Paint Color and Another Realization

So here it is...the moment you have been waiting for!

As I mentioned in the previous post, this is Spring Break, and it is really quiet around the office. I am taking off early tomorrow and completely on Thurs/Fri so hopefully we will make some great progress on the Bathroom!

So for my next realization...my blog is a mess! Every time I post it looks different, and I just can't get the layout right. I have seen other blogs I like, but I don't know how to get mine to look good. I am pretty savvy with computer stuff, but I feel like a dummy at this! I know about the free template sites, but I haven't found anything I like yet...and I am really looking for more than a template, I think...suggestions?

A Realization

I had a realization this morning in the shower. This may seem odd, but it is a regular occurance for me. The shower is the place I come up with the best ideas and usually where I remember something that I was probably about to forget. Anyway...I digress. My realization was that although my push to start this blog was to keep interested folks updated on our renovation, I could in fact write about whatever I want rather than just waiting and waiting until I have something to report on the bathroom (also, as Jonathan cleverly pointed out...we will eventually finish the project and I may want to keep writing then, too!). BUT...I don't need the blog to be another reminder of something that I am late doing or something hanging over my head still needing to be done. If there is no progress on the RENO, I need not feel pressured to make something apply to it. I can just be random, after all...that is one of my gifts :)

I love the Spring in Atlanta. Since I grew up in South/Central Texas, I was really never used to experiencing "Seasons," there was mostly just hot and cold. Here, there are distinct Seasons, and they just appear without much notice. For instance, there are a number of flowering trees here that definitely mark the Springtime arrival - just beautiful! Cherry Blossoms are my favorite, but I also love the Dogwoods.

Speaking of Spring...next week is "Spring Break," which really means nothing to me except that plenty of people are out of school and going on vacations, so there will be less traffic for me getting to work (see...I'm so positive, always looking for the good, right?). Jonathan is taking the week off since there really arent any church events going on (except for actual "church" on Sunday of course), and it is a good time to take his earned comp time. I decided to take 2 days of vacation and just hang out at home, so at that time we may get some more progress on the bathroom (of course, I'll try to keep the blog updated, but no pressure, remember? *see paragraph 1 if you don't remember).

Just some ramblings and excuses...

I'm sorry I have left you hanging for a couple of weeks on the renovation process, but there honestly hasn't been that much progress... 

Two weekends ago, I went with a small group from my church to help facilitate a family conference for an Army Battalion at a hotel in Myrtle Beach, SC.  I was in charge of infant-5yr old childcare, but luckily we got someone at the last minute to do the baby nursery, so I only had 2 - 5yr olds (I say "only" like it was easy or something...yeah right!). We really had a great time. It was challenging for sure, but it was neat to see how God worked. Since I was the only adult in the room with 25+ preschoolers, I didn't have much time to take pictures! While I was gone, Jonathan finished priming and painting the walls in the bathroom... they look so good!

Last weekend, I was honestly still recovering from my sleep depravity from the weekend before, but we were also expecting company, so we were busy making preparations for that. Although our company didn't end up coming (my poor niece got sick!), we did get another unexpected treat. Our brother/sister in law came in for the day to do some shopping at some of the great Atlanta offerings...namely IKEA. Jonathan and I went to have lunch and then spent the afternoon shopping with them! They left with a suburban load of cool stuff from IKEA and West Elm... I love when I get the fun of shopping without having to be the one making decisions or spending money!

Anyway,  its also been very busy at work. With Easter coming up, we have been busy making preparations for all kinds of things including special services, concerts, and so forth. Are you ready for me to stop giving excuses? Me too! We are still excited to work on that bathroom, and hopefully after Easter things will slow down a bit and we can get some stuff done! 


I'll leave you with one picture of the color we chose. Keep in mind that there will be wainscoting on the bottom half so that is why we didn't spend too much time keeping that part tidy. ---oops I just realized I don't have the painted picture with me! I'm sorry you will just have to wait until I can post it...maybe tonight!

The Great Bathroom RENO #3

So last week I told you about the stud where the closet used to be that hung down about an inch. Jonathan came up with a really great solution to that problem! We were planning on putting beadboard on the ceiling anyway, so he suggested we just get some boards and nail them up to the existing studs to “drop” the ceiling about an inch…clever, clever! So we spent for-ev-er at home depot picking out what could have been every 2x3 they had that was even remotely straight. We searched for the studs for a while, eventually found and marked them, and then placed the “false studs” up.

 

Then we were ready for the beadboard. We borrowed a friend’s air compressor and nail gun…and that’s where the fun began! This was a GIANT air compressor. We couldn’t even hope to get it out of the back of the jeep, much less up the garage stairs and then up the stairs in our house…so we just left it in the jeep, albeit unconventional… it seemed to work fine. My bright idea was to run the hose up through the window – genius! Tying off the hose with the cord from the blinds…Jonathan’s idea (I was not a fan of this idea, but I guess it worked ok). As you can see, we were very successful with the beadboard ceiling. I think it looks great! And look at that wall we had to surround…that took brains, people!

  

And now to catch you up on the current status of the project…we have added 2 more coats of joint compound to the new sheetrock and corner(waiting 24 hours and then sanding in between each coat), and we have putty-ed and primed the beadboard ceiling. Jonathan is painting the ceiling today with a  white semi-gloss. Last night, we went by Home depot to pick up a sample of the wall color we chose…you’ll just have to wait and see what it is! Any guesses??? The next step is installing the shower. We have one picked out, but we are still making the preparations for it…we have to move the drain! I’ll keep you updated on everything in current status from now on since I have caught you up to present time! So…what do you think so far? I’m interested to know who is even reading this, so go ahead and comment!

The Great Bathroom RENO #2

Ok…so the next step was to take out the closet framing. It is still debated who actually came up with the idea, but again….my blog ;) “We” thought it would open up the room a little more, and it also wouldn’t be as crowded in the doorway. 

So all we needed to do was just take out the sheetrock around the doorway and the pry off the studs that framed out what used to be the closet door. Easy enough, right? Yeah right, nothing is that simple! Getting the sheetrock down was great fun, and is really a great way to get out any pent-up frustration you might have!

          

Then came the studs …until we got to the very top 2x4 on the ceiling. It was attached to studs on both sides, and hung down about 1 inch from being flush with the ceiling. Ever-positive me just said, “oh, its fine, we’ll just paint it white…it’s the ceiling, no one will ever notice ” Jonathan did not agree. He wasn’t very happy about it and so he starting brainstorming a “plan.” More on that later.

We knew we would need to replace 2 small sections of sheetrock where the closet had been attached to the wall, so we made way to many trips to home depot and back to figure out exactly what we needed, and then I started to measure/cut. 

The sheetrock is where I really began to shine…my crafting abilities kicked in at that point. Jonathan stood in awe as I cut ever-straight lines of sheetrock! We measured/cut/measured/cut for the next little while, and then screwed in the semi perfectly cut pieces. 

AND THEN CAME THE JOINT COMPOUND. 

Maybe the lowest point of the bathroom project so far…when I had to kick Jonathan out and do it myself. Again, I have instinctual crafting abilities and am generally laid back, so I was great for spreading and evening out the compound, where as it frustrated the tar out of J. 

My finished product doesn’t look to impressive in the picture, but believe me it was truly a work of art (especially after I waited 24 hours for it to dry and then sanded out the imperfections! wink, wink.)

And that, friends, completes our first “constructive” step of the project!

The Great Bathroom RENO

BACK STORY: Jonathan and I officially bought our house on April 15, 2008. Since that day, we have planned on eventually renovating our master bathroom. The bathroom still has the original fixings from the mid-seventies, including cracked tile and a very dirty cabinet and shower. Needless to say, I have not been interested in using it until we renovated.  We have talked through it several times, and have even had someone come out to give us an estimate (eek!) but did not officially start the project until 3 weeks ago. 

We "disagree" about what was the final push that sent us over the edge of getting started, but my reasoning is better this is my blog so you get my version:

Since the great Atlanta flood of the fall of ’09, we have had one water problem after another. We have come up with solutions to most of them, including cleaning out the main sewer line (may blog about this at another time), getting the roof patched, playing in the crawl space,  and re-caulking the tub. After all this…renovating the bathroom ourselves is a piece of cake…right? RIGHT?? Well at least they gave us some confidence **life lesson#1 - gain confidence in the little things!

And so it begins…

Saturday, January 23, 2010. The 22^nd annual Polar Bear Run at JFBC (our church). We had volunteered to help out with registration that morning, and so we were up at the convenient time of 4:45am. By 9:30 we were done. We stopped by McDonald’s Home Depot and grabbed a couple of sausage biscuits crowbars and headed home to get started!

I guess I don’t know how many details you people want, but by the end of the day we had successfully:

-tried to turn off the water

-got frustrated at how hard it was to turn off the water

-finally turned off the water

-wondered if we should continue this insane venture

-unhooked the sink

-tore out the counter top and cabinet

-chipped away the floor tile

-emptied and removed the toilet

-removed 2 inches of concrete off of the subfloor

-began breaking the shower tiles (WAY harder than the floor... Jonathan had words with the tile on the shower)

-carried multiple containers of tile/concrete downstairs to the garage

-went out to dinner and wondered what we had gotten into

-watched a movie

WHEW! I know….we pretty much rock. I know you are all enthralled at this point, but you will have to wait for the next post to see any further destruction progress.

Stay tuned!

Here goes blogging...

Well here I am. I've been a blog-stalker - wait that's a little harsh - casual random blog reader for quite a while, and always wanted to start one. I've been a little intimidated, but I have decided to take the plunge. So here you go, read as you wish. I will try to update as often as I can, but give me some slack, because as of now we are still living "primitive" at home (no cable, no internet) so I am slightly limited in my updating abilities.

So...I've been typing a line and deleting it for a whole minute now, so I think that's a sign that I'm done... for the first post anyway. Stay tuned for updates on our most recent PROJECT at home!