So I have been busy...

Yeah, it’s been awhile. I have been busy. We stayed at the new house for the first time last night. Kiddo enjoyed his bed, while I had the lovely, non-magical, couch (that’s an inside joke that always makes me smile). My bedroom is nowhere near habitable. Lots of things have happened and changed, so I will try to give a rundown: Popcorn ceiling scraped, retextured, and painted throughout the house; new wall built creating formal dining room and office; hand textured entry, hallway, 2 bathrooms; paint on almost every wall of the house – only rooms not yet painted are my bedroom and the guest room; flooring installed in kiddo’s room; water line cut and then repaired in master bathroom; tub drain busted pipe repaired in master bath; tub spout leak into wall of master bath repaired; new flooring and toilet installed in master bathroom; ceiling fans/light switches repaired in kiddo’s room and living room; found questionable electrical wiring in dining room – I will NOT be turning on that switch for fear of fire!; new mailbox installed; floors in living area cleaned multiple times due to mess from ceiling…Sheesh I don’t know what else. Sometimes I can see a big improvement and other times I feel like I haven’t completed anything. My parents have been great in helping me, either with physical labor or by letting the kiddo stay at their house so I can work for a few more hours. (It has been difficult to try to keep him on his schedule while not knowing where we are going to sleep each night) My dad has the knowledge of mulitple professionals and I would not have taken on this project if I didn't have him. Plumber, electrician, problem solver, craftsman, idea-man, all of which has saved me TONS of money. Of course, Bernadette has been a lifeline…from the use of her tools, to her labor, to finding and going with me to pick up craigslist treasures! Whatever project we are working on, we have to look at through tears of laughter.  J.D. helped with manual labor, bum shoulder and all.  And Chris, well he got challenged by Slider and he took to scraping the ceiling in one room. I still think that was a good, albeit unintentional, scam, Slider!

I had one moment that really stood out. Everyone that has seen the house, especially in the beginning, said it was cool and lots of work to be done etc., but one friend told me that I did a good job finding and buying the place. I think he meant it sincerely and he wasn’t talking about the changes I have already and am going to make. I really needed that reassurance that I was doing the right thing. Funny when and where that comes from sometimes.

The transformation of this house is definitely evident and my personal transformation is underway too. I will post more about that later though.

End of day one

At the end of the first day of working on/owning a house,I think we were pretty productive. Yes, we - my kiddo was a great help all day! I think any boy would enjoy the destruction we did today. Who doesn't like to tear things up and NOT get in trouble? Here is a quick breakdown of day one's events:

•Foul smelling, pee stained carpet and pad removed from formal rooms and bedroom 2. Now there is no carpet in the house
•Trip to Keller to purchase range, dishwasher and washer & dryer that was being held at a store for me --- range was already sold when I got there. Needless to say, I left with nothing as I don't like to do business with people like that.
•On return trip to house, find another range on craigslist and make arrangements to pick up after my new fridge is delivered.
•Back at the house, kiddo and I begin removing the tackstrips in the formal rooms. I then also start scraping the ceiling there.
•Mom joins in on the tackstrips and popcorn ceiling removal.
•Dad brings much needed Sonic drinks! And grinds off lock that was stuck on garage door tracks. Door and opener now functional! YAY ONE ITEM COMPLETE!!!
•Tired of scraping ceiling and with the tackstrips all removed, I begin removing the wallpaper from my bathroom and mom and kiddo do the same in the guest bath.
•FRIDGE ARRIVES! FRIDGE ARRIVES! It's big and beautiful and shiny and beat of all it was an awesome deal. As part of my vow to transform things, this is a preowned/lease return fridge.
•Leave to go get range #2 from craigslist ad. Text owner to get address. Get response when I'm in Lewisville "Sold". Great, so I go to Lowe's just to see what they have.
•Find a completely awesome display range! More than I wanted to spend, more features than I will ever know how to use, but no more dealing with craigslist flakes! It's mine and loaded in the back of the truck
•Time for dinner - we didn't have lunch - and a reward for kiddo for all his hard work
DAY ONE OVER, seems productive, but I know I need to take advantage of the excitement etc before I get beat down by all the work!

Injury report: me-broke fingernails(yes I know this isn't an injury, this is strictly for dramatic effect, cuts and scrapes on hands and arms, and blister in the palm of my hand. The blister doesn't really bother ne unless I get it wet, grip anything or otherwise try to use my dominant hand!Mom - will have to update hers after she has slept. Kiddo - nothing, not a care in the world and ready to work some more!

The transformation of the house is officially underway!

I can see the light....

Well, it’s almost here. Or should I say, it’s almost mine. I sign the closing documents for my new (to me!) house on Friday. This process has been such an emotional roller coaster, that I am facing Friday’s date feeling anxious, scared, nervous, excited, relieved, speechless etc. But most of all, I am ready!

Some little girls grow up dreaming of their perfect wedding, I am pretty sure I grew up dreaming of and designing my perfect house. This house may not have been anything that I would have thought of as being perfect, but for where I am in my life currently, it is. I am not sure if there is ever “the right time” or if one is ever absolutely sure about what they are doing taking  on such big investment, but had I known some of what the few months following me signing the contract would hold, I would seriously reconsider. Between the stress directly related to the purchase, the kiddo starting school and other personal issues, I know the last several weeks have been very taxing on me. I signed the contract to purchase the house August 3 and would have never dreamed that it would take almost 2 months to close. I know nothing about my loan was standard – IF YOU QUALIFY, GET A USDA LOAN! You can thank me later! – but all, well most, parties involved stayed diligent to get it processed. I have used this time to plan, prepare, gather and purchase things for me to get in the house. I think I am prepared to sleep even less then I do now, feel aches and pains in places I didn’t know existed, have moments of creative genious, and think I am at wits end all while transforming both my soul and MY house.

This is where I decided to jump up on my soap box for a second. I am four months post divorce and buying this house. I hope everyone understands the value of good credit and even moreso, the importance of a good relationship with your exspouse. Because we care enough, we made sure not to ruin either’s great credit score. Mine was exceptionally helpful, because even though we are no longer married, he had to provide almost as much paperwork as I did to my lender. I came from the construction industry and heard plenty of times that “the ex ruined my credit score” Well I am proof that that doesn’t have to be the case, you just have to be civil! :)

I am a planner. I want to know what I am doing almost all the time. That’s not to say that I can’t be spontaneaous etc., but for the most part I want to have a general idea of what is going on. That being said…this home buying thing is killing me! I keep getting asked when I am going to close, well I have no idea! Ugg, yes it’s giving me more time to plan what I want to do in the house, but it also is giving me more time to plan what I want to do in the house! Haha. By that, I mean what started out as simply finishing/repairing projects the last owner started and painting, has morphed into complete tearouts and wall additions, a REAL transformation.

I have been showing “my new house” to my friends and family, even though it isn’t mine yet. And for the most part, everyone can see the diamond in the rough. The kiddo is excited for his big new room and has even found his “secret hiding spot” (Hey monkey, it’s not a secret if you show everyone!) Everyone seems happy and anxious to see how I transform the place and I promise to share before and after photos here soon. I just have to be able to get in and get good quality pictures! Until then, I will browsing the classifieds, trash piles, garage sales etc for anything I can transform and reuse.

Transformed. Soul.  As I embark on this new adventure in my life, the words seem to be on repeat in my head. I don’t remember how I imagined my life going as I was a kid, but I am pretty sure this is not the path I dreamed of. It’s been a little more than a year since I seemingly “had it all” and walked away from it.  Neither my husband nor I was happy and I worried of the effect it would have on our 4 year old son. I found a new, temporary, place to live and made arrangements to split custody of the kiddo 50/50. We are now divorced(happily I guess you could say since we seem to get along better now than we have in years) and I am ready to be out of this rent trap of an apartment.

I have found a house that I didn’t imagine I would ever be able to get at this stage in life and career; the last year was spent basically “volunteering”, with very little income, but I have been at a new job for about five months and that has allowed me to qualify for a house. The house I fell in love with is a HUD home meaning it was offered at a reduced rate, but that bidding was the only way to get it. When I submitted my offer, I expected a laughing “NO” but instead it got accepted! I see so much potential in this place. One thing I do remember from my youth, is the desire to design and create. This new house will be one large canvas for me.

I live on such a tight budget, that I am going to have to be very creative on any remodeling/repairs that I want to do.  I will be reusing/repurposing and transforming many things, new and old, along the way to make them work for me and I plan to chronicle both the house and personal transformation.  There will be simple and complex, creative and insane, success and failure, but all of these will help both me and my house come out with a transformed soul.