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Who doesn't like a good before and after pic


pinkmint
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And fyi in case anyone wants to know:

 

Sunburst mirror purchased 5 or so years ago at Marshalls, pair of paintings purchased at Home Goods ($20 for the pair), fake peony purchased at Hobby Lobby, small glass vase from Target, clock from Target, gold vase gift from about 10 years ago.

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Hoping this works. Tell me if the Links work, I tried to pin my own photos to my Pinterest which is new for me.

 

I wanted to show you what I've been doing the past couple weeks. And to thank you all for the housewarming gifts you've so graciously sent my way. As I've mentioned before, I enjoy stretching a dollar and am fairly good at it.

 

The first photo should be from the house listing. I don't have a better straight-on photo of the fireplace before I changed it but you can get the idea. The second photo is from last night.

 

http://pin.it/VBH7250

 

 

http://pin.it/V9UQL4C

 

Yes there are important little repairs that are in progress around the home. Thankfully DH and our friends are good at those things. I do what I'm good at. If you know My Little Pony I'm basically Rarity. Lol.

 

In all seriousness a place of beauty does something for the heart and soul. I wanted to show you, my friends, my progress and tell you that you have helped make this possible.

I love it! I am so proud for you. I can still remember the way I felt when we moved into the first house we bought. It is wonderful.

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Great job on the fireplace!  I did the same thing with fireplace last summer. It's so amazing what some paint will do, and it's so cheap.  :hurray:

 

And well done to you for recognizing that a scary blue fireplace had real potential!

Edited by wintermom
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Great job on the fireplace!  I did the same thing with fireplace last summer. It's so amazing what some paint will do, and it's so cheap.  :hurray:

 

And well done to you for recognizing that a scary blue fireplace had real potential!

 

 

LOL. I do like turquoise. But IMO there's a right and wrong way to do it. But yes, I am with you. It was scary. Much more pleasing to the eye now. 

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What a great start to your new home! I'm very excited for you. We've done a lot of remodeling here this year and I would post before and after pics myself, but since so much of our lives are on display (owning the restaurant) I like my home to be a sanctuary. 

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WHAT?!?!? You BOUGHT A HOUSE!!?!?!?

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

 

 

I can't believe I missed this! There was a thread a few days ago about, "Would anyone notice if I was gone?" and you are one of the people I would notice. I think about you from time to time. Like, whenever I clothes shop I think, "If Pinkmint was with me, she'd help me find something that doesn't cost a lot because she dresses so well from her thrift store finds." Or I think about you and your kids being unhappy in your rental and I feel bad for you.

 

So, to know that you have a house is so wonderful! I'm so glad you're away from that carpet and everyone can breathe now. What a weight off of your shoulders that must have been. I'm so happy for you. :)

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Aww thanks, Garga. 

 

If I can get weird and pensive for a bit, I think about my posts over time on this board. I think about how I felt around this time a year ago. Some of you encouraged me to go back on antidepressant meds (I did last August) and I don't know if it's only that, or mostly that, or a little bit that but I am doing so much better. Our circumstances have also improved (we got a house).

 

I think a lot and sometimes wonder if me being on meds is an "unnatural" state. My despair was so overwhelming, such a powerful fog. I was not at all able to pull back and think objectively. Life is pain. It doesn't feel that way right now. Of course there are sorrows, but they are not taking over every corner of my mind. 

 

I think about how I'm not really "me" if I post happy positive things here. Being happy and positive is kind of strange for me. Will a change in circumstances bring me back to death valley? Will getting off meds make me my "true self" again and choked by despair? 

 

Anyway today is a big packing day and I need to get to it. Just some thoughts. I'm hoping I can accept being happy for what it is. And I thank you all again. 

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pinkmint, I am also on an antidepressant, although in my case it is for OCD, and I certainly understand not feeling like one's "true self." I struggle with that sometimes, too.

 

However, I believe--and I know you do as well--that we have a soul separate from our physical bodies. Fixing the function of our physical organs--be it the brain, or kidneys, or heart, or whatever--doesn't change our soul. It doesn't change who we are.

 

You take ibuprofen and a headache goes away. A diabetic takes insulin to normalize blood sugar. Some of us need to take medication to fix our brain chemistry--and the depression, or OCD, or whatever lessens. That is a good thing. You are still you. Enjoy feeling better.

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

On a lighter note, I love that you are able to express your style in your very own house!!! I'm amazed that you've been able to start the transformation already! "God...gives us richly all things to enjoy" (I Timothy 6:17) and I think creating a beautiful space for ourselves and our loved ones is one of those enjoyable things.  :)

 

p.s. We know exactly who Rarity is around here. ;) I love it! 

Edited by MercyA
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LOL. I do like turquoise. But IMO there's a right and wrong way to do it. But yes, I am with you. It was scary. Much more pleasing to the eye now. 

 

Yes, it's beautiful! I like turquoise on a T-Shirt :) but not really around the fireplace!

I am so thrilled for you!! :hurray: :hurray: :hurray:

 

ETA: And I figured we would not hear from you for some time while you were busy fixing up and decorating and moving and gardening, etc. :)

Edited by Liz CA
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I LOVE before and after pics of all kinds. Thanks for posting and bring on more of them!! 

 

I'm glad you are feeling so much better than before. Like other posters, I too believe that mental health issues are a physical health problem in the same way as conditions like diabetes. If your thinking was confused and you felt like you had the flu all the time because your blood sugar was off, would  you refuse to take insulin because because it "isn't really you"? Someone with diabetes will feel those kind of effects for awhile before things escalate and they get diagnosed - does that period of symptoms become set in stone as who they are? Just something to think about.

 

I remember your old threads and am so, so happy that things are going well for you. Keep posting more updates!

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I've been thinking on your questions since you posted yesterday, but I'm still not sure I can articulate what I am thinking about them. I believe it is still the real you. Our life circumstances can cause us to develop certain outlooks that become habits to us, such as a habit of sadness. (Not dismissing the chemical aspects of this.) It is hard to separate out what our full "natural" personality might be had it not been exposed to the circumstances that make up life. I am an analytical person, but that is rather an exercise in futility--who really knows what "might have been if..."? It's sort of a different slant on the "nurture vs. nature" questions. I believe the medications for depression don't usually change the basic personality. They just make it possible for one to slip out from under those clouds that have tried to move into permanent position over a person. Perhaps the "real" you is just now able to flourish. But it doesn't feel like you because it is new and that person has not been given the opportunity to live fully out from under the cloud. Sometimes we are uncomfortable with new, even if it is more pleasant. Given time, maybe you can settle more comfortably into this happier, more positive you, and see that it nurtures even the parts of you that were dormant because they were trying so hard to just survive.

 

Another angle to it: You seem to be highly creative and artistic. Oftentimes, creative types tend toward a more sensitive and prone-to-depression type personality. It doesn't mean they aren't/can't be happy, but maybe that they (we) are more affected by things that others might could shake off. It's the flip side of the artistic bent. Doesn't mean happy isn't you, it's just another angle of perspective. I am a Christian, and have been encouraged by the fact that some of the best Christian writers (of past and present) that I have admired have struggled with depression; not that I want them to, of course, but that it hasn't kept them from being very effective people and from being used to challenge and mentor others through their books.

 

I don't know if this makes any sense at all... :P 

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