School has started...

Sorry for the delay in posting, but this is a CRAZY time of year. If you know a teacher, get up and go give them a hug! (and then a stiff drink!!) School starting is a nutty time of year. For starters, you have to reset your body clock to get back up at an insane hour and then prep your feet to stand on them for the next 8 hours, save when you escape to the potty, if you're lucky enough!! Then be ready to be "on" for a solid 8 hours, watching every movement made by 22 children that you don't know the names of yet! Thankfully, I'm usually okay with names, so I get those down relatively quickly. After a crazy, but good week I'm pooped and slowly starting to realize that I have to go back to work tomorrow.

(Disclaimer: For those of you who think I'm one of those "complaining teachers" who lazes away the 3 months of summer vacation, I worked all but 3 days that I was home this summer... Somehow this "work" is different than summer school, CIA, kid-sitting, house-sitting and various other summer jobs.)
After sleeping a nutty number of hours on Friday night, I've been working on cleaning my house. If you've ever lived in the middle of a remodel, you will understand my frustrations in trying to clean up a workzone. Yuck! I'm persevering though and have almost finished the living room. Eventually I'm headed to the office/kitchen storage.

While I busy cleaning, I thought you might like to see the rest of the before and afters from the house. Enjoy!


Please note the different color of the walls and the ceiling. No, that is not a fluke of your computer. That is NASTY disgusting nicotine stains from years of smoking. Seriously, after cleaning that ceiling, I wonder why anyone would ever smoke. Hmm, maybe all smokers trying to quit should be subjected to ceiling scrubbing...

Now my room is my sancutary. A sane place away from the crazy world!




Note the lovely, original carpet and stained walls. It's a shame this isn't smell-a-blog because you would be gagging from the stench.


I LOVE this color. While a bunch of people thought I had lost my mind, I am thrilled with how the color looks and can't wait to get the crap-moulding, I mean crown-moulding up.



Check out the fabu scallop trim! Can you say country kitch?? Note the small doorway which has now been blown open to allow for a more open concept.

My living room is now one of my favorite places to hang. I love the open feeling the room has while being cozy and comfortable at the same time. My bookshelves display items representing my most treasured memories. From my Mimi's candy jar, (yes, it has the caramels, butterscothch discs and peppermints, just like Mimi) to pictures of family and friends, to my great-great grandparent's books, to just a bit of bling, my tastes run the gamut.