Keeping Track

When we bought our last house it was very much a blank slate. Over the 6 years we lived there we made a lot of changes and improvements, and I have NO photos.
So I've decided I'm going to document and record the update of this house. Unfortunately for you that means all my blog posts will be remodel related. Not very entertaining, but I'm not really blogging for you -  it's for posterity.

Project 1 Begins:

Ok, not really project one, because it's just my project (this would be a subset of the bulleted list)...Anyhow. Our house is mostly white however the few rooms they painted are quite colorful. I like color - a lot, but it needs to be well chosen. And a bright orange bathroom is not well chosen. Tonight I started priming the bathroom and bedroom (it was a fine shade of green but not in a darker room - and green isn't a sleeping color to me...)
Before I could get painting I had to get the heat going (yup, I 'm handy like that) and do a little demo of the ugly shutters on the bathroom window. Then I removed the exorbitant amount of beige wall plates. Seriously -beige? Who has beige light switch covers and beige trim. Even Penny has white trim and she's the queen of beige. Anyhow, that's all getting remedied.

Next up, another coat of primer, real paint color, switch out the beige lights and plugs for white, and paint trim... all before Art gets here this weekend so he gets surprised. (No, he doesn't read our blog, I am not ruining the surprise.)
I'll be adding empty house photos soon - It's very different totally empty.

Systematic

I am an organized person. Quite organized. Some would say to the point of OCD. I just really like things in their place. And I really like a calendar. And I REALLY like a spreadsheet.
When we were getting ready to move I typed up a nice bulleted list explaining when we were loading, the process, where things were moving, etc. Kyle made fun of me.
But you know what, our move went pretty smoothly. Even after we moved it up a day and I had to reissue the bulleted list with an updated calendar. (It probably helped that I had every box double labeled and color coded for weight and placement in a box pile. OCD? well maybe.)
Now that we are homeowners (wahoo!) I am finding that my systematic tendencies are again bubbling up. You see we are planning some major projects before we move into the house. Things like gutting a kitchen, relocating a laundry room, laying new floors, and maybe knocking down a wall (you know, the open-concept - it's great for entertaining (Please note sarcasm, we like to make fun of people on House Hunters)). So the list of things to do is long, and complicated.
You can't put in floors until you demo. But you can't demo until you check the structure (we really don't want to cave in the roof). And you can't do a new kitchen until after floors and demo but before molding. You see, it's complicated.
So this weekend was our planning session. We wandered around the house measuring, noting, figuring, and planning. We determined the order of operations (I wish it was as easy as PEMDAS). And assigned chores (Art has to plan and build a kitchen - I have to get the gas turned on and remove wallpaper - we all have our skills.) The lists and calendar are actually a bit longer than that and incorporate our schedules for the next few weeks. Our weekends in Logan are laid out and our weekly to-do lists are prepared. All of this nicely typed up on a colorful calendar and bulleted list.
I emailed this to Art this evening. I'm sure it's sitting in his Inbox, and if I'm lucky he'll open it before next weekend. Meanwhile I will remind him of the chores I am ticking off my list and the chores he has scheduled to complete during the week. And I will systematically plan the remodel of our house, and HE will do things whenever he dang well pleases.

REALLY Homeowners!

I have the keys!
We are proud owners of a new (to us - really born in 1974) 2600 sq. foot, 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom home on a 0.2 of an acre, and I don't know how many pounds it weighs. It's white with a black roof (see prior pictures) It's in the greatest neighborhood in Logan on a tree lined street with the best park a 3 minute walk away.
We are SO excited, and feeling SO blessed that we were able to get into this house for just the right price. We knew that location was the most important thing (you can change a house, but not where it is!) But we thought that getting into our ideal location meant we were going to have to buy a junk house. Thanks to Butch we found this winner. It definitely needs some love - nothing on the inside is 'done' - but it's all livable, sort-of. That is, if you aren't married to Art. But how can I complain when he's going to make me a new kitchen!!! Since we are fortunate enough to have Butch and Sharon's house to live in we are going to use this opportunity to gut the kitchen and do an upgrade. We'll probably do a lot of painting and maybe new floors.
So yes, I have a new house - but i'm not moving in yet... but I'm still SO excited!
It's good to no longer be homeless...

Nearly Homeowners

So, it's looking like it might really happen - we're going to buy a house. When we started looking I thought we would never find something Art would find suitable. He's rather picky. But we finally found a few to look through so he came up and we spent a Saturday looking, and found the one! Although, I can't take the credit. It was Butch and Sharon (well, Butch is taking a majority of the credit because he encouraged the turn down the street) who found the house. It was a For Sale by Owner, just on the market - and although I walk the neighborhood every day I hadn't seen it yet. Anyhow, we put in an offer - did some negotiating - got it for what we wanted and now we're through the final phases of hoop jumping.
This weekend we finally got to go in it again and I got to take pictures! (FSBO = no online browsing) Now, it's not final, yet. So don't send the housewarming gifts, yet. We don't close until the end of the month, and when we finally have keys in our hands then Art will believe that it's ours. When I saw them loading U-haul today I got pretty convinced.
A few photos, more details when it's really OURS....

Withdrawal

I have been quite blessed during my homeless phase of life. I have had two lovely homes to bounce between - homeless AND vagrant. Each has provided us with closets and beds and warm sheets. I even got a personal chef for a while! (Living with Sharon is awesome, you come home to delicious dinner on the table, afterwards she refuses to let you help with dishes - I tried EVERY night - and then she passes out See's Dark Chocolates.) While life has been pending - it's been okay.
However, as many of you family members know, fall is birthday season around here. Starting in August (not technically fall, but close) we've had Kassie, Shelby, Roxy, Eliza, Joshua, Eli, September Birthdays (this includes the 10+ cousins that have fall birthdays); and Erik, Kyle, and Branden are coming up before the end of the month - and I'm sure more that I've forgotten. I love this season, and all the celebrations, and all the cakes - and guess how many I've made - ZERO!!!! It's killing me. I think it may be the hardest part about being in Logan. I feel as though I am neglecting my responsibility to the family, and I'm missing out on one of my favorite things. The worst part, is I totally know what I want to make... Kassie and Shelby need a funky chocolate french mint cake... Roxy and Lizzie need a triple chocolate craft cake.... Josh and Kyle need a chocolate PB cake... Eli  needs a tricked out boy cake - not sure on the flavor... There are still a few to come, but it's just not possible to get it done now.  Here's the issue, I just got a kitchen this week that is my own (B&S went back to Phoenix) - but I don't have a mixer or pans. I could cook when I'm at Grandma's on the weekend but have you seen her fridge - hardly room to fit layers of cake and bowls of frosting. Hard to make a cake without those things. So I'm suffering withdrawals, and it makes me sad. And when I get my new house, and appliances, and a functional kitchen - I am going to bake SO MANY CAKES! and then rent some sort of refrigerated truck to get them all to Salt Lake, and Iowa - hmm, could be tricky.

I am indeed old...

I am not one of those people who freak out by age. I'm 31. It's ok. And when I turned 30, that was ok too. I don't care what number it says I am, the more important thing is how I feel. To me, age is a feeling. It's true I have some definite 'old' parts to my body. Stiff knees, knobby fingers, achy hip - but for the most part I've always felt pretty young. I knew what was "hip", I was up on the latest technology, I dressed relatively mainstream. I could pull off young. Well, things have changed in my life's new adventures. You see, every morning I walk from my car by several dorms to my school near the center of campus. In my journey I cross students headed to their first classes, or back from a morning 'at the gym'. I cross the football players returning from early morning practices and work outs. In the afternoon I meander back to my car by soccer games, girls headed out for an afternoon activity, and a bevy of students rushing to more classes. It is here, in their midst, that I finally realized that I was old. I don't have on the right goofy keds, I'm not wearing a fedora or big white sunglasses, I don't have an iPhone attached to one ear. I'm old. They do not look at me and say "oh, I wonder what dorm that college student lives in" or "was she in my math class?" Clearly I am working from the other end of the spectrum on campus. And you know what, I'm ok with it. I don't mind being old. Maybe they'll think I'm wiser. Maybe they'll show some respect and get out of the way when I walk by. I guess it's not so bad being old.

Baby Will

Bud and Kelli welcomed Baby Will on Thursday, a month early, but he's doing well. He weighed only 4 lbs. 10 ozs. but seems healthy and growing...and oh so cute!