25 Reasons Why I Love What I Do!

While the boys were out hunting today Ania and I stopped for a treat. While we were waiting she said, "Mom, what is your most favorite thing about your job?" I thought it was a sweet question and it made me think. 

So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving and my "job"
 here are

25 things

 I love about what I do. :)

I love:

1. Finding something other people think is ugly and knowing there's potential for it to be beautiful again. Beauty IS in the eye of the beholder, right?

2. The feel of a medium grit sanding block under my fingertips.

3. The way really old finish just flakes right off when you barely touch it with the sandpaper.

4. How chalky the primer feels--it's like touching baby powder.

5. That little drop in my stomach every time I take that first swipe of paint across bare wood (like that little feeling you get when you crest the top of a hill too fast and drop on the other side), and when I take that first swipe of taking the paint off!

6. The way white paint over dark wood looks when it is distressed.  Gets me every time! 

7. Distressing! <3 <3 <3!!!!

8. The expectation someone has when they drop of their furniture and are so excited at what it will look like when it's done.

9. The way my furniture room smells.

10. The moment I put the last piece of hardware back on and step back to see what it looks like done.

11. When someone comes in and squeals or claps their hands when they see their piece finished. I really do love this--it's contagious. :)

12. The way certain paint smells. My boys love to give me a hard time about this! They warn me about huffing. ;) lol

13. Running my hand across the top of a piece after the last coat of poly dries. It seriously feels like glass and I love that!

14. The sheen that buffing a waxed piece leaves (I always say it looks "softer" than poly--I guess you have to see it to know what I'm talking about).

15. That I have time to think and ponder about anything and everything when I'm working in my shop and it's quiet. Someone asked me once why I don't listen to music while I'm in there. I love the quiet! I can't find that anywhere else.

16. When I find a dent or scratch in a wood top and wonder how it got there.

17. When I find something in a drawer. One time I found a note from over 20 years ago that a girl had written to her best friend during class. I LOVE that! Every piece is a little piece of history and has some story to tell.

18. When I can sand ugly stains out of drawer or out of a top. It just reminds me that our imperfections can be erased also (through a loving Savior).

19. When I have an "aha!" moment--painting has taught me some great lessons.

20. That, if I choose, I can do anything I want with a piece of furniture. I can make it look like what I see in my head, and even if no one else likes it, it is my license to create something unique to me.

21. When people cry because they are happy with what I've done. This always touches me so deeply because, whether it's right or wrong, we have emotional attachments to things, especially when they've belonged to someone we love.

22. That I can get dirty. :)

23. A beautiful turned leg!

24. When someone tells me a story about a piece of furniture I'm buying. It almost never fails that they will tell me where it's been, who's refinished it before, and why they have to get rid of it.

25. Trying something new. It doesn't always work out, but I always learn something and at least I know I've tried!

26. This one's for Craig!--Getting to see my hubby when I'm working. ;)

I truly am so grateful for my many blessings and that a loving Heavenly Father knows me better than I know myself.  I am so lucky to do what I love and love what I do! 

And here is a lamp shade I finished today! :)

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