows and I know what it takes to get the house to show well. And full-to-the-gills, clutter, and three kids ain't it.

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Date Night: More Paint

We had a date night which included dinner at a nice seafood place and a trip to Home Depot. We're planning another improvement while we're away at the beach. [For my money, that's the best way to do it. Give the contractor carte blanche at our place and come home to a new whatever.] We purchased a new Hunter ceiling fan for the living room. Last week, we also tried a paint [light beigey tan] which wound up being just blah, and very reminiscent of the original shade the house was everywhere when we moved in 11 years ago. The kamikaze mixer gal gave us a shade just darker than the one we tried last week, but not as dark as the next swatch up. We'll see how this one looks. I want it to actually look like there's a color, but not be as deep a tan as Zeke's room. Who knew that selecting paint could be so difficult? I chose all the other colors based on the small swatch and am happy as can be with them. But this time, it's a little harder than matching a stripe in my comforter or a flower in the border print. This time, it's just beige.