Very long couple of days...

In addition to my full-time job, and my classes...and my part-time job..I've been working out at the Old House a bit the last couple of days. I'm not going to go into it a lot right now because, as I've said, it's been a very long day and my bed is calling my name, but I promise you will have a much more detailed update very soon!

So to summarize..

We've mostly been doing a lot of painting this week..

Staying at the house long after the sun has decided to sleep

But I really think it's coming together, don't you?

You may have also noticed that my blog got a bit of a makeover as well. Nothing has changed really, except the look. You can still follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Twitter using the icons on the right hand side >

Or if you would prefer, you can get email updates when I post (also on the right > over there >>)

And now...

Goodnight :)

Solar Powered

Tomorrow is my last day as an insurance agent. I used up all of my left over vacation time today, and took the day off, which was really nice considering between my two jobs, I've been working 7 days a week for the past two weeks.
So I spent my day at home hanging out with my kitties, and Riley, and then in the evening my mom, brother, uncle and I met at my grandma's restaurant (The D&R Depot) for dinner. I had a lovely chicken caesar salad (I point this out because it's the ONLY healthy thing I've eaten in weeks #FitnessUpdate)
After dinner we went to a solar energy seminar which provided information on using solar panels to produce electricity in both residential and commercial settings.
It may sound boring, but I found it to be very interesting. It's something that we're looking into putting in at the Old House, so I'm trying to get as much information about it as possible.
We actually have someone coming out tomorrow to give us an assessment.


                                 Day 5: Self-Portrait

Half Way There...

I was looking through my external hard drive, and I found something that I thought you guys might be interested in.

Usually when people look at the Old House they can't understand why I'm so in love with it. They just think that it's a falling down, creepy old house that will never be as beautiful as I keep insisting it will be. I though maybe if other people could see how far we've come already, they might be able to understand why I have so much hope in the potential of this house.

So I found some photos of the Old House before we really started working on the inside. I thought I would share them. Unfortunately I don't exactly have "before and after" pictures, but I do have some in which you can see similar parts of the house. Check it out.

                                                         Before

Living Room

Kitchen/backdoor

Bedroom

Bedroom

Living Room

Like I said, I don't have photos from the same angles, but you can still definitely see the difference.

After

Living Room

Kitchen

Living Room

Bedroom

So there you have it. Just a glimpse at the changes that we've already made. Of course once I get the real "after" photos (when the house is all done) I'll definitely be sharing them with you as well.

Sleep? What?

Since I'm going to be working two jobs over the next week, I am literally going to get almost no sleep at all. This is how my week is looking:
Monday night, I get home at 10pm from job#1, and the next morning (Tuesday) I have to leave my house by 5:20 in order to get to job#2 by 6am. I work there until 10am, then drive back to job#1 in order to work 12:30-9pm again. Wednesday I work at job#2 from 7am until 11am. Then back to job#1 for another 12:30-9pm.
Fortunately, Tuesday and Wednesday are the only days when I have to do both jobs, but still. I pretty much require 9-10 hours of sleep a night.(crazy I know) Not to mention it's a good 3 1/2-4 hours of driving each of those days since my jobs are in opposite directions.

But oh well. It's only for a week. After this week, I'll only have Mon-Wed at job#1 before leaving for good, and only having to work at my new job.
And I'm still excited about how short my drive will be once I'm living at the Old House.
Things are finally moving in the right direction.

And on that lovely note. Time for bed.

Goodnight :)

Goodbye Insurance

So I officially put in my two weeks at work today. Goodbye insurance, hello next step to my new life.

I went for a job interview this morning, and they hired me. My interview was only 15 minutes long, and the hiring manager told me that I was the only person he's ever hired on the spot like that. (The only reason I mention this is because it made me feel pretty awesome. lol)

So I put in my two weeks, and I'm starting my new job this Saturday. I'm obviously going to have limited hours at my new job during that two week period. It would be pretty difficult to work two full time jobs at the same time when they're over an hour away from each other.

But this new job is only 10 minutes away from the Old House, so once I live there it'll be pretty convenient.

I am so, so ready for a change in my life.

And now on a similar note, a little something for us all to keep in mind.

Bye Bye Buddy

So first thing this morning, I said goodbye to another of my little guys. By this time, he should be all settled in to his new home, and getting used to his new name, Thor.

Boy don't I look cute? (sarcasm) I'm only dressed in these rags because I was on my way out to the Old House to work.
I don't have much of an update from the Old House today. We just spent the day putting Spar Varnish on the undersides of the floor boards in order to keep the moisture out.

Keep in mind that these are the undersides and won't actually be seen

But let me tell you, it was a beautiful day out. It was warm, with some sun, and a slight breeze. Very relaxing. I took a walk around the property a little bit, and I thought I would share some photos of the grounds.

Back in the pasture

The creek that runs up the side of the property

The backyard. Plus a water pipe that hasn't made it in the ground yet

Just found this...

..and it made me think of the Old House. Can't wait until I can start putting in gardens and artwork, and other personal touches.

Old House Update

I had the day off of work today, so I went out to the Old House to see how the floor was coming. My mom and my uncle have been out there a couple of times this week doing a lot of work.
The living room is still looking a mess, but at least all of the sub-flooring is in.

Right now, my uncle is running each board through a plainer and then my mom is sterilizing them. (It's a very old house. Who knows what kind of yucky stuff has been in there over the years)

The boards are looking really nice though. We discovered that there are actually two different types of wood (Oak and Hemlock) so that might change some of our plans for how we're going to lay the boards out.




I ate my lunch in the dining room today. (A delicious Turkey Club from my Grandma's restaurant, the D&R Depot) I used a piece of firewood as a bench. lol.

I did a little bit of work with this handy dandy tool

And then I spent the rest of my time standing in front of the fire, brainstorming (daydreaming) and trying to stay warm.

Let me tell you, that house is very well insulated. It really holds in the cold/heat. It was colder inside the house today than it was outside. But I guess that'll be really nice in the summer, to have a nice cool house, and nice once we get heat in, because it won't be drafty.

The Old House

So as promised, I'm going to start posting photos of the Old House (vacant home previously mentioned here)

The Old House is a 200 year old, solid brick home that's owned by my family, and currently (for the last 12 years) under restoration.

Not very pretty yet, but trust me, it's going to be gorgeous someday....someday.

So far we've 

• Lowered the once brick basement floor by 2 feet, and turned it into a concrete floor. 
• Replaced all the windows with old fashioned glass and frames
• Replaced the roof (though it's going to need to be done again soon)
• Put in a tile floor in the bathroom, as well as replacing the toilet and shower
• Framed out a new wall (we're putting in a second bathroom upstairs)
• Plastered ALL of the walls
• Put in a fireplace in the kitchen (something that was originally there for baking and such)

I could go on forever listing all of the projects we have going, but the main thing we're working on right now is the floors.

We have the entire living room floor ripped up right now. 

My Uncle is putting down the sub-flooring today, and then we're going to put the original floor boards on top

I'm excited about the floors. We're trying to restore them the best we can, and use as many original materials 

We're not sure exactly how they're going to turn out yet, they may be dark, or they may be light..but either way, I think the character that old wood floors have is very pretty. Check out some of these beautiful old floors. I hope ours turn out just as well.