sweat equity

we have a monster downstairs. it's called:
an unfinished basement

i love my house. i love working hard to make it pretty. i'm really not above doing anything around the house - inside or out - and am usually anxious to get projects done, so that when my hubby is home, we can spend time as a family having fun, not just working on projects.

i mow. i weed. i paint. i hang. i trim. i haul. i...you get it.

our home, and the MOUNTAIN of projects the house requires, could qualify us for the show sweat equity and many others on the DIY network. i don't even want to attempt a list of all the things that have to get done inside, outside, upstairs and down. i am however, very excited to see the basement morph from concrete floors, bare naked beams and exposed, fleshy insulation to the beautiful, comfortable and easy-going space we've created in our dreams (and hired a designer to get on paper.)

this weekend i painted the storage room walls.
monday, philip and i will be hanging the drop ceiling.
then the "tom glenn special" shelves will be rehung, which i have also painted this weekend.
we will have dealt the monster a first blow and will have our storage and emergency supplies organized and off the floor; our water barrels filled.

sweat equity is so satisfying. i love the time that painting gives me to think, reflect, and let my mind wander. i love the satisfaction of completing a few hours of back-aching, sore-hand, joint-crunching effort. i love having my kids there to "help" and sweetly tell me i'm doing a good job.

my favorite memory after spending a weekend in the belly of the monster:

listening to my 6-year-old, as she rode her bike round and round through what will eventually be the bathroom/guestroom/workout room/bar/pool table/playroom singing, "she'll be comin' round the mountain".

oh sweetie, your momma already has.