The last couple of days have been so frustrating. I am so new to everything that I am finding out quickly how very little I know about anything. I keep making stupid mistakes that's costing us time and money and I am completely overwhelmed by all the work to be done in such a short amount of time.
You would think painting ceilings would be a no brainer but it's much more time consuming than I thought it would be, much more difficult physically than painting walls and extremely messy. My step-dad brought over his paint sprayer and that is going to help incredibly. I finally got to use it last night and got the living room and front hall done in about an hour. I am going to get a mask and goggles though before I go at it again. I was choking on paint and blinking out paint eye boogies all night.
Yesterday my sister-in-law asked me to watch my niece which really cut down on what I could get accomplished at the house. I shouldn't have agreed because I am still not sure if I am going to get everything ready for the paint party on the 19th but she was desperate and I just couldn't leave her in a lurch.
Then I had the bright idea of having T. help me out last night, she is almost 14 after all. I thought she could help me tape trim, put down drop clothes, and wash walls to get ready to paint. Unfortunately my mommy sense didn't tingle (probably out of exhaustion) when she wanted a friend to come help out. BIG MISTAKE! She was goofing off with the friend and dropped a full can of paint, spilling it all over the driveway, then proceeded to track paint all over the house because she stepped in it. She was doing the think where she pretended to listen but wasn't hearing a thing I said so I ended up sending her off to the local mini mall just to get her out of my line of sight before I got really nasty with her. She Isn't a bad kid at all, just a teenager. Teenagers can be such a joy but at the same time they can be total pains.
I went outside and had a good cry over it all and decided that wasn't helping anything so I bucked up and headed back into the house to roll up my proverbial sleeves and get back to work. That's when I finally got to use the paint sprayer and everything started kinda smoothing out a bit. J. went over this morning after work and removed all the ceiling fan blades so I can just trash bag and tape over the ceiling fans so I don't get paint all over them when I go back over. That was also a hold up on me getting started on the other rooms.
I decided to take today off to go up to see my other sister-in-law. She majored in interior design and I have always loved what she has done with her homes so I went to go over paint schemes, and flooring and counter top options. Still house related but at least it was a lot less stressful and let me rest my poor muscles and emotions. We got a lot accomplished. She helped me so much, I don't know what I would have done with out her advice. I really think the house is going to look fantastic once we get it painted.
I know we aren't going to have the money to do the counters or floors for awhile but I really wanted to have some idea of what I was going to do before painting so I won't have to repaint later.
Money is yet another thing stressing me out. There just isn't enough of it. We weren't planning on buying a house right now so just before this whole house thing came up we dumped our savings into fixing up the truck we bought from my mom so we would have a couple of dependable vehicles. Then all the money we spent closing on the house and now we have to pay to get all the utilities on so I can work over there, buy paint, paint supplies, cleaning stuff, new trim, and who knows what else. This whole thing is a just huge money drain and I am not not sure where it is going to all come from. I think I will try to have a yard sale to get make some money next weekend and I can always go pawn my wedding jewelry (all though, I will only do that if we get really desperate). It's times like this I wish we had cultivated at least a little bit of credit.
We weren't very responsible with our credit when we were younger so to remedy the situation we just haven't used ANY credit in almost 11 years. We have no credit cards, and we buy our cars with cash so we haven't had to worry about being irresponsible. Unfortunately, there are negatives to this in that we have nothing positive on our credit so it caused a few problems with getting the house loan approved. We were thinking about applying for a Lowe's card or getting furniture on credit to help build up our credit (less chance of getting in trouble that way since we can't just go get a withdrawal here or stop off there for dinner with that kind of credit). I do think we have grown up a lot since then and would be more responsible but it's scary to us, being in debt for any amount and we don't even know if we would be approved for anything due to lack of credit.
And to top it all off, I miss my husband desperately. He is working almost everyday to get more money and I haven't seen him in almost a month. We finally got to spend last Sunday together because he wanted to be well rested for the closing but it's really hard to not have him to talk to and decompress every day. I am the decision maker in our family but I still like to talk things over with him beforehand. We haven't had time to talk about finances, the kids, what is going on with the house, anything but it's more than that, I just miss him.
I know things are going to get better, money can be made if your willing to work for it, we will get moved into the house and J. won't have to work so much, and the stress level will go down. For now though I am just going to have to suck it up and get through it. J.'s mom is coming over tomorrow to help out and that will be huge. She is so wonderful to us, I don't know what I would do without our family.
Anyway if anyone has been wondering, that's why I haven't posted in a couple of days. Hopefully I will be more on top of the blog this week and have some before and after pics of the ceilings to put up as well as pics of the front door I got painted. Oh, the boy statue is gone now and I did get some of the spackling done as well as the final coat on the front door.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Ugh! Painting Ceilings Sucks!
I went over today to start painting the ceilings. Wow, what a fiasco that was! I am so tired I really just want to go to bed but I really want to post today's activities while it's fresh on my mind (though I doubt i will ever forget today! lol) My step-dad was going to let me borrow his paint sprayer since the ceilings are that blown crap but it turned out that his wasn't intended for use with latex paint so off to Wal-Mart I went.
I found one of those rollers that supposedly dispenses paint so you don't have to constantly reapply paint. Big mistake! I ended up throwing it on my front porch in frustration only to have to clean up the paint mess I made by doing so. Do NOT get one of those things! I ended up with paint gushing out all over myself. LOL
I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't get a backup roller and extension for just in case so I was stuck with the little half sized one that I got to go around the light fixtures. I should have just gone back over and gotten them though even though I looked like a painted idiot. Vanity ended up costing me a lot of time and extremely sore arms. In the end I got half of the living room primed.
Well, my mom just called and she went out and bought one of the paint sprayers that is for use with latex paint so hopefully Friday will go much better....but just to be on the safe side I am hitting Wal-Mart tomorrow on my lunch break.
One thing I did accomplish though was getting the front door primed and ready to be painted Friday. I was hoping to paint it today but it was rainy all day and the moisture in the air made the primer slow to dry. I also went through the house and did a detailed inventory of everything that needs to be done, then went around removing nails from the walls. 94 nails in all. What the heck did they need so many nails for?
I didn't get the ugly boy statue off the back deck yet. I did get a chance during a break in the rain to look it over and it's not attached, just really heavy and covered with bugs and little spider corpses, so when I go back I am taking my rubber gloves and that eyesore will be taken care of.
After spending the day at the house I am really getting excited. I think just by getting the ceilings and walls painted and getting the carpets cleaned the house is going to look 1000% better.
I really need to buy a digital camera tomorrow so I don't have to borrow my mom's all the time. I wanted to take pictures today of what little I did get accomplished but didn't have a camera. I also need to find a better way to post pictures on the blog. Yesterday was a pain having to make 3 posts to get enough of them on here to give people an idea of what the before status of the house is.
I found one of those rollers that supposedly dispenses paint so you don't have to constantly reapply paint. Big mistake! I ended up throwing it on my front porch in frustration only to have to clean up the paint mess I made by doing so. Do NOT get one of those things! I ended up with paint gushing out all over myself. LOL
I don't know what I was thinking but I didn't get a backup roller and extension for just in case so I was stuck with the little half sized one that I got to go around the light fixtures. I should have just gone back over and gotten them though even though I looked like a painted idiot. Vanity ended up costing me a lot of time and extremely sore arms. In the end I got half of the living room primed.
Well, my mom just called and she went out and bought one of the paint sprayers that is for use with latex paint so hopefully Friday will go much better....but just to be on the safe side I am hitting Wal-Mart tomorrow on my lunch break.
One thing I did accomplish though was getting the front door primed and ready to be painted Friday. I was hoping to paint it today but it was rainy all day and the moisture in the air made the primer slow to dry. I also went through the house and did a detailed inventory of everything that needs to be done, then went around removing nails from the walls. 94 nails in all. What the heck did they need so many nails for?
I didn't get the ugly boy statue off the back deck yet. I did get a chance during a break in the rain to look it over and it's not attached, just really heavy and covered with bugs and little spider corpses, so when I go back I am taking my rubber gloves and that eyesore will be taken care of.
After spending the day at the house I am really getting excited. I think just by getting the ceilings and walls painted and getting the carpets cleaned the house is going to look 1000% better.
I really need to buy a digital camera tomorrow so I don't have to borrow my mom's all the time. I wanted to take pictures today of what little I did get accomplished but didn't have a camera. I also need to find a better way to post pictures on the blog. Yesterday was a pain having to make 3 posts to get enough of them on here to give people an idea of what the before status of the house is.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Even More Pics
Pics: 1) Guest bedroom2) Main bathroom
3) Back Bathroom
4) Daughters Bathroom
5) Back Deck
We Closed!! Also Pics Of The House!
We closed on the house today at noon. Of course the seller's realtor was really late and we ended up waiting on him but who cares (or as Casey would say, "it's all good"). We only have 30 years to go and we own a house! Yippee!! LOL
Ok pics. I am still getting the hang of this so bear with me. Thanks to sprezzatura by the way for explaining how to get them on the blog. I think I am going to have to do this in 2 posts but the first 5 pics are:
1) Front of house
2) Living room and formal dining area
3) Main kitchen
4) Breakfast nook and main kitchen
5) Game room
See next post for more pics.
Ok pics. I am still getting the hang of this so bear with me. Thanks to sprezzatura by the way for explaining how to get them on the blog. I think I am going to have to do this in 2 posts but the first 5 pics are:
1) Front of house
2) Living room and formal dining area
3) Main kitchen
4) Breakfast nook and main kitchen
5) Game room
See next post for more pics.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Looks Like No Close Today After All
Natalie just called back. The VA Appraiser is being a pain. It's not that the work wasn't done to the house to meet standards. He just doesn't like the way it was done. Natalie is on the phone with him now fighting it out and will call me back. I will update this post as I get news.
LOL looks like we will get that extra month before our payments start after all. I am trying not to be super disappointed or worried. I hate being in limbo like this.
I just got off the phone with my realtor and the 3 things that kept us from closing today are just insane! Only 1 of them is even relevant. There was a place on the front porch soffit that needed a small repair, the sellers repaired it but didn't repaint it. Ok I understand that one, but then he claimed that the smoke detectors they put in didn't work. My realtor tested them 3 times in 30 minutes and they worked every time. Then they had to enclose and raise a water heater, again no problem except today he didn't care for the way they hung the door. They hung it for easy access and he thought it should be hung to be more asthetically pleasing. ARGH!But supposedly we are back on to close first thing in the morning so we will see. Next time I will wait to get excited until after we have keys in hand. LOL
LOL looks like we will get that extra month before our payments start after all. I am trying not to be super disappointed or worried. I hate being in limbo like this.
I just got off the phone with my realtor and the 3 things that kept us from closing today are just insane! Only 1 of them is even relevant. There was a place on the front porch soffit that needed a small repair, the sellers repaired it but didn't repaint it. Ok I understand that one, but then he claimed that the smoke detectors they put in didn't work. My realtor tested them 3 times in 30 minutes and they worked every time. Then they had to enclose and raise a water heater, again no problem except today he didn't care for the way they hung the door. They hung it for easy access and he thought it should be hung to be more asthetically pleasing. ARGH!But supposedly we are back on to close first thing in the morning so we will see. Next time I will wait to get excited until after we have keys in hand. LOL
Will We Close Today?
Sorry no new posts for awhile. Things have been pretty crazy around here. My aunt/best friend got married this weekend and I was really busy with that, especially since both my kids were part of the wedding party.
We are set to close at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon but it's still a toss up whether it will happen today or not. Personally I hope we don't close today. Mat said if we close tomorrow that means we will have to bring a bit of money to close to cover interest but our first payment won't be until July. If we close today our first payment is in June. We would really like the extra month to get a few things done to the house.
I am waiting to hear from Natalie on whether the work got done Saturday, the VA inspector got over this morning to sign off on the work and if they got the title situation taken care of. Sure seems like a lot to have done before 4:00 today.
I have to admit though, I am getting really excited. I haven't been able to even sit down for long. I just can't believe all the good things that have come our way lately. First the house came out of no where and then my job (which is going wonderfully by the way, I start 3 days a week next week). I am so grateful for all the wonderful people in our lives that have helped us to get here and are continuing to be so wonderful to us.
My sister-in-law majored in interior design and I have always been so impressed with her sense of style. I talked to her yesterday and we are going to get together this weekend to go over paint swatches, counter top colors, and flooring options.
I want to try to make some decisions about what we are doing with the house, especially before the 19th. We are going to have a paint party/BB-Q that Saturday. So many people have offered to help us paint I am just overwhelmed. I think we are going to have a total of 7 people there to help with it.
I am going to borrow my mom's camera and take pictures of the house before we do anything to it and try to post them here on the blog (gotta figure out how to do that first though lol). Then as we get things done I will add pictures to show the work or additions.
A few things I know we are going to do as finances allow are: 1) Gutting the 2nd kitchen and making it into a media room 2) Take out a non-load bearing wall in the main kitchen and (hopefully) use the counters out of the 2nd kitchen to have the kitchen encompass the breakfast nook, get new counter tops for the kitchen, new flooring. Then paint and get hardware so the kitchen matches. 3) Get rid of the ugly chocolate shag carpeting in my daughter's room and put regular carpet to match the rest of the house. 4) Get rid of the carpet in 2 of the bathrooms and put down tile. 5) Get rid of the carpet in the hallways and put down the same kind of laminate flooring we plan to use in the kitchen. 6) Buy furniture.
Some things we have decided to do as far as decor are: 1) I have always loved Asian decor so I have decided to do the living and dining areas with it. I found the furniture I want yesterday I will try and post pics of it to get opinions. 2) J. is a huge Seahawks fan so we are going to do the Game room in Seahawks colors. (which actually works out since there is blue carpeting in there. He is going to paint the bottom of the walls Seahawk's gray with a wainscoting? strip of Seahawk's green and the top is going to be Seahawk's blue. 3) T. our daughter wanted her room to be hot pink and hot orange but thank god she has decided against it and is going to go with lavender instead so she can decorate with dragons and fairies.
Well, I better close so I can be ready if Natalie calls and says we are closing today but before I do there was one additional thing I would like to address. Any income made from this blog will go directly into the house remodel. I will keep receipts and post them here on the blog so expenditures will be verified.......
Oh Yea! Natialie just called and everything has come back except the official paperwork from the VA inspector so it looks like we are closing today! Be back later tonight to fill you all in!
We are set to close at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon but it's still a toss up whether it will happen today or not. Personally I hope we don't close today. Mat said if we close tomorrow that means we will have to bring a bit of money to close to cover interest but our first payment won't be until July. If we close today our first payment is in June. We would really like the extra month to get a few things done to the house.
I am waiting to hear from Natalie on whether the work got done Saturday, the VA inspector got over this morning to sign off on the work and if they got the title situation taken care of. Sure seems like a lot to have done before 4:00 today.
I have to admit though, I am getting really excited. I haven't been able to even sit down for long. I just can't believe all the good things that have come our way lately. First the house came out of no where and then my job (which is going wonderfully by the way, I start 3 days a week next week). I am so grateful for all the wonderful people in our lives that have helped us to get here and are continuing to be so wonderful to us.
My sister-in-law majored in interior design and I have always been so impressed with her sense of style. I talked to her yesterday and we are going to get together this weekend to go over paint swatches, counter top colors, and flooring options.
I want to try to make some decisions about what we are doing with the house, especially before the 19th. We are going to have a paint party/BB-Q that Saturday. So many people have offered to help us paint I am just overwhelmed. I think we are going to have a total of 7 people there to help with it.
I am going to borrow my mom's camera and take pictures of the house before we do anything to it and try to post them here on the blog (gotta figure out how to do that first though lol). Then as we get things done I will add pictures to show the work or additions.
A few things I know we are going to do as finances allow are: 1) Gutting the 2nd kitchen and making it into a media room 2) Take out a non-load bearing wall in the main kitchen and (hopefully) use the counters out of the 2nd kitchen to have the kitchen encompass the breakfast nook, get new counter tops for the kitchen, new flooring. Then paint and get hardware so the kitchen matches. 3) Get rid of the ugly chocolate shag carpeting in my daughter's room and put regular carpet to match the rest of the house. 4) Get rid of the carpet in 2 of the bathrooms and put down tile. 5) Get rid of the carpet in the hallways and put down the same kind of laminate flooring we plan to use in the kitchen. 6) Buy furniture.
Some things we have decided to do as far as decor are: 1) I have always loved Asian decor so I have decided to do the living and dining areas with it. I found the furniture I want yesterday I will try and post pics of it to get opinions. 2) J. is a huge Seahawks fan so we are going to do the Game room in Seahawks colors. (which actually works out since there is blue carpeting in there. He is going to paint the bottom of the walls Seahawk's gray with a wainscoting? strip of Seahawk's green and the top is going to be Seahawk's blue. 3) T. our daughter wanted her room to be hot pink and hot orange but thank god she has decided against it and is going to go with lavender instead so she can decorate with dragons and fairies.
Well, I better close so I can be ready if Natalie calls and says we are closing today but before I do there was one additional thing I would like to address. Any income made from this blog will go directly into the house remodel. I will keep receipts and post them here on the blog so expenditures will be verified.......
Oh Yea! Natialie just called and everything has come back except the official paperwork from the VA inspector so it looks like we are closing today! Be back later tonight to fill you all in!
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