Behind The Scenes Is Always Ugly

For the last 8 months, the 14 yr. old has asked for a new room. I've put it off until now for many reasons. The first being the fact that this is a teenager's room. Just the thought of clearing it out frightened me. I couldn't bring myself to start this project because I knew what I was in for.

Nana's Christmas brought a new bedspread, and I finally gathered enough energy to pull everything off the walls and scoop up all the crap off the floor. Why do teenagers always put everything on the floor?


The new room is lovely. She loves it and I'm just glad it's finished. It took me days and days. Most of it was my own doing. I took on way too many projects. But, looking at it from here seems to sugar coat all the labor.


With every project, the 'before' is yucky and the 'after' is great. It's the in-between section that's a ridiculous mess. It's always somewhere in that middle part that I start thinking, "Why did I ever start this!?" When I say those words in my head, I usually add in several cuss words just because it makes me feel good.

During this room overhaul, I:

• Lost a section off the top of my thumb when I jammed it with a screw driver.
  
• I lost full use of my arms because covering a bright pink paint with a light, soft turquoise requires 3, I repeat 3, coats of paint.
  
• I formed a blister and cut it open while making the uber cute flower above the bed.
  
• I recoated all of the frames in this room and then some, which required 2 store trips and 6 cans of spray paint.
  
• I may, or may not, have made a hole in the wall the size of a zhu-zhu pet (hence, the thumb incident).

My favorite part of working on a project? The rest of the house gets churned in a tornado. Exhibit A, the playroom:


Every time I finish a project, I tell myself I am never, ever starting another one. Deep down I know it's a lie, but the words bring me momentary peace. For now, I'm focusing all my efforts on sitting on the comfy couch with a book. I may just stay that way until the next paint job rolls around.