An update!

So I didn't realize what a hiatus that I have taken from blogging until now..... Things have been CRAZY!! But it seems that as August has drifted away, so is much of the chaos. (Thank God!)

First, the shoe did finally drop and I am being laid off. Interestingly, I am okay with it. Actually, the people who are getting laid off are looking more relaxed than those who have to stick around and try to do all the same work with 1/3 to 1/2 the people. Given the alternative, I am glad I am leaving, although not excited about looking for a new job. But it will give me an opportunity to re-evaluate some things.

Second, I had one renter moving out, one moving in and a contractor who hasnt finished construction to expand the rental unit. So I have been juggling that. Additionally, I decided to save $600 and do the painting myself. Well, after a week of painting on the weekend and at nights, I don't know if I will do that again. Or at least, I will let someone else paint the ceilings. Ceilings are the worst! Sunday, I laid down those infamous Flor carpet tiles (very easy!) and the transformation was complete! Yay! My contractor did a great job and the renter (and her dog) are really happy with the new space. See the next post for the before and after pictures.

Special shout out to Naturally Sophia for helping out in the clutch and coming to pitch in and paint! And on a Friday night no less!

Before and after pics....

Before pictures.....

After pictures........

We built a new wall to divide part of the lower level from the garage, moved the door to the laundry room, put up new drywall on all the walls and created a half bath in the laundry room (the toilet was already there....don't ask....)

Not bad, huh?

1/2 bath

This Old House: I love my screened porch!

So, in my ongoing quest for home improvement, I decided to clean up and use my screened porch. I mean, I paid for it too, right! And it is a really great feature of the house that I had not been utilizing. I had even bought some furniture for it but rarely sat on it. So I decided to spruce it up! I bought some decorative pillows for the boring couch and, in homage to my trip to Jamaica, decided to buy a hammock to hang up in the other corner. Okay, can I tell you! I am in love now!

The other side is much more inviting too! Now I can comfortable see 2 or 3 people sitting out there enjoying some drinks and hanging out or me having my breakfast out there. It is a lot more like a part of the house now!

Last night I sat out in my hammock on my laptop Iming with friends.... This morning I laid out there while I was waking up this morning. :-) Ahhh!

I do have one of two more things to do. I have bought these decorative string lights from Target that are really cute and I am going to string them along the top of the walls and I am considering getting some kind of curtain for the side behind the couch since, unfortunately and sometimes fortunately, my property shares a property line with a strip mall. I guess watching all those hours of DIY and HGTV are starting to pay off!

Stay tuned! I am just getting started...... Now the really "fun" stuff begins!