August 30-Day-Challenge

Even though I'm still a little disappointed in myself for not completing the entire July challenge - no wait, scratch that - even though I'm disappointed in not completing EITHER of the July challenges, I'm happy that we've identified a challenge for August AND already done some really tedious and hard work to get it underway. Since our original plan for June was to begin cleaning out the future pub shed, but we were diverted into repairing the damage from the flood, we are back to our original June plan here in August.

Lucky for us the first day of the month was on a Saturday. And not just any Saturday, a Saturday that we were going to be home! (OK, not for the whole day - I had to work in the morning on the San Juan's and then we attended one of Big Lil's soccer games.) So as not to alter any positive cosmic mojo of this favorable coincidence, even though it was sweltering - at least by my standards - we got right to it when we got home.

First things first we needed to get all the stuff out of the future pub shed. The problem? Where to put it all. We moved all of my bins of party supplies, and holiday decorations, and canning jars, and random junk I can't seem to get rid of to the back porch where I could start going through it all. No sense in continuing to store things I don't want anymore, even if it would be easier for now. I sent my old business partner Brie'n a text to see if she wanted all of our old wedding planning paraphernalia. She agreed to go through it and keep what she wanted so I set that stuff aside for a trip on another day. The bins also needed a good washing. Years of being in a garage that is not airtight had done a number on a few of them. Needless to say there were many spiders, beetles and other varmits that are now homeless. We got a few more pieces of OSB for the attic to make room for better organization and easier access, as well as a more equalized weight distribution across the trusses.

We devised a plan to clear a lot of the stuff out of the well house. I chatted with the Wasbund about bringing over a few loads of stuff that has been sitting out there collecting dust (and mouse skeletons). Since he was cool with that we packed up the M4 and the Pilot with as much as they would carry. After one trip with both vehicles, another fill on the truck and additional trip over to drop it off, we decided we were done with that particular task for the moment. We had successfully moved enough stuff to make room for some of Myko's tools, some metal storage cabinets that had been in the future pub shed and the paint for the house.

While Myko cleaned out the cobwebs, sawdust and other gross stuff out of the wellhouse and started moving stuff over, I started going through my bins. I found stuff for little boys' & girls' birthday parties (think I'm going to give that away), a bunch of Easter baskets (really I should've taken a picture of all of them) and many, many other things I haven't seen in a long time. Some of it I decided to part with. The rest I want to keep. The house is big, and there's a good amount of storage. While I don't want to be labeled a hoarder by any means, I don't see the point in tossing something that I'm wavering on the decision to ditch or not. Might as well keep it and see how I feel the next time I see it. I found a few things that we decided would fit well on the new bookcases.

That more or less filled our weekend with the exception of a haircut for Myko, a couple of Big Lil's soccer games and some lunch. There is still a TON to do but we have made a tremendous amount of progress in only two days. We are feeling much more accomplished already. It's a great feeling.

July 30 Day Challenge (the rest of the month)

The idea of these 30 day challenges came from a media outlet who was challenging its listeners to commit to a 30 day challenge and post on social media along the way. Myko and I talked about it on our way home from the Tri-cities, crossing the pass actually, and decided since we are both goal oriented people we would take something on. In even just 2 months we have accomplished a LOT and there is certainly more to come. There is something motivating about setting a goal and not letting yourself down - because really, who are you letting down when you're talking about a project at your own house or a new weight loss plan, other than you? It does help tremendously for both of us to be on board. Accountability accounts for a lot of the time spent after work, when you're tired and the couch is calling your name. Having someone else to "answer to" helps move the project along.

Our last project was decided and started, and then ultimately changed by circumstance. While we are excited to get started on the pub shed, a flooded house is an emergency that cannot be ignored. In the end, despite missing our deadline, that half of the house looks fantastic. They are two rooms that do not get much use but perhaps their more inviting nature (clean from top to bottom with a few new features) will inspire us to spend more time over there.

As we were putting the final shelves on the bookcases we started discussing the next 30 day challenge. The question was do we start a new 30 full day challenge now? Or do an abbreviated challenge and start fresh in August. Since it's easier to track the deadline on a month-to-month basis we decided July's project should be short & sweet. Of course, it's us, so there's no easy challenge involved. We decided to take up 2 challenges for the remaining time this month:

1) Finish the damage the flood caused in the pantry.

2) Focus on our health and wellness

#1: For our house project we have some minor repairs to be completed in the pantry area where the hot water heater sits. The bottom section of the drywall was damaged in there. The repair itself should be pretty minimal. But since we are in there, and are trying to complete some unfinished projects, we are going to install flooring to match the kitchen in the rest of the pantry, add some paint to freshen things up, and reorganize all the stuff kept in there. Since the big freezer used to sit in that space (and ultimately hid the hot water heater failure) it will be finding a new home in the garage. So there will be some new space to be rearranged and utilized in alternative ways.

#2: While Myko is a fitness fanatic - enjoying time in the gym, moving around, doing push-ups - I'm just the opposite. While I enjoy getting out and being active, I tend to have a hard time motivating myself. And for some reason, old age I guess, I've noticed changes in my body where I used to be able to get myself into gear for a bit, eat a little bit better and like an instantaneous result, I would feel and look better. So I've asked Myko to spread his joy of working out and help me along the path to get in better shape. (Especially since we are going to Hawaii in November.) I've asked for some strong encouragement - which will probably lead to me abusing him to some extent with my whining and complaining - to help me keep on the path to feeling better about myself.

We will start by committing to 3 workouts per week and developing a meal plan. Meal plans I can do. I love having the week's meals planned and shopped for. I've found that for most of us it's figuring out what to eat that's the major hurdle in eating healthy and staying away from fast food. And honestly, I'm not much of a sweet fan; if chocolate didn't exist it would be no skin off my back (sacrilege I know) so cutting down or out on those shouldn't be too difficult.

I prefer fresh fruits and veggies. Ultimately if we lived near Pike Place Market I would never have groceries in the house. I'd just make something from whatever fresh stuff I could find at the market. I made this breakfast for us on Sunday morning. (Sorry, it was so good we had eaten half of it before I thought to take a photo.)

If you are interested in the recipe I will have it on it's own post. Breakfast was delicious, by the way. And took less than 15 minutes start to finish.

The workouts will be up to Myko. I will commit to doing whatever he suggests, no matter how much whining and irritation I will be exhibiting. (Look, I know myself too well). Last night at 9pm we went for a walk. I was not irritated about going on a walk, but rather the dogs going berserk and running off. I had packing and other things to do though and this delayed my accomplishing those tasks. I've never been very good at putting myself first. But I'm learning. I bought us jump ropes. It's a start, right?

I'm told there will be a weigh in. UGH. Maybe I can convince him that measurements are more my speed. I don't own a scale anyway. I understand measurable results but really I just want to get back into my old pants :)

Right now I'm on an airplane 10,000 miles in the sky. Drinking my water and eating the salad I packed for myself (did you know you can bring food with you through security?) and a fruit and cheese platter. You should know I packed my running shoes and workout gear. I know that even though I'm out of town the calories still count.

- Birdy

June (and now July) 30 Day Challenge: Part III

Of course two days later IKEA had the bookshelves we drove all the way down for so I picked them up when the store opened. Warning: the packages are HEAVY. Luckily I'm stubborn and a little bit strong so after some jimmy-ing around I got them in the Pilot. Which leads me to another question: why, boys, when you are walking by a woman clearly struggling to pick something up (not only because they were heavy, but also because they are on a cart that moves in all directions), do you not only walk on by, but slow down to watch, and not offer to help? Is our society so afraid of offending someone that common decency has been lost? I'm not a girl that likes to ask for help. And usually I can do whatever it is on my own. But that doesn't mean it isn't nice when someone offers. Let me tell you, "no thank you," but don't just stop and stare.

Ok, I digress....

So I've looked at a million pins on Pinterest about making the Billy bookcases into "built-ins" complete with instructions and tips & tricks. And while I will tell you that I am so pleased with how they look and I can't wait to get to the point I can put things on them, it took plenty of creativity on our part to put them together and fit them around this doorway.

The flimsy backing that comes with the bookcases just didn't seem like they would be adequate to create that real built in look. We found some wainscoting at the hardware store and decided that would give the bookcases an extra detail.

They come pre-primed but we needed to make sure that they would match the IKEA white of the bookshelves. After searching the ol' interwebs low and behold someone else had done something similar and had already found the magic paint formula. We headed to the Sherwin Williams store and showed them a photo on my phone of the label.

We decided to stir in one of those additives that helps remove any brush strokes or roller marks so that it would end up looking more like the finish on the bookcases. When we were in Sherwin Williams we discussed buying a bottle. But there was one at home, so why buy more. Uh yeah, that was a mistake. The stuff at home did not mix in well and ended up leaving tiny grains of the product all over. So, Myko sanded down the wainscoting. And then we had to run all of the gallon of paint through cheesecloth. Ugh.

In addition to the wainscoting for the backing of the bookcases we also decided that we should  re-paint all of the chair rail, the base trim, and all the trim for the bookcases. But first I had to remove all of the nails and caulking from the old pieces that we are going to re-use.

I should mention that all the while we have been working on this project Washington state has had the hottest June in recorded history. Every day has been in the 90's. And if you're from the great Pacific Northwest like I am, that weather is NOT welcome. I mean I love the sun, just not the heat. I know I shouldn't complain but damn it's been hot.

There were several modifications we had to make to the bookcases. While I was removing nails and caulk Myko was busy modifying the cases to work for the space. To attach the backing we shaved down the back of the bookcases.

Once the wainscoting was repainted and cut it was ready to be attached to the bookshelves.

The remaining process of fitting the bookcases around the doorway and determining what other cuts or modifications to make really took a long time. Luckily we are clever and between the two of us we figured out where cuts needed to be made, where to attach the two Gnedby bookcases together and what pieces of crown or trim we would need and their lengths. After making numerous measurements we created a shopping list.

REMEMBER: MEASURE TWICE, CUT ONCE!

Just a little friendly advice......

After all of the cuts were completed we put the bookcases in place.

While I continue to tell myself I'm going to put these posts up the same day that we do the work I am constantly failing myself. So this post is playing catch-up. Most of this work was done over the coarse of a number of weeknights, slaving away after we got home from work.

Now it's getting close. Hopefully I will get another post in here between now and the ultimate reveal. It's always the little stuff that takes forever but really makes the job get done right. And, of course, who would be satisfied with anything done half ass? Certainly not me.

Storing Paint

In the midst of our latest 30 Day Challenge there was quite a bit of painting to do. The flood in the house necessitated some of it: the touch up around the baseboard and painting the new trim. In my opinion, however, there's no better time than the present to fix up all the rest. I mean, while the house is a mess already, and the room is completely empty, why not touch up all the things that need to be done. No more noticing that nick in the wall where the kids dropped the dining room chair backwards, or the random screw and nail holes that have been left open as decor changed.

The last time this room was painted was in 2007. Of course we had some paint left over. I thought I was being clever by writing on the top of the paint can where that particular paint was used.

But despite my efforts the paint can labels start falling off, the lids got rusty and the labels begin to fade. Myko laughed as I got progressively more irritated trying to pry off the old rusty lid. (Note the fraying of the edges of this paint can lid!)

Years ago I was surfing Pinterest and saw the idea of keeping the remnants of paint in a glass jar. Not only can you see the paint color easily, they are easy to shake to mix and take up much smaller space to store.

While I don't consider myself to be a hoarder, I do save useful things; things that I always pledge to do some project with (i.e. 10,0000 corks.....wtf do I have those for again?!?). As we near completion on the June 30-Day Challenge I have had to open a number of these old paint cans. What an opportunity to finally enact my plan to store my paint in glass containers.

Just so happens I have been stockpiling old Ragu jars. (No, I do not usually make my own spaghetti sauce. Why start from scratch when you can doctor up ol' Ragu with such ease).

I have removed (most) of the label from these jars as we've used them and run them through the dishwasher so they are sanitized. Next step, pour in the paint.

Now, because you are going to throw away the original paint cans (I hope. What else are you going to do with them? Wait, don't tell me, I might start keeping those for some future project too....) you need to devise some way of identifying the paint you have in the jar. While you could easily scribble with a Sharpie marker on the existing lid, if you're going to the effort to organize and make your paint supplies look nice, why not print a label? Not only does it cover up the remaining glue and/or pieces of the label that was difficult to remove, you can add much more information than you could fit on the lid.

I used to co-own a wedding planning business and had these labels around the house. You can find them at Onlinelabels.com. This particular label is intended for a wine bottle sized label, but I just trimmed them down to fit my Ragu jars. I included on the label where I used the paint, the type of paint it was (information on the can) and the color. I went one step beyond and looked up the online paint chip so that I could add the number of the paint color. Valspar paint has an online paint chip menu that is searchable.

Once I had the labels printed, I trimmed them down to fit on the jar where the label had once been. This covered all of the leftover glue and pieces of label I didn't take the time to scrub off. Affixing them was a breeze (although being a perfectionist I'm a little disturbed by the wrinkles that are inevitable when you are placing a sticker over an uneven surface). I'm also tempted to apply a layer of clear contact paper or packing tape over the labels to avoid any staining, discoloration, or other damage to the label (the whole reason why I went this route in the first place).

Since the lids advertise for Ragu, and thus are not in line with the jars new purpose, I had to figure out what I was going to do to cover them up and make them useful. I had a can of chalkboard paint in the garage and decided that I would give them a coat.

The paint went on quick and the coverage was excellent. It was very hot out when I spray painted them so they dried quickly. However, upon trying to write on them with chalk they were easily scratched. I would wait a full day or two before marking them so that the paint can really cure.

I'm not exactly sure what I would write on the lid. Perhaps the last date that I used the paint just so that I would know how long ago the paint was still good.

I'm inspired to continue to store the paint this way. It may be some time before I have all of the paint cans converted in the garage but certainly I will start doing this can by can from here on out.

June 30 Day Challenge: Part II

Sunday morning we took off early to get to IKEA when they opened. We spent a great deal of time daydreaming with Big Lil about the possibilities her room holds, and another chunk of time exploring the possibilities of all of the bookcases IKEA has to offer. 

We finally decided on a lineup that would fit around the doorway most efficiently and with the most style. We decided two wide Billy bookcases and one half size would span the walls nicely and then 2 Gnedby's would make for some extra display area above the Billy's. Off we went to the warehouse......to find they didn't have any in stock!!! Ugh!

By this time we were hungry and cranky. We wasted almost an entire day with these bookcases and came home after driving a 3 hour round trip empty handed and no work done on the challenge. 

Gotta roll with the punches though. There's rarely a project that ever goes without a hitch. I mean, this whole project is because of a hitch in our plans so, oh well. There are more days in the month...