Necessity. My mother and sister were completely incapable and my husband is concerned with the idea of getting shocked. I wouldn't put him in the "handy" category. Since we've gotten married I've learned to do more especially now that I can go online and research everything. I know I can build or do anything. When I was younger there was no place for me to do this but now that it's different, it has become my favorite thing to do.

I have always had birds and it was my dream to provide them as natural a habitat as I could. But when we moved to Arizona, I finally had the ability to give them the best life possible.

Due to the heat I had certain complications that I had to take into consideration. I put in a misting system to keep the birds cool when it's very hot outside. I wanted to make the chicken coop as user friendly and accurate as possible. So I made sure to include little doors that all I had to do was just reach in there to get the eggs. As for the rose garden, due to the fact that we are in a desert, I had to build a raised bed for them but I also included an 8 foot high area to allow me to drape shade cloths over the roses when it gets to hot.

I am just starting to lay decorative patterns. The way I approach every project is that I do a great deal of research and know exactly That's a tough question because everyone that I do I just love. Though I loved building the chicken coop because it demanded a great deal of creativity while at the same time I had to constantly think about what was best for the birds. Just to be able to design something that was a self-standing structure was an interesting process. I started to really understand more of what it is like to design a home. This was the closest experience have had to building a house and I loved it.

When I was out of college, I couldn't afford to hire anyone to help me and my philosophy was that I was not going to depend on a man to get a job done. I went to the library and checked out books on home improvement. I taught myself how to do landscaping, how to install sheetrock, how to refinish furniture, and how to repair my car. My life has been completely impacted by my ability to be a "do-it-yourselfer" since I have not had to rely on anyone's help to complete any task.

True empowerment. That tremendous feeling of personal satisfaction and success. It's the type of success that no one can take away from you. You have truly given yourself self-satisfaction and self-worth. Many women have come to my home and seen the work that I have completed. It has given them more confidence that they might be able to learn about home improvement and save some money. I tell them, "You CAN do it! Gather all of the information about a particular task and put together a list of materials and a flow chart of how to complete the project. Take one step at a time and you will be amazed at the wonderful results you created!!"

No matter how big or small the project, I research like crazy! Online and off. It is so important to plan and research and have the right tools assembled. I always expect that the research will take longer than the project. I also always watch DIY and all of the home improvement television shows, though not so much the décor.

It has affected it in every way because it makes me feel that there isn't anything I can't accomplish. It even helped me in my sales career in a male-dominate field. As I started to take on these "male" projects at home, I found the "sexual lines" really began to blur and then that translated in to the rest of my life. I even do my own auto repair. It makes you as a woman so much more powerful. It is so empowering to not have reliance of a man. Don't misunderstand me; I'm not "men-bashing" here. I love my husband very much though I come from a different place in loving him knowing I don't "need" him. You can do anything you set your mind to!

You can do it! There isn't anything you can accomplish provided you do the research. If you make a mistake along the way, and everybody does, you'll be fine. Don't be worried because it doesn't matter. Heck even professionals make mistakes. Just go for it!