Lisa Got Quite The Surprise When She Got Home From Work Today

 

In February of 2012, I surprised Lisa with a new laptop. The following day, we bought this inexpensive desk so she would have her own space in our very small home office. At the time, we were renting a tiny guest house from Lisa's best friend. I worked from a small desk with a hutch. We barely had room for this desk.

In July of 2012, we moved into an apartment in a 2 family home. Lisa and I utilized one of the bedrooms as a home office. It was plenty spacious enough for both desks. 

Late 2018, Lisa's laptop crashed. It was over 6 years old. Instead of getting a new one, Lisa opted for a tablet. She no longer needed her desk. I used it in the Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Workshop. 

Earlier this year, in February, we bought a house. During the lengthy process of packing, this desk came up in conversation. Long story short, we almost put it on the front lawn with a "Free" sign taped to it. However, at the last minute, we decided to take it with us. It was something I could possibly use in the Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Project Workshop.

That's where it has been since we moved here.

In May, we bought a new laptop for me to use for all of my Work at Home Dog Mom stuff and beyond in our home office.

Back in October, we painted our home office. 

This is where all of the Work at Home Dog Mom magic happens.

Even though I spend a lot of time at the desk, I've always made it quite clear that the laptop we bought in May is ours. I have always told Lisa that it's our desk. Our laptop. If I'm on the laptop and she needs or wants to use it, let me know. And, she has, but it's not often.

Instead, she has accessed the internet with her phone. Bent over our kitchen counter or at the dining room table. I asked her over and over and over if she needed or wanted to use the laptop. Most of the time, she would say no. I know she said that because she didn't want to interrupt what I was doing or "kick me out of the home office."

I say "kick me out" because there was no other place to sit in our home office except at the single desk. 

After several months of that, I put my foot down. I told Lisa to get her tablet out of the tote or we were going to get another laptop.

Over the weekend, she found her tablet. Charged it. It worked, but she wasn't able to connect to our internet. Despite many troubleshooting attempts, nothing. 

I put my hands on my hips and told her to either order a new tablet or laptop. Preferably a laptop. I knew she wanted one, but she's like me. I have trouble spending money on myself. 

This is a great time to buy a new laptop because of early Black Friday deals. Lisa found one she liked and ordered it yesterday. 

I can't even begin to tell you how overjoyed I was that she did that.

Last night, while Lisa was at work, I spent a lot of time coming up with a plan. 

A plan to give her old desk a makeover and how to rearrange our home office to accommodate 2 desks and the pieces we already have in there. 

My brain worked overtime, but it finally clicked. 

When Lisa left for work today, I immediately dove into "Project Home Office."

Lisa's old desk was currently in the Bodacious DIY Dog Mom Workshop. I was using it as a sewing table for small projects. 

I cleaned the desk off, made a few small repairs, gave it 2 coats of Kilz, and finished it off with 2 coats of a rich, primitive green paint. While it was drying, I moved a few pieces around in the home office.

Lisa's home office space was completed about an hour and a half before she got home. She had no idea that I was doing this for her. It was a complete surprise.

I also decided that I wasn't going to tell her when she got home. I wanted to see how long it took for her to notice.

When Lisa got home, she went about her usual routine. Greet our kids. Take her coat off. Unload her lunch tote, phone, and walled on the counter. Rinse out her iced coffee cold cup. 

While she did all of that, I remained in the home office.

During the process of walking back to the entryway to hang her lunch tote, she noticed the changes. 

And, the look on her face was priceless. 

She loved it.

The biggest surprise was the makeover I gave to her old desk.

Her expression was priceless. 

I had the biggest smile on my face.

So did Lisa.

She was not expecting this at all. One of the things she said was, "I just thought I'd use my laptop at the dining room table."

Our home office is finally complete.

We're just waiting for her laptop to be delivered.