32 RAK (no, that has nothing to do with my bra size)

Inspired by a blog I've long lost the link to, I plan to do 32 Random Acts of Kindness throughout the month of May to celebrate my 32nd birthday.

First of all, how the heck am I 32 already? That's halfway to 64 you know. (See Ryan? I can do simple math equations!)

Second of all, I am experiencing some major writer's block while trying to compile a list of 32 separate acts. I need some help from my peeps...I know somebody is reading this, as my site counter continues to click upward. I know you are out there! So click "comment", remain anonymous or "out" yourself as one of my readers, but help me come up with a good list!

Please keep in mind that I am not made of money so even though I would love to pay for someone's electric bill or mortgage payment, that simply isn't possible! I'm not saying your ideas need to be free, but the less expensive, the better! Help me amaze and bless someone else!

Movin' on Up

Ryan and I have decided to sell our house. This house has been a thorn in my side since we bought it. When we bought it, it was in foreclosure so we got it for a great price. It needed a ton of work, the couple that owned it was divorcing and were also apparently pigs...or at least had some living with them. The amount of dog urine and poop on the carpet was so vile, and the stench was so strong, my mom and mother-in-law literally gagged when they walked through it. The really disturbing part? The woman that lived here ran a daycare out of this filth! See Exhibits A-H:










We were up for the challenge. We had been looking for a house for months and had lost out on house after house. This one was an amazing price and the overall "guts" of the house were decent. The floor plan was nice, four bedrooms, two full baths, large kitchen, and fenced yard. Although we enlisted the help of very kind family members for various projects, we by and large did most of the work ourselves. We worked like dogs every single weekend until it was clean and decent enough to move in, it took about three months before it was liveable. This is what we ended up with:








An improvement, yes?

Unfortunately, I believe because of all of the stress and work involved with making this place decent, it never became our home. I still see it as "just a house" when what I really want is a home. So, that is our mission. Tie up all of the loose ends and unfinished projects, get this house on the market and into a place that is a good fit for us and our family. I'm sure I'll have many-a-post on the projects that lie ahead!

Feeling Crochet-y

My mom and I started taking a crochet class at my local recreation center. The ultimate plan is to teach Jill what we learn, become crocheting fools and open an etsy store with our adorable crafts. Being able to make money from our desire to create appeals to all of us. I feel fairly confident we can make it happen as long as our class instructor quits trying to assasinate (punny!) us by farting in our faces. True story, ask my mom...but be prepared for her to be unable to elaborate because of the uncontrollable laughing.