7.12.2007

big monsters

Projects are like big monsters that suck you in. It all starts out innocently enough. Lets just do this one thing. Then, its like if you give a mouse a cookie......
If you pull up the carpet, you're gonna have to pull out the staples, if you pull out the staples, you're gonna have to buff the wood, if you sand the wood, you're gonna have to stain the wood b/c its discolored, if you stain the wood, oh wait, we need to paint this wall, yeah its sick its this old lady pink color. lets paint it. oh wait, we need floor molding, the carpet left a gap in the wall. oh wait. what about..
and soon you've been consumed by the monster. You didn't even know it existed! But soon your eyes are filled with the flaws of the house and the holes that the previous project revealed. And before you can even appreciate the work you've just completed, you're onto fixing the next thing.
Also, home improvements are great marital counseling. Its like when Adam and I trained for our first triathlon together. It was the greatest relationship therapy. Leave it to a long run to make you tired and defeated and ready to have a regular festivus airing of the grievances. Festivus for the Rest of us! Anyways, home improvements can make me a little short, I've discovered. I'm trying to work on that. Adam, as usual, is a trooper and the hardest worker in the world.

Speaking of airing the grievances, let me air a little grievance against Erie trash collectors. These folks are picky! You've got to have your stuff bagged correctly or no go. We put an old torn up water house by our trash & recycables yesterday. No go. In waco, that hose would've been gone, well honestly it would've been gone before the trash people even came. It probably would've been picked up on an old pick up truck and sold in less than half an hour. But thats not the point. We tried to put out all the carpet we pulled up, but we couldn't fool the Erie sanitation dept. Oh no. I'm just giving them a hard time, they are good trash men and women. Just picky.

before:


after:


before:


after:


Still a work in progress. We're gonna stain the steps and upstairs hallway and we're letting the bathroom paint dry. Probably the only people who are interested in any of this are our parents & free and brooke (our home improv. mentors)
but my grievances have been aired, and i'm feeling better. lets go get high on paint fumes! (joke.)

6 comments:

Lora said...

Good Job! IT LOOKS SO MUCH BETTER!

freakface said...

If you thought that job was big, wait until you decide to do something to the exterior and/or landscaping. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Unknown said...

The secret to getting our garbage men to take stuff is to fit it into a garbage can. If you stuff a giraffe's foru legs into a garbage can, and it's neck sticks up 15 feet, they will take it.
If you can't get it into a garbage can, they probably won't take it.

Brooke & Freeland said...

WE ARE SOOOO PROUD!! Yalls updates look amazing.. and I couldn't agree more, best relationship counseling ever! I cant wait to come up there and see it in person!! Thanks for posting the pictures!

Gabe said...

bueno

carrie b. said...

i'm a little hurt and disappointed that you have no idea of my addiction to "Flip that House" and "Trading Spaces"

Did you even know that I was on A&E's Find and Design? The show was about my friends Jamie and Adria, but in February there are very few garage sales...i'm not saying it was staged or anything, but I will tell you that they told me what to sell at my Garage sale and then gave me 40 dollars and lunch. Pretty great if you ask me.

I'm super proud :)