The newly renovated LuLu and Ginger Room (in progress)

Well, that's a cruddy shot, complete with smudge on the lens and a mess on the dresser. Oh well. My nine year old (LuLu) took it, and I doubt I could have done better at her age. I'll get better pics in the near future.

 What you're looking at is the 1st concrete step towards reclaiming our home and our lives in this, The Year of The Comeback.

With a new full time job lining my pockets with an extra $5 to spare at the end of the week, we've decided to redo the house, one bedroom at a time. First up is LuLu and Ginger's room, seen above. Last month we spray painted their old red metal bunk bed black, and a few paychecks later picked up zebra print bed sets for the girls.Yesterday, the big plunge, using the remnants of last week's check: two gallons of  paint in LuLu's favorite color of lime green (officially, Harvest Plantain), a half gallon of black to touch up the bed and for the insets on the door, a desk lamp, and light dampening, insulating widow curtains.

While I was at work today Lisa emptied the room and painted it, and when I got home we put the bed back together. There are still touch ups to be done, and the door insets. I also need to replace the closet light, better insulate the window A/C, and buy a new bolt for the bed guard on the top bunk.

Plus it wouldn't hurt for the kids to clean the room either.

Once their room is done its on to Smiley's, then YaYa's, then our own and the entryway. But before any of those, a huge expense: the replacement of our back porch, which is quite literally a safety hazard. It's falling apart, and some steps are supported solely by scrap pieces of wood anchored to the side. I'll take pics of that mess in the next few days, but the contractor has already been hired to replace it.

Progress . . . it makes you feel, what's the word? Oh yeah. Proud.