Things I never knew...does this make me smarter?

Did you know they sell "nipples" at Home Depot.  I certainly thought Jeff was pulling my leg when he said he need to "run out for some nipples".  I now know that these are plumbing components need to attach a sink or toilet to the water line.

Did you know there was such a thing called "bitchathane".  It's an adhesive used to prevent leaks between seams in a bathroom or kitchen.

Did you also know that if you wear overalls you automatically get more attention when you walk into a place like Home Depot...and you get a smirk when you happen to be a five foot tall redhead with said overalls asking where I might find "nipples".  Go there...I did and it was a hoot.

I have also realized that it doesn't matter who signed on the dotted line.  My husband will forever be referred to as "The Homeowner" whenever we get mail.  That'll ruffle a girls feathers.

So the big question is, "Does any of this ridiculous information make me smarter?".  No, but it certainly makes for interesting hardware store conversation.

Now...are you ready to get your minds blown?  We've been busy!




Like I mentioned before, we have finished laying the tile floor in the bathroom.  I have to say it looks awesome!!!!






































We also decided to bring in the big guns and get wood floors installed in the hall, spare bedroom and master bedroom.






















We will have a professional team come in this next week to prepare the existing floor in the living and dining room for a fresh stain and polyurethane coats.  It's going to look UH-MAZING!  


Friends and family have been helping us purge the peach.  Amanda "Priming Princess" Zehavi was here on Thursday while the lovely Annie "Glossy Coat Goddess" Martzell did her magic on Friday. 

 Jeff's parents came back into town to help with painting and the bathroom walls.

 Slowly but surely this ugly duckling is becoming the swan we knew her to be.

Walls...glorious WALLS!

So we've made some progress and I know all eleven of you are chomping at the bit to see our progress.  Hold onto your hats folks 'cause we have.....................walls!

I think it's important to address an analogy that comes to mind when working on a home.  You know how you go to the beach and have a great time but then hours or even days later your finding sand in the darndest places?  Well that is how I feel about the process we have upon us now.  Painting...all the pink, coral, putty, peach, flesh toned wall those stupid owners painted.  But it isn't the walls that make me think of sand getting in my underwear or my ears; no, it's where I am now finding all of that putrid color.  I'm finding it painted in behind the ladder leading to the attic.  I'm finding it in every inch of the hutch or any given built-in.  I'm finding it in every corner and nook of this wonderful house.  I hurt for this house because it was forced to wear this godforsaken color for who-knows-how-long.

The other component of this analogy is where I tend to find paint on me.  Like my mother I tend to wear it home.  In my hair, on my clothes and of course under my nails.  It's only after you exit the shower and your spouse asks why and how you got paint under your pit that you wonder, "how the hell DID I get paint under my pit."

Now I dealing with more than just paint...we're in the world of laying tile.  So that means I'm working with mortar.  That's like cement for a homeowner and I've got that cement EVERYWHERE.  I even found some this morning after my first bout with mortar last night.  It was on my backside for those of you wondering.  Mortar is like glue with sand.  At first I thought this might help "exfoliate" the latex paint off my hands but really it just adds another layer to my body.  Did I mention that I backed up into the mortar bucket.  I had the entire rim smeared across my cute rear end.  Now I feel like I'm sitting on rubble every time I drive home.

On the flip side, I layed the tile floor in our bathroom.  I have never done anything like that before.  I've watched videos on You Tube, read DIY magazines and watched enough HGTV to be considered an ultimate fan. When it came time to actually lay this tile...I did it.  And it looks good.  Even my father-in-law, a retired engineer, was impressed by my tiling prowess.