Looking In My Front Door

This is the moment you've all been waiting for, a tour of my house. (I'd much rather be showing pics of the lights we took the kids to see, or cutting down our Christmas tree, but since I forgot the camera, you'll have to view these instead!)

In the beginning.

The front entry.

Welcome to my hallway, er, house.

With carpet and lovely brown linoleum.

Without carpet and linoleum.

Eww....put it back!

(Just be thankful you can't smell this picture. I still can.)

Suprisingly effective drywall demolishers.

The finish crew. Aren't they beauties?

The bare studs.

(Note the section of flooring that is missing?)
Since this was a load bearing wall (for the garage) we had to re-inforce the beams in the ceiling (attic) before we could proceed forward. And do a little re-wiring.

No studs at all!!

But, where did they go?

Ta-da!

We recycled them into a wall in the former hall to really create an entry to the house.

This is the back view.

This is the front view.

Note the subfloor is gone, too.

Drywalled, mudded and waiting for texture.

Hardibacker down on the floor.

OOoooh, pretty paint!

Pretty paint all around.

(This is after we kilzed the entire house.)

A new foyer with 16" tiles.

Shocking that it took us a long time to come up with this design.

Simple really is best.

Close up of the beautiful tile.

Almost finished, with grout and flooring.

Not suprisingly we still don't have the transition piece in place, so this is still what it looks like. Maybe I'll get it all finished by March.

So, there you have the first mini-transition-tour. Look for more starring the kitchen, the family room, and the bathroom, with minor roles going to the laundry closet, hallways and bedrooms.

Now, you must remember, we only had minimal tiling and painting experience before this project (I'm talking the entire house). Most of the things we did here were new skills that we acquired or faked. Some things we hired out, due to time/safety constraints, but alot of things we tried on our own. Definetly a learning curve.

Sometimes

...I just open up my blog page so I can listen to the jukebox. *sigh* It's such a delightfully random collection of songs that I love. Each time a new one comes up I think, wow, that's a great song! I think it's especially good since I haven't heard it for three months!

Maybe next year I can make a Christmas song list that is just as good....

I'm BACK!

Yes, I know. This is the moment you've been waiting months for. So have I. FINALLY we got internet hooked up at our new house. Only three months, four days, six hours and 22 minutes. But who's counting, eh?

During that time we have started school, missed the first birthday of H, didn't miss the first steps, entertained Grandma, pulled of the Children's Primary Program at church, celebrated dad's birthday (by dad I mean S), gotten sick, traveled to see Grandma & Grandpa in Nauvoo, gotten sick (again, or still?), trick-or-treated, been called as Primary Pres., raked leaves, eaten turkey, raked more leaves, lost first and second teeth and swept the floor--alot. I think S has been to vegas for a couple business trips (hey, gotta fund the new digs somehow!). The kids are taking swimming lessons at the Y and A is in dance (again). I also managed to get over 1,000 pictures off of my camera (backlogged since March), and attempted to consume an entire refridgerator worth of food single-handedly as part of a new exercise and eating program. (Didn't work--had to throw the green stuff out. Funny, since most of it was green to start, teeheehee.) This year has been insane for our family. I'm hoping to post some house pics before 2010. I'll try to get the progression of a room. It's seriously amazing...and there are some things still left to finish. We've started not noticing them (baseboards, door trim, floor trim, dangling bulbs in nak--exposed wires on the ceiling, that one fritzing light in the kitchen, blurry paint edges, wiggly doorknobs, upside down doorknobs...the cementboard hearth...)

Isn't homeownership grand?

Now, if I could just find some horizontal surfaces besides cardboard boxes, I might be able to get those Christmas decorations out...

(seriously love it)

ps. did I mention a new hairstyle?

Humor Relief

Just for your Friday enjoyment, and to further my denial that there is still packing to do. I really want to sit down and watch the "classic" Star Wars now--the first three, Episodes 4-5-6. If I could only remember which box they were in...

Budding Artist

King H is such a cute little stinker. His latest favorite thing to do is grab a pen or pencil, find a piece of paper, and try to draw on it. He dug into the "to shred" pile last night for the right piece of paper, and if that pencil lead had been sharpened he would have made a masterpiece. Unfortunately I can't leave him with such dangerous objects for long. Who knows what he will use next for a canvas?

Cliffs of Insanity

I've decided that all things in life can somehow be related to "The Princess Bride". Ah, that classic tale by S. Morgenstern about true love, large beasties, sword fights...but I digress.

I have come to the Cliffs of Insanity.

We're moving on Saturday.

Have we finished the house? No.

Have we packed up this house? No.

Hence the Insanity.

Or rather, I should declare this undertaking, "Inconceivable!!" (Although, it probably doesn't mean what I think it means....perhaps I shouldn't use it anymore...)

I'm in such huge denial about the tasks at hand I bought three cookbooks today. Like a big slow-cooker full of beef soup with a little cornbread on the side will make it all go away.

Have I mentioned what a pain it is to move across town?

And for our Anniversary we bought baseboards and DH-S did get me flowers, but could only sign the card with a big "9" because he's so exhausted?

And that the kids start school on Monday?

And it's Sweet A's birthday on Thursday? (poor kid always get shafted, two years ago we drove out of Utah on her birthday to move here!)

And that DH-S has business related evaluations and people coming from out of town for three days?

And King H must have me in his sights or be in my arms at all times, or major meltdowns occur?

And lest we forget him, Sir C can hardly wait to wear his new school shogees (H helping me type--all typos are henceforth his fault), er, shoes, and thinks everything I ask him to do (like brushing his teeth before bed) is mean.

Oh Calgon, take me away!

(If I actually had a tub that I could sit in. ..)

Just what it's like in my corner of the world.

Send fudge. Fast. Or one of those HGTV guys to finish my house... in two days. And a nanny to watch the kids.

(Seriously, I've had alot of people helping out and watching kids, we wouldn't be this far along without such fabulous help. I'd probably be in a padded cell.)

And I have been taking pictures. I'm on my second memory stick since May. I just lost the reader/cables to upload them. The transformation will amaze you. Probably won't get to post them until October. Just to warn you.

So, I'm still alive. And if I can find a giant to carry me, I'll be on top of the world in no time!! =)

I should have made that rhyme....

Ah, well... life is ----good.

I've just fallen for the (third?) most classic blunder of all time... homeownership. The first is never get involved in a land war in Asia.

Swim Fun

Awhile ago, a camera guy was at the Y when Sir C was having his swimming lesson. I finally remembered to look it up! Isn't he cute? There's a quick flash of him at the beginning, and at the very end.

(fyi- he's not hairy and he doesn't have any speaking parts!)