This will be short...

.....because my fingers are hurting...terribly!  I spent the day scraping linoleum adhesive off my bathroom floor.  My body hurts worse today than it did walking 12 hours a day in New York City over the weekend.  Tomorrow will be clean-up and a little more scraping; hopefully not much.  I would have taken a picture of the progress but I am just too darn tired.

My least favorite part of remodeling

... the toilet.  Removing the toilet isn't a difficult task, it's just kinda gross!  Like I said in my last post, there was a leak under the toilet that molded the linoleum.  Once I got the toilet up today, I realized there was NO wax ring.  It had totally disintegrated.  I got that area cleaned up the best I could and I've been reading on the internet about cleaning options for the cement.  Most websites say either bleach (which I've done once) or vinegar.  I'm going to try the vinegar next.  There doesn't appear to be any mold on the drywall which is a plus but I need to get down there to see if there is any on the wood behind the walls.  If there is, I have no idea what I should do next.  Suggestions?

It's A Start...

Motivation is my worst enemy.  Once I start a project, I'll finish it until the end.  It's the getting started that is my problem.  The past two nights I've had plenty of motivation (well, it could have been the 11 hours of sleep I got on Friday) so I was able to do several projects.  Here's a preview.

My dad gave me this thermostat for Christmast 2010...I just installed it yesterday!  

New pendant light fixture over the sink. 

Pulled up the linoleum and baseboards.  The floor will have to be stripped.  

The dark area is bleach.  The toilet has been leaking and there was mold under the linoleum.  I'll probably need to do a few more treatments before I lay the tile  

These are my color choices.  The top is Martha Stewart Rainwater, the bottom left is Behr Silver Save, and bottom right is Behr verdigris.  I went with #3.  

A Little Motivation

I started work on the Master bathroom Sunday night.  When I was ready to paint the crown molding, I realized it was kinda gross.  There was this filmy/sticky stuff on it.  I'm assuming it was soap and 13 years of house yuck.  I got out the 409 and wiped down the molding before painting it.  The painting part was amusing in itself (I used Valspar Fresh Cotton.. it's a muted white).  Have you ever stood on a ladder that is half inside the bathtub.  Let's just say that I'm thankful I'm not afraid of heights.  I'd love to rip up the floor but I'm not sure I'm psychologically ready. I think I need the bathtub fixed before I do much more work.  Here are some before pics for your viewing pleasure.

Trying to decide if I want to replace this light with a chandelier.  Is that too trendy?

I've always thought the toilet was so sad all by itself in the corner.

This ladder has been well worth the $$!  It's been through MANY a home improvement project.  

Ahh, the bathtub!  The impetus for this remodel.  

This is the drain.  You can see where I put my screwdriver through the fiberglass trying to fix the drain.  

This is another chip in the fiberglass that I tried to fix once before but it chipped again.  It's much larger than it appears.  This is a big bathtub.  

I want to hang new blinds and maybe make a faux roman shade.  

I have GOT to get rid of this ghastly vanity light.  It's one of the few brass fixtures left in the house and I despise it more each day.  

A BIG shout out to Frog Tape.  This is one of the most amazing products I've ever used.  It's WAY better than the blue tape.  It is more expensive but well worth it!  

I'm also still debating the wall color.  The one I originally chose, Martha Stewart's Rainwater, looks a little funky for some reason.  I know I will have to prime before I paint but I'm not so sure that will make much difference.  Guess that means I'm back to spending some time in the Home Depot paint department.

Bathroom Remodel, Part Two

I'm am FINALLY getting around to remodeling my master bathroom.  A few months ago (well, 8 to be exact), I put a rather large hole in the bottom of the bathtub rendering it useless.  I had someone come out for an estimate to replace it and they wanted to charge me over $5600!  Uh, no thank you.

A few weeks ago, I found out that someone at work is also a master plumber.  Anthony came out this past week (on his way home from work, bless him) and he said he could definitely repair my bathtub.  Amen!  This will probably happen sometime in late October.  As soon as he is finished, I can get started on everything else.

I've been scouring the internet for bathroom ideas.  This is NOT easy.  The tile I REALLY liked was $150/sq ft.  OUT OF CONTROL!  I have a 100 sq ft bathroom!  I think I have settled for a white 1" hexagon tile (the MUCH less expensive option) with a medium to dark grey grout.  I'm also considering a board and batten look on the walls.  All the blogs I've read make it sound fairly simple.  I'm still trying to decide if I want to buy my own nailer or just do it by hand.  I've done it before, I suppose I can do it again.

My other major dilemma is deciding where to stop.  My neighborhood is made up of fairly "cookie cutter" homes and most of them have not had much work put into them.  I'm not planning on staying here but for MAYBE 5 more years.  I'm not sure how much $$ I want to sink into this bathroom if I'm not going to be able to get my $$ back when I sell.  I think the work might make it more "sellable" but I don't want to price myself out of the neighborhood.

So much thinking!

Busy, Busy...

I haven't blogged in a really long time.  Guess I just didn't have much to say.  However, I've been off work for three days and I'm proud to say, I've been busy.  Maybe busy is the wrong word.  I guess MOTIVATED is more like it.  Generally, when I'm off work but still awake at night, I don't do much except go to the gym, read, and watch TV.  This weekend has been different.  Everything I've done has been crafty-ish.  I'm not sure why I all of the sudden decided to do all these things but I'm glad I did.  Here's a photo synopsis of my weekend.

These are the pillows I made for my living room.  I did these a few weeks ago but wanted to add them in.   They were a LONG time coming.  I even taught myself how to make my own piping. Thank you Pinterest!  

This is my new entertainment cabinet that was delivered on Friday.  Doesn't my television look SAD?

I love this coffee mug.  I bought it in New York a few years ago. I'm going back next month and I'm SO EXCITED!

I have a new addiction - the Chevron pattern

I used this pearl paint to make the following project.  

I found a cool chevron pattern online that I cut out and used as a template.  

The final product.  This photo really doesn't do it justice.  I've added a cool frame so it looks a little more artsy! 

Another project.  I got the inspiration from all the map projects I've seen on Pinterest lately.  Georgia is my home state and I wanted to integrate it into my photo wall (see below).  Up close, this almost looks like a photograph.  It's just oil crayons, a metallic pen, and a little craft paint.    Originally, I was going to paint the entire state but I'm really pleased with the way the crayons turned out.  I also sprayed it with a clear gloss so the white part wouldn't smudge once I framed it.  

Sorry this is sideways.  This is the pot roast that is currently cooking in the crock pot.  It's 3:30AM and my house smells delicious!

These are the items I want to include in my photo wall.  Not sure where they are going to go but I like the layout! 

I made this bolster pillow for my bed.  

I'm not a HUGE fan of the monogram craze but I thought something small would look OK on my photo wall.  I used the same paint for this that I used for my chevron art piece.  Painting this made me realize that I need some new paintbrushes.  

I took a trip to Hobby Lobby on Friday night.  Bad idea.  I was totally overwhelmed by everything there.... especially all the Christmas items.  I bought two of these birds.  I don't know why but I thought they were adorable (and they were 50% off).   

This pillow has to be the pride of my weekend.  My sister in law asked me to make an American flag pillow and this is what I came up with.  This photo really doesn't so it justice.  It's really cute!  I hope she likes it!  

Oatmeal raisin cookies (mom's secret recipe) for a friend at work who has been begging me for months to make him some cookies.  

Sigh.....

I just finished my last exam of the semester.  It's such a relief.  I didn't realize how much time this class would take.  I got all freakish about my grade too.  I really want to make an A.  I had a 91.5 going into the last exam.  Now that it's over, I'm not sure why I worried so much. I already got into the Nurse Anesthesia program so any grade I make from here until August 2012 is a moot point, right?

Tonight, I celebrate!  That translates into "I'm gonna drink at least one margarita".  Tomorrow, I'm back to my summer reading list.  I'm determined to cram in as many books as humanly possible in the next year.  Once I start back to school full time, there will be no extraneous reading allowed (the Bible isn't considered extraneous.... it's considered VITAL!).

Any book suggestions?