Ba Hum Bug

Another Christmas season, and another Christmas that my boyfriend has to work. In the now 9 years of Christmas' I think we have shared...ONE. And what makes it worse, this year his request to have Christmas Eve off so he could have that with his side of the family was mostly ignored. He won't be off until late afternoon early evening. Maybe this is part of why I have come to mostly hate the Holiday season. The season is for giving and spending time with others, your family, the ones you love. But what does the season have to offer if most of your family has you feeling like an outsider and you can't spend time with the ones or one you love the most?

Working to finish caulking

I tried the tape trick that I saw on HGTV to keep the caulk from moving up the wall when removing the excess with your finger. I find this actually works.

The hardest part is getting the tape just right. If you get it too low, all the caulk you just put down will be wiped off when you remove the tape. If it's too far up the wall, there will be extra caulk that still needs to come off and that can get tricky to get off and still look as good as the rest.

At least the molding that has been put in is almost done being caulked. All the nail holes have been filled with wood filler and are drying. Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish the caulking and have the molding sanded. Then Wednesday it will all get the touch up painting to hide those nail holes.

Trouble Caulking

Okay, I learned today that I need help when it comes to caulking. Thankfully not too much landed on the floor and most stayed on the wall or was wiped off on some paper towel.

Recently, my Father helped finish put base molding in our master bedroom. He came over and cut it all to size and nailed it to the wall. He is busy with work and other projects so it was left to my Boyfriend and me to finish. All the nail holes were filled with wood filler and will be ready for sanding tomorrow. After filling all the holes with wood filler we attempted to caulk the space between the wall and the molding.

We are hoping even though it is dry we will still be able to get it off the wall and molding in those areas it's not supposed to be. Looking at the wall from a distance you can't really tell that there is caulk on it but you can see some places on the molding where there are some small globs. As you walk closer you can see it on the wall, and even more areas where it got on the molding.

There is still more caulking to be done, I think we will try a trick we saw on a home improvement show. The trick involves putting tape on the wall and while the caulk is still wet, after running your finer along it, you pull the tape off to leave a nice line and no caulk where you don't want it. I'll let you know how the next caulking adventure goes.

New Washer and Dryer

We recently purchased a new washer and dryer from ABC Warehouse. They installed the washer but could not install the dryer since it was gas. When we went to install it we had a little bit of fun.

The gas line that was already existing was a solid metal tube with litte flexibility. I had a hard time getting the tube to bend right so I could attach it to the dryer. The venting was another story in and of itself.

We had purchased a metal flexible tube to attach to the existing venting and replace the plastic flexible tube that was there. While trying to cut away this flexible tubing the existing venting fell apart. Everytime we touched the venting, since we could not see it was full of lint and were trying to clean it out, the venting would come off of the nearest connection. In the end we replaced all the venting except the tube that went to the outside. Instead of using the duct tape the instructions said to use, we used metal tape to help hold the tubes together.

It was fun getting the dryer into position. I had to hop up and over the counter because of how close I had to move the dryer to the wall before I could get the vent to connect to the dryer. And the gas line was giving me a hard time too because it didn't want to bend.

Eventually the dryer was in place, and I've now done a few loads and am loving my new washer and dryer. I'm very happy with them and love my boyfriend for picking them out.

"How are you today?"

If you are going to ask me how I'm doing, stick around for the answer. If you are not sticking around, don't ask me how I'm doing. I think it is rude for someone to ask how another person is doing and not listen to the answer.

When walking through a store, the store clerk should not ask how you are doing if they are not going to stick around to at least see if you are going to ask for help finding something. If they even say hello, they should see if you need help. If they are busy they can knod an acknowledgement that they know you are there and finish what they are doing then come and help you. They should not be asking how I'm doing while whizzing off because they are already helping someone else or running off to their break. If you're going to say something tell me who to find that can help or that you'll be with me in a moment.

So tell me how you are doing. Really, I'm sticking around for the answer.

DIY carpet installation

So far the new carpet in the Master Bedroom is looking great. We bought carpet from a local Lowe's store and rather than pay the money to have them install, we installed it ourselves.

My Dad came over to help, but none of us had ever put carpet in before. There is still work to be done. We only had an evening since both my Dad and I had to work this morning. The carpet has been cut and is looking great. We chose a burber carpet and it feels super soft under your feet or stomach (I'm currently laying on it).

I'm mad about one thing. I wasn't able to take pictures! My camera batteries died and I can't find the charger in the mess of boxes. The sad thing is I remember seeing it somewhere around here. But anyways, I'm mad because there is no proof that we did it all ourselves. We plan to finish the job tomorrow so unless I find the darn thing soon, there will only be pictures of once the carpet is all done and installed. I guess all that matters is that we know we did it ourselves and we can feel good about a job well done.

First nights

We just spent the second night at our new home. It doesn't feel like sleeping in your home though, to me it feels like camping. Like in a few days I'll be leaving. Even though I know I'm not leaving, I'm here to stay.

I expected the first night to be weird but not the second night. Or at least a little less weird. Alas, I still have that "I'll be leaving soon" feeling.

It probably doesn't help that we are sleeping on the floor, hard wood floor at that. We do have a bed ordered, it just hasn't arrived yet. I hope that when the bed comes that will hopefully help this feel at least a little less like camping, and more like living in our new home.

Putting in the kitchen sink

Tonight we tried to put in the kitchen sink. Currently the installation is still in process.

It has not been an easy time and I've enjoyed the commentary by my Dad and Boyfriend who have been doing the installation. The faucet was put on first before putting the sink in so that they wouldn't have to worry about putting the faucet on from underneath. I hear that went fairly easy. I wasn't actually home for that part.

I walked in after they had finished applying the caulk under to put the sink down. They were trying to attach the clamps for the sink to hold it down tight to the counter. My Dad and Boyfriend kept complaining that the clamps wouldn't grip. They would think they had the clamp down, take their hand away, and find the clamp falling to the bottom of the cabinet.

...

Now they have finished putting the clamps in but have added some things to the countertop. They piled on tool bags, tool boxes, 5 galon bucket of mud, and anything else they could find with weight to it; it's all sitting on the lip of the sink to help hold it down while the caulk dries.

The plumbing still has not been hooked up.

So much to do, don’t know what to do

Ever have so much to do you don’t know where to start or what to do next? I’m at that point. There is so much still to do with getting this house move in ready that I don’t know what to do next.

There is still basic cleaning to do, and last night I learned of one more cleaning task. Still need to set up for internet access, put carpet in the master bedroom, put base molding on, and some minor painting. That’s not even the start of it, there are still more tasks that thankfully I’m getting help from my dad for, such as rewiring some of the switches so that instead of working an outlet they work a ceiling light.

I suppose the best way at this point to choose what to do next would be to play the kids game of eenie-miny-moe. Everything needs to get done, some things more than others I suppose. That would be another way to choose what to do next. Of course though everything I can do myself can be done after we move in, so I think I’ll stick with eenie-miny-moe and see what I get to do now. Anything is better than sitting here just thinking and wondering what to do next.

Mortgage through parents

I must be thankful to my parents for my new house, if not for them I may not have it or any right now. They have allowed me to get a loan through them; my parents now joke with the rest of my family that my boyfriend and I got is from their own financial institution they run.

However, this has put a strain on our relationships with some of our friends. They are the same age, working the same kind of jobs but can't afford a house. They have become so jealous they won't even talk about the house anymore.

I can see where they are coming from. If the tables were turned I'd be jealous of them, but I wouldn't allow my jealousy to get in the way of our friendship. Right now all we've been doing is working on the house non-stop outside of working our jobs. So there hasn't been much to talk about, but they won't talk about their lives so much anymore. I feel that the friendship we had is falling apart and is impossible to be repaired.

As if moving out on our own for the first time wasn't hard enough, now we are loosing the people we would go to for advise. I don't know what to do anymore.

House is not a home

After over a month of deconstructing, fixing, painting, and building the house my boyfriend and I purchased is almost ready for us to move in.

When we first purchased the home, I felt like I was helping to spruce up someone elses home, not mine. I had a panic attack when we started tearing out the kitchen cabinets that were there because I felt it was someone else's. Even now, after all the planning, and sweat we have put in, overall, this house belongs to someone else.

I can't not go down to the basement in what must have been the work room and wonder what projects the previous owner worked on in there. I can't sit in front of the fireplace without wondering what they did when they sat around the fire. I can't walk around the house without wondering what plans they had for the flower beds.

The feelings that this house is ours, that it is our home, are few and fleeting. While on paper it says the house is ours, and we know somewhere it is ours, at least to me, it is not ours.

I'm still excited to be moving out and starting a new chapter of life, learning to live on my own, anxious to cook in the kitchen that is now just a few days work from being done. I still can't stop thinking about "them", the family that grew up there, the family that lost their home to forclosure. I wonder how they are doing now, and imagine inviting them over for dinner, and fear how they would feel if they knew the changes we were making.

I may call it home when talking to others, but in my heart, this is not my home. This home is still someone else's and I wonder if it will ever be ours.

Too much procrastinating

I am doing too much procrastinating. Last night I set my alarm to make sure I got up early, I had a long list of things I wanted to get done today. When the alarm went off, since I didn't have to get up, I didn't. There was nothing on the list that seriously had to get done today, it was mostly wishing they would get done today, or things I wanted to work on that there was no way I could get done today.

As hard as I try to not procrastinate, if something doesn't have to get done, chances are I won't touch it. I have to already be up, and just finishing something else so that I'm in the mood to work.

The experts would probably say that I should note what gets me in the mood to work. Usually having to do something gets me in the mood to work. This is the only common thing there is with me, so the experts advise does not really help me. I've tried music, caffeine (not pure of course, but drinks like coffee, Mountain Dew, or things like chocolate), being in a certain room.... I feel like I've tried everything and still I procrastinate.

Why must I procrastinate? I work best off that adrenaline rush that comes from doing things at the last second. This means it is my nature to procrastinate, and it seems this is something I am just going to need to accept and deal with.

Buying forclosed

Buying a forclosed home is a blessing and a curse.

My boyfriend and I just purchased our first home, it is a forclosed home. It's been about a month now and we are still trying to get it ready to move in. We are finally almost there. We've taken out the few kitchen cabinets there were, fixed the ceiling in the bathroom and added ventilation, and just installed new vinyl flooring.

The blesssing is that they are more affordable, but it feels like it's only window dressing. There is so much hidden work inside. When we had the inspection done after our offer had been accepted, it came back with 22 pages (with pictures) of things that needed fixing. A few of these were the main electrical wire to the house needed replacing because the covering was wearing away and water was leaking into the circuit breaker box. We also had to get a new circuit breaker box and new circuit breakers. And the chimneys needed cleaning. The one for the fireplace has so much build up that it needs to be acid washed, not just swept.

Of course it's not all bad. With all the fixing we have to do, when we are done, the house should feel more like ours. We will have added our touch to it, all at the biginning rather than a little at a time. I'm already dreaming of my new kitchen, my first kitchen. I'm like a little kid inside, and the house is my big candy.