I think I've almost given up. Contractor dude has not been here in 2 weeks now, despite promising daily work this week. There are such minor things left to be done, but they MUST be done before I can move in the rest of my furniture or starting shifting rooms to get ready for Abbie's impending arrival.
Worse, Brett does not seem to care in the slightest that nothing has been done. Brett also has done nothing, short of shifting his paint/plumbing/electrical supplies around the kitchen (but not to the garage where they belong) in order to pseudo-appease me, so that I can cook in my kitchen.
I accept that I cannot control Brett, or contractor dude, but I can control myself, right? So, the boycott begins:
I am not cleaning a single surface in my house (except toilets and countertops, thanks to Swine Flu anxiety), picking up a single tool, straightening up a single room, or putting anything away until this house is complete. I'm talking paint done, baseboards back in, furniture in place. Dishwasher mounted. Dishwasher trim installed. Electrical outlet put back in my island.
I don't care how much he bitches, whines, moans, complains, or stomps around this house in his passive-aggressive way. NOT.GONNA.DO.IT.
Let the games begin...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
If It's Not One Thing...
Progress always seems to go hand in hand with setbacks. And I'm having a difficult time coping with this roller coaster in my current physical and emotional state (ie: PREGNANT!)
Last week, painting was finished (minus trimming up to the ceiling and the downstairs bathroom), and the trimming of the cabinets was complete (minus mounting the dishwasher and installing the trim around it). We've been told the dishwasher component will be completed by tomorrow.
I ordered blinds for the kitchen, slider, and fam room window last week, and those should be in by tomorrow as well. If not, Brandon from 3 Day Blinds is going to get an earful from me on Thursday (when I think 3 day Blinds...I think order...then 3 days later, they're on your doorstep...not the case people, hate to burst the bubble).
What is there still to do? Moldings, throughout our ENTIRE house. You see, because we drastically changed the colors (light maple to dark cherry), the trim no longer matches. ANYWHERE. So, we have a choice: try and reuse the trim we currently have and hope no one notices the differences (that's my choice), or buy all new trim for the ENTIRE house (that's Brett's choice). If we do it my way, we need to get nails out of the old trim and strip off the caulking, but then we're good to go and can re-install in only the areas where it was taken off. If we go Brett's route, we have to pull all the trim EVERYWHERE and in each room (even UPSTAIRS!), and then spend money on new trim, likely stain it, wait for that to try, and the reinstall it EVERYWHERE.
But, there are bigger fish to fry. We can't put the molding back in until the floor issue is resolved. Floor issue, you ask yourself? What floor issue? Apparently, the hardwood installers (who we were told were the "best in the business") took the easy way out and totally f'ed up the installation of our floor. There are now zipper joints, the wood was laid to close to the walls (and therefore won't be able to expand without causing damage to the walls), and something about the width not being laid to industry standards. This was all noticed by a friend of Brett's who used to lay hardwood floors, and supported by a real-life, full-fledged hardwood inspector (who, for a nominal fee, will inspect your floor and write a report that is admissable in court, if it goes that for...and yeah, and he'll testify for you too). When approached with the issues, the guy who sold us the floor came over (before the inspector did, mind you) and told us he didn't see anything wrong with the floor, and then demanded we pay the remaining 50% balance. Ah, young grasshopper, you apparently have never dealt with a Monahan before. So, now, depending on how the flooring company wishes to proceed with us, and what the inspector's final recommendations are (deal with it but get your money back, or it has to come out due to structural issues), it may be QUITE some time before we have a finished house. Harumph.
But, Brett's letting me move all of my furniture back in from the garage, so it'll at least feel SOMEWHAT put back together. For awhile anyway.
Last week, painting was finished (minus trimming up to the ceiling and the downstairs bathroom), and the trimming of the cabinets was complete (minus mounting the dishwasher and installing the trim around it). We've been told the dishwasher component will be completed by tomorrow.
I ordered blinds for the kitchen, slider, and fam room window last week, and those should be in by tomorrow as well. If not, Brandon from 3 Day Blinds is going to get an earful from me on Thursday (when I think 3 day Blinds...I think order...then 3 days later, they're on your doorstep...not the case people, hate to burst the bubble).
What is there still to do? Moldings, throughout our ENTIRE house. You see, because we drastically changed the colors (light maple to dark cherry), the trim no longer matches. ANYWHERE. So, we have a choice: try and reuse the trim we currently have and hope no one notices the differences (that's my choice), or buy all new trim for the ENTIRE house (that's Brett's choice). If we do it my way, we need to get nails out of the old trim and strip off the caulking, but then we're good to go and can re-install in only the areas where it was taken off. If we go Brett's route, we have to pull all the trim EVERYWHERE and in each room (even UPSTAIRS!), and then spend money on new trim, likely stain it, wait for that to try, and the reinstall it EVERYWHERE.
But, there are bigger fish to fry. We can't put the molding back in until the floor issue is resolved. Floor issue, you ask yourself? What floor issue? Apparently, the hardwood installers (who we were told were the "best in the business") took the easy way out and totally f'ed up the installation of our floor. There are now zipper joints, the wood was laid to close to the walls (and therefore won't be able to expand without causing damage to the walls), and something about the width not being laid to industry standards. This was all noticed by a friend of Brett's who used to lay hardwood floors, and supported by a real-life, full-fledged hardwood inspector (who, for a nominal fee, will inspect your floor and write a report that is admissable in court, if it goes that for...and yeah, and he'll testify for you too). When approached with the issues, the guy who sold us the floor came over (before the inspector did, mind you) and told us he didn't see anything wrong with the floor, and then demanded we pay the remaining 50% balance. Ah, young grasshopper, you apparently have never dealt with a Monahan before. So, now, depending on how the flooring company wishes to proceed with us, and what the inspector's final recommendations are (deal with it but get your money back, or it has to come out due to structural issues), it may be QUITE some time before we have a finished house. Harumph.
But, Brett's letting me move all of my furniture back in from the garage, so it'll at least feel SOMEWHAT put back together. For awhile anyway.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Progress Continues
I got a pleasant surprise this week:
Our contractor came back after his bout with bronchitis that turned to pneumonia (poor guy!), and finished our cabinets! They look AWESOME! It's amazing what trim and toe kicks can do for the looks of cabinetry! We're waiting on one last check from the insurance company for some incidentals, and then we will be able to buy and install the moldings for the rest of the house.
Brett's brother came over diligently this week and painted the ENTIRE house with our chosen color Mexican Sand. It's a nice medium tan/taupe color, but is also somewhat warm and really did wonders to make the house feel more homey and less airy. Amazing what paint can do. The only thing he did not do was trim up to the ceiling. I can't say I blame him, with Brett being an anal-retentive asshole when it comes to painting and "perfect" lines. He was right to just let Brett climb the ladder and let him do it himself. I would have done the same thing! :)
An unexpected surprise greeting me Thursday afternoon upon returning home: Brett has hired a landscaper to clean up our yard, remove the moss from the grass, and lay beauty bark in our flower beds. Those of you who know our lost battles with the yard over the years, or have seen the enormity of the yard we purchased with our home know that, other than my little garden I placed in one of the flowerbeds last year and the one bed we turned back into grass, we haven't had much success with making the backyard look great. Brett worked SO hard last year thatching, aerating and re-seeding the grass. We winterized it, only to see even MORE moss come back this year. We also have very sad palm trees staring at us, asking for help (which we don't know how to give, because we didn't grow up in Hawaii like the folks who owned the house before us). Luckily, the fellows that will be maintaining the lawn for the next several months are from, shall we say, much warmer climates, where palm trees/bushes are much more prevalent. I'm sure our sad little trees will be much happier within the next few weeks.
I've had that nasty little cold that's been going around for the last few days, and yesterday I went back to work after taking 1 1/2 days off to recuperate. I noticed some cramps that felt more like sharp, stabbing pains, but figured they were probably just aches and pains from being sick. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that I realized these "cramps" were coming and going, and had some sort of rhythm to them...I'd have one about every 5-15 minutes, and they only lasted about 10-20 seconds. They got more and more painful as the day wore on, and I thought to myself, "hmm...I don't think they're contractions, they don't feel like them, but this definitely is NOT normal." So, I called my nurse line, which suggested a trip to the urgent care. At the Urgent Care I was told they weren't equipped to deal with preggo's, so Labor and Delivery at our local hospital was waiting for me. WHAT?! Suddenly, my mind was thrust into "wonder what THIS is all about" mode to "oh my God, they think I'm in pre-term labor!" Quick arrangements were made for Bryce, Brett got a friend to drive me to the ER (thanks Dan!) and I was whisked away to L&D, where monitors were hooked up to me to check fetal heartbeat and contractions. And guess what? After a solid 2 hours of either being hooked up to the monitors, having blood drawn, or having a full-blown ultrasound, I was told that I was FINE, and Abbie was FINE too (THANK THE LORD!). They couldn't tell me what the stabbing pains were, but they knew they were definitely NOT contractions, so they sent me on my merry way. At midnight.
Brett and I were trying to trouble shoot on my way home, while wolfing down some Wendy's (we didn't eat dinner). All of a sudden, my pains became really severe, and it occurred to me....now...how to phrase this politely....that, well, I hadn't had a BM in a couple of days. How embarrassing to realize you just spent 3-4 hours at the ER/L&D because you have bad gas. Even better, realize how much money you just spent when you could've made a quick trip to Safeway for prune juice and baked beans. Dear Lord. Well, at least with my various ailments since the first of this year, we've already paid our 100% maximum out of pocket expenses for the ENTIRE family (between Bryce's broken leg and all my diagnostic testing for dizziness/pregnancy issues), so this trip should be mostly if not entirely free.
Today, I was still a bit crampy, but had myself a white chocolate mocha and a fanTAStic McDonald's breakfast on our way out to see Brett play softball. Let's just say that I'm not crampy anymore.
I'm just glad that everyone's okay. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
Our contractor came back after his bout with bronchitis that turned to pneumonia (poor guy!), and finished our cabinets! They look AWESOME! It's amazing what trim and toe kicks can do for the looks of cabinetry! We're waiting on one last check from the insurance company for some incidentals, and then we will be able to buy and install the moldings for the rest of the house.
Brett's brother came over diligently this week and painted the ENTIRE house with our chosen color Mexican Sand. It's a nice medium tan/taupe color, but is also somewhat warm and really did wonders to make the house feel more homey and less airy. Amazing what paint can do. The only thing he did not do was trim up to the ceiling. I can't say I blame him, with Brett being an anal-retentive asshole when it comes to painting and "perfect" lines. He was right to just let Brett climb the ladder and let him do it himself. I would have done the same thing! :)
An unexpected surprise greeting me Thursday afternoon upon returning home: Brett has hired a landscaper to clean up our yard, remove the moss from the grass, and lay beauty bark in our flower beds. Those of you who know our lost battles with the yard over the years, or have seen the enormity of the yard we purchased with our home know that, other than my little garden I placed in one of the flowerbeds last year and the one bed we turned back into grass, we haven't had much success with making the backyard look great. Brett worked SO hard last year thatching, aerating and re-seeding the grass. We winterized it, only to see even MORE moss come back this year. We also have very sad palm trees staring at us, asking for help (which we don't know how to give, because we didn't grow up in Hawaii like the folks who owned the house before us). Luckily, the fellows that will be maintaining the lawn for the next several months are from, shall we say, much warmer climates, where palm trees/bushes are much more prevalent. I'm sure our sad little trees will be much happier within the next few weeks.
I've had that nasty little cold that's been going around for the last few days, and yesterday I went back to work after taking 1 1/2 days off to recuperate. I noticed some cramps that felt more like sharp, stabbing pains, but figured they were probably just aches and pains from being sick. It wasn't until later in the afternoon that I realized these "cramps" were coming and going, and had some sort of rhythm to them...I'd have one about every 5-15 minutes, and they only lasted about 10-20 seconds. They got more and more painful as the day wore on, and I thought to myself, "hmm...I don't think they're contractions, they don't feel like them, but this definitely is NOT normal." So, I called my nurse line, which suggested a trip to the urgent care. At the Urgent Care I was told they weren't equipped to deal with preggo's, so Labor and Delivery at our local hospital was waiting for me. WHAT?! Suddenly, my mind was thrust into "wonder what THIS is all about" mode to "oh my God, they think I'm in pre-term labor!" Quick arrangements were made for Bryce, Brett got a friend to drive me to the ER (thanks Dan!) and I was whisked away to L&D, where monitors were hooked up to me to check fetal heartbeat and contractions. And guess what? After a solid 2 hours of either being hooked up to the monitors, having blood drawn, or having a full-blown ultrasound, I was told that I was FINE, and Abbie was FINE too (THANK THE LORD!). They couldn't tell me what the stabbing pains were, but they knew they were definitely NOT contractions, so they sent me on my merry way. At midnight.
Brett and I were trying to trouble shoot on my way home, while wolfing down some Wendy's (we didn't eat dinner). All of a sudden, my pains became really severe, and it occurred to me....now...how to phrase this politely....that, well, I hadn't had a BM in a couple of days. How embarrassing to realize you just spent 3-4 hours at the ER/L&D because you have bad gas. Even better, realize how much money you just spent when you could've made a quick trip to Safeway for prune juice and baked beans. Dear Lord. Well, at least with my various ailments since the first of this year, we've already paid our 100% maximum out of pocket expenses for the ENTIRE family (between Bryce's broken leg and all my diagnostic testing for dizziness/pregnancy issues), so this trip should be mostly if not entirely free.
Today, I was still a bit crampy, but had myself a white chocolate mocha and a fanTAStic McDonald's breakfast on our way out to see Brett play softball. Let's just say that I'm not crampy anymore.
I'm just glad that everyone's okay. Better to be safe than sorry, right?
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
How Hard Could It Possibly Be?
He knows I'm pregnant. He knows I want my house put back together. Brett's told me he's made it all too clear to him that he does not want ME calling him to find out why he hasn't finished yet.
Yet, he still has NOT begun to finish our house. And by he, I mean the guy Brett hired to do the general and odds and ends work on our kitchen remodel. He apparently came by today (after promising to come by every day last week, and this...I'm sure you can understand why I no longer hold my breath), and after spending about 10 minutes here, got a call from his accountant and left. For the WHOLE day. He never once came back.
My brother-in-law, who is NOT a painter, has been here Saturday, Monday, today and will be here Thursday to finish painting our house. He has painted as best I can figure, about 1000 square feet of walls, likely more. The only rooms we decided NOT to paint while remodeling were the bedrooms, office, mud room, bonus room, and the upstairs bathrooms. All other surfaces have paint on them, thanks largely to Todd. THAT, my friends, is how it's done. You say you're going to do a job, you SHOW UP, you do the job, you FINISH the job, and then you get paid and leave. That simple.
Why is it that this guy just assumes we're OKAY with his antics? He's completely unreliable. Why, you may be asking, have you not fired him and hired someone else?
First, he's 1/2 done with our cabinets and Brett would like him to finish, since his handiwork is all over what he's already done and Brett wants to make sure the work is consistent.
Second, when he IS here, he's very good at what he does. And he's not all that expensive.
But, frankly, if I can't get this guy to finish the cabinets this week, I don't care what I have to pay someone, I will hop on craigslist or head down to Home Depot to see if I can find someone who would like the work.
This is flat out ridiculous and unacceptable.
Yet, he still has NOT begun to finish our house. And by he, I mean the guy Brett hired to do the general and odds and ends work on our kitchen remodel. He apparently came by today (after promising to come by every day last week, and this...I'm sure you can understand why I no longer hold my breath), and after spending about 10 minutes here, got a call from his accountant and left. For the WHOLE day. He never once came back.
My brother-in-law, who is NOT a painter, has been here Saturday, Monday, today and will be here Thursday to finish painting our house. He has painted as best I can figure, about 1000 square feet of walls, likely more. The only rooms we decided NOT to paint while remodeling were the bedrooms, office, mud room, bonus room, and the upstairs bathrooms. All other surfaces have paint on them, thanks largely to Todd. THAT, my friends, is how it's done. You say you're going to do a job, you SHOW UP, you do the job, you FINISH the job, and then you get paid and leave. That simple.
Why is it that this guy just assumes we're OKAY with his antics? He's completely unreliable. Why, you may be asking, have you not fired him and hired someone else?
First, he's 1/2 done with our cabinets and Brett would like him to finish, since his handiwork is all over what he's already done and Brett wants to make sure the work is consistent.
Second, when he IS here, he's very good at what he does. And he's not all that expensive.
But, frankly, if I can't get this guy to finish the cabinets this week, I don't care what I have to pay someone, I will hop on craigslist or head down to Home Depot to see if I can find someone who would like the work.
This is flat out ridiculous and unacceptable.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Patience, Young Grasshopper...
The guy who is doing all of the odds and ends stuff at our house has had pneumonia for the last two weeks. Hence, since the addition of our granite, NOTHING ELSE has been completed on our house. Brett (bless his heart) has installed our sinks, brought the oven back in and hooked it up, and did the electrical work to hook up and re-mount the microwave.
Our first meal back in our house was cooked on Monday night. I made a pork loin, roasted red potatoes, and asparagus, which I have been craving since I first lost my kitchen.
The next night was gorgeous weather, so I made filet mignon's wrapped in bacon on the bbq, twice baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.
Last night was spaghetti, and tonight we did leftovers.
I have one corner of my counter top to work on currently, due to the the plumbing/electrical/power tools that are still over-taking my kitchen. However, I can now cook dammit! :)
I have slowly begun moving my kitchen back into the office and putting things where they go. On the list to buy new: matching glasses and matching mixing bowls. I have a mish-mash of both, and too many that could be donated or really should be tossed! :)
Good thing I didn't volunteer to host Easter, because there's no way this house will be done by Sunday!
Our first meal back in our house was cooked on Monday night. I made a pork loin, roasted red potatoes, and asparagus, which I have been craving since I first lost my kitchen.
The next night was gorgeous weather, so I made filet mignon's wrapped in bacon on the bbq, twice baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.
Last night was spaghetti, and tonight we did leftovers.
I have one corner of my counter top to work on currently, due to the the plumbing/electrical/power tools that are still over-taking my kitchen. However, I can now cook dammit! :)
I have slowly begun moving my kitchen back into the office and putting things where they go. On the list to buy new: matching glasses and matching mixing bowls. I have a mish-mash of both, and too many that could be donated or really should be tossed! :)
Good thing I didn't volunteer to host Easter, because there's no way this house will be done by Sunday!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Behold the Granite
WE NOW HAVE OUR COUNTERTOPS! We just got them installed mere hours ago. They look GREAT in our kitchen and mesh well with the wood and colors we've chosen. This is a HUGE relief! For those of you wondering, we chose the Tropic Brown color. It's apparently very popular and in stock at most granite places.
This is the island...
A large shot of the entire kitchen...mostly put back together...
And a nice shot of how the granite ties in nicely with the cherry cabinets and the tigerwood floor.
Items left to complete:
Last sand and refinish of the floor: Scheduled for Friday, 4/3
Paint the remainder of the house: next week
Hook up/install the sinks and faucets: Tonight, if Brett is in a good mood
Move my oven back in from the garage: see above
Finish trimwork: probably around the end of next week
Backsplash: Hopefully within the next few weeks
Move the rest of our furniture back into the house: whenever paint/trim is done.
There is still so much left to do, but the big stuff is done. I should be able to cook in no time!
This is the island...
A large shot of the entire kitchen...mostly put back together...
And a nice shot of how the granite ties in nicely with the cherry cabinets and the tigerwood floor.
Items left to complete:
Last sand and refinish of the floor: Scheduled for Friday, 4/3
Paint the remainder of the house: next week
Hook up/install the sinks and faucets: Tonight, if Brett is in a good mood
Move my oven back in from the garage: see above
Finish trimwork: probably around the end of next week
Backsplash: Hopefully within the next few weeks
Move the rest of our furniture back into the house: whenever paint/trim is done.
There is still so much left to do, but the big stuff is done. I should be able to cook in no time!
Baby Abbie Monahan
As promised, here are the photos of our baby girl at our 20 week appointment. The only real difference between these and her 16 week photos are that she's gotten a teeny bit bigger, and we now know she is definitely a girl. :)
Enjoy!
This last one is cool, because you can kind of make out that she's sucking her thumb (head is in the lower right corner), and she's resting her elbow on her knee. Just chillin'. :)
Enjoy!
This last one is cool, because you can kind of make out that she's sucking her thumb (head is in the lower right corner), and she's resting her elbow on her knee. Just chillin'. :)
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