We-Just-Moved UPDATE

December 6, 2011

We just moved on Friday which means that we have a house full of crap and no where to put it.  well so it seems because it is all in the middle of the floor at the moment.  

One thing I hate, is digging through boxes to find stuff.  I would much rather just unpack them and get down to business, but this is easier said than done.  So far, I have a bunch of things that I can’t find or took me searching through EVERY box to find them

  • My work shoes
  • My goggles (I am blind.  Normal people wear glasses, I wear goggles)
  • My headphones (necessary for me to make it through a work day)
  • A leg to my TV stand (still missing)
  • My razor for shaving (finally found it after searching for 20 minutes)
  • My loofa thing….that washes me.  Not a washcloth.  The other fluffy thing that you put body wash on…
  • The charger to my electric Drill
  • My sanity

I’m losing it!  

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Posted by G

We moved in….

December 4, 2011

HEY!  We moved in.  Tuesday.  The movers were late, but the moved the entire apartment into our house in about 3.5 – 4 hours.  In my eyes, they are genius children.  I am sitting in my man cave right now, with my laptop attached to the 32″ TV that I bought on Cyber Monday.  Right now, it looks like a small tornado blew through my man cave.  All of the dors are open, boxes everywhere. It’s a mess, but soon I know it will turn into a beautiful situation!

But first, a trip to Ikea!! Then to Walmart to pick up my new 43″ TV for the living room!  ooooh!!!! Fancy!

I have so much to post about when I get time. Hopefully while I watch TV today… I mean unpack some more.

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Posted by G

Two clumsies

December 1, 2011

One thing we didn’t think about and I am now starting to realize may be a (funny) problem is the fact that me and L are ULTRA clumsy.  I haven’t lived in a house with stairs since 2000 when I went away to school.  I briefly (who am I kidding, it was 2 years) lived at my moms after graduating, but since, I have lived in apartments with no stairs.  Now we have stairs.  and A lot of them. 

We have those types of stairs that come in sets of like 4 or 5 instead of one long staircase and they turn at 90 degree turns like 7 times.  They look like they are an obstacle on American Gladiators.  There’s banisters everywhere!   This will make for some extreme hilarity throughout the years.

I mean, just the other I am eating lunch and bit my lip to the point where I almost start crying at work!  Then eating dinner with L, I hear her squeal “AAHMMM!!!”  SHE bites her lip too!  What are the chances we bit our lips in the same day.  I’ll tell you: HIGH!

One time when I was about 14 or 15, I was running UP the stairs, tripped and crashed in to the closet door at the top of the stairs.  BROKEN!  How fast do you have to be running to trip up the stairs and continue moving up into the closet.  Somebody break down the physics on that for me.  

For some reason, I thought my mom wouldn’t notice.  I mean who goes into the coat closet in the middle of the winter, right?  We spent the next 5 years trying to fix that stupid closet.  

I would fall down the stairs so many times growing up that my mom didn’t even pay any attention to it anymore.  I can just see L bringing some plates down the stairs or something and BOOM!  FOOD everywhere!  Or me, sleepily going downstairs to make some breakfast and BAM!  Hole in the wall from my head.  Concussion.

I definitely think that I am going to keep a counter on the page of how many times we trip in our house on the stairs.  This is going to be a show!

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Posted by G

DIY Dude in the making

November 28, 2011

So with the new house, it needs some work.  Another thing that needs work are my DIY skills.

I grew up in a new house so nothing really ever needed to be repaired.  The most I ever remember building was a rabbit fence with my dad once.  (Good story)

We wanted to grow some watermelon in the backyard (so stereotypical and country!).  So we went and got some seeds from the local hardware store and planted them in the backyard along with some corn and a few other pointless veggies.  We waited about a week and then went to check on them.  Low and behold there were some sprouts!  So about another week or so later we went back to check and there were about 15 holes in our “garden“.

Something was eating our stuff!  Dad assumed that they were rabbits and he had an easy fix for them!  A rabbit fence.  So we got a few 2x4s and like 50 yards (which was 48 yards too long) of chicken wire and built us a fence to go around the “garden“.  We then replanted all of the fruit and waited a couple weeks.

When we checked it again,  I was astonished to find that these rabbits had both chewed through the chicken wire and had dug underneath it to get the seeds.  It never really occured to me that they could have been regular ol’ everyday squirrels.  Either way, that was pretty much the beginning and end of me using a hammer, nails, and a flimsy hand saw.

So here I am; getting my DIYness underway. I am getting ready to become a full fledged DOer!  There’s one big thing stopping me though.  Tools.

I think that I am supposed to have some things tools or something in order to build stuff with right?  Well, I have a hammer, some screws (drywall), drill, basic toolkit, random orbital sander, and an extension cord ….end of list.

So as you can see, I have about the same amount of tools as an amish grandmother.  I desperately need to upgrade my tools if I want to become as cool as DIY Diva.

So here is my list of tools that I am realizing that I will need for a few projects that I have in mind.  Disclaimer: This is NOT a sly wink wink attempt at a public Christmas list.

  • Mitre saw
  • Circular saw
  • Jig saw
  • Table saw
  • Router
  • Work bench
  • Sawhorse
  • 10 different types of vices
  • Clamp on straight edge
  • Shop Vac

The good news is that I will be purchasing at least two of these items in the VERY near future.  Possibly tomorrow in fact! Actually, that idea just got nixed by the queen.  Apparently we need furniture first.  Another dream bites the dust.

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Posted by G

So this is life huh?

November 27, 2011

Whoa!

I was thinking recently about the past year and how eventful it has been.  I got married, bought a house, and recently just bought a car!

Many of you know that I have been taking the metro for the past year and some months in order to allow L to drive the car. We thought about buying a car a while ago, but the parking situation in Arlington is expensive to say the least!  It wasn’t a great decision financially to buy another car so we didn’t.  We sacrificed buy sticking to one car only.

Now that we have an address with some parking spaces assigned to us, we thought it was a great time to buy another car! So we did!  We bought a Black 2011 Nissan Rogue.

As L said, “She’s sexy!”  I think she’s just kinda cool.  Like the kind of girl that is quiet but then you have a conversation with her and she explains Darwins method for naming new animals in a 15 minute wide eyed rant where you know her heart is beating at like 120 bpm from pure excitement…yeah.  L decided to name this nerdy car Sasha.

I preferred Palin (Get it?) but she was not so fond of that name.

So L sealed the deal on the car on Friday while I was at work.  We had a unique method of negotiating.  See I don’t like salespeople at all.  I don’t do well with them.  In fact, if I don’t have to talk to them ever, I would highly prefer that.  So L sat there and talked to the guy and texted me his offers and I would make counters through her and she would present them as only she could.  Probably in a high pitched voice a stone face.  Gotta love teachers!

We ended up getting a good amount under the offer price AND I got my car back! :)

Now I have to figure out what to do with the 90 dollars that are still on my smart card.  I wonder if I can sell them on craigslist? I’d even deliver it to the buyer now that I have my car back!!

All smiles!

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Posted by G

Public Apology and Praise

November 20, 2011

I want to take this time to apologize to my wife, L.  Last night she said something and I thought about what she said and after she left, I realized that she was indeed …. CORRECT!

We are planning on  painting our living room from a greenish greyish color to a more greyish….grey.  I am terrible with colors.  Like I said when we were picking out our wedding invitations, men are dealing with a 8 pack of crayons while women have the 256 colors, with the expansion kit and melting pot to create new colors.  So where I see different shades, she sees a totally different color.  So I don’t understand why we aren’t just painting the whole house the same color, but I don’t say anything.  I just let her colors flow.

So, anyways, back to the apology.  She said, “Painting this is room is going to be a huge job.  It’s not so much the painting, it’s going to be the taping and prep work.  It’ll take a day, at least.“

I doubted her. Big time.  I thought maybe a few hours.  So I started taping last night.  I lost interest about 15 strips of tape later.  About 30 minutes after that, I started thinking about football and how to beat a cover 3 defense with 2 TE sets.  I started thinking about how I feel like I have been taping the room for two hours and I have gotten NOWHERE!

So as I continue taping, I look up and I have done maybe 1/16th of what we need to do.  Then I go upstairs and realize that we have a HUGE 20 foot wall….and only an 8 foot ladder….

I’m no mathematicianist but I got out my abacus and added 6 feet(my height) plus 8 feet (the ladder) and realized I am still about 6 feel short of reaching the top of the wall.  L is afraid of heights…to the point where before she climbed the bottom two rungs of the ladder, she warned me that if I heard a noise, to come quick, call the ambulance, and to get the will from under the mattress (JK, I dunno where the will is.  Something else I need to find out ASAP)

So as I stared at that wall I dreaded the fact that I was going to have to apologize to my wife (I am sorry for doubting you) and say those dreaded three words that are so difficult for any man to say. . .

You were right!

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Posted by G

“I’m just gonna….”

November 14, 2011

I discovered something that I have seen on TV a million times but never could really grasp until I truly experienced it first hand.  The dreaded words, “I’m just gonna...”

It started out with me saying to L, “I’m just gonna take these shelves down in the closet.“

 

I come home from playing football (another bad idea!) and luckily L had already done it for me!  She also apparently found a sledge hammer, crowbar, and a little Pandora’s box of anger and knocked out the railing thing in the bathroom….Literally knocked it out.

 

So you would think that the easy part was all done right!?  ….wrong.  I spent the rest of the day, and the entire next day pretty much.  Putting up spackle, sanding……..and sanding….and respackling and fixing tape joints and sanding.  It was pure ridiculousness!

So then, when L had to go back to the apartment at about 5pm, I made the mistake again!

“I’ll be home soon, I’m just gonna sand some more then tape up the rest of the house and get ready for paint.“

WHAT?!  Am I crazy!? So then, I thought “I just have to sand harder and faster and that will get the job done quicker.” Makes sense, right?

Well, an hour and three intense scream worthy shoulder cramps later, my but muscles locked up and I could no longer sand anymore!  I left the walk-in closet looking like below.  

I will no longer kid myself into thinking that I’m just gonna do anything, ever again!  I’m sure Michelangelo didn’t wake up one Sunday and say “I’m just gonna suspend myself upside down and paint naked Adam touching God on this curved dome about 80 feet in the air.”

NO,  he was probably much more realistic and said, “I’m just gonna paint his fingernail today.  Maybe a knuckle, but no more.  I mean, I’ve got 4 years to do it, why rush?!“

Now excuse me while I go ice my shoulder and butt muscles.

 

 

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Posted by G

November 13, 2011

*yawn* We are exhausted! We have been working for three days straight on our house. I have gone to Lowes (Not Loews as my friend Nes pointed out to me when I used the wrong spelling in a text to him) about 6 times in 4 days. We have spent …. far too much money on stuff I barely know how to spell.

But with that being said, our new house is starting to come together into a home! Friday we went to the house and went around to all of the rooms and made of list of things that we want to do to the house. The list was like 100 items long. Ridiculous, but that’s what you get when you put two dreamers together.

So then when pared down the list to realistic things that can get done now, and it pretty much came down to paint, Spackle, and fixing tape joints. Now, on paper, these seem like easy tasks…then another list was made of “items needed“. This is where ridiculous happens!

- Paint brushes
- Paint rollers
- Painting tape
- Paper to put down on the floors
- Paint roller cover things (I dunno why the most essential part of the pain roller is actually called the roller cover, but whatever)
- Paint scraper
- Putty knife
- Sanding sponges
- Electric sander
- Electric sander, sand paper
- Gloves
- Masks for sanding and painting
- Eye goggles (I should just use my middle school eye glasses, they sure are thick enough!)
- Paint roller pans
- Spackle
- Joint compound
- Joint mesh/tape
- Paint samples
- The actual paint
- 4 Pack of Monster Energy drink

I had NO idea that painting would be so exhausting. Actually I didn’t paint one gosh darn thing. My wife did it all. I sure did get the ol’ “Honey! Can you move this ladder for me?” and “Baby! Can you pour the paint for me.” She just wanted me to feel important I’m sure.  It worked!

I have lived in dorms and apartments pretty much for the last 11 years of my life, so I’m not used to the stairs yet! I better have the legs of an Olympic Mogul Skiier in 3 weekends!

We took a million pictures this weekend, but of course, I left them all at the house so I will try to post them sometime this weekend. We have multiple projects going on right now. I will be sure to post separate posts on each one for everyone to follow!

Whenever I leave the house, I feel like I’m leaving a puppy at home by themselves! I don’t want to go! Does this feeling ever go away!?

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Posted by G

Breaking News! Me and L are homeowners!

November 10, 2011

At 4:15pm today we signed the paperwork to promise that we will pay for ether full value if a brand new (to us) home.  I know the newness of owning a home will wear off when the first thing breaks and we dont know how to fix it. 

But that’s why I have this blog!  I will document the mishaps and the funny stuff that happens when I try to get all handyman on this house!  I must warn you all that I am not the handiest of all men but I am a visual learner and luckily we live in a how-to world where everyone thinks they are an expert. 

So stay tuned for a full post complete with pictures and all.

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Posted by G

2 months

November 9, 2011

That’s over 60 days since I last posted.  Man that is a long time. Let’s give a quick recap of what has and hasn’t happened since we last had a conversation.

- I have not purchased a new car
- I have nearly burned my apartment down cooking fried chicken (L still thought it was delicious though)
- My mother’s everlasting reverberating wisdom saved my life again
- My capitals have been winning
- I have attended two beautiful weddings of friends of ours
- I have pretty much stopped working out altogether (which doesn’t make me happy)
- I have survived a full year at my current position with my job (there were days for sure that I thought I was going to punch someone in the face or pass out from stress and frustration levels)
- We have stuck to being purely window shoppers in the attempt to save money
- We have taken a sushi rolling class (this was an exception to the last point)
- We have not made sushi since taking the class
- I have been reading and writing poetry more

That is just a few of the things that have happened (or not happened) since my last post.

I have quite a few post in buy head that I would like to write in the coming weeks and months and I hope that my old followers and readers will join all you new ones in rediscovering just how amazing of a person I am at times. (my wife would like you to know that she does not fully endorse the last statement).

The first post of a new era will air tomorrow at about 6 pm!

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Posted by G

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