A lot of people know I started OmniTI 10 years ago and many ask, "how did you do that without investiment?" The answer is always the same: "sweat... and several ulcers." Recently, I reminded myself of how gratifying sweat investment can be.

Five years ago, Lisa and I moved from Germantown, MD to Laurel, MD. We moved into the house in which I grew up. So, there is a lot of nostalgia as well as age. We're not talking about the "100 years old" age, but rather the "20 years old" type that results in the rather long schedule of replacements (like roof, kitchen, windows, etc.). We renovated the kitchen soon after moving in, and soon after made the sun room on the back of the house and integral edition. Both of those things we lived through, but did not do ourselves.

Landscaping, on the other hand, is something that Lisa and I are much more comfortable tackling ourselves because no matter how big of a mess we make, we can always walk away from it at the end of the day and go inside to peace and order (as much as one can get with three little girls in the house).

I am notorious for taking a rather simple project and slightly complicating it. I look at it as taking the time to make sure that the proposed effort will truly be worthwhile. I'm pretty sure Lisa thinks it is a mental disorder.

The desire: a chimenea.