Office. Office. Office.

Ryan:	Did this happen on company property?
Michael Scott:	It was on company property, with company property. So, double jeopardy, we're fine.
Ryan:	I don't think-- I don't think you understand how jeopardy works.
Michael Scott:	Oh, I'm sorry. What is, 'we're fine'?

Do you watch The Office?  Because you should.  Season Premiere next Thursday.  Do it.

Speaking of the office, I decided to get right on it.  I mentioned in the last post how our office should be clean, organized, and a place to do work effectively.

The first step was to add a few more places for storage by painting the old ugly bookshelf and using it.  This bookshelf may be temporary, but this room needs it for sure.  We have two of these laminate bookshelves:

There is one more shelf to go in there.  But I had (temporarily) lost the pegs that hold the shelf up.  I later found out that they were in a ziploc in Josh's car.  Don't ask me why.  Anyway, this bookshelf, even though I can't exactly remember where it came from, certainly is not worth a fortune.  And it certainly isn't a fine piece of furniture.  It's made of laminate wood or particle board (whatever they call it).  So I was a little worried about painting it because I didn't really know where to start.  But I did a bit of research online and found that these steps would be the best for success:

1. Clean the crap out of it.
2. Sand it.  I mostly read that others would sand it with a really fine grit sandpaper. 
3. Wipe it clean again.
4. Prime then paint.  (Or purchase a paint with primer in it).

So I cleaned.  Then I filled the extra peg holes that I didn't need with spackle.

I spackled, then sanded the whole shelf with 320 grit sandpaper, which is very fine.  After I cleaned it off again, I started the painting process.  I had a good paintbrush and I had a small "trimming" roller.  I painted part of a corner of the inside of the shelf and immediately knew it wasn't going to work.  The paint literally wasn't sticking AT ALL.  I would paint over a spot and immediately it would stick together and form holes where I could see the shelf.  Yikes.  So I decided I hadn't sanded it enough.  I got out the 120 grit sandpaper.    Sanded the whole thing.  By now my arm was soooo numb and tired.  Tried again.  It was a no-go.  90 grit?  Try again.  I learned my lesson this time.  I didn't sand the whole friggin' thing.  I sanded a small spot and tried it out.  It was better but not perfect.  FINALLY: 60 grit sandpaper worked.  Once again, I sanded the entire bookshelf, this time successfully!  It just goes to show that the internet isn't always the best resource.  Or as Josh always tells me, "Maria, you can't believe everything you hear".  Except he is usually talking about the news.  I am a sucker for believing ANYTHING I see on the news.  Except FOX.

Back on track:  The 60 grit worked fine and I pulled a few muscles in my forearm.  You think I'm kidding, don't you?  I figured you would.  

Then I painted the first coat.  I bought Glidden eggshell plain white paint with primer.  I painted the corners and edges with a brush and then the rest with my roller.  Here is a peek of the first coat:

I chose white because it feels so clean and fresh all the time.  I forgot to take an "after-the-second-coat" picture, but plan on doing that when I put it in the office and get things organized a little better in there.  We are currently broke as a joke (my favorite saying) so purchasing a new desk isn't in the near future, but hopefully won't be too far away.  By the way, we aren't broke as a "joke" per say.  We would just rather spend our dough on my tuition and food and paint for the living room right now.

On a side note: my dad had surgery earlier this week.  He had an artificial disc placed into his spine up towards his neck.  His surgery was successful, but he could use your thoughts/prayers for a speedy and non-painful recovery.

And for the best news ever: It's the weekend!!!!!  Yippee!  In-laws are coming tonight and even though I plan to do nothing but grad school work tomorrow and Sunday, I still like having visitors.  Have an excellent weekend!