The Blog is Dead

And this is it... the last post. We are not done with the house, but I am done blogging about the progress, for many reasons.

Reason number one: I want to explore other things in life, do other things, and take the focus off the house. This is the main reason, and I'm super excited about living, not existing and merely working on the house!!

Reason number two: We are primarily done with the house and with the exception of woodwork, doors and windows, decks, etc.., the worst of it is over (cross my fingers).

Reason number three: See reason number one!! :)

Good luck fellow rehabbers!! I'll probably start another blog shortly, or at the very least, another website!!!!
Kathy

Been. So. Long.

Back by popular demand (I wish)... the blog! Ahhh... the house... I have recently been asked about updates on the blog, or rather the lack there of, and to that, all I can say is vacation. Ahhh... vacation... Actually, that's more of a dream than reality, but you know... we do what we can. There has been no vacation, but a mental vacation away from the house... but in the house... I digress.

So here we go, updates...
We are moved in and LOVE IT! We are tired. We are slowly working on putting in windows and doors, and until then, have been living with plastic on windows and curtains for bathroom doors. We want a vacation.

The exciting news is that we will be able to refinance soon [insert crossing of fingers]. For those of you who are unfamiliar with construction loans, the interest rates are higher and so refinancing is a huge deal—even getting a construction loan is a big deal... two years ago when we called around for banks, one bank, whom we'll call "Commerce Bank", to protect their identity, flat out denied us because of where the house was... but now... now is different! Sweet, sweet 30 year loan.

Anywho, we are working on refinancing, and then there are the porches, of which we have none, but of which we hope to have three within the next year (or two or three). There are a few things we also have our eyes on, like ceiling fans, that we once abhorred. Our AC works great! We are however awaiting our first electric bill, and considering we have plastic on windows, and open holes to the outdoors, we expect it to be high... very high... [we are in denial, so we hope, deep down, that it will be low... very low].

But back to the ceiling fans we once abhorred. We want them. We want four to be exact, and I know exactly which ones I want, but they are 300 a piece, so we will wait and live in stagnant (but cold) air until then. I don't know why we never liked ceiling fans, but now I am all about them and can't wait until we can put them in and enjoy moving air.

Goals...
1. Vacation
2. Re-build the life we left behind when we started the house
3. Build porches (specifically a porch with a ceiling fan, which would be nice, and cool (temperature, not hip)
4. Buy and install ceiling fans
5. Finish installing windows and doors
6. Install (and find and buy) light fixtures to replace the bare bulbs we have now
7. Vacation

AND, aside from that, we want to give up Nathan's truck and be a one-car household... this I am excited about. We started taking the bus and the metrolink, and it's been great!! Setback so far... sense of fear instilled by very upset parents of once very excited daughter.

Bursting

I am absolutely, positively bursting with excitement. I feel like I am five again and it's Christmas Eve and I can't wait.. I mean CAN'T WAIT for it to be morning. I have to refrain from using 60 bazillion exclamation points while writing all emails here at work. I'm writing a message to a client and I have to refrain from, "Below is a link to the latest version of the animation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" because that would just be wierd. And wierd as I am, and as little social sense as I may have, I still know that to be a bit wacked. But don't think I don't want to do it. I do.

Anywho, we move in this weekend and I am just so excited!! Our floors look more fabulous than ever imagined!!! Lets give a yell out to Rich Trepanier, to whom gave us EXCELLENT advice... unfortunately, the aliens did a quick body snatch and forced us to choose the semi-gloss.

Here's a little before/after sort of thing for the floors. These are not in the same room, but I was having a hard time finding one good one with the floors. So just look at the floors and don't try and rack your brain with trying to figure out how these two are the same room.



So, it's Friday, we move in on Sunday, and I can hardly contain myself. If I were a dog I'd probably urinate all over the place. A bit gross, but that's just how excited I am.

Be well.

Week of Sleep

I went to sleep last night at 7, just after Sienfeld. I woke up at 8:30, stayed awake until 10:30, just after Sienfeld, and didn't wake up until 7 this morning. I feel I am at about 40 percent, up from the usual 10 percent of the past few weeks. To nurse my way back to 100 percent, I've declared this week, the week of sleep. Tonight, I will come home from work, let the dog out, and sleep. Tomorrow night I will come home from work, let the dog out, and sleep. Thursday I might venture into the real world and not sleep, but we'll see. For now, all that is on the schedule is sleep.

And here it is... me at the end of Sunday night, after a night of scraping the floors, after a night after night after night of working. Tired, cranky, and sporting some of the worst rehab outfits available. I call this one the sloppy duck entourage.



Some of the best things come during hard times, and this invention is one of pure genius. The ironing board gone kitchen island -- because you never know just when you're going to need to iron your food, trash, and clothes all at once.

And the winner is...

May 28th. The move-in date is officially May 28th, 2005! Sweet. There's lots to report, more to see, and no time to post anything...

We are on the house tour this Saturday, May 14th, from 10am - 4pm. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 day of.

And last, but certainly not least, we have a new slogan for the rehab... "Nobody wants to feel like an asshole." These words are brought to you buy our sponsers for two reasons. One being that when I am tired and the feelings of wanting my life back are too strong, and I ask Nathan if we can take a night off, and Nathan knows we cannot move in if we take a night off, and so he says "no," he subsequently feels like an asshole. Reason number two is that while Nathan is working so hard over at the house and maintaining clients, he often has no time or patience for things that I need to run by him, such as, "I need you to sign this birthday card," or, "There's a wedding this Saturday that we need to go to," or the ever frequent, "We have no more money in our account..." Nathan gets upset and then I feel like the asshole. Bottom line, "Nobody wants to feel like an asshole."

Closer Yet

Here's the latest and greatest...


My friend Kathy and I cooking dinner in our apartment (next door to the house) after a hard day of work... and a long night of work to follow said dinner we are cooking.


Kathy, cooking a mean dinner.


Nathan removing the temporary posts after we installed the permanent ones (this is still very unfinished, but a huge accomplishment nonetheless).


Two "new" posts (made from salvidged wood from a burned down warehouse).




Nathan's friend Nathan (no this is not a joke, we both have good friends with the same name) painting our cabinets!




Kitchen cabinets in our makeshift paint booth (aka kitchen).