Can I Get A {Little} Light in Here?

As I was scrolling through my 101 list the other day, I realized I hadn't blogged about something that I've had checked off the list for a few weeks now. {oops}

It seems a constant struggle for our guests to find the light switch in our half bath downstairs. I had the bright idea (ha, ha - get it? "Bright" idea...no? Ok...) to swap out the existing switch for a motion detecting switch.

The Boy nixed that idea because of Ben's habit of visiting the half bath at least twice daily. He's a very weird cat.

But anyway, The Boy feared that Ben's constant visiting might mean that our power-saving motion detector light would be on more than it was off. Instead, I purchased a lighted light switch.

When my parents came to visit us at Thanksgiving, I asked my dad to help me change the light switch. He's a genius with all things electronic. Me? Not so much.

Here's where we started:

We removed the switch plate and stored it (and the accompanying screws) safely out of the way. Then I switched off the breaker for the half bath's electricity, just to be safe.

And judging from my dad's comments about the thickness and stiffness of the wires (something along the lines of "Hmmm...there's an awful lot of current that runs through these. More than you'd expect."), I was both glad we'd shut off the electricity and glad I'd asked my dad for help with the project.

It took quite a bit of pulling and tugging, wrapping and shoving to get the new switch on because of those pesky super-thick copper wires. It also involved a good bit of flashlight and yoga pose holding to get enough ambient light in that oh-so-dark room for my dad to see what he was doing.

Bless him.

Anyway - here's our new switch:

Apologies for the blur...I must have been unstable that day.
No comments about my instability please.

Even nicer when the room is dark:

But, ironically, it's still hard for guests to find that switch because they look for the switch on the wrong side of the door frame when entering. We've finally figured out that's because of the way the door opens from the frame. Bonus points to my very-smart mom for that realization!

I'm not changing the door, so the lighted switch and momentary fumbling are here to stay.

But here's the bigger question: will I actually ever change a light switch on my own or will I have to find a way to bribe my dad to come for another visit?!?