My friend was telling me about a book that would help me tidy my house and keep it tidy. She said a friend was reading it and had a lot of bags of things to toss and donate.
Interesting.
Would I be interested?
I'd like to think my house is clean, and it is before people come over, and tends to stay more picked up in the winter when we're not packing and unpacking and dropping towels everywhere (I'm guilty of the towels)
The house kinda looks like a bear frat party came through, and only stopped partying when a tornado ripped through.
No matter how much I clean, the house looks like it was destroyed within three days.
Sure, I said. Let me borrow it.
I understand why people brag about their workouts and diets now.
People are talking about packing, or their houses and I'm the obnoxious person who suddenly knows EVERYTHING about tidying.
I've read 177 pages of "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and I'm more than happy to tell you how to tidy. But that's weird. So I'll try to keep it under control.
Anyway, I've already donated three bags of clothes, and Marie was right, I can feel my stuff relax now they're no longer crammed into drawers with things that don't bring me joy.
Keep things that make you happy, get rid of everything else, and thank them for doing their job and at one time giving you joy.
Okay, it's a weird book.
I may be more granola than I thought.
It also uses Japanese efficiency. That's pretty cool. It took someone ten days to nearly complete the KonMarie Method, I'm on day three, and progress is happening. Not as quickly as Marie probably wants it to happen, but I'm making progress.
I think.
Anyway, the method makes you grab ALL of your clothes into one place and go through them. There is no room to room nonsense, there is no room for "Maybe I'll keep this" No. Because when I think "Maybe I'll keep this" I have a scary Japanese woman yelling at me, as you can see below. (My friend sent me this video when I told her I felt like I was being screamed at. Terrifying.)
Okay, maybe she's not terrifying, but I have this voice in my head saying: Get Rid of It!
So I am.
I've moved onto books and papers, and being a writer I have a thousand plus one pieces of paper. Gone. Books? I've only kept the ones I LOVE, so that's easy. But now it gets a little difficult. Marie says I shouldn't nag my family to tidy because they'll resent me. And I shouldn't ask my family's permission to get rid of stuff I know they haven't used in forever.
I'm asking permission.
Anyway, I'm going through the book, and she says to thank your shoes for protecting your feet and your bag for carrying your things, and your jacket for keeping you warm, and then you put everything into its home.
I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that, but I'm enjoying the feeling of less stuff. I feel like the house is slowly getting bigger.
Warning: This book also makes you want to do some serious deep cleaning. Like cleaning out HVAC vents and moving furniture to clean.
Oh, Marie, what have you done to me?
Ohhh, more things to get rid of!
Thursday, August 20, 2015
Friday, June 12, 2015
Advice to the Grads
In the last couple of weeks my Facebook and Twitter feeds have been filled with famous people giving advice to college grads.
Ten years ago I graduated high school, I'm trying to be a published author, and I operate a blog focusing on me trying to be the adult I thought I was supposed to be. You know, competent.
And because of this I'm extremely qualified to give a commence speech type thing:
To the high school graduates, Congratulations!
You've proven you can remember facts and figures and spit them out at a moment's notice, and you're capable of filling in bubbles with a number two pencil.
Forget all of that.
As of now, you're going to be graded and judged on what type of person you are, and what you can do for others and for yourself.
This is the time when you get to figure out what type of person you want to be. (Hint: If you're going to college you have a few more years to figure it out) And the choice is up to you, but remember the rest of the world will be judging you, so don't be a jerk.
Also, enjoy this summer with your friends. This will be the last summer where everything is as it was. Next summer friends may stay at school, have jobs, hang out with new friends, and be working. The jokes of senior year won't matter as much, and you'll all be changed, mostly for the good.
So, before you embark on your journey, enjoy the time with your friends and family. Have fun, cause shenanigans, don't get arrested.
Remember this time, capture the moments with friends (you don't have to use your cell) and go on adventures, have bonfires, hang out.
High school was not the best years of your life (unless you make it so), nor will college. A million things will happen between now and by the time you get the invite for your ten year class reunion (it comes faster than you think)
You will work hard for your goals and you may not reach them, but something better comes along you never thought would happen. Embrace it.
Things you never thought possible, or thought of at all, will happen, while things you've worked your hardest for may not.
There will be a time when you look around and wonder how you got where you are. It's entirely possible your life is unrecognizable from what you imagined.
I hope it works out so it's better than you thought possible.
And if not, there's Netflix.
You will fail. You will fail so hard you won't want to pick up the phone and talk to anyone. You will want to hide out and watch movies and eat pizza and wonder how the hell you got yourself into this mess.
And at that moment you have two options. Get up and work some more, or lie there and become a blob.
Don't be a blob. Be glad that you tried, be glad that you lived, and be glad you took the chance. And go do it all over again.
And for some of you, you may fail more than you succeed. So did a lot of people who have led the way in new technology, science, books, and acceptable pizza toppings.
It's okay to cry yourself to sleep after you've failed. And if you're a college student, you may find yourself just breaking into tears at three in the morning as you try to finish a project or paper.
It's okay. It happens.
At some point you're going to wish for an answer sheet. You're going to want to see what the future holds. You're going to want the answers for your exams. You're going to question your ability and why you are where you are.
You're going to feel lost and overwhelmed.
Ride it out.
Here's the secret I learned since graduating high school: No one knows what they're doing or why, or where they parked their car.
Welcome to the scary world of doubt.
The training wheels of life are officially off, and you're on your own to pedal. However you remain upright, do it. You may pedal differently than others, but if it works for you, do it.
You do you.
You will meet people who's lives appear perfect, and neatly mapped out for success, while you struggle working the soft serve ice cream machine (hint: turn the knob the other way) it's okay, everyone finds their way at some point. Sometimes, it takes a bit longer than others.
And if you're the one who has it all figured out, help the poor person who is starving for some ice cream.
Have fun and good luck!
Ten years ago I graduated high school, I'm trying to be a published author, and I operate a blog focusing on me trying to be the adult I thought I was supposed to be. You know, competent.
And because of this I'm extremely qualified to give a commence speech type thing:
To the high school graduates, Congratulations!
You've proven you can remember facts and figures and spit them out at a moment's notice, and you're capable of filling in bubbles with a number two pencil.
Forget all of that.
As of now, you're going to be graded and judged on what type of person you are, and what you can do for others and for yourself.
This is the time when you get to figure out what type of person you want to be. (Hint: If you're going to college you have a few more years to figure it out) And the choice is up to you, but remember the rest of the world will be judging you, so don't be a jerk.
Also, enjoy this summer with your friends. This will be the last summer where everything is as it was. Next summer friends may stay at school, have jobs, hang out with new friends, and be working. The jokes of senior year won't matter as much, and you'll all be changed, mostly for the good.
So, before you embark on your journey, enjoy the time with your friends and family. Have fun, cause shenanigans, don't get arrested.
Remember this time, capture the moments with friends (you don't have to use your cell) and go on adventures, have bonfires, hang out.
High school was not the best years of your life (unless you make it so), nor will college. A million things will happen between now and by the time you get the invite for your ten year class reunion (it comes faster than you think)
You will work hard for your goals and you may not reach them, but something better comes along you never thought would happen. Embrace it.
Things you never thought possible, or thought of at all, will happen, while things you've worked your hardest for may not.
There will be a time when you look around and wonder how you got where you are. It's entirely possible your life is unrecognizable from what you imagined.
I hope it works out so it's better than you thought possible.
And if not, there's Netflix.
You will fail. You will fail so hard you won't want to pick up the phone and talk to anyone. You will want to hide out and watch movies and eat pizza and wonder how the hell you got yourself into this mess.
And at that moment you have two options. Get up and work some more, or lie there and become a blob.
Don't be a blob. Be glad that you tried, be glad that you lived, and be glad you took the chance. And go do it all over again.
And for some of you, you may fail more than you succeed. So did a lot of people who have led the way in new technology, science, books, and acceptable pizza toppings.
It's okay to cry yourself to sleep after you've failed. And if you're a college student, you may find yourself just breaking into tears at three in the morning as you try to finish a project or paper.
It's okay. It happens.
At some point you're going to wish for an answer sheet. You're going to want to see what the future holds. You're going to want the answers for your exams. You're going to question your ability and why you are where you are.
You're going to feel lost and overwhelmed.
Ride it out.
Here's the secret I learned since graduating high school: No one knows what they're doing or why, or where they parked their car.
Welcome to the scary world of doubt.
The training wheels of life are officially off, and you're on your own to pedal. However you remain upright, do it. You may pedal differently than others, but if it works for you, do it.
You do you.
You will meet people who's lives appear perfect, and neatly mapped out for success, while you struggle working the soft serve ice cream machine (hint: turn the knob the other way) it's okay, everyone finds their way at some point. Sometimes, it takes a bit longer than others.
And if you're the one who has it all figured out, help the poor person who is starving for some ice cream.
Have fun and good luck!
Thursday, January 29, 2015
31 Days Sober
It has been thirty-one days since I've had a drink. #SoberSolidarity
It began with a friend, who will be known as FRIEND, who was sober for three years, after a night that landed FRIEND in the hospital to have stomach pumped and a cast placed on a broken leg. FRIEND has struggled in the last couple months, complete with a trip to the drunk tank on Halloween. So when I was asked if I would help FRIEND stay sober for a year I said yes.
FRIEND began getting back on track in November with the help of others, and I was asked to be sober the month of January. Sure, no problem. How hard could it be?
Not as hard as I thought, but still difficult.
Also, in December, I entered a weight loss bet with a friend. If we lost the weight, we would go on a warm, sunny trip for a weekend. I knew I was going to be sober for the month of January, and felt confident I could lose fifteen pounds.
I knew of the health benefits of cutting out alcohol, and everyone says if you want to lose weight, cut out the drinking. I lost eight pounds this month (twelve since we began this), I don't know if that is from not drinking, or a combination of that, and eating healthier, and being more diligent in workouts.
Either way, I feel good.
We rang in 2015 on the roof of a friends' house, with drinks in hand. I finished mine, and from 12:30 a.m. January 1 and until Sunday (Feb. 1) I'm sober. I'm also not going to be popping open a drink at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1. Thankyouverymuch.
It was more difficult in ways I never thought, and easier in others.
Our house did not go dry for this month. Chris still drank a beer when cooking, or after work. I was moving beer bottles around in the fridge, and there was no temptation. We went to Whistler and the fridge was packed with beer, and the temptation wasn't bad.
What was bad, was being at a brewery, or out to dinner and ordering water when I saw the beer list. It was also hard to wait longer for my water when everyone already had their beer.
The month began and I was hit with my first temptation. The Cotton Bowl. Michigan State vs. Baylor. Michigan State was getting blown out, which I watched sober. Then State mounted the most amazing comeback which I watched sober.
The temptation was high, but I was okay with not having anything but water in front of me. It was harder the next day when we went to a friend's house for Chris's birthday and Chris and our friend, Charles, opened several bottles of delicious beer to split.
We went to Whistler, and the thought of not drinking with everyone was harder than not drinking with everyone. FRIEND told me I could drink while I was at Whistler, but I knew FRIEND was struggling more than I was. After all, I had an end date, FRIEND has no day knowing a beer can be opened.
I told FRIEND I would see this through. And FRIEND stayed sober. Awesome. There were nine of us in the house, and once people knew I wasn't drinking they were cool with having a beer for me, which was dubbed a "Mo Beer."
Not a single person, who knew about me being sober, offered me anything with alcohol the entire month, and were pretty supportive.
And this is where I feel lucky. I could turn down a drink and say I'm #SoberSolidarity and people backed off. When FRIEND turned down a drink FRIEND said people would pressure, or would ask why FRIEND couldn't have only one. Which partly led to the relapse.
What I learned during this month, was how unhelpful, and rude people can be. I was at my writer's
critique group, and I announced I was twenty-one days sober. People were impressed, and said congratulations.
A friend asked if I was going to meetings, and I said I was only doing this for a month, and it was in solidarity for a friend. Another member of the group began mocking the idea of "for a friend, suuuure, suuuure," she said.
Even if I was going to AA, and needed a friend cover, because I didn't want people to know; I thought it was rude to mock. People don't have to be encouraging, it would be nice if they were, but not everyone is, so if you can't say "good job," SAY NOTHING.
I also learned how often the term Alcoholic was tossed about. Having a night of drinking more than you should, does not make you an alcoholic. Drinking one more than you should, does not make you an alcoholic.Having a beer or two every night, does not make you an alcoholic.
As FRIEND told me, FRIEND could not wait to get home and open the new twelve pack. FRIEND could not wait to get drunk, and would not stop until FRIEND was so drunk FRIEND could not make it from the couch to the bedroom.
People who drink and alcoholics are separated by the ability to stop. Alcoholics as FRIEND told me, will not stop until drunk, or passed out. FRIEND craved that moment of drunkenness where FRIEND did not care what other people thought and felt confident.
We were out the other night with friends, and a couple stories of people getting drunk were being told, and a person at the table kept repeating "That's because you're an alcoholic. That's because you're an alcoholic."
The person telling the story is not an alcoholic.
Just because a person has gotten drunk in their lives does not make them an alcoholic. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV, alcoholism is a progressive disease, symptoms and effects of drinking alcohol become increasingly more severe over time.
Alcohol abuse is when someone continues to drink even after it reaches a level that causes recurrent problems, like missing work, driving drunk, skipping things to drink, and continuing with the behavior even after being reprimanded, or given a DUI. "Continuing to drink after it causes someone to miss work, drive drunk, shirk responsibilities or get in trouble with the law is considered alcohol abuse."
An alcoholic, or "Alcohol Dependent", can experience other symptoms, including neglect of other activities, excessive use of alcohol, impaired control of alcohol consumption, persistence of alcohol use, large amounts of time spent in alcohol-related activities, withdrawal from others and a high tolerance of alcohol.
It's a mental disorder, and the addiction to alcohol controls them. Meaning, they cannot have just one, because one leads to a lot, and poor decisions, and as FRIEND told me, those poor decisions either seem like good ones at the time, or give the feeling of it can be accomplished, no big deal.
FRIEND is doing well, FRIEND made it the entire month without a drink. It was a struggle, but FRIEND made it through. There were a lot of AA meetings attended, nights spent on other people's couches because FRIEND couldn't be alone in fear of drinking. But FRIEND is making it.And I'm incredibly proud of FRIEND.
It began with a friend, who will be known as FRIEND, who was sober for three years, after a night that landed FRIEND in the hospital to have stomach pumped and a cast placed on a broken leg. FRIEND has struggled in the last couple months, complete with a trip to the drunk tank on Halloween. So when I was asked if I would help FRIEND stay sober for a year I said yes.
FRIEND began getting back on track in November with the help of others, and I was asked to be sober the month of January. Sure, no problem. How hard could it be?
Not as hard as I thought, but still difficult.
Also, in December, I entered a weight loss bet with a friend. If we lost the weight, we would go on a warm, sunny trip for a weekend. I knew I was going to be sober for the month of January, and felt confident I could lose fifteen pounds.
I knew of the health benefits of cutting out alcohol, and everyone says if you want to lose weight, cut out the drinking. I lost eight pounds this month (twelve since we began this), I don't know if that is from not drinking, or a combination of that, and eating healthier, and being more diligent in workouts.
Either way, I feel good.
We rang in 2015 on the roof of a friends' house, with drinks in hand. I finished mine, and from 12:30 a.m. January 1 and until Sunday (Feb. 1) I'm sober. I'm also not going to be popping open a drink at 12:01 a.m. on Feb. 1. Thankyouverymuch.
It was more difficult in ways I never thought, and easier in others.
Our house did not go dry for this month. Chris still drank a beer when cooking, or after work. I was moving beer bottles around in the fridge, and there was no temptation. We went to Whistler and the fridge was packed with beer, and the temptation wasn't bad.
What was bad, was being at a brewery, or out to dinner and ordering water when I saw the beer list. It was also hard to wait longer for my water when everyone already had their beer.
The month began and I was hit with my first temptation. The Cotton Bowl. Michigan State vs. Baylor. Michigan State was getting blown out, which I watched sober. Then State mounted the most amazing comeback which I watched sober.
The temptation was high, but I was okay with not having anything but water in front of me. It was harder the next day when we went to a friend's house for Chris's birthday and Chris and our friend, Charles, opened several bottles of delicious beer to split.
We went to Whistler, and the thought of not drinking with everyone was harder than not drinking with everyone. FRIEND told me I could drink while I was at Whistler, but I knew FRIEND was struggling more than I was. After all, I had an end date, FRIEND has no day knowing a beer can be opened.
I told FRIEND I would see this through. And FRIEND stayed sober. Awesome. There were nine of us in the house, and once people knew I wasn't drinking they were cool with having a beer for me, which was dubbed a "Mo Beer."
Not a single person, who knew about me being sober, offered me anything with alcohol the entire month, and were pretty supportive.
And this is where I feel lucky. I could turn down a drink and say I'm #SoberSolidarity and people backed off. When FRIEND turned down a drink FRIEND said people would pressure, or would ask why FRIEND couldn't have only one. Which partly led to the relapse.
What I learned during this month, was how unhelpful, and rude people can be. I was at my writer's
critique group, and I announced I was twenty-one days sober. People were impressed, and said congratulations.
A friend asked if I was going to meetings, and I said I was only doing this for a month, and it was in solidarity for a friend. Another member of the group began mocking the idea of "for a friend, suuuure, suuuure," she said.
Even if I was going to AA, and needed a friend cover, because I didn't want people to know; I thought it was rude to mock. People don't have to be encouraging, it would be nice if they were, but not everyone is, so if you can't say "good job," SAY NOTHING.
I also learned how often the term Alcoholic was tossed about. Having a night of drinking more than you should, does not make you an alcoholic. Drinking one more than you should, does not make you an alcoholic.Having a beer or two every night, does not make you an alcoholic.
As FRIEND told me, FRIEND could not wait to get home and open the new twelve pack. FRIEND could not wait to get drunk, and would not stop until FRIEND was so drunk FRIEND could not make it from the couch to the bedroom.
People who drink and alcoholics are separated by the ability to stop. Alcoholics as FRIEND told me, will not stop until drunk, or passed out. FRIEND craved that moment of drunkenness where FRIEND did not care what other people thought and felt confident.
We were out the other night with friends, and a couple stories of people getting drunk were being told, and a person at the table kept repeating "That's because you're an alcoholic. That's because you're an alcoholic."
The person telling the story is not an alcoholic.
Just because a person has gotten drunk in their lives does not make them an alcoholic. According to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV, alcoholism is a progressive disease, symptoms and effects of drinking alcohol become increasingly more severe over time.
Alcohol abuse is when someone continues to drink even after it reaches a level that causes recurrent problems, like missing work, driving drunk, skipping things to drink, and continuing with the behavior even after being reprimanded, or given a DUI. "Continuing to drink after it causes someone to miss work, drive drunk, shirk responsibilities or get in trouble with the law is considered alcohol abuse."
An alcoholic, or "Alcohol Dependent", can experience other symptoms, including neglect of other activities, excessive use of alcohol, impaired control of alcohol consumption, persistence of alcohol use, large amounts of time spent in alcohol-related activities, withdrawal from others and a high tolerance of alcohol.
It's a mental disorder, and the addiction to alcohol controls them. Meaning, they cannot have just one, because one leads to a lot, and poor decisions, and as FRIEND told me, those poor decisions either seem like good ones at the time, or give the feeling of it can be accomplished, no big deal.
FRIEND is doing well, FRIEND made it the entire month without a drink. It was a struggle, but FRIEND made it through. There were a lot of AA meetings attended, nights spent on other people's couches because FRIEND couldn't be alone in fear of drinking. But FRIEND is making it.And I'm incredibly proud of FRIEND.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Definition of Adulthood
A couple weeks ago Chris and I met up with friends for dinner, and I said I wasn't feeling this adulthood thing. My wonderful friends and husband listed a million reasons why adulthood is awesome, and as I eat my dinosaur chicken nuggets for breakfast, I'm agreeing with them.
The definition of adulthood:
Knowing how to remove a toilet, and trade out toilet seats. It is waking up in the morning and water is coming through places it should not be. It is scrolling through Facebook and "liking" pictures of my friends babies, when it was only a short time ago we were hanging out in bars.
It is watching DIY Network and HGTV, and being excited about the boring floors and trim. It is wanting to have movie nights more often than bar hopping, and conversations center around work than who is hooking up with who.
It is being less concerned about what people think of me and more what I think of myself. It is eating puppy chow for breakfast and all of my vegetables at dinner. It is cleaning the house, and sleeping until noon. It is bill paying, equity building, beer festivals, and super soaker fights.
Adulthood is fun, and exhausting, and not everything I thought it would, but I'm having a lot of fun.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
The best and worst of adulthood
My seven year old self would be so proud of me this weekend.
Chris and I along with two friends went camping, and with the fun camping brings, it also comes copious amounts of junk food and beer.
So, before there was actual breakfast, there were Oreos. And I high fived the child who would be so excited I wasn't a fuddy duddy.
And I am indeed eating what I want when I want, food pyramid of healthy eating be damned!
I then high fived myself and did an awesome dance and died from a sugar rush.
And then I paid for it dearly at the gym Monday morning. But that's okay; because my inner child isn't completely dead.
Which is a good thing, because for a while life threw way to much adult stuff my direction, and I was not okay with it. First I had to go through the car buying process, and then when that was finally under control, there was water in my ceiling light.
It started simply enough. My sister was over before we were to embark on a bike ride to several breweries and tasting rooms with our parents and family, when half way through her shower we noticed water in a ceiling light.
And as much as I enjoy fish tanks, I did not appreciate the one on the ceiling.
After calling five plumbing companies a couple days later (we had beer to drink) I taped the light switch and saved the problem for another day. Of the five companies called, three companies showed up.
Also, when stereotypes are confirmed I can't help but laugh. Plumber butt cracks are no joking manner, but hilarious!
The people from the company that will do the work, has total control of the butt crack situation, and I am forever grateful.
Anyway, plumbers come to try and figure out where water is coming from.
And one plumber is staring at the ceiling of the main floor pointing out water damage EVERYWHERE. Dude, we have textured ceilings and walls. Not every bump is water damage.
And then he says, I need to cut a couple holes here, here, and here (all are very far from where the water made an appearance).
And I'm like:
There is a hole, one hole, a small square hole close to the light where the water was hanging out. The leak was spotted, work will be done to fix the water, but it is on me to fix the hole in the ceiling.
Everyone, begin chewing bubble gum!
So, now on Tuesday the plumber is here, and it smells like he lit several gerbils on fire as he used fire to repair several of the busted, broken, pipes which were leaking water EVERYWHERE!
But now I have a couple holes.
And I wanted to redo my bathroom (the one that now has a hole) so this might be a good time to do so. Or I can just put the tiles back on the wall and call it good, but that doesn't seem quite so fun. Oh, the decisions.
I'll go eat an Oreo and make a decision...
Chris and I along with two friends went camping, and with the fun camping brings, it also comes copious amounts of junk food and beer.
So, before there was actual breakfast, there were Oreos. And I high fived the child who would be so excited I wasn't a fuddy duddy.
And I am indeed eating what I want when I want, food pyramid of healthy eating be damned!
I then high fived myself and did an awesome dance and died from a sugar rush.
And then I paid for it dearly at the gym Monday morning. But that's okay; because my inner child isn't completely dead.
Which is a good thing, because for a while life threw way to much adult stuff my direction, and I was not okay with it. First I had to go through the car buying process, and then when that was finally under control, there was water in my ceiling light.
It started simply enough. My sister was over before we were to embark on a bike ride to several breweries and tasting rooms with our parents and family, when half way through her shower we noticed water in a ceiling light.
And as much as I enjoy fish tanks, I did not appreciate the one on the ceiling.
After calling five plumbing companies a couple days later (we had beer to drink) I taped the light switch and saved the problem for another day. Of the five companies called, three companies showed up.
Also, when stereotypes are confirmed I can't help but laugh. Plumber butt cracks are no joking manner, but hilarious!
The people from the company that will do the work, has total control of the butt crack situation, and I am forever grateful.
Anyway, plumbers come to try and figure out where water is coming from.
And one plumber is staring at the ceiling of the main floor pointing out water damage EVERYWHERE. Dude, we have textured ceilings and walls. Not every bump is water damage.
And then he says, I need to cut a couple holes here, here, and here (all are very far from where the water made an appearance).
And I'm like:
There is a hole, one hole, a small square hole close to the light where the water was hanging out. The leak was spotted, work will be done to fix the water, but it is on me to fix the hole in the ceiling.
Everyone, begin chewing bubble gum!
So, now on Tuesday the plumber is here, and it smells like he lit several gerbils on fire as he used fire to repair several of the busted, broken, pipes which were leaking water EVERYWHERE!
But now I have a couple holes.
And I wanted to redo my bathroom (the one that now has a hole) so this might be a good time to do so. Or I can just put the tiles back on the wall and call it good, but that doesn't seem quite so fun. Oh, the decisions.
I'll go eat an Oreo and make a decision...
Friday, July 18, 2014
Legit Adulthood Checklist
Let me just say, Adulthood sucks.
Bills, groceries, cleaning, house stuff, responsibility sucks.
Adulthood sucks. There, I've said it, can I opt out?
I've technically been an adult for nine years; however I've been able to avoid actual adulthood for those nine years.
Sure there are bills, and a mortgage, and I don't eat candy for breakfast like I promised myself I would. But I do have infinite Cocoa Krispies, and that alone keeps me from having both feet in adulthood.
Being an adult was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be able to do anything I wanted whenever I wanted. Except there is far more responsibility than I ever imagined.
Until this week I'd never considered myself a real adult. Somehow I got smacked in the face with a sign that says "WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD!" Unfortunately the sign smacked me as I was on a test drive for a new car. Luckily I didn't crash.
Like every teenager in the country I took drivers ed, and let me tell you, test driving my potential car was a massive flashback.
I checked all my mirrors, adjusted my seat, and tried not to terrify the guy in the passenger seat with my driving, and then slammed on the breaks and sent us all forward into our seat belts. The salesman practically hit the dash.
Sorry.
Engine breaking, touchy break pedal, all those things, and suddenly I was fifteen again. Awesome.
Use the turn signal for every turn, crawl over speed bumps, slow for pedestrian crossings, yup, all of that.
I have yet to buy a vehicle, but I'm close, and it is stressful, and overwhelming, and hard.
I have a theory about adulthood. There is an adulthood checklist, and not until is every item checked off do you become an adult. Buying a car is one of the biggest items on that list.
I'm checking off more items than I'm happy to admit, ever so slowly life is pulling me into the adulthood realm, and no matter how much I'm screaming, it's happening. I'm slowly turning into an adult, like a slime monster.
Oh man. I needed a car, and now I'm an adult. Abort! Abort!
And there is no coming back from adulthood. It is a horrible place with horrible things and horribleness.
I'm trying to find the things that I thought were so cool when I was a young and silly child, and besides Cocoa Krispies and no real bedtime, and being able to do whatever I want when I want, but still within the bounds of society.
And I really want the second star to the right, grab some Fairy Dust, and have a new car without having to be an adult. Is that so hard?
Bills, groceries, cleaning, house stuff, responsibility sucks.
Adulthood sucks. There, I've said it, can I opt out?
I've technically been an adult for nine years; however I've been able to avoid actual adulthood for those nine years.
Sure there are bills, and a mortgage, and I don't eat candy for breakfast like I promised myself I would. But I do have infinite Cocoa Krispies, and that alone keeps me from having both feet in adulthood.
Being an adult was supposed to be fun. I was supposed to be able to do anything I wanted whenever I wanted. Except there is far more responsibility than I ever imagined.
Until this week I'd never considered myself a real adult. Somehow I got smacked in the face with a sign that says "WELCOME TO ADULTHOOD!" Unfortunately the sign smacked me as I was on a test drive for a new car. Luckily I didn't crash.
Like every teenager in the country I took drivers ed, and let me tell you, test driving my potential car was a massive flashback.
I checked all my mirrors, adjusted my seat, and tried not to terrify the guy in the passenger seat with my driving, and then slammed on the breaks and sent us all forward into our seat belts. The salesman practically hit the dash.
Sorry.
Engine breaking, touchy break pedal, all those things, and suddenly I was fifteen again. Awesome.
Use the turn signal for every turn, crawl over speed bumps, slow for pedestrian crossings, yup, all of that.
I have yet to buy a vehicle, but I'm close, and it is stressful, and overwhelming, and hard.
I have a theory about adulthood. There is an adulthood checklist, and not until is every item checked off do you become an adult. Buying a car is one of the biggest items on that list.
I'm checking off more items than I'm happy to admit, ever so slowly life is pulling me into the adulthood realm, and no matter how much I'm screaming, it's happening. I'm slowly turning into an adult, like a slime monster.
Oh man. I needed a car, and now I'm an adult. Abort! Abort!
And there is no coming back from adulthood. It is a horrible place with horrible things and horribleness.
I'm trying to find the things that I thought were so cool when I was a young and silly child, and besides Cocoa Krispies and no real bedtime, and being able to do whatever I want when I want, but still within the bounds of society.
And I really want the second star to the right, grab some Fairy Dust, and have a new car without having to be an adult. Is that so hard?
Monday, February 3, 2014
The Bathroom Remodel
And it really was a great idea. While the bathroom was functional, it was not aesthetically pleasing.
The floor on the other hand, was gross. No amount of scrubbing could ever make the floor look clean. And since the house was a rental for twenty years before we bought it, I don't even want to think about the junk the floor has seen.
Out it goes!
And if you're going to take out the floor, you might as well cut out some drywall and throw some soundproofing insulation in between the wall for some added privacy.
Not a large project at all.
So let's begin taking everything out!
And in case you wanted to preform pullups on the towel racks, very long screws kept those suckers mounted to the wall.
This is when I began questioning what the people prior were thinking. A question I had for the next two weeks.
Everyone please join me a resounding EWWWWWW.
So, I began peeling back the vinyl sheet and was met with this. Apparently, you do not need a subfloor across your entire floor, but only where the vanity will be resting.
For the record, it made it easier to pry up the particle board subfloor that was stapled every inch apart. It was very secure.
The last piece was the hardest to pry up, as it had the consistency of hamster cage lining.
It took about a week for me, Chris, and my wonderful friend Becky to pull up the particle board which was glued and stapled to the floor. And where there was no glue or staples it had fused itself to the floor.
Again, who did this?!
So, we decided to leave the floor for another day and start demoing the walls. I greatly enjoyed my drywall knife, which cuts through everything, except studs, heating vents, and anything not drywall.
Ok, it just cuts through drywall, but it does it very well. Also, Becky is very safety conscious and says eye protection is a must while cutting drywall.
So I grabbed my eye protection.
Yup, those are ski goggles.
But it was a little weird using duct tape for it's intended purpose. We took down a wall with the hope of moving a light switch closer to the door. Instead, we found a heating vent with puncture holes.
Neither one of us used one before, but I've seen a few people using one to figure it out.
And keeping stereotypes alive we decided the best way to use one was like an iron. Keep it moving, and don't put a hole in the floor.
She got the glue and particle board chunks up pretty quick.
And we got the drywall up pretty quick. It was surprisingly easy to cut drywall. It's not that easy for us to read a ruler. We had measurements like: 34 inches and seven lines. Or 20 inches and two lines past 3/4.
While it was not legit ruler reading, it was pretty accurate.
(** We are capable of reading a ruler, and had legit measurements as well.)
Although, I had a wonderful moment of trying to figure out how many 16ths are in an inch.
I blame the dust or something.
I admit it was not my finest moment. But look, the walls got done.
We only had one issue of hanging it. A ninja nail snuck itself in a corner and made us crazy on why the drywall would not go flush. We figured it out. It was fine. Made us feel kind of dumb. But it was fine.
At 3pm on Thursday I was leaving for Whistler and I was on my own for adding texture to the wall. I could not get the texture to be consistent. Which is why it looks like a drunk sailor added texture with a seagull.
The theme for the bathroom is Great Lakes Winter, so I guess the seagull texture goes with it.
What was fun, as seven people walked into the house were all surprised I was remodeling the bathroom. And being engineers all had the question of why I was doing this right before we were supposed to leave.
It was supposed to be done by the time they got to the house. Oh well.
A sore and broken Mo was back to work in the bathroom on Monday, with a quick paint job with paint leftover from my bedroom, it was time for the floor.
Oh the floor. It looks awesome, but it was a pain to grout.
Becky came up huge with methods of cleaning the grout off the rocks.
And floor went from this:
No.
It took us longer to put the bathroom back together than it did knocking everything down.
I thought four weeks before the Superbowl would give me plenty of time to finish the bathroom before thirty people came over to watch the game; and yet it was Friday night before the game we were installing a door.
For the record, installing doors are a pain in the ass. But once Chris recognized his lovely wife made the drywall 1/8 of an inch longer than the header, and therefore impeding the top of the door jamb from being raised as it needed, and then sent lovely wife up a ladder with a knife to undo what was done, it was installed in under two hours.
And plumbing on Saturday morning for the sink. Chris took over because I could not get the PVC to connect on Friday:
Chris claimed he liked plumbing, or wouldn't mind doing it. And he completed the project with less than 26 hours remaining before people came over.
And this is how it all looks minus a mirror and four canvas prints of Great Lake lighthouses.
And surprisingly I still have all my fingers and there were no accidental holes in the wall. So that's a win.
Next project?
Well, because we are pros at hanging doors now, we're going to switch all the doors out in the hallway, and I'm going to be painting and removing the old baseboards. Woot!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)