I'm Feeling Blue. . .

  

Holy Bajeeeebers. . .This post is wuh-ay overdue.  I've been talking about these projects that I've had in the works for what feels like forever.  Oh, you think this is the big bathroom reveal?  No sweetie, that one's not quite done yet.  Just a little while longer. . .please run down to your local big box store and purchase a small amount of patience.  And then throw some my way, cuz I could really use an extra dose of patience after how long that bathroom is taking me to finish.  It is certainly slow in coming along.  No, this post is about the nightstand that I was refinishing for Tyler's bedroom.  That project is the one we're talking about now.  That's what I've finally gotten finished. 

Above, is the sad little nightstand that I picked up from Goodwill several months ago.  I paid a whopping $10 for it and trust me when I tell you this squat little dude is HEAVY!  I think it's technically categorized as "crate style" furniture and it matches the style that the Little Man already has in his bedroom.  It just needed to be refinished to match the color.  So, after sitting in my garage and getting comfy for a few months, I decided to give it the makeover so that it could finally become a part of the family in Ty's room. 

In case there are any other aspiring nightstand re-doers out there, I remembered to take some step by step pictures along the way but not enough to be considered a tutorial by any means.  Therefore, I hope this post will help someone, but if you need more detailed instructions, I would suggest you check out Sherry & John's projects page over on their blog Young House Love (if you don't already read their blog, it is a MUST ADD to your blogroll!) as that's where I got most of the information that I used to finish this project.

First, I started off by removing the drawer hardware, removing the drawer, and giving the entire piece a nice wipe down with a wet rag.  You can even see in the picture above that some dust had moved in.  I had to give that dust and cobwebbies their eviction papers.   Time to move, Fellas. . .I've got some refinishing to do! 

 As you can see, the top of the piece had some dents, dings, and scratches.  So, in order to get a nice smooth surface that was going to take well to painting, I needed to sand down the entire piece focusing special attention on the top to try to level everything out.  Pay no attention to that screwdriver on top.  It had no part in this production and was simply stopping to take a rest on its way to another project.  Not sure how it snuck its way into the picture.  On top of that, I am now realizing that I got no pictures of the piece after I had sanded it all down.  Sorry about that!  Clearly, I was a little too excited to move onto the next step which was. . . .

Breaking out the primer and cute little foam roller.  Once everything was all sanded down and smooth, it was time to prep the surface with a good latex based primer.  The dude at Home Depot recommended this stuff

Glidden GRIPPER in grey (HD guy said that since I was painting the nightstand a dark blue, the primer would do better if tinted so as not to show through the paint as white).  To apply the primer, I picked up this little Touch UP & Trim Kit which I think cost me about $2.00 total.  It came with the roller and a very convenient little tray.  The size of this roller was perfect for the little nooks and crannies in the nighstand.  A little bit small for the larger surfaces (like the top, sides and back) but I made it work just by working in smaller sections on those areas.  Here are some pics of Getting all Gripper with it

Here's one with the whole piece covered in primer.  In total, I put two coats of primer on just to make sure that everything was nice and covered. 

This is where the lack of pictures will probably do the most damage.  Once I actually started painting, I was just on a roll and didn't even come up for air, let alone to take a picture.  Actually, I had to switch the positioning of the piece so many times in order to paint a different side/angle, I didn't have any time to take pictures.  I was too busy moving, painting, moving again, painting again, etc.  It was a painful rinse & repeat process.  Although, the paint that I used was Valspar Ultra Premium semi gloss in Royal Navy.  This is the same paint (as in, same can of paint--it was leftover!) that the rest of Tyler's bedroom furniture is painted in so I knew it was going to be an exact match.  Plus, it meant I didn't have to buy more paint.  Score!  As for a brush, I used one of my Purdy paintbrushes.  These are the only paintbrushes that I use.  They are more expensive than other brushes, but they are high quality and really produce an excellent finish.  I say that like I have a ton of experience in painting but I don't.  I just copy from those that do and Sherry & John over at YHL certainly qualify as professionals (in my book, at least) in the furniture painting department.  They recommended Purdy so that's what I use! 

After the entire piece was painted, the question of what to do about drawer hardware needed to be addressed.  Initially, I was going to replace the drawer pull and put something else on.  But, as I got the piece painted, I actually kind of liked the lines of the handle that came with it.  That, and reusing the original handle was going to save me from filling in the screw holes left behind if I had decided to use a different handle.  However, something definitely needed to be done with the color.  



I decided to go with a rich brown since Tyler's room has some brown sprinkled througout and I figured a brown handle would tie right into his room.  I also just happened to have a can of glossy brown spray paint in my arsenal so it saved me from the cost of buying a new handle and new spray paint.  I'm all about keeping it cheap!  

Sorry about the sideways picture. 

Two quick coats of spray paint on the handle and it we were ready to put everything back together.  Are you ready for the big reveal? 

TA-DA!!!!  I'll be honest, I'm not toally sold on the brown handle.  I don't think I love it.  It doesn't tie into the lamp and the rest of the room like I thought it would so I'm considering pulling it off and painting it another color.  Maybe red?  Brushed Nickel?  What do you think?  But, I do like the nightstand!  It matches the rest of Tyler's furniture very well and he LOVES having somewhere to put the remote to his TV and his cup of water at night.  Since I have yet to ever highlight Tyler's room, here are a few total package pictures so that you can get a feel for what his room looks like--

Tyler also has a bookshelf on the other side of the room which is the same color as well as a dresser along the wall (you can kind of see the shadow of it in the whole room shot) that is also the same color.  This is probably the one room in my entire house that is as finished as it's going to get with the exception of getting his TV hung on the wall--I can't seem to find the right wall mount for the TV.  Boo! 

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my first little furniture makeover post.  All in all, here's about what I spent to finish the project:

Nighstand: $10 at Goodwill
primer: $11 at Home Depot
foam roller kit for primer: $2

The rest of the items used for the project I already owned so there was no additional expense there.  So, overall, I only spent $23 to get a new piece of funiture in my son's room that totally rounds out the room!

DIY Dry Shampoo!

OMG. . .I just found this and I absolutely cannot wait to share with you.  I stumbled across this website called Refinery 29 while procrastinating here at work today.  I'd never heard of it before but maybe that's because I'm pathetically behind the times or something?  Anyways, it seemed at first as if it was this high fashion New York City-ish diva website--and I'm all about being a diva, but I'm not exactly what you'd call "high fashion" or even "low fashion" for that matter.  I'm more like "no fashion". . . but, I digress.  I wasn't sure that I was going to find anything on the site of value.  That is until I stumbed across what could possibly be not only a HUGE money saving recipe for me. . but it could also be life changing.  I swear!  It was. . . .

*drum roll, please*

*clearing of the throat*

A DIY recipe for DRY SHAMPOO!!!!  Okay, are you as excited as me?  No?  Hmm. . .well, I'm excited.  You may not understand.  I've spent what feels like a fortune trying to find the right dry shampoo.  It's no secret (or maybe it is?) that I don't wash my hair every day.  Yes, I shower. . .I just don't wash the strands on a daily basis.  This is for a number of reasons.  Or maybe just, like, two.  1. I am lazy, short on time, and just don't have the energy to actually wash, condition, dry, straighten, and style my hair ever-y-dang-day.  It's much easier to just straighten and style on a regular basis and save the other stuff for only like twice or three times a week (depending on if I have any hot dates on the weekend--and most times, I don't.) and save my time on those other mornings for fighting with Ty to get dressed or making sure that Ty, the dog and the cat are all fed before rushing out the door to work.  2. I don't like how quickly I run through shampoo and conditioner when I use it every day.  Skipping a day or two (shh, don't tell!) between washings cuts down on how much I use.  A dry shampoo is my only savior on those days.  Better yet, it's like the best friend who keeps all your secrets and comes to your rescue to get you out of a jam when you need it.  A good dry shampoo can literally make or break your hair success.  This is major, people.  Major.  With a capital M. 

Over the last year, alone, I've tried the following dry shampoos:


Bumble & Bumble Blondish Hair Powder--$35

Can I get a WOWSERS on that price?  Yeah, this was recommended to me by a previous stylist so I grabbed a can, handed over my credit card, squeezed my eyes shut, and signed the receipt before I could back out.  I hardly spend $35 on my highlights (well, maybe a little more than double that, but who's counting?!). . .whatever. . . I knew spending $35 for a product for my hair (again, simply because I'm lazy and prefer to hit the snooze button than to get up and wash my hair!) wasn't a smart idea.  But my stylist recommended it.  She must know, right?  Maybe but not always.  I simply wasn't impressed with this stuff.  It made my hair sticky and I just really didn't like the way it made it feel kind of almost waxy.  I tried it several times to try to give it the benefit of the doubt but I just didn't like it.  I think I ended up giving the can to a friend of mine. I know I didn't finish it. 

Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo--$19

The next time, I took my chances at Sephora.  The gal I spoke with highly recommended this stuff.  Rather than a spray (like the B&B), this is actually a powder with a pointed nozzle which you simply shake into your hair at the roots.  I still wasn't thrilled to spend $19 bucks on something for my hair, but I figured it was just the price of the commodity.  So, I did it.  I have to say, this stuff isn't that bad.  I still wouldn't say that it's worth $19 but I liked it a whole lot more than the Bumble & Bumble stuff.  It did seem to soak up the oilies (I don't really get oily hair. . .but I sometimes like to think I do to justify the fact that I buy these products.  I clearly have issues) and made my hair seem more like "first washed" hair.  But, it does kind of have an overpowering lemon scent to it.  I'm pretty sure my co-workers think I wash my hair with pledge.  That's kind of what it smells like.  But, I do like the bottle that it came in because I'll be able to use that in the future (just wait. . .you'll find out what I mean!)

Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo--$3.00

Now, THIS price is more my style!  I found this little beauty while I was grocery shopping one day.  I frantically dug through my coupon tote to see if I had any coupons for Suave products and I did!  B1G1F (for those of you newbies to couponing, that acronym stands for "Buy 1, Get 1 Free"!). . I did my Happy, Happy, Joy dance right there in the personal care aisle at Kroger.  It wasn't pretty!  Anyways, I snapped up two cans and I've been using this product ever since.  I have to say, that this stuff hasn't let me down.  I don't know that I really like it as much as the Oscar Blandi powder but I definitely like the price.  The price is totally living in my kinda world!  But, it's a spray and while it doesn't leave my hair anywhere near as sticky as the B&B, I think I just prefer a powder better.  But, beggars can't be choosers so if the price is within my budget, I'll make it work.  The Suave does have a very pleasant fruity scent. . .not overpowering, though.  Almost like pineapples.  It's quite lovely! 

So, now that I've forced my product reviews on you, it's time to get into the actual content of my post.  This DIY recipe that I found for making your own dry shampoo.  I thought about making it myself and trying it before posting the recipe, but my excitement got the better of me.  I just simply cannot wait. 

This came directly from the Refinery 29 website:

"Make your own dry shampoo with equal parts baking soda and baby powder. Take a container of baby powder, pour half into another container to save for later, then fill the baby powder container to the top with baking powder. Add a few drops each of yellow, red, and blue food coloring. Shake well and remove top to dry. Wait 24 hours and it will be ready to use."

OMG. . .I'm so excited, I can't stand it!  I'm not entirely sure what the food coloring is for, but I'm guessing it's to make the powder more of a natural skin tone color?  Also, I'm sure you could add a drop or two of essential oil (not too much or else you might end up making your hair oily!) to the mixture to give the powder a nice scent.  I'm planning on using the bottle from the Oscar Blandi dry shampoo since it has a nice pointed nozzle that gets right down at the roots.  But, you could use the baby powder bottle or any canister which has a shake top to allow you to control the amount that comes out. 

 Since I already have a mostly full can of Suave Dry Shampoo spray at home, I'm going to wait to make this up until I'm getting close to being out of the Suave.  Or maybe, I'll just go ahead and make up a batch of this and save the Suave for when I run out? Who knows.  But either way, I'm SO excited to have found this recipe. $3 for a can of Suave isn't too shabby, but this recipe sounds like it's going to be much cheaper than even $3!  YAY! 

Thrifty Thursday: Cleaning on the Cheap

**I'm cheating a little bit today.  This post is actually one that was featured over on Brit's blog, Knewlywifed, a few months ago.  But, I'm knee deep in projects (more coming soon. . .hopefully!), getting back in the swing of things from after the Holidays, and well, I've been slacking just a little bit too, I suppose.  Anyways, I don't know how many of you have already seen this post so I figured I'd use it this week for my Thrifty Thursday post.  Forgive me? 

Today's post is related to cleaning your home in the cheapest way possible!  While I do occasionally buy cleaning products from the store, I most often make my own solutions.  There are several reasons for this.  One, it's stupidly cheap.  Two, it's seriously easy and quick to make your own!  Third, most of the items (or all?) that are used in the recipes below are totally family friendly and won't cause any harm to my little man or my animals.  I can't confidently say that about the products that I buy from the store.  I've had people tell me that they don't feel that homemade cleaning products clean as well as ones with chemicals in them but I actually get the opposite result.  Not only am I feeling good about spending less money and having less chemical residue on my home's surface, I feel that most homemade cleaning products clean BETTER than store bought.  Here are a few of my money saving recipes and tips.  Hope you find them to be as awesome as I have!

Microwave Cleaner:


1/2 c. vinegar
2 c. water
juice from half a lemon (optional)


Combine in microwave safe bowl, heat on high for 3-4 minutes, remove bowl and wipe down inside of microwave.


Dishwasher Detergent:


2 c. borax
2 c. baking soda
4 packages of unsweetened lemon Kool-Aid (or generic)


Mix together and store in airtight container.  Use enough mixture to fill detergent cup 2/3 full in dishwasher.


Window & Glass Cleaner:


1 cup water
1 cup vinegar
1/2 tsp castile soap (Dr. Bronner's is my choice)


Mix together in spray bottle and give a gentle shake.  For a streak free shine, use newspaper to wipe down surface rather than a cloth or paper towel. 


Toilet Bowl Cleaner:


Liquid Castile soap
Baking soda or Borax


Squirt soap into toilet and sprinkle baking soda (or borax) in around bowl.  Scrub with a toilet brush.


Tub and Tile Cleaner:


With a sponge or cloth, apply white vinegar full strenth.  Scour with baking soda and rinse well.


Wood Floor Cleaner:


1 gallon hot water
1 c. white vinegar
squirt of castille soap (Dr. Bronner's Peppermint leaves your house smelling minty fresh!)


Mix all in a bucket and use a slightly damp rag to wash floors.  Yes, this requires hands and knees style mopping, but it's so worth it!


Carpet Deodorizer:


Baking soda
10-20 drops of essential oil


Mis together and sprinkle on carpet.  Wait 15-20 minutes and vacuum.


Laundry Detergent:


1 c. grated Fels Naptha soap
1/2 c. washing soda (mine is from Arm & Hammer and comes in a yellow box)
1/2 c. borax


Mix all together and store in an airtight container.  For a lightly soiled (or small) load, use 1 Tablespoon.  For heavier loads or very soiled loads, use 2 Tablespoons.


Fabric Softener:


Add 1/2-1 cup white vinegar to your softener dispenser


Other Money Saving Tips:


* Run dishwasher late at night without the heat-dry on and let dishes air dry overnight
* Instead of sponges (which get mildew-y and yucky quicker), use microfiber cloths or bar rags for cleaning.  Can be washed and used over and over again.
* If you must use sponges, extend their life by either running them through the dishwasher with your next load or wet them down and pop them into the microwave for 45 seconds to kill any bacteria which might be trapped inside. 
* Only wash clothes (unless really soiled) on cold setting.

Most of the items listed above are extremely cheap to buy and will last a really long time.  For example, I buy a 5lb bag of baking soda for $6.00 and a gallon of white vinegar for $3.50 at Costco.  One of those two items is used in most every recipe above.  In fact, I use only baking soda and vinegar to clean my bath tubs.  About 1/3 c of baking soda sprinkled in my tub and then spritzed down with a few sprays of vinegar and I've cleaned my tubs literally for pennies.  Another favorite product is my Dr. Bronners Castille soap.  I bought a large bottle of it for $7.00 at Kroger (natural foods section--can also be bought from Target, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc) and I've been using the same bottle for about 2 years.  The great thing about castille soap is that you can use it for ANYTHING!!  Seriously. . .cleaning product, laundry soap, shampoo, body wash, face wash.  Honestly!   The same bottle that I used to use to wash Tyler's cloth diapers was also the soap that I used to wash my face at night.  It's so gentle but cleans so well! 

Do you have any other recipes for homemade cleaning products?  What about money saving tips related to cleaning your home?  Please share!!

Kid Bathroom Makeover-Part 1

While most normal people were spending their Christmas break visiting friends and family, eating hoards of delicious foods, analyzing their Holiday spending receipts and pondering bankruptcy, or coming up with excuse after excuse to get out of traveling to see those relatives, I was spending quality time with my ipod.  And paintbrush.  And sharing close quarters with a toilet used solely by a six year old boy.  One, which I have recently discovered, possesses the aim of a blind bat.  Fabulous times, let me tell ya!

Since I was off work for almost two weeks (which is unheard of), I'm out of school for a few more weeks (again, almost unheard of), and I (gasp) don't have too many other things on my to-do list other than DIY projects, I figured I'd start to tackle one of the projects which has been on the painfully slow moving to-do list for awhile.  Like, for a year and a half. 

Step into my office. . . .err, my canvas?. . .no, my PROJECT!. . .

This is Tyler's bathroom.  Well, kind of.  I took this picture after I had already started in on some of the makeover.  Oh, not those blue blocks.  Those have been there for a year and a half.  Yeah, I'm a little slow.  I had already started moving in my tool friends and had removed the cabinet doors by time the thought occurred to me to grab my camera and document the process for you blogger friends of mine. 

The next few pictures are courtesy of my over eager six year old.  Ty wanted to help SO bad but there was just no way I could give him a paintbrush during the (much dreaded) cutting in phase.  So, I told him he could be the photographer instead.  I must say that the kid might have some talent.  At least they came out clear.  This pic is of me cutting in around the tub.  Unfortunately, Tyler doesn't know how to zoom in and out on the camera so he didn't capture the interesting way that I had myself positioned with one foot on the edge of the tub and the other braced on the back of the top of the toilet.  This is dangerous work, people! 



Another photo of the cutting in process.  I HATE CUTTING IN!  I don't mind painting. . .well, not a whole lot. . .I don't love it while I'm actually doing it, but I like when it's done.  I'd like painting much better if I could just snap my fingers and have it be done.  Regardless, I HATE cutting in.  It's slow, it's painful (seriously!  My wrists hurt really bad right now.  Typing is killer after painting for several hours!), and it's dreadfully boring.  I'm much happier when the cutting in part is over.  And right now, it's far from over.  So, I'm far from happy. 

I've got to get back to painting.  For now, here's a sneak peek at the progress that I've made so far.  There's some color on the wall.  Be sure to come back soon to catch up on the progress as I go. 

Thrifty Thursday: Fun Christmas Ornament Craft

I love fun, easy, and cheap crafts that I can do with Tyler!  What I love even more, are crafts that we can do together that don't look like they were necessarily done by a six year old and his creativity challenged mother!  Therefore, this craft was P-ER-FECT for us!

Cinnamon Applesauce Christmas Ornaments

Ingredients:

3/4 c. cinnamon (yes, that's alot of cinnamon!)
1/2 c. warmed applesauce (maybe a little more, if needed)

Directions:

Mix cinnamon and applesauce in medium size bowl.  If mixture is too crumbly (i.e. dry), add more applesauce a little bit at a time until mixture forms a nice dough consistency.  Do not add too much applesauce at one time or dough may be too sticky.  Once dough consistency is reached, place dough on large piece of wax paper.  Sprinkle down some cinnamon both on wax paper and on top of dough ball to act as "flour" to keep dough from sticking to wax paper.  Add another sheet of wax paper on top of dough ball and roll to 1/4 inch thickness. 

Sprinkle down more cinnamon as needed to keep dough from sticking.  Once dough is rolled out, use regular cookie cutters to cut out shapes and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet.

Once all shapes have been cut out, use a straw (or similar shaped object) to poke a hole in order to string ribbon through to use as ornament hanger.

Bake in oven on 200 degrees for roughly an hour (maybe more, maybe less) until ornaments feel mostly dry.  Remove from oven and let air dry overnight or until dry and hard.  String ribbon through, hang on tree, and ENJOY!



Things to note, be careful when handling these ornaments once they are done because they are very brittle.  At least, mine are.  We haven't broken one yet but they just seem fairly delicate.  This project was super fun, easy, and cheap (I think I paid like $5 for cinnamon and only used half of it, already had applesauce, and we got about 12 ornaments out of it) and it made the house smell DELICOUS!!!  The ornaments are all sitting in my living room right now waiting to go on the tree and almost a week after making them, I still get a waft of cinnamon scent every time I walk by them.  Now, if you don't like the smell of cinnamon, I wouldn't recommend making these. . .cuz it's gonna smell like a cinnamon factory in your house!  In my case, I don't mind that (trust me, it's better than sweaty six year old boy, wet dog, and old grumpy cat!) so this was great for us! 

Do you have any fun Christmas crafts that you've done lately?  Share them with us!

Thrifty Thursday: Frugal Advent Calendar

For this Thrifty Thursday, I have a project that I found to be VERY exciting.  Probably because I thought it up all by my lonesome (thanks to being bored at work!) and also because it's for my little baby bear and I think he's really going to like it!  I have always admired advent calendars but I've never found one that was really just it for me.  I also wanted something that was going to allow me to include activities each day that Ty and I could do together.  So, I made one myself.  And I'm so excited how great it turned out.  I hope you think so too! 


Here's what it took and how much it set me back:

• 24 clothespins--FREE (just stole them from my laundry room) for me but you could probably get a whole big pack at the dollar store for only. . .well, one dolla!
• 3 cans of spray paint (white, red & green)--$3.40 for all three cans @ Wal-Mart
• Sisal rope (need a higher weight rope to hold up all those clothespins)--$6.48 from Lowes but I have a TON leftover so I'll probably finish that rope jar project that I never got around to making for my mom's beach house (Sorry, Mom!)
• 24 mini cards and envelopes--$2.00 from Micheals

You could number the envelopes any way you wanted but I found a super cute set of tiny letter stamps at Wal-Mart for only $.97 plus some small Christmas themed stamps (3 to a package!) for .97 so I splurged on those and an extra ink pad for $.97 also. 

Grand total spent: $14.79--not too shabby when you consider that I now have enough sisal rope to either complete another project or hog tie a herd of wild elephants.  Cuz I sometimes find those walking around in my neighborhood.  Just sayin'.


And here's how I made it happen:

Step 1: I laid out all 24 clothespins on some old newspaper in the garage and seperated them into three groups of 8.  One group was spray painted white, one group red, and one group green.

I put two good coats of the red and green on each side but the white took three coats.

Step 2: I took my mini stamps and spelled out the different numbers from One to Twenty Four on the mini envelopes.  I then took my little Christmas stamps and decorated the envelopes.  This step is totally optional.  You could number the envelopes any way you wanted or decorate them any way you wanted. 

Step 3: I took the Sisal rope and strung it between the two light fixtures that Tyler has hanging in his bedroom.  You'll want somewhere fairly sturdy (tied to a banister going up a stairwell, hung from a mantel, etc) because once all of the clothespins and envelopes are on there, it's fairly heavy. 

Step 4:  Once I had everything else done, dried and tied to the wall, I wrote an activity inside of each of the little cards.  Since I wanted activities that were going to allow Ty and I to spend some extra time together, I included things like:

• Extra snuggles before bed
• Pick out a movie to watch together
• Go on a nature walk
• Breakfast at IHOP
• Paint a picture together
• Do something nice for someone else
• Put together a puzzle together

And other activities that I thought would really help us bond during this crazy stressful time otherwise known was the Holiday season as well as some things that would give Ty an opportunity to learn about the giving that is associated with the Holiday season as opposed to only receiving.

Step 5: After all of the cards were filled and put into their envelopes, I used alternating colors of clothespins to hang the cards on the line.  I started with number Twenty Four and went all the way down to One since the idea is to have a countdown till Xmas.  I'm hoping that by spelling out the numbers, versus just printing the numbers on the envelopes, it will help Tyler with his sight reading skills of numbers.  Always gotta think about the educational spin! 

And there you have it.  An advent calendar that I'm totally in love with!  I put it together last week while Ty was at his dad's house as a suprise for him when he came home to me on Thursday.  He LOVED it!!!  He's gotten so excited about seeing what is inside of each envelope each day.  I've tried to schedule around the fact that he's with his dad 50% of the time so I've included activities on those days that he's with his dad that I thought would be relatively easy for his dad to complete with him.  

What do you think?  Do you have an avent calendar project that you love?  If so, please share!!

You Cannot Seriously Be Serious! Part Two

Yes, there's a part two.  Because only having a Part one wouldn't be sufficient enough.   My motto is "Go Big or Go Home".  And that's just what I was about to do when we got to the beach house.  Turn around and go home. 

By time we made it to the beach house after the unexpected side of the road detour that we made, it was almost 1:00 a.m.  Since there are only visitors to the house every other month or so, we have the water and heat/AC turned off when we're not there.  So standard ritual when we first get there involves turning the water on and getting everything flowing.  Yeah. . .I should have known that I was in for an unpleasant surprise.  As soon as I turned on the water, I heard BD shouting frantically "Turn it off, Turn it off, TURN IT OFF!". 

Apparently, when the water first turned on, he heard a spitting sound coming from behind the washing machine.  He went over to the water valve behind the washer and attempted to turn the water off at the problem.  It didn't turn out so well.  The valve was so corroded that it literally broke off in his hand. 

Oh the four letter words that were running through my head.  I was SO tired and dealing with a plumbing problem was the abolute.last.thing. I wanted to deal with.  Instead of breaking down in tears (which is what I wanted to do), I just turned off the water to the entire house and went to bed.  I was defeated and figured we'd just deal with it in the morning.  Afterall, how hard of a fix could it possibly be?  I would live to regret that thought.

The next morning, we got up, ate breakfast and BD ran out to Lowes to get the parts that he thought he needed to fix the problem.  I didn't care what he did, I just wanted it fixed so I could take a shower.  And flush the toilet.  Again, I was seriously thankful that BD was at the house with me so that I at least had some help to deal with this problem.  Plumbing isn't necessarily his thing but he'll work on any problem until he can get it figured out so I knew he would be able to get it fixed. 

Once he came back with the parts he was going to need to fix the problem, BD got to work.  He had been working for about an hour when he came and told me that I needed to call my mom.  He said he was going to need to cut into the wall to get to the pipes that he thought were the problem (he was convinced that the pipes were leaking down into the interior of the wall--bad news) and he didn't want to do that without at least talking to her about it first. 

Of course, my Mom told us to do whatever we needed to do in order to get it fixed.  She just didn't want us in a house for three days with no running water.  And she certainly didn't want a leak to continue that was leaking down the inside of the walls!  So, with that, BD started cutting a hole into the wall. 

Once he got a hole cut into the wall, he explained to me that what he saw wasn't what he was expecting.  At that point, I wasn't sure if that was good news or bad news. 



Of course, I could see the water damage that the leaking pipe had done to the interior of the wall but aside from that, I wasn't sure what exactly it was that he was expecting to see.  He explained to me that the way that the pipe was connected to the valve wasn't something that could be undone and fixed.  What did that mean?  It meant that he was going to have to cut the pipe off of the valve and replace the entire pipe.  And he didn't have the parts necessary for that job.  So, back to Lowes he went.  About two hours later, he was back with more parts.  Back to work he went.

So, he worked for a couple more hours and seemed like he was making progress.  In fact, he had new valves installed and had reconnected the plumbing.  At about 6:30 p.m., he asked me to go turn on the water again.  B-A-D NEWS!  As soon as I turned on the water, he started screaming for me to turn it back off.  When I walked back into the kitchen, I saw that he was soaked, the floor was soaked, the washing machine was soaked, and the wall (including the cut out part) was completely soggy.  Yeah, the water had been on for about 3 seconds total.  Clearly, we still had a huge problem.  So after throwing around almost every four letter word that the two of us knew, we got back to work trying to figure out what the problem was.  BD indicated that he thought he was going to have to cut deeper into the wall.  And that's just what he did.  Cut a bigger hole. 

Once a bigger hole was cut, he realized that this problem was much bigger than he had initially thought.  It was going to require a complete replacement of the pipe.  That meant more tools and materials that we didn't have.  For the third time in one day, BD was making a trip to Lowes.  But this time, Ty and I went with him.  Off to Lowes we went.  Again.  The greatest (read the sarcasm.  It's dripping right here.) part is that Lowes didn't have all of the materials that we needed.  Great, it's almost 8:00 at night and I'm being told that after working on this problem all.day.long that I may need to pack up the car and head the five hours back to Richmond (at this point, we still can't shower, make coffee, or flush a toilet) all because Lowes doesn't have all of the materials?  Fabulous.  The guy at Lowes was trying to be helpful and called over to Home Depot to see if they had the items that we needed.  They did, but they were also across town which meant that we were going to end up about 30 minutes away from the beach house.  What choice did we have?  This woman needed a shower!  So, off to Home Depot we went to get the rest of the materials that we were going to need in order to fix the problem. 

By time we got back to the beach house, it was almost 9:30, and we still hadn't eaten dinner.  We had picked up a pizza on the way back and Tyler quickly ate before heading off to bed.  Thankfully, he didn't need a bath before bed!  Once Ty was in bed, BD and I got busy.  Not like that!  Busy working on getting this darn plumbing issue fixed. 

It took a couple more hours but we finally. . .FINALLY. . .got the darn thing fixed.  It was nearly the stroke of 2 a.m. when BD told me to turn on the water to the house and, thankfully, didn't scream (or stomp--we had to adapt our communication method after Ty went to sleep) for me to turn it back off.  I nearly passed out from exhaustion and exhilaration that we were done.  Or maybe I almost passed out from smelling my own stink all day?  Who knows.  Either way, the water was fixed.  FIXED! 

And I think Mom will be happy when she sees that the washer totally disguised the hole that BD had to cut in order to fix the problem.



After that was done, all I wanted (aside from a shower) was to sleep and enjoy my trip to the beach.  Luckily, I got to do just that the next day.