Flattery

It seems that every time I see the Lawlers I find out that some other family member is following my blog... and although I am honestly surprised, I'm also quite flattered! So, this is a big "hello!" to all of the extended Lawlers keeping tabs on us here in good old Chicagoland! :) I think since I'm finding out more and more people are reading, I'm going to try and get a little "house tour" up on the blog soon. My very first post here at 9-oh-6 showed the initial pictures we took at the house before it was even officially ours, so now I think it's time to post the before and after shots to show how every room is looking after we put our own touch on it!

Since it's getting warmer (finally) and neither Dan or I is one to sit still for long, we're thinking about embarking on a major project in the coming months... replacing our terribly outdated 1-car garage with a snazzy new 2-car! I personally can't wait for Dan to have somewhere to put his poor truck that doesn't involve a good 6 inches of mud when it rains. And, for myself, I can't wait to be able to have a light in the garage, as well as a garage door opener that isn't my own 2 hands! For someone with as big a fear of alleys as I have, pulling my car out of the garage and then getting back out of it to shut the door has been a minor source of stress.

Ok extended family... here's your chance to leave a comment and share your thoughts! :) Has anyone ever done a garage remodel on their own? Any tips or suggestions or "holy crap don't do that yourselves" warnings? Dan is a pretty handy guy, and we've both spent weeks on service trips building porches, staircases, etc... (and doing demo, which is obviously much more fun), so as far as we're concerned it's a tough but manageable do-it-yourself project!

On another note, besides joining Dan at his retreat for some of the weekend, I have done absolutely NOTHING with myself in the last few days as I finally caved and decided to begin reading the Twilight series... and I am completely and totally 100% hooked. I suppose it isn't the end of the world that I am reading something besides a magazine or a blog, but I think it becomes a problem when I would rather be reading than going to bed at a decent time. I did just read The Last Lecture a few weeks ago so I suppose this isn't the only real book in my rotation lately. Either way, I'm loving Twilight and considering the movie just came out on DVD and I have a mere 50 pages left in the first book... I think I feel a movie night with Manda Banana, a lot of junk food, and comfy pjs coming on SOON!