Making Progress

We started this morning at 8:00. We finished *almost* this evening at 9:00. About a quarter of the living room (including the bay window) has yet to be completed, but we're so close. And tired. We are so close and so tired. Here are some pictures of the living room phase
Before:

Before: (stay tuned for the fireplace makeover next)

Getting closer...

I over budgeted a little for the floors, so we had some extra to buy a rug for the living room. Trevor likes the one I picked...and he is so tired from all his hard work!

Well friends, I am about to fall asleep as I type. Tomorrow comes early with church worship department rehearsal at 8:20. Hopefully we'll get a chance to work on finishing things up, but since Trev worked so hard today, I'm not going to press my luck. Whatever strength he can muster for tomorrow will be fine with me.

Needing Advice

You may remember my recent battle with the cosmetic aisle and the makeup meltdown that occurred shortly thereafter. Hoping to avoid another such mishap, I'm soliciting advice from all of you, my (3) loyal readers :) I'm in the market for a good sunless tanning lotion. Nothing too heavily scented, and definitely heavy on the moisturizing power...any suggestions? I am currently using Jergen's Natural Glow, with which I am moderately satisfied. I'd like to spend some time in the tanning bed and get good and dark, but alas, I hear that's terrible for my skin and will leave me looking like the witch in Snow White by the time I'm 30. I'm sure my years as a lifeguard at the Yuma pool didn't help much either. Speaking of the Yuma pool - Bean, do you remember all of our goggled underwater shenanigans? I'm CRACKING up right now as I think of it...but I should save it for another post...

Self-tanner suggestions anyone?

Still working

Trevor had to do lots of calculating and cutting...here he is laying the underlay


Connecting to the dining room...


Our friend Jamin came over to help. I stayed out of the way on Monday and let the boys work.


The [almost] finished hallway...


Hopefully I can get the shoe molding done this weekend to finish the hallway completely.



I cannot wait for this project to be done. It makes such a difference in our little house, and we are LOVING the results! Living room this weekend...pictures to come...

Progress

Entryway phase I is complete. Hardwood is harder to rip up than I anticipated. Trevor told me it would be, but I'm not sure I fully believed him. We got it though. Here are some before pictures and some of the entryway floor as we get ready to begin laying the new stuff down.

Floors TODAY!

Today we begin our biggest DIY home improvement project to date: ripping up all the carpet downstairs and replacing it with this:


Gotta get to it...I'll post pictures as we go, and hopefully by Monday night - a final product!!

I Notice Things

Just some random thoughts from this morning. And it's not even noon. *sigh*

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So you know when you’re at work and someone says: “Before I bother someone important, I think I’ll ask you.” Awesome.

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I really like confetti. I like to let it fall through my fingers. I often make spiral bound books here at work and think the little rectangular hole punch leftovers would make perfect confetti. Thus, I often ask myself why I don’t save such punches in a shoe box and use them at birthdays and in presents. And then I remember: confetti is only fun for the half-second it spills out of an envelope or floats in the air. After that it’s just irritating.

Lovely

I love driving through the Tennessee countryside. It is officially beautiful here. Granted, in Winter everything looks like a tangled mess of sticks, but Spring, Summer, and Fall are simply lovely.

Trevor is working the TNU Alumni Golf Tournament this weekend at Henry Horton State Park, about an hour south of Nashville. He headed down last night to set up and will be there through Friday. Since I’m pretty much a chicken and didn’t feel like staying the night by myself, I drove down yesterday evening to stay with him. If nothing more, it was worth the trip simply for the drive. As the light streaked in oranges and yellows across the sky, I looked out over the lush, green landscape and thanked the Lord for His creation, and for giving me time away from everyday life to bask in its beauty. I know now why people don’t mind commuting an hour back into Nashville for work. I got to see it all again on my way in this morning.

I guess I’ve always pictured myself living where we do now, right in the middle of everything…but after my little getaway, I think country living might be something worth considering. Then again, maybe it’s just nice to take time away to visit…
Here are some pictures (not that I took) to give you an idea of the landscape we enjoy here in TN.