I Just Wanted a New Tub November 6, 2007

One year ago we moved into this house, with lots of dreams in mind.  There were so many projects we were anxious to do and we had big ideas of adding on to the upstairs and adding a game room.  A year later we are wiser and coming to terms with what is really going to work around here.  We rennovated the kitchen first, although we still hate the cabinets.  While everything else in the kitchen is to our liking, we plan on having new cabinets built after the holidays.  The ones we have just are not salvageable.  The upstairs has been completely redone (although no add-on) and I now have an awesome home office where I can do school work and otherwise escape from my family!  We had new windows and siding installed, as well as new doors.  And then there’s the bathroom.

Exactly 11 months ago, The Hubby started tearing into the bathroom.  It started because the hot water heater had previously exploded, soaking the floor, and causing the floor to rot.  We knew about it when we bought the house, but we didn’t realize the full extent of the damage.  We wound up having to completely tear the whole floor up and put new floor in.  We tore out the shower, got rid of the claw foot tub and added a new corner shower and two person Jacuzzi tub.  We tiled the new floor and painted.  And then….the tile started coming up.  And we decided we hated the color of the paint.  And this project grew.

 So as I said, it’s 11 months later and the bathroom remains unfinished.  We got into a burnout phase where we didn’t want to touch anything.  Electrical wires were haphazardly strung around for lighting.  The ceiling was open to the upstairs storage.  Half the floor was tiled.  We were just sick of the whole thing.  But now we’re having Squeaks’ 2nd birthday party here Friday night and we’ve decided it’s time to kick it into high gear.  There is no excuse for having a bathroom remodel that lasts almost a year!  So we’ve been working night and day to get it done.  While we might not be 100% finished (think molding and such) by Friday, we will have a fully functional, much better looking bathroom (or so I hope).  So this week you can catch me up to my ears in paint, mud, mortar, grout, and all things bathroom!

Alex to the Third May 23, 2007

I sit here blogging to the sound of hammering and sawing. Our new siding is going up as we speak. Let’s just say it’s been an adventure thus far. We went through a very reputed company around here who does excellent work. But their workers…oh, their workers. They are 3 Russian fellows, all named Alex (and if you’re my husband, you suspect that they share a social security number, as well).

They all showed up about 2 weeks ago to do a sample area to make sure we like the color, but we had no idea they were coming. They woke me up by beating on my bedroom window, then we managed to have a very strange conversation in which none of us could understand each other. Finally after phone calls to their English-speaking boss, we got things lined out. And now today they are beginning the real work.

I know they think I’m spying on them (and I am), but they crack me up. All you have to do is step outside and say “Alex” and you have 3 of them looking at you. And the best part is they take a break every half hour or so to sit around on my back patio, eating snacks out of lunch baggies and drinking what I suspect is vodka. They’ve been here all day, yet I am seeing very little work done.

Normally this kind of thing would piss me off, but I’m out of school right now and lacking for entertainment. I know that they are competent workers, so I am simply going to sit back and laugh at them for awhile. And besides, we haven’t yet paid them a single penny. They get their check when they’re finished and we’re satisfied, so they can dick around all they want but I hold the power!

Work, Work, and More Work May 15, 2007

Oh what a busy time it’s been! We’ve been doing our best to get rid of the hillbilly look that our house has. And by that I mean that we got new windows installed, are getting new siding, we tore off our white-trash-screen-porch, and are finishing up the indoor projects.

And to top it all off, we already have a screen torn on one of the new windows that were installed Friday. I was so pissed at first, but it was a total accident made by a close friend who was helping us tear off the porch. Thankfully we opted for the lifetime warranty, so the screen should be fixed in a week or so!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day. Mine was….different. I’ll have a whole other post about it in a day or two. Until then, I’ll be quite busy getting this housework done!