Tuesday, August 19, 2008

State of the Union Address

House RemodelHere's a riddle for you: what's covered in three inches of dust, makes a disturbing popping sound and is covered in plastic and extension cords?

That would be my house.

Things are coming along fine, thanks for asking, after four separate concrete pours we now have beautiful front steps that are so pretty I impulsively run up and down them several times a day in a Rocky Balboa move that has the neighbors staring. Our contractor started framing the addition on Saturday so you can actually tell we're in motion here and already it's starting to look exciting (I catch Andrew sneaking home at lunch to peak at the progress).

I knew it would be this way but we're heading into the part of the remodel that we shall not dwell on too much for fear of sounding grumpy. The part where they've shut off power in the bedrooms, shut down my garage door and covered the flooring in protective plastic to keep the mud at a minimum. The boys have long orange extension cords threaded through the house to various working outlets so they won't miss a beat of their precious Olympics but even with that the breaker keeps tripping from all the construction equipment plugged in so we get the occasional *POP* followed by silence. It just adds to the ambiance.

I can't complain about the state of things because it just means that we're working towards the goal right? This too shall pass and that which does not kill us makes us stronger. All those platitudes that I can't remember when it comes down to having my lawn overgrown because the lawn mower is stuck inside a garage that can't be opened.

My house is a so filthy I won't walk across the floor without my slippers, there are flies around all the windows because with traffic coming through the house the doors get left open to bugs and now I've got to figure out where the kids are going to sleep for the next two months when we tear down their bedroom walls this weekend. The boys however are unconcerned and figure that being without a bedroom just means they'll have license to stay up as late as they want every night. No worries, it'll all be alright.

The cars that pass are starting to slow down when they go by to see what's going on. Neighbors we've never talked to before are coming over to ask what it is exactly we're doing and I watched the man two doors down who was out walking his dog this week stop and stare at our beautiful new steps for a full two minutes.

We're turning heads I tell you.

So as a parting note, this morning I'll be hiding out in a quiet closet somewhere, locked far away from the sounds of table saws and nail guns, while I enjoy a turn on Blogger Talk Radio for "Behind the Blog." I'll be talking with Karen from Simply Amusing Design and Melanie from Blogging Basics 101 who will thrill you with their lovely southern sounds while we discuss all sorts of interesting blogging issues.

Missed BlogHer? Got some blogging questions? Well here's your chance to catch up and I'd love to talk even if it's just to say hello. The program starts at 12 pm CST and you can call in (347) 826-7594 to join the conversation, go to the website at Blogger Talk to hear the program live or go back later at your convenience to hear the archived program.

You can also send your question by email or through the chat room on the Blogger Talk site. See you there!

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20 comments:

Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...

I realized last night that I had made a park playdate today when you'll be on the radio show! Although I did wake up today with a killer headache, so I might end up being here after all. Otherwise I'll be sure to listen to it later on!

Steph

Anonymous said...

You can always stick the boys in that quiet closet you found, if you really have one. The rearrangement for a few months should make the morning routine when you stat school today pretty interesting! I'm jealous about the school part, we have two more weeks and a camping trip this weekend to finish it all off, but hopefully not like your rainy one. But we will have the mosquitoes.

Tim Appleton (Applehead) said...

I think there would be something wrong if you weren't turning heads...

Anonymous said...

We have another week till school goes back so the count down has started in earnest.

Robin said...

Hang in there. That phase of home renovations when everything suddenly looks Much Worse (subtitled: "OMG what have I done?") than it did before is nervewracking, but worth it in the end.

Maddy said...

I should love to listen and or watch, however we have our own volume control issues around here.

Maybe later.

Much later.
Best wishes

Nicole said...

ak! I hate home improvement projects! We finished our basement last year and no matter how many doors we closed or sheets we hung up trying to keep the dust out of the rest of the house it was all futile. My *favorite* was the washer and dryer in my living room as they finished my laundry room.

This year we've been working on the yard, pouring a new patio. I thought this would be less stressful on my house....boy was I wrong. If anything there is EVEN MORE dirt in the house than when we were finishing the basement. ug.

The point is, I feel you pain. Hang in there!!!! It does get better.

shaz said...

wow, ok, i hope everything goes ok!

Jennifer said...

Nothing like disorder to make us appreciate order huh?

It does sound very exciting though despite the inconvienences :)

petra michelle; Whose role is it anyway? said...

Hello Michelle, Wanted to say thank you for your extremely helpful and informational interview on the radio talk show. You all were most gracious when I asked about how to deal with comments from non-English speaking countries. Being a realtively new blogger (4 months), there is so much to learn. Thanks again, Michelle. Petra

luckyzmom said...

Remodeling sure does disrupt life as you know it. It is a bit like having a baby though, you quickly forget all the pain you went through as soon as it is finished.

Here's hoping they finish ahead of schedule:D

luckyzmom said...

PS-I have published 3 posts.

Damselfly said...

Wish I could have called in!

Tammy and Parker said...

Ah! Here you are with fantastic remodels, giving away strollers, and between Parker and I we've been too sick to even stay vertical for long.


I need to figure out how to listen to you on that radio show.

Being sick has also squashed many a much needed brain cell. sigh...

carrhop said...

We did the remodel thing--so, umm, wow. I'm having some PTSD flashbacks...

Sounds like you've got it under control--and I'm sure the results will be well worth it!
Blessings!

Gabrielle said...

Hi Michelle!
I so feel your pain on the re-model, I am presently in the midst of the nasty weather of tropical storm Fay down here in rainy Florida. When we suffered the attack of 4 hurricanes in a row about 4 years ago our roof blew off (while we were in the house), it was lovely :-) (pause for the sarcasm ;-).....anyway, we had so much re-building to do after the severity of the damage done and it we took the opportunity to re-model as well, we were living on the very ugly concrete slab floor of the house with everything pushed up to the front of the house weaving through tight paths of furniture and debris. Living with construction workers day in and day out the noise and the mess can truly drive you crazy!!! It was at this time that I threw myself out into the yard to continue molding myself into the manic, mad gardner, like the mad hatter, but different :-) Anyway, I know you too will survive but it is difficult and the end result will be blissful! Wishing you peace, literally! From Gabrielle of Troy and Gabrielle :-)

Krista said...

New steps, yum. We'll join the parade cruising slowly by your house checking out progress the next time we're in the neighborhood.

Unknown said...

You've inspired me to take pictures of the contractor who is tromping in and out of our house. Of course, mine is much cuter than yours. ;-)

Beck said...

I was REALLY hoping that would be my lot this summer too, but it was not to be. Soon your renovations will be done and your house will be GORGEOUS.

Janet said...

as long as the occasional "POP" is followed only by silence and NOT the faint smell of smoke, it's all good.
I'm going to check the archives, since once again, not reading blogs for a week has come back to bite me in the butt.