I am a planner. I want to know what I am doing almost all the time. That’s not to say that I can’t be spontaneaous etc., but for the most part I want to have a general idea of what is going on. That being said…this home buying thing is killing me! I keep getting asked when I am going to close, well I have no idea! Ugg, yes it’s giving me more time to plan what I want to do in the house, but it also is giving me more time to plan what I want to do in the house! Haha. By that, I mean what started out as simply finishing/repairing projects the last owner started and painting, has morphed into complete tearouts and wall additions, a REAL transformation.

I have been showing “my new house” to my friends and family, even though it isn’t mine yet. And for the most part, everyone can see the diamond in the rough. The kiddo is excited for his big new room and has even found his “secret hiding spot” (Hey monkey, it’s not a secret if you show everyone!) Everyone seems happy and anxious to see how I transform the place and I promise to share before and after photos here soon. I just have to be able to get in and get good quality pictures! Until then, I will browsing the classifieds, trash piles, garage sales etc for anything I can transform and reuse.

Transformed. Soul.  As I embark on this new adventure in my life, the words seem to be on repeat in my head. I don’t remember how I imagined my life going as I was a kid, but I am pretty sure this is not the path I dreamed of. It’s been a little more than a year since I seemingly “had it all” and walked away from it.  Neither my husband nor I was happy and I worried of the effect it would have on our 4 year old son. I found a new, temporary, place to live and made arrangements to split custody of the kiddo 50/50. We are now divorced(happily I guess you could say since we seem to get along better now than we have in years) and I am ready to be out of this rent trap of an apartment.

I have found a house that I didn’t imagine I would ever be able to get at this stage in life and career; the last year was spent basically “volunteering”, with very little income, but I have been at a new job for about five months and that has allowed me to qualify for a house. The house I fell in love with is a HUD home meaning it was offered at a reduced rate, but that bidding was the only way to get it. When I submitted my offer, I expected a laughing “NO” but instead it got accepted! I see so much potential in this place. One thing I do remember from my youth, is the desire to design and create. This new house will be one large canvas for me.

I live on such a tight budget, that I am going to have to be very creative on any remodeling/repairs that I want to do.  I will be reusing/repurposing and transforming many things, new and old, along the way to make them work for me and I plan to chronicle both the house and personal transformation.  There will be simple and complex, creative and insane, success and failure, but all of these will help both me and my house come out with a transformed soul.