Well, it’s been awhile. Truth is, we’ve been a bit broke. More truth – I’ve been a bit down about it. In the interest of truthful storytelling here at The LOH I think that I won’t stay mum anymore during tougher times. Renovating a home is hard, the cheerful ease I see on the home reno blogs that I follow can’t be constant, and I need to cease comparing our project to others. We can’t be alone. Other folks have fights. Other folks have a hard time making decisions together that satisfy both partners needs/desires. Other folks are broke sometimes. Perhaps by laying it out here, our normal can be a comfort to you, if you’ve got a project.
I tend to withdraw from my friends when I’m going through something tough, and I’ve been doing the same here. Maybe it’s what I do for a living creeping in, but I do need to remind myself that I don’t have to entertain. I can also connect, which is the most important part of what I do. I can do that by making this a completely honest account, troubles and all. Hopefully, you’ll be with me.
We’re getting back to work here at The LOH this week. This time, although lean, has been productive. We made a feature film (a drama called Take Care), I wrote and put up my first show (Disney’s Silence of the Lambs – the Musical at Upright Citizens Brigade), I did another sketch show with my team, The Space Program, at Upright Citizens Brigade, I shot a music video for new singer/songwriter Cazz, and I’m learning the ukulele. So there’s all that.
Thank you for reading, and we’ll have some home news soon.
:) Brooke
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Well you definitely shouldn’t feel alone. I think every one of us has been there at some point. It took us 5 years to save up the funds to do everything we wanted to do on the first floor of our house… and even after it’s “done” there’s still so much more to do–seemingly constantly. It can be discouraging.
Keep your chin up. Looking forward to following along with more stories (even if they are stories on a budget!)
This is a great post- and so true, it’s not easy! I’ve been outlining a post for DIYdiva about how hard it is to do these projects together… will you mind if I link to this? I think it’s a great point about what’s real and what’s not that we share on our websites!
You know, the reason I started reading your blog was because I thought – this cannot be easy. And since I was toying with the idea of doing something similar, I was curious to see what your experiences were going to be. It seems to me if I knew it was not going to be all-peaches-and-cream for you, surely you shouldn’t expect that either. And for the record, one artist to another, sounds like you’ve been doing amazing work creatively. So it wasn’t on your home. Big deal. That’s okay. Sometimes your soul needs a renovation first. :) Good luck!
I remember reading somewhere when I first found this blog that it was going to be the two of you taking on the modern “American Dream” and sharing it with us. I’d say then that showing some bad/tough/frustrating bits right along with the feel-good/happy/awesome bits would be a great idea because that’s a realistic representation of what homeownership and reno is like.
Good luck! Hope things start looking up soon.
Thank you all for your words of encouragement – reading these messages and DIYdiva’s post today has really put things in perspective and cheered me up. Linn, I would still encourage you to tackle any project – difficulty and all. It’s been a wild ride so far and the bragging rights (108 pound gal crushes and hauls concrete!) alone have been worth it :) This is a wonderful online community – I’m so happy to have joined it!
We really are lucky to have this work to do. Seeing that the “Clinton Bush Haiti Fund” donate button has expired made me think of that. Really guys?
You know Brooke, I think its awesome you put that all out there. You can’t get caught up in the “shoulds” and I’m guilty of that myself a lot lately. Miss you guys and the lil pups a ton and hope to talk to you soon
Thank you :)
Thank you for your honest post!
I, also, become caught up in the web of DIY projects that are rampant in the blogging world. I just can’t keep up with all of it! I get so discouraged by all the things I’d like to have and what I can realistically do. The problem is that I like looking at those blogs! I just need to stay my course and work on my projects (however slowly that might be) until they’re finished. We still have projects that haven’t been completed since we built this house 8 years ago!
And, I also become withdrawn from my circle of friends when I get down or discouraged. I think we sometimes all need some (or a lot!) of encouragement!
Good luck with all your projects in 2011!