Electrocution and other minor mishaps..

I've talked about this before, but it bears repeating. Make sure the power is OFF before putting up light fixtures. We were hanging the dining room light and everything seemed to be going fine. I was putting a light bulb in the fixture and Michael was going to flip the switch on to make sure it worked. Problem was, he didn't need to flip the switch. The light came on as soon as I screwed it in. Which means people!!! We were touching hot wires at some point in the installation. Yikes. My kids would be orphans!

Monday I decided to get rid of the last of the slate tile in the dining room. I was using a crowbar and hammer and things were going well. I picked up a TOO big pile of the tile and one sharp piece slipped and hit me on the top of the foot... on the vein. Ouch and blood!!

Last night we finished putting up the cabinets in the kitchen. Here's a sneak peak at the progress.. not the best quality but had to use my cell phone.

 Now we need to get the countertops installed, backsplash up and the cabinet pulls. New Fridge, dishwasher and microwave will complete it! I'm so excited to have a kitchen sink. I hope it's soon.

Day of rest...

We really haven't had a break lately. Either it's baby stuff, or work, or remodeling. So this weekend we are going to have a day of rest. Just one. And I can't wait! I plan to pedicure myself, finish a great book I'm reading, get some sun and be lazy. I think it's going to be hard for me to do, with all the chores that need to be done. But all work and no play ya know??

We are running to DL tonight to get some light fixtures for the bathroom, more paint and a few other tidbits. The plumber promised me he was going to finish up the downstairs bathroom either today or tomorrow, so if he knows what's good for him, he'll keep his promise! When that's finished I plan to take a long luxurious soak in the tub, brush my teeth at a sink, and put on makeup in the bathroom, rather than the dining room. It should be fab!

Crooked walls = headache

We got home from work last night and spent until 10 pm putting up cabinets. We didn't get ALL the cabinets up because the walls are not square. Wow. They are really not square. But after trial and error we managed to get 4 upper cabinets in place, and set some of the lower cabinets. The floors aren't even either, so there is more work to be done getting those level. But it's going to look GREAT. I'm not a fan of "fake" white cabinets. I LOVE the real wood ones though. But they are way out of our price range, so "fake" is going to have to do. I think with the wood floor, glass mosaic back splash and dark countertops they will look striking. Here's a photo of the idea... Soon it will be reality. But not tonight. I need my beauty sleep. Ahhhh.

They aren't AS crooked as this photo indicates. That's the tired photographer standing crooked. HAH

Almost had a baby this week...

I've been MIA because we almost had a baby on Friday... well, my son and his fiance, Lauren. But they were able to stop labor (she's only 34 weeks) and so although we were mighty sleep deprived, we busted it OUT this weekend. We are probably 8 -9 days away from having the lower level finished, other than the wood floor which will go in AFTER all construction is done. Then we will move upstairs, which is going to be backbreaking, sweaty work. But at least we will have refuge downstairs when it gets really ugly.

Here is a video of progress as of this morning at 9 am. Look for a new video sometime this afternoon, for the update! Should be good.

11:30 update: Oh my... bad words are being said. The ceiling sprayer is NOT working properly. Video at the top of the hour...

This is just a part of the mess. It oversprayed on the walls we just painted. It is NOT a good day in flip land. Uh uh.

Is it Friday yet?

I woke up today feeling like I wanna go HOME!! This IS home right now, but there is another home, with clean floors, a comfy bed and a master bathroom calling me. The smell of this house is starting to get to me. It's a combination of dust, cleaners, dog poo and old house. I know that soon it will smell of new flooring, fresh paint and a cool country breeze, but right now, not so much.

There are no photo's to show progress because there isn't any. It's in a constant state of messy. The other two houses were similar. I remember bringing a blanket and pillow into the bathroom of the first house and sleeping on the floor...  taking a break from staining woodwork or waiting for the mud on the sheet rock to dry. So I KNOW this too shall pass, but I'm kind of tired of it right now. I think that dealing with a sick dog for 4 days has taken the wind out of my sails, not to mention the pounding migraine headache I had yesterday.

And so it goes......................

Pushing through the never ending project...

Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying this project, but wow. It's never ending. Each day I drag my tired butt home and while I'm sort of tempted to just take it easy, I'm surrounded by one million, seven hundred fifty two thousand  things to do. Today however, I spent 1 solid hour sitting on the couch petting Murphy, Rupert and Valentino. They look sad. They are used to lots of cuddling, but there is no cuddling lately. I'm painting or picking up or blogging about it. HAHA!

Since I get up so early I figured I'd share what I see...
Pretty wasn't the theme of the day though. I went outside to see what the dogs were so interested in and found 5 dead bunnies laying in the yard.That was bad. But what was worse is that Rupert puked one up in the house later. ICK! He walked around looking pretty miserable and sick. Bunny stew isn't his fave meal I'm thinking.

Saturday:  Michael got the bathroom window installed, but that's about it. The kids came to visit and we just don't get much work done when they are here. We are too enthralled with baby Parker. But we need to get our butts in gear so that Parker has a room to sleep in once he arrives. So tomorrow we are gonna bust it out. Seriously.

Sunday: We sheet rocked the bathroom and it's amazing what a new wall will do for a room... But man, am I sore. Holding 40 pounds of sheet rock over my head is hard! I should have some pretty nice triceps after this! Woo!

PS Spent the weekend cleaning up after a sick pup. I'm seriously glad that we aren't at the other house right now, because we would probably have to replace carpet in the whole house. Blah.

It's a dogs life...

I'm not sure if the pups are settling in or not, but I am. I painted the ceiling in the entry way last night while watching RHONYC (guilty pleasure) and Michael built the tub wall. It's still a challenge to change habits like having to haul my ass up the stairs to go to the potty. But after this weekend we should have a downstairs toilet too.

Speaking of dogs... It's no wonder they're confused. Yesterday when I got home, I went to tie them out. I clipped both of their collars with the tie out rope and went about my business. Michael came home and said, "did you know that you clipped the dogs to each other?" HUH? Seems that the chain wasn't connected to anything outside, so the dogs were running around the yard tied to each other. Sheesh. What a bad mom I am. But they didn't leave the yard and probably just thought, wow, she's a ditz!

Here's a sample of what the backsplash will look like in the kitchen... PURDY!

No rest for the wicked

Holy buckets! No one ever told me that dogs don't like moving. They pace and bark and puke and are just a pain in the tush! Jumping on the bed and off the bed all night long, so I'm sleepless in Nevis. Two more work days though and I can rest. OH, wait! No I can't! I have to hang sheet rock this weekend. Sigh. Maybe a couple more days will cure them of the" restless tail syndrome".

Remember this advice. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Measure twice, cut once. Poor Michael. He hung a couple pieces of rock in the kitchen and things just weren't going his way. Too many outlets, and measuring it upside down caused some naughty words to be said. But my man doesn't give up easily. If you cut the sheet rock wrong, just move the outlets! Haha! There are only 3 more sheets to hang and limited obstacles, so we should get it done tonight.

First night at the "Farm"

My boudoir.....

 Well, we slept at the farm house last night and
 although I didn't sleep great (due to the dogs barking at passing traffic and new noises) I woke up feeling happy. I know we'll get things done here so much faster when we actually live here. It's hard to put things off when they are staring you in the face. PLUS, it makes you realize things that you'd like to do with the space. And for those of you who think I'm some kind of Diva, well, I'm not. I don't need much to be functional and happy....

My luxurious bath...

Michael's "gaming area

Granite Vanity

 We both have to work at our "real" jobs today, but tonight when we get home we will start sheetrocking the kitchen and this weekend we will get the bathroom sheetrocked, painted and flooring put in. Also, a new window in there...
Then finito! Done.

The kitchen will be the next priority, with cabinets to be put in. We haven't ordered the countertops or appliances yet.. but we can make do on that for a bit, since we have the old appliances here.
  The second bedroom downstairs needs the windows put in, and carpet and that will  be done. Things will start changing fairly quickly now and I'll make sure to keep you abreast of the progress. Abreast... I like that word. HA!

My dressing area

Update... getting ready for work was a challenge. First of all, the power in the whole back 1/2 of the house went out when I turned on my blowdryer. THEN the smell of sewer gas permeated the house sometime after I let the water out of the tub. The coffee tasted horrible... buying bottled water is a priority today. Sigh. But what better way to know the issues of a house but to live in it. Thanks House!

My toilet

Movin' in on Tuesday!

We worked very hard this weekend, and will continue today...
Michael and I have the farm house set up to live in. It reminds me of what college students probably live in the first time away from home. Very Sparse, with a mish mash of furniture.  We have the bedroom set up, the living room area and have a table in the "dining room" which is sharing space with 14 boxes of cabinets. The water is on, hot water heater is working but we don't have a working toilet yet. The plumber promised that by Tuesday we'll have a tub and toilet.

 I found an awesome vanity for the downstairs bathroom. (photo later today) It's a white, furniture type base with a black granite counter top.. It's lovely and it was on sale for $299. The studs are up in the bathroom, ready for sheet rock, which we plan to do today.

I will take more photo's today, but thought I should post this one for now. It's his and hers thrones!!

They have dual flushers.. one for liquid, and one for "solids" haha! What will they think of next!?

 Sorry if this makes you dizzy! Haha. My camera skills were lacking yesterday... but you get the idea. It's Home Sweet Home!