Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Time Flies When You're Overwhelmingly Busy

Ok, this isn't an excuse, but I have been really busy.  Hence no post in a month.  My original goal was a post a day.  That quickly turned into a couple of posts per week, then one per week.  I have so much to write about, but have just been busy with other activities.  I can't slip below once per month.  This is just sad.

One of the things that has been keeping me hoppin' is a kitchen remodeling project.  I decided that the kitchen definitely needed a refresh. That was when we bought the house 3 years ago, but I have finally started turning desire into action.  I got some cabinets and a counter relocated, and ordered some new countertops from Home Depot.  I even manned up and took out the old tile-topped countertops myself.  Word to the wise - when you order Corian countertops you have to remove the old countertops, then wait for a couple of weeks for the new ones to get made and installed.  I suggest doing this prior to going on vacation, so you don't have to live with gaping holes where you used to keep the blender and sit your cup of coffee down in the morning.  I also suggest getting a friend or large acquantance to help with carrying out the old countertops.  Two sheets of plywood 7 foot long covered in tiles is a lot to handle by yourself.  Especially when you're smaller than many junior highers.

I also had to do some drywall repair when the old tile backsplash took some plaster hostage with it upon removal.  I have to say that I am pretty impressed with how good that came out, considering my overall lack of man-skills.  I also have to throw out a "whoop-whoop" to my friend Eric, who has enough man-skills for both of us for helping me install Corbels (I think that's what they're called.  I would just call them braces) to hold my new bar.  He also helped me install a ceiling fan, but since we're not done with that project (it still hasn't been hung from the ceiling mount we installed and there's some final connects to make with the wiring) he doesn't get any "whoop-whoops" for that one.  Ok, maybe one "whoop", but not two.

I still have to paint my kitchen, and get new flooring installed, as well as buy a new fridge and stove.  Then my kitchen remodel will finally be complete.  It's sad how much of this I will be hiring other laborers to do, and yet I find it overwhelming.  I did install my own sink and garbage disposal, which made me feel pretty good.  I had to hire a plumber to do the drainage pipes however.  I apparently don't have enough of a crack to pull off that level of plumbing.