Soberjulie

Hey Aine and Rachel, bet you guys can see these on your iPads :)

You get Nancy's tennis racket to bop them with. I insert my dog

You get vacation time :) I insert a typewriter

You get a good book, a pair of pj's and a blanket and pillow for the couch. And snacks. Lots of snacks. I insert a pencil

It stinks doesn't it?! I cannot believe I didn't notice he smell when I was a smoker. So gross!!

Thanks Colleen. It was sooo much fun to make! Hubby was called the architect because he designed and created a cardboard template. I was the builder/contractor as I did the baking and slapping it together. Jaymee (daughter) was the designer....she picked out 100$ worth of candy from the bulk store to decorate it. Great memories.

Ok...last one, I promise! This isnt a DIY....its a craft! Daughter #4 entered a gingerbread house competition at her school this past Christmas. Relax....parents were allowed to help. :p It was massive, we had to get it to the school in the back of hubby's truck. This was our....errrrr.....her, creation. Yup, she won!

It was the most stressful fun we have had in our entire marriage. I doubt that most people actually live in their homes during a reno of that proportion. Every area of the house was affected, at the same time, for a full year. We would come home from work, head to the basement to put work clothes on, then trudge back up the stairs to the PILE of building materials and our GIANT white-board that had our task list on it. We do have a summer place at the lake.....and we would escape for the weekend.....but then we would feel as if our renovation was never going to be done if we sat around at the lake in lawn chairs ;) We plowed through it and we finished on time for Christmas, which was our goal. Good thing too........because one short month later, daughter #2 came home to live....with newborn baby in tow :p

And one of the ones hubby is most proud of. This was the entrance to our living room......we wanted to create something more open concept. He made all this by hand. After:

Heres the bathroom before and after. Again....I wish I had remembered to take a before picture....mind you the before bathroom was barely big enough to turn around in. If you sat on the toilet, your knees almost touched the tub :) And ta-da....after! I spend unheard of amounts of time in here

Tracey.....I LOVE my kitchen :) I waited 17yrs for it (thats how long weve been in the house)....but with raising kids....we never had the time or money. :)

The biggest DIY project that hubby and I have attempted to date: We completely tore up the entire main floor of our 1940's house last year......gutted it right back to the studs and redid the thing. Here is a before and after of the kitchen. (Wish I had remembered to take a before pic before we started the demolition)

3

Woops 19 Good morning

18 Good morning Paul

French toast. Jello or pudding

The sober egg is here. :)

You get memories of Sunday drives :) I insert popcorn

All the time TAC. I spent years asking myself that question. Who would have thought that it wasn't nearly as complicated as my addicted mind made it out to be. It's just one step. One simple step Don't smoke. Not One Puff Ever.

Sooz, just so you know....I wouldn't forget about you in a few days if you disappeared. I would always wonder "Hey! What happened to that sweet Soozie? I hope she's still smoke free......" Stay with us Sooz :)

I'm working on it. Had some technical glitches, I think I broke the blog thingy, but MQ promises that one way or another, I will get a blog :)

Cycle. Deaf or blind

Just help with whatever is placed in my path. Walk or run

Cutting grass Alone or in a crowd

And you get a cup of coffee and a lazy boy chair. I insert a grouchy husband