No Words

Okay, well maybe just a few.

We are SO CLOSE to being done. Hopefully our faucet will arrive tomorrow (Faucet...one the many Unexpected Glitches) and we can install that, then the kitchen will be completely functional! Kevin still has to put the base boards back up, but hey, that's the family room, not the kitchen!

A trip down memory lane. Ugh, don't miss that!

In the middle. Sigh, I will sort of  miss this - lots of hard work, memories, and learning!

Baking biscuits in the bedroom. Classic.

Our makeshift kitchen... lots of meals in the toaster oven and on the griddle!

 And.... drum roll! 

:-)

Can't wait to bake a cake!

It's been 16 days...

16 days since my last post, which means it has been more than 2 weeks.

The kitchen is still not done.

I prefer dark chocolate and See's, cream-filled.

I was holding out to have the next blog entry be a big unveiling with an "after" picture of our gleaming new kitchen but... it's still dusty and non-functional.  We are making progress but the finished product is still a few weeks out. At this point, I am very ready for it to be done. I am ready to have water access on the same floor, to be able to use a dishwasher, to have more than a 3x2 ft counter space, to be able to cook or bake something that requires more than 3 ingredients, and to plug in appliances to my heart's content without blowing a circuit. Oh -- and ready to have my husband and "us" back. I really shouldn't complain, as I think we've made the most of it and even managed to "entertain" with our make-shift kitchen (see below).

A few other tid bits...

We survived the 2 year Anniversary of Alison and Eleanor's deaths. April stirs up a lot of emotions and insecurities in me, but we made it through. Kevin, as usual, handled it remarkably well. We (coincidentally) ended up having a much-anticipated, 1-night Staycation on "The Anniversary." It was a perfectly relaxing, fun-filled day. We ate delicious foods all day, went to a yard and garden expo, went to a CSA fair and signed up for a veggie share (yipee!), stayed at a hotel, and escaped our work and worries. After months of being consumed by the kitchen project and other "stuff," it was so nice to have some quality one-on-one time together. Can't wait for the next one! :-)

My clinic just moved to a new building, so it's been a hectic few weeks of packing, moving, and now trying to find my way around a *much* larger building! My one day/week at the high school is going well, and it's been a nice change of pace.

My parents were here last week, my mom for a week and my dad for a long weekend. It was fabulous! My dad was able to help Kevin install the bamboo flooring (See?! Progress!) and my mom and I had plenty of girl time -- much needed. The house feels awfully empty with them gone, now. I'll hang on to those warm memories until we (hopefully) make a trip there over 4th of July.

Spring may finally have arrived, despite several snow storms in the last few weeks (which my parents even got in on!). A week ago we were shoveling out our driveway, and today/this weekend the forecast is into the 70s. Finally! Kevin's softball league starts soon, so that'll be our new Monday night routine.

This summer I'll be trying out a 3 day work week (10 hour days) which I am hoping will help me restore a little more balance and decrease some work-related anxiety I've been experiencing. We'll try it out this summer and see how things go. I hope to find some projects to work on, like prepping our bushels of veggies! :-)

If I haven't posted The Reveal in two weeks, send lots of chocolate. By then, I'll be needing it!

Two Truths and a Lie

Truth: Apparently my Uncle Morris, who has worked in construction for many years, has a hypothesis for determining how long a project will take.

X*2+10%

What you think it'll take, multiplied by two, plus 10%.

We have proven this hypothesis true.

The kitchen project is more or less (we'll go with less) on schedule. We've been very busy tackling both anticipated and unanticipated projects. I have learned that our kitchen is as complex as an onion, the floors at least. The more layers we peel off, the more we find and have to peel up. For all of you who think you have a clean house, have you checked your sub-sub-sub floor for dust bunnies?

Truth: My mother has a theory that when your husband sends you on a "simple" errand to "just buy this" or to just "have this done to the car," he cannot be trusted. Inevitably, the sales person will stray from the script you've rehearsed, making your handwritten shopping list from your husband worthless. They will not carry the screws you are looking for, and they will grill you on which drill bit you have and if it's the correct one, because the Phillips 2 bit will not work with this torq screw that uses a T20. You will sheepishly insert the self-defeating "All my husband told me..." They will likely roll their eyes at you. Not that I hold any ill feelings towards the sales man at Ace's Hardware on Winnetka Avenue.

Lie: I cannot operate a power drill.

It's a lie, it's a lie! Cause I can! I am a drilling machine and have sore forerms and blisters to prove it!

Well, time for the Easter bunny to do a few preparations. Happy Easter! :-)

[No pictures today. The pictures would be deceiving in that you wouldn't be able to see any progress (like shiny new appliances), and knowing how hard we've been working, my ego can't handle that.]

Here We Go!

An update on the kitchen project, for those of you who have been curious:

Last weekend I packed up the kitchen (I'm getting pretty good at packing after living in 9 different places in the last 7 years), then this weekend we gutted the kitchen, scraped the popcorn texture off the ceiling, vacuumed, sanded the ceiling, vacuumed, took out the laminate flooring, found 2 layers of classic 1970s linoleum, pulled up 2 layers of classic 1970s linoleum, vacuumed, scraped the floor, vacuumed. Did I mention we vacuumed? And Kevin did some other odds and ends that I don't understand. Wires? Phishing? Fishing? Better him than me.

Living in a construction zone is quite the feat for a germ-a-phobe such as myself, but I/we are surviving. We have a make-shift kitchen set-up in our front room, the fridge in another room (just a quick trip outside -- we're struggling to get above 20 degrees still -- through the garage and mud room since the kitchen is plastic/taped off), sink in the basement...We do have a freezer full of leftover food and are still managing to keep a fridge stocked with fruits and vegetables, so I really can't complain. Add to that a few bags of Easter candy, which we dug into early, and we're all set for a busy month or so!

It was a busy and productive weekend, and quite gratifying. I say that now, showered, sitting, breathing (relatively) dust-free air, and in clean clothes, although in the midst of tearing up the linoleum, I remember asking Kevin to remind me of ripping up linoleum when I'm in childbirth, just to see which I'd rather be doing. (Mothers, don't harass me for that comment. There's a good chance I'd jump at the chance to be back in Demo. It'll be interesting to see).

Kevin is a super hard-worker, so he keeps me going. I've learned all kinds of new things this weekend and have a few blisters and lots of sore muscles to show for it. Tomorrow I learn something new again when I start my first day at a high school, where I'll be working one day a week through the end of the school year, a contract placement through my current employers.

So lots of new things and a bit of instability, but we're hanging in there!

Thanks for checking in!

Back when life was "normal"

The Zone

That Was Then, This is Now

It only took me 6 months to make my way back to the blog.

Kevin and I are doing great here in Minnesota. We made a trip to Vancouver over Christmas but other than that have been little hermits in our comfy home. I miss my family a ton, but it's nice to finally have my own home and family, too. We both have new jobs and are enjoying those, for the most part. Marriage has been so fulfilling and we learn more about ourselves and each other every day. It's everything I hoped it would be and more, but that's not to say it doesn't require effort. We are loving our home, even though we are currently ripping it apart (literally). Which is the inspiration of this blog post...

That was then, this is now.

Then: I can still feel the horror of Mom and Dad listing an appliance or lighting store as one of our Sunday errands. Oh, the boredom! Oh, the lack of age-appropriate stimulation! At least if we were clothes shopping for Dad at Meier and Frank we kids could have pin-collecting-contests (I do admit to cheating and pulling them out of the perfectly folded shirts instead of just picking dropped pins off the floor). But appliances?! Carpet samples?! Fortunately, we kids were usually able to avoid the torture of these stores by offering to wait in the van, where we delved into the next adventure in our "Box Car Children" saga. This consisted of Heather and I trying to convince Erik to complete our posse by playing the role of Benny and him insisting on being Watch, the dog.

Now: Plans to go to an appliance or lighting store is a huge carrot at the end of my busy work day. I even initiate visits to such stores. I've been known to get a wee bit giddy before going inside. Oh, the bottom-freezers! Oh, the gas cook tops! These errands are especially appealing since we are actually in the market for these items, as we are finally executing our kitchen remodel. (Yay!)

What's happened to me?!

HGTV is my new favorite channel and I can speak Recessed Lighting Lingo with the best of them. I could spew appliance specs and Consumer Reports' ratings until I put you to sleep.

This morning I left the house in one piece, went to a  -- you guessed it! -- home improvement store and met a friend of coffee, then came home to a missing door, a 1/2 torn out wall and insulation, shavings, and who-knows-what-else covering the counters and floors of home. 02-23-13: The Day My Home Became a Construction Zone.

Let the kitchen remodel (and mess) begin!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts:

*45 Days of Meals Using a Toaster Oven
*How Many Days Can a Paper Plate Be Re-Used?
*Complementary Seasonings for Dry Wall Dust
*I Do What With That Sledge-Hammer?
*The Kitchen Remodel That Almost Took My Sanity (I'm hoping this will be a fictional tale)

Thoughts from a Frantic Bride

Okay, so I'm not that frantic, but my mind, emotions, and (sometimes) body are definitely running in Turbo mode these days. 2 weeks to go! I'm super excited and mostly just looking forward to the big day. Fortunately, I haven't hit that "Let's just get this wedding over with!" attitude yet. As busy as things are, I am still enjoying taking care of the little wedding details. It would just be so much easier if that could be my 40-hour-a-week job!

An update on our lives, for those of you (makes sweeping gesture across audience) I have been delinquent in correspondance with:

*Kevin and I bought a house! It is in a Western suburb called Plymouth. It's a 3-bedroom, splint-level home built in 1973, with a new sunroom and mudroom addition. It is essentially move in ready, except for a growing list of projects we're coming up with. (By choice, not necessity). The most involved project will be gutting the kitchen and putting in our dream kitchen, stealing ideas from all the kitchens I've drooled over during our house search. As part of the counter-offering, we close on September 13th, the day after we return from our 3-night honeymoon. As romantic as moving that following weekend would have been (especially in the presence of parents, friends, etc.), we decided to postpone the big move until the following weekend. We might be crazy, but we're not that crazy.

*I found a sub-leaser for my apartment. They'll move in the end of September. This is a HUGE relief, as it will prevent us from having to pay a hefty penalty for breaking my lease. And prevent me from the guilt of breaking a "rule" (For shame, for shame!). I'm just not that kind of kid.

*Kevin's house is still for sale. Hutchinson is a charming little town if anyone is looking for a vacation home. 6-stall garage - the perfect man cave!

*Kevin is still looking for a job in the cities. He's had some interviews, but no word yet. Worst case scenario, he'll commute to Hutchinson - but a job's a job.

In the midst of a lot of uncertainty, we are trusting that all will unfold in due time, just as it's meant to be. Lately Kevin and I have been reflecting a lot (more than usual) on how far we've come in the last year. It's fun to exchange stories of last July and August, when the intrigue and attraction was far more mutual than either of us dared to think. Neither of us could have ever imagined things unfolding how they have, so who are we to try to imagine what the future holds?

I'm grateful to have a small group of family and friends from the PNW joining us at the wedding. I think it will be a wonderful, wonderful day, though we will certainly miss all of you who aren't able to make it.

Until Next Time,
Miss Jutila (but not for long)