Online isn’t real life: Our crazy house

I have been thinking a lot lately about online life versus real life. I saw someone on Instagram posted something like the photo below (I couldn’t find the original again). Then, someone asked me if I went on vacation with just me and my father-in-law because the first vacation photos I posted were from the two of us golfing. I didn’t even think about what that vacation looked like to outsiders. A week later, I posted all of my vacation photos. 🙂

Social media isn't real lifeOn my social media, I post a lot of photos of my clean, organized house, my adorable dogs, date nights with my husband, and having fun with my friends. Instagram has the most photos, although I don’t post every photo I take. Facebook is just a for select photos and status updates. Twitter is re-posted Insta photos, articles I like, and random thoughts. Pinterest is things I like whether I did them or someone else did. Basically, I try to portray a happy life and the best of what is going on. I’m rarely post negative statuses or photos of just myself. Like many people, I post what I want people to see and what I want my life to be like all the time.

The point – and the truth – is, my house is not clean or organized right now and hasn’t been since December. Many other times throughout the year it isn’t either. My dogs are adorable but Newman LOVES to dig, Sherman pulls me on our walks, and they both love to get muddy. My least favorite chore is giving them a bath. My husband had back surgery and hasn’t worked since December so we are limited in the types of dates we can do. You’ll notice most of them are eating! I can’t really say anything that’s a bummer about my friends. They are awesome.

So what’s behind the scenes of the not-so-perfect house? Here are photos of what our house has looked like since December. That same December where Tyler stopped working because he was in so much back pain and really needed to rest at home.

IMG_3676IMG_0085
IMG_0084
We had some bad rains that caused our basement to leak. This ruined the carpet (which was old and not pretty anyway) and the drywall. Our couches were broken so we took this opportunity to get rid of them for free on Craigslist along with a lot of other things we didn’t need. We had Service Masters dry out the basement and they found moisture damage in our upstairs living room, too. So there went all that drywall/plaster.

IMG_3692

IMG_3775

IMG_3776

This silly boy came up a few times to help.

IMG_0091

IMG_0095

It took a month and a half for a leak company to even come look at our house and find the problem. We obviously couldn’t fix anything until the leak area was resolved. It happened to be the chimney and gutters, so my brother installed a chimney cap, the roof flashing is getting repaired, and the chimney cracks will be fixed once the weather dries up more.

IMG_0101IMG_0103

We were going to wait until the basement was finished to buy new furniture, but since Tyler’s back was so bad, he needed a place to sit. We bought him a La-Z-Boy recliner and he loves it.

Tyler couldn’t do most of the repairs although he had time off because he had back surgery and the surgeon said no bending or lifting. We are lucky that I have a couple handy and helpful brothers who have done most of the work. This week, Tyler was able to finish the texture and paint the basement wall. It kills him to not be able to help more.

I think I also am posting this now because we are finally on the downward side of the hill getting everything back to normal. I can’t stand a messy, unorganized house although the reality is, many times we have to bear through it.IMG_3862

 

 

I'd love to hear your opinion (good or bad)!

%d bloggers like this: