Just kidding, that finish line is nowhere near here.

And you would think by now I understand the way home improvement works.

While we made excellent progress on the tiling project, it still has yet to be finished. We ended up using the hired help for a week, which put us way over budget but was entirely necessary. Now, we still have a few more places to grout, one toilet to put back in, then we have to finish sealing.  We tested the sealer in our master bathroom and decided we need three coats to get the shine we want. It all takes time, but we’re doing what we can at night. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this project will extend into the new year. We had to take some time off for the Coldplay concert, and then Michael’s work party and a weekend in LA. We’re leaving again on Friday for California to visit friends and family for two weeks. After that, it’s Christmas and New Years, and then we’ll be busy catching up on work.

So I’m ok with the extended timeline, even though living with the mess makes me crazy!

At least we’ve handled our mouse problem. That’s right, we had a mouse in the house. Around the first or second day of construction I started noticing little mouse poops — inside the house. I was hoping it was just from a sick moth or something, but alas, when the guys pulled out the refrigerator, there he went, scurrying across the floor and under the couch. I do believe this was far more disturbing for me than the snake who lived in our last house for awhile. I don’t know why, the thought of a mouse hanging around inside was just disgusting. Especially because I found miniature mouse turds in various places all over the house. He was leaving a trail of his nightly excursions.  We finally caught him with a trap, and I have yet to find evidence of any other mice in here. I do believe he was a lone wanderer who ventured inside when the doors were left open during construction. So now I just need to steam clean the entire house to feel good about myself.

Anyway, I’ll upload more pics when we’re done. It all looks pretty much the same now, except we’ve managed to organize some of the construction chaos. The thing is, we can’t have all this nice shiny new tile without some new wall paint to match, and maybe some new furniture, and a couple of area rugs, you know, pull it all together. Ah, the only problem with this scenario is that we are completely un-American and pay cash for everything.

So one thing at a time.

Approaching the finish line…

Well, we’re almost a week into the tiling project. Of course, like all home improvement projects, it’s more work than you thought it would be. And everything takes longer than you anticipate. However, it’s turning out even nicer than we expected, so that makes it all worth it!

The two guys we hired turned out to be quite good, so they did the majority of the actual tiling on Thurs-Sat. They are experts at all the complicated cuts and laying straight lines, etc. Yesterday, Michael, Jer and I worked on our own. Michael and Jer measured and laid tile (Jer’s quite the expert with the thinset). I ran the tile saw like a champ and didn’t lose any fingers. I have to say, my corner cuts are spectacular.

The hired guys returned today and we’re really hoping to get the rest of the tile down. Everything we lay today has to set for another day, then we have to grout everything, wait for 2 more days, then seal. Then put all the toilets and appliances back in. Then touch-up paint the walls. Then reinstall the baseboards. Then paint them. Then caulk everything. Then clean up the enormous mess we’ve made. After that, a bit more paint and we can call this sucker done. Can’t wait.

Tomorrow, we’re probably taking the day off, driving Jer to the airport in the afternoon, then we’re headed to Houston for the Coldplay concert. YES!!

A Clean Slate

Wow, lots going on in the Matthew household this week!

We hired a crew to come and clear out our front yard. Our home was hidden behind a forest of brush, weeds and trees. It finally got to us so we basically gave it a brazilian wax. We now have a view out our front windows! And a humongous front yard that will require some serious maintenance. (Before and after pics.) It doesn’t look nice yet, but it will with some rain and some effort on our part.

This week we embarked on the monumental task of tiling our house. Our builders wanted to charge over $12/ft for the materials and install. Having some experience in the tiling game, we decided to do it ourselves. We bought 1400 square feet of slate tile (three pallets worth) a long time ago when we found it on sale. We had to move it all from the old house to this one (by “we” I mean Bob and Michael). It’s been sitting in our garage ever since, but now — it is finally being put to use!

Our friend Jer came out from California for a week and together, with the help of my mom and a hired crew of 2 for two days, we’re laying over 1000 square feet of it. This includes five bathrooms, the kitchen and sunroom, entry way and hallways.

We initially planned to tile right over the linoleum the builder put in, but decided that was not wise. So we’ve been ripping it out bit by bit. What a job. You can get an idea of it here.

So for the last two days, we’ve been ripping out all the existing flooring and baseboards, moving appliances, meticulously measuring and leveling, and pre-washing all the tile. It’s been exhausting! And we haven’t technically started yet.

Tomorrow morning the hired help arrives and we’ll see how far we can get in two more days. Ongoing pics at the gallery.

To Kill a Mocking Bird

Internet, we have a problem. You see, there is this bird. And he is mocking us. Taunting us. Daily. Constantly. Without ceasing. Am I making myself clear?

Actually, there have been two birds. For whom the phrase “bird brain” was certainly invented. When we first moved into this house, a red cardinal made himself our most unwelcome one-bird welcoming committee. He became obsessed with his reflection in our front window, and began hurling himself at it over and over. We read about this phenomenon online, and decided to try a few ideas to solve the problem.

First, we cut out a picture of an owl and placed it in the window. They are supposed to be intimidated by owls as they are considered a predator. Our own Mocking Birds, however, appear to love the life of danger.

You have to understand this problem is worse than it might seem, which would explain why we quickly developed some violent tendencies. See, our next tactic in trying to dissuade the dang bird was developing what we like to call the “torture strip of death”. Michael cut out a strip of cardboard in the shape of the window ledge, and poked about 100 4″ long nails through it — thus turning the simple ledge into the now patented Torture Strip of Death. It worked! Not having a place to stand, the red cardinal never returned (he didn’t die, though, as far as we know, which is good – we really aren’t morbid, we just wanted to consider him dead to us, you know, like we could pretend we never knew him, even if we later met and accidentally made eye contact in public).

Our triumph was short-lived, though, as soon, a long-legged blue bird took his place. He couldn’t care less about the pokey perch, as he was tall enough to just stand between the nails while resting in between short kamikaze flights.

We simply can’t get him to go away. Even though Bear considers him a friend, he is very likely to send us right over the cuckoo’s nest. Just listen to that little video over and over, and over and over, and at full volume (keeping in mind this is a day when he probably had taken some Prozac), and try to get some work done while you’re at it. Do this daily, then repeat. I guarantee you after just five minutes, one eye will start twitching uncontrollably, you may notice some smoke coming out of your ears, and you will certainly be swearing a little under your breath, even if your vocabulary is usually as clean as a re-run on Nickelodeon. If he could at least keep a steady beat, I could make up a little tune to go along with it, or better yet – I could start practicing my secretly desired skill of beatboxing.

So what to do? We need help, Internet. We don’t necessarily want to kill the little wackos, even though I do admit to stalking them with a BB gun for a week, until we decided that probably wasn’t the best way to introduce ourselves to the neighbors, you know, becoming known as those “crazy young kids who hide behind the columns on their front patio exercising their right to bear arms in the middle of the day, occasionally aiming for their own front windows while smoke is streaming from their ears and profanities streaming from their mouths.”

Hide your chil’ren, y’all.

Moreover, I realized that even if I were to succeed and send that Little Bugger over the rainbow, another winged creature would soon take his place, trying to prove it is a Wild Thing! And, in general, I LOVE the Wild Things! This is what makes me crazy! I love all the rest of the little birdies who live in our yard. Their chirping and singing makes us feel like we are in the tropics, or living in an animated Disney film. I will whistle a cheerful tune as I build them their own luxury pool and spa (and outdoor bath!) and stock it with well-fed wiggly worms. I will gladly sponsor their children’s fundraisers, or host a summer camp for feathered friends in my backyard. Hey, I already got my mom across the street a very nice bird feeder for Mother’s Day (with enough “gourmet” bird seed included to feed multiple winged creatures). So, since I am technically supporting many other birds in the neighborhood, this should make up for my ill-will toward the Mocking Birds at my window, right?

There must be a way for us to all get along. So, Internet, we are open to suggestion, and willing to engage in (mild) torture if that’s what it takes, as we ourselves have now been tortured daily for weeks. Simply flipping the bird the bird just doesn’t seem to be working.

Ok, got to (peck peck) stop (peck) writing (peck peck peck peck) now (pa peck pa peck peck) as he is (peckpeckpeckpeck) … wait, what the (PECK) was I just saying (peckity peck PECK)?

Hello, Cuckoo’s Nest?

Yes, RESERVATION FOR ONE, PLEASE.

Home Sweet Home

Ok, by request, here are some photos of the house. You have to remember that we will be tiling over the white vinyl floors, so just picture some lovely slate in its place.

We are so very comfortable here. We still can’t believe this is all ours. Especially as we’ve watched the pool progress. For years we’ve dreamed of building a backyard paradise, with a pool and palm trees. Now it is coming to fruition and it’s just too cool. We feel very fortunate, and in small ways we are seeing some rewards for our sacrifices.

The leaves on the trees have finally come in, so right now everything is vibrant and lush outside. It’s a great time of year to be here!

View from above …

Here’s a shot of the pool from the music room upstairs. You can get a good feel for the layout, including the spa on the left rear side which will flow over into the pool, and a large “beach entry” on the right … for adults on lounge chairs, or kids (ahem, like little nephews, hint hint).

We’re scheduled to be swimming by the end of April, so if you’d like to join us, please feel free!

Get a Move On

I am that girl. She who makes promises then doesn’t deliver. I dislike that girl. What’s even worse than me not blogging the way I should is the fact that MichaelandSharon.com was actually down for 5 whole days. So, an apology to my three readers (up 50 percent!) if you were checking for updates on the move. But needless to say, we were busy moving, and not busy blogging. Plus, our website is actually hosted from our house, so when the server was in transit and disconnected, so was the site.

But anyway, we are all moved in to the new house! By moved in, I mean our stuff is physically moved out of the Del Valle (ghetto) house and into the new (beautiful) Elgin house. Just don’t ask me to find anything in the 3100 square foot expanse of space that makes our voices echo. We almost need Garmin Electra to get us around. So far, the only things I’m sure of are where our computers are, the coffee grinder and maker, my ice packs and meds, and Bear’s toys. Finding everything else is of little significance at the moment (in fact as I write this, we are 1600 miles away from all that unpacking … more on that in a bit!).

This week of moving and all the little details that go with it will certainly go down in the old memory book hall of fame. Our lovely friend Bob came out for a week to join in all the fun that moving entails. Fully appreciating our best friend’s strength and military-worthy work ethic, we may have over-estimated our joint abilities just a bit too much. Looking back now, I realize with regret and muscles so sore I can barely squat to pee, we should have hired help. “Two Guys and a Truck” is a catchy slogan for a local moving company, but it is really not reasonable and I don’t recommend trying it.

Michael and Bob (with major assistance from my mama and minor assistance from my dad and me and our retarded backs) moved all of our belongings, and some of my parents’. Earlier in the week they moved well over 4,000 pounds of slate tile, hung blinds in all 28 windows, and picked up my gargantuan new washer and dryer, among other chores.

Part of our belongings Michael and Bob moved by themselves included my upright piano (approx weight: 479 pounds) and our 36” TV while inside the entertainment center (total weight approx 502 back-breaking pounds). Are you impressed with them yet or what? This includes going up and down the steep 10 foot ramp into the truck.

I was fully prepared to offer my piano a beautifully moving eulogy as I imagined laying her to rest after she shattered all over the driveway. But she emerged in all her lacquered glory, unscathed and ready to play (after a good tune-up, anyway).

You may have seen those “forearm forklifts” in the pictures (the bright orange straps they are wearing around their wrists). Those proved to be worth every cent of the $24.95 plus shipping and handling we spent on them. So I would recommend those for you the next time you move, but of course you will need more than one set as you will not have just Two Guys and a Truck.

— Gallery Photos of the Move Here —

Another End in Sight

We finally see the finish line on our house. They’ve given us a walk-through date of Feb 18, with a “guestimated” move-in date of the 28th. I am very thankful we get an extra day before the end of the month as our lease is up the last day.

Bobby – true to his loyal form – has decided to come help us move! He’ll be staying with us the entire week. I’m so thankful for friends like him (for more reasons than just his muscles).

So nearing the ending on construction is kind of bittersweet in that I’m very excited to move in, get out of this neighborhood, spread out, have a pool put in, etc. But I’m dreading the work that lays ahead for us as well. More than just the moving, since we decided to do a lot of the finish work ourselves we have a mountain of tasks awaiting. Tile, paint, fixtures, landscaping, blinds etc … all in good time.

We have been very happy with the whole construction process though. Most people gave us dire prophecies of how terrible our experience was bound to be, that any and all contractors are untrustworthy, that we would likely near divorce for all the decisions and compromises that had to be made. But none of these predictions came true. In fact, it’s been pretty painless. The only issue we are dealing with now is my inexplicable regret over half the decisions we made. I wish we had done this, or that, or not done this or that, etc. Poor Michael has to endure all of my inner monologues that somehow come spewing out of my mouth into aggravating outer monologues. A very big flaw of mine.

But anyway, we’ll keep you up to date on the final stretch of this journey. And I’ll try not to complain so much about this beautiful house we are being blessed with.

And the Brick Goes On …

While we’re away, work continues at break-neck speed on the house! They’ve just begun putting the brick on. I can’t wait to see it in person! We’ve doubted our selection on it over and over (and by we, I mean me). If money were no object, it wouldn’t have been our first choice. But it was what we liked best that fit our budget, like most of our decisions on the house.

They should be putting up the limestone accents this week. Hopefully that will be done when we get home, along with the cabinets and countertops. They finished painting this week too, and have just a bit more staining to do. Next comes carpet, then vinyl (which we’re going to tile over ourselves).

More brick pics to join the hundreds of other boring house photos at the gallery.

Safe and Sound Hounds

Shame on me for not updating you on our cruise sooner! All this build up to the big event, then nothing, for weeks! And here you were, worried this had happened to our ship.

It didn’t, of course, cuz here we are, back in the blogosphere where we belong!

Our die-hard fans (hello you two!) have already seen the pictures on the gallery. For everyone else, a quick recap! We had a very wonderful and relaxing time. Unlike most of our trips this year, this was NOT a working vacation! While out at sea we never checked our email, and only received one business-related phone call. (But if you knew the caller, you’d know it was a miracle only one situation came up!)

We started the trip by driving to Galveston. The hotel we stayed at was very nice, and we had a room overlooking the beach. Without being too unfriendly, let me just say how much I miss California beaches. It also feels completely disconcerting that the sun does not set on the water. Makes for a totally different “sunset at the beach” experience.

Nevertheless, we boarded our boat the next day without incident. It was a huge ship and took us nearly the whole week just to figure out how to get around!

The first two days were out at sea while we traveled to the Caribbean. We soaked up a lot of sun, saw a few shows, ate a lot of food, and took a lot of naps. Seriously, that was one of the best parts.

Wednesday we arrived in Jamaica. The weather was perfect! We got on a catamaran that took us to a nice snorkeling spot. On the way, the crew gave us foot massages with fresh aloe vera. That was one of my other favorite parts of the trip. They dropped us off at the beach after that, and we did some more snorkeling. We got brave and walked a ways through the city to go to Margaritaville. It was scary, to say the least. People are very overbearing and it is crowded!

A storm came in the second half of the day, but we were already back on the ship, taking a nap, of course!

Thursday we arrived at Grand Cayman. The water was a startling shade of turquoise. We went snorkeling again and this time was probably the best. We saw the biggest fish we’ve ever seen, at least 4-5 feet long. They were tarpon, coming to feed, and scare little children. Feed on chum, not little children. We again went to the beach, had some fried calamari, then went back for more snorkeling. (See a theme yet?)

Friday we arrived in Cozumel. This was supposed to be the most amazing snorkeling tour, but it was unfortunately canceled as a big storm was rolling in. We trading that trip for a jeep tour around the island, including a different snorkeling stop! The jeep was fun, but it was kind of cold that day.

Saturday was the last day at sea. By this point we were ready to come home. We exhausted ourselves with all of the excursions, and trying to gorge on as much food as the days and our bellies would allow.

All in all, a very wonderful time. We arrived home to chilly and rainy weather. But lots of progress had been made on the home, so that warmed our spirits.

They’ve just finished texturing, and are getting ready to install baseboards, trim and doors. The outside is ready for brick but is waiting on something – subcontractors, I’m guessing.

It’s been full speed ahead since we got back. Thanksgiving came and went so quickly I thought I might have been dreaming! We had a nice day at our makeshift home – eating lots of food, watching movies, playing games and guitar hero. I can’t wait to have people over to our new house when it is finally done! We’re aiming for March to be in. But I’m secretly hoping for February. We’re more than half way there, and construction only began at the end of September.

You may have guessed our trip to Virginia to see Bob got canceled. His dad was in a car accident, broke his leg and needed surgery. So Bob flew home to take care of him. Please send big Bob your thoughts and prayers. He’s recovering well.

So our last trip of 2007 is coming up next weekend when we leave for two weeks in LA. Work and play again.

By the way, we’ve finally gotten our business website live. It’s funny how much a completed website changes people’s view of what you do for a living. Suddenly you’re the real thing, even though the IRS has known about you for years. Check it out! Oh, and do you need your own website? Because I happen to know a great team to help you ;)

Stay tuned for the newest feature coming soon, “Nothing but a Hound Blog!”

Web Hounds, out.