Watch me DIY!

By DIY in this case I mean paint. Here is what happened.

The other night Jason and I were sitting on the couch going over the last pieces of the mudroom project. He said, “And then on Monday when you get home I’ll paint the ceiling.” I said, “You know what, I don’t think so. I’LL paint the ceiling – YOU can take the boys around the block on their bikes, feed them dinner, do the dishes, pick up all the toys, put the laundry in and give them their bath and I’LL peacefully paint away in the next room, listening to music and thinking about all the compliments I am going to get.”

Because that’s how our projects typically go. Jason has all the fun with the tools and I get stuck with all the regular chores plus the boys. It’s just not fair and I was taking action. I could paint a ceiling, right? How hard could it be? Yep I was doing it. I believe Jason’s exact words were “I can’t WAIT to see you paint the ceiling. Oh, this is going to be so great. I guarantee this makes more work for me in the end, but I totally can’t WAIT to see this.”

He thought I was going to quit, or royally mess it up, or both, which of course made me more determined than ever. I told him there hasn’t been a ceiling like this since the Sistine Chapel, you just wait!

So there I was. The ceiling is 6 big squares and then a few small ones, all separated off by the beams. We had put sample color blocks in a few spots to try and figure out if we should do it at 25% or 50% of the wall color (50% was the winner – the color is Shagreen by SW) but other than that, it was a blank slate. I started by trying to cut in using just the brush and my impeccable skill, but after roughly 45 seconds I realized I needed the painters tape and I needed it bad. Is that cheating? Oh well. I took a break to tape the moldings and beams off. (And yes, I absolutely made Jason take my picture! This was history happening.)

Darkness fell but I pressed on! Jason brought me a Coors Light and at that point I knew I had joined the ranks of the real painters. Michelangelo who?
Overall, for someone who has never painted a thing, I was very proud. I used the brush for all the edges and a mini roller for the main areas. Sure there were a couple glops and a few lines but the ceiling wasn’t perfect to begin with. I emerged triumphant from the mudroom, sore and with a crook in my neck, but after 2.5 hours I was finished! I kissed the boys’ heads, danced around the kitchen and said wait until you see what Mommy did! 
Until Jason, naysayer that he is, said, “Wait, you’re not done! What about the second coat?” 
“What?! No no, it’s perfect.”
“Babe, you definitely need to do a second coat.”
“Really? My arm hurts though.”
“Yes!!”
“Fine I will, but I can’t right now because it’s not dry yet.”
“I guarantee that the section you started with is!”
“No I’m sure it’s not.”
“IT IS!”
Sigh.
Siiiiiigh.
You can maybe guess what happened. Jason finished it.
But I had already done ALL the work basically. I’ll save the final reveal sans tape for the complete mudroom post, but look at this beauty!

Whoops, heh heh. Wrong one 😉

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