Painting the basement room!

I have been ignoring/avoiding this painting job for a few years now.  First, this room basically became our black hole.  It was the place where all the "stuff" we didn't want to see upstairs, got put.  It used to be my scrapbooking room and the kids play room, but the kids stopped playing down there and my tables became so cluttered with junk that I stopped scrapbooking period!  So, I finally have tackled the project of cleaning house and getting the painting done.  We have so MUCH junk down there it is ridiculous.  I donated a bunch of things, threw out two huge garbage sacks of trash and now I am finishing up the painting.  Here are the before pictures...



As you can see it was a complete wreck down there and it was painted this awful mustard color.  We have now lived here almost 5 years and I am barely tackling this room!  Maybe the reason we stopped venturing into this room is because the color on the walls were so unappealing!  Who knows... I am almost done painting it a soft beige/tan color and I will organize it all and post the pictures as soon as it is done.  Don't expect it soon though.  I'm thinking it will be done in the next few weeks... Happy day when it is complete, but until then I will enjoy the journey of making this room more appealing and useful!

I never said it would be easy...

The last couple of days have been very draining on me.  Not for any reason that should be draining... but for some reason I have been feeling very drained and almost sad.  It might be because my husband is out of town again, or it might be because I have a million things on my plate right now.  Or it might not be either of those things.  I have been attempting new avenues in my life because I don't feel I am doing what I SHOULD be doing.  Don't get me wrong... I am happy with my life, I have a beautiful family, a wonderful husband, a house to shelter me, food to eat, a great job, cars to get us places... basically I have it made.  But for some reason I have felt I have a purpose I am missing.  I'm not sure what it is and I almost feel because I have been so relentlessly looking for it... IT has been evading me.  :(

Maybe that is why I feel so drained.  I have a picture of Christ next to me at my desk with a saying on it.  It is one of my favorites and I read it constantly...

The reason I am writing this post, as you can see by the title, is for this exact saying... "I never said it would be easy... I only said it would be worth it."  I have been telling this to myself for the last couple of days.  I have been spending a lot of time on my knees praying for guidance and comfort.  I know God is always there and He wants me to be happy.  However, I almost feel like He wants me to push myself more.  My mom was always here before and she was not only my rock but she pushed me to be the best I could be.  Now that she is gone I feel I don't have that push any more.  So... I can either go find the push from someone else or I can "woman" up and push myself.  I'm not sure if I have the strength right now, but I am going to go some where inside myself I have never been before and I am going to HAVE to find the strength.

Advice, constructive criticism or just your thoughts are greatly appreciated.  Love to all of you!