WINDOW TRIM IS DONE!

There are 15 windows in this tiny house.  

Don't worry I won't show you a picture of EVERY window ;)

Here are just a few I don't think I have posted before, if I have please forgive me :)

Before picture of one of the kitchen windows:

After with the shelf but not the sides yet:

One of the sitting area windows:

My bathroom window:

Do you see the shelf for this one?  My husband repurposed a kitchen cupboard drawer front to make that shelf.  

I'll have to get a picture of my curtain rod/essential oil holder when it's not sunny outside.  It's really hard to get pictures of windows from the inside during the day!

Again, hard to get pictures of inside window trim when it's light outside but you can kind of see the trim in this one:

You can see it a little better in this one but you can also see my daughter and her friend dancing by cheering my son on in his batting practice ;)

Here's a picture of the trim and shelf in my loft area:

I think I have learned that all my window pictures need to be taken at night!

With the trim done my husband has taken some time off of the house to work on the yard, BBQ and spend some quality time with our son.

They spent most of the day playing: croquet, frisbee, baseball, soccer...you name it!

My daughter and I spent most of the day shopping, spray painting, swinging and playing with friends.

It's been awhile since I posted outside pics of house.  

We are so thankful to have a large yard area to use while we are parked here.

Since we cleaned it up I figured now is a great time to take pictures that make it look like our place is clean and neat.

Because it is!  Today... :D

I can't forget to share my husbands newest therapy/hobby project: the smoker/BBQ.

He cooked us some delicious pork for dinner...

...with lots of left overs! That thing holds A LOT of meat!

Look what my son got as a birthday present yesterday!  

Of course we found room for him; it's a good thing he's little!

Thankfully my husband made this window trim shelf out a one of our old bookcases just a couple days ago:

The fish is sitting pretty on it; we may find a new location at some point but for now it works!

I did not realize just how much time I spend outside until I was confined to the house with a sick kiddo today.

The outdoors is like part of my home now, I'm always going out for this or that: a little weeding here and there, move this, fix that, feed the animals.

I was just a little bored after I had cleaned my kitchen, done laundry, made lunch and dinner, organized, exercised, cleaned my room, done schoolwork with my son, spent to much time on FB and put in time reading a good but boring book.

I thought about baking but I knew I'd eat it; I was really trying not to fill my time eating today.  I could have read more but I read a whole novel yesterday and the non-fiction I'm reading is hard to spend much time in - good information but a lot of it.

There just isn't as much to do in a tiny house when you don't have the option of going outside.

Hopefully we'll back to our regular routine tomorrow!

Realistically

I have been on a journey to figure out how to be realistic.

For starters, at this very moment my husband is replacing the door knob I purchased and installed.  He had previously reinstalled it but it broke for good yesterday.

I have figured out that if I am being realistic about my skills and abilities, I will not purchase or install anything having to do with the construction of our house.

In fact, if it has a design to it, needs to be designed, needs to be redesigned or anything of the sort I should probably not even consider doing it.

I see all these amazing projects (completed projects) in magazines, on Facebook, on Pinterest, in newspapers, in books and even in people's yards and I think, "Ooo...that is so cool!  I could do that!"

Realistically? No, just no.  I actually can't.

If I have a pattern and I really apply myself, then maybe.  If I have all the pieces ready and the materials available, there's an even better chance of success.  If it's like my pallet board wall and just needs to be fit together like a puzzle, then yes, I just might be successful.  But to design something all on my own, put it together and like the finished project? Realistically, no, it just isn't going to happen. In fact, if it doesn't collapse or need to be recreated within 6 months, I'm doing pretty good.

I told my husband last week, "When I tell you I need a outside box to put my gardening tools in and you tell me there's a lot of wood around for that, I just want to cry.  I want to crawl into my bed and cry and not get up for a very long time." (I think that would be diagnosed as depression - I probably could get diagnosed with "Design Depression").

My husband very truthfully stated, "You can't SEE the design in your head."

Nope.

I am going to be realistic.  I am not going to plan to do a project I would have to design on my own.  I am not going to think I will repurpose anything that requires more than a little spray paint.  I am not going to gather cool materials to make something really cool - realistically it just won't be cool.  I am not going to think my husband could do a project I think is cool - realistically, well he has a house to finish!

I AM going to be content with what I have.  I am going to save up money for things, like lawn furniture, I can't make - realistically, I just won't be able to build something safe.  I am going to be realistic with my husbands time and not expect him to do projects I can't do when I want the house finished.  I am going to be patient with the progress on the house because every time I get impatient and try to do something my husband has to spend more of his time going back and fixing my work.

Oh, and a couple more things, I AM going to look for ways God can use the talents He has given me - like being able to minister to a sweet group of girls in our neighborhood. I will also be content with completing the tasks He's given me - like cleaning, cooking, laundry and mothering.

Being realistic means saying, "no" to myself and to other well-meaning people who say, "oh, you could make that into...for your house/yard/car/rabbit/etc." No, actually I can't, but I'm sure it's a great idea!

Being realistic means saying, "no" but it also means saying "yes" and "ok" to what God has for me.

My new goal is to look for ways I can say "yes" to God and be content with what the "yes" entails - and quit collecting junk I'll never redesign into anything!







 

Chocolate Chip cookies in a Toaster Oven in a Tiny House

And the flowers my husband gave me:

Things have gotten done

One of the first visitors to our tiny home after we moved in was my sister-in-law.  She came just a few weeks after we moved in: before the counter and sink, before the paneling was finished, before the storage steps to our bedroom, before the floor was visible, before the window trim and before the storage/wall between our loft and the rest of the house.

It felt really good to realize things have gotten done!

House projects seem to take a reeeaallllyyyy long time sometimes...ok, A LOT of the time.  I like to see things get done.  I am impatient and want things done right now.  When progress doesn't go along like clockwork, I start to think my house will never be done.

Guess what?  I was talking to a group of friends last week and it seems I'm not the only who has an unfinished house!  Imagine that.

Now, however, after visiting with my sister-in-law and showing all the things we've done, I am feeling much better about the progress on our house!  Things have gotten done.  They will keep getting done.

If you ever visit, you'll see a cool, unfinished, tiny house and, if you come back five months later, you'll probably still see an cool, unfinished, tiny house BUT it will have new things to look at each visit! :D

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being outside more AND having a clean house!! 

I cleaned the house before and after church and right before lunch (little bit here and there while I got ready and while lunch cooked) and now I get to enjoy guilt-free outdoor time!

Here's the current work station; it's so nice not to have sawdust all over the house!

Here's an after picture of one of the windows my husband was working on yesterday:

Here's the before picture of the pallet-wood-wall window:

And here's the after:

The 2x4's are turning out great, plus they're cheap and fairly easy to install!