Finishing up

Sometimes you buy a fixer-upper, and you think you'll live there for four years and do all the work yourself. Sometimes you end up having to move twice instead and rent the place out. And then sometimes it feels surprisingly good to pay someone to finish what you couldn't. 

This house finally got the full makeover it deserved! Now time to sell...

Meg vs. 30: Thoughts on failure and success

It happened. I turned 30. And as you can observe if you click on my tab, I came up short on my 30 goals for myself, and only finished about 2/3 of them. My normal self would say, "Why, that is 66%, which is a D." But with all the other stress going on (I have been on the phone all morning trying to get people over to the house to get things fixed for the tenants, while in the meantime my children run amok and my house is still 1/3 in boxes), I am rethinking how I will define success on my goals.

It was a success for me to put my goals out for other people to see when I came up short.

It was a success that I often chose to throw my efforts into supporting my husband and spending time with my kids instead of compulsively following through on everything I had wanted to get done.

It was a success that I survived a year where we had a baby, finished renovating a house, and moved several hundred miles, and still made sushi and rode not one but two horses.

And it was a success that I realized that next time I should try to make myself have more fun instead of pushing myself to "achieve" more. I already stress out over what I am an am not accomplishing. In my 20's I served a mission for a year and a half. I learned Japanese and spent summers with my grandmother just like I wanted to. I got two degrees and my husband got one and is in the midst of another. We got married, had three kids (who, I might add, are still surviving our parenting), and bought a house which we renovated and turned into a rental. Why should I feel like what I'm doing isn't enough? I need to push myself to do more to enjoy life! So my 40x40 list (which I already started compiling a while back, because that's how I am) will hopefully be a lot more fun and less stressful.

So here is to failure, and more successes like this:

Meg vs. The Walls: Removing Wood Paneling

I did this to the front bedroom today:

Before. This doesn't quite portray the ugliness of the painted-over,

falling-off-the-wall wood paneling.

After: Yikes! It always gets worse before it gets better, right?

Right?

So before Thursday when two more girls come to see the house, we hope to patch the walls, sand everything down, do a coat of primer, spray texture on the walls, and do a second coat of primer.  Then paint and moulding... Phew! I am tired already, and I need to clean out the garage before the contractor comes to measure for the new door on Wednesday.

As I was attacking the paneling, I was thinking about how nice it would have been to have done this earlier and been able to enjoy living in the finished house. But then I thought about how busy and preoccupied I have been these last couple of weeks trying to get everything done, and I am glad that I wasn't crazy focused on the house so that I could focus on these guys, who were relegated to the tent today:

Meg vs. Time: Facebook Friday

I don't think I am alone in the fact that Facebook has become my default time waster. When I have a minute or two in between things, I mindlessly look over Facebook, not looking for anything in particular. Then one of two things happen: I leave it just as bored as I was before I opened it, or I get caught up in something worthless and waste a lot of time on it. Maybe one in ten times I actually communicate with someone or do or read something worthwhile.

So I decided I am going to try a new experiment: Facebook Friday. In theory, I will avoid checking Facebook except on Friday (unless I actually need to communicate with someone, like a family member who is more likely to check Facebook than answer my calls, though I am not naming any names there). Then I will post whatever cool/funny/worthless things that strike my fancy.

So here is my first Facebook Friday:

1. I entered to win a gift card from Brickyard Buffalo, the cute daily deal site started by my SIL's sister and where my BFF is a vendor.

2. I offered to lend our digital scale for our local Pinewood Derby. Something useful! That is the one redeeming virtue of Facebook; I find out about what is going on with people and how I can help.

3. Read lots of status updates about the weather (75 degrees in SoCal, -10 in Vernal, UT, "Wicked cold" in Boston).

4. Saw a lot of pictures of other people's kids.

5. Someone I knew in high school is having a girl.

6. It's Trafficking Awareness Month.  Check out the story on CNN. Someday I want to volunteer or work for an organization that represents trafficking victims.

7. People complaining about Obama, complete with sacrilegious magazine covers.

(Also, who can save Europe if not women?  =))

8. Lots of complaints about gun conrol.

9. Someone linked to this blog post about mothering and being enough. It is awesome.

10. More grumpy cat.

Happy Friday!