Okay, so depression has set in.
I was talking with Mr. Wonderful last night about my "dream renovation."
You know, just perfecting my plans. You know, just in case we win the lottery or someone decides to give us a bazillion dollars. Both of which are unlikely considering the fact that we don't buy lottery tickets or know a bazillionaire.
My "dream renovation" includes making changes to every single room in our home.
Yup. Every single one.
Some are small changes, and some include either major demolition or construction. Some include both. I know it sounds crazy. But I love my home. I love the location of my home. I want to stay in my home forever. The problem? My home is the size of a matchbox!
So, along with changes to the existing frame of the house, my dream reno involves doubling the size of our home. I can see it when I close my eyes. It's amazing.
So, where did the depression come from? Aside from the fact that I know this dream reno will never take place? Well, my existing kitchen is actually pretty perfect already. I just want to add a few cabinets. And the only appliance I really want is a new refrigerator. I have a double oven on my wish list, but it isn't necessary. I decided to price check my precious counter-depth refrigerator to see how much of a possibility it would be....oh, my!!!
I understand that to most people that isn't much, but to me that is just way too much to spend on appliances. As long as my food stays cold, I don't really care what it looks like. But I really do want it to be counter-depth. If I purchase a standard one, it will stick out too far into my kitchen and take up valuable space. That means that if I purchase a standard one, Mr. Wonderful will have to knock out the wall between the kitchen and the laundry room in order to save that space in the kitchen...but then that would take up valuable space in the laundry room. Hmmmmm. Quite the dilemma.
Moving on from my expensive taste...I have so many things on my "to do" list that I can't even keep up with it all.
I really want to make some clothes to put in the shop. I know exactly what patterns I would use and everything.
I also want to paint my house. I have been looking at the same colors for sooo long. Can't take it much longer.
I want to finish the work we started on the yard. We need to cut some more trees, grind more stumps, spray more crazy vines, get rid of the huge pile of bricks that our previous neighbors dumped over the fence before we moved there, level it all off, build a frame around the play area, fill with either recycled tires or mulch, and much more.
I want to sand and paint the front porch because it is chipping and looks terrible.
I also want to build new front steps. The ones we have are too narrow.
I also have a project in mind for making house numbers...we always get someone else's package.
I want to make a new door hanger for every season. Our front door is black and from the road it always looks like it is open. I like to keep something hanging there so you know it is closed! Plus, my watermelon won't last much longer!
I definitely time to finish the girls playhouse. It needs to be painted. It needs paneling. It needs flooring.
I really need to find a chest to put in mine and Mr. Wonderful's room. Clothes are just taking over.
I want a hutch in my dining room and I'm pretty sure that Mr. Wonderful and I can build one when we finish my beautiful new built ins-that we haven't started yet.
Oh my goodness! I wrote the above portion of this post yesterday and came back to finish it today. As I was reading, I realized how greedy and materialistic I sound! I'm so embarrassed.
The thing is...I really don't care about "things." I know it doesn't seem that way from the huge unfinished list of "things" I'm wishing for, but it's true. The reason behind my wanting my house to have more space is that we are truly overflowing. I don't think it is possible to purge anymore than I already have...my house is pretty barren already! I try to keep things simple and neat and clean. I despise clutter. A simple stack of mail on the counter will drive me nuts! I can't tell you how many times over the last 7 years of living in our house that I have gone through each room, one at a time, and donated truck loads of stuff; furniture, clothes, toys, everything you can imagine. Just trying to clean out and make more space for "living." My mom even told me once that I shouldn't get rid of so much stuff because I may need it one day!
The real reason I want my home to be more polished and larger is that I want the girls to want to be there when they get older. I'm not a big fan of sending my children to someone else's house. I prefer that my girls have their friends come to our home. I would rather let them have 5 friends each spend every single weekend with us than ever spend a night away. I'm not really that paranoid about others. I am just firm about what I want the girls to be exposed to.
I am extremely cautious about what they are allowed to watch on television or listen to on the radio. Mr. Wonderful and I avoid watching television at all when they are awake. Plus, we avoid using any foul language including seemingly harmless words such as stupid, shut up, butt, idiot, retarded, fart, etc. Gasp! I just typed them for all the world to see! You are probably convinced that I am nuts now...as if there were any doubt before...but I'm okay with that. I know that they will be exposed to the things of "the world" before long. I know that I can't keep them from "it" forever. But I do plan to protect them from "the world" as long as possible, and I plan to keep "it" out of my house forever. I want my home to be a safe place for them. A place where they don't have to worry about what anyone thinks of them. A place where they (and everyone who enters) can be comfortable just being themselves.
I love to entertain and have people over. I want everyone to feel completely comfortable when they walk in my house. I want everyone to help themselves to whatever food or drink we have and know that it is okay to prop their feet on the coffee table. I want the girls to love bringing their friends over. I want their friends to love coming over. I have no way of knowing what someone else's life is like behind closed doors. I don't want my girls to be exposed to something that I'm not comfortable with. But I do know what my home is like. I do know how we live and act and talk and believe. Because I want everyone to come to my home, I want my home to be the place everyone wants to come to. I also want to have enough space for them to be comfortable when they arrive!
Aside from wanting the girls and their friends to want to be at our house, I have another reason for wanting to do so much maintenance and expansion. My goal is to have our house completely handicap accessible within a few years. From the time I was about 10 years old, I have been around family members confined to wheel chairs and hospital beds. I have seen how difficult it is on the family who cares for them to do the things necessary when the space they are in does not allow for it. Mr. Wonderful and I turned ONLY 30 this year. It seems a bit soon to be concerned with accessibility, but actually it is the perfect time. Why wait until you need something right at that very second to try to get it? Why not look ahead? Even if we are not the ones who my need it, we both want it to be available for our family.
I want to build a master suite with double doors for the bedroom, closet and bath. I also want a walk-in shower that a wheel chair can be wheeled into. I want plenty of space around the "potty" (not toilet!) so that a "potty seat" can be placed over it. There will also have to be enough space to allow for several people in the bathroom at one time.
The front door of our home opens to a very narrow hallway. I would like to turn the front bath into a powder room. The space from the shower and linen closet would be opened to the front entrance. There is nothing worse than rubbing your knuckles against the wall while pushing a wheel chair. I don't want that to happen in my house.
I am not too concerned with the other bedrooms, as long as we have one that is accessible. At the moment, we only have the one bathroom. It is right off the front hall (that will become a powder room). I really don't like it being there, because it is pretty much open to the family room. If someone stops by and I am getting out of the shower, it is impossible to sneak by without them seeing me.
My reason for wanting to do so much work to our yard is that it doesn't look (and really isn't) safe. Before we built our house, the lot we are on was vacant. The former owners allowed the city to dump loads of fill dirt on that lot. The former neighbors used it as a trash can. You won't believe me, but I'm gonna tell you anyway! Since Mr. Wonderful and I started cleaning up the side and back yard, we have found at least 20 lawn mower batteries, 5-6 rusty lawn chairs, 4 broken toddler riding toys, most of the pieces to an entire swing set, enough glass beer bottles to account for a dozen or more cases, 15 plastic hanging pots, several water hoses, almost an entire set of really nice hand weights (the bench is probably still buried back there), tires, bricks, floor tiles, carpet, roof shingles, at least 20 deflated basketballs, and so much more that I can't even think of. All in our back yard. Yeah, we busted our booties getting all of that cleaned up!!!! And we aren't even finished yet! We're taking volunteers, by the way, if you want to come help :)
The back and side of our house look out to a corn field. Can you say snakes?! Eeek!! Because the barbed wire fence separating our property from the field is so overgrown, it has always concerned me. The girls love to be outside and play. But I am a bit nervous about snakes in the yard. We've had several over the years and so have our neighbors. If it were cleaned up so that I could see, I may be less worried.
We also have massive water oaks in our back yard. They lose limbs every single time the wind blows. A huge limb fell last year and took out part of our neighbors chain link fence. Thankfully, it missed their house and they weren't upset about the fence. I love the shade that the trees provide, but don't want anyone to get hurt. Eventually, they must all come down. We will, of course, plant new ones in their place and keep them trimmed to try to avoid this happening again.
I know that while trying to "justify" my wish list, I only sounded like a major complainer. But I really do feel that these things are important. Mr. Wonderful's grandfather told us the minute that we purchased our house that we would be busy maintaining it for the rest of our lives. We knew he was right. I also know that my wish list goes way beyond maintenance. That is why it is called a "wish" list! Come on...just admit it...you have one, too!
Love and prayers for you all!
Oh my goodness! I wrote the above portion of this post yesterday and came back to finish it today. As I was reading, I realized how greedy and materialistic I sound! I'm so embarrassed.
The thing is...I really don't care about "things." I know it doesn't seem that way from the huge unfinished list of "things" I'm wishing for, but it's true. The reason behind my wanting my house to have more space is that we are truly overflowing. I don't think it is possible to purge anymore than I already have...my house is pretty barren already! I try to keep things simple and neat and clean. I despise clutter. A simple stack of mail on the counter will drive me nuts! I can't tell you how many times over the last 7 years of living in our house that I have gone through each room, one at a time, and donated truck loads of stuff; furniture, clothes, toys, everything you can imagine. Just trying to clean out and make more space for "living." My mom even told me once that I shouldn't get rid of so much stuff because I may need it one day!
The real reason I want my home to be more polished and larger is that I want the girls to want to be there when they get older. I'm not a big fan of sending my children to someone else's house. I prefer that my girls have their friends come to our home. I would rather let them have 5 friends each spend every single weekend with us than ever spend a night away. I'm not really that paranoid about others. I am just firm about what I want the girls to be exposed to.
I am extremely cautious about what they are allowed to watch on television or listen to on the radio. Mr. Wonderful and I avoid watching television at all when they are awake. Plus, we avoid using any foul language including seemingly harmless words such as stupid, shut up, butt, idiot, retarded, fart, etc. Gasp! I just typed them for all the world to see! You are probably convinced that I am nuts now...as if there were any doubt before...but I'm okay with that. I know that they will be exposed to the things of "the world" before long. I know that I can't keep them from "it" forever. But I do plan to protect them from "the world" as long as possible, and I plan to keep "it" out of my house forever. I want my home to be a safe place for them. A place where they don't have to worry about what anyone thinks of them. A place where they (and everyone who enters) can be comfortable just being themselves.
I love to entertain and have people over. I want everyone to feel completely comfortable when they walk in my house. I want everyone to help themselves to whatever food or drink we have and know that it is okay to prop their feet on the coffee table. I want the girls to love bringing their friends over. I want their friends to love coming over. I have no way of knowing what someone else's life is like behind closed doors. I don't want my girls to be exposed to something that I'm not comfortable with. But I do know what my home is like. I do know how we live and act and talk and believe. Because I want everyone to come to my home, I want my home to be the place everyone wants to come to. I also want to have enough space for them to be comfortable when they arrive!
Aside from wanting the girls and their friends to want to be at our house, I have another reason for wanting to do so much maintenance and expansion. My goal is to have our house completely handicap accessible within a few years. From the time I was about 10 years old, I have been around family members confined to wheel chairs and hospital beds. I have seen how difficult it is on the family who cares for them to do the things necessary when the space they are in does not allow for it. Mr. Wonderful and I turned ONLY 30 this year. It seems a bit soon to be concerned with accessibility, but actually it is the perfect time. Why wait until you need something right at that very second to try to get it? Why not look ahead? Even if we are not the ones who my need it, we both want it to be available for our family.
I want to build a master suite with double doors for the bedroom, closet and bath. I also want a walk-in shower that a wheel chair can be wheeled into. I want plenty of space around the "potty" (not toilet!) so that a "potty seat" can be placed over it. There will also have to be enough space to allow for several people in the bathroom at one time.
The front door of our home opens to a very narrow hallway. I would like to turn the front bath into a powder room. The space from the shower and linen closet would be opened to the front entrance. There is nothing worse than rubbing your knuckles against the wall while pushing a wheel chair. I don't want that to happen in my house.
I am not too concerned with the other bedrooms, as long as we have one that is accessible. At the moment, we only have the one bathroom. It is right off the front hall (that will become a powder room). I really don't like it being there, because it is pretty much open to the family room. If someone stops by and I am getting out of the shower, it is impossible to sneak by without them seeing me.
My reason for wanting to do so much work to our yard is that it doesn't look (and really isn't) safe. Before we built our house, the lot we are on was vacant. The former owners allowed the city to dump loads of fill dirt on that lot. The former neighbors used it as a trash can. You won't believe me, but I'm gonna tell you anyway! Since Mr. Wonderful and I started cleaning up the side and back yard, we have found at least 20 lawn mower batteries, 5-6 rusty lawn chairs, 4 broken toddler riding toys, most of the pieces to an entire swing set, enough glass beer bottles to account for a dozen or more cases, 15 plastic hanging pots, several water hoses, almost an entire set of really nice hand weights (the bench is probably still buried back there), tires, bricks, floor tiles, carpet, roof shingles, at least 20 deflated basketballs, and so much more that I can't even think of. All in our back yard. Yeah, we busted our booties getting all of that cleaned up!!!! And we aren't even finished yet! We're taking volunteers, by the way, if you want to come help :)
The back and side of our house look out to a corn field. Can you say snakes?! Eeek!! Because the barbed wire fence separating our property from the field is so overgrown, it has always concerned me. The girls love to be outside and play. But I am a bit nervous about snakes in the yard. We've had several over the years and so have our neighbors. If it were cleaned up so that I could see, I may be less worried.
We also have massive water oaks in our back yard. They lose limbs every single time the wind blows. A huge limb fell last year and took out part of our neighbors chain link fence. Thankfully, it missed their house and they weren't upset about the fence. I love the shade that the trees provide, but don't want anyone to get hurt. Eventually, they must all come down. We will, of course, plant new ones in their place and keep them trimmed to try to avoid this happening again.
I know that while trying to "justify" my wish list, I only sounded like a major complainer. But I really do feel that these things are important. Mr. Wonderful's grandfather told us the minute that we purchased our house that we would be busy maintaining it for the rest of our lives. We knew he was right. I also know that my wish list goes way beyond maintenance. That is why it is called a "wish" list! Come on...just admit it...you have one, too!
Love and prayers for you all!
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