Welcome to the neighborhood!

After working on the house for more than six weeks straight, we decided to take a break this weekend. Shupie took off for some fresh mountain air on Friday and I met up with him and the Shupe clan on Saturday for some R&R, fishing and non-work time. Man, do I feel rejuvenated. Being up in the mountains really does wonders. I suggest all of you take a weekend jaunt to higher ground. ASAP.

After our lovely little trip, we quickly got down to business yesterday afternoon and started on our last wave of improvements before the much anticipated move-in this weekend (hopefully).

We took yesterday to finish painting the kitchen (more on the wonderfully fabulous kitchen later), the doors and the window sills, as well as installing my very first housewarming gift (also to be discussed in a later post).

As a bonus, my big bro, Phil, came over to help. Phil is in the midst of readying himself for the upcoming Burning Man festival, to take place over the coming Labor Day weekend. What is involved in prepping for the festivities, you ask? Well, there's costume creation, bike decoration, arts and crafts making (hey, you have to have SOMETHING to barter with), packing and deciding on what kind of shelter you are going to rely on.

For those of you who do not know much about Burning Man, it's a week-long party in the middle of desert nowhere, where money doesn't buy anything and costumes are not optional, they are a requirement. The event's high point is, you guessed it, the burning of the man, followed by a Sunday of deep reflection about the man. And possibly recreational activities not likely to be recommended by the FDA.

This is Phil's fourth year in attendance, making him a professional burner of sorts.

Ok, back to the story.

Yesterday, as we were working away on the house, Philito decided to test out his vision of his shelter, which included a wooden structure covered with a huge Army net that was a score of epic proportion (according to Phil) from our back shed (thank you, whoever the heck you were that lived here, for leaving the most RANDOM stuff possible out there).

So, he created his structure, laboring with a saw, a hammer and a screwdriver. There it was in all it's glory, in our new front driveway of our new neighborhood: Dr. Phil's Army Shack of Love.

Did I mention that the house three doors down was having an open house all day yesterday?

Welcome to the neighborhood.

Special Delivery!

Over the weekend, as I was slapping on a fresh second coat of paint on our soon-to-be master bedroom, Shupasaurus walks into the bedroom with a grin that can only mean one of two things: he's just won the lottery or he found the last cold beer in the cooler, when he thought we were out.

He hands me an envelope from the beloved IRS. "Hallelujah," I think, "my tax refund!" Of course, I know better than to say these things out loud, as every time I utter words of excitement about ANYTHING to do with this house, I immediately get shot down, one way or the other.

So, I open the envelope slowly, waiting for those thousands of dollars to come pouring out before my eyes. (This is probably the second time in my life I have EVER gotten money back on my taxes, the first time was when I was unemployed for the better part of a year and then got a $1000 bonus check from the IRS at the end of it. Getting rewarded for NOT working? Thanks, Uncle Sam.)

Here is what the letter says, in a nutshell:

"We have reviewed your income tax return and are holding your refund until we complete a more thorough review... If you have not received your refund or been contacted by us within 45 days of this notice, you may call us."

Here is what I interpret the letter to say:

"You thought your were getting an $8000 tax refund? HA! Chump! Call us in a couple months and we will be happy to send you to our automated line where you will get nowhere. BOOYAH!"

God bless the IRS.

The inevitable has happened...

So, it's a month into the project (as I mentioned yesterday) and we are chugging right along.

We went over and worked yesterday (as always), Shupasaurus hanging lights while I paint baseboards. After the mandatory four hours of weekday house OT, we head home to find that our mutts have chewed up every paper that was on our kitchen table and made one hell of a mess on the floor. Because I forgot to leave the door open. And they were trapped in the house for a 12 hour day with no potty breaks. And they are pissed because they are home alone all day, every day, with no one to take them on walks or play fetch with them in the yard.

I'm the worst dog mom ever.

I'm SO ready to move.

Blarg.

Thank god it's wine Wednesday.

Ten Things to Learn From the Construction Site

Today marks the one month mark of our little home makeover project. Nearly everyday has been spent swinging a hammer, a paint brush, a putty knife, etc. Through the exhaustion of the entire thing, I have found myself "in the know" with some of the tricks of the trades and the secrets your local handymen don't tell you. Here's my top ten:

1. The best way to score an awesome deal on reliable work is to ask around to those you know that have completed similar projects. Post on Facebook, it works! (God bless social media for your occasional benefits.) Thanks to the boss (ok, it was his lovely wife who finally dug up the number) for the AWESOME floor guy. Charlie has it going on with the hardwood refinishing.

2. No matter how many times you go to Home Depot, you will never find whatever it is you are looking for where you think it would be. This store is screaming for a makeover. Case in point: Wood treatment. Is it by the wood? No. It's by the paint. What the?!

3. Before taking the sledgehammer to the wall, make sure that the foreman sees exactly where you are pointing when you ask, "Right here, right?" Otherwise the next hour will be spent patching up the place that did not need to be demo'd. (HARUMPH!)

4. Awesome neighbors are a fabulous perk. That pitcher of ice cold tea on the 100+ degree demo weekend really hit the spot. Even with a few forehead sweat drips in it. Thanks, new neighbor!

5. Make friends with your local pub owner. He'll be much more likely to kick down cheap (or FREE!) drinks, and turn a blind eye when you come in covered in paint (or spider webs, or dirt, or sweat) and smelling like a barn.

6. No, there is nothing that will actually get that stuff off of your hands/legs/arms/girls. Apparently silky soft skin is a no-no in the construction site, as those silky soft parts soak up construction site goo like no other. (Ok, and one sub-point here: Wear a shirt, not a tank top. The girls pretty much act like a giant horizontal bib, catching everything that gravity insists must fall, including insulation, spackling mud, primer, paint, etc. And it is impossible to "look cute" while doing construction projects. You will inevitably look like Billy Bob the Plumber. Suck it up and get over it.)

7. Shupes are worth their weight in gold when it comes to construction projects. Need a door hung? Ask Papa Bear Shupe. Need a phone number for a good "insert specialty trade here" guy? Call Older Bro Shupe. Need help painting? Call Mama Shupe. Need everything else done? Shupasaurus is on it.

8. Family and friends will be there for you when you need them. Trips to the dump? Check! Trudging around rotted deck boards and sappy tree branches? Check. Tearing down walls? Check! A bucket of chicken when Shupasaurus is dying of hunger? Thanks, Mom!

9. Said friends and family will be expecting cocktails galore upon completion of the project.

10. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Your house will end up beautiful, but it's the fun you have on the way to gorgeous that really makes it fabulous. (Ok, and the HUGE party you get to have after you finish. Come on people, you know me.)

What matters most

For those of you who haven't been around forever, here's a very brief background about me:

My fam moved to Sac when I was a wee little one, from SoCal, where much of our family still resides. So, we came here, just my pops, my mom, my older bro and I. We have been pretty much in the same area of Sac ever since.

As our family is really small up here, we have always been really close. My mom and pops are the best parents a person could ask for and we have always been extremely close. This means that I was always there for the fun activities they did, like Jeeping, camping, going on trips, etc. This also means that I have become quite close with their group of friends.

A little over four years ago, we were forced to go through everyone's worst nightmare. Out of nowhere, my dad was diagnosed with late-stage Esophageal cancer. So, we went from a family on top of the world, living it up, to one in the midst of the fight of our lives. Sadly, our battle only lasted a few months before we had to say goodbye. I can say, without a second thought, that this was the hardest thing that my family and I have ever been through. It has taken this entire time to get any semblance of normalsy back in our lives.

Now, here are the few added bonuses that come along with a situation like this:

* A year (or maybe two) of regrettable treatment of friends and family by those going through the worst of the sad part.
* Ongoing, spur-of-the-moment crying jags. (Brace yourself, I'm going to share the worst of the worst... On my JOB INTERVIEW for my current position, which I love, I cried, in front of my then-future, now-current, boss. When mentioning what I did for work previously, I teared up at the fact that I used to help my dad with his business. Yep, crying on a job interview. It was THAT bad.)
* A feeling that, as I grow older, the things that most people look forward to their whole lives now seem like things I couldn't suffer to put myself through. Things like getting married, having a kid, buying a house now seem impossible because I don't have the go to person I always did to come to when I have a question about anything from how to change a tire to what to do when the bathtub drain won't drain.

Although I always kind of new this, here is what I have learned in the last few weeks:

There are always people that care. When you're in a tough spot or an unfamiliar situation, someone will be there. When you don't know how to do something, you have people you can call.

Case in point: this house.

We know, from the last posts, that the BF (Shupe) has been amazing through all of this construction business. Patience is a virtue he thankfully has a lot of.

Phil, my bro, has been a huge help, giving up his perfectly nice weekends to help take down contaminated sheds, sand walls and many other completely yucky tasks.

My mom, has come through like a shining star for me. Not only did I hit her up for her spare change to purchase the house, but as the deal got closer, the number grew exponentially. And she smiled (through possibly gritted teeth), sighed, and opened her checkbook. Without her, this blog would be a continuous story about life in Bordova... Certainly not a bestseller.

After this past weekend, I have to share another example of my family coming through to make my dream come true.

This weekend, after the tragic bailing out of our hopeful cabinet man, I felt like this thing may never happen. With a quote from our local big box home improvement store for cabinets to be ready in six weeks at a price I thought was rather high for "we deliver - you install" cabinets, this meant that our approximate move in date of early September was shot to the moon. And I must mention that we started this process in February, so we are going on eight to nine months working on moving to this place.

Enter surprise saviors, stage left.

Our old family friends, who will remain nameless for privacy purposes (I know the CIA must be on to this blog by now). ;) To my surprise, my family's oldest and dearest friends, who just happen to own a top of the line, absolutely amazing, awesome cabinet shop, popped up and made me an offer I couldn't even dream of. Not only will they do my kitchen, but perhaps even in a timeframe that would allow for our actual move-in date to stick relatively close to early September.

Now, these aren't your "we do cabinets when we want because it's fun" kind of people. They are busy, with hectic schedules and big (HUGE compared to my place) jobs for important people. But, out of the generosity of their heart, they made me the offer and agreed to help little old me have the kitchen of my dreams. And this isn't some easy task, as my kitchen is the approximate size of a box of Cheerios. And not the big Costco box, I mean the Safeway box.

So, with already booked schedules and deadlines, they have squeezed me in and are actually looking forward to the project.

This had made me so excited that words cannot express. Not only will the kitchen be absolutely stunning, but as the focal point of the house, it will be the room that I am most proud of and spend the most time in. (Hey, vegans get hungry a lot.)

The lesson of the day is this: Family is the most important thing in the world. They are the ones that can pick you up when you're down, show you how to be a better person, and make your dreams come true.

Thanks, Mom and Pops 2. My dad would be so proud.

What's a project without a couple setbacks?

So,they say life's the journey, not the destination, right? Welp, that is certainly true. Without the trip it takes to get where you're going, what's the fun of it? The road trip to the wedding is always as fun as the reception, the bus ride to the soccer game is what really makes you stick with the team, and the free drinks on the plane to Vegas are what really get you in the mood to par-tay.

So, here's to appreciating every step in the way to this new house, good or bad.

Here's what brings me to this moment of reflection:

After two weeks of planning on swapping "labor for labor" with a custom cabinet maker (thank goodness for boyfriends who know electrical), our cabinet guy from heaven has officially bailed. Now, I understand we are all busy and I shouldn't have banked on someone "finding time" to put together a whole kitchen full of wonderfully perfect cabinets, but, silly me, I did. So now we are three weeks into this fun little adventure and no closer to having a put-together kitchen. Of course, I'd be willing to go with the "Coleman stove on the floor and sink on saw horses" set up for a while, just to move into my own place, but I realize that just won't work. (Although, here's an annoucement: I stayed the night at the house for the FIRST TIME this week! After a cocktail-hour turned cocktail-evening at our local pub, it was just a better idea to mooch couch cushions from my lovely friend's dog - yes, her dog - and sleep on the floor at the Discoball. And it was fabulous. Minus the thousand brain cells I probably lost sniffing freshly lacquered floors all night.)

Anyway, we've checked Ikea (would I really go with particle board?!) and Home Depot (five grand and a six week wait for cabinets WE have to install?!) and no decisions have been made. I know, I know, I need to shop around, but when we are talking about a month plus to get the suckers, time is of the essence.

So, here's to finding the dream set of cabinets this weekend and shelling out the dough to get 'em here sometime before the first snow. The worst part? I used to moonlight as a "Home Show Cabinet Pro" for some family friends, so I know what good cabinets are and why they're worth it. Note to self: save dough for the dream cabinets BEFORE you buy the shack that really could use them.

Gotta jet now... Bordova house needs cleaning and then it's off to sand and mud the walls at the Shack. Have a fabulously sunny amazing weekend to you all. Cheers.

Adventures In Manual Labor

So, it's been nearly three weeks since we FINALLY got keys to the new shack. And I am LOVING IT! Every day, I wake up excited to work on the next project. Previously a construction neophyte, I have almost officially earned my own hard hat at C&C Construction, or so I have named us.

Here is a brief rundown of what we have done in these two and a half short weeks:

Clear out and tear down back shed
Clear out garage and take out half-assed bathroom
Tear down dilapidated deck
Completely gut kitchen and laundry
Remove doors in kitchen/laundry and kitchen/dining, add arches
Re-tile and paint bathroom
Install new VD-free toilet
Take down huge tree in front yard, including stump

This is certainly an abbreviated list, but you get the point. Every waking hour not spent at our day jobs, Shupie and I are working on the shack. And boy is it coming together. I have chronicled all the progress in pictures, which I hope to turn into some fantastic coffee table book or best-selling coffee table book.

The latest adventure in remodel-land had me spending the better part of Saturday learning to "tape and texture" walls. Upon first look, you would think, "Hey, EASY job! Put goo on wall, spread it with a flat tool thing and you have perfect walls." But, after about ten minutes I realized that this was certainly not the case. I was covered, nearly head to toe, in said goo after about an hour. To add extra fun to the job, I had to goo the archway, meaning that when the goo was applied to thick, it would fall directly on my head, down my shirt (thanks to the girls for being team players and not breaking out in a goo-caused rash) and anywhere else below.

But, all in all, it was a fun job and I love getting my hands dirty. Good thing, since that was coat 1, out of the 4 coats necessary to complete the job.

Another highlight of the project has been the willingness of my great friends to lend a hand. Two of my very best friends came over, on a perfectly beautiful summer day off, and helped tear down stinky walls, load up the pick-up and actually accompany me on a trip to the dump. Now THAT is friendship. Needless to say, this was both of said friend's first trip to the dump. Not to worry, I promised next time they come over, it will be for wine and a chatty, not manual labor.

I have to give a couple more shoutouts, first to my favorite construction guru, Shupe. Without him, I would still be walking around in circles trying to think of what to do. And if it weren't for his drill sergeant attitude, we wouldn't be moving in for another year.

Also, my bro Phil, who has helped us with the worst of the worst of the projects. Clearing out the shed, which we were sure would contain at least one dead body, taking out the tree that must have been planted in the mesozoic era. Phil is putting in more than enough time to earn him a key to the new downtown boozer crash pad. Thanks, Phil.

Oh, and this story wouldn't be complete without a big THANKS to Morgan's, our neighborhood bar. We are officially regulars, and have become the new "NORM!" of the place. Thanks for the cold beer, yummy food, and for letting us in even when we are covered with schmutz and smell like cattle. Here's to our long and boozie relationship.

So, here's to more adventures in manual labor. Next on the agenda: plumbing, cabinets and more wall texturing. And maybe a few brewskis in between.