Priorities?

Today I realized what my priorities are. I left my house this morning (late, as always) and as soon as I got on the freeway, my gas light went on. I drove the entire 25 miles to school with barely any gas and headed to Wal-mart to get 15 students donuts. As soon as I pulled up to the parking lot, I realized I didn't have my wallet. Luckily, I found 10 bucks in my purse (I never carry cash!) and I had an executive decision to make. Do I buy the donuts to avoid disappointing my students? Or do I buy gas so that I don't run out on my way home? That's where I discovered what my priorities were. I bought the donuts and milk. When I went to check out the guy rang me up for two milks and I received 2 dollars and some change. I about freaked. I needed a refund for the other milk...it would double what I had left. I felt like a poor person begging for money. Anyway, I ended up getting my refund for two additional dollars, pulled up to a gas station, and bought one measly galloon of gas. Dang, gas prices are way too high right now. When I got home, I had exactly 1/2 of a gallon left. Phew. That was cutting it close. So there. Now you have it...those are my priorities.

Oh, and PS- the 15 students were these cute kids who won second place in a huge math competition. I felt like their moms...I couldn't have been more proud. I love these kiddos!!

Our House!

Here are some before and afters of our house! It's been almost 2 years since we bought our house...I can't believe it's been that long!! Looking back, I can't believe I let Rich buy this house. I walked through and said, sure why not? Maybe I was just so glad that I was getting a house...I mean, I was 23 years old and had about 500 in my pocket. I was like yessss...I get a house! You will see what I mean about us being a bit crazy, and I doubt Rich could have convinced me to buy this house now...

Living room pics...paint can really make such a difference! We painted and painted, removed the gross mirror, put blinds up and I painted the fireplace cover.

Here are a few kitchen pics...we mostly just painted. That's it!

We've since gotten a new range and put in a really cute island. Pictures to come!

Bathroom. Seriously, what we were they thinking with these paint colors?!

Next comes the master bedroom...

The basement room...this was a drastic change!!

Last summer I painted all of the wood paneling and I even painted the fireplace. The ceiling is cheap cork board, so Rich put plaster all over it. It's not perfect, but it made such a difference! It was pretty cheap too...mostly the cost of paint. We kept the shag carpet, which is super ugly, but what can you do?At least it's soft and in good condition! I actually love it!

Here is a picture of our basement bathroom. There was a flood down here before we moved in, so the previous owners remodeled the bathroom. We just added the mirror and Rich put glass around the shower. I will have to post a picture of that later.

Guest bedroom (aka Kim and Mellie's room)

I pretty much just painted this room. There was faux wood paneling and a ton of water damage. Apparently this room flooded long before we moved in. Oh, and you can't forget the awesome blue checkered linoleum. Gross!! We painted the heck out of everything, even the closet doors (which took FOREVER!) and we added carpet.

And, here's the backyard. When we moved in the pool was not salvageable *sooo unfortunate!* so we had to fill the pool in with dirt. We have actually laid sod and will add trees, bushes, and flowers this summer. I can't wait to finally have a back yard!!

Rich drained the entire pool while I was in Virginia...I am so glad I wasn't there because it was sooo nasty! There were ducks living in that thing! Rich and his brother Nathan tried jack hammering the pool, but after 8 hours, they hadn't gotten very far. So, we hired someone to bulldoze it and fill it with dirt. Rich has since put in an entire sprinkling system and has laid sod. Our backyard looks soooo much different now!! Recent pictures to come!

Our next projects are to remodel the sunroom, the master bathroom, laundry room, and extra bedroom. I also want to work on the yard and add flowers and even a garden! It's a never ending project, but we've come a long way in two years! Good thing my husband is such a hard worker and handy with stuff like this. We absolutely love our home and our cute neighborhood. I am so glad we have this little fixer upper!!