Spring has sprung

And so have my allergies. Sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes. Yeah. Happy to be partially done with winter (because around here, winter really doesn't end. We sometimes get snow in July) but with all the pollen in the air, and the fact that most medication has food coloring in it, I can't take anything to help.

When spring comes, so comes my ideas to improve the house. Many don't end up coming to fruition; but I have them none the less. On the list for this spring/summer:

~Redo my sewing/craft room. That room is a disaster. I can't really function in the room easily and I need to. Paint, floor, furniture. The works. We haven't touched that room since we moved into the home and it used to be a little boy's room. I am sick and tired of staring at blue walls with dogs, bugs, and a big tree painted on it. Time for me to have a creative space that is calming and productive.

~Organize the loft. A few years ago we added shelving and that helped a little, but we have outgrown the shelving (everything is spilling out onto the floor). We've got two small computer desks up there and I'm thinking that we need to consolidate into one larger desk in the corner. It doesn't work well to have two spaces...and only one is really being used at the moment. The other is just catching dust and collecting items. I'm also going to go through the collection of text books, papers, and other items up there to see if we really need them or not. I've also collected small stuffed animals into a shelving unit in the corner. Maybe it is time to give those to someone else---who has kids perhaps? I'll keep the most expensive ones, but the ones that are cheap need to find a new home. I also have a couch and an overstuffed chair up there. I like having the extra seating, but it seems crowded. I'm going to have to rethink that.

~Storage in the master room. Yes, last year with the help of my brother we were able to put up some cabinets that were sitting in the garage for a couple years and that helped tremendously, but we need more. Either that or I need to get rid of some of my clothing. Maybe J needs to get rid of his stuff too. We are packrats and tend to keep everything thinking that we'd be able to use it later. It is proving not the case. We also haven't completely recovered from the burst pipe we had downstairs. The wall is still open. Drywall will be worked on in the next couple weeks (I'm hoping) and then maybe I can start to get back to normal in that room. When portions of the room are not complete, I get lazy and don't put stuff away. I guess it's just a mental block that goes more for "if this portion of the room is messy, can't this portion be too?". I need to kick that habit.

~Kitchen needs a restain. It is the yellow cabinets from the 90's and I'm ready for a change. They aren't the highest quality cabinets, but I think that I can make them look higher quality with some quick changes. Not sure how all of them are going to look, but staining them isn't going to be that difficult. Counter tops are a different story. I found a resin paint that is used to redo counter tops, but I'm a little nervous to actually try it out because if it ends up looking like I did it myself...that is the last thing that I want to do.

~Guest bathroom upstairs. I've got most of the stuff needed to complete this room, it's just finding the motivation to actually get it done. Rip out the sink/cabinet, repaint everything, frame the mirror, replace the light fixture, possibly replace the toilet, possibly replace the floor.

~Organize the garage. Yes, this is at the bottom of the list since the garage will be the repository of everything while we are going through the remodel. There are shelving units that will be moved into the garage as we finish things inside the house and then I can start to place things up. We've also got a lot of clothing from our last attempt at a garage sale. I'm thinking that a few saturdays that I'm starting to go through things, I can have things sitting on the curb for people to take a look at. If all else fails, I can always donate items and get tax credits from it all. I like that idea--don't know how feasible it'll all be, but I like getting money for my stuff.

I've got a list and I'm itching to get things done, but I also need to concentrate on my master's program. I'm into the first month of it and so far it's been going well. I just need to pull myself out of the habits that I get into--laziness. I was doing well for the first three weeks, but now I'm into week 4 and the project doesn't make too much sense to me this time around and I can feel myself shutting down. Getting into old habits. I am going to try and get through this course with as high a grade as I can muster. I need to stay above a B for the first 3 courses otherwise I am kicked out of the program. I am working on it, but I am not an academic.

We'll see how things progress. Maybe actually writing them down will help me. I'm always up to trying new things. I'm kind of excited for the summer to start. No more classes to teach, designing things for the World FolkFest, and hanging out with my family....no way am I tackling this list alone.