by a hair

sunday:

poor boy - those knees took a beating. they looked like softballs this morning =(

yay!!

so close to being all the way done. G was all pro by the time he got to this point. you should have seen the cuts he was making to be sure everything fit together just right. 

the f-ing closet. this tiny little thing was last to be done and it would typically take maybe 30 mins to complete... he could taste the victory when all hell broke loose and he had to hack two rows out with a chisel. four hours later the laminate was complete. i felt SO bad. he did such an amazing job though. 

this was circa 2am - mom and i had been packing up our apartment in record time. we came home to find the floors done and G drilling into the concrete foundation so he could secure the transition pieces 

random:  my ironing board that i told you about ... i have some serious love for it.

monday:

more concrete drilling...

this was the dreaded day that mom left. SO SO hard to see her go. we seriously couldn't have completed our goals without her. she is so amazing and such a hard worker. sixteen hours a day of manual labor isn't fun for anyone, but at least it was our house. she was just so sweet to help. 

it was also moving day. mom and i packed up the whole house in about 3 hours sunday night and monday morning and then the guys came to help us. 

good 'ol uhaul. remember when grant counted trucks by the freeway to get through grad school??? good times (not really...)

i about had a heart attack when they were moving this. don't mess with our couch or our table. we HEART them. 

these guys were so sweet to help us. we have a lot of sh** and it was rainy/humid but they never complained.

we did pay them back with good beer and pizza though. 

 

OMG that is a lot of crap. we got done moving last night at about 8. today Grant left for a week in seattle for a conference and i started nursing school. doesn't that make you wonder how long our house will look like this??

day 10

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gettin' there

i am SO excited about this chair. i've been on the hunt for a rocking chair ever since i started knitting. something about the idea of knitting from a ball (not a skein) of yarn while in a rocking chair sounds so lovely. 

anyway... i spotted this chiar and ottoman a few months ago while at a flea market with a friend. i was in love, but couldn't afford it. i came home and told G all about it and started hunting around on craigslist to see if i could find a rocker in my price range. i found nothing. 

my mom and i went back to the same flea market - it was still there and marked down 30%!!!! she spoils me so she bought it for me. I.LOVE.IT!!!! 

i also bought an antique ironing board to use as a sewing table. it is really cute and sturdy. i think it will be nice to have something long and narrow to sew at. plus it frees up my desk for studying. needless to say it was a good shopping day. 

when we got to the house we moved the appliances out of the entry and hallway and onto the completed part of the floor. 

G started laying the laminate in the kitchen.

 

mom primed. it is such a huge space, but she did it no problem. 

i finished up the priming on the high part of the wall. 

our nightly routine: take out (difficult because we know NO decent restaurants), beer (G is resourceful without a botttle opener), and a floor picnic...

after running out of paint and getting the wrong replacement, i finally finished my craft room paint. i'm skeptical of it with the carpet, but i'm not repainting so i'll have to get over it. also, this pic is darker than in real life. 

G almost finished the kitchen, but has a few more rows. i worked to finish painting the moldings all around the house and mom started putting the main room paint up. it looks way good!!

one week.

we have been homeowners for ONE WEEK. can you believe that?? its seems like it has been forever since we got the keys. so much has happened. we are so glad you are all enjoying following along. the cheerleading is extremely motivating... keep the good vibes coming!

not as many pictures today...i think im to the point of exhaustion that finding and picking up the camera is too much extra work. its all getting done though!

yup folks. thats me... using a table saw. no.big.deal.

today we focused on laying the laminate. we had a few, let's call them 'issues' so we didn't get as far as we'd hoped. when G got off work it went much faster

made some good progress

my friend sarah came over on her second day of summer (she is a teacher) to help us primer...she did the whole kitchen and dining room in record time. mom finished up this wall and the hallway tonight.

you like?? although laying this stuff can be frustrating i think it is going to be so worth it. we have started getting in a pretty good rhythm. G and mom are filling in the last of the holes (we think...) 

tomorrow we are taking a little breather from the house. G has to work a full day (he has been working half days most of the week). mom and i are going to tour campus and then go antiquing. i can't wait! 

even more...

tuesday...

painting ALL day long. i'm talking til 3am long. i would have met my (self imposed) deadline if the guy at lowes hadn't mixed my touchup paint for the craft room incorrectly. g continued prepping to lay the laminate and he also worked.

wednesday...

 

our first row is started!!

the carpet is in (and looks good with our paint colors)!!

i made him pose with his first row. he worked SO hard to get this flooring right. 

yay! mama is here. she came straight from the airport ready to work... we may or may not have kept her at the house til 2am...

there is no I in TEAM

we are exhausted, but excited. the progress on the floor has us all in much better spirits. 

progress

the day began with me taping (again...)

and G filling/sanding holes. these people must have had a ridiculous amount of stuff on their walls. seriously hundreds of holes. 

best line of the day: 

G - this room must have been a kid's room.

N - why?

G - i just sanded two boogers off the wall. 

so sick huh?? 

G's nemesis - the linoleum

my personalized roller extender. one of my weird quirks is that i can't stand the feel of 'raw wood' if its oiled, varnished, stained i'm fine, but just plain sanded wood? NO WAY. touching it is like nails on a chalkboard. to avoid this feeling for the next week i wrapped the handle in painters tape and G tried tightening the top part with a few nails. 

heat gun & flat shovel thingy= G's best friends. now that the kitchen linoleum was up it was back to the entry way. 

meanwhile i primed. and primed. and primed. like the dusty, painty butt?

last room i needed to prime! (aka the booger room)

after much struggle and stating that he will forever pay someone to take up linoleum G got all of the glue off the slab in the entry. he worked so hard and did such a great job.

yesterday we left the house feeling like there was little hope in getting everything done according to our timeline, but today we made some huge progress. i am totally confident that i can get all three bedrooms painted tomorrow (since i was able to tape and prime them all today) so that the carpet can be installed wednesday. G will start laying laminate tomorrow night and we'll just have to see where that one takes us. 

we've been working over there about 12 hours a day so we are surely exhausted. and SORE (if anything falls its every man for himself... no one wants to bend over). that being said we love that we are able to put a little of us into this place.