Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Today's Progress

Today I literally cleaned the kitchen and dining room from ceiling to floor. Phew. What a task! I think we should have taken stock in Lysol bleach wipes and Swiffer wet mops before I started this project. I would like to think that I keep a clean house until I start a deep cleaning project. Then it makes me gag. I clearly haven't done one in a long time because Skittles (our puppy) kept coughing and sneezing. Too much bleach and orange scent I guess.

The rest of the house just got a regular straighten, dust, and vacuum. Have I mentioned that I am in love with my vacuum? We used ALL of our Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift cards after our wedding to buy it, and it was worth every single one. This bad boy makes me feel clean every single time I use it. We have a detached garage so it's so incredibly helpful at getting all the dirt and leaves we bring into the house. It's also perfect for all of the pet hair and high to reach places (I am only 5' 1".) My only complaint is that it is heavy (like, 22lbs heavy.) While that isn't a big deal in our little ranch, I am concerned about how it's going to work in our two-story with a finished basement new house. The only carpeted areas are upstairs and in the basement, so I'm thinking I'll keep the nice one upstairs (where all the bedrooms are) and buy a simple one for the basement, or man cave as my husband likes to say.

And because life isn't crazy enough right now, I've decided to apply for grad school in the fall. Chris and I have had many long talks about this, and decided that I should just go for it. I'm not ready to stop being a PICU nurse yet, but we both feel like if I don't go now, I won't be going until we have had kids and they are older. I'm nervous about the money and handling working full time and going back to school. We went through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University at our church last year and have paid off tons and tons of debt. All we have left is my student loan from my last year of nursing school. I was really not wanting to add to that, but grad school is uber expensive and what my company pays it what one semester costs. :/ And we all remember the stress of nursing school and that was before I had a husband and a career. I see lots and lots of prayers and coffee in my future!

A guy from our church is coming tonight at five to give us the bid for redoing our basement entry, basement steps and siderail, and the walls in our master bedroom. Can't wait to hear what he has to say! Those will be three huge steps for getting our house ready. I can't wait for February 1!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Weekend Progress and 19 Day Countdown

I'm getting so excited about moving into our new house! On Friday, a handyman came over and put new trim on the garage, new glass in the front door and a closet door on the master closet. (Yes, my husband bought this house five years ago with no closet door. The joys and simplicity of bachelorhood. :) ) It's amazing what a difference these three things have made!

My amazing parents came over on Saturday and spent the day with us cleaning and painting the basement. We live in a 100 year old house and I doubt the basement had been cleaned since then (okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea.) My dad and hubby painted while Mom and I scrubbed, mopped, and shop-vac'd the dirt and dust away. My camera is at my mother-in-laws, but as soon as I get it back I will post pictures. It's an amazing difference. The basement needs one more sweep and mop and then that part will be crossed off our list.

These are the other things that need to be done before February 1:
-New basement steps
-New basement handrail
-One final sweep and mop of the basement
-Fix walls of side/basement entry and paint entry white
-Fix master bedroom wall
-Repaint master bedroom
-Have wood floor installed in dining room (The floor we picked is Wedge)

Here is what we've already done:
-All new electrical wiring
-New electrical box
-All new windows
-New roof
-Installed backyard patio
-All new landscaping
-Completely gutted and updated the kitchen
-Completely gutted and updated the bathroom
-Tore down the front porch and rebuilt it

Hopefully we can find someone who loves this house and much as we have so we can start creating memories in our new house!

And since I don't have my camera, here's my favorite picture off my phone from the weekend.
Happy Monday!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

26 Day Countdown

That's it. Just 26 days until we have our starter house on the market! We already have a contingent, no knock-out contract on our new house and are aching to get into it. I have so many ideas for the new house and am so excited for all the new changes. I hope to blog a LOT more this year and chronicle our first time as new homeowners together! There's also the possibility of a promotion for Chris, my going back to school to become a PNP, and perhaps starting a family?! All we know is that our New Year's resolution is to love simply, every moment.