Happy Anniversary?

Well... here we are... one whole year since first moving into the Money Pit. If you had asked me a year ago, I would have thought I'd have MUCH more to show for it than I do now... but let's take a moment to reflect on what we do have...

Things I Know Now:

The sense of pride you get from doing something yourself far outweighs the bruises and the muscle pains and the headaches and the "why the eff wouldn't you just pay someone to do this" questions you get from people who don't get it.

Whoever did the last renovation did it wrong. Ask a contractor. The other guy ALWAYS did it wrong.

Pigeon shit is the most vile substance on the face of the Earth. Mike Roe should dedicate an entire show to the superheroes that cleaned our attic for us.

Contractors don't want to talk to women. Good contractors WILL, but they all prefer dudes.

24 hours to finish your kitchen before a surprise inspection on the hottest day in August, a broken furnace in January, and two weeks to fill a 10 ton dumpster will instill a sense of panic and desperation in you like none you have ever known... and an indescribable gratitude for the people that come to your rescue.

Everything takes longer than you think it will. EVERYTHING. Got a deadline? Add a week. Already did? Add another one. Now you've got a chance. Maybe.

Measure twice cut once... usually... sometimes, you cut twice anyway...

Good family and best friends aren't always the same people, but sometimes they are.

You'll feel better if you stop asking yourself the question, "WHY would someone DO something like [fill in the asinine blank]?"

You CAN survive a Buffalo winter without a furnace. But I don't recommend it.

Beers make even the dirtiest job bearable.

Swinging a broom at a bat will only make it angry.

"Good fences make good neighbors," but GREAT neighbors are priceless.

A puppy would much rather chew on a piece of plaster than the organic rope toy you spent $16 on.

A year ago, I wouldn't leave the house in anything less than a 2" heel, had regular mani-pedis, couldn't hammer a nail, and didn't know the difference between a circular saw and a miter saw. Now, it's not unusual for me to be seen coming out of a hardware store in paint-splattered jeans, a pair of work gloves hanging out of my back pocket, with little to no makeup on, loading paint, power tools, and/or lumber into a pickup truck. Oh, and I drink beer now.

But I don't think I'd have it any other way.

Closing Time

WOW, it actually happened. After nearly a year of shenanigans, we OWN the Money Pit. HOORAY! [angels singing, horns trumpeting] So it's time to make things official and bring my blogging on over here. So just as a little intro, my husband and I just closed on a big ol' fixer upper in a trendy neighborhood of Buffalo, NY. We've been living there since last summer, doing some cosmetic stuff here and there, but now that we finally closed, we get to start the big guns. Like today... the roofer is coming to set up the scaffolding so they can start the roof tomorrow. And probably be done by Friday. 'Cause that's how they do. How about some before pictures of the roof... (you can see the rest of my "before picture" gallery here, and the project gallery here)

There were pigeons living in here:

Added Thursday; our sad little second floor porch that you can't walk on because it's rotted so badly. (You can actually look up from the first floor porch and see sky through the rotted parts)

The most frustrating thing about a roof is the fact you have to spend a ton of money on it, and have pretty much nothing pretty or noticeable to show for it. But I'm still excited. I don't care if that makes me old :). Oh... something we WILL have to show for it... we decided to spring for skylights in, what will be, the art studio... 21"w x 54"h to be exact... I am so excited. More photos of the progress on the roof coming tomorrow!