As many of you may know, I'm a bit of a tool junkie. Whether I'm researching, using, or wishing I had a particular tool, I've become tool obsessed over the last few years.

I'm not exactly sure when it happened, but at some point my Christmas list experienced a metamorphosis of magnificent proportions.

While I once wished and hoped Santa would bring the latest and greatest in GI Joe play sets, the coolest new video game tech gadget (Nintendo power glove), or the Star Wars action figure set I was certain would likely complete my life...

...at some point, roughly coinciding with the purchase of our home, my holiday wish list quickly began looking like the inventory list of a tool store in search of that item that might just let me complete a project.

Tape measures and hammers turned into saws and routers, and a hungry tool monster was born, always looking for that perfect tool to make life just a little easier, and project results just a little bit (or a lot in many circumstances) better. Besides, there's just something about a new tool bag or crate straight from the box that get's me all giddy. Unlike toys, a brand new, clean, and unblemished tool holds so much potential! 

So when we were recently asked by Rockwell Tools to review an item in their arsenal of "Tools for People that Rock" campaign, we were naturally intrigued. We don't do a lot of sponsored posts on our blog, and that's primarily because I really only want to share things we really and truly believe in. However, I was very impressed with the tools Rockwell has in their product line, and when I looked over the list Rockwell offers, one in particular caught my eye. Their Sonicrafter 20V MaxLithium cordless oscillating multi-tool looked to be a portable cordless wonder.

I've been a tremendous fan of oscillating tools since I picked up my first one about eight years ago. Its tremendous versatility can be seen in the hundreds of different cutting, sanding, grinding, and polishing attachments. Whether I'm working on detailed cutouts or need to cut a quick hole, an oscillating tool is sure to do the trick.

However, the fact it's a corded tool means I always need an outlet nearby, the blade change process requires an Alan wrench and several minutes of trying to secure the screw while holding the blade still, and I have to make sure the attachment I'm buying works for the brand of tool I have. These are all inconveniences that I'd rather not be bothered by.

As a result, I've actually been looking for a good cordless oscillating tool for some time, and with the purchase of our second home, my need for duplicates of essential tools like this really jumped up on the priority list.

So in steps the Rockwell Sonicrafter 20v Litium-ion oscillating multi-tool and 27 piece attachment kit Rockwell sent us to review. This great handheld tool set includes five cutting attachments.

The 20v MaxLithium battery offers a substantial charge that will keep the tool operating at the desired adjustable speed until the batter is drained, rather than slowing as the charge is lost. It also obviously means I can work freely and untethered, no longer bound by the reach of the tool's cord.

Overall the tool feels solid and well made. It's just over three pounds with the battery installed, and the battery weight really offers an excellent balance while using the tool. When switched on, two LEDs on the sides of the tool's body light your work area rather well.

But the absolute best part of this tool is its quick change and locking clamp "Hyperlock" that allows you to change from a blade to a sander to a paint scraper to any number of other attachments with only a flip of a lever and a twist of your wrist.

I was initially skeptical the lever system would be able to hold the blades securely in place. I've often had issues with the blade moving on my other oscillating tool, no matter how much I tighten the lock nut. But it seems Rockwell has the formula for keeping the blade in place with only minimal effort. Their materials state it has a holding force of one ton. 

If you're not sure whether or not you need an oscillating cutting tool in your tool box, trust me when I say that you absolutely do. It's so versatile that there's a use for it in almost any project. And if you've already got another tool and a whole truckload of attachments, the Sonicrafter has a "universal fit system" that allows you to use the blades of other manufacturers with this tool. The only caveat, you must use a set screw to fix it in place. No twist and lock action when you're not using Rockwell attachments.

Being a true tool nerd, I couldn't wait to break it out of its packaging and give it a spin, but I needed a quick place to give it a try. Then I had an idea.

We're doing a little exploration behind drywall at the new house and I suspect that the original plaster is lurking just behind the layer of sheetrock that a previous owner hung. Being a naturally curious chap, I wanted to see what kind of shape the walls were in, but there was no good place to start the drywall demo on the ceiling. Before we had the tool, we made a small hole and then just started ripping away at it. Granted, I could have done a much cleaner job, cut with a utility knife, then sawed away, but I was impatient.

Now I'm not one to typically tear away, but that's just what we did on that poor ceiling. The end result of ripping down drywall, as can see above, is often a torn paper covering that is both unsightly and difficult to repair.

But using the oscillating tool to cut a more even and straight line in the drywall was just what the tool doctor ordered. In under a minute I had adequately cut back the drywall covering enough to see that the ceiling plaster is actually in pretty great shape. Perhaps this is something we can bring back out and repair throughout the room? At the very least, I have a decently square opening that will allow me to either open up more of the ceiling, or prepare a patch piece to repair eventually. But between you and me, I plan on using my new tool to cut out a lot more of this drywall and expose the rest of the plaster. And since the tool is precise and small, I'll be able to do all of the work without further damaging any of the fragile plaster.

This was just one of many projects this tool has been mentally slated for. And while this goes nowhere near showing the ridiculous number of uses this tool has in projects, I was able to get a good feel for the tools power, comfort, and ability to work its way though material. Overall it felt really good, and I'm looking forward to using it more. However, It did require me to pull it out of the packaging and use it, but as much as it looks great clean, every tool tends to look just a little bit better once it's covered in a little demo dust and project progress. Don't you think?

Reader Reward

We liked the cordless Sonicrafter so much that we asked Rockwell if they wouldn't mind offering one as a giveaway to one of our readers. Being fans of all DIYers that rock, they were more than happy to do a giveaway. So whether you're looking to round out your own tool collection, or to score a pretty spectacular gift for the tool lover in your family, this great tool will surely do the trick.

Beyond this giveaway, if you're interested in possibly winning other tools from Rockwell's line, Rockwell has a promotion going on right now that's a "Give one, Get one Sweepstakes." You can win the whole suite of Rockwell's tool lineup for yourself, as well as a whole set for someone else. You can enter on their sweepstakes page.

Also, as part of our review, Rockwell is offering readers of Old Town Home 15% off any purchase you make on their website through December 31, 2014 using coupon code HOMESWEETHOME15. The code is valid on any purchase from RockwellTools.com

Details

• PRIZE: One Rockwell 20V MaxLithium Sonicrafter Oscillating Multi-Tool w/ Hyperlock - (a $159 value)
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Sunday, December 14th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Monday, December 15th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The winner will be asked to provide their home address and the tool will be shipped directly to them.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “TOOLS THAT ROCK”, and tell us a little bit about projects you'd like to use this tool on, or who you'd like to give it to as a gift. (One comment entry per person please.) 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to participants in the United States only.

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details. This post was made in partnership with Rockwell Tools. While they donated a tool for our review, our projects, thoughts, and opinions are solely our own. 

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Though I fear we've led you all on for too long, it wouldn't be a true House Hunters inspired reveal without a little recap of the four homes we presented for consideration before telling which one we chose.

House 1

First we showed you all the Victorian farmhouse with a whole lot of land, a quirky floor plan, crazy kitchen, and several outbuilding.

This home had a lot going for it, including a great setting, guest cottage potential, a possible wood shop, classic farmhouse styling, and a ton of other possibilities. Oh, and it had a memorable kitchen...

However, it seemed everything needed to be updated, a lot of remuddling had to be undone in the house, and the floor plan just didn't seem to make sense once inside. It stood to be an absolutely huge project with an even bigger upside if we could see it through to the end, but was this something we wanted to take on?

House 2

Next we shared the 1980's ranch with gorgeous view and the best possibility as a truly blank canvas.

While nothing inside the house would end up staying long term (and we'd need to promise the UFO light fixtures to wanting blog readers), the vision was clear. Open it up, make it bright and clean, take advantage of the views, and spend a lot of time on the deck. Sadly, the orange and green shag carpet would need to go.

But it's a big project would need to be done all at once, or at least a huge portion as phase one. There's no one room at a time approach that would really work here, it would need to be a whole home renovation and that might be too big of a first bite for us for a second home, and once we're done, we're done, no more projects. 

House 3

The third home we presented was the early 20th century American foursquare with large yard, great waterfront view with pier, and a lot of space.

This house really has the look and setting. It's charming, private, and has that large wrap around porch where you can picture lounging, sipping beverages, and spending time with friends and family. And, the floor plan seemed to work in its current state.

But the home has no central AC, has a lot of upkeep necessary, and is truly "a lot of house" to manage as a second home. 

House 4

And finally we shared an 18th century waterfront farmstead house with views for days, prize winning show poodle ribbons, and acres upon acres of land.

This house has so much going for it. Its age, charm, views, outbuilding, guest cottage, and a lot of original details that have survived the years.

However, there is a significant risk for flooding, an aged boiler, and property maintenance that feels more intimidating than any of the other houses.

What'd We Choose?

As you can see from our various options, we had a very difficult decision to make with lots of pros and cons to weigh when selecting the home that we felt would be right for us.

After much debate and deliberation...

Queue the dramatic facial shots of each of us while we skeptically gaze at one another.

Follow it up with a little more delay with some music that reflects pensive thought for good effect...

We chose...House number 3, the classic American foursquare with stunning water views and great wraparound porch.

Then we simultaneously sigh a gleeful exhale and glance knowingly at each other. How lovely cliche.

From your comments and emails I know many of you just knew this was the one, while others might be shocked by the decision. Some were hoping it would be one of the other houses, while many will be quite happy with our decision. To be completely honest, we loved hearing everyone's opinions on the houses as we've shared them, as many thoughts and opinions offered we shared between the two of us.

Wendy unlocking the door for the first time.

So the big question, "What ultimately led us to this decision?"

Here's the long and short of it all (along with a few more photos of our new home).

Ultimately this is the house that met our various criteria for a second home most completely. It's also where we felt most comfortable with that very delicate "projects vs potential" balance. And, at over 100 years old, we think it's truly a piece of history worth preserving. Besides, look at this sunrise from the porch!

Some of the major elements that swayed us toward this house were:

• the view and unique orientation of the house with the "front" in the back of the property looking out over the water,
• the very large porch and other outdoor entertaining and relaxing space, 
• an interior floor plan that made complete sense, 
• an amazing "Christmas" staircase (just picture all of the garland), 
• the various original historic elements (flooring, moulding, hardware, etc),
• an elevation that placed the house above the high risk floodplain,
• the natural shoreline project to protect against erosion,
• and what seemed like a very nicely maintained and well cared for home.

But let's take a step back. As we mentioned some time ago, our search for a home started over two years ago when we began casually kicking around the idea. Though it seemed like a complete pipe dream for a long time, once the seed was planted it began to slowly grow, and we began focusing on and narrowing all of the items that were particularly important to us when it came to buying another house. After lengthy debate, gnashing of teeth, and more than one conversation that likely ended with "Fine! If you're going to be unreasonable, we're not even going to look for a house," we determined that being near the water was at the top of our list, and all other items would fall in around that.

Street Signs in St. Michaels

As we continued to mull the idea of "near water" and looked at several very quaint and wonderful homes in water neighborhoods, like St. Michaels, we realized we didn't just want to be near water, we wanted to be on the water. We knew what it would mean for our budget and that it would drastically limit our search criteria, but that worked for us primarily because we realized we already had the bustling close in living of a waterfront town in Alexandria, and this would ultimately be an opportunity to live somewhere completely different.

Once we finally started to look seriously at houses, our primary criteria had been defined. We wanted a waterfront home, something that was livable as is, something that needed some work to make it our own, something that could be renovated in phases, and something that "spoke to us" in some way shape or form.

Back staircase and the only room with carpet in our new home.

And beyond our concrete criteria, we were hoping for a good karma "gut decision" to help lead our path.

After our lengthly search we found house #4 from our list. (Funny, the last house we shared was the first house we really looked at.) I fell in love because of the age and the land, Wendy liked the view and the guest cottage, so we scheduled a showing with a feeling of "are we really about to do this" in the pit of our stomachs. It turned out to be a great place that met a lot of our criteria, but it was the furthest drive of the homes we saw, and we couldn't get over the floodplain location of the home and the thought that some weekend all of the hard work we put into the house could literally be washed away. I also saw just how much work we'd need to do to make it what we wanted, and more than anything, the floor plan of the house just didn't feel right.

Looking at this house was a huge learning moment. I was so hopeful for this one that I was SURE I'd love it and want to buy it on the spot, but it wasn't exactly what I thought it was from the listing. I was quite dejected as we left the property. I felt defeated, I wanted this one to be the one, but I knew in my heart of hearts it just wasn't. We had just stepped aboard the house hunt roller coaster of emotions and I was once again convinced we wouldn't end up buying a second home. Wendy kept a more even perspective about her, likely a skill she's honed in her career as a realtor.

The positive of looking at this first house was how it allowed us to begin to further understand what we wanted and didn't want, what we should focus on and what we should ignore. It helped us to further define what was truly important about our second house hunt.

We started to do more flood zone research to better understand what it entailed (we'll fill you in a bit more on that as time goes on). We changed our search criteria and area, expanding where we were looking, and we set up showings for other homes that struck our fancy.

After looking at a few more places we discovered house #1 from our house hunt list. This is another house that was "perfect on paper," and when we pulled into the driveway Wendy and I were both struck with an overwhelming "WOW, LOOK AT THIS HOUSE!" But that first look and feeling of awe faded when we toured the home. Cement shingle siding, a large modern addition, an odd floor plan, and major projects at every turn. This is another situation where we wanted this house to be the one, but were truly saddened when it wasn't. It will be an absolutely amazing house for someone, but that someone just isn't us. For us it would have just been too many projects without enough original character in the house.

The same day, almost on a lark, we took a look at house #2 form our list, the 1980's ranch. I was already dejected from the results of the prior house so my view was clouded, but Wendy's eyes lit up with the ranch. She could see the potential of making this home exactly what she wanted it to be. There would not need to be any concern for maintaining historic elements, no need to use multiple phases of renovations, we could make this house anything we wanted it to be. If we wanted, this house could become a shingle style waterfront home with shake shingles on the roof like a classic New England oceanfront getaway.

But the more we thought about it, the more it lost its appeal. The project would really need to be done at once, there was still a floodplain risk and associated increased insurance costs, and there were inherent limitations with the footprint of the house that would make some of the updates we'd want to make prohibitively expensive. It was also a bit further of a drive than we really wanted it to be.

At this point we had reached the height of the summer and the slowdown in the real estate market. No new inventory was showing up, and we had pretty much eliminated most of the homes we had considered. Then, one fateful day while looking around at listings, I saw the lovely white clapboard home and sent the link to Wendy.

Her exact words were, "Well, I really like the look of it..." And with that we were off to the races.

We scheduled a showing to see the house and showed up on a warm summer day to enjoy the views and figure out if this house would actually be a possibility. After being disappointed several times I made every attempt to temper any excitement and expectations and just take in the house and what it is.

The first thing we noticed was what good shape the house appeared to be in from the exterior. No visible rot, no major sags or leans, and what seemed like a relatively new roof and some new clapboards. This told us that current or previous owners had cared for the house. 

It was very easy to get distracted by the views from the porch, but we had to focus on the house and how the house would work for us and our purposes. We probably spent an hour walking around the house and looking at all of the elements. From the amazing antique pine floors to the first-to-go floral wallpaper bathroom, we took everything in, positives and negatives. We even paid attention to the single missing spindle on the third floor staircase and how we might be able to reproduce it.

We took it all in and then had lots, and I mean LOTS of conversations about this house. We talked in the car, we talked on the couch, we talked over the phone, we talked over text, we talked over instant message, we talked obsessively about this house. The main difference here is that the tour of the house didn't eliminate the house from contention the way many of the other houses did. Instead we had to make a simple (extremely difficult) determination. Was this the right house for us? 

After reaching our own gut wrenching conclusion that this was, in actuality, the house for us, we began the purchase process. Offer, negotiations, home inspection, etc. During this process we learned many things about the house and property, not the least of which is that the home inspector felt the house was in absolutely excellent condition. Many of the items you often see neglected in an old home, like insulation, vapor barriers, roofs, and utilities, have all been well maintained and somewhat to very recently updated or installed. Best of all, both the crawl space and attic have been spray foam insulated, making them dry conditioned spaces, a rarity in a century home that maintains much of its original character.

But most of all, this house had a spectacular view and wraparound porch that we just kept talking about, dreaming about, obsessing about, and wishing to be on. Every visit to the house we would stand on the porch and look out over the water, simply enjoying what it was. Birds, fisherman, waves, and the sparkling reflection of the sun off of the water helped us see past the potential minor negatives in the home, such as a lack of central air conditioning and a lot of walls and ceilings in need of some minor to major work.

Today we're the proud owners of this amazing property and we're smitten. At this point, thanks to our parents' hand-me-downs, we only have a dining room table, an old pine cabinet, a few dishes, silverware, glasses, and kitchenware, and a couple inflatable mattresses. Other than that, this is a blank slate. We're approaching it much like we approached our Old Town house when we bought it. We'll kick of the process with a few projects but we'll take this house one step at a time and one room at a time. We're incredibly excited to share this journey with you as there are sure to be quite a few ups and downs along the way. 

So far we've been out to the house a fair amount. Lulu absolutely LOVES running around and even took an impromptu dip in the water last week, which resulted in an impromptu bath that she hated. We've had several friends and family out to the house, which is a little hard since we really only have folding chairs around the dining table, but it's part of the charm...right?

But things are starting to progress as we've made our first actual purchase for the house. Last week was my birthday and Wendy gave me a large metal fire pit that we were able to break in with a few friends.

This was the first of what is sure to be many enjoyable evenings with friends and family around this fire pit. We can't wait to share our journey with you.

So what do you think about our decision? Does it make sense? Can you see what we see? I know there may be a few people who would have loved to have seen one of the other houses selected, but I'm sure this one will be the most fun to watch as it transforms. Once we save up, we'll likely get a few kayaks and will definitely invest in a few crab traps, and of course can't wait to share our design and restoration plans with you every step of the way.

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This obsession of mine began several months ago. Some may call it an accident, but I call it fate, the aligning of the real estate stars, or perhaps a kind glance from the DIY gods. While investigating what one can expect to pay for a large amount of land with an old house on it somewhere in the Virginia countryside, I was constantly faced with beautiful home after beautiful home, but each with a shockingly high price tag that was far less attractive.

Having a "can you believe how much this costs?!" moment while investigating pipe dream after even more unrealistic pipe dream, I stumbled across a beautiful diamond in the (very) rough. Among the well manicured lawns and historic structures of Virginia horse country, this jewel called out to me from the tiny preview photo.

I rubbed my eyes, surely they were deceiving me. Could it be true? A Victorian gem in need of a *tiny* bit of TLC on 50+acres of land!

What's that you say? You think the house looks like it's falling down? Probably haunted? Definitely has snakes? And you can't imagine someone in their right mind purchasing it? Oh ye of little faith! 

Love at first sight doesn't begin to describe my feeling while looking over the details in the listing. Built in 1878 in the Shenandoah Valley countryside of Virginia, this farmhouse has sat untouched for decades. (Cue the "Yeah, no kidding!" from the peanut gallery while looking at the peeling paint on the exterior.)

Where many may see a tear down, I see a gorgeous Victorian farmhouse full of charm and potential in the middle of 50 wooded acres. Unlike many homes of the era, it's not been tinkered with and stripped of its character. It's not built too close to the road, it's secluded and quiet and not adjacent to a large housing development. And the 50 acres on which it sits are nearly completely wooded, not a mass of property that needs to be continuously mowed, maintained, and manicured.

When I first discovered the home I excitedly shared it with Wendy, absolutely certain she would join in on my excitement. Like Ralphie from A Christmas Story, imagining his teacher's joy when reading his report, I showed Wendy the amazing photos. She was not impressed.

Certainly something was lost in translation. I read the description aloud...

"51 +/- wooded acres with about 1 acre open in front of a wood siding farmhouse built in 1878, no indoor plumbing but house has a hand dug well, but house has fantastic possibilities with original plaster walls and nice wood work trim, house has 100 amp electrical service survey shows 2 parcels (49.5475 and 1.6991 acres ), dividable into 2 lots and a residue"

"Wait...What?!?," she said. "What do you mean, no plumbing? Oh, hell no, there's NO way I'm buying a house with you that doesn't have plumbing," she insisted. "We *have* plubmbing and look how long it's taken us to get nice bathrooms," she reasoned. "That house may be perfect or it may have a lot of problems, but the only one thing I even need to disqualify it from ever being a home that we own is the lack of plumbing. Does this look like the face of someone who would enjoy frequenting an outhouse?," she...well, yelled really.

What had happened? I really didn't understand. How was she not seeing the brilliance of this home and its character. Had I shown her the wrong house? I double checked, nope, right house. Based on Wendy's response and sound of my dreams being crushed you would have thought I was asking for an "official Red Ryder Carbine-Action Two-Hundred-Shot Range Model Air Rifle!" And she started dancing around and singing, "You'll shoot yer eye out, you'll shoot yer eye out." It was over as quickly as it had started. I took my shot and I missed, the clock ran out, and I had the rest of my life to think about what I'd done wrong with the failed pitch.

Confused by Wendy's odd reaction, I've shown this house to several friends and begin going through all of the positives and how great it is. Oddly enough, many have a very similar, and sometimes far more negative view than Wendy. Some question my sanity, while others praise Wendy's "patience" with me. Weird, I'm sure she must have gotten to them, nothing else can explain it!

Often, when they see the first photo, which made me fall in love, many say, "Um, yeah, that home is probably haunted." Then they see the next photo, which is also in the listing.

"Yeah, it's pretty much totally haunted by those people right there." I'll tell you one thing, I'm friends with a with a whole lot of alarmists. However, if they're right, how often to you get a house listing that actually includes a photo of the people who will possibly be scaring the bejesus out of you?! It's a rare treat, I guarantee you.

The crusty exterior is far from "toast" or "too far gone," instead it's just waiting for the right person with the right vision to come along and breathe a breath of fresh air into the tired home.

For those of you who simply can't understand my attraction, I don't blame you, It's far too easy to be distracted by the exterior appearance, which suggests a home that may be lived in by families of raccoons, poltergeists, or worse, hoarders. But the interior is what sealed the deal for me.

The details of the home, like the mixed species wood staircase with chunky newel post and beautiful floors...

...the original stained glass builtins...

...the figured wainscoting...

...beautiful original doors...

...and the many fireplaces all represent the building blocks for beauty.

Obviously it's not a move-in ready place, but the bones are there, and more than the bones the details and all important old home character are completely intact.

There's a well on the property, and with 50 acres I can install a septic system to one day put actual plumbing in the house. And with all of that space, I can't help but think of geothermal heat, raising a salvaged 100 year old barn that could play double duty as a wood shop and guest house, eventually a pool, outdoor kitchen with wood fired pizza oven, and even a long driveway with bricks near the house and crushed oyster shells all the way to the street. 

Sure, there's a lot of work to do, but I'm not afraid of a little work, I'm actually excited by it! It's a chance to revive this home, make it our own, turn it into something spectacular, awe inspiring, rejuvenated! I want those people who might be haunting the house to have their ghost socks knocked off!

So who's with me? Who wants to see what we can do with this house and the surrounding land? Who believes in me and my vision? Who can see what I see and knows we can transform this home into something truly spectacular? Who wants to see Old Town Home turn into The Farmhouse Without Plumbing? I'll tell you one person not on this list of "who." My lovely wife...and that, my friends, is what they call a "deal breaker" in the business of married DIY.

Have you ever coveted a home your better half knows better about? Perhaps, like me, where your DIY eyes are plenty bigger than your renovation stomach? I can't be alone in my foolish and reckless abandon.

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While many of our readers know that Alex is a computer programmer by trade, it's rare that I've spoken about my day job more than saying I'm "in marketing." And after nearly a decade and a half of non-profit B2B professional services and event marketing, conference and event planning, as well as brand management (are you sleeping yet?), I've decided to make a major change.

It's no secret that I love homes, and my passions lie in interior design, historic restoration, and entertaining. However, the question has always been, "How do I make a living doing what I love?" 

Don't get me wrong. I've had amazing professional experiences along the way, including business trips to exotic destinations.

Bosses that inspired me to challenge myself and grow both personally and professionally, and even a few run ins with people you may recognize.

But as cliche as it may sound, life is short, and I want to spend most of my waking hours with people whose company I enjoy, residing in a city I relish, while doing work that's meaningful and valued.

Which leads me to January of this year. After carefully considering several options, financially planning, and doing extensive research, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to pursue my real estate license. While still working my day job I began taking the prerequisite real estate courses in the evenings and on the weekends.

In April I sat for (and passed) the Virginia real estate sales peson licensing exam, and last month after interviewing several companies, I affiilated with McEnearney Associates here in Old Town, who I truly believe is the best fit for me.

My last official day at my old job (and career) was just last week, and I leave with bittersweet feelings. I'll miss the comfort that comes with being in an industry and a position for years, as well as miss the industry and members that I served on a daily basis. There are also so many amazing colleagues and friends that I'll miss dearly. I mean, how lucky am I to work with people that write heartfelt notes, give you a bouquet of flowers, or even bake you a cookie cake in your favorite color, complete with a "sold" sign on it to commemorate your career change?

But I'm also really excited. Excited to do something I love and am passionate about. Excited to be working with people to help them find a new home that's the right fit for their needs and their family. And excited to be learning, challenging, and pushing myself with "what could be," rather than getting comfortable with "it's not so bad."

Not only will I be helping people looking for or selling homes in the Northern Virginia area, but I also have access to a global network of resources and will work to help pair up people from anywhere with a local agent that best suits their needs. 

I'm only a few weeks into my new career and I've already helped my first clients find a new home in Old Town so they'll be closer to their first grandchild, and I'm working with several others to help them realize the dream of owning their first home. I'm even helping a few people through the daunting process of relocating to the area from another part of the country. 

Don't worry, Old Town Home isn't going anywhere. In fact, I'll now have more time and opportunity to uncover hidden home gems on a daily basis (and share some with you), and hopefully will have more time to get back to my own DIY endeavors. 

Things around here may change a bit though. As a licensed real estate professional I'll have to make some disclosures on the site to comply with various rules and regulations, and you may see some changes to our Open Housing posts. 

On the flip side, real estate isn't going to be all you hear about by any means. I've set up a separate Facebook page to include market updates, fun house tips, and insight into the life of a real estate agent. If you're interested in following along, you can find me here: www.facebook.com/wendysrealtor

I'm holding onto my hat, because I know it's going to be a crazy ride, but I can't be more excited for the journey and the coming days, weeks, and months.

Have you ever gone though a significant life career change and do you have any great advice to help me make the transition? I'm all ears.

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The homeopathic remedy I'm covering today deals with a very common genetic issue in dogs called "cherry eye." Let me warn you, some of the photos that are in this post can be unsettling. But allow me to assure you, even if they look gross, as long as the animals afflicted with this condition are treated in a timely manner, the animals are in no way in pain.

Cherry eye is actually a very simple issue involving the weakening, stretching, or detachment of anchoring tissue on an ocular gland that's sometimes referred to as a "third eyelid." In dogs this third eyelid plays a role that promotes oxygen supply and tear production to the eye. When working correctly, the third eyelid stays tucked away and out of sight. However, when anchoring tissue is not fully doing its job, this third eyelid can protrude from behind the eye and will be visible as a red or pink mass that partially obscures the corner of the eye.

Example of Cherry Eye in a Bulldog

Our story of cherry eye actually starts several years ago, in fact the very week we adopted Lulu. As new pet parents of Lulu, and having just lost Oliver after a long medical fight against cancer, Wendy and I were fragile yet optimistic about adopting our new girl. She seemed quite happy and healthy, albeit a little neurotic at times. One day, shortly after our adoption, we decided to head to PetSmart to have Lulu's nails trimmed and pick up a few supplies. Little did we know just how much Lulu hated, and I mean HATED, having her nails trimmed.

After several minutes of struggle that began to make our pet parent stomachs turn, they opted to take her to a back room to "calm her." In retrospect, we should have listened to our gut and called the whole thing off, but we didn't. We'll never make this mistake again, I can tell you that. When Lulu emerged with her trimmed nails, she also had a red blob over her eyelid.

We were shocked, as she hadn't arrived with this condition. The store staff were somewhat dismissive and said, "Oh, that was there when you brought her in." You should have seen how upset Wendy and I were. As I said, never again!

The PetSmart vet who was in the office gave us a "complimentary exam" and checked Lulu over due to our concern/upset. After a few minutes he diagnosed her with "cherry eye," a common and genetic issue impacting young dogs of certain breeds, including pugs. He said, "Surgery is really the only fix, and that will be about $800." Furious, and wanting a second opinion from our own vet, we went home...feeling like the worst pet parents in the world. How could we have let this happen?!?

On the way home Lulu was her normal drooling and neurotic car riding self, which made us feel a little better. And when we arrived home we immediately made an appointment with our vet, Dr. Farrell. We really didn't know what to expect, so I started looking around at various online resources. Apparently pet ailment websites aren't nearly as alarmist as human sites, because not once did any of them lead me to believe Lulu was sure to be done in by some rare disease. Instead, everything mostly said the same things. Through all of the references to surgery, antibiotics, and steroids, I noticed one thing that piqued my interest. It seemed that some people had luck through relaxation and gentle massage to repair the issue.

I gave it a shot with the instructions I found online and was able to correct the issue with the protruding gland. When we took Lulu to the vet the next day for her checkup, our vet almost didn't believe us that it had happened. She had never heard of cherry eye showing up due to thrashing trauma, and she also had never heard of correction through massage. However, she was very open to the idea and figured it was worth just keeping an eye on it. (We still think she just didn't believe it was actually cherry eye, especially with no photo proof.)

Fast forward nearly three years, Lulu has been cherry eye free after my massage fix...until this past weekend. I was walking out of our office and Lulu came prancing down the hall looking at me with a pink blob over here eye. I immediately knew what it was. This time I thought, "I'm going to actually get a photo of this!" Here's what I saw.

I don't know what she did, how she twisted, what angle she looked in, what squirrel caused her to bug out, or what anomaly occurred, but Lulu's third eyelid had made a reappearance. However, this time I was calm, cool, and collected. I knew of a way to potentially fix the issue on my own, and worst case, I knew we could always take her to an eye specialist to have the glad placed back in its appropriate place.

As a calm pet parent (good thing I was the only one home, Wendy isn't nearly as calm in these scenarios) I grabbed a clean cloth and dampened it with warm water.

Then the hard part, calming the beast. I worked to calm our normally somewhat spastic dog. That, in itself, was no easy task. After several minutes of tummy rubs and calm petting, I had myself a relaxed puppy.

Using the warm cloth I gently laid it over her closed eyelid on the affected eye. After allowing it to warm the area for a few minutes to promote tear production and lubricate the area (still rubbing her tummy), I began to slowly massage the area where the gland had protruded. If she had issues with dry eyes or no tear production, we'd also use eye drops to help promote a more slippery surface. Removing the damp cloth, I *very* gently moved my thumb over her eyelid, putting almost no pressure on her eye, from the center of her closed eye towards the corner of her eye near her nose. I repeated this several times until I felt the third eyelid almost suck back into the right place. I massaged just a little bit more because I think she was sort of enjoying the attention, then I stopped to take a look.

When Lulu opened her eye the pink mass had disappeared. No longer was her third eyelid protruding in a rather awkward manner. Best of all, I was able to correct it on my own before Wendy arrived home. The last thing I wanted was for Wendy to walk in, freak out, and then have her third eyelid pop out. I'd have to work on two patients at that point.

I believe the massage technique is a good option, but timing and severity of the issue is critical to success. The longer the issue is left untreated, the less likely the massage will be to correct the gland's location. Also, if it's a complete detachment of the anchoring tissue, there will be nothing that keeps the gland in place, so after massage, it will just pop back out. It's also true that this approach may not be resolving the root cause of the issue, and it may continue to occur at random points in the future, but thus far we've been nearly three full years since the last occurrence. If we can continue on that track record I think we're in pretty darn good shape. In the worst case scenario the issue can't be corrected using this homeopathic remedy or it keeps appearing frequently. In that case we'll need to pursue a surgical remedy. But we'll cross that bridge if we come to it.

One thing to note regarding corrective surgery on cherry eye are the typical approaches a surgeon may take. There are two primary approaches to correcting cherry eye from a surgical perspective. One deals with correcting the issue and securing the glad in the correct location, while another deals with surgical removal of the gland. If given the option, absolutely go with the first approach. The gland is essential for tear production and will cause many long term issues if removed. Typically it's only removed if the gland has been damaged by being left exposed for too long, so it's important to deal with this issue much sooner than later.

You need to do what you're comfortable with, and we're by no means medical experts on the subject. But after talking it over with our trusted vet, we're comfortable with this approach when the need arises. Also, if this happens to your dog, even if the massage corrects the issue, make sure you still take your pup to the vet for a checkup. There can be underlying causes of cherry eye that still need to be investigated to ensure there are not more serious problems at play.

I hope our tale of Lulu's cherry eye and our ultimate home remedy fix will come in handy if you are ever in a situation where you have to deal with cherry eye. I'm very interested to know, have you ever had a dog that has had this issue? What sorts of things caused it? And if you went the surgical route, what were your experiences? Anything you can tell us to watch out for or advice you can give is very welcome.

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From our initial research and investigations most die hard butcher block people suggest you only need to use a mineral oil or chestnut oil to treat the wood. Based on this advice we went ahead and applied mineral oil to the counters in a daily, then weekly, then monthly fashion. We made sure to check on the counters often and reapply when it seemed to be getting a little dry, and we made sure to wipe up any standing water so it wouldn't be allowed to sit, soak in, and stain or otherwise affect the counters. In all, we felt our counter treatment was going well, until we visited my parents' house over Thanksgiving.

My parents installed butcher block on their kitchen island a few years ago and they've really liked it. Over Thanksgiving we had the opportunity to check out what they've been using to treat their counters. The first thing I noticed was just how smooth their counters felt compared to our counters. That's my mom at the sink in the photo above, mid Thanksgiving meal prep, so please excuse any disorganization or mess, she had no idea I was taking the photo. 

I asked my parents what they use to treat their wood and they broke out their butcher block supply arsenal. We're talking multiple bottles here folks. I get my overkill honestly. Of the items they used one struck me over the rest, the Howard's mineral oil plus natural (bees') waxes.

While we've been using the mineral oil to treat our counters, I've noticed how it works. It goes on the surface, soaks into the wood, and then we wipe away any excess. This seems to work well for the short term treatment, but the oil doesn't fill any voids or build up the surface of the counter, leaving any rough surface texture feeling in place. In the case of my parents' counters, though it's a different and smoother species of wood (cherry I believe?), their surface is almost a little shiny, like it had been polished. They've never treated it with more than the products they showed me, so I assumed it had to be the added waxes they've been using.

When we were making our cheese boards from remnant butcher block scraps I used this new oil and wax combo to give it a try, and I was extremely happy with how it turned out. So happy, in fact, that we started using it on our counters. The important thing is that it is still 100% food safe and all natural.

To use this wax we employ the following simple methods.

After removing all items from the counter to oil (which is actually the biggest pain when it comes to butcher block counters), I hit the whole counter top with a 220 grit sandpaper. It wasn't too major of a sanding job, just enough to smooth out any rough areas that had developed and to remove any surface blemishes from water stains. This is one of those things I really like about butcher block. I only sanded before the first application of the oil and wax, it's not an every time thing.

Once I was happy with the sanded look and feeling, I got ready to apply the oil/wax. The most important thing I've learned while using this is to SHAKE VIGOROUSLY. I'm talking whole-body-arm-hurting shake. This will mix the wax and oil in the container, making sure you have a more even overall application. Think about how much better oil and vinegar dressing tastes when shaken, or peanut butter when stirred, same philosophy here, but we're not eating this, but you get the idea.

When I apply the oil to the surface I like to spread it all over the area and then begin wiping with the rag to spread it around. I've seen some people say to apply in one small area and spread, but that doesn't work quite as well for me. 

Once this waxy oil has been spread all over the counters it should sit for a while. The bottle says to allow it to sit for 20 minutes, but I prefer to let it be a while longer. Perhaps a few hours or even overnight if possible. This allows the oil to really soak into the surface and replenish any shriveled and thirsty wood fibers.

You can see how much richer the surface color is once it's all been applied. When I feel the surface has drunk in enough of the nutrients, I wipe off any excess with my rag (or paper towels when in a pinch) and begin buffing the surface. This is where the difference in using the wax comes out. While the oil wipes away, the wax stays on the surface and is worked into all of the various voids of the porous wood. 

As I've repeated the process and the wax has slowly built up, I noticed a significant change in the texture of the previously rough oak counters. The texture remains to some extent, but it's been smoothed considerably, and it much easier to work on. 

I'm quite glad that we've reassessed our approach over time, and I'm sure we'll continue to do so. There's obviously no "end all and be all" for how to treat butcher block, but now that we've been using this mineral oil and wax combo on our counters for about a month, we've noticed a much smoother feeling starting to emerge. We also notice that the water has started to bead a bit more on the surface, and can be wiped off more easily after being allowed to sit a while longer. 

What do you think? Is this a good direction to head? My parents also use the "Mystery Oil" on their counter, but putting anything "mystery" on our counters makes me feel a bit apprehensive. Do you have wood counters? If so, what do you use?

Note: I'd also like to point out, as with our Toolbox Tuesday posts, we weren't compensated for this review. We simply want to share good products when we see them, and hope that learning from our mistakes can help save you time, money and frustration.

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Though we love how our counters look now that they're done, all shiny and new in the space, there's one thing we absolutely must keep in mind to ensure we like them long term, and that's the treatment and care we must give them. But what exactly does that mean?

By their nature, butcher block counter tops are not an "install and forget it" kind of surface. Actually, literally by nature (and by their history/namesake), they are quite the opposite. As a result, a litany of options for treating, sealing, staining, and protecting butcher block counters has popped up. It's big business and a multi-million dollar industry, so it's no surprise every company wants you to believe their product is far superior to the rest.

Before we get to actual treatment and finishing, it's important to recognize why a higher level of maintenance is necessary when caring for butcher block. First and foremost, they're wood. This is where I mean "literally by nature." As it exists in nature, trees are meant to absorb the elements around them. Trees are literally sponges, trying to suck in whatever comes in contact with them including water, sunlight, and CO2. When a tree (or trees) became our oak butcher block counter tops, their life may have ended (sorry tree), but their natural mission to absorb did not.

Photo form San Francisco's Muir Woods, in case you're wondering.

Now that it's installed in our house, as an untreated surface the butcher block is eager to absorb anything we lay on it, including water, vegetables, fats and oils, dirt, wine or whatever else happens to come in contact with it. Each item can contribute to the drying, aging, and cracking process they is inevitable in wood, as well as the possibility of contamination. So it becomes our mission to protect ourselves from an unsightly and unhealthy counter top by first protecting the counter top from the possible contaminants. But what should we use to protect it?

Butcher block, as their name implies, was made popular in butchers' shops. The meat cutting and prep areas were adorned with the heavy and solid wood blocks. They were installed untreated and put to use. As the butcher's would work on the blocks, the fats and grease from their work would saturate the work area, and the wood would absorb it like a sponge. Ultimately, the butcher block surface would become so saturated with the animal oils that it wouldn't and couldn't possibly absorb anything else. Water could no longer penetrate the surface and would simply bead up when applied. Cleaning products also do not get into the wood, instead just cleaning the essentially solid surface.

Photo Credit: EndlessDC.com

Taking the history of butcher block into consideration, the surface preparation and treatment for our butcher block should follow a similar approach, but should be accomplished in a more home friendly manner. (I don't think Wendy or I really feel like smearing meat all over our counters for 40 hours a week.)

We have several simple goals when it comes to treating our butcher block.

1. It must be food safe.
2. It must be easy and convenient, otherwise we won't do it.
3. It must be low cost.

Given these simple goals, we did quite a bit of research and consistently came up with the same end result.

Mineral Oil

That's it, that's all. No special brands, no linseed oil infused items, nothing that boasts penetrating formulas or additives that cause hardening over time, no "mystery" ingredients, just food safe mineral oil.

Instead of mineral oil, if you want something that will dry and harden a bit as you continue applications, you can use walnut oil. 

The benefit of these oils is they're food safe and they won't go rancid. Vegetable oils will look and work fine at first, but will ultimately turn rancid. Other oils are not food safe and could be very unhealthy if they were to leach from your counters into the food you are preparing. Sticking with mineral or walnut oil is the best option as you condition your counters immediately after install.

The idea here is the oil's ability to be repeatedly applied to the surface, allowed to penetrate and be absorbed into the porous wood, and ultimately any excess can be wiped away. Each successive application recharges the surface of the counter top, making it resistant to absorbing anything you don't want to soak in.

Though we're using mineral oil thus far, we're considering a switch to walnut oil since it self-polymerizes and dries over time, where the mineral oil stays wet and is wiped off.

You're probably thinking, "Ok, that's great, mineral oil...then what? How do I apply it? How much? When? Just once, or how often?" We had those exact same questions, but I think we found a really great answer.

Here's a good rule of thumb to treating counter tops that we've been sticking to. After you install your counters, make sure you get everything sanded and looking the way you want, then start with your oil. Apply your oil:

• Once per day for the first week.
• Once per week for the first month.
• Once per month for the life of the counters.

That's it, it's that simple.

UPDATE

In addition to plain old mineral oil we've started using Howard Butcher Block Conditioner, which is a mineral oil and beeswax combination. It's worked very well in the nearly two years we've been using it and it's something we're very glad we switched to. You can read more about it in our blog post on Howard Butcher Block Conditioner.

When you apply it, use a rag and pour a generous amount of oil directly on the counter. Then begin wiping the oil around the counter with your rag.

At first your rag will begin absorbing a lot of the oil until it becomes essentially saturated, then it will begin spreading it nicely over the surface of the counter. Remember, you're trying to reach this similar level of absorption with your counter as you quickly achieved with your rag.

After we applied the oil, we actually placed our rag in a plastic ziplock bag so we can use it each time we oil. This way you aren't wasting all of that oil that soaked into the rag.

After allowing the oil to sit and absorb for at least 8-10 hours (we apply the oil before going to sleep), wipe the surface clean with another rag. Each time you apply the oil, you'll notice less and less is actually absorbed. This tells you it's working.

When you oil, your counters will begin to take on a much richer, and much deeper color as the pores of the wood drink in the oil, replenishing the dried out fibers.

After the first week of oiling your counters, drop a bit of water on the surface and watch as it beads and doesn't immediately soak into the material. This shows you that what you've done is working.

Where Do You Buy It?

Well, you can buy it at a lot of different places. The links above show you a few options on Amazon.com, but it's available all over the place at specialty and non-specialty stores alike.

We actually purchased the first mineral oil we used from Walgreens. The funny thing about mineral oil is that it's a natural laxative, which means purchasing a large supply might result in a raised eyebrow or two from an indiscreet cashier. It's up to you of you feel the need to let the cashier know that you just have new butcher block counters. I suppose buying a large supply also means you'll always have what you need on hand in case you're ever in an...ahem...bind. (The 12 year old boy in me simply can't resist a good poop joke.)

We've also found the same items in our local Ace Hardware for a few dollars less than at Walgreen's (but not as cheap as Amazon). Maybe we could do all of our pharmacy shopping at Ace Hardware from now on?

No matter where you buy it, the most important item will be clearly marked somewhere on the label and will say something along the lines of "Food Safe" or "Safe for Ingestion".

What About Staining and Polyurethane?

When we were first starting to look into finishing the counters we initially thought we may want to stain them a darker color. Since we're familiar with the good old "stain and poly" approach to wood finishing that we've used on our floors and furniture, we started to look into that.

While the counters are absolutely wood, and can absolutely be stained and covered with urethane, the question is if it's the right thing to do given how we would be using the counters. Sure the polyurethane surface coverings state they are safe for food contact, but what happens if it flakes off and ends up in your food, is that okay? The answer, I'm really not sure. And rather than leaving it to chance, we opted to leave the counters in their natural state and simply apply oil. If you wanted to stain the wood, but not apply a polyurethane or shellac cover, that's not an advisable option. The stain itself could seep out of the counter and into your food, causing the taste to go south and possibly end up with very toxic food. Notice the can of stain has emergency instructions in the event the contents are swallowed.

I hope this blog post is helpful, informative, and will give you more confidence in how you might treat butcher block counters. We've done a lot of research, but by no means is this meant as a comprehensive guide to butcher blocks. After all, we're still learning as we go, and we're always looking for more information.

Do you have butcher block counters or do you know someone with counters? How have you gone about finishing and treating your counters? I know some people swear by products they tend to use, and I'd love to get the input from all of the different owners.  

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We're very happy to announce the winner of our Reader Reward for a $100 Father's Day gift card to The Home Depot. Congratulations to ashley, a reader from Cleveland, who'll be celebrating Father's Day with a trip to see the Indians play. I can't think of anything much better for Father's Day. We hope she'll stop back and share the useful project(s) this great Father's Day gift card assisted with!

Thanks to everyone for entering, and sharing all of your plans. We enjoyed reading what the weekend has in store.

It's reader reward time again! In honor of Father's Day we're giving one of our lucky readers a $100 gift card to The Home Depot. 

If you remember, we did a similar reader reward about a month ago for Mother's Day. We absolutely loved hearing all of your plans on how you planned to celebrate the day. Though Mother's Day is an extremely important event to celebrate, we obviously can't leave all of the DIY Dads out of the mix on their important day. So we want to hear about all of the cool and extremely manly events you have planned.

Are you taking in a baseball game? Maybe grilling out? Or perhaps you'll put on your tool belts and work on a few house projects? (I think that's how Lulu will be celebrating with me). 

No matter your plans, we're hoping to jump start your Father's Day celebration with this Reader Reward gift card giveaway. 

Much like they did for Mother's day, The Home Depot wants to make your Father's Day celebrations a little easier. The Home Depot gives Dads the opportunity to use these gift cards to earn their “man card” with Lithium Ion power tools, tool kits, grills or sheds. They are perfect for a DIY Dad.

This week we're giving one lucky reader the chance to treat your Dad (or a special Dad in your life) to a shopping spree to help him earn his "man card." Here's how you can enter to win:

• PRIZE: A $100 gift card to The Home Depot
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Tuesday, June 12th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Wednesday, June 13th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The Home Depot gift card can be used toward the purchase of merchandise at homedepot.com and any of The Home Depot stores.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “DAD YOU RULE!”, and tell us a little bit about your plans for celebrating this Father's Day. (One entry per household.) We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to residents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Add a personal touch to any special occasion with The Home Depot gift cards. Choose from dozens of unique designs or customize one online with your own photo and message.

If you'd like more information on purchasing a gift card you can find it at the following links.

• The Home Depot Gift Cards Store
• The Home Depot on Facebook
• The Home Depot on Twitter

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details.

The Home Depot Disclosure Statement

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as us to help promote their gift cards. As part of this promotion, I received a gift card to share with my readers. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.The winner of this giveaway will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

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We're very happy to announce the winner of our Reader Reward for a $100 Mother's Day gift card to The Home Depot. Congratulations to Antonella @ LoveYourHome, a Canadian reader. We hope she'll stop back and share the useful project(s) this great Mother's Day gift card assisted with!

Thanks to everyone for entering, and keep your eyes open for a similar Father's Day celebration in the coming weeks.

We're giving one of our lucky readers a $100 gift card to The Home Depot, but more on that in a minute.

Is it just me, or is anyone else in total disbelief that it's May already?! The days and weeks seem like they're screaming by, but you have to be sure to take a moment to remember that the month of May brings a very special holiday -- Mother's Day. This year my parents are going to be in town over Mother's Day weekend, and I feel very fortunate to be able to spend Mother's Day with my mom this year. In honor of the day, I have a few special surprises up my sleeve for her visit, but I don't have a lot of time to plan, so I'd better get my act in gear.

Over the last several weeks we've been working on our outdoor area and getting it in shape for guests. This is as much for our own benefit as it is for the people we have visiting because we really love entertaining friends and family in the backyard. The work we've been doing is actually one small part of what we're trying to accomplish before the Mother's Day weekend.  

What we've been doing involves everything from planting the herb and vegetable garden, to simple cleanup around the yard. A couple weekend ago Alex and our friend Colin actually handled the dreaded task of cleaning out the stinky pond.

The pond, though only 50 gallons, accumulates so much junk during the winter that it tends to look pretty full of sludge and awfulness come spring. What's worse? It smells far worse than it looks. So each year he puts on some rubber gloves and clears the murky waters in exchange for some fresh and sparkling pond water.

Beyond the pond we have planting and mulching to do before everything is in shape. Though one of our garden areas has come back quite nicely this year, the other one needs quite a bit of attention in the way of new flowers and plants, but this is appropriate for the day that's approaching. Isn't it just fitting that flowers and freshly planted gardens are so often associated with Mother's day? We hope the work we've completed and will complete in the next week will give my mom a smile on Mother's Day if we have a relaxing meal or drink in our backyard.  

There's a little glimpse into some of our Mother's Day plans, but in hopes of jump starting your Mother's Day gift planning, we're doing a little Reader Reward gift card giveaway. 

Thanks to our friends at The Home Depot, Mother's Day gift shopping just got a little easier. The Home Depot is planting ideas for Mother’s Day this spring with Mother's Day inspired gift cards that moms can use to create their dream garden, flower bed, outdoor living space, or really anything The Home Depot has to offer. These gift cards are great gift options for just about any mom, they make gift-giving fast and easy, and are the perfect last-minute gift for that hard to shop for person in your life.

This week we're giving one lucky reader the chance to treat your mom (or a special mom in your life) to a shopping spree to spruce up her home and garden this year. Here's how you can enter to win:

• PRIZE: A $100 gift card to The Home Depot
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Monday, May 7th at 11:59pm EST.
• AND THE WINNER IS: One lucky winner will be chosen by random.org and announced on Tuesday, May 8th, so be sure to come back then to see if you're the winner.
• PRIZE REDEEMABLE: The Home Depot gift card can be used toward the purchase of merchandise at homedepot.com and any of The Home Depot stores.
• TO ENTER: Comment on this post with the words “I LOVE YOU MOM!”, and tell us a little bit about your plans for celebrating this Mother's Day. (One entry per household.) We'd also love it if you would "like" us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter, but that's not mandatory. 
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: This Reader Reward is open to residents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Add a personal touch to any special occasion with The Home Depot gift cards. Choose from dozens of unique designs or customize one online with your own photo and message.

If you'd like more information on purchasing a gift card you can find it at the following links.

• The Home Depot Gift Cards Store
• The Home Depot on Facebook
• The Home Depot on Twitter

Please see our complete terms & conditions page for more details.

The Home Depot Disclosure Statement

The Home Depot partnered with bloggers such as us to help promote their gift cards. As part of this promotion, I received a gift card to share with my readers. They did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products. The Home Depot believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. The Home Depot’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.The winner of this giveaway will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.

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Here's the backstory. Alex's maternal grandmother passed away in 2000 while we were in college. In her passing, she left a small five stone gold mother's ring to my mother-in-law as one of the few items in her estate. My mother-in-law has no real interest in or attachment to jewelry (crazy!), and despite inheriting this piece knew she would never wear it. At one point she actually suggested to Alex that he try to sell it on eBay. Alex knew we were unlikely to get anything substantial for the ring, and anyone purchasing it would probably just buy it for the single diamond that was set as one of the five stones. 

If you're not familiar with this sort of ring, each stone in the setting represents the birth stone of each child in the family. Alex's mother is one of five, and I believe the sixth stone represents his grandmother's birth stone.

Around the time we began looking at engagement rings back in 2001, Alex's mom generously offered Alex his grandmother's "mother's ring". Back when I learned she might sell it on eBay, I was shocked, so the fact it was given to Alex was a huge relief to me, although it wasn't my style in the least bit. Rather than simply let it sit, I suggested that maybe we could have the diamond in the mother's ring reset as part of my future engagement ring.

Alex loved the idea, and built my engagement ring around this .40 carat stone. He carefully researched and purchased a new center stone and a matching sidetone (based on the mother's ring appraisal information) to create a beautiful, three stone engagement ring. The only problem? When he took the three stones to a jeweler to have them set in a ring, the jeweler took one look at the heirloom stone and pointed out that the appraisal on Alex's grandmother's diamond was incorrect in both the size and color of the stone. He showed Alex that setting this lower quality stone in the new engagement ring with two nicer stones would only highlight the "poor" stone, and would throw the whole ring off. Although he was rather dejected, Alex decided to instead purchase a new third stone for my engagement ring. Undeterred from making his grandmother's stone into something more special, he decided to have his grandmother's stone made into a necklace which was his gift to me on our wedding day. 

The day of our wedding Alex presented me with this lovely bezel set diamond necklace, passed down from his grandmother. To say I loved this necklace does not do it justice. I've worn it nearly every day for the last ten years, and each time I looked at it in the mirror, or touched it while it was hanging around my neck, I was reminded of the memories of our beautiful wedding and how lucky I am to have such a wonderful man in my life. Over the years, this necklace has become a part of me, and I routinely check it to ensure it's still around my neck, that the clasp hasn't shifted forward, and that the diamond is in place.

This past weekend we were invited to spend two nights with our friend and neighbor at her home on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We had a wonderful homemade dinner on Friday night of fresh local crab cakes, great wine, and the fantastic company of she and her boyfriend. Saturday we ate a leisurely breakfast and decided that the three of us would spend the day antique shopping in and around St. Michael's, MD, and other quaint local towns. As I prepared to leave, I gave one final glance in the bathroom mirror, straightened my diamond necklace, and I was on my way. 

We had a great day, to say the least. We hit more than 10 antique stores, went to lunch, explored several towns, traipsed along country roads to check out local sites, and more. Tired from the busy day, I came home and took a fantastic weekend nap and woke to get ready for dinner. The problem was, this time when I looked into the mirror, my necklace was there but was vacant and no longer sparking. The diamond that had been part of Alex's grandmother's ring, the stone he had specially turned into a wedding day gift, the one true connection I had to Alex's grandmother who I never had the chance to meet was absent from its permanent setting. I noticed it immediately as it's something I always check...but the problem was that it had been hours and multiple towns since I had last seen it. 

I yelled for Alex to come upstairs and immediately burst into tears. We spent hours looking for it -- in the car, in my purse, in the house, in the gravel driveway. I crawled around the house like an infant, on all fours, crying and combing the rugs as I hoped for the necessary stroke of luck that would allow one of us to find the missing bauble. Despite stumbling on a few pieces of glitter that falsely elevated my hopes, I came up empty handed.

When I posted the news on Facebook this weekend, a college friend asked if it was insured, and pointed out I could use the money to get something new. True, perhaps, but I'm not interested in something new, I'm interesting in this small and somewhat insignificant jewel that I've attached a tremendous amount of personal importance to. Yes, the necklace is insured under our homeowner's policy, but given the quality and size of the stone, it's probably not worth paying the deductible to "replace" it. But that is certainly not the point. 

I'm angry at myself for not having the setting checked more regularly. To say I'm devastated would be an understatement. I feel a profound sense of loss. I feel like I'm mourning a part of our family history that I can never regain. I can't one day pass this family heirloom down to someone else in our family that would love and appreciate it the way I have. 

And so here I am -- slowly having to come to terms with the fact that it's gone forever. I suppose I would rather have enjoyed it everyday for ten years, than to keep it stashed away in a safe deposit box somewhere, never to see the light of day or to be a part of my life. I will have the memories I created while I was wearing it forever, but this bare feeling around my neck is sure is going to take some getting used to. I find myself, out of habit, reaching up to ensure its safety, only to be reminded of its tragic fate.  

We've called around to the various places we stopped on the fateful day, leaving pleading and probably downright odd messages on the answering machines in the off chance the stone is found. I highly doubt we'll ever see it again, but I'd really love to be surprised. If it's meant to be, the stone will somehow make its way back into my life.

Update (4/12/2012): Our friend was kind enough to vacuum her home the day we left, and then painfully sifted through the debris in her vacuum bag. We were deliriously cautiously optimistic when she called to let us know she found what appeared to be my diamond in her vacuum! We studied the photo she sent to us and held our breath for nearly a week until she returned to Alexandria. Sadly, upon closer inspection the diamond appeared to be more of a crystal, and was too small for the setting. :-(

Have you had to deal with the loss of a family heirloom or treasure, whether by theft, fire, natural disaster, or just plain bad luck? Or, on a happier note, did you find something that you were sure was lost forever? I'd love to hear all about it, if only to make me feel like I'm not alone or like I have a little bit of hope. 

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