Skip to main content

Did it all fall apart because of a foundation repair?

Written February 13, 2021, when I tried to start a Wordpress blog, but failed because I'm old and it's too complicated.

I had big dreams of starting to blog again. Thought I would be so excited and write a post everyday. Life has changed so much in the last 10 years. I also now seem to find this intimidating... daunting... a chore... an expectation. Gotta send those thoughts away. 

I've been working on a million home projects. I bought my house with my husband three months after our wedding. It was 30+ years old, but had been flipped. After looking at a million homes that all needed at least a coat of paint, a home with nothing to do right away seemed like heaven. That is until cracks and pens rolling off tables and slightly tilting table lamps started to happen. Foundation problem. A HUGE foundation problem. I was pregnant with my son when I demanded the foundation be fixed before he was born because I refused to live in a construction zone with a baby. I was emotional and maybe not thinking straight.

We spent our entire savings to have 46 pillars put in and around our home, which corrected the foundation, but caused more cracks and new flooring that I regret (very dark vinyl that shows all the dirt). Maybe this is when it all went wrong? I stopped caring about my home. I had a newborn baby. I was pumping breast milk around the clock. My daughter was 16. 

Six years later and not much has been done around here. Six years ago I think my husband and I both checked out. I've always thought you need to have a near perfect relationship before you have children because even with a great relationship, the kids will tear you apart - at least try to. It certainly contributed to the breaking apart of my marriage. Not sure many could've survived a foundation repair, draining of savings, gestational diabetes, a 16-year old daughter, a baby born a month early, 3 cats, and adopting a 7-week old puppy - all within a year.

Well... here I am with no clear picture about my marriage, but a very clear vision of tackling this house and making it mine! First major project was completing the front room of this house. It has a really high, nice vaulted ceiling and was probably meant to be a formal dining area. I don't need a formal anything room, so a couple of years ago, I started turning it into a functional family/play area... then a work/creating space for my son and me.

Finishing this room will take a faux brick wall with a German Schmear, new paint (Perfect Greige), built-by-me, floating, wood shelves, window treatments, new floors, and new baseboards. Here are BEFORE pictures... more to come...

The MLS photo of this room from when we bought the house - because I never remember to take before and after pictures

When it became a room to store junk, and I didn't care

When I quit my job, but ended up working part-time (they begged) because I thought it would fix my marriage and my life.  I turned this area into a play/learning area for my then 3-year old son.  Little did I know he would leave a month later.

When I changed it into a work/creating space for both my then 5-year old son and me.  Little did I know working from home would begin in about 3 months due to a pandemic.  I must have had a sixth sense because I was prepared to work at home!

When I changed out the light fixture, and I actually had to start working from home due to the pandemic.










Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

DIY Faux Brick Wall with German Schmear

Written February 14, 2021, when I tried to start a  WordPress blog , but failed because I'm old and it's too complicated. My estranged (?), separated (?), I don't know what, husband, and I actually worked on this together.  I watched 1,000 YouTube videos and read another 1,000 posts on how to do this.  In the end, I took a little from here and a little from there. The faux brick paneling was bought from Home Depot.   We cut the seams with a Ryobi jigsaw , used liquid nails and a Ryobi nail gun to attach the panels, and used joint compound mixed with a bit of water for the schmear.  It's a perfectly, imperfect technique.  I practiced a little, but decided to just jump in and let the wall take on a life of it's own.  I will warn that the joint compound dries much whiter than you think it will.  Use sparingly if you want to see more brick. Once the wall was finished, I painted the other walls Sherwin Williams Perfect Greige .  Shelves and floor...
Post a Comment
Read more

Happy Freakin' New Year

Written January 1, 2021, when I tried to start a Wordpress blog , but failed because I'm old and it's too complicated. 2020 and I had a love/hate relationship. I hated seeing what was happening to others and the world. I dealt with my fair share of struggles, but mostly, I think I was the closest to contentment that I've ever been. 1. I LOVED working from home MOMO working from home 2. I felt closer to my family 3. I didn't mind the slower pace and less to do 4. I was able to have a better work/life balance 5. I felt more productive at home and at work 6. I did a couple of home projects - helped my parents landscape my front yard, gave my bedroom a makeover with my sister, and reorganized my pantry with her Before After Pantry Makeover Bedroom Makeover 7. I spent the best summer with my son and dogs at my sister'shouse - laughing, crying, painting rocks, getting to know my fur nieces and nephews (Wall-E, Maggie, Leeloo, and funny, little, Peyton who we lost in...
Post a Comment
Read more

Constant Construction

I don't know how non-ADD brains, non-anxiety riddled bodies handle living in this type of chaos, but I can tell you that with ADD and anxiety, this construction chaos paralyzes me.  All I want to do is run away and travel instead of just buckling down and getting it completed.   It's been years of living in some sort of disarray.  That hole in my ceiling has been an ongoing project for nearly 10 years.  Something my estranged husband was supposed to handle, but never did.  So, I hired a guy from Thumbtack, who got the job done, eventually.  He could definitely strengthen his time management skills.   Big changes coming for this room.  Change is slow to come in this household, but I still hold out hope everyday that it will speed up.   
Post a Comment
Read more