Would you like to hear my opinion on the Super Bowl?

Probably not... but here it is. Read it or not.
I love football. Daughter of a football coach - in the first 24 years of my life I missed only 2 games. There is nothing like the sound of cleats on cement, or the joy in a high school kid running on the field for the first time. I've sat through rain, sleet, heat and snow accumulation on my blanket as the game progressed. And it was worth it.
But I hate the Super Bowl - well really I hate all Professional Football (I can hear Belinda's blood boiling -we're all entitled to our own opinions.)
Football is a sport driven from childhood by the love of the game. Kids who work hard get scholarships and continue to play in college. Or work even harder and walk on, only to spend months on the bench - but still sitting there waiting patiently for their turn. They play because they love the game. I'm sure there are plenty of kids who play to pay for school, and many who play because parents encouraged them all along. But they play for the sport - not for the paycheck.

The average salary of a NFL player is 1.9 million dollars.

That's 11 times the average salary of a nurse.
12 times the average salary of a cop.
And over 13 times the average salary of a teacher.
To PLAY A GAME!!!!

They go to work and a personal trainer helps them get a daily exercise regimen. Then maybe a team meeting where they talk strategy. Perhaps some practice time, run some drills, polish some plays. Maybe back to the team room for a little more time in the gym and then settling down to watch some films.
Sounds rough.

I'm not an NFL expert, but I'm guessing that after the Super Bowl and an all-expense paid trip to Disneyland they take a few months off, not worrying about much but maybe a little exercise. Maybe do a few commercials, talk contracts for the next year, and just chill.
Sounds real rough.

Ok, yeah I'm a teacher. These boys make 13 times what I do playing a game they love. They'll definitely have more injuries than me but what exactly are they doing for humanity? Causing us to overeat for a day? Causing us to spend ridiculous amount of money the day before? Causing companies to spend an average of $3.5 million dollars for a commercial?
I don't know about you - but that's wrong to me.

If they want to play football - great, but pay them a realistic comparable salary. It's a GAME! And don't give me the crap about how they are role models - outside of a few players - I see tattoos, multiple women, lack of educational drive, bad language - is this really the role model you want for your kids? Not to mention the number of kids who tell me they don't need to go to college because they're going to become pro football players.
Steven told me last week that learning math wasn't important as long as he could count to 11 to get the right number of guys on the field. He's a 5th grader.

So yes I am sitting here by my husband as he watches the game. I'm casually watching a commercial here or there, but mostly I'm irritated that this is the day our society celebrates. The day when boys get paid ridiculous amounts of money to play a game they love while hardworking nurses, cops, teachers (and many others) go to work only to scrape by.
I'm sorry to those of you who just got back from a great SuperBowl party and had a great time watching the Big Game... it's not you I'm mad at, it's the NFL.
And THAT is my opinion on the Super Bowl.

Progress!!!

Remember this??

Oh it was bad, and dark, and tight, and ugly. Well it's not done, but it's also not dark, tight, or ugly... it's much much better....

We had our countertops installed this week. They are HEAVENLY  - and white. Lovely, shiny, quartz-y white. Thanks to connections through Fetzers and willingness to work with a remnant we got quite a deal and we're stoked. The only problem is that every time Art sets something on it; you know - like his tape, or his water bottle I quickly have to move it and polish the spot. I think I'm a little counter overprotective.

 But isn't it lovely - you would be too.

 We also got all the appliances installed and working. They're pretty and shiny, but I'm not pulling the plastic protective coat off yet, or maybe ever, I really don't like fingerprints - I really don't want my pretty new appliances to get dirty - you can't tell they still have a plastic cover.

 Art also got the hardware installed, we're ready for drawers and doors - hopefully by next weekend...We still need some trim work around the windows and doors, but we're getting closer... Oh yeah, and we need to hang the uppers, they're just being a pain...we'll overcome them.

 The columns are also nearly covered. They too need trim, but seeing them framed out to size is fantastic. We have to add two last pieces and the plugs that go behind them...then we're (by we, I really mean Art - I don't do finish work like this) going to add the framing pieces so it looks all pretty.

The paint color has been chosen, the plans are made, hopefully the dollars stretch - we are just SO CLOSE!!

The Work Continues...

Well I sent my boy off to school last week and it's been fun learning how to be a student again. I do feel a little  bit like the Kindergartener moms who pack up lunch the first day and then worry as he heads from class to class. But he's settling into classes and does his homework every night. It is a bit strange that Art is now the one sitting in front of his computer all night and I'm watching HGTV... I'm okay with a little role reversal.
Despite now having to allot time for studying, homework, classes, review sessions, and just general life (I do occasionally forget to grocery shop, I'm trying to remedy that) we are still making progress on the house.

The drywall was all patched and textured, which meant that it was my turn to paint - 5 coats on the ceiling - yup, five coats of paint... don't even get me started.
Then I painted the walls...a much easier two coats. Oh how I prefer walls over ceilings.

 We installed a few new lights, primarily because we had taken out so many of the old ones, and it gets pretty dark.

 The cabinets are all installed, except the last uppers that are awaiting a few measurements in conjunction with the countertops (you know 1/32 is a mile in our house).

 The tiling is done in the kitchen. It's lovely... and such a vast improvement from the linoleum that was here before...

 This is my pantry wall, cleverly disguised as a tool storage area. And no, that is not where the microwave will permanently reside, but it's doing the trick while measurements are needed so frequently.

 Today Art set the sink in order for our countertop template to be made tomorrow. This was our biggest splurge in the kitchen remodel (think splurge on a student and teacher budget - and yes we bought it on the internet so we could find the best deal)... It's very industrial and contemporary, I totally love it! Can't wait to have a kitchen sink again, but I don't think I'll be cleaning any paint brushes or grout sponges in it.

 Up next:

• Countertop template
• Trim painting
• Building out and covering the columns and beams
• Painting the living room
• trim
• Finding a dining room light
• This is starting to get depressing... (and I'm not mentioning the basement - that just makes me cringe and cry)

 I think I'll refocus on the things that are good. See, these are our lovely new pendants we found on clearance online. I love clearance.

This is my nicely painted hallway - I love being rid of the horrid dingy paint - and the new light fixture that I found on clearance. Art has turned over basic electrical to me (light fixtures, replacing plugs, etc.) thus electrical is getting done that isn't quite at the top of the to do list yet - I don't care though, I just like getting things done.

This week has been a bit of a chore in getting anything done because it's assessment week at school. Test every student; test every student below grade level again; organize all tests into massive spreadsheets; organize data on spreadsheets such that it can be useful to teachers; meet with all teachers; redo all intervention groups; go over progress of every student; summarize it all in a nutshell to the principal tomorrow morning. Let's just say that painting the kitchen ceiling was a nice reprieve tonight.

What HAVE we been up to?

I know we've been busy - working every day - things are getting done - but I'm not sure what. And I've been slacking on taking photos. I guess that's what going  back to school does - and my work crew (i.e. Art) goes to school tomorrow. I think I'm more nervous and excited than him. I think he's just excited to spend the day sitting in a chair rather than under counters, into the attic, onto the roof, and up and down ladders.
So here's the update - imagine the images - i'm sure they're lovely:
- Drywall all done, and textured
- Kitchen and living room primed and painted
- All cabinets built - 90% installed (waiting on countertop)
- Hardibacker ready for tile (next weekend)
- Beams shimmed and ready for MDF
- A little more electrical redone
- And a whole lot of crap for the basement which is just depressing.

We'll get there...patience - it's my greatest challenge....

Just when you thought it was done...

One of the things on the top of my Christmas list was a day of help from my Dad. It doesn't seem very nice to ask for work, but if you know my Dad then you know that not only does he have skill, but he really likes it!
So while my Mom and I worked on curtains he fixed some electrical. Then he tackled one more demo project - the debated closet. We've been discussing taking it out since the beginning, yesterday Art won the debate.

And so the demo continues - and hopefully ends.

Before:

After:

Up Next: Somebody took all the drywall out of the kitchen (don't accuse the man on the ladder, he's actually not the guilty one). Fortunately we're hiring  a professional to come in and fix it. You see, drywallers just aren't that expensive - I will never drywall again.

All that work is really quite exhausting.

The work continues

***Disclaimer***
In order to save you from being disgusted some images have been removed from the the telling of this story.


I've been busy - and not busy blogging. Art finally quit working in Salt Lake and moved to Logan. It's so wonderful to be together again. I didn't miss his mess making or laundry - but I truly missed getting to spend my time with him, and cuddling up to him at night. It's really handy that I married someone who makes me laugh and smile every day.
ok -enough sappiness.
The work continues - just at a slower pace than we would like. You see, this week we discovered some mold in the kitchen, and a rotten sub floor, and a broken pipe that had caused some mold in the basement. (This is where I do not add photos) All preexisting conditions that were not disclosed by the sellers. We've been trying to figure out our options as the sellers are liable to repair the damage - or at least their insurance is...well, anyhow - it's irritating and complicated and has slowed down the work in the kitchen because we have been trying to solve that issue, and we couldn't put in boxes until the plumbing was fixed. We haven't really even opened the can of worms that is the basement laundry and bathroom - I'm trying to pretend they don't exist.
We're hoping to get a lot of work done in the week between Christmas and New Years when we are both off work and school. However, we determined that in order to have any sort of an enjoyable holiday we needed to leave Logan and the house. So we are in Salt Lake for the weekend and are enjoying lazy days and no measuring. Ah, the luxuries.
More pictures to come as work progresses!

Weekend Update

It wasn't the most productive weekend. Partially because I was hacking and coughing. Partially because we had an entire Uhaul trailer full of wood to unload. And partially because we discovered mold in the kitchen that need remediation before we could move on. Not fun.
But it didn't stop us.
The mold is gone, sub floor replaced and the entire kitchen has arrived.... in piles all around the house waiting to be assembled into boxes. But I'm not complaining, I'm one step closer to a kitchen and we're on to rebuilding....

On Friday and Saturday morning I did get the office finished - maybe? Art wants me to add one more vertical piece extending from every other vertical piece on the chair rail. I'm not so sure. Opinions? Either way I have to sand the trim and do one more coat of white paint. I also have to paint the closet doors - one more set of louvers...I hate those things!

In the beginning...

 Then the strongest wallpaper ever to be removed....

It's finally gone, and the priming has begun...

Up goes the trim - all by myself!

Finally, some paint and I'm all done (maybe).