Compromises or Sacrifices?

Sometimes being responsible and making a not so pleasant decision sucks.  That being said, I'm pretty sure I'm making the decision to postpone our family trip to Mexico, slated for November.  And, I'm finding myself quite bummed out about it.  I really, really enjoyed my time there with Margaret a couple of years ago and I really love the idea of sharing a similar experience with my kids and Eric.  Sadly, we've just had too much going on with home renovations to be able to fund all of these endeavors in one year.  And while I do love to travel, I really like getting stuff done around the house as well.

I have only put a deposit down which I'll be able to get back but I'm going to still try to set my sites on next year.  I figure I'm running out of opportunities to travel with both of my kids now that Gage is 16 and working, so I need to stay on top of this.

We've spent a fair amount of money and time this year on building a bedroom in the back, unfinished part of our basement.  We started out with an open ceiling, concrete walls and an uneven concrete floor (sadly I forgot to take before pictures).  Yikes!  But we're finally rounding up now on completion and I think all three of us (Eric, myself and Gage) are breathing a huge sigh of relief for three different reasons!   Eric because he did all the work (with a little help from me), me because my wallet funded it, and Gage because he's been living without real privacy for almost a year now.

It really is a proud moment to see a finished (or quasi finished) room/project.  It's funny how much a little trim completes the look.  We still have to put the trim around his door, install a closet door and trim for that and close off the electrical panel, but other than those small things (which we will likely do this weekend), we're done!  Frankly, he didn't wait for those final tasks to be completed before he started moving stuff in anyway.  He's got a decent little set up in there now.  I managed to find him a used bed frame from Ikea on Kijiji for $15.00.  We scored a solid wood end table originally manufactured in Quebec at a garage sale last week for $2.00 that Eric sanded down and painted a deep grey.  He even created a false bottom drawer for Gage and all the stuff he's not supposed to have.  Yeah, we're cool parents (plus I now know exactly where to look!).  I also managed to secure a really super comfy love seat for his bedroom from Kijiji for $50.00 to make it a better hang out spot to play video games for him and his friends.  Hey, keeps them out of the rest of my house.  Teen-aged boys are not the neatest or tidiest living beings.  We put one of the large screen TV's in there with his gaming systems, so now they're somewhat contained.  And of course, my sweet duct tape remodeled chair I did months ago was added to the decor as well.  I've found him a new bed spread and some darkening drapes, so I'll make him a blind for his window and he's literally all set.

So while all of this means my trip down south has been postponed, it sure is nice to have added another finished room to my house.  And the smile and appreciation emitting from Gage is nice too...I suppose. Next up?  Basement bathroom...or Mexico???  Oh man, back to these responsible and sometimes not so pleasant decisions.