Monday, February 22, 2010

Busy Bee

BEFORE

This picture is a pretty good one of my Living Room! I have pulled the trim off of the walls and doors and removed plates from the fixtures. You can't really see it but the walls are textured plaster and for some reason I really loved the paint color a few years ago... Notice the original hardwood floors...

















AFTER

This is the Dining Room. It looked identical to the Living Room back in October. I set a goal to have it finished by Christmas which I pretty much made happen. You can see what the trim looks like here. I don't know if I have a before trim photo... but it was painted. Many times painted! So I striped the wood with a propane torch... and then sanded and stained and sanded and stained and it turned out looking like shiney glass! Beautiful! I used drywall mud to cover the walls and sanded it to make them flat instead of textured. If you didn't know you would think it was drywall or sheetrock! I love it.

So, the goal is to make the before room look like the after one! I'll be busy for weeks! :-)

Not too awful much to report on today. My jaw is still killing me. I don't remember if I posted about that or not. It started last Thurs or Fri and it hurts in the joint. You would think I had eaten a lot of something really hard but nope. ah.. that's right! It was Wednesday and I knew it wasn't from something I ate because it was Ash Wednesday! So, I'm taking Aleve but if it's not getting better by this Wednesday I'm gonna have to get it checked out.

Casey (my oldest daughter 18 yrs old) got her official drivers license today! We didn't let her get her drivers license when she was younger because she couldn't stay out of trouble.. but then she paid for the drivers class back in December and now today we went in front of the judge at the J&DR court where they give you some safety tips and present you with your official drivers license.

We then drove over to add her on the insurance and for the first time ever my oldest baby drove away from the house by herself!!! I have no idea how I would've handled this when she was 16! I'm glad we waited!

We are suppose to have RCIC tomorrow night but last week they had it and we weren't suppose to so I have to find out for sure.

OK, going to do more laundry!

13 comments:

A Bit of the Blarney said...

I truly admire those who can do "before" and "afters!" It takes patience and perseverance. You are so talented. Wishing you well and hoping the pain in your jaw subsides. Cathy

Katie said...

Good luck getting the room finished! We're repainting, too. We still have a bedroom and the living room/hallway to do.

Grats to your daughter on her driver's license :D

Suzanne said...

Gosh we have alot in common. First, the painting story. Just talking to my oldest daughter (28) about if she'd like to take on a couple of rooms and make some extra dough..if she doesn't, I will be doing it, myself..our bedroom (which needs wallpaper removed), our bath, the kitchen cabinets ..can't decide if I want to strip or paint.

Secondly, my jaw has been hurting too! Ha! Isn't that funny? Yep..I think I pulled a muscle when I was chewing some gum awhile back, but I also yawned and popped it about the same time. On top of that, I had some drainage from a sinus deal that was around my ear on that side and probably irritated things more. Anyway, its FINALLY getting better after two weeks or more. Hope yours is better.
Last but not least, I have four almost all grown children. The first two have driver's license, but the 20 yr. old has yet to get hers..she has little confidence and so I think she needs to get more determined and I'm not rushing her..if she doesn't feel ready, perhaps there is a reason.
THEN, I have a 16 yr.old who is ready to get going, but his grades are not up to par and like your daughter, he manages to keep either getting in caught in trouble or testing to see if he will. He is not mature enough in many ways, although, I think he might do well with driving for the most part..I'm still not ready.
Dad told him that grades must be B's even in order to get Driver's Ed. I hope he messes around until the new law in Indiana is enacted. As it stands now, he has to have everything done...by June 30 or the new law won't allow him to drive without adults until he is almost 17. Yes! I don't know though.. I know he's going to be more determined if he thinks that will happen. Still...if he can keep his grades up..that is a plus for him, then he'll just have to make sure he stays out of trouble because he'll not have a car or insurance to drive..we'll have to cut that off. So how many children do you have, Julie..sorry, I should not have written such a book here, but I just had to laugh at the comparisons.

Thou Art Jules said...

Thank you Cathy! I love doing home improvements but sometimes have to really make myself stay on track. That's why I took all of the trim down from the start.. that way I can't decide to wait on part of it. I have to do it all because it's all already down :-)

Thou Art Jules said...

Katie,

From what I'm hearing from fellow bloggers and friends on facebook, most everyone "needs" to paint something all the time lol

My daughter took the car last night until 10 and did great, then borrowed the Jeep today to run errands, pick her brother up from school and then to and from work. I think I'm getting a little more used to it but I'm still really nervous!

Thou Art Jules said...

Wow Suzanne! That is a lot in common! I have 3 children. Casey is almost 19, Katelin is 15 and Brandon is 12. Katelin is actually ready for her learners permit which I keep putting off but really she is very responsible, has good grades and isn't in trouble. Sooooo I'm gonna have to give in eventually.

I have to give Casey credit though. She did keep us busy all throughout high school (we even ended up in court numerous times over some of her antics!) But, perhaps she got it all out of her system! She's been doing very well, has been at the same job for a year and a half and she just paid me the money tonight that the insurance went up when we added her on.

It all comes full circle

Gae said...

Dear Jules,
We actually built our home from scratch basically with a little help at the start from a builder. We have done it all I think. Paint, tile, plaster, framing, flooring etc.
Pray you are really guided in your RCIC classes.
We are converts fo just over 3 years.
God Bless you this Lent

Thou Art Jules said...

Thank you Gae! That sounds amazing but a lot of work!

Suzanne said...

Julie,
Yes, we do have alot in common..only your a youngster still.. ;)
Anyway, please keep telling me that it comes full circle. :) I need to hear that over and over and over.
Have a good day, kiddo!

Suzanne said...

Julia..did I just type Julie? If I did, it is probably because my good friend and son's godmother is named Julie! :)

wdomburg said...

I wish I had more afters to my befores. I haven't finished a house project in months, and the children have undone some of the complete work. On the plus side, they /are/ practising their penmanship, I suppose.

Thou Art Jules said...

Suzanne, my Mother calls me Julie so it's ok :-)

and you just keep on calling me kiddo! lol

Thou Art Jules said...

wdomburg, I know what you mean. We don't have visible signs of the kids pennmanship anymore but still have the tell tale marks on the wood floors from years of skates/wagons/tricycles because our house layout makes a great course.

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