When the cat's away, the mice will play... er... redecorate!

Obviously my life has been full of changes lately. Some which I took on with a smile (or grimace... depending on the circumstances) on my face, and some which I kicked and screamed about until they finally hit me in the face with a force that usually took my breath away.

Lately, however, I have been DECIDING to change things, which makes it so much easier to handle. Because my hubby is 9 time zones away at the moment, I figure he has given up his right to have an opinion on what goes on in this house in terms of decorating. Up until now, I've been a good companion, and took his opinions seriously and attempted to incorporate both of our tastes in this house that we currently call 'home'. But now... that's all done with. I figure one of the perks for me right now is getting to do whatever I want and if Paul has a problem with it, I just very nicely say, "I'm locked in a house with your two children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week." And then I assume his silence is meant to be an ecstatic agreement concerning the drapes that I want to hang.So.... some changes have been made! It's been nice to be able to get a little sweaty... ok... alot sweaty, and do some manual labor that doesn't include diapers or bath time or stair climbing. I think because Paul is not here, I have been much more efficient at just getting things done. I don't have the option to have him do it, you know, whenever he gets around to it. So I just... do it.First, I hung some curtains in our kitchen window, which I have been meaning to do since we got our windows redone, I don't know, almost a year ago. I bought a roman shade from World Market. It came with some hardware that needed to be attached to the wall first, so I began searching for the drill, which I've never used before. Two days later, when I still couldn't find it (and had come to the conclusion that Paul had hid it on purpose for THIS EXACT REASON), I attempted to attach the hardware using nothing but brute strength... oh and a screwdriver. After getting one of the screws almost all the way in (and almost sweating through my shirt in the process), I decided I should try to find the drill just one more time. I found it stashed away in the garage, behind a sheet, under a table, and hidden by a box. HA. So I clamored once more onto the countertop and began drilling, and very soon afterward began dropping screws all over the place and making huge divots in the dry-wall. BUT. I was successful eventually, and now I don't have to worried about the houses behind us spying on me at night.


I am going to be adding side panels to either side of the valance to even it out. The next size up would have been to big to fit in the window, so I had to get creative.

Next up, our big window in our living room. I've had some drapes on there for a while, but because of the awkward size of the window, they don't quite cover the whole thing. I would have to make my own drapes in order to do that, and, well... that's laughable at this point. So, I purchased some extra drapes to throw on there, and wouldn't you know, they were hung the same day (something that would not have happened 2 months ago...).

The original plan for the house was that wall would be painted... I don't know what color... but something fun. It never happened, but I like to sit and imagine that there is some wonderfully brilliant color staring back at me when I look at this window.

And lastly, I hung a light that was previously in my daughter's room downstairs over our couch. I have been complaining for quite some time that the lighting down there was more like spot-lights than mood-lighting, and now I've finally done something about it. (and this picture was taken via webcam because my camera died as I was pressing the button to take a picture of it.)



Also, changed my hair. I was brave and chopped most of it off, and and the last minute, decided to add a bit of color. This is what it looked like after I got it done...

And this is what it looks like after I shower and sleep on it (which can also be read: what it will look like from now on).


I'm happy with what I have done. Both to the house and myself. It feels good to have some change that I've brought on myself.

(in other news... one month down!)