Misadventures in Home Improvement #3

With paint in hand and two mostly cooperative helpers, we got down to it!

(note the drip coming off his roller, landing who-knows-where while he pauses to pose)

By about noon, we nearly had 2 full gallons on the wall, but it was clear that we were going to need a second coat.

Jeff and I started on the second coat while we sent the young lad to the store with an empty gallon to get more of the same.

Bryce calls from the store:

“It’s going to take a little longer, they have to custom match the paint.”

“Um.  What do you mean they have to custom match the paint?  It’s a stock color, they should just be able to read the bar code and…”

“Well, they did that, but I could tell that it didn’t match.  I told the guy to look at the paint all over my arm—it’s supposed to look like THAT.”

Says my color-blind son.

Seriously, he’s color-blind.

But he could tell it was the wrong color.

I would have been proud of his problem solving skills if I weren’t so busy being sick to my stomach.

Because this is what I figured out:  the first two gallons were in fact some mystery color—an imposter to my perfect color.   Some catastrophic mishap at the paint mixing station—2 drops of yellow where there should have been green—I don’t know.  The gallon that Bryce had mixed (originally) was in fact the true perfect color…2 gallons ago.  Oh, the horror!

I cried.

Real tears.

It was devastating.

Because when you’ve just edged a fairly spacious bed-vanity combo, you get kind of put out by doing so with the wrong, totally imperfect color.

I had noticed it was different that morning.  I attributed it to not having 2 coats or not being completely dry.

But I trusted that dratted bar code.

How could the bar code be so wrong?

Jeff dried my tears and we decided to continue painting the 2nd coat with the ugly absolutely hideous paint-matched gallon Bryce brought home.

We reasoned that perhaps after it dried overnight and I slept on it then maybe I wouldn’t feel quite so…betrayed.

Next Chapter: 

• Paint matching is kind of an overstatement.
• My knight in shining armor slays a dragon.
• Maybe I shouldn’t be managing the family’s finances.

Misadventures in Home Improvement #2

Did I say two months?  Ok, maybe 3.  I’m sure you’re bored with the story by now.  Oh well, this is for my mom cuz she still reads me.

It all started with this:

I saw this duvet set in a catalog.

I put the catalog in my save-on-my-desk-think-about pile.

I’m a ponderer by nature (hence the months between blog posts).

My process is this:  if I’m still thinking about it by the time I find it in that mess, I order it.  If not, it goes into the trashcan. It’s a pretty good system. 

Except.  Not if you want it to still be on sale and in stock when you order.

And of course, because it’s not in stock,

I NOW MUST HAVE IT

AT ANY PRICE 

(It must be really good since so many people already bought it, duh.)

And so it’s out of stock.  For some reason, the online catalog would not allow me to just back order it.  Instead, there was a date listed when it would be available again.  In about 6 weeks.

So I waited, and on the appointed day, I logged in.  No luck.  Day after day, I checked back.  When it finally became available about 10 days later, I was ready with credit card in hand!

SCORE!

When it came, I put it right on my bed to admire my beautiful room.

But those cotton-picking walls ruined all of my enjoyment.

Instead of transforming my room, the beauty of the duvet was totally washed out. The unfinished, unpainted, imperfect walls stared accusingly back at me.

It was time to make a decision:  pay to have them re-textured or paint and hope for the best.

Painting seemed the easiest (and cheapest).  The walls certainly could not look worse.

Paint is a big decision.  Life changing.  Do not undersell it.  One must have the exact right color of blue gray.  Not too light, not too dark.  What is the mood it sets?  What are the color undertones?

And I’ve been wrong before.  Remember THIS?

Paint selection takes 10 days and three trips to the home improvement store, minimum.

And if I ask for your opinion, don’t be fooled.  I don’t really want it.

Painting day had arrived.  Memorial Day.  I was at the paint counter at 6:30 am with my paint chip in hand.

I was absolutely positive it was the EXACT right color.

to be continued…

Misadventures in Home Improvement #1

The walls in our master bedroom suck.

Excuse my language.

Our house was a repo when we bought it, so the bank replaced most of this:

with beige.  Lots and lots of beige.

(They left the pool tile and the kitchen linoleum that was done in these colors, however.  Yes, they were amazing!)

There had been wallpaper in the master bedroom.  The texture underneath the wallpaper was terrible—flaky and peeling.  The wallpaper was removed and the walls were painted, but no texture correction was done first.

In one of my earliest bouts of home improvement (we’ve lived in our home nearly 17 years), Jeff and I re-wallpapered the bedroom in an attempt to cover the bad texture.

It was a heavy wallpaper, adding texture and a subtle color to the walls.  I loved it.

However, over time, the seams started pulling away and we couldn’t seem to get them to stick down because the wallpaper was so heavy and the edges started curling.

In a desperate moment I might have used some glue to try to salvage the situation.

And, maybe it wasn’t wallpaper glue.

Don’t judge.

So, down came the wallpaper.   It was time to finally deal with the original problem:  the texture.

I got some bids.

I felt really good about the first bid I got, but it was a couple hundred over what I wanted to spend.  Name brand company, I thought maybe it was priced a little high for that reason.

Then I found a local contractor through the paper who did small jobs on the side.  Eh, he seemed fine for this job and the price was definitely more in line with what I was thinking.

_____________________________________

Fast forward to the result:

I really really hate extra-strongly dislike that guy.

Seriously, I would smack him upside the head if I knew where to find him, or remembered what his name was.

Just kidding.

Ok, not kidding.  At all.

_____________________________________

I had started getting all of the wallpaper paste off the walls.  It was a big job, so I asked him if I needed to get the rest of it off the walls before he came.  He said no, the texture would cover it.

I asked him about the miscellaneous adherants (spell check says that isn’t a word, but I’m gonna stick with it) that “SOMEONE” might have used on those pesky seams, especially around the doors and corners.

He said, no problem, he’d take care of it.

(this isn’t him)

I was distressed when I first saw the uneven texture—where you could see the ghost of the old wallpaper texture.

I was even more distressed when I saw the lumpy results around the doors and in the corners.  No prep had been done by him AT ALL.

I had him come back to fix a few of the most glaring problems, but he made it very obvious I was being unreasonable and inconveniencing him.  Clearly, I hadn’t paid enough to warrant a GOOD job.  I was done with him too by this time so I just sent him away.

I hope he doesn’t expect a positive YELP review.

Not that I knew what Yelp was then.

So, to punish his shoddy workmanship, and to wallow in the economy of saving a couple of dollars, I left the walls just like that.

No touch up.

No paint.

For two years.

Boy oh boy, I showed him!

Next up:  what finally pushed me to paint the bedroom after so long and my thoughts on this question:

Why doesn’t the universe want me to have a pretty bedroom?

Of course, it might be another two months until I write that post.

Wedding Reception

Maybe I should finish the wedding posts before they hit their anniversary! 

(I’m so easily distracted…)

It was held at the home of Tori’s parents and  all was decorated so prettily.

There was a lot of meeting and

greeting and

congratulating.

It meant a lot to see these guys—football compadres who had starring roles in helping Justin become the person he is today. 

There was dancing.  Notice I’m taking a picture of this moment.  It may never come again.  Justin doesn’t go in much for dancing, but he promised he would.  Just this once.

I’m sure he’ll change his mind when his daughter gets married.  Who can resist the chance to hang on for even one more minute to our now grown up little ones?

There was cake eating.

Very civilized and sweet.  That’s how grown ups do it.  Real men.  No cake smashing here.

There was bouquet tossing.

Check out this catch while holding a niece! 

I suspect a set up…

Then, of course, the ever-popular garter toss.

Not. 

Here are the eligible bachelors watching it drop unceremoniously to the floor.

In the end, I think the loser of paper-rock-scissors got it.

Girls!  This handsome man is eligible!  And, I know how to reach him.  Message me

Photo credit:  Heather Gibbons Photography

Who Is This Dashing Gent?

Last Friday, Bryce took this cute Jenny girl to the prom…

Of course the evening begins with the traditional exchange of floral adornments:

How about the teeth on that kid?

Oh ya, baby.  That smile was 5 years in the making.

These two are photogenic even when they’re goofing around.

Still this momma’s boy!

Meeting up with friends, waiting for the bus.

And by the way, this was no ordinary prom…

Several regions in our church have banded together to create a fun and safe alternative to school proms…

• Top flight venues.  This year was at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles. 
• Yummy dinners and desserts.
• Clean music and dancing.
• Several activities available in addition to dancing.  All the museum exhibits are open to the participants during the night.  In addition, caricature artists, karaoke, photo booths, and other activities are available.  Last year we were at the Long Beach Aquarium and they got to go on harbor cruises.
• Dress standards that are actually enforced.
• Well chaperoned.  Of course it goes without saying that drugs and alcohol are not allowed.
• Parents often host breakfasts after the youth get home.
• Less expensive than area school proms without sacrificing quality.

We had over 850 youth participate in this fun event last Friday.  It has been an annual event in our area for at least the last 8 years and has only grown in popularity.  In fact, we have increasing numbers of youth who are not members of our church attending this event.  I truly believe that many (dare I hope, most?) young people sincerely desire to have a fun time at a formal dance without the pressures of drugs, alcohol, and sex. 

That’s not just a “Mormon thing”.