So much going on…aaaahhhh!

Aaaaahhhh!!!

Yes, it’s been one of those weeks where everything is happening, but nothing of any importance is getting done. Between family being in town, being in the middle of changing jobs, still cleaning up after the bathroom remodel and now trying to get the house ready for company, I’m just about cooked!

The boys are out at the State Fair for the 2nd night in a row, I’m finally getting down to brass tacks and getting some cleaning done. It’s so much easier when there’s nobody here but me. As I was rearranging some furniture in the living room, out popped the printer I bought two months ago and just never did get installed. I keep telling Older Son that I’d get to it, but just couldn’t make the time. So, tonight, I made a command decision to just stop procrastinating and just do it. So, now it’s finally hooked up and ready to go. He’ll be pleasantly surprised when he gets home tonight.

I mentioned that I’m having company this weekend. An old friend of mine is coming to stay with me Friday and Saturday nights, and we’re going to the Sugarland concert Saturday night. It will be the last night of the State Fair, and it will be a good weekend. I’m kicking it off with a pizza party, and perhaps some margaritas…hmm…margaritas!! It’s been a long time since I’ve had a good homemade margarita….hmmm!

Ahh….the joys of a nice hot bath!

I finally finished painting the bathroom today and we got the new shower curtain up. It’s not completely done as it still needs to have the new light fixture put in and the

I need to get a duck to go with my new tub

mirror and towel bars hung up, etc., but it’s usable for now. The boys have been teasing me that the paint looks pink, though it is a light mocha, so light it’s almost white. I hate pink, and can’t see it myself, but if that’s all they have to tease me about then life’s not so bad.

The boys went out to the YMCA with their father for a few hours, so I took the opportunity to try out the new tub. Ah! It was so nice to soak in hot water again! I laid my head back down into the water and just let it float there for a while and closed my eyes. I thought about all the stuff that’s happened in the last two weeks with this bathroom remodeling project, and reveled in how grateful I am that it’s almost done.  I must have laid there for about 15 minutes just meditating on the joys of a nice, quite bath in my new bathroom.

Then I opened my eyes…and the paint wasn’t pink. Life is good!

Motivation – where’s a shark when you need one?

I was out perusing  Very Demotivational just now when I ran across this:

I’ve been sitting here thinking about how much I need to get up and finish painting my new bathroom, and I keep coming up with excuses as to why lurking around the blogosphere is so much more entertaining. What I lack is motivation due to home improvement over-stimulation. How’s that for a mouthful of crapola?!  So, not having the benefit of a man-eating shark to help me get motivated, I guess I just need to crack the whip on myself and get’er done.

Sigh…if I didn’t need to use the bathroom I would probably avoid that room in my house for the rest of my life. God help me when I get around to renovating the kitchen. Hm…or maybe that is a good way to go on a diet?!

Hot off the presses – Progress!

I ran home at lunch to check on the progress of the plumber and, lo and behold, we have a functional bathroom! It’s a little raw yet since there’s no rugs or curtain yet, but that I will be fixed tonight after work. Whoo!

Just above the sink you can see where I painted just enough to get the wall done so the plumbing can go in. Tonight I paint the rest of it and then we will have our brand new bathroom aaaaallll finished!

Oh a tangled web they weave when the plumber doesn’t show up

So I get home today and sign on to my work laptop, and while I’m doing that, I call the plumber to let him know that I’m ready. The boys and I were up late here painting last night to make sure we were good to go with the plumbing being finished today. He said he would be back to put the sink, toilet and shower head in on Thursday morning.

When I called in to their office today, the answer I got was not what I was expecting or desiring. Apparently they’ve had a few people call in sick and are short-handed, so they’ve had to push finishing my bathroom back until Friday.  Argh. You just never fully appreciate a bathroom until you are stuck in a house all day without one!

Seriously, though. With the building boom that is taking place in Minot and the surrounding area now, I should thank my lucky stars that I didn’t get pushed back until next week. So, it’s not as bad as it could be. Still…I’m bummed. I’ve got my bath salts ready for a nice hot soak. It appears that I’m pouting because it will have to wait. I guess I need to put on my big girl panties and suck it up for another day.

The good news is that the drywall guy came today, after not showing up at noon yesterday, and fixed the dings in the wall that happened when the flooring guy was here, and one I put in by accident yesterday -oops!  He’s supposed to be coming back after 12:30 to do a final sanding, so we’ll see if he makes it.

So, since I’m going back to the office tomorrow, Older Son will come and be here to let them in. Thank goodness for Older Son…I know I can count on him to hold the fort down.

Waiting for paint to dry

It’s 10:52pm as I sit down to write this, and I am waiting for paint to dry. Yes, it is as boring as it sounds, and I’m grateful to have this blog to blather on while I’m waiting. I have two coats of primer on, and I am just waiting for one wall to dry so I can get a coat of the top coat on before we go to Mom and Dad’s for the night. The plumber is coming tomorrow to put the toilet and sink in, and that wall has to be done before that happens.

I’ll be so slap-happy to get this project done and get back into my house. Don’t get me wrong…I love my parents, but there is nothing like staying in your own house with your own bed, and your own house rules. I especially want to wake up and take a shower in my own new bathroom, with the brand new quiet fan. Cancel that…I want a nice long bath. I bought some new bath salts just for the occasion!  Here are some more pictures of the ongoing progress:

This week has gone by fast, and I am hoping that tomorrow is as successful as I hope it will be. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

My new floor is in!

The primer is on! You can just see Older Son peeking in at the right.

Frenzied before 8:30am

Everyone put on your seat belts, strap on your head-gear and put your tray in the upright and locked position. It’s going to be a helluva day, folks.

My Dad beat me to my house this morning, if you can believe that. He’s already measured my eaves troughs, and been in my attic. Gods bless him…I don’t know what I’d do with out him. It it wasn’t for my Dad, my house would most likely fall down around my ears.

The drywall guy has been here this morning already to do what little he needed to get done, and I’m expecting the flooring guy at any minute.   It’s been a crazy day already and it’s not even 8:30am!

That’s ok…By this weekend, I will be back in my house with a brand new bathroom. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed again!

Home Improvement Anxieties and Gratefulness

It’s 5:34, and I’ve clocked out of work. Most of the renovation activity is done for the day except that my electrician has arrived and is rummaging around in my hot, stifling attic. Her name is Annie, and I swear that she has more patience for home improvement idiots (ahem…that would be me), than I could imagine.

Here’s a home improvement tip, and I can’t stress this enough…always start with the electrician. Have the lights, light switches, ceiling fans and any other electric thing you want in your finished room put in BEFORE everything else gets done, as best as you can. That will be one less person you have to make sure to schedule between other professionals while the main work is going on. When everything electric is pre-placed, the other guys will know exactly where it put it back when it’s all done. Also, if there are any wiring anomalies, you can have that taken care of before hand, and avoid any problems that way.

Here’s something you don’t want to hear any home improvement professional (plumber, carpenter, electrician, etc) say: “Now why the heck did they do it THAT way?!” I’ve heard that now about three different times, and it always makes my heart start racing while I wonder what extra thing will have to be done before progress can be made. But, I’ve been lucky. The next thing that I have heard is, “well, I suppose we can do X, Y or Z, and that ought to fix it.”  Whew… It helps to have competent people working for you, and I feel so lucky to have had that all the way around.

Another person I am really grateful to have helping me out around the house is my Dad. Today he came over, again, to look at the eaves troughs on the back of my house. They are malfunctioning something fierce. He’s done some reconnoitering and now has a plan for what needs to be done.   My Mom doesn’t get over here much with all the construction going on, but she is someone I’m also grateful for. She invited us to stay at their house while our bathroom is being done and has been so supportive. I don’t know what I’d do without either of them.

Now…if I could just get the painting going. I hate waiting!

Back to work today

After all the hubbub of last week, I had a nice peaceful weekend at my parent’s house with the boys and my Aunt. Now that the weekend is over, it’s back to business as usual. Well, perhaps not as it usually is.

Given that work is still ongoing with my bathroom remodel, and I keep a laptop for work, my boss let me work from home Monday through Thursday. Already this morning the young man who’s doing the drywall has been here, and will be back periodically throughout the day. It will be interesting trying to stay focused on work, with so much in my house that needs doing, but I’m hoping it will work out ok.

With any luck, the drywall will be done by Tuesday so I can paint. Then the floor guy is supposed to come Wednesday morning, and then the rest of the plumbing can be done Thursday. Once that’s all done, we can move back into our house and I can go back to work at the office!

Day #2 of the remodel

Well, it was quite a day yesterday. I feel like my seat belt broke and my crash helmet has some dings in it, but I’m still hanging on!

Not only did the bathroom get gutted, but it was re-insulated and prepped for the tub to go in today. With any luck, the tub will go in and the sheet rock will follow this afternoon. Whew!

There was a bit of a hiccup in the plan late yesterday as the light , the ceiling vent and one of the light switches weren’t mounted onto anything but the old sheet rock. Of course there was no electrician at hand, so my Dad came to the rescue again last night, and got things fixed up enough that the sheet rock can go up today. I told him if he keeps coming to my rescue like this, I’m going to have to buy him a white horse. Gods bless him…I just don’t know what I do without his help with stuff around the house.

No more window!

So, this picture at the left what we’re starting with this morning. It sure is dark in there without a window, but that’s ok.  Having a decent tub surround, and not having to have a curtain in my shower, will be worth it.

Right now my carpenter is replacing a bad piece of sub-flooring, and then…drum roll, please… the tub will go in! My plumber is a nice young man who seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He explained how the tub will go in, in good detail, and answered all of my questions. I’ve been very lucky in that I have good people doing this work for me. This morning I have to call the electrician to come and fix up the ceiling vent/fan and install a new light fixture. I haven’t met her yet, but I’ve had some good word of mouth references from people whose homes she’s done work in, and Casper says he’s met her and likes her work. Good enough for me!

So, in talking with the plumber, I have come to realize that I need to make sure to get the bathroom painted before the sink and tub go in. Ah, the joys of picking colors and making everything match. So, off I go to the flooring store today to get a sample of the flooring I bought, and then off to the paint store to get paint to match.  Good times!

The Carpenter is just finishing getting the new sub-floor screwed into place, and then the plumber will take over with the tub placement. Hmmm…I love the smell of fresh-cut wood in the morning!