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!