Why The Girls' Guide to Home DIY

So today the tech for the Internet was sent out and amongst trying to get the Internet (DSL) to work I shocked the gentleman when I had forgotten to turn the breaker back on after installing a new thermostat. (Another post for another day) he was shocked that me, a female, had managed to install a new thermostat! My response was, "That's nothing, it is the outlets that scared me!" He couldn't believe I did electrical stuff too! Why is this so shocking? Is it because I'm a girl? Stuff isn't that hard, it is just generally things we don't know about. Even my friend M has caught the DIY bug since hanging out and helping me... you just need some knowledge and some confidence! So I am here to help you with both hopefully. 

So who am I? I'm an 8th grade science teacher. I never thought I would teach middle school, but I have found I like 8th graders, they are fun! Being a teacher I don't make nearly as much as I could if I used my talents for other occupations, but instilling knowledge in others is kind of my thing. With the lack of ample income I found it to be cheaper to buy a house than continue renting and here I am! Proud homeowner of a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 900 sq ft townhouse with a tiny fenced in back yard. (The yard is smaller than either bedroom.) I put offers on a lot of places before this one came back on the market and the owner reached out to see if I was still interested. For the price it wasn't bad (cheapest within what I was looking for, but still more than I think it should cost), had been a rental so needed some cosmetic work, but nothing big. But, that just meant I could make it my own! With the summer off and my apartment lease not up until July 20th, I set straight to work. Many of the things I did I will have to go back and write about. 

Here is where I inert the warning, I really am not a trained professional. I only know what I'm doing from my research and curiosity. I wouldn't quote me on things, but I will also provide a lot of sources I use to find answers. As a teacher I tell students all the time to use their resources and the World Wide Web is an amazing one! Pinterest is a good place to start, but caution.... you will soon have too many projects to do. ;)