Light Fixtures and....BUYERS

I forgot I had never even posted this picture. It shows the lights as well as the doors we put in. If we were staying, I would for sure put knobs on all the drawers and cabinets, but I'll let the buyers do that.

Speaking of buyers.......

We have one offer on the table already and another offer being drawn up right now as I type this! Yea!!! Both families really want it so maybe we'll have a bidding war of sorts? =)

The Back Yard

So much more could be done in the back yard, but I'm thinking this is some pretty big improvement. The fence is complete, the grass is mowed, the porch is clean. I'm happy.



So much more could be done in the back yard, but I'm thinking this is some pretty big improvement. The fence is complete, the grass is mowed, the porch is clean. I'm happy.

The Patio and the Mantle

We are in love with our patio furniture. We've never had any before and it's so nice to sit out there. There are always lots of pretty birds and squirrels running around to entertain us and the houses around ours are pretty. I'm going to miss it!

Remember the crystal ball looking light that used to be on the porch? I would show a picture if I could, but I'm using a different computer now. This was a very expensive light that John got for only $12!

The mantle is finally done! That was a long wait.

Here's a view from further away. (I also raised the curtains in the dining room. It made a big difference.)

And even further....

Flower Bed Pictures

I've never really done a landscaping project before (not any that I'll admit to anyway!) so this was no small thing.

We bought and brought home all the pavers. I carried them all from the truck to the yard and then layed them in the pattern I wanted.

I dug out the grass that John had grown. (I kept telling him I wanted to do flower beds but he didn't believe me.)

I spent a couple hours at Lowe's in the blazing sun choosing what plants to use.

I made several trips to pick it all up because there wasn't enough room in one trip.

I dug big holes for the bushes. I dug smaller holes for the flowers.

I mulched.

I watered.

I LOVE it!!!

I wasn't sure what to do with this area down by the end of the driveway so I mulched it and added some flowerpots.

I thought about cutting down the big oleander bush on the end, but my dad said I should just trim it up like a tree. I'm glad I listened!

So much better now!

Here's the left side - that's the kitchen window there on the far left. It's much better view now!

The Master (mostly) After Pictures

You have to keep in mind that we are still working on stuff as we have time, so most all of the after pictures I've been posting are "mostly" after pictures. The big project lately has been the fence and planting new grass. The fence lacks one front section, but John had to get the grass seed planted before it was too late. So the rest of the fence will come later.

Meanwhile, the inside still hasn't seen many of the finishing touches I'm eagerly awaiting - things like bathroom light fixtures, all the new outlets and light switches, and a light in our shower! I've gotten used to taking dark showers now though.

In case you don't remember how horrendous things looked before, here's the original slide show of pictures.

Here's the master bedroom from the doorway.

The view from the bathroom.

This is my little area where my computer is for now. I had the internet man install wireless internet and my plan was to set up the desktop in John David's room since he has a desk. After going to all the trouble to hook up my computer in his room I realized that there's no wireless card. So now I sit on the floor in the corner of my room.

Here's the bathroom entrance view from our bedroom. We have some really nice slatted doors that still need to go up. Also, can you tell that there's no base trim under the cabinets? And no drawer fronts on two of the drawers? Yeah. I'm patiently waiting. My patience is getting us our mantle for free though and that's worth about $400 so it's okay.

Won't new light fixtures be so pretty? =)

See what I mean about taking dark showers? I guess the people who lived here the last 30 years never wanted to see. Weird.

The cabinets still need the gloss finish, but again, we're waiting for our cabinet man to do some things first.

This is our tub and the new window. I really don't like that picture there because it seems too small for the space, but I had it on hand so for now it works.

Here's the ceiling fan in our room.

John put remote controls with all of the ceiling fans in the house. I love this little luxury!

Living Room and Dining Room

This is the before picture for the living room. Pretty rough. We knew the shelving would all have to go and that the fireplace would need to be redone, but we didn't have a clue how we were going to redo it.

This is the previous breakfast area. The window to the right looks out to a covered patio that separated the breakfast area from the living room.

We took out those walls and enclosed the patio.

The old patio area is now indoor space. This view is from the entry area.

So you have to know that it's still a work in progress. We're having a mantel custom made and it's taking longer than we had hoped. All the cords that are hanging around the fireplace will be hidden by the mantel and behind the wall when we're done. I also made some matching floral arrangements for the top of each tower, but that wasn't done when the pictures were taken.

It's funny when I look at this picture because this room isn't really my style. I don't have the money to create what I want so I have to just do what I can afford - which I like, but it's not really me. Also, I think the towers look much nicer in person than in these pictures. They aren't solid black. They have a distressed finish with a wood color underneath. Not too important, I know.

Here's a picture taken from near the fireplace.

Our table sits where the patio used to be!

Here's that view from the entry area again.

And here's the view from the hallway. I can't believe the original builders made that an outdoor patio - it was such a waste of space! Right in between the two pillars was a big ugly glass sliding door. No thanks!

I would love to have a rug under the dining table, but with my kids I think any rug would be doomed from the start. =)

Some More After Pictures

There's a good possibility that by this point nobody even cares......but for the sake of finishing what I started.....

This is the only before picture I could find of the entry area. To the left is what used to be the dining area (we enclosed it to make a fourth bedroom), the middle is the front door, and the right leads into the front room (which around here is often called "The Miss Goodbee Room" since that's where the girls' Miss Goodbee dollhouse usually resides).

Here's the new entry way:

I'm sorry to say that I have no before picture of the front door, but trust me, it was U-G-L-Y! Here's the new door that I painted green to match the trim which we also did in green.

Here's the view from the entry way when you come into the house. You'll notice that we are still lacking door knobs and many new switches and outlets. These are things that are coming slowly but surely.

Here's a before picture of the front room:

And after:

We took out the lovely paneled wall with the built in desk and added a window. It made a big difference inside and out! We love it!

Here's the view when you're sitting on the love seat in the front room.

Okay, more will come soon. Not everybody was awake when I was taking pictures so I couldn't get all the rooms....

They Have Shadows!

I just went in the kitchen and there are ants all over the cabinets under the sink and near the dishwasher. These things are huge! They have their own shadows!!! Going to the store for ant poison now. Good grief.......

The Kitchen and Part of the Bathroom

The kitchen is my favorite part of our house so far. It still lacks a few touches like new switches and outlet plates, bottles in the wine rack, and plates in the plate rack, but I think you get the idea.

(I love my new camera, but my computer does not. I'm having great trouble transferring pictures. You wouldn't believe the retardedness I just went through to get these up!)

Here's the view from near the table:

(oops! one can light is burned out!)

(do you like how I cropped out the sink? but not because there were dishes in there. no way!)

We had the tile guys lay this strip of stones across the entry to the kitchen to serve as a way to break up the flow of the tile. It allowed us to get the design we wanted. We did the same thing in the hall bath entry way.

And here's one picture of our bathroom. Those white lines are just from the flash bouncing off the mirrors. I'm waiting for John to get home to change out the light fixtures and I couldn't take pictures of the rest of the bathroom just because it's dark right now. The new lights for the shower and bath part aren't in yet so I shower by lamplight for now! Classy, huh? The cabinets are also not totally done since we haven't put the finish on them or any hardware.

If my camera and computer get along better tomorrow, I'll try to post more.....

Thank The Lord for Home Warranties

Upon entering the house this morning, I smelled something burned. I couldn't find the source of the smell at first, but then I saw the hot water heater. It's a wonder our house didn't burn down! The plumber said if the door had been on that closet where the water heat is (we removed it for tiling) it most likely would have set the house on fire. Wouldn't that have been something. All this work and a lot of our stuff freshly moved over and then it burns down. Wow.

Anyway, the plumber is already there doing his thing. They'll put in a brand new one tomorrow and all for just the $60 fee the warranty company charges. Sweet.

Who Knew?

A ventahood (is that how that's spelled???) has to actually vent somewhere. Really? The previous owner's must not have known that since there was no venting route in place. And since there was no venting route in place, we, of course, never even thought about it.

Until yesterday.

Our kitchen is all but complete and we were just in there to talk about installing the appliances. That's when the vent bomb was dropped. Bleh. Now we have to cut through the cabinet over the microwave, cut a hole in the ceiling, and run a venting duct through the attic. We may even have to take down a section of cabinets to do the job and then put them back up. You can insert any exclamatory remark filled with frustration and annoyance HERE.

I Stink

I had great hopes of what this blog would be, but the honest truth is that I can only do so much. I figure I should probably keep feeding my kids and occasionally dressing them, and every once in a while I need to sleep an hour or two. The only thing I can cut out some is blogging. =(

I'm kind of bummed and kind of excited all at once because we started moving our stuff over today (the good part), yet not everything is done yet (the bummer part). Things will get finished this week but due to several different factors, we needed to go ahead and move a lot of things over. We put a lot of it in the garage (the carpet isn't in yet) and only some in the house on the tile. It was SO thrilling to see my things that have been in a lonely storage room for over a year, but it's frustrating that 1) I didn't get pictures of everything all finished before stuff was brought in, and 2) I didn't get to clean everything before stuff was brought in. I'll definitely have to mop a number of times to get the floors good and clean. I wish I had a Shark Steam Mop!

All of this to say that pictures will be posted, just not yet. We're going to be crazy busy finishing everything and moving in this week and then we're going to Colorado for the rest of the year. I can't wait to post an awesome before and after picture full post!

And don't let me forget to share my cabinet staining fiasco! I'm going to have to blame it on Kablot, I think, due to her down right frightening warning of a comment about my body now being poisoned with toxins! ;) It sure feels good to have someone else to blame for your mistakes. Thanks, Kablot!

My body is screaming for bed after a very long day of church (complete with curling both girls' hair this morning - about a 45 minute job, working in the preschool class, and then the preschool Christmas program, and touching little boy pee when a 4 year old wet his pants), lunch, trying to edit John's paper for school (I fell asleep trying), moving lots of heavy boxes (some of them up the ladder and into the attic), overseeing the completion of a 2nd grade school project (no small thing if you've met his teacher!), and getting all tired and cranky children into bed. Good night!

a VERY helpful hint I wish I had known before....

I stained cabinets for the first time tonight. I've been dreading this task because I was terrified of messing these custom made beauties up. The blood was flowing through my veins pretty fast when I sat down in the bathroom to get started (staining that is). I thought about it, I prayed about it, and I repositioned myself a half a dozen times. Finally, when I could put it off no longer, I began.

One rule to remember, which I knew, is to always start your staining job at the back of the cabinet. The reasoning for this is just less mess as you lean in. I did a great job following this rule.

Another rule to remember is to never stir your stain midway through your project. This could result in an uneven finish on your wood. I was good at following this rule too. Stir it once and put the stick in the trash. I can handle it.

But this last rule is one that nobody bothered to share with me - probably because it's just so obvious. When you are going to stain something, anything, wear gloves! This is especially important when you are using a rag to stain and not a brush. I did not know this was a good idea until it was too late, and by that time by hands were already well on their way to turning a very dark brownish black.

I can now tell you some things that do NOT get stain off your hands:

dish soap
lemon juice
bleach
ammonia
sos pad
boiling water
flaming fire

Ok, I didn't try everything single thing in that list, but nonetheless, those things don't work. If you are a dodo like me and happen to get stain all over your hands, then you better pray to God Almighty that you have some vegetable oil in your house, because that's all that's getting that nasty, sticky stuff off!

The cabinets are looking great though, so I guess it's worth it.

Pictures. Tomorrow. On it.

I Owe You

I know I owe you soooo many pictures and I really do keep meaning to get them! The problem is that I'm too stinking busy doing all the work to take pictures of the work that is happening. I can tell you about some of the things that have happened, but that's kind of boring I know. Hmmm....How about I tell you now and then add the pictures very soon. (I promise, very soon.)

• baseboards are all in and painted
• all painting is done, save a few touch up places
• master bath is done except for staining the cabinets
• outside trim is about halfway done and we changed our color choice - I love it!
• new bedroom door and closet door are installed

And this week the following things are happening:

• ceiling fans and lighting fixtures installed
• final electrical work done (I hope it's the final work anyway)
• carpet gets installed
• granite goes in
• kitchen back splash is done
• fireplace is tiled (mantel will probably come a little later)

See? I told you I owe you pictures! We've got a marathon work week looming over us right now though. Sorry! =)

Painter's Neck

I'm not sure if that's an actual term, but I've got it. It's caused by painting ceilings and it's not fun (the neck and the painting both). The good news is that other than a few places that need a touch up, the painting is done! (Ok, that's not including the base boards either but they are almost done too!) I can't begin to describe my elation - imagine the elation level once it is actually, totally, completely done. To think that in two weeks we will be sleeping in that house with our own furniture, well, that's just unimaginable right now (which is unfortunate because it MUST happen). Our deadline is firmly in place:

• December 14th - all the guys go to the Cowboy game (no drooling please)
• December 15th - carpet installed (this is tentative as I have to make sure the installers are good to go for that day, but it shouldn't be a problem)
• December 16th, 17th, 18th - move in and unpack
• December 19th - John David's Christmas party at school (remember, I'm Marge)
• December 20th, 21st - Christmas with John's family
• December 21st - fly out to Denver for Christmas with my family
• December 22nd, 23rd - packers and movers arrive and Clay and Sandy's house to move everything that's left to go to Tulsa (that's why we have to be moved!)
  

Surprisingly, I'm keeping my cool pretty well, I think. Mostly anyway. ;)

Someone Call the Trophy Shop Please

Seriously, because I soooo deserve the dodo award. I'm so annoyed with myself! I have painted bedrooms 2-4 count it.....one....two.....THREE TIMES!

But that's not the worst part. After three times, it's still NOT the right color. And do you know what color I will probably use? The color I painted it the first time around. I told you I deserve the dodo award. It's really no wonder that the painting will never end. I'm way too wishy washy on my color choices.

In case you're curious....

Round One: Nomadic Desert (same color as the living room and kitchen)

Round Two: Dove White (a very creamy off white that just ended up looking way too blah)

Round Three: Tea and Biscuits (supposed to just be a lighter version of what's in the living room and kitchen but ended up with a freakishly orange hue)

Sigh......

So now everyone knows why the posts here have not been too frequent. I've been grunt slaving around with the paint roller on a never ending quest to find the perfect color. How wonderfully frustrating.

The Light

I can see it! The light at the end of the tunnel, that is. There's still so much to be done, but everything is really coming together. I'm dying to post pictures of what the master bath looks like right now, but a) I don't have time, and b) any pictures I took right now wouldn't be good anyway because it's too dim as the light fixtures aren't all in yet.

We're taking a few days off to spend some time in Dallas (yea!), but then it's back to grunt slaving around......

Lesson of the Day

If you're going to get new doors, you should paint them before installing the hardware.

Having...Heart....Attack.....

I just paid for the granite. That is all....

Hall Bath

The babies are in Tulsa this week (I will not cry, I will not cry) and John David was at school, so I just had Julia with me. We spread out a blanket and took a bunch of things to do. She played on the blanket for several hours while I painted trim.

This is the doorway from the hall into the bathroom. It's not grouted yet, but isn't it pretty?

This is the shower for the hall bathroom. I really like the way it came out and I'm totally wishing I had used those stones in the master! I didn't want them to look the same though....