Oh boy ... that's definitely a loaded question, but thank heavens my husband doesn't read these forums! I'd had it all planned out (the shed, that is), but it was not cost effective. Oh all right - $2000.00 IS a bit ridiculous, I suppose. We modified the design and took a few shortcuts to significantly drop the cost, got a few things from friends ("free" works for me!), and ended up w/ a really cool shed, inside & out. It's large enough to hold all of my garden tools/accessories/books/etc. Plenty of space to move around, lots of counter space for various tasks ... I actually spend quite a bit of time out there on the weekends, even in cold temps (propane heater). BUT ... the number one thing that I would do different is the roof. While corrugated tin LOOKS absolutely fantastic, rustic, etc., it doesn't hold heat worth a darn! Of course, I can't possibly say anything about it at this point - the shed is built, and I'M the idiot that fell in love w/ the overall look of a tin roof! *heavy sigh* Guess I shot myself in the foot, so to speak!

I did open the jugs up that had not sprouted from 12/30 and the soil seems moist when you feel it in your fingers. I took an exacto knife and cut a few slits near the bottom of the jugs, used the same knife and lightly raked over the seeds to give them more contact with the soil...taped them back up again. I'll give them another week, if nothing starts by then, I'll just sow more. I looked back on my Dave's garden diary/blog where I've been keeping notes, and I was using up some MG moisture control potting mix at that time. I had purchased it last Summer. I have more seeds of all I put out in those jugs..chalk it up for experience..we all know gardening is all trial and error sometimes. Thank You all for your advice.

We live in South FL, In previous homes we had the textured concrete & pavers. They both needed pressure washing after time. We are building another pool now and decided to go with pavers, no staining, not slippery for kids, not 100% crazy about it but we Are going with it.

I would have used a different builder. The majority of our issues are because we were locked into the builder we used. I would have made my living room 2-3" narrower and my hallway 2-3" wider like they were supposed to do. By the time I realized it, the framing was already up so instead of my hallway being 42" wide it's only 39" wide. (builder and draftsman issue) I would have put the washer/dryer at the end of the hallway and the linen closet and broom closet where the washer/dryer is. (That is where I originally had it but got talked out of it because people suggested I'd hear the noise when sleeping, except I never run the machines when sleeping!) Instead of french doors upstairs onto the balcony, i would have used a single glass door with a wide sidelight instead. (My reasoning now after it's in is that it would be safer in terms of hurricanes) I would have put the prep sink where the trash pull out is and the trash pull out where the prep sink is so the trash is right next to where I prep. (If I had done that, it would be right next to me when I prep. Small problem though) Considering the 100's of decisions needed to be made, I think we did great with only having these few issues. There is nothing I didn't do that I regret not doing. I love, love, love my house and it works so well for us. We love the easy indoor/outdoor access and how easy it is to do just about anything. When a house lives well, you really don't notice it. It's only when a house lives poorly that you notice things.