Thanksgiving Day

Colton and I really enjoyed our first holiday in our new home yesterday. It was so nice to wake up to yummy smells and gobble up all of the goodies. He took one look at the turkey this year and decided it was "yucky" and didn't want to help cook it (hehe); however, he did help me 'make the eggs naked' and peeled them for me to make deviled eggs. I am so blessed to have my little man.

We never did get around to carving Colton's pumpkin for Halloween, so it became our centerpiece for Thanksgiving. Yes, it probably would have looked better stuffed completely full of flowers, but still turned out cute. I still think the room looks way better than the dark scary pine cave before picture where you can see the sticky nicotine on the walls (uggggh). If you disagree, I still have a few stinky planks out on the porch that I'll be happy to wrap up and give you for Christmas.

I am very thankful for all of my friends and family that have helped us get into this house. Love all of y'all!!!

PS - Ignore the 99,000 birds on my bookshelf - I'm working on that!

Lazy Me

Okay, so I still haven't posted any new pictures, but I must admit to being pretty laid back the last week. I just needed to catch up on some rest and spend some time with my favorite little turkey. Maybe I'll throw out a little decor for Thanksgiving and snap some pictures? Maybe...

Gobble Gobble! Can't wait til tomorrow...lots of goodies including the pure sugary goodness of BUTTermilk pie - my favorite sweet.

I've Moved In!!!

Yes, I am way freakin' behind on posting. It's taken me two weekends to move all of my stuff in, but I am in! Sorry for not updating...will try to get my act together and post some pictures this weekend!

Day 162 - Coat 3 of Poly

Boy, am I tired tonight! We got up early for Colton's soap box race for Boy Scouts. Are you asking if he won? Well, of course he did, silly. With the racing genes he inherited from his mama and maybe a few from his daddy, he's a born rubber-burner.

I scuffed the floors and put the third coat of poly on the floors today. I did see alot of tiny bubbles in the floor today that bothered me, but it is what it is. They are still gorgeous and I'm probably the only one that will really notice them. I'm posting some before pictures as well as the after pictures so you can get the full effect of the change. These pictures were taken after the second coat of poly had dried. I am so pleased with the transformation from dark pine cave to shiny shiny goodness and light. Again...ignore the baseboards as that will be a project one night next week! And maybe one day in my fantasy world, the light fixture will get re-hung. Note - the furniture in the before pictures is not mine as I took those photos when I was looking at the house. The first picture reminds me of a horror film...so dark and I can picture someone tied to that chair getting tortured - that's how scary the before is.

Day 161 - PJs

Yay...costume contest at work today, so we decided to be comfy and come in our jammies. Aren't you jealous?

From left to right: Tobi, Tess, me and Amber

Day 160 - Shiny Shiny Goodness

I couldn't sleep so I stopped by the house before work and my floors are...well, they are stunning. They are absolutely everything I wanted them to be. Whew...breathe out. I did take some pictures and promptly left my camera at the house, but I did snap this one with my cell. It's pretty grainy/blurry, so I promise to get pictures posted ASAP!

Day 159 - 2nd Coat of Poly

Okay, first of all, I think I got overzealous on buying the poly. I bought seven cans and even after the second coat tonight, I had barely dipped into the third can. It didn't take near as much tonight, but man it was tough seeing where to apply it. It's already shiny and it was super hard to see where you would stop and start again. Tess stopped by to loan me her vacuum so I could clean the floors before I started. She of course, stayed and helped me poly, so by 9:30, we were done. I have to say...the floors look pretty awesome.

Being the cloud of negativity that I am, I am worried about the second coat of poly. I've read that it's the coat that may give you trouble - not wanting to adhere to the first coat. I sure hope I scuffed the floors enough...I'll find out tomorrow!

Day 158

I scuffed the floors tonight....at least I hope I did. The guy at the store gave me these big things that looked like giant ScotchBrite pads. I really expected to see alot of sanding dust and some dullness on the wood, but for the most part, it didn't seem to change anything. Which has me worried...hope he is right.

On the bright side, I was worried that I might see alot of trash in the floors. As I was apply the poly on Saturday, I kept thinking I was seeing some trash, but I think what I was seeing was the poly raising the grain of the wood. I only found three bristles from the brush I used to apply it and one of my hairs. I tried to sand them off and it took some of the stain off, so I had to dab some back on. Hope it looks okay.

Tomorrow the second coat of poly will go on...yay!

Day 157

Whew! My floors look great! I was worried after yesterday, but they really look so shiny even with just the one coat of poly on them. I picked up a sanding pole and will scuff them tomorrow evening to prepare them for the second coat.

PS - Forgot my camera...darn it!

Day 156

I couldn't sleep last night wondering how the floors were going to turn out. I went over first thing this morning and about had a heart attack. I saw what I thought was tons of "milky" spots on the floors. It was hard to tell since I couldn't walk in there on it & still don't have that light fixture hung...it was scary. I had read stories about water based poly turning milky, but oil based is not supposed to and that's what I used.

Since there was really nothing I could do about it, I left. I was going to clean in the den, but the fumes were so strong from the poly, it made my head hurt...or maybe that was from worrying about the floors.

I stopped back by tonight and I think it's going to be okay. I believe what I thought was "milky" spots, was just where the poly had dried more or less. We'll see...

Day 155

Damn, I am tired tonight! This morning, I ran to pick up the rest of my polyurethane today, then to the house. I started by opening the wood filler. There are about 3 places or quite honestly holes in the floor in the living area that needed filled. Well, can I just say? I made the biggest mess with that stuff. It was hard to manipulate and then I kept dropping it and it dries FAST!

I moved on to brushing the poly on and it seemed to go pretty good. It was easy - just tedious. It was hard to see what I had brushed onto that dark stain, so I had to keep laying down and looking at the floor at the right angle to check for dry spots. I did wear the kneepads alot, but would take them off for a while, because the straps kept chapping the back of my legs.

I finished about 9:00 PM tonight and I'm exhausted. I went outside to sit for a while...really nice tonight. It sounds like I'm being bombed everytime the wind blows because about twenty acorns fall off the trees and hit the roof. I keep waiting for one to pop me in the top of my head...LOL!

Day 154 - Cleaning out the Ditch!

My plans were to clean the floors thoroughly this evening to get them ready for the poly tomorrow. Of course, nothing went as planned. I got stuck in traffic taking Colton to his dad's and got behind schedule. On the way home, my friend Ronnie called and wanted to stop by and see my progress. I was outside and saw him come up the street and turn into my ditch. Yep...my driveway is a pain! I've had about five to six people hit the ditch, but they've all been fortunate enough to drive back out. Ronnie's Trans Am wasn't so lucky...and y'all know I'm a little partial to LT1s. I was just sick. It is a really sharp turn and needs another tile put in place. Fortunately, Ronnie has some good friend with a truck that pulled him right out and only had minor damage to the front fender.

By the time that was done and we grabbed some late dinner, my head was busting, so I just went home.

PS - I promised Ronnie I wouldn't post this picture on FaceBook, but I am posting it here...tehe!

Day 153 - Day Off

Day 152

Colton was sick last night, so I called into work. By lunchtime, he was eating chocolate ice cream and feeling much better. ;-)

We drove over to the house about 4 to check on the floors which are looking so sweet. As we were leaving, the bathroom guy stopped by to see when he could get in there to finish. He hooked up the toilet supply line (which I found) and the toilet filled up. It looked really cloudy, so I had him check it and the water is hot. Now when I say my ass is hot, I don't mean like on the toilet, so he'll be back to fix that along with the shower (hot and cold are backwards) tomorrow.

Days 150 & 151

I only stopped by the house each evening to peek at the floors...they are dry! Yay for me!

Day 149 - Staining Day 2

Tess (have I said how awesome she is lately) came over after work and we knocked out the living area in a couple of hours tonight!

And woe, pain & misery...my knees are a wreck! Bruised, but mostly just chapped as hell!

Anyway, the floors are looking good! Now just to wait on them to dry...

Day 148 - Staining

I dragged Colton over to the house this morning to try and get this party started! Staining party that is...

I made a trip to Lowe's this morning to pick up a five gallon bucket to mix the stain in. I had picked up two more gallons of stain at lunch Friday and had half a gallon left from the previous clusterstaining. I started out by using the lamb's wool applicators on the end of the poles; however, I found it easier to just stay in the floor and ended up using the smaller applicators with handles. The first swipe I made almost caused me to have a panic attack (yeah, I'm dramatic). Seeing the floor go black made me crazy! Once I took the cloths and started wiping it down, I could see the true color of the stain and I felt much MUCH better (breath, breath, breath). I started in the guest bedroom, worked my way through my room and into Colton's room. While it seemed pretty easy at first, my knees were hurting pretty nicely after all three bedrooms (I didn't wear the knee pads). By the time I got into the hallway, I was having 'charlie horses' in my legs and Colton was begging to go home, so I stopped there. Overall, it probably took about four hours. Of course, that's not counting where I managed to spill a huge amount of stain in the living area before I even started. I cleaned it up as best I could and I'll look at it tomorrow to see if I need to sand that spot again or not (arrrgghhh).

I'm still nervous about the stain turning black tonight, so I've been Googling images to remind myself of why I like the dark stain. I love the floors at this link and I hope mine turn out as pretty. http://www.greenyourdecor.com/97/duro-design-ebony-bamboo-floors/

I'm guessing I will be paying for all that crawling around on my knees in the morning. I would never have made a good White House intern...

Day 147 - Birthday!

Happy birthday to my sweet seven year old little boy. I love my little fella deeply and I am so thankful for him every day. Every time this project gets out of hand - which is alot - I remind myself of why I'm doing this. I want to give Colton a home where we can make lots of sweet memories - and forget some of the bad ones we've experienced on the "minor" remodel...LOL!

My trusty sidekick Tess showed up today with cleaning tools in hand. I took the hand sander to the parts of the hall that I didn't finish and she brought a corner sander for the corners. We swept, dusted and vacuumed until everything was nice and clean. With the hole in the bag of the sander last weekend, it was pretty messy in there. We quit about 1 PM because it's party day for Colton!

Tomorrow the staining will start....again.

Days 145 & 146 - Off

Day 144

I didn't do anything after work, but the guy had stopped by to work on my bathroom. He sealed the tile, set the toilet and finished up the overhead light/fan fixture; however, he couldn't hook up the toilet or sink. Why? Because I took a bag of stuff back to Lowe's that evidently had the supply lines in it. Sigh...thought it was extra stuff. DARN IT!!!

Days 142 & 143 - Nights Off

Day 141

Whew - completely sore and miserable! Tess called and I can't repeat what we said, but we are sore!

I stopped by the house today about 3:00 and the sander was sitting in the middle of the floor partially dismantled. Lori had told Scott of my woes and he came to the rescue. He had me pick up some washers to level out the sander and even took the bag and sewed it up. Sshhh...he doesn't want his Martha Stewart skills to get out! Three of the four pads made contact, so I finished up what I could, then loaded the sander up. Scott also started cutting in at the ceiling in Colton's room and put Lori to work with the hand sander in Colton's closet. I am very grateful for their help - again!

Tired tonight....

Day 140

It was about 10:30 before I rounded up a truck today - truthfully, Tess rounded it up. We went and got a floor sander and went to work. Unfortunately, it was the only sander left which should have been a sign. Only two of the four pads were making contact with the floor. There was no way to adjust it - it was just warped, so we "made do". Tess ran the floor sander and I went to work on the edges and corners with the hand sander. At some point, Tess found a hole in the bag on the U-Sand which explained why we had so much more dust than last time. I noticed that the bag was dirty when I rented it, but didn't think about it having a hole in it. We tried duct tape, but it kept coming off. We worked hard, but by 7:00 PM, only one pad was making contact and it didn't have enough pressure on it to sand (what a POS), so we called it quits. The rental place closes at 12:30 on Saturdays and is closed Sundays, so I am very frustrated tonight. Other help that had promised to show up also let me down, so I really thought about setting the house on fire with the stupid sander in it. Tired and cranky I am...and that's the nice way of putting it.

Days 135 through 139 - Nothingness

Sorry...I did nothing at the house this week. Just had too much stuff going on!

Day 134

BOOYAH! My floors are practically dry! I could even run my hands on the spots that are still blackish and no stain came off on them.

Of course, that's all I did today. Tess and I are both so sore today after skating around on the tarry surface while cleaning - it was some exercise! I should have been over there doing come clean up on the base boards and walls to work this soreness out, but I just didn't. I was hoping for another nice day like yesterday, but it was butt-freezing cold today!

Day 133

I got up early this morning. I didn't sleep good because I was anxious to see how today would go. Before I fell asleep last night, I remember thinking that I needed to get some more batteries for my camera so I guess it prompted a crazy dream. I dreamed that I found pictures of my floors before I sanded them and they were already perfect, so I was even more upset at them being painted black! And then I forgot to get more batteries this morning; however, I really don't care because I do not want any reminders of how terrible they looked!

I started with the lamb's wool applicators, but all they did was spread the stain around after the paint thinner did it's thing. So, back to square one - hands and knees. Tess had volunteered to help me. Oh, she is truly my BFF all the way. I've promised half of my lottery winnings to her and she to me if she wins; however, I think she just wants to pay me off to get lost because I always drag her in on all of my lovely projects...LOL! I called her and she stopped and bought more rags, sponges and paint thinner. I had picked up some deck brushes that screwed onto the end of the poles. First, we poured the paint thinner directly on the floor. Next, we took the deck brushes and scrubbed it around. Then, we took the sponges to try and soak up as much stain as possible and squeeze it out in buckets. Last, we would take the rags to wipe everything up. Steps three and four were on our hands and knees and it was messy to say the least. We had on gloves, but it still got everywhere and we were filthy by the time we finished. Speaking of filthy, so was our language. The more we did, the madder we got! It was also impossible not to get the paint thinner and stain on the baseboards and it even splashed onto the wall in a few places. With every little splatter, my heart just kinda broke at all the hard work I put into painting those over the last couple of months. It's a real shame, but I'll use this week to try and clean up the baseboards, repaint them and touch up the walls. You would go to get up out of the floor and put a hand up against the wall or lay your pole up against the wall - both of which were black from the stain. The good news is that by 4:00 PM, we got it done. There were still lots of places in the floor that looked pretty black, but they simply looked wet instead of oily with stain. I set up fans and left. I stopped back by about 9:00 PM tonight and I could actually walk on the floor - it's actually drying!

My hand and arm are on fire tonight and Tess's fingers are killing her. With her having RA, I feel really bad for her - she's always so willing to help me, but she really pays the price. I need to go buy a lottery ticket...love you BFF!

Day 132

Well, 'little childrens', I had a pro look at the floors. He said they might be dry IN A FEW MONTHS! He was in shock that the stain was rolled on instead of brushed on and I thought he would pee his pants when told that it wasn't wiped down either.

I've been through the cycle of anger, disbelief and just plain sadness that this much damage was done, but it's time to put my big girl panties on (yeah, really big)and just get the stuff up!

The pro suggested trying some lamb's wool stain applicators which screw (haha - I said screw) onto the end of a pole (hehe - I said pole) which will be easier than getting down on my hands and knees (LMAO - down on my hands and knees). I'm going to start first thing tomorrow morning. If anyone needs a 'free high', feel free to stop by and huff the paint thinner fumes with me.

Days 128, 129, 130 & 131

The only thing I've done these last four days is stop by and look at my never-going-to-dry floors. Boohoo...

Day 127

It's still raining here, so I set up some fans today hoping that they will help the floors dry out. The only place in the house they are dry are where Tess and I took the paint thinner and wiped the stain down in my bedroom. I'm beginning to wonder if I should go ahead and do that to the rest of the house. Geez - it will be a pain! I did take the hand sander to a spot in the dry area just to see if the stain came up easily. Fortunately, it did which means the floor sanding will go fast.

Sigh....

Day 126

I got up this morning to watch Colton at the fishing tournament for Boy Scouts. We had fun, but with over one hundred scouts fishing at this little pond, plus parents and siblings, there was only about five people who caught any fish. Fortunately, I had done the "bad mommy" trick of getting Colton a trophy on Friday to give to him afterwards. My friend Christie runs our local trophy shop and she made him the cutest little blue (his fav color) trophy with 'Best Little Fisherman' engraved on it. Oh, I know...probably shouldn't have, but he was so determined that he would be catching 'buckets full of fish or a shark' and win.

I went to the house afterwards and the floors are still so damn wet. I just don't know if they will EVERY dry out! I had turned the air conditioner off a couple of days ago. I hoped to open up some windows this weekend to let the heat it, but of course, it started raining and foiled my plans. GRRRRR!

Day 125

Just posting to say the floors are STILL wet!

Day 124

I stopped by the house just to make sure it didn't spontaneously combust with all the fumes going on. Happily, it did not, but the floors are still wet.

Day 123

I stopped by the house to check on the floors. They are still wet, but no surprise there. The fumes are still so strong that I immediately left. I will probably take the next few days off since you really can't be inside very long without your head spinning.

Day 122 - CRASH & BURN

I didn't sleep last night worrying about my black floors, so I dropped Colton off at school and flew over to take a peek before work. Guess what? They were still black as coal. I felt kinda sick. I went on in to work & we decided I would go over at lunch and try to wipe them down. Well, darn it, the stain had dried just enough to be like tar - there was no wiping at this point. I called several places today and they laughed when I said we rolled the stain on. You always brush it on, then immediately wipe it down I was told - just as the instructions said.

After work, Tess and I went to the house with sponge mops, paint thinner and rubber gloves to try & get some of the stain up. Needless to say, it didn't work. The sponge mops lasted about sixty seconds and the rubber gloves about thirty minutes before the paint thinner and stain ate through them. In certain spots, I could see the true color that I had picked while in other spots we applied too much paint thinner. I called it quits. The pros tell me that with as much stain as we used by rolling it on, we will have to wait ten to twelve days before it dries. THEN...I can sand all over again. :-) At least this time, it will go easier since I don't have to get the poly off of the top.

At the end of the day, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but I chose to laugh. I know Rob felt bad, but I truly appreciate all of his hard work. I teased him about doing the "man thing" and not going by the directions. On the positive side, the fumes from the stain made us all giddy (especially Cathy AKA Sharpie-Marker-Lover), so we had lots of giggles applying it.

Live and learn, but read the DAMN directions! LOL!

Day 121

I took the sander back before work this morning. Rob helped me load it last night...dang, it's HEAVY!!!

On my lunch break, I ran the stain back to Home Depot; however, they didn't have anything else in stock that would work. I called around and found only one place in town that would sell the dark stain by the gallon. Everywhere else was by the quart or had to order it and I needed it today. This place actually mixed the stain there, so I had them brush some on an oak plank to make sure that I was happy with. It was yummy - dark and delicious!

After work, Rob and I headed over to the house to start staining. Jim and Cathy showed up along with Tobi. My friends are the absolute best!

Rob decided to roll the stain on while rest of us painted the edges; however, he said there was no need to wipe it down. I questioned this because I thought that you always wipe it down. Once he rolled it on, it was black. Not dark brown - BLACK!!! I read the can which said to wipe it down when you apply it and again before it dries, but he assured me it would soak in and turn the right color. We finished up about 10:30 and my floors still were black. I got out the brochure that came with the stain and it said the same thing as the can instructions - wipe down twice. I'm really uneasy...I do not like the black at all. It looks like someone painted them jet black. I won't lie...I'm worried! Surely, they will look better in the morning! Keeping my fingers crossed...

Day 120 - NAKED Floors!

Woohoo...at the end of the day, my floors were bare-ass naked! It was really neat to see how the pattern in them laid out without anything on them. Before, they were completely worn in areas while still having alot of finish in others. As usual, my camera batteries were dead, so I took a pic with my cell.

Rob was kind enough to pick up a hand sander and some knee pads. Raise your hand if you know what contractors call the knee pads...it's too naughty to post on here. tehe! I put it to work sanding around the edges of the floor, doorways and corners. He was smart enough to pick out a sander that took the same disc sanding pads as the floor sander, so I could use those discs as well.

Whew - stink! Ever once in a while, he or I would hit a spot and you could just smell the pet pee-pee in the floor. It was so totally gross - that smell just seem to cling to me. Uggghh.

I also painted a plank in Colton's closet with the stain and decided I didn't like it. It had too much red in it and looked nothing like the sample shown at the store. Also, once it dried, it did not have enough of a sheen to it to call it "gloss" by any means. I would not recommend the Polyshade other than just using it for staining only. I'll go tomorrow and swap it for something else.

Day 119

I hit the road bright and early this morning in Garry's truck to pick up the sander (thank you, Tess). I ran by my house to drop it off and that's literally what I did. The rental place had loaded it up for me, so I had no idea it was so dang heavy. I just about broke my back when I pulled it off the of the truck bed. BAM...it hit the ground. Just glad my feet were out of the way.

Rob showed up and went to work. Once he tested several different grits of sandpaper, I went back to get more of the heavy duty 20 grit since that really worked well. I rented a U-Sand which is advertised as dustless. I'll give it credit...it does suck up ninety percent of the dust. While I slaved away sweeping up the dust, Rob sanded and sanded and sanded. He quit around 6:00 PM. I know he was tired, but he got the guest bedroom and the entire living area sanded. I finished removing some painter's tape around the trim work and for the first time in three months, got to see my windows in the living area.

At some point, we ran to Home Depot and picked up some Polyshades which is supposed to be a stain and finish all-in-one. I love the dark stains, so I picked Bombay Mahogany. It's really dark and beautiful. Can't wait to see it!

Day 118

Wow...my ex-boss is coming to town from Washington. He called & wants to sand my floors! He must be a glutton for punishment, but that works for me! I called around today and the only place I could find here in town does not reserve them, so I'll have to get up bright & early Saturday morning to make sure I get one.

After work, I cleaned 954 square feet of house...the part with all the hardwood floors. Geez...I did NOT realize how much stuff had piled up in that part of the house. Odd and end things, but lots of small debris had to be moved or thrown out. Then, I crawled around on the floors ripping/cutting the plastic drop cloths off that have been there for over three months. It seemed to take FOREVER, but I finished late tonight and I'm excited about tomorrow!

Day 117

Well, no surprise here, but I took the night off. I did stop by the house and Scott was there. He was caulking the nine million cracks that are EVERYWHERE in that pine tongue and groove paneling. You couldn't see them until the wood was painted and then you can see them three miles away. It's amazing what a difference it makes...I'm very thankful for his help.

I hope to feel better and finish my checklist this weekend. I'm still feeling extra crappy...not sure if it was a virus or what. Yuk!

Day 116

Surprise - I took a night off!

Day 115

Yay! After work, Tess came over and put the first coat of paint on the trim in Colton's room. I cut painter's tape off of the entire house with the exception of the crown molding in the living/dining area. It took for freakin' EVER!!! I also untaped one of the front windows. It faces onto the front (screened-in) porch so no one can really see in. It's just really weird seeing the window again. They've all been taped up since mid-June!

Also, my painting just sucks. I never imagined I wouldn't be a good painter, but sheeeesh! Painter's tape is just almost worthless. Paint easily goes under it and I have a heck of alot of taping up to do, but I've decided to just live with it until later. I just want to get the floors done and move in.

Wow...I sound cranky. Guess I'm just tired...

Day 114

Ok, so my crappy feeling butt took another night off. I just could not make myself go over there tonight...give me a sad face sticker.

Day 113

Whew...felt like I had been drinking tequila for a week this morning (not that I've ever done that). I rolled outta bed around noon and finally made it to the house around 3:00. I worked til 8...I'm exhausted.

Day 112

Sigh...what a crappy week! I got up sick at 4 AM this morning. I finally went back to bed around 7 AM. I'm guessing I had some kind of virus? Dunno. I kicked my butt outta bed around noon and dragged myself over to the house feeling like sh!tsuper-duper. I worked until midnight and then crawled to the car and vaguely remember driving home and falling into bed.

Day 111

Gee, I won't bore you with the details, but I worked 'til midnight trying to get things done. I'm slowing checking off my list of items...

Day 110

Oh, guess what? I took another night off. Colton goes to his dad's this weekend, so we spent the evening together. Love my little fella...

Day 109

I took the night off!

Day 108 - CRASH!!!

Well, darn it. I dropped Colton off at school this morning & had to run by my house to pick up my make-up I had forgotten there. BLAM! I rear-ended another car. GRRR!!! I did knock the heck outta her, but the damage was cosmetic so she decided not to file a claim. Thank goodness.

I called into work & decided to just go work on the house. I worked until time to pick up Colton and then came back and worked til 8:00. Nothing exciting - lots of finishing work on painting.

I'm stiff and sore...

Signed,
Crash Gordon

Day 107 - Labor Day

Well, I've been putting it off, but I finally opened up the Kilz (original) again. Uggghhh...I swear my head started hurting the minute the top popped! I had a few areas that got missed when the house was sprayed and some areas where I thought I could 'free-hand' it that I needed to cover. I also made sure I taped up first - the prep work just takes so long. I worked 'til about 6:30 this evening and decided to call it a night.

I know the last week has been sketchy, but there's so many little things I try to get done each night. Everything is just getting the final touches - crown molding, touch-ups and trim. The big part of the painting is done with the exception of the den which will may end up waiting until after I move in.

I don't know where this weekend went! After not drying my hair this morning then leaning into paint several times today, I had a flashback to my big hair days, so I'm posting this link. This never gets old!

Day 106

I woke up with a little headache this morning, so I lallygagged in getting over to the house. Plus, it's just dang pretty outside. My the time I got there, the contractor had already been there for four hours and left. He put a coat of paint on some of my crown molding and caulked some more gigantic cracks in the wood here and there.

The house stays such a wreck. It seems like I rush in, do what I need to get done and rush home leaving a train wreck behind. I decided to do some very necessary cleaning today. I've noticed in the last week that I'm seeing a return of those creepy white spiders...maybe the cooler weather?

Day 105

I thought I would paint the trim in Colton's room today; however, I realized that I had never peeled the painter's tape off from last week from painting his walls....or was that the week before? Anyway, my stupid butt spent almost two hours carefully peeling and cutting the tape off of the walls. I knew better than to leave the tape on, but I guess I was too tired the night I painted to remember to take it off. I also painted the first coat on some of the windows in the living room along with the crown molding and baseboards that I bought at Lowe's on Thursday. The contractor said to go ahead and paint them and I'll touch them up once they are installed.

Wow...what a beautiful day. It was hard to stay inside!

Day 104 - Night Off

We took the night off! Happy Friday!

PS - I smell fall in the air!

Day 103

I made my trip to Lowe's this evening. I know...just little stuff each night, but my evenings are so limited. The contractor met me up there to make sure I got exactly what I needed. The inside of the bathroom and the outside new walls in the hall both needed new crown molding and baseboards since none of it was salvaged. Dillon got new wheels so I made him come haul my stuff at Lowe's. I dumped it back off at home & hurried home for homework and baths!

Day 102

Tess came over this evening and put a second coat of paint on the bottom of the living area (thank you BFF). I sat on my bootie making out my list for Lowe's and the contractor stopped by. He measured the bathroom and hall and added to my list...crown molding and more baseboards.

It was a rushed crazy night (as always)!

Day 101

The bathroom is starting to look like a real bathroom (finally). I'm going to post a picture, but no need for shades. It doesn't look so bright in this picture; however, I'm posting a second picture from the hallway where you can really see its sassiness! And a "brag" picture of my bargain mirror that will be hung tomorrow.

Day 100 - yes, 100!!!

I really have a hard time believing it has been a hundred days!

Tonight, I put the semi-gloss white on the bottom part of the dining room so now that whole room has its first coat. I also went ahead & put a coat of it on the bottom half of Colton's room. Scott came by to do some of the detail work that he does best and that's about all.

Unless you count the ghost that attacked my sister with a water hose today. She had stopped by to wash her truck. A few days ago, Mom moved the mantel that's been laying outside on top of my water house. Why? Cuz that's how my family does. Anyway, I guess it made a weak spot in the hose. When Lori was washing her car, she swore someone was walking around in the yard. It does sound that way because the squirrels are knocking down acorns constantly. She said all of the sudden, the hose jumped up into the air and just busted! LMAO! She about had a heart attack. I guess our ghost, Aunt Mary, just needed a laugh today....

I ran across this on another blog and just had to share. Vanilla Ice (who I still just think has way cool music) is doing a DIY show premiering on October 14th! I'll be watching. If there's a problem, Yo - I'll solve it.

Day 99

I took today off and just loafed! The only thing I did was polish the vanity top which shined up nicely; however, it's taken on a few new scratches from being the "catch-all" in the hallway. I tried not to look in my bathroom because the color still hurts my eyes. Sigh...

My sister had decorated my back porch and banned me from peeking, so once Colton came home, we celebrated with some yummy-good cookie cake (my favorite)!

Where did this weekend go?!

Day 98 - Purple Haze

I got up early this morning to run over and paint everything first thing. Hmmm...the bathroom paint (Sassy Lilac) seemed very bright going on, but I hoped it would tone down some when it dried. I only got one wall in the hall painted before I ran out of the 'llama' colored paint. I had forgotten that when I originally bought it, I only bought enough for the living area and hall, but then decided to use it in my bedroom. Darn it!

I ran home and cleaned up and me and Tess headed to Red Lobster. Oh, what yummy goodness they serve up! My boss had called last night and asked if I could pick up the bed he was giving me at 4, so I had called Tess and we decided to swing by Red Lobster. I had told Tess that the bed was upstairs and with our combined luck, we would probably knock a hole in the wall getting it down the stairs and get fired; however, she brought her new renter, Eliseo, with her, fed him some Red Lobster and he was sweet enough to help us. When we got to the boss man's house (after circling the neighborhood several times), he had actually already moved the bed into his garage. We loaded it up and he also threw in a TV - which is great. My nephew, Dillon, has been using my TV and he said that last week, it's making a high pitched squeal, so this worked out so perfect. We shoved everything in my den and then I got to work. I finished painting the hall walls and then worked myself into a giant pity party. This is the first birthday I've spent without Colton. I know...I'm such a big baby, but it's my party and I can cry if I want to. So, I took that energy and painted until 12:30 AM. I got the first coat of the semi-gloss white paint on the bottom of the living area walls. It is looking fine, baby!

What is not looking so fine, is my purple psychedelic haze bathroom. Heck, I don't know if I really picked that color last night in my giddiness or I handed the guy the wrong paint chip or if I was just smoking crack (you choose). Either way, it's so freaking BRIGHT!!! I just hope some black and white accessories will tone it down.

Day 97

This is Colton's weekend with his dad, so I dropped him off and headed to Lowe's. As much as I like being able to get alot done with him gone, I miss him so terribly when he's gone. I dropped him at his grandparents house and they always "force" a meal on me (love those folks), so by the time I got back to Cleveland, it was around 8:30. The contractor had told me that everything looked great and to go ahead and paint, so that was my plan.

My awesome friend Tobi gave me a Lowe's gift card for my birthday, so this trip was on her! :-) I was lucky enough to run into a dear friend at Lowe's and we gabbed until ten minutes before closing. We had celebrated our eighteenth birthdays together (which was only two years ago) and she is also in the process of remodeling a house. By the time we broke for oxygen, I was in a mad rush to get my bathroom paint as the store was closing in ten minutes. While the paint was mixing, I wandered down the mirror aisle where I had been lusting after this pretty sweet mirror marked $99, but I was too cheap/broke to buy. The original mirror that came out of my bathroom was this tiny little antique medicine cabinet...very small. Well, guess the freak what? The mirror was clearanced to $24.97! I lugged it into the buggy, grabbed some granite cleaner for the vanity top, grabbed my paint and went to the check-out (sh*t-eating grin in place). Of course, I also had a $10 off $50 coupon, so my total came to $52.05. I used my gift card and only paid $2.05 out of my pocket and the granite cleaner has a $2 mail-in-rebate. Then a second receipt printed for a $5 rebate on the paint, so I soooo came out ahead on this trip (for once). AWESOME!!!

I was so puffed out with pride over my awesomeness that I assured the clerk I could load my heavyazz mirror myself. I wheeled it out to the car. When I drug it off of the top of the buggy, the buggy went flying through the parking lot and there I was trying to hold onto the mirror so it wouldn't break. Fortunately, the buggy didn't hit anything and anyone that knows me knows that picking up my purse requires the strength of Hercules, so all was safe. Now fitting that huge mirror into a Honda Civic was another story. By the time I got it loaded into my car, employees were leaving and lights were going out. At one point, I thought I was either going to have to call someone to come haul it for me or strap it to the top of my car; however, I finally managed to shove it in and get all of the doors closed.

I was tired after all of that awesomeness, so I just went home and went to bed!

Day 96

I primed the sheetrock tonight with some cheap white flat paint. I just slapped the paint on there since its only primer and it went pretty quickly! With Colton back in school, it's really hard to get much done in the evenings and get home to Lori's with him having homework. Boy, first grade is certainly different than it used to be!

Day 95

I took the evening off, but the contractor came and sanded the sheetrock again. Everytime I walk into that part of the house, it's so strange to see walls...I had really gotten so use to the "open floor plan." Tomorrow, he wants me to prime everything so he can take another look at it and make sure it's perfectly smooth.

Day 94

The contractor came back today and put another coat of mud on and sanded. I give him credit...it's looking pretty dang smooth! He was also nice enough to go in my bedroom and caulk up the baseboards, windows and trim so that you don't have to look at all of those cracks and crevices. What a sweetheart!

I stopped by the house tonight and put a second coat of paint on Colton's room...it's pretty dark! I'm posting a picture of it, but please ignore the top. I've learned (the hard way as usual) that I cannot "cut in", so Scott will be along with his steady hand to take care of that. I'm also posting a picture of my room that is close to being finished. The screw in the handing mechanism on the chandelier was stripped, so it's kinda just hanging out as you can see in the photos. Just another item on my never-ending to-do list.

Day 89 to 93

I know...I'm bad for not posting! Of course, if you're really my friend, you know I'm a bad girl anyway. tehe...just kidding!

Okey-dokey, the bathroom is coming along nicely! The contractor is squeezing it in between other jobs, so its time consuming and of course the weekend slows everything down. I was pretty sick Friday night and Saturday, so I lost time; however, I worked from 8 AM to 5:30 on Sunday. Colton's room has been taped, primed and had its first coat of paint on the walls. Whew...the navy is pretty dark; however, it's what Colton wanted. Since this is the first bedroom he will remember having, I let him make that choice. I am going to paint the bottom of the walls white and add chair rail, so that will keep it from turning into a cave!

I will also share this so you can learn from my mistake (again). I was stupid enough to think that when I painted the top party of the living room area that I didn't have to tape up because the white trim paint would cover up the "llama" color since it's so light. Sigh...live and learn - it freakin does NOT! Scott (bless his heart) has painstakingly taped it back off and is Kilz'n my screw-ups. He's very detailed and I even busted him using a tiny watercolor brush to get in the tiny cracks and crevices. The hallway has been neglected since the bathroom work is going on, but I'll come back to it once the vanity is moved into the bathroom.

My uncle came over and helped me hang some light fixtures back off (since I finally painted them after almost three months). I have to admit that I've fallen in love with a color from Krylon that is like a shiny version of my "llama" Valspar paint. I painted my chandelier that color. Now I'm having serious thoughts of changing my dining area chandelier from silver to this color. I can't remember if its called Sesame Shimmer or Sienna Shimmer, but it is pretty wicked.

I'll leave you with some pictures of my best little contractor who makes the biggest messes. :-)

Days 87 & 88 - My Bathroom is NOT Naked Anymore!

Sit down, take a breath...I have bathroom walls! YAY! I didn't want to post anything until I saw it actually happening, but here it is. A guy came by Saturday night and gave me a great deal to finish out most of the bathroom and he's been there on time and all day long for the last two days....what a sweetheart! He ran the vent pipe, removed the rest of the paneling on the hall wall, framed up the rest of the wall, framed up the door and hung the sheetrock. He also fixed a leak that had already sprang up along with ripping out and putting in a new hot water line. Both he and the tile guy (that referred him) took one look at the regular PVC my cousin had used for the hot water and said I would be crazy if I didn't installstrongly recommended C-PVC since the hot water would make the pipe brittle over time and bust. I don't understand why he didn't use it in the first place - I even remember my non-plumbing uneducated arse pointing it out at Lowe's and he said regular would be fine. I could half understand it if he was springing for the supplies, but he just loaded up the cart and I paid. So, why? I don't know, so I'll just leave it at that. The tile guy is coming this week to tape and mud the bathroom, so I might have a full functioning bathroom by next week. Whew...maybe.

I haven't painted anything the last couple of nights. With Colton in school, homework is kind of the priority; however, Lori and Scott have been my little painting elves. They have been sneaking over late and painting....kinda like 'The Elves and the Shoemaker' except for it's the Elves and Crazy-Lady-Who-Just-Desperately-Wants-Every-Thing-Done-So-She-Can-Move-in! Anyway, they've been great helpers.

I'll leave you with a couple of pictures of my bathroom walls. Sigh...I feel so luxurious having bathroom walls...don't be hating on me because my walls are beautiful.

PS - I also know where there is a good deal on a 'gently-used' convertible Chrysler LeBaron (tehe). It has a special option of tree removal which is not available on all models. LOL...yep, there's a story there.

Day 86

I put a second coat on the top of living room and hall today and it's looking pretty dang snazzy. I am really pleased with my "Llama" color choice. It's not khaki/tan nor is it gray - it's a nice in between taupe. The bottom half of the walls have just the Kilz on them, but you can see how they are going to look since I am painting them white semi-gloss. Check it out...of course, ignore the disaster areas in the pictures. I just keep moving stuff from one part of the house to the other to work. Also ignore my sad little unfinished bathroom. I'm also posting a picture of the den to show the Kilz'd fireplace. Even unpainted, those bricks look so much brighter and happier!

Day 85

I painted the top half of the living area and hall today. I'm tired, but think it turned out okay. I'll look at again tomorrow and post some pics!

Day 84

It's been a hectic Friday! I stay so far behind on everything that I had to come home from work just to try and get some laundry done so that Colton would have clean clothes to take to his Daddy's this weekend. I planned on dropping him off and trying to put a coat of paint on his room, but as usual I got sidetracked. After I dropped him off, I realized that I was just down the street from a very dear friend in Georgia that I had not seen in way too long. I rudely stopped by way too late and got welcomed in anyway! We had a great time catching up, so yay to me!

I didn't leave there until after eleven, but I did take the time to stop by my house and peep at my bedroom. It looks fabulicious! Lori said Scott free-handed at the top of the wall and it looks great! I don't have any crown molding in the bedrooms and no way my hand would be that steady, so I am lucky he and Lori make a good team! YAY!

Will try to post pictures tomorrow...nighty night!

Day 83

I took the night off since Colton has a school project due tomorrow; however, Lori and Scott were sweet enough to go paint. They finished my bedroom with the exception of the trim. I can't wait to see it!

Day 82

I went to the house this evening with only half-hearted thoughts of painting; however, the Kilz smell was still pretty overpowering. The original Kilz is oil-based and is so much stronger than the Kilz 2 Latex. I decided to leave...hopefully that smell will die down in the next day or two!

Day 81 - Day Off

I'm taking today off. :-) Happy Tuesday!

Day 80

I headed to the house after work today to start Kilz'n with the paint sprayer. Oh, my...

I started in the den and got the bricks first, slowly, as I figured out how to best use the paint sprayer. Once they were done, I was thinking I was the Paint-Spraying Goddess and started on the ceiling. About halfway though, the floor started spinning and my flip-flops were stuck to the floor from the paint. I tell ya...I felt like I had been to the dentist on laughing gas! Nothing was vented since everything is taped up, so I sat outside for a few minutes. I went back in to finish and ran out of Kilz. How in the heck did I not plan better? 'Cuz that's how I roll. I had put a shower cap on my head to protect my hair since I was spraying the ceiling, so I took it off and floateddrove over to Wal-Mart to buy some more Kilz. I got lots of strange looks, but heck, I was in my raggedy old painting clothes, so I didn't think much about it. I came back home and finished up and everything seemed to turn out pretty good. I did get very light-headed again, so I had to take a couple of breaks to sit outside and try to clear my head. When I finished, I went to the bathroom to wash my hands. Now I knew my eyelashes had been feeling kinda funny, but I was shocked when I looked in the mirror. My face was completely white - including my eyelashes, the inside rim of my eyes and even my lips! When I took the shower cap off, I looked like that scary chick that crawled around on 'The Grudge' movie....LOL! No wonder people at Wal-Mart were staring - I'm surprised they didn't call security. I started washing my face and it seemed to just be peeling off. At some point, I couldn't decide if it was really that bad or if I was hallucinating. tehe...funny, yes! I was such a mess! It took forever to clean up the sprayer properly, but I finally finished that and headed home about nine. EXHAUSTED!!!

Day 79

I felt much better this morning, so Colton and I got off to an early start! I wanted to get the den taped up so I could use the paint sprayer to Kilz the bricks and ceiling. It took way longer than I thought (surprise) covering up the kitchen cabinets, furniture and just taping up odd and end things. Along the way, I discovered that the ugly copper ceiling fan in the den is actually brass, not copper. Yup, that's how much nicotine was on it (uggghhh...shudder). I also plastic'd over the bathroom wall studs so that I could get that hallway and ceiling before I have to turn the paint sprayer in Monday night. My brother was in town, so he was kind enough to stop by and shove vanity out of the hallway into the bathroom. I finished taping up about 7:30 and headed home since Monday is Colton's first day of school. I feel really guilty about spending his last free day working on the house - we are both ready to be settled in there.

This next part gets ugly, but I've toned it down as much as I can stand, so turn on your 'bleeper' for language. My contractor/cousin said he is not coming back to finish the job. You know the three to four day job he started twenty-four days ago? First, let me share how he sob-story'd me out of most of the rest of the money on Wednesday night. Yep, I fell for it (again), but he absolutely PROMISED me he would be done by Friday. I know - stupid me for doing so, but hell, he's family - which obviously means nothing to him. Secondly, the little pussy didn't even call me - the weasel sent word though his mama (who I adore and love). What a complete ass! Third, I don't know who I'm more angry with about him taking my money - him for being such a swindler or me for being such a complete dumbass and blindly handing it over. I have no use for people like him who seem to use people, ignore financial responsibilities and family obligations and by that I am not just referring to me, but his own child. I guess I hadn't been around him enough in recent years to realize how bad things had gotten with him. I cannot stand a thief and that's exactly what he did. He took money from me and precious time that I could have spent these last four weeks of summer with my child. Let me assure you that he will not be invited to Christmas dinner at my house this year. Should I see him at another family dinner, I'll be sure to fix him up a "special" plate right before I shove the turkey bone up his ass.

Day 78 - Sucky Saturday

I got up Saturday morning not feeling so good. I'm blaming it on all the nicotine I absorbed Friday scrubbing the bricks for eleven hours. I soooo wanted to lay in the bed and go back to sleep, but I got Colton up and headed over to the house early. I cleaned on the ceiling beams the rest of the day - another royal pain.

At some point, I realized that school starts on Monday and I hadn't bought the first school supply for Colton. Boy, I am so on top of things these days! We packed up and went shopping for his stuff...cannot believe my little fella is starting First Grade!

By 5:30, I was feeling pretty dang awful (whine whine), so I went to Lori's with a splitting headache. I thought I would lay down for a little while and instructed Colton to stay inside since Lori and Dillon were leaving. After about five to six minutes, I realized he was just too quiet and went to see what he was up to. He was gone and I couldn't find him anywhere. I went into full crazy-mama-panic mode. I finally chilled out enough to call my sister to see if she had noticed where he was as she left. It turns out that he had hopped in the car with her and left. I guess in the rush, everybody just forgot to let me know, huh (big frown)?! The whole incident left me feeling worse than ever, so I did not go back over to my house to work.

The contractor did not show up or even bother to call today - at all.

Day 77

Let me just say that Colton & I had a great time yesterday. The stormy weather was actually very kind to us. It would stay dry until the minute we got inside and clear up right before we came out so we had no problems staying dry.

I came by the house about 10:30 last night to find a note from the contractor saying he had been there about 10:00 AM and 12:30 PM and left. Yes, I didn't get to my house until 12:40 yesterday, but it's not like I haven't ever waited on him! I was as little peeved. I mean...come on! We do have the luxury of phone booths here in Clevegas!

He called me today about 5:00 and came over about 5:30. The tile guy stopped by and was kind enough to use his special drill bit to drill through the tile for the toilet flange - even though I think he secretly hates me because he doesn't want me to paint my brick fireplace (tehe). He manages to bring it into every conversation that we have and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to offer him some Kleenex after I paint it. The contractor cut a hole in one piece of sheetrock and that was pretty much it. He (now) says that he needs to fix the roof vent before he hangs the drywall so it will not get wet.

I did get to the house today about 8:50 AM and my bathroom door was already there! Let's give a big hand to Cleveland Plywood! The door actually cost less than both Lowe's and Home Depot and they offered free delivery! Not to mention, it's probably much better quality. I started scrubbing on those darn bricks. I just thought that paneling was hard to scrub, these bricks were a complete nightmare. I scrubbed on them until 8:00 tonight and they are done! I started cleaning my ceiling beams, but after about two, my wobbly arms just wouldn't lift anymore.

Tired and need to get this nicotine washed off of me....

Day 76 - Fun Day

If you're reading this, then I probably dragged in tonight and crashed into bed after super-dupah fun with my boy. I took Thursday off to cram in some fun with Colton and he is allowed to be 'boss for the day' (like he's not every day). Our plans are to visit the Discovery Museum and see Avatar in 3D since August 5th is the last day the IMAX is showing it.

I wanted to set up a quick automatic post to let you know I'm still around. Hopefully, the contractor makes progress on Thursday, so I will have some good stuff and maybe even pictures to post on Friday night.

'Night, peeps!

Day 75

Today I finally broke down and ordered a bathroom door and jam (not to be confused with jelly). The old door was a different size than what I will need now and the jam, well, let's just say that old wood came out in pieces. I had picked out a door at Lowe's a couple of weeks ago, but when I returned to buy it last week (with a truck to haul it), they only had two left. Both appeared to be water damaged. Their truck was supposed to bring more yesterday, but it didn't (who stole my door?). Last night, I bopped over to Home Depot to buy it there. Well, lawdy...they had some overhead sprinkler pipes burst which had taken out their door section. Who would have imagined I would such trouble buying a simple thing like a door? Well, I would 'cuz that's how I roll. Anyway, I ordered one today from Cleveland Plywood and they hope to have it made and delivered to me on Friday. Unless those evil door pixies jinx me again.

Backing up to yesterday...the ceiling paint I had bought appeared to have a severe yellowish tint to it. I took it back to Lowe's last night and they thought I had probably gotten a bad batch. This evening, hearing my meltdown over it yesterdayhearing of my woes, Cathy & Jim showed up with over four gallons of ceiling paint. Aren't they great?! They brought Izzy along and being the squirrel lover she is, she immediately went to exploring my squirrel inhabited yard. I've counted up to six squirrels in the yard at one time. I've also seen two flying squirrels and one off-white squirrel. Oh, and don't forget about the dead squirrel that's in one of those sheds at the back of the property.

The contractor worked for about four hours today and has promised to be done by Friday. Stop laughing...anything is possible.

I have taken the rest of the week off. First, Colton and I have some fun stuff to squash in before school starts next week and then it's scrub & paint! If anyone wants to get messy this weekend, show up! Extra hands are needed and welcomed!

Day 74

I stopped by my house at lunch today and took a sneak peek! Scott had sprayed the Kilz (original) on the living area walls. It seemed to finally cover all of the stains that had been showing through. I am really glad...was a little worried it would bleed again. By the time I got home this evening, he had finished Kilz'n the ceiling and was done. I am so thrilled and grateful with his help!

On a negative note, both he and the contractor are now saying that I can't use the sprayer to apply my paint with. Confused? So am I. They are saying that the overspray will carry over on the ceiling or other places. I am deeply disappointed and I don't know what to do. While I know it won't take long to roll the paint on in the bedrooms, that hateful pine tongue and groove takes for FREAKING ever! I thought that was the whole point in getting a paint sprayer, but evidently everyone was feeding me the wrong info. What to do? I've sulked all evening (shock) at the thought of picking up a paint brush and roller again.

The contractor didn't work at all today because of the paint spraying, but we did go to Home Depot again for a few more items. Durn, I'm tired of buying stuff.

Day 73 - I Spy Part III

Today was just crazy-busy at work. Not to mention our insurance company changed and there is just lots of whoop-laa about that...doctors being in or out of network. It's just such a pain in the booty. While I am very thankful for my health coverage, I have to step on the soap box for a second and say I am not happy about the cost increasing and the benefits and doctors in-network decreasing; however, health coverage is a necessary evil. Stepping down now...

The contractor worked about half a day today evening out the walls and framing up around the bathtub. It would be so nice for him to finish this centuryweek. Sigh....

I spy something! The tile guy arrived with the paint sprayer tonight...yippee! He's a sweetheart and is lusting after that hideous copper with harvest flowers ceiling fan atrocity in the den. Oh, and added bonus - my sister's boyfriend, Scott, volunteered to come over and start spraying. I'm not sure if he's a glutton for punishment if Lori is trying to get me out of her house...LOL! She has been very gracious about living with all of my clutter and junk, but I know she's ready to have her space back. The amount of stuff I have stored in her basement, well...I'll point out again that I need to be submitted for a segment on the 'Hoarders' show. Anyway, I'm sidetracking...we got a lesson on how to use the sprayer and it's ready to go! Scott will be there tomorrow morning to start and can hopefully knock a lot of it out while I'm at work. Isn't he sweet?

Could I possibly be experiencing some progress??!! Gasp!

Day 72

Not alot to report today. The contractor stopped by and put in that one piece for the kitchen sink drain and left.

I called the guy with the paint sprayer and I will have it in my hot little hands tomorrow! I spent a ridiculousreasonable amount of time on finalizing my paint colors and buying paint today. Using the paint sprayer, I hope to have the house painted in a couple of days based on what everyone is telling me.

I had a lovely afternoon at a very dear friend's house. It was my first time visiting her house and I have to rave a little on how gorgeous and tasteful for her decor is! She has put a lot of time, thought and effort into every little precious detail. I pray that my house will someday grow up to be like hers. :-)

Day 71 - The Miracle of Running Water

I HAVE WATER!!! Woohoo - YAY! Crazy dance!!! I feel so pampered...LOL! Aaaahhh...the luxury of water. Sigh....contentment. Anybody have a cigarette?

While the bathroom is far from being done, all of the water lines have been installed and the water is running. The only thing not back to normal is the kitchen sink drain. While I can run water, we were missing one piece when it came time to hook the drain line up. At almost midnight, I didn't feel like making that 99th trip to Lowe's, so that will get finished up in the morning.

So...could I possibly be painting tomorrow? Maybe...anything is possible!

Day 70

Well, I don't have water yet, but I'm close! The contractor worked from noon today to about ten o'clock tonight. I've got to pick up a door and frame for the bathroom this weekend and hopefully, that's my last 'big' item. Hopefully...

Day 69

YAY...the contractor was there today. He didn't get there until after noon, but I did see some progress. He still thinks he can have me some water by tomorrow, but I do NOT want to get my hopes up!

I took the night off to meet up with some friends from younger days and it was a sweet-crazy-feel-like-I'm-20-again evening. Love all of them and wish we could do this more often.

'Nite.

Day 68

Another day of nothing! No contractor...called about 7:00 tonight to say he was still sick. :-(

Day 67

I called the contractor's friend's phone bright and early this morning. I left a message asking him to at least tell me he's not coming back. At 8:50 AM, the friend called back and said the contractor was on the way. Mom went by the house and she unlocked it. She stopped by at 10 AM and 11:30 AM and he still wasn't there. I ran by on my lunch break at 1:15 PM to "brag" on my tile to Tess and he still wasn't there; however, when I pulled in the driveway at 5:15 PM, he was there. He said he had been there for hours. What two, maybe? LOL! I told him I needed everything completed by no later than Friday morning. He said that would be fine and he would be there bright and early tomorrow morning. Mmmmmkay...let's just hope?! I had made a couple of calls earlier today and I'm trying to go ahead and line up someone else as I sadly have no faith in him at this point.

Here is a picture of my tiled bathroom floor for you to oooh and aaaah over. I'll be more than happy to refer this guy to anyone that needs any tiles laid. He was there when he said he would be there (if not earlier) and the tiles look fabulicious - especially considering my humpty-dumpty floor.

And I'll leave you with a picture of my proud little gardener...check out his pepper plant!

Day 66

The tile guy called me right before lunch today. His job was wrapping up early and he wanted to go ahead and get started on the grout. I took my lunch break to take over the grout and ten gallons of water for wiping the tile down. I came back a little after 5:00 and he was done. Man, it looks purdy! I'll post a picture tomorrow when the grout dries as it still looks dark from being wet. I'm really glad I went ahead and bought the tile versus the vinyl - I think it will be a good investment!

I did get a second quote on the floors today that looks to be a little cheaper, so that was a big plus!

The contractor had told the tile guy he would be there, but he never showed. I left a message on his friend's phone, but did not hear back from him. :-(

Day 65

My phone rang at 9:05 this morning...it was the contractor. He said the tile guy was at my house ready to work and he would be there shortly. While I was thrilled, it would have been nice to have had some notice. I filled up four gallon jugs, took a speed shower and headed over there. The tile guy was there and setting up his tools outside. I learned that he had not been able to reach the contractor yesterday, so he rang his phone off of the hook until he answered this morning. Stop it - I know you're surprised. Anyway, he got started, so I left to take Lori to OutBack for her birthday lunch. When I got back, he was already finished with part one. The tile looks really nice and professional - very evenly spaced and flush which is a miracle on my old floor that was made up of several different materials. He also made a call to someone who does floors and he will be there tomorrow to give me a quote. I've already got one quote, but I want to shop around a little. He will be back tomorrow evening to grout the tile and I've got to collect some more jugs because he washes the tile down several times.

YAY...some progress!

PS - The contractor never showed up.

Day 64

I called the contractor's friend's phone at 8:30 tonight to see where the h#ll he was at. He was with his friend, so I got to talk to him. He started by saying he hadn't heard from the tile guy which really has nothing to do with the work he has to do under the house and I told him that. He spouted off some more lame excuses, so I hung up frustrated because I was afraid of what I was going to say. Unfortunately, the contractor is my cousin so I've tried to tread carefully, but enough is enough. I made the BIG mistake of fronting him some money thinking surely he wouldn't rip off family. Out of the last eleven days, he has worked part of four days. Stupid me...lesson learned! The tools are going straight to the pawn shop Monday to get some of my money back.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I'll just kick your a$s.

Day 63

I woke up at 2:10 AM still boiling with rage over the contractor and never went back to sleep. Then, Colton woke up with pink eye. Today was his last day at summer care and he was really looking forward to going. The doctor gave him the eye drops and he should be fine a couple of days. Here's to hoping no one else gets it!

The contractor called this evening and said he had been sick with a virus for two days. He also said the tile guy should be here Saturday evening. I guess I'll hold off on taking all of his tools to the pawn shop to see what happens this weekend. hehe

With all of this, I have no plans for the weekend other than trying to let my blood pressure go back to normal after this week! I'm tired....

Day 62

I am very frustrated. No contractor and not even a phone call today. ARRRGHHHH!!!

I feel like I've done everything I can to push this along. Many of my lunch breaks are spent chasing things down to avoid taking time off since we have been short-handed since the end of April. There is not a spare moment even though I work with one of the best co-workers and friends in the world, Tess. Just trying to keep up there is maddening and then leaving each evening to go work on the house...it's a furious pace!

Speaking of furious...I am trying to calm down this evening. Maybe the contractor has a good reason for not showing/calling today. And maybe my butt is small and flat.

I really need the bathroom done by next Wednesday so I can get the paint sprayer that weekend. Then, I could get the floors done and finally be ready to move in.

Big FAT sigh...very discouraged.

I do want to wish my little sister a GREAT BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! I'm very thankful she hasn't kicked me out yet, so that I can finish the house before moving in. Love ya! Hopefully, the way cool gift Colton picked out for her will make up for it (tehe). AND remember, Lolo, if you don't have it sitting on your kitchen table at all times, it will hurt his feelings (snicker).

Day 61

The contractor had pipes burst under his home on Tuesday night, so he did not do any work today. I did meet him at Lowe's after work and pick up just about everything else needed to do the job - ching-ching! He should be back on the job on Thursday. I hope...I'm a little concerned.

Anyway, I met with the tile guy tonight who gave me a really sweet price and will do the job no later than Saturday. He has to lay the tile, wait 24 hours, then grout it. Then you can't walk on it for 48 more hours. That will slow the process down considerably.

That's all...

Day 60

Still chugging along on the bathroom. The contractor had almost finished the backerboard yesterday. This morning, he said he noticed something was off and had to pull it back out. Whomever had installed the handicapped shower had cut straight through one of the floor joists, so the floor was sagging in the middle. He spent a good part of the day repairing that and then put the backer board back down. It's nice and level now, but this meant that the tiler couldn't come today, so it will be tomorrow. I'm just happy he caught it and it will be done right.

G'Night!

Day 59

Whew...where do I start?! I guess I'll start by saying some of Daddy's work had to come back out. It's just kinda cuckoo-crazy, so I'm not going to go into the details (bless his heart). I now have some of the drywall back up and the window properly sealed (that was covered up). The backer-board for the tile is practically done. I agonized over the tile color at lunch today. I know white/off-white is the standard, but there was some really pretty brown tile that I really loved; however, I was afraid that it might be too trendy of a look and be outdated in a year or two. Plus, my cheap butt found some 'Sahara Beige' ceramic tile on clearance, so that settled it. All of the cast iron pipes are removed from the bathroom and ready for the new stuff to go in. I would lay out a schedule of what's going to happen next, but I know you're tired of my big fat lies since nothing ever goes as planned.

*****IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH*****
Guess what the heck is missing from my house.

I said GUESS!

Give up?

The stinky-moldy-mildew smell! It's gone! Mom and I had decided last week that the smell was coming from underneath the kitchen sink. There was a small leak, so Mom had cleaned and bleached the cabinet which seem to help a tiny bit. Still wondering if it was the crawl space underneath the sink, I asked the contractor if he would roll out the Visqueen for me. He made me look in the crawl space, so I stuck my head in. All of probably about one sixteenth of an inch. Enough to see that it was drier than the desert under there. The dirt is almost powder it is so dry; however, he said that my kitchen sink drain pipe had fell and was letting water sit down in line. When he took it apart, the smell was unbearable. Now that the water has been off for a couple of days and the drain line is dry, I have no stinky smell. He will repair the pipes when he puts everything back together. I AM A HAPPY GIRL! This also means everyone can stop avoiding eye contact with me when I mention someone helping me crawl under the house. LOL!!!

One other positive note, my mailbox brought sweet relief today. My tax refund for buying a new home came today. Of course, the bulk of it went right back to repay my down payment, but I'll use the rest to pay for the bathroom and floors and pay off what I've charged up so far. Can I just say? I don't care if you are Republican, Democrat or think Ross Parole should run again (tehe), this program was a wonderful blessing for people like me. Alot of families know they can make those monthly payments, but the initial down payment is hard to come up with.

I have to admit that it's been really nice to take it easy for a few days. After being so sick last week and falling on my booty, I figured I needed to slow down a little. I've "supervised" while the contractor has taken care all of the hard stuff. Here's to hoping things keep flowing along the rest of the week...cheers!

Day 58

Just a quick note to say that the contractor did show up today (whew)!

Tired tonight - will post details tomorrow. :-)

Day 57

The contractor did not make it today due to car trouble and says he will be there at 9 AM tomorrow. Very disappointed...

I spent the day running between Lowe's and Home Depot pricing paint and other items I need...the list just keeps growing. My bro did turn me on to a local pawn shop that sells paint for $5 a gallon. Of course, it's mistints and such, but if you happen upon a color you like, it's a darn good bargain. I did get lucky at Home Depot and score a gallon of Behr for $5...not even a mistint - customer decided she wanted a cheaper brand, so they sold what they had originally mixed for her for $5! It's either going in my bedroom or the guest bedroom...can't decide.

Send me some positive vibes for tomorrow...I need the guy to show up!

Day 56 - I Spy - Part Two

I spy...a contractor at my house! YAY! Being on my vanity high yesterday, I forgot to mention that the guy called yesterday and said he would be starting this morning. NEWS FLASH - he showed and he started. Let's just say that the plumbing under the house is a little "home-cooked". He said he had never seen so many coat hangers on plumbing...LOL! He's going to get rid of those along with some of the cast iron pipes and do it up right! I won't have any water all weekend, but that's a teeny-tiny price to pay to get this done. He's hoping to have it all done by Sunday night because he starts a new job on Monday.

My tush is still a little tender and both my back and hip hurt like hellfire (pronounced hellfaaarrrr) from my graceful fall yesterday, so I'm not sure I'll be doing alot this weekend. The paint sprayer is definitely on hold since I've not had a chance to get my paint together. I'll just be running around collecting items for the contractor since I'm supplying all the supplies.

I am going to have to be on the lookout for a dishwasher. I ran mine through a cycle the other night. Now it ran just fine, but the cup holder for the dishwasher liquid is broken. It also sounded like a jet engine was in my kitchen. The brand is Magic Chef and I can't remember when they changed their name to Maytag, so I'm not sure how old it is.

I did remember to snap a picture of my vanity. Ignore all the stuff stacked in the den behind it - I'm living out of that room and it's a disaster. Also, don't drool over the pee-pee yellow vinyl floor. Purdy, ain't she?

G'nite!

Day 55 - I Spy...

I spy...a bathroom vanity at my house. Yes, boys and girls, it's no myth - it's pure fact!

I have to start this post out by giving a freakin' HUGE shout out to my peeps Cathy and Tess for volunteering their hubbys to come help me today. On my lunchbreak, I had looked at a bathroom vanity that was pretty sweet and a fab price. It's five inches deeper and five inches taller than most vanities, but it was such a sweet deal, I am willing to sacrifice that five inches in depth in my tiny bathroom. It needs some clean-up and a few nicks touched up, but I am so very happy with my CraigsList find!

Let me just say - the vanity seemed gigantic and turning it on the landing in the stairs was terrible. Due to the narrow stairwell, hubbies Garry and Jim had to do all of the manual labor and I know it took all of their manly muscles to get the job done. And a big ha -what about it college boys that couldn't budge it - in your FACE! Simmering down - I am so appreciative times one million-ga-gillion-fa-fillion for their help. I just hope they don't beat the crap out of their wives tonight for volunteering their help! tehe

I had complimented the seller on her beautiful floors and she said she had some extra left over that I was welcome to since she needed it out of her way. I haven't checked each box, but if there is 25 square feet a box, I'm estimating she gave me at least 150 square feet of some really nice flooring! She gave me the brand name and item number, so I peeked at the invoice and Colton may graduate highschool before I can afford to buy more to go with it...tehe. It seems to be some really good stuff. Just gotta figure out how/where to use it. I need to figure out if I could use it the bathroom - depending on how water resistant it is. Of course, I would love to get rid of the urine-colored vinyl in the den area, but I would have to buy more flooring to cover the entire area...we'll see.

I bet you would like to see a picture of my ooh-la-la vanity, wouldn't you? Well, guess what? My dumb butt forgot to take one. Speaking of my butt, I managed to squeeze some entertainment into the evening by falling while unloading the flooring at my house. Thank goodness for extra padding! I'm sure I'll be a wee bit sore tomorrow...okay, I'm lying, I'm hurting pretty good in my hip and back tonight, but nothing compared to how Garry and Jim will feel tomorrow, so I'm just gonna hush.

Yawn...Nitey-nite!

Days 53 & 54

Whew...I'm alive! I didn't feel good Monday evening, but thought I was just tired. I was wrong (surprise, surprise) and I've had a nasty virus kicking my butt for the last two day. My fever finally broke about 10:30 this morning and I'm feeling better. I just hate that I've lost two days worth of work on the house, darn it!

Sit down for this one - if all goes well, I will have a plumber/drywaller on site no later than Thursday! I'm almost afraid to get my excited about it!

I'm going to look at a vanity on my lunch break tomorrow; however, the owner warns me that it will take four guys to move it. Her college-age son and his friend could barely budge it and she wants to make sure her new floors do not get damaged. As a bonus, it does have to go down stairs (you're volunteering already, aren't you?). I'm hoping her son and friend were just a little lazy, but it does have me worried. If you are interested in breaking your back tomorrow evening, please let me know - I'll definitely need some help!

Days 51 & 52

So, I'm cheating and combining two days. Let me assure you that you aren't missing anything - except maybe me pulling my hair out. I'm just trying to pull everything together since everything seems to have come to a frustrating stop. I'm scheduling new peeps and hopefully everyone will show up and come through because I'm completely over waiting on the no-shows.

Mom was sweet and got to the house at 8:30 this morning and started cleaning the den walls. I believe they have been Kilz'd after the previous owners stopped smoking, so they are not horrible - but a good cleaning has made them look so much better. Or as good as painted paneling can look. :-)

I got to the house tonight and was completely exhausted - just couldn't kick my butt into any physical labor, so I packed it up and came home. I'm making phone calls and checking paint colors. I have a dream! Well, in my case, it's probably a fantasy...we'll see if I can get everything "re"-lined up and try again.

The only exciting thing I have to report is that Colton has his second "wobbley toof"! He's thrilled. It should come out anytime, so the tooth fairy will be headed to his pillow real soon. Don't let her run you over on the way...rumor has it that she drives like a wild maniac!

Day 50 Million

Wow...can't believe it's been 50 days and I'm still not living in my house. I never imagined it would take this long. I would love to be settled in by the time Colton starts school, but it is not looking good.

Mom and I finished the second coat of Kilz on the hallway. I am very sad to report that the pine stain bled back through in about thirty minutes. Not real bad and paint may cover it up on the top, but where I'm really worried is on the bottom where I plan on painting it white. I also tried to roll the ceiling in the hallway and it did not go well. It was very streaked and on the places where I had to use a brush to get close to the crown molding, it yellowed in minutes. GRRRR! So, my sis's BF called around and found me a place to rent a commercial paint sprayer from. My plan is to:

1) Gather all my paint in the next week;

2) Clean the walls and fireplace in the den;

3) Tape off the den;

4) Spray EVERYTHING including ceilings next weekend!

The den will be a pain because I haven't touched it and it has those wooden beams along with a popcorn ceiling. Not to mention, those bricks are filthy from the nicotine stuck to them. Mom cleaned a spot on them and it was unreal. If I can get it cleaned and taped off, I would love to Kilz it all down, also. I'm probably dreaming (again) and all I will get sprayed is the rest of the house, but I'll be happy with that, also.

I was very discouraged on the Kilz'n thing, so I after finishing the hall, I decided to spray paint some projects. I have to mention that my aunt showed up with the 'way coolest' bunch of pitchers for my dining area last Sunday (was too gripey to mention it that day). She has a good eye for decor and I claim any crafty genes that I have must have came from her. The pitchers are looking really nice - can't wait to be able to display them.

I had a very unwelcome visitor show up today that I am NOT happy about. It clawed its way onto my car and left nice little scratches. I shoo'd it off and hope it doesn't bring bad luck my way.

This tree-bush thing in the very corner of my yard is really looking pretty this week.
My blackberry bush has delivered a cupful of blackberries! Mom picked them today while a little mama bird fussed at her the whole time. We think she may have babies in this little birdhouse she was trying to protect.To soothe my ruffled feathers over my bleeding walls, think I'm going to sneak a couple of white chocolate Hershey's Bliss before I go to bed tonight.

PS - Rechecking this I see tons of grammatical errors and run-on sentences, but I'm too tired to fix them - please ignore. :-)

Day 49

No exciting drama to post - thank goodness. Just another night of Kilz'n. Mom and I finished putting the second coat on the bottom of the walls in the living room. I hope to put a second coat on the hall tomorrow and then take a look at all of the walls to see how well (or not) the Kilz is holding up against the pine stain. I did see a few spots where it had bled through - not real bad - and it may be due to it being put on too thin in those areas. We'll see....

Day 48

Tess and Karen showed up to flex their painting muscles. Karen was even thoughtful enough to bring some yummy chips and dip. Of course, this would be the evening that I run out of Kilz, so I ran over to Wal-Mart to grab some more - and yes, this time they mixed it up for me. We finished off the hall and managed to Kilz the entire top part of the living area. They were kind enough to let me roll the panels while they brushed in the grooves which takes twice as long as the rolling. I was tickled pink at how it looked - it may not require a third coat which would tickle me crazy! Thank you, gals - I so appreciate you sharing your time helping me this evening.

Colton wants to tell one of his Knock-Knock jokes:

Knock. Knock.
Who's there?
Boo!
Boo Who?
BooHoo...it's bedtime!

Day 47 - Night Off

Hey, peeps! I took the night off to go see Toy Story 3 with my boy - he loved it!