yes. i had a moment.

For those of you who follow me on Twitter [@SarahLoveB], you probably saw my tweet last night around 11:45pm and thought to yourself, bless her heart....
Well, you see, I managed to pull off a brainless moment [yet again]. I've been given the task of installing door knobs on the newly painted and hung doors.

It seems to be a simple enough task. And after I got the hang of it, it's quite empowering.  I pulled out all the required tools and went to work.

 The first step is to install the above part.  For some reason I want to call this a tongue.  So, I install the tongue.  [You can see the the knob hole and such is pre-done.] From there, you put the knob in place, connect one side to the other, and then install the below door guard.

Sometimes, the placement of the old door guard isn't quite right and you have to adjust it to fit to the door tongue.  Of course, I am learning this I go.

So now that you have the background... I started to install the knob to my bedroom, screwed in the door tongue, felt pleased with the job and shut the door to test and see if the tongue placement worked with the door guard placement.  The door clicked into place and confirmed that it was a perfect match! So, I proceed to pull on the door to then attach the knob itself. Its then that I realize, I can't pull the tongue part in without a knob.  For 5 minutes, I wiggle the tongue around, trying to figure out how to release the door. I pulled out my screw driver and tried to be creative- in my mind, considering the ole-break-in-with-a-credit-card trick.  Well, I grew frustrated and slightly scared.  So- I called Stu, my bro who lives around the block.  I explained that I had in fact locked myself in my room and needed assistance.  He laughed and passed the phone to his roommate, Cliff, who got the same story and gave me the same reaction.  Finally, Cliff suggested I "sit tight" and he'd come let me out in the morning.  I hung up with renewed passion and vigor.  I jammed a tool I had into the door jam where the tongue and guard meet and to my [extreme] surprise, the door popped open. So now this event turned from, "wow- this is kindof scary, how will I get out?" to "did I really just create that dumb moment for myself!?"

So.... now you know...I am human.  

light at the end of the tunnel getting oh-so-close.

Goodness, it's been ages.  [Yes- I am aware we got through this conversation every single Monday].
I think these last few days have been busy to the max.  Between moving in, getting settled, finishing touches, G-parent visit, yard saling, friend/family time, and church, it has been go-go-go!  [Of course, I'm not complaining].

For starters, you need to know that I have officially stayed overnight at my place 4 nights in a row.  4 glorious nights! This morning, I actually woke up, brewed a cup of coffee, and just sat in my living room and smiled. Just because I am oh so pleased.  The house is beautiful! Like, I wouldn't change a thing- it is the house that I am so excited [& proud] to live in.

I even have the shelves stocked with dishes.

So I am just going to take this moment to say my parents are out-of-this world and major troupers. The amount of time they've put into this house is incredible and I am blessed, blessed. That being said- we aren't quite done.  Therefore, I am now going to share a FEW afters [Hall Bath & Master Bedroom] --but note, it's not decorated.  Its just there.  

Remember the before?

notice the VCT and odd vanity...

And of course the "during"...

Gutted almost completely. 

After!!  New tile and vanity.

Ballet Slipper Pink walls, new toilet, new mirror/light fixture...

Before- Master Bedroom.  Notice the olive green carpet.
I just wish you could smell the before as well.  yuck.

Post carpet removal. We tackled the [nasty] closets first

Then later added Plum Wine to the walls...

and a fresh coat of paint to the base boards...

Add carpet and some furniture & check it out!

 Yea, I'm obsessed with these transformations.  Lol.  Of course, I am aware this is a lot to take in, so I'll save some more for tomorrow!

I did get to celebrate mom's bday with the fam! 

We enjoyed this beautiful spread.... 

sang to Mom... 

ate this cake... 

watched JT style G-pa's hair....

so they could be twins... 

 Basically, fun night.
 Well.  Enough for now.  Cheers.

Among other things you want to stay tuned for:  Yard Sales with Brittany from a day in the life of b. &

Craft time for fall decor.  

progress.

No time for before and afters.

BUT. please check out my sweet friends helping me move.  Blessed.

kinship.

Well, unpacking of the boxes is now underway.  As it turns out, this morning, I discovered a family of roaches had taken up housing in my cardboard boxes that had been stored in the family garage. To my dismay, those are fast little fellas and honestly gave me a run for my money.  I am standing firm on my NO bug policy though and graciously removed them.  But boy, that little jaunt woke me up fast today.
[You may have noticed I said morning. My eagerness to be in the new house got me out of bed major early- well, that and a lovely wake up call from my bf Mel.  I was at the house working by 7:30. Hello productivity.  Maybe I'll sleep there tonight...]
Last night- my life group met- or what I am now calling my kinship group.  We've been working through 40 days of Purpose and last night discussed the power and importance of fellowship.  The topic has me giddy with joy as it has put into perspective how much God has bless me through friendships.  Moving back to Augusta in early summer- I was [major] bummed to leave my friends and continued to plead for new friends.  Its like God has gone above and beyond what I expected with a group of people that gel so perfectly.  Ah- I just love it. My favorite part... we all laugh.  A lot.

Baby bro- Sammy.  Genius packer.  

After tough work. Kelly, Sam, Sarah, & Britt.

Michael & Emily

I mentioned that these friends helped me move Sunday afternoon?  I know, perfect perfect.
So, I am assuming you're waiting on pins and needles for after pics now.  Please hold your horses- you must understand I am in a tough spot.  Do I post after pics now or wait til I've decorated? See...decisions...
Anyway, I need to get back to this extremely quiet day at the office... more later.

Before Preview

In light of how close we are to having "after" pics, I thought it would be crucial to share this "before" video, compliments of Pat Pat.  Please excuse the video quality and all the cheesy remarks.  

*note: one bedroom is not included in the video. sorry. 

** also note:  this video doesn't fully do justice to the state the house was in.  You can't fully experience the awful carpet [which ranged in color from royal blue to green to burnt orange...and did I mention is was dry rotted?] or how dingy the walls/doors/door frames were. 

Regardless- enjoy!!

October! Love it.

This has been a busy busy week, full of catching up on rest [that was lost in LA], spending quality time with friends [I'm actually obsessed with my Monday night life group crew], family time, and of course- house stuff.
So now it's Friday and all I can think is, where the heck did this week go!?
You know, I just want to dive right in to the house updates- because I feel like that is my best material today.  While Mom and I were in Cali, Dad took it upon himself to choose a floor and finish the laundry room. The room is beautiful and I can't wait to iron my clothes in there...

Carpets were installed in the bedrooms yesterday!!  Yes- that deserves a song and dance.  Its beautiful [but sadly, I didn't photograph it... sorry...].
The carpets guys were very very kind.  But they did insist that I take up the linoleum and VCT [Vinyl Composition Tile- just Googled it] in my kitchen area, and let me just say, that is some major hard work.  I am going to go out on a limb and say it  has been the hardest task of the renovation process to date.  Dad and I scraped that floor for nearly 4 [long] hours.

Scraping Linoleum 

Floor that was under VCT - major sticky 

After all the old floor was removed, we were left with a blank canvas for these beauties... 

M & D started in the living room... 

View from Kitchen

After removing all that floor- we found some repairs that had to be done first.  So, here they are, with quick-dry cement.  [ And yes, we were tempted to put our hand prints in the cement.  On account of that being  "immature", Dad settled for writing "Baker 2010".]

Go ahead, jump on board and get excited!  The fun is about to begin.  And yes, you are all more than welcome to drop by and visit!

Side note, I just want to thank all of you for letting me know [in one way or another] that you're reading.  I just love you're support!  And I love to know who my audience is :)

Back to work. Chao for now. 

Dream Center.

Well, I made it home safe and sound. It's a good thing- being back on the east coast.  But let me just say, this trip was wonderful.  I think it was just what I needed for this exact point in my life.  Though I was only gone five days, the five days were packed and definitely led to a roller coaster of emotions for me.

Stevens Creek crew in front of the Dream Center [missing 2 members]

The week was a lot to process & throughout, I took the time to email a best friend [Melanie] all I was witnessing.  I am going to share some of those emails, just to give the details...
Day 1: I am a little overwhelmed. We just finished our street ministry downtown. I can honestly say it was nothing like I've ever experienced. Most people were stoned and drunk. No place to live. But they were all lost. And searching for a greater purpose. We prayed with people that would let us. Mom was precious introducing herself to people. Morgan was deep and spiritual. Dustin was right at home. I liked encouraging them and telling them their smile was beautiful. But- man, these people were just intense. 

Besides that. I saw the biggest rats I've ever seen. Like. The size of cats. It was seriously like nothing else. Mom and I both had extreme reactions to the creatures that were running around. Goodness me. I will never get that image out of my mind. And these people were curled up sleeping on the same street. Can you imagine??

Day 2:  Man o man I wish I had more words for you tonight but I am spent. It has been such a full day! We handed out food for bfast and lunch in Chinatown, rested for a bit and had this incredible church service. Crazy enough- I ran into someone from Lee! More on that later. Also for later- the homeless friend that prayed over dustin and I today.. You'll enjoy that story. 

But still- my heart is extremely heavy. God is moving that for sure. I feel like he is wrecking me of my comfort and challenging me to think bigger. 

Home to a sweet elderly lady near Chinatown. 

Day 3: Well my day is hard to put into words. We worked hard today. Loaded, unloaded, bagged, divided and served food from the food truck in 2 different locations. It was one of the heavier events I have participated in, but for different reasons. We gave out produce, fruit, chicken and grits. The people were completely lined up by the time we even arrived on site. They were mostly Hispanic and some Asian. And elderly or parents with small kids. These children were beautiful and simply broke me heart.

Bagging frozen chicken on the side of the road with the help of our little friend Ryan. 

At the second location I was so overcome by the presence of God I just began to pray over the site while we were bagging (which was a major task. The chicken was frozen and near impossible to break up and bag. Yes. We were handling raw chicken on the side of the road). Soon, all I could manage was simply saying the name of Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Thank goodness for big shades because you know the tears began to fall.

Well, we were able to feed all the families that came through but it sure was tiresome and hectic. 

And tonight we went to skid row again. I'm telling you- there are no words for the poverty I experienced out there. Hundreds of people. Living on the street. Drugs, drinking, prostitution, mental illnesses, urine, rats, trash...and people from all walks of life... 

I met this one couple, both beautiful people dressed well. He was deaf and she interpreted for him. They have been married 13 years. But money difficulties brought her to the point of staying in the woman's shelter and him waiting outside til morning for her. The situation is heartbreaking. 

Anyway. I am ending this day with exhausted emotions. I will never be the same again.

Day 4: [I didn't email this day... but I'll recall what I can].  This day we participated in adopt-a-block.  The team went into an under resourced area, handed out food, played with children, and went door to door, building relationships.  Typically, I don't enjoy the door to door "evangelism"...but God did a work in me this day.  It seemed every door we went to had children that lived there.  Beautiful children that didn't seem to have a father figure around.  There was a 1 year old boy staying with his grandma... he crawled right to me, and as I lifted him in my arms, the grandma warned me that he was a mess.  She wasn't kidding...his diaper practically hung to the floor full [for who knows how long].  My heart broke.  He was so eager- just to be held- by a stranger. Another home clearly had a mother, a 12 year old girl, an 8 year old boy, and a 2 month old... As I held this infant [girl], it became clear that the child actually belonged to the 12 year old girl... goodness, even writing this, I am overcome with tears. I learned later the level of danger that we were actually in while in the neighborhood...in the midst of drug dealers and gang type violence...

So what am I taking away from this trip?  Compassion- for those who don't have the means to live safely and fully. An eagerness to find a way to impact children without consistent parent figures in their life.  A desire to share with the needy. A boldness to be more excited and open with my faith. An appreciation and joy for the friends and family I have.

Venice Beach, California