Well, we're staying with my parents for a bit, so tonight when my brother took the bigger kids to the pool (my neice is here, too), Adelaide and I headed off for a classic Murray evening of Taco John's for dinner and chillin' at the MSU campus. I wanted to give Lil Laila a chance to run free for a bit...and of course I just happened to have my camera. So here are a few choice tidbits from my daughter's introduction to Murray State.
Wal-Mart starts 'aggressive' discounting plan - Consumer News - MSNBC.com
I am no fan of Wal-Mart, and that's not a secret I hold close to the vest. Most people know my feelings about the giant retailer, which are primarily based on customer-experience and quality-assurance issues. But when I saw this, it struck me. Growing up in a small, fairly affluent small city and attending schools where many of the most successful and educated parents sent their kids, I never really knew anyone who had to choose between feeding their family and paying their electric bill, or between a tank of gas and buying school supplies for their kids. Or at least I never knew they struggled like that.
Thanks to the internet, now I do. And I know they love their kids and want to give them things and make them proud as much as I do my children. And it breaks my heart to see them struggle when they're such good people, people who volunteer and help others but who can't afford to fill up their table at dinner.
So reading this, I thought of that. I don't like Wal-Mart, and I don't think it's a good company with a healthy work environment. But because Wal-Mart exists, because of their new strategy, school shopping will cost a little less for the people who desperately need it most. Maybe it means they'll eat better for a few nights, or that they can drive to the park or the library rather than staying at home to conserve gas.
For me, I still wouldn't go to Wal-Mart. I would choose Target, or an office store, because I just don't like going. But pennies on pencils and paper do make a difference to some people. A big difference. And in moments like this, well...I'm glad there's a Wal-Mart.
The Master Bath...ahhhhh, it's finally finished. Okay, we still need to get the paint out and clean the tub a bit more, but now it's real, and not just our imagination. The ugly wallpaper, the nappy shower curtain, the huge frameless mirrors, the builder light fixtures...all gone! We just wish we'd done it earler so we could enjoy it, too. But we think we have a GREAT buyer-ready master bath...what do you think?
Remember this bathroom? Well...okay, we got a LOT done on it, but we never got it completely finished out. We did get farther than this photo shows, of course, and it was a working bath, but it wasn't completely finished out, until...
now! Our realtor loves what we've done, and a couple of other people we've shown it to have raved, as well. We decided a neutral tone would work better than the blue we originally chose. We installed a new light fixture (I mean, BEN installed a new light fixture!) as well as some awesome ceiling lights over the shower. We've put a lot of work into this room, but we did it on a decently small budget. We hope potential buyers like it, too!
I really, really, REALLY hate wallpaper.
Especially this wallpaper. We wanted to remove it ever since we moved in. When we'd have visitors, I was downright embarrassed by it. But really, who has the time to mess with that?
Well, now we have to. And it was a HUGE pain. Now we've painted it (the dropcloth is still on the floor) and while it's not a WOW effect, it's a lot better than that awful wallpaper!
So, we spent weeks slaving over these painted stripes...and they were gone in one day.
Here it is now. It's a shame in some ways, because everyone who saw it loved it. But we have lots of photos, and honestly, I'd rather sell the house than impress people with our paint job. But I do have this idea that when Adelaide gets home, she's going to walk into her room, look around, and say "OH, NO!" -- her favorite phrase right now.
Well, it's time to sell the house, which means tough choices. At least that's what Donna and Shannon Freeman tell us every night on HGTV. So Will's room that we made so HIS...well, it's all undone.
Remember Will's uber-customized little boy haven?
Well...here it is now! We neutralized the walls and took out his rockin' loft bed and put in the old Ethan Allen twin bed. His computer is stored, waiting for his new wonder world in our new house. He's remarkably okay with it so far...in theory, at least, since he hasn't actually seen it in person yet! Yes, it's messy right now -- we're still decluttering. And we're going to fix that shade. But what a difference, eh?
I guess the important facts of the matter should be listed first (or at least that's what they teach you in journalism school): We're moving. And not just a little.
We're headed to Memphis, Tennessee -- Ben has accepted a position there with Sherwin-Williams as an Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager. We're so, so pleased with this situation -- we really like the area, and he really wanted this job. Fortunately, they wanted him, too.
But my excitement over our impending move back to the mid-south is tempered by one thing...my FEAR about selling our house. Our first home, the place we brought Adelaide home to, the house with the first walls I ever painted, the first remodel we ever did...but okay, the truth is this isn't about sentimentality. It's about money. We want to buy a bigger house in Memphis, and the home prices there are buyer-friendly. But the more we can put down, the better. And there's a time frame here. They want us there asap, basically. And we want to skedaddle, ourselves, but there's this small matter of the 200K+ home we've got to sell.
I love our house...it has so many great features. But now I just see all the things that need to be done, the little chores we put off as we raised the children and lived life, that are coming due rather abruptly. We're upping the ante in the kitchen, spending a couple thousand dollars in there to make the home really sparkle. The rest of it...it's little stuff, like paint, and paint, and a little bit of paint. No, really. We're doing a lot of painting, praying Stanley Steemer can work their carpet-lovin' magic on our floors, and figuring out what to do about the landscaping.
Our realtor here is 1 in a million. She's a personal friend, and she just spent the entire day over here with us helping us clean, declutter, and stage. She's having a home inspector come tomorrow morning to give us a pre-sale inspection...and I'm praying he doesn't find anything too dramatically wrong. (Dear God, please let our AC unit be up to snuff...)
And that's why I'm awake, really. I'm stressing. BIG TIME. I just want this all to be over. I thought buying a home was stressful, but needing to sell -- quickly -- and for a profit? Now THAT's scary.
Bottom line: We're moving to Memphis, and we want to go.
By the way...do you think I'll need to change my blog name when we move?
