hermit carpentry

hobbies are the methadone to my workaholism. prior to my timmy-induced sabbatical, there was a time my husband "requested" i gain some balance. work - whether in the office, on the road or on my laptop at home - took an average of 85 hours of my week.

now, i never missed one of the kids' ball games or school functions, but i missed plenty of family dinners and regular ol' time at home. even as i type this, waves of guilt and remorse wash over me. the precious, fleeting time i wasted away from my family!

one night, as i drove home from yet another couple days out of town, hubs called and brought to my attention that i hadn't eaten dinner with my family in a month. (guilt tsunami, here.) it hit me like a ton of bricks. i loved my work, but not like i love my family.

so, i tried beaded jewelry, furniture re-upholstery (blech. soon after, we bought new furniture.), knitting, sewing (purses! quilts! couch cozies!), scrapbooking and photography.

enter knock off wood. oh, ana white, how i love thee and thy recipe-style woodworking plans that allow someone who has never picked up a hammer to build beautiful wood furniture. ana's site is called "knock off wood" because she creates plans for pottery barn and land of nod, etc. "knocks offs." actually, her plans are better because we builders can choose much higher quality materials. and save oodles of fweet moolah.

case in point? my first project: timmy's bed. here is ana's inspiration. please pay no attention to the messy cubbies (i'm still deciding whether to do bins or drawers) or the mismatched pillowcase. or, now that i take a good look, the "nursery colors" of his walls, doors and windows. clearly, i need to update.

also, see the flat wall bookholder? it seriously took me maybe a half hour to make. from scraps!

i plan to build a headboard base and hutch next. well, next for this room. you see, i have several plans on my list of to-do's . . . just have to prioritize and organize my schedule.