Wish Lists

Isn't it amazing how many things you want to do, but odds are always against you?

I think Santa needs to re-think his situation and start taking requests from adults. I have quite the list of things that can only be cured by magic... or at least guidance.

I want to start hanging out at the local hardware stores so that one of those home improvement show hosts see me stumbling around like the sad and clueless little homeowner I am and help with the magic of their knowledge, skills, and huge muscular arms and abs... those are a necessity for renovating my bathroom. Shirtless. Don't let anyone tell you it is unsafe to remove tile like that.

Tear away my baby blue sorrow with your Zeus-like arms!

In all seriousness, I have a hefty list of things I want to change about our home, but I feel like I am unprepared for such daunting tasks.
I did weeks of planning for our back patio area that included all the steps and procedure and we even had 2 friends helping. Despite their amazingly hard work, the patio is unusable. Months later.

 

This is the before... but honestly, it doesn't look much different.. just less grass and the stones are put together unevenly like a drunken blind man tried to put together a puzzle with pieces from 3 different puzzles.

 

Problem 1: Cost (You want HOW much for that dirt you call sand?!).
[$4/bag doesn't sound bad till you realize that one bag covers NOTHING!]

Problem 2: Clueless. The step-by-step lists became useless when faced with the actual situation. In the end, we hastily put it together as best we could. We got some free sand (dirt should always be free!) from my parents when they expanded their porch, but it will take lots more and currently the dirt is sitting in the shed waiting to fulfill its destiny. A few stones at a time.


This project stays on my mind all the time. It has scared me off of other projects because I worry about not having the money, or if I go the cost-efficient route, will it be a flop. If I try and it fails, I have to see it every day for years till I can afford to fix it.


My Home Improvement Wish List
(These need a miracle to happen)

• Bathroom: Change color scheme from blue to black (actually there was black tile and they changed it in the renovation! They did it to torment me!) 
• Patio: Um... fix it please. 
• Front Porch: Remove outdoor carpet and make it even. 
• Siding: For some reason, ours has lots of dents, mismatched sections from re-modeling, and what looks like bullet holes from failed assassination attempts...

My Home Improvement To-Do List
(Totally working on these... slowly)

Painting: When we moved in, I was not able to take vacation time, so we moved in slowly and didn't get to paint beforehand. It took over a week, 3-4 hours a night by driving the stuff from the apartment to the house bits at a time (fortunately it was less than 1/2 a mile.... unfortunately we only had help a couple of times and were so exhausted we couldn't eat.)

Spare Room: This room is awful.... I don't let people in it currently because it has more furniture than it should right now. But that should change before the end of the year (I hope). I want to get rid of the bed and replace it with a futon since we never have guests anyway. I can use this room for crafting, storage, and make up (I have a vanity at my parents' waiting for me!)
I'm moving out most of the spare crap this weekend so all I need is the futon so I can move the rest of the project along.

I need to win the lottery.... I guess I would have to start by actually playing the lottery. But one ticket is almost a bag of dirt! Ha!