The Results Are In!

The results are in ladies and gentlemen.  Which do I prefer?  A garage with carpet or a garage without carpet?  Drum roll, please!  Without!!!!!!!!!

I'm so thankful that it's finally gone!  I will now be able to park in my garage this winter.  The Henry Family was such a huge help.  I couldn't have done it without you!

Here are the after pictures, as promised.

Here is the Henry Family hard at work.

Even the kids got down and dirty!

Sweeping up!

The finished product.

These are the kind of pictures you get when you give the kids the camera and tell the to take some pictures. :)

House Project

As of tomorrow guess what will be gone?  Yep the awful, horrendous, disgusting, terrible carpet in the garage.  Toby, his family and Dennis are coming over tomorrow to help me tear it out.  I promise to post an after picture very soon.

Catching Up

I must apologize for my lack of blogging. I need to set some blogging goals....like at least two posts a week. Okay, ya'll need to keep me accountable. I'm trusting all of you, my blogging friends.

I have so much to tell you. First of all, my parents came for a visit last weekend.  They had been on vacation in Seattle and came to see me on the tail end.  It was wonderful having them here.  It was also Balloon Days last weekend.  My parents actually got to go up in a hot air balloon!!!  They said it was better than Seattle.  Here are some pictures Dad took up in the air.

We also enjoyed a parade for Balloon Days. I haven't been to a parade on over seven years!!!  It was so much fun!

Dad worked on some house projects for me while he was here.  He fixed up some of the trim the guy that laid my floors messed up.  He also replaced my deck steps and caulked some of the brick around my house.  I'm so thankful for all his help!

This weekend I went up to Ankeny for Annie's baby shower.  It was so much fun to see camp friends.  Annie looks so cute!!!  I can't wait to hold their little one when it comes in December!  Lynnae came with her little guy and I got to hold him...a lot.  I did share him, but only because I felt guilty for hogging him.

Lynn, a former secretary, rode with me part of the way to the shower and we had dinner together.  She introduced me to this fantastic place called the Hu Hot.  It was absolutely wonderful!!!  I was going to take a picture of my plate, but ate it all. Here is a picture of my empty plate though.

It seems I've been very busy lately and am thankful for all the things God has brought into my life to keep my busy.

Next week, my boss is sending me to Lansing, MI.  There is a CSR Convention at one of the insurance companies we write for.  I'm hoping to learn a lot. You can pray for me.  I get nervous going to things by myself.  I'm also going to be sharing a room with someone there.  Here's the catch...I don't know who. I'm really praying that God matches me up with the perfect roommate.

Thanks for being patient with me.  And remember, keep me accountable to write at least twice a week.

Roses Are Orange/Pink

At least the one that is in bloom isn't red.  I still have another rose bush that hasn't bloomed yet.  I just couldn't believe that my rose bush produced the color that I just love.  If they were just orange roses it would be better, but I won't complain.  I think it looks so nice against the brick.

Because I've done so much inside the house, I'm not focusing on the outside with flowers and such until next year.  So this little bit of color is nice.

It was getting dark out, so you can't get the full brilliance of it.  But just trust me...it's gorgeous!

Ant Candy

So I noticed yesterday that I had a few carpenter ants in my house.  Then I noticed a few more and a few more and so on.  So I bought some Terro.  Let me tell you, these guys love the stuff.  I put it out and they are fighting over it like kids at a parade.  I hope they aren't passing the word to their friends that the party is at my house.

The Suspense Is OVER!

So here is the much anticipated update on the house.  You'll have to look back here to see the before pictures.  We'll start in the bathroom.  This room is totally new except the ceiling.  It's still very tiny, but much more functional and pretty.

Now on to the living room.  I've already shown you some updated pictures, but here is the final view.  It's painted, I have new curtains, the furniture is arranged how I want it and the pictures are on the walls.

The flooring guy put new laminate by the front door, but neglected to make the area larger like I had asked.  I called and he's going to stop in and fix that next week.  He did a great job, but also didn't put back on two doors he took off.  Guess I'll have to talk to him about that one as well.


Now on to the laundry room/utility room/half bathroom.  It's painted, I have new flooring in there too, and I now have a functional washer and dryer.

Look what I got to paint around.  No wonder painting took me forever!!!!  Glad it's done.

Now on to the kitchen / dining area.  I'm so excited that the floor is now done!!!!!  It just simply looks marvelous.  But you judge for yourself. Hey and notice the new hardware on the cupboards.  Such a little knob makes a huge difference.

And check out the dining room!  No carpet under the table anymore.  I also love how it divides up this big room, so I actually have a dining room now.

And here are a couple shots of the living area.

And now for the moment of truth.  The moment I've been waiting for for over two months.  Are you ready?  Don't scroll down unless you're really ready  Cause it's gonna knock your socks off...literally.






Keep going....






















You're almost there...


















You won't believe it...


















Ready?

Yep, I finally walked barefoot in my house.  But I have to go put socks back on because my toes are cold.


So there you have it.  The update.  There is still lots of little stuff to do, but the big stuff is done.  Well, I do need to replace the counter tops some day and all the carpet in the house, but those things can wait.


Well, I have to run.  Lots of stuff to accomplish today.  Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

I Promise

Okay guys. Enough excuses. I promise to post a house update by this weekend. I have pictures and lots to fill you in on.

Today the dreaded, awful, terrible, horrible, disgusting carpet in my kitchen is getting torn out and the laminate is getting put down tomorrow!

I'm very excited about this and have been doing the dance of joy all morning. Yes, the customers have been looking at me like I'm strange. Okay, so I'm not really dancing on the outside, but on the inside I'd win the mirror ball trophy. So check back soon!

House Update

I brought my camera to work because my laptop has been a little difficult with pictures lately. So then I plugged in my camera to give you a nice little photo update on the house and I see that I have been very bad about taking pictures of the updates. So I guess this will be a short update with few pictures, but I did want to get on here and post SOMETHING. I know...I know...I've been very bad about posting lately. My only excuse is that as soon as I get home from work, I start in on the house and work till it's time for bed.

The bathroom project was only supposed to take a week and we are on week three of the project. Some unforeseen things have come up, but the guys are also busy and get to my project when they can. It is SUPPOSED to be done this week, so we'll see.

My painting projects are going well. Stacey Ryal and her two kids came down for a few days last week and helped me get my living room painted. Stacey would do some while I was at work in the afternoon and then we'd paint together when I got home. I'm very thankful for her help.

The kitchen was all done at one point. There was a little phone cubby hole on one wall that I had asked the contractors to drywall over, so I knew I'd have to repaint that one section. Well...well...well...To match the texture of the plaster walls, he sprayed this stuff on, but not just on that one section. No, he had to spray the entire wall and even part of the ceiling. So I finally got all of that repainted Tuesday and finished up last night with a second coat in some areas.

I still have to paint the hallway by the bathroom and bedrooms. I've left that since I knew it would get nicked up with the construction in the bathroom. If they finish in there today, that will be my project tonight. I also have to paint the utility room. The utility room is a story in itself. I'll save that one for its own posting.

I'm learning a lot. Mostly, that owning a house is a lot of work. I'm also finding out where my security has been. This has been an expensive venture and I've had many moments of fear while I watch money fly out the window (my dad would say it's not flying out the window, but increasing the value of the house.) That being said, it's been hard for me to see my savings not sitting in my account. But I'm seeing time and time again that God provides. I'm so thankful to have my Savior by my side.

So here are a few pictures I do have.

This was the surprise I found when I came home the first day of the bathroom construction. There were going to leave the walls...so where are they? Good question. Still don't know why the walls were torn out.

Here is my new bathtub / shower surround. I love it!!!!!!!!

My bathroom looks completely different than these pictures, so I'll have to take some more and show you the updates. It's really taking shape and hopefully they'll have it done and I can show you finished pictures!

Here is my front room (using as piano and library room). You can't really see the color very well, but this picture was taken to highlight my new curtains. The wall color is grey. It looks really classy.

These last two shots are what I found when I came home to Stacey painting. Don't worry...it's all covered up, but I just loved the little painted "love notes."

Thanks for stopping in, and please literally stop in for a visit. I'll put a paint brush in your hand.

House Pictures!

Okay, so I'm finally going to download some pictures for you. Look back a few posts to see the before pictures. I'm not going to take time to post them again. The progress made is amazing!! I can walk into my house and smile instead of cry now.

A huge thank you goes out to Mom and Dad. They worked so hard and taught me so many things. Their coming helped take away that overwhelming feeling of being inadequate in owning a home. I'm so thankful for the parents God has blessed me with and I can't even tell you how much I love them...not just because they helped with the house. They are just incredible all the way around.

So without further adieu...here are the pictures.

Sorry it's dark, but notice the new lighting. The other side of the family room also has the new lights. Guess I should have turned them on for the picture.

Here's the kitchen. New lights in here too as well as the paint. I went with orange...who would have guessed? The next picture lets you see the color a little better.

Haven't painted the living room yet, but all the boxes are gone and Mom labored away on that awful border for several days this past week. It was a huge task and she got it all off. Now it just needs to be painted and it will be done. Dad replaced the yucky lights in here too with the ceiling fan.

Here's my bedroom. It's a small room, but I really like how it turned out. The walls are purple and the ceiling is light gray. The shades were originally $40 at Lowe's but we found them on sale for $9 and I got 10% off as well! Yippee! They are too big for the windows, but that's where Dad came in really handy. Notice the new ceiling fan in this room too.

This last picture is the spare room. The walls are gray and the ceiling is a lighter gray. I got the same shades for this room.

So there you have it! Pictures of the progress.

Finally...A Picture

So I thought I would finally show you a picture of the outside of the house. I had to included the "sold" sign as well.

There is still a lot to do, but I've made progress and now it's time to get some of the improvement projects done. Not every box is unpacked, but I would guess there are only 10 more to go. I had to leave something for my mom to do while she's here.

I went and picked out paint colors today. I'm ready to put my touch on things around here. I'll be sure to take before and after pictures to keep you updated on all of it.

My parents are only about an hour away. We'll do some measuring, take another look at things and then head to Lowe's in Des Moines. When you move the Post Office sends you a 10% coupon to Lowe's. I look forward to making great use of it.

Thanks for all your prayers during this process and I'd appreciate you continuing to pray for me as I adjust to a new home, new town, new job, new church and I'm sure other new things. I've been pretty overwhelmed this past week, but I continue to think on God's faithfulness and His loving care.

Progress

Sorry, still no pictures to share. I wouldn't have time to download them anyway. So here is a list of the progress I've made:

• Clean shower - 1st thing I did and it took a looooooooooong time. :)
• Clean kitchen (this one could have sub-bullets all on it's own, but I won't get that detailed)
• Unpack kitchen boxes
• Wash all kitchen stuff
• Find a place for all kitchen stuff
• Touch up and clean more of the kitchen
• Polish up the cabinets
• Clean kitchen floor (I know I said I wouldn't get into the nitty gritty of cleaning the kitchen, but this one deserved a point of it's own. The previous owner put carpet in the kitchen...yep, you read that right...C-A-R-P-E-T. I'm thoroughly grossed out by it and it will be one of my first projects to get rid of it. I won't even walk barefoot in there after I vacuumed it. Enough said here.)
• Broke down all empty boxes and put out for trash (my back hurts now)
• Clean washing machine and dryer (There was some nasty stuff left behind there. This one took awhile too.)
• Hook up new printer (Had to so I could print out forms to change automatic withdrawls.)
• Made phone calls to contractor, electrician, flooring guy and furnace guy, so I can set times for them to come next week when my parents are here. I need Dad's knowledge for this stuff.
• Went to Wal-Mart every day as I continually discovered things I needed. It's my goal not to go the rest of the week. We'll see how that one holds up.
• Went and signed up for the Homestead tax thing-a-ma-jigger. Still don't know what that one's all about, but I can cross it off my list.
• Went to the bank.
• Went to the post office.

Whew! No wonder I'm so tired. And who knew just the kitchen would take all of one day and part of two others. Now I'm on to the rest of the house tomorrow starting with my bedroom and the utility room/bathroom. Can't use the real bathroom yet, hence the call to the contractor. Anyone free to come unpack some boxes and clean? I'll feed you a sandwich...okay I might even spring for pizza! :)

Just wanted you to know that I haven't been sitting around eating bon bons.

Home Sweet Home

Well, I'm in my house...all my stuff is in my house...there is lots of dirt in my house...I'm working in my house.

I closed on the house on Monday afternoon. My dear, sweet, wonderful friends, Aaron and Anna, drove all my belongs down in a U-Haul that evening. Guys from the office came to help unload that night too. They heard I have a piano and still came to help anyway!

I spent yesterday cleaning and working on unpacking the kitchen. It's almost all clean. Most of it is unpacked and now I need to find a place for everything.

Sorry there aren't any pictures. I found my camera last night. I guess I shouldn't have packed it.

I've also been to Wal-mart everyday that I've been here and will be making another trip today. A huge praise...While I was there yesterday I did a quick trip down the clearance isle. I noticed some curtains that were nice and only $7. I measured and then called my dad to see if he thought the measurements worked. So, I'm headed back to buy two sets for my living room. New curtains for only $14!!!!!

Well, I need to get back to unpacking and cleaning, so I'll sign off for now. Thanks to everyone for your prayers!

I'M HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

House Pictures

Hello all! I thought I'd give you a quick house update. I'm scheduled to close on the house March 1. I'm also scheduled to move March 1. Aaron and Anna are going to drive all my earthly belongings down from the camp on the day I close. Yay!!!

Remember how I posted a few weeks ago about how scared I was? There is still part of me that is scared, but I'm getting very excited to get into my home and make it my own. I'm getting excited to see what kind of ministry my new home will be used for. I'm getting excited to start my new job and get settled in. Can you see the theme?

God is good!

So here are some pictures of the inside of the house. We didn't take one of the outside, but it's brick and cute. I'll be taking more pictures as I make changes and I'll be more than happy to share with you along the way.

I really want to tell you what I have planned for each room, but them the post would be really, really long. I'll just have to post as the changes are made. Hope you can see the potential that I see.

This first picture is the spare room. So when you come to visit me, this is where you will stay!

This will be my bedroom.

Here is a shot of the front room/living room. I'm going to use this space for my piano, bookshelves, etc. The living room furniture and TV will be at the back of the house.

Here is the teeny, tiny bathroom. Lots is going to be done in this room.

Kitchen shot #1. Those cupboard doors you are looking at, go waaaaaay back.

This shot is a little dark, but you can see the addition on the back of the house from the kitchen.

Here's a shot of it from the other side.

This is the family room addition. I'll be using the part you see here as the dining room.

This side will be the living area. One of the first projects is taking out the wood burning stove. Can't use it with my asthma and it would need some adjustments to be up to code. So out it goes.

I'm very excited about this room. I see it as a neat asset to be used for ministry and having people in my home.

Thanks for taking the tour. When can you come for a visit?