DITL and DIY

I've been wanting to write a Day in the Life (DITL) post about my life as an author, where I walk you through a typical day in my life. The problem with that is that there is no typical day. Every day is so different. I do write most every day, but every other part of the day is different. I only write during the school hours because after school I want to be available for my kids.

I usually write for a few hours at home every day, but depending on what's going on during the rest of the day, I sometimes write at a library or cafe. I also love to write at ski resorts while my kids ski.

During the morning and early afternoon hours, I sometimes go on field trips with my kids or meet online with my critique group. I also have days when I help a friend or take my sons to the orthodontist.

This January, I found myself with fewer commitments than usual, so I decided to tackle my list of projects to complete. It started out with decluttering and organizing. Then I finally jumped into one of the projects I'd dreaded. I refinished and painted my kitchen table! Here's a picture of what it looked like in the process:

It had a golden oak finish, and the top of the table was pretty thrashed. We bought it used to begin with, so it came with plenty of wear and tear, but we had added even more. As you can see, my husband and son helped me sand down the top. (They did most of that, actually.) I got stuck with the washing, staining, and painting, which was plenty. Here's how it turned out:

I painted all eight of our chairs white to go with it. It took a long time, let me tell you. If you'd like to know how I did it all, check out the instructions from this video. 

YouTube is so helpful when it comes to Do It Yourself (DIY) projects. I also watched videos to help me organize around the house. My favorite organizing YouTuber is ClutterBug. Not only do I think she's hilarious, I love budget-friendly style. You can find her channel here. 

Here are some pictures of a few of the things I've organized around the house lately:

This used to be a jumbled mess on top of the refrigerator.
I used Dollar Tree bins and chalkboard labels to contain the clutter.

This is my new gift wrap station that I keep on the door of our Harry Potter room downstairs.
I used a cheap over-the-door shoe organizer from WalMart
and took a seam ripper to it to make some of the pockets bigger.
 I also used some packing tape to join pockets together.

Oh, and for those of you who are wondering what I'm writing--I am hard at work on a book called Unforgettable. It's a love story about immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands, and it's so fun. It has everything I love to write about, including beaches, a volcano, and love.