Saturday, November 23, 2013

This was not easy.

Before I post these after pictures, let's be clear. This wasn't easy.
It wasn't. It just wasn't!
So please remember, as you look at these, and I know most of you are homeowners so I don't have to explain... but getting to this point was SO MUCH HARDER than I thought it was going to be.
I thought I could get ceiling fans up in a day.
I thought I just needed light bulbs in the fluorescent lighting fixture in the garage.
I thought getting a replacement light cover and a garage door remote would be easy.
I thought ranges came with cords.
I thought you could just buy window screens. Hahaha.
I thought I could install a dishwasher by myself.
I thought my outlets would be hidden by my couches.
I thought moving my cable to another wall wouldn't cause problems.
I thought my laundry room was bigger!
I thought maybe bondo would be in stock at every Home Depot.
I thought that perhaps removing/changing out my shower head would be just as easy as it was in the eight other places I've lived! I also thought that perhaps the members of my Elder's Quorum might know more about these things than I do. They do not. They were excellent at helping me move, though.) :-)
I thought I could get caulking off easier.
And a few other things, I'm sure.
The truth was:
I just put up my last ceiling fan when Jessica was here 5 days ago. Because I needed her help. A lot.
That lighting fixture in the garage was totally burned up and I needed a new one and so I bought it and then screw anchors didn't work and so I needed toggle bolts and then I broke a set of light bulbs all over my garage floor and then I bought the wrong light bulb size (T8 not T12) and then they didn't carry a lighting cover for it, but 4 trips to 3 different Home Depots and at least it works, even though I have to order a custom cover for it. :-) It works! I installed it! And I know how to use toggle bolts.
I still don't have a light cover that fits the garage door opener. Moving on.
I actually like that I know how to install range and dryer cords now. Putting on the dryer hose was awful. I cut myself (on accident) a lot during all of this.
I cannot install a dishwasher. And neither will a plumber, in case you were wondering.
I just painted my outlets to match my wall.
The cable took 2 tries to get right, and I still have a hole in my wall.
When I am pregnant, I will not be able to fit in my laundry room.
Jonmark's niece's boyfriend was very helpful at removing the entire arm of the shower head and informing me that I should just buy a new arm since he couldn't get the shower head off, either.
Bondo took a few trips to get and smells terrible, and speaking of which, I just realized I need to paint it white.
The caulking will probably be there until my dad comes to visit.
Oh, and John came and helped me install my dining room light. And it took 2 other guys (my brother and my friend Travis) and myself to install my microwave. So I lived without a microwave for 2 weeks since I moved an hour away from all my friends.
AND. My truck battery died the first week here at 10pm. And I knew only one person in the neighborhood. So at 7:20 the next morning I had to wake him up to take me to AutoZone to get a new battery so I could go to work the next day. And I almost cried.
I did cry over the garage door at one point, but that's just a long story. I did learn the function of the "close force" knob. Let's leave it at that.
I love my home. I am grateful for all that I've learned. But wow, this was a few months of rough lessons. I still love my pink tools.
I hated this sign that day.

Purple band-aid. Check.

So many calls to the Genie company and they still can't figure it out.
How can a home built in 2006 have a garage door opener that looks like it's from 1982?

3 comments:

Bonnie said...

I know everyone is sick of the saying or the song but it's true ...What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. But the best "conference quote" is "no trial is ever wasted" . You are a better, stronger, smarter, braver person than you were before and that is GREAT!!!!!

RC said...

That's my little girl making a rough place look GREAT and doing a bunch of it herself. Wow, does that make a handyman father proud. Actually you maybe better at it than I am!!

RC said...

And after being there, repairing some drywall holes, moving a cable, and some other odds and ends, what did you need BONDO for? And for the record I did NOT remove the excess chalking....