Welcome to the Unfinished Project Zone

Thanks to some of the kickass comment's on yesterday's post, it has come to my attention that we are not the only ones who seem to be really good at ignoring household projects. In fact, we aren't even close to the worst. LOVE THAT! It rocks to get a little perspective because it makes this list seem a little less embarrassing. This is the Unfinished Projects that Just Now Got Done because We're Moving List.

#1--The interior doors. I've mentioned before that the interior doors that came with our townhouse were about as attractive as Brad Garrett after three days without a shower. We bought replacement doors at least five years ago and then promptly used them as Wall Hiders in the garage. Where they sat. And sat. And sat. They finally got installed a few weeks ago. I would make some sort of excuse for that, but there isn't a valid one in all of the kindgom that would truly explain away that level of ignorance.

#2--The teeny tiny grout job. When we bought this place, it came complete with some spectacular 80's retro posts acting as faux room dividers between the master bedroom and walk-through closet area. They were so dead sexy that the ink wasn't even dry on the paperwork before I walked up to that room and smashed those stupid posts to smithereens. It took me a few weeks to figure out how to cover the gaping hole on the ledge where once there were posts, but I finally decided to make a little shelf with some broken pieces of marble tile. The little project turned out splendidly, except for the part where it took me EIGHT YEARS to grout the tile. The grout was in the basement the whole time, I just apparently was too cool to actually mix the grout and put it to use. EIGHT YEARS.

#3--The moulding drama. I have a thing for moulding. A really, really serious thing. I LURVE good moulding, and I LURVE to have lots and lots and lots of it. The key to my happiness was to put up chair rail, crown moulding, and even to replace the fugly baseboards that were cramping the floor's style. All great ideas. Ignore the fat blob of a cat in this photo, and check out how loverly those baseboards look these days. It only took us seven years after we decided to switch them out to actually get it done .

#4--The thresholds. Near the front door were two little spots where the wood floors met the tile floors. Toghether, they looked awful because the floor installers didn't seem to have the right kind of wood to fill that tiny gap. We tripped on what was there. We broke what was there. We nearly died because of what was there. It finally got fixed up all nice and purdy this week.

#5--The world's most unnecessary faucet. For years the faucet in the walk-through closet area sat broken. For years we forgot to fix it. For years it threatened to mess up the whole house if anyone accidentally turned it on. For years we didn't care. It cost a whopping $12 to finally replace it, and less than an hour. Whoops.

OK, confess. What is sitting around your house just not getting done?

Carpet Envy

One of the things we knew we had to do if we wanted to sell this townhouse was to replace the carpet that ran up our stairs and into the master bedroom. We had it installed when we first moved here, a long eight years ago. At the time, we were more focused on putting a good wood floor in the main living areas than we were buying half-decent carpet for those areas, so to say it was crap carpet might be an understatement. It was Serious Crap Carpet. Really Cheap Crap Carpet.

Eight years of pets and general It Was Already Crap had it looking worse than the stuff you would find in the basement of a college frat house. It was AWFUL. So, we decided we would get it replaced before putting the place up for sale. Only thing was it turns out that getting someone to come right out to your house and install carpet isn't quite as easy as it sounds, especially since we were all about The Cheap. There was NO way we were installing anything other than the cheapest carpet we could find since we weren't staying to enjoy it.

Somehow we ended up not getting the carpet installation scheduled until a week after the house went on the market. If you've been keeping score at home then you know that the house wasn't on the market for a week. Nope, not at all. Instead, we had the extreme pleasure of spending $800 on carpet for a house that somebody else was already committed to buying.

It kinda sucked sitting at home all day waiting to spend money for someone else's carpet. I mean, it still had to be done, but as I trudged through the "we'll be there between 8am and 6pm, but don't even think about so much as going to the bathroom because we WILL show up the very second you can't answer the door and we'll leave and you'll have to repeat this whole production all over again" all I could think about was how it wasn't fair that I was buying carpet for somebody else.

A total stranger, no less.

Once Mr. I No-a Speak-a English and his sidekick showed up to install the carpet, it was insult added to injury. Not only did I get my ass kicked by a 4-pound (very scared) cat, but with every single loud noise, and there were thousands, it was like they were saying, "BAM! Lot's of money! Not your carpet! BAM!" Stupid jerks. Especially the cat. Who drew blood. Because I was BEING NICE and freeing him from the confines of the room with the Scary Strangers. Stupid poopyhead cat.

Anyhooooo, once the carpet was finally installed, I trudged upstairs. As I gleefully squished my toes through the soft chemical-laden man-made fibers, I wondered why we hadn't done it sooner. You know, like at a time when we could have actually enjoyed the new carpet. Completely ignoring the part about how there was a 55 gallon aquarium in the bedroom that was absolute hell moving out of there, I was super-annoyed that we hadn't done the carpet for ourselves.

I have an answer to this carpet envy thing, though. All those little scraps that shed from new carpet? I'm collecting them. By the time we actually move in mid-July, I should have enough to make a decent-sized rug for the family room. Good thing, too, since the last time Mr. Husband was over at The (New) House, it was raining in there. Not to worry, it only rains in the family room if someone tries to use water in the master bath.

We'll probably fix that right around the time it's time to sell again.

A Letter to Mr. Husband

Dear Mr. Husband,

Nine years. NINE years. Crazy, isn't it? I simply can't believe it has already been nine years since our wedding. You could easily convince me that somewhere in there was a wrinkle in the space time continuum, and that it's actually only been a year or two.

I remember that day so clearly. On the surface, it was the perfect wedding. Outdoors, in a beautiful garden, with absolutely perfect weather. We cherished the string quartet that played Vivaldi as we joined to walk down the aisle together. We kept the vows short and sweet (just the way we wanted them). We smashed gorgeous cake the way cake should be smashed. It was all picture perfect.

But, oh, the drama that was going on behind the scenes. It was something, wasn't it? It's a darn good thing you already knew my family was full of crazy, considering the Crazy Parade they put on display that day. Of course, the fact that you married me anyway might be a testament to your level of crazy. Just sayin'.

Since then, we've had our highs and our lows and our fair share of drama from time-to-time. At the end of it all though, we have each other, and we have Alexis. She is, without a doubt, the single greatest thing you have ever given me. She is nothing short of amazing, and I thank you so much for your 50% contribution to making her. ;-)

Here's to another 90 years, sure to be full of more of the same. The good and the bad, the fun and the painful, but mostly full of love. Nothing worth having is ever easy, and what we have is definitely worth it.

Love,
Me

*Here is where there would be wedding photos, if only a certain overzealous women hadn't already packed them all and now can't remember which box they are in. Whoops!*

*As an alternate, here is where there would be photos from our trip to Paris, if only those photos had ever been copied to this computer. Whoops!*

*As an alternative to the alternate, here's a photo from June 2006.*