Weekend 1

We've experienced our first weekend with the house.  We only got to really get our hands dirty on Saturday.  I'm not going to lie; it was exhilerating!  We got a lot accomplished, and we had a blast doing it!  I was very intimidated by all of the work because I've had less responsibility and strenuous activity in the past year and a half, and liked it that way.  I think I may have just forgotten how much fun it is to be an integral part of something big...something like this huge, light at the end of the tunnel, goal to work towards.  Something just comes over me, and I am able to kick it into high gear.  I did notice some not so desirable habits that came out during my short teaching career, reappear on Saturday.  Those things being: 1. sucking down mad amounts of caffeine and sugar, this time in the form of sweet tea.  2.  Working until I'm absolutely famished, at which point, I eat junk food at an extremely fast pace.  (for example, I ate a whole package of fruit snacks in one bite.  That wasn't enough so I ate another bag, also in one bite, followed by 2 small baggies of sun chips in about 7 minutes.  I was then good for another couple of hours. un-health-y!!!)  3.  Working 14 hour days because once I get going,  I just....can't....sttooooop!  Unlike teaching, though, this task does not require me to be thinking about it constantly on my time off.  Also, if I do decide to think about it, it is wonderful and exciting, as opposed to....not.  :)  That is why, for me, this is so much better than teaching:)  However, I did find it interesting that I felt the same restlessness and hopped right back into the same habits as the last time I was in a stressful sitution.  I really didn't know that was how I dealt with life!  I thought it was something that crept in during a year of "suffering," as I like to refer to it, as that was the first time I noticed it.  I definitely don't think it's healthy, as there were a lot of negative physical, mental, and emotional changes during my teaching days.  This isn't a long-term project, and it is a far more fabulous situation, so I'm just going to run with it.  It helps me PRODUCE.  I'll learn a better way later! Ha!


With all that randomness being said, here's a little lookeeloo at our progress:



Wes got the carpet out of most of the main level, with the exception of the bathroom (grosss! don't blame him!) and the master closet.




I got a wee little bit of wallpaper off (what is shown, and the refrigerator area), removed all of the cabinet pulls and all of the shelf liners on the main level.



We picked up the desks from the Salvation Army!!  We got an excellent deal on both of these desks, that are great quality and in pretty good shape.  However, The current plan, as mentioned earlier, is to paint them white.  Also, I plan on getting some really sleek, modern pulls for the drawers!  Can't wait!



This is just a picture of some things in the amazing cabinets we have in our garage and john deere room.  We packed 3 truckloads and 3 SUV loads (= a whole FREAKING lot) of stuff into the cabinets, and there is still a lot of space left!  Our Christmas trees even fit in the upper cabinets.  We were so amazed, and love our house even more now that we know the capacity of those puppies! 




Wes and his brother are ridiculous.  The two of them loaded our 1000 pound doghouse onto Wes's truck by themselves.  Then, today, Wes and his dad put it in it's spot.  They are tough.  Seriously.  I'm shocked no one got hurt!




We plan to paint it a teal-like color with white trim.  We bought the paint last fall, and never got to the painting because the house was against our deck.  Hopefully I'll make it happen this spring!  I also have dreams of making a sign that says, "Dixie," putting flower pots around it, and making her a faux welcome mat out of cement pavers.  Wouldn't that be cute!?  If only dogs weren't colorblind...

 Hmmmm....looking back at those pictures, it looks like Wes did the bulk of the work.  It must be nice being a man and having all of those strong muscles:)  I promise, I worked hard too!  I did a lot of the unseen work, like cleaning all of the nastiness, running errands back and forth, and organizing our mass amounts of crap:)  Look at me justifying myself :) 

Anywho!  I love that the progress this weekend was so visible!  It makes the road ahead seem a bit less scary!  Maybe even fun!

Stay warm and safe!  I hear there is some nasty stuff coming our way!!!