Kathy:: The first thing I ever did was when I was 18: I painted a rainbow in my bathroom. I loved it and thought it was great!

Kathy:: I don't like having to wait for other people to do things for me and doing home improvement on my own took care of that.

Kathy:: I had an ugly, shiny, pink tile floor, circa 1980 on 70% of my main living floor. As if being ugly wasn't bad enough, it was deadly too. All I had to do was spill a drop of juice and it became as slippery as glass. And with seven year old twins, spilling something is an everyday occurrence. I was afraid my kids were going to fall and crack their skulls! I never have time to work on my own home, but I finally made a promise to myself to redo my kitchen. I managed to turn that horrible tile into a beautiful, unique floor. It's like walking on art!

After trolling on thin layers of decorative cement directly over the old pink tiles, I then acid stained it myself. It's like rivers of amber and totally organic looking and it hides dirt! When you've got 2 seven year olds, 2 teenagers and a husband anything that can hide dirt is awesome.

While it wasn't rocket science, it was a lot of work. Because of the acid stain, I also needed to wear some pretty heavy safety gear (respirator coated for fumes, gloves, goggles that fit tight to your face).

Kathy:: My favorite project was a bathroom I did in a one bedroom apartment. It was all 80's design and I thought I was just going to do the floor in acid-stained concrete. I wanted to make the floor look like water but before I knew it I found myself doing the base of the tub, too.

Once the floor was finished, I had my eye on the white tiles in the tub surround. I said to myself, "How hard can it be to take those out?" I started hammering them to take them out and the hammer went right through the wall. After a bit of examining I found it was mush under the tiles and that there was black mold. Against my will, I had demolished the entire bathroom. I figured while I was at it I might as well pull out the vanity and replace it, too.

When all was said and done, it came out gorgeous. I added a blue bowl vessel sink and a water fall tap to the vanity and laid amber colored river rocks on the vanity counter and around the base board (meandering like stone) and added a sky mural on the ceiling and bricks on the wall.

Kathy:: There are so many that it's hard to remember them all. Surprisingly, one of the more difficult ones was changing out a deadbolt (I put it in upside down and didn't understand why the key didn't work). I've done lots of painting and plastering, even a bit of drywalling (that was tough because it's so heavy). I've ripped out carpet and laid tile on floors and backsplashes.

Kathy:: That's easy! I get a feeling of independence and self reliance! I always say "who needs a man when you've got a power drill!"

Kathy:: I always ask, "How hard can it be, really?" It's not rocket science. Don't misunderstand me, I would never attempt anything beyond my ability but most things really aren't that tough. And when I get frustrated, I find that walking away and coming back the next day works wonders on solving almost any problem.

Kathy:: Besides earning me a living, it's surrounded me with beauty and art because my home improvement is about art and décor. It has helped me and my family by not having to pay someone to change our home. While most of the affects on my life from it are positive I know I can become a little obsessive when I'm working on a project. I get tunnel vision and want to finish what I've started. As much as I admit that maybe my kids don't always get my full attention when I'm working on a project, they see I'm a good role model -- I make a difference in our lives, and have a passion for what I do. These are attributes I wouldn't be able to teach them any other way except by living it. As for my husband, whenever my husband tries to fix something I always say, "What are you doing? You're an accountant!"

Kathy:: I am inspired by the idea of being surrounded by something beautiful, and even more importantly the idea of creating something beautiful. Creativity is really key for me.

Kathy:: Go to sites like Be Jane to educate yourself with the resources that are out there. Try everything that isn't dangerous. You will learn so much about what not to do, but don't worry -- it's about failing your way to success. And buy yourself a good power drill.