Update on Renovation

Well, again at a standstill. The project just gets deeper and deeper the more we deconstruct. Found out the the "little" leak has been a bit more progressive than the bathroom area, it has made it's way down the walls and ceiling in the living area. The mold is behind the paint on the drywall and pushing the tape on the mud off and will need to be replaced. Love the $$$$ as it flies out the window. Will have to replace the ceiling there too, which was kind of in the plan but not necessary new drywall. I'm laughing all the way to the bank. Found some staining under the tile and concrete in the bathroom, but it is dry and no longer wet, praise God for this one. After much debate and not getting the help that was to come this past weekend, we are hiring a pro to hang the drywall. After the mud and taping is done, the rest of the project will be gravy. Sabrina and I have yet to agree on a color for the walls, the tile is picked out and I have an idea on the vanity, so will have to see who wins this one. I did give her carte blanche on the project so will have to stand by my word but will try and influence her as much as I can. I am posting the last "disaster" pictures, which has since been cleaned up a bit, but still has alot of tools and stuff lingering in the halls and spare room. As usual, I am laughing and just shaking my head at the mess and see the bigger picture completed in another few weeks. Off to study for the exam. Only about a month to go and will move onto other projects. Got to book my flight to England for July, and found a price under $950. Au Voir.

Renovation Part III

Well, it's been awhile since I posted, too busy to fill you all in on the particulars, but in a nut shell, it looks like a bomb blow up our little (now big) bathroom project. Will post the pictures at a later date, all locked up into my phone camera right now. After deconstructing the old drywall, we discovered there was no insulation between the walls to the adjoining bathroom, so that is going up. Next, we discovered that before we could place the new paperless drywall, mold free, we had to take up the old tile, thus the bomb. Was there glue under the old tile, well heck NO, there was cement. At least there was tar paper between the cement and the planking. So Sabrina gets out the axe and starts pounding out the tile and cement, which stills lies on the floor. Will take at least 6 bags of crushed cement and dust to empty the room. It looks small in there now, so once that is out, the entire bathroom has been gutted and everything in there will be new except for the plumbing and electric and the original bathtub. We will have to see if anything else needs replacing then. Sabrina got an offer to have a friend of ours come to help put up the new drywall this weekend and took the offer. We did have an estimate for the job, at the cost of $850 which we kindly rejected. Just to hang walls and mud was a bit more than we thought was a fair price. Once we clear the rubble and lay new cement board on the floors go down throughout the room, the walls can go up and the reconstructing begins. Looks like this weekend this it will happen.

At this time, still no electric to any of the bathrooms and the hot tub lies quiet as well, which I miss terribly. Even if it was hooked up, I have been working so much overtime, I don't have much time to relax and enjoy it. Still studying daily for the CRNI exam, which I will be taking on the 25th of March. Pushing for a 90 overall but will just be glad to pass. Good review and lots of memorizing special points, not my strength, but getting wiser daily. I have lots of other events coming up as well before then so pacing myself is more important every day. The first weekend in March I am off to Charlotte to see Elton John and Billy Joel in concert. A first for me, since my last concert was in high school days. I remember the days when I saw Bobby Sherman live when I was a teen, and screaming like some insane youngster till I couldn't talk a word. Now I know I am dating myself when I speak of Bobby Sherman, but he was hot back then, so I thought as a young girl.

Between all of the excitement of the house, I have been busy working my business, showing business plans and planning skin clinics and getting new customers on my wonderful products. On the road again brings new meaning to the phrase. Racking up the miles on my 95 Explorer, good ole Betty has been good to me, I am enjoying the quiet and reflective time and jamming to the music to stay awake. Now I potentially have another side line of work doing consulting and educating in my nursing line of work. So overall, things are busy and often times only time to sleep once I finally get home. Trying to make sure I am not up past 1 am, as at this pace, I would crash without enough sleep.

Sabrina got her preceptorship for school, a job offer and her internship for her credentially all in one week. She is doing famously, straight A's in school, almost a 4.0 average and dating new people. Might find Mr Right in one of them. She is learning to pace herself as well, and doing well, helping me with meals and shopping for food in the spare time she has. The VA issue and the truck issue is almost resolved, still waiting for the final settlements to work themselves out.
Sabrina, Andrea and Kevin meet next month for a ski vacation in Germany, poor me gets to sit this one out but know they will have a great time and all the rest and relaxation.

Well, that's it for now. Will get the pictures up this weekend on the renovation and an update as I have time. Bless you all. Till we meet again. Au Voir.

The Renovation - Part II

Sabrina will start on the bathroom again today, she says, and despite my advise not to replace the drywall, she is going to anyways. "I can always call Dwane to come and help me" is her answer. I have not freaked out thus far, so I just take deep breaths and sigh and roll with the it. I will be glad to see the conglomeration of work tools and equipment leave the hallway, as I almost broke my neck on the cords last night. One has to have a mental image of where all the junk lies when getting out of bed to travel to another room on the second floor. Sabrina hollered up last night after I tripped and almost landed on my face after tripping on the cord for the paint machine. Why is there is a paint machine up there now you might ask? Sabrina used it to spray water on the ceiling for removing the popcorn ceiling. It worked like a charm after she figured out how to use the machine, thanks to the Internet instructions she found online after cursing the machine for 2 days. Anyways, it will be there for heaven knows how long, as we will roll on paint once the new walls are up.

I am not liking the fact that I have to work again today, have an inservice to present to the case managers at CFVMC on enteral pumps, drumming up more business, as there is never enough to do already! I still have my regular work to do as well. Not to mention that my boss is having her Gallbladder yank today and now one less person in the office and I am on call this weekend which is ALWAYS hectic when I am on call. Another TPN teach and one can only imagine what else there is to do. I am trying to fit the studying for my exam into the already jammed schedule and hate memorizing the Chemo drug reactions, they all make you sick!

Enough complaining. I am grateful to work with a great group of folks and blessed that Sabrina has cooked 2 meals for me this week and cleaned up the mess as well. She make some kick butt cupcakes for the office which didn't see the end of day before all were consumed and we were rubbing our bellies. JCAHO is coming and I am it, they will be riding with me for the day. Not worried, as I have been through so many in the past, it should be a breeze. Just got to find more time to crack the books and stay awake at night to flip the pages of the masses of manuals I have to study from. Everyone pray I make my 85% mark I am shooting for.

Well, here ends another chapter of my thoughts today, got to make some fresh coffee, already drank the leftovers from 2 days ago. Need the caffeine to pump through the veins to wake up. Arivaderchi! Not sure on that spelling folks!

Smooth Ceiling

OK, we have have passed the messy stage now, Sabrina came through on Saturday and Sunday to take down the popcorn ceiling, easier than first expected and down in no time. She didn't have to wet it as much as first anticipated. The mess is gone and now we have semi-smooth walls and ceiling. I sigh with relief to be past this first demolition stage. The dust of white still lingers in the room and the on the rugs and walls of the hallway, but hey, who said renovations was clean. A little dust never hurt anyone. Sabrina looked like she poured baby powder all over herself that day and made me remember the day Andrea and her kissing cousin actually did that when they were 2 yrs old. A classic picture, all you see was the dark of Andrea's eyes. And here stands Sabrina, quite a few years older with the same look.

Not sure we we go from here. A bit of leftover paper still lies on the wall behind the toilet and vanity, which are next to come out. That should be fun. Andrea picked out a vanity for me, and funny, it was on the cover of Lowe's this week in the circular, so I am going to check it out. It matches the new bedroom furniture I want too, too bad this bathroom is not the master's bath, but maybe we can get one to fit once we tackle that bath. I believe a house is a forever transition of upgrades, one never seems to finish.

Not sure why I find it necessary to do my posting so early in the morning. I got up at 2:30 am for some unknown reason and should be sleeping, tomorrow is going to be another crazy day. I find I am more focused at this time in the morning, however, so maybe this is the reason I feel the need to tap away on the keyboard. Remember the days of the typewriter! OK, I know a lot of you are saying no, but I am glad technology has brought us to this point.

Well, got to get some more sleep, at least another 2 hours, so will close. Here are a couple of pics of the smooth ceiling and Sabrina the ghost. Enjoy. Will be sipping on coffee here in a few more hours. Chow.

A Stand-Still

I sit here amongst the clutter and disarray and wonder when will the project get finished. The house used to be picked up and clutter free. I am not complaining, as reality is that construction always brings messes and headaches, but I want my house back. Sabrina is running out of steam, she likes to get things started, like her father, but not always a great finisher. Andrea and I are the finishers. I just need to have it done by April when the folks get here. So I sit here patiently waiting to see when the next move comes and breath easy, so as not to drive myself crazy with the endless possibilities. I have added some new posts to the now "Stand-Still" phase of the renovation. Not much else to comment on here, I have so many things to attend to, one does not know where to begin. I think I'll start by dipping into the hot tub to soak the woos away and then do the workout and read and relax. Stay tuned for the next installment. Enjoy the Superbowl, or at least the parties that come with the game. Chow