Work, work, work.

That's all we're doing lately...so much so that I cannot find the time to update this little window into our lives.
I can't even find to take the pictures of the finished product BUT what I do have are pictures of the work in progress.
Enjoy.

Living Room 1 - Before.

Yellow paint - same color as the rest of the house.

Someone got a crazy good deal on yellow paint.

Dining Room.

I think the vacuum cleaner and pile of randomness really set this room off.

Quick - Someone call HGTV, we've got a genius interior to show off here.

I don't have any before pics of Living Room 2 but you can get a little taste from this post.

And now the fun photos of exactly why it's taking over 3 months to get through only 5 rooms:

All that pink stuff is caulk.  After caulk dries, you get to sand, and clean, and then clean some more.

That dust you see isn't on my camera lens, it's floating in the air.

Note the dust mask Matt's wearing - Safety First.

The pictures I've left out are the ones showing the cracks and holes in the walls that have to be patched.

And sometimes when we're really lucky, we get to fill in the cut outs in the trim where the old HVAC vents were.

Isn't that pretty? 

The folder taped to the floor in front of it is covering the brand spanking new HVAC vent.

The good news is that we've finished Living Rooms 1 and 2 but the contents of the Dining Room are currently residing in both so I cannot show you any finished pictures.  Maybe someday this house will be put back together into something that sort of resembles a home.

"I'm gonna write you a letter."

I stole that title from Mike's parents.  When they are not pleased with each other, this phrase always makes an appearance and I love it. 
Completely unrelated to that story is this:
Today we received this letter in the mail -

Very official looking and scary.

This lovely letter is from Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Department of Codes Administration.  Great.

We have been "notified as owner" of our house of the following violations:

Section 16.24.330 - Accessory Structures: All accesory structures, including detached garages, fences, and walls, shall be maintained structurally sound, in good repair, and in an otherwise safe, clean and sanitary condition.

Section  16.24.330 - Open Storage: It is inlawful to store in the open area of tha yard or structure, trash, rubbish, furniture, appliances, automobile parts, including dead trees, weeds and garbage, etc (Junk, Trash, and Debris).

That is a verbatim quote of the code law from the letter. 

And what exactly are they talking about, you ask.  It's this:

Our delapidated carport.

Yes, it looks gross.  Yes, there is a fridge, a window, a shopping cart, a trash can full of metal, and about 1000 square feet of tile in there.  I know, Metro, I know, I HATE it too.

But for the love of the Golden Cow, today is the first nice day we've had since we moved into this place.  I cannot believe that you honestly think we should have been out there in 12 degree weather and 6 inches of snow taking care of this.  Nevermind the fact that a whole lot of that "junk, trash, and debris" was left by the previous owners.  Thanks.

Here's another doozy of a quote for you:

Therefore, you are to have the violation or cause removed and/or corrected before April 26, 2010.
Removed? Right, b/c we have about $8k lying around just burning a hole in our bank accounts for this very purpose. 
And the deadline...seriously?  Sorry but we're a little busy trying to work on the inside of the house Where We LIVE.  And plan a wedding.  And work full time jobs. 

So Thank You Metro Nashville Codes Department.  I'm gonna write you a letter.

Mary Jane, Marchgiving, and our Doggie Disaster Weekend

We'll start at the beginning. 
Our plan this weekend was to take the pups to the vet get Mary Jane's "good leg" checked out, get their shots, have Marchgiving at the Vecchiomisterton household, and paint the 2nd living room.  That was the plan.

Saturday morning:  We get up have some coffee and start getting ready to head to the vet.  I'm putting clothes on and Matt lets the dogs out.  I hear one of them screaming.  Not howling at a squirrrel as usual but screaming in pain.  Of course, it's Mary Jane.  The genius was chasing a squirrel and ran head on into a stump that is as big as she is....And it begins.
We head to the vet hoping to get in early.  We get in and discover that her shoulder is swollen (from running into the stump), her "good leg" probably has a partially torn ACL, and they both get all their annual and every 3 year shots.  They weren't happy campers.
Saturday afernoon:  Matt primes and paints the trim of the 2nd living room.  While I head to Bellevue to discuss wedding centerpieces and to the grocery then prep for Marchgiving.
Saturday night:  Marchgiving goes off without a hitch.  Good food, good drink, nothing was set on fire - Success! 

A picture from last year since I forgot my camera this year. Fail.

We get home, let the pups out, and get ready for bed, it's about 230 am.  Matt proceeds to pass out and I keep hearing puppy collars rattle.  I get up to find Mary Jane's face swollen so bad that her eyes are barely open and she keeps shaking her head.  Cue prompt freak out:
"Oh my God, oh my God, Matt....MATT - look at Mary Jane!"
Frantic calls to the emergency vet and a mad search for some Benadryl ensue.  So began one sleepless night on the couch....
Sunday morning: MJ is in a Benadryl induced coma, Doobie is being Doobie, and we paint the walls of the 2nd living.  Matt says, "Does it look like Doobie's face is swelling?"  Shit.  Yes, it does.  His ears are burning up and he's shaking his head like crazy.  Cue Doobie's Benadryl induced coma and 4th call to the emergency vet. 
Sunday evening:  MJ's stomach is upseat, meaning I've cleaned up her stomach contents 4 times today (I'll spare you the visual), and Doobie is running around like he's on crack trying to make his paws stop itching.
The only thing we can figure is the vaccines are causing this allergic reaction.  Our pups are miserable, we feel helpless and the new vet will be getting a phone call in the morning.
ANOTHER Benadryl coma is headed their way.

The good news is we have a painted 2nd living room and we have enough Marchgiving leftovers to last a week.
I'm scared to even ask the question....is there anything else, seriously??

And another one down.

Not that I didn't love our house before but now when I walk in the front door, I LOVE our house.
The foyer was this:

More yellow walls and trim that showed it's age, including hinge and door cut outs. Since this was a quad at one time, the foyer had a door on each side to separate the 2 apartments on each side of the house.

Matt turned it into this:

It's good to be home.

One Down...

Ok, so I'm serious this time...
We have one room done. D.O.N.E. DONE.
And we're so happy that there is a room in this house finally that isn't yellow.
Some before, during, and after pictures for your viewing pleasure

Before:
Please appreciate the untiled tub and subfloor covered in beautiful pink shag rugs, plus the cloudy mirrored medicine cabinet, and what looks like a light fixture that should be an old gas station bathroom.

During:
We were so happy to have a room a color other than yellow we left it primed for a whole week before painting it a color.
Please note the missing medicine cabinet, that is a different light fixture (I know you can't tell) and the beautiful tile work now in place.

And finally, the after shots:
New light fixture, new mirror, new wall color, freshly painted ceiling and trim, new towel ring, tp holder, shower rod and curtain, freshly painted details like door knobs and heat/air vent...

And Matt's favorite part, finally, there is a door in this house that locks:

Snow Pics

Now that it's 60 degrees outside and I can finally appreciate the pictures of our house in the snow, I'll share them.  Before I was too busy cursing and shoveling/sweeping the driveway...thankfully, we got some use out of some of the crap that last owners left behind...
I mean really, how many people down here own a good snow shovel - we do now.
Enjoy -

A photographer, I am not.  ....maybe someday I'll grow some talent until then, you just have to suffer through my lack of skill.  Night time pictures never turn out as great as I think they should.

The Car

Ya'll are gonna love this one -
So we all know that my Dad has this thing with cars....it's a collectors type thing. That in and of itself doesn't sound too bad except that his collectors type thing usually leads to conversations such as this:
Me calling Dad, while driving away in one such car -
"Hey....ummm, you know there are 3 different dashboard lights on right now, right? Is that normal?"
Dad -
"Oh yea, that's normal. I like to keep lights on to make sure they work. (while uproariously laughing) And watch out for the windshield wipers, they spontaneously turn themselves on, that's normal too. And keep an eye out for the power brakes, sometimes they just don't work..really, you'll get a nice leg workout when that happens."
Me -
"What about the power steering? It feels like I'm wrestling an alligator to make a left turn..."
Dad -
"About that, it comes and goes...kinda like the windshield wipers."
Me -
"perfect."

Feast your eyes on said car:

Looks nice right? Riiiight.

All the issues listed above I inheireted.
The following I grew all by myself:
A few months ago I was at the grocery store, I shut the truck and the license plate fell off. On the ground. It's currently propped up in the back glass.


On my way to work on Monday – The driver’s side window fell off track and is currently being held up with wedges stuck in the door.


And guess what happened on my way to work Thursday, when it was raining like hell – my windshield wiper flew off….Like the entire blade thing (not just the rubber part) was dangling from the arm.
Thankfully I was only a few blocks from the house so I circled back around and creeped home without wipers then cursed my way into figuring out how to reattach it while holding the umbrella over my head with my chin…I looked like a damn circus act. It's still attached but I don't trust it.

I mean really, you just have to laugh, it's so ridiculous.