Much of home buying, and I've come to realize home renovation, is spent waiting. In the 4 month long closing process we waited for people to process paperwork and realize what we didn't currently have in our file.
Upon closing we started our renovation process and then came more waiting. First we gutted it and waited for mold remediation. Which happened and we got a clean bill of health for the house. Then we started the slow weekend battle towards getting the kitchen back together. While I played assistant, the man friend fixed the subfloor, rebuilt walls, and laid down hardwood floors.
Then all of a sudden, we had the floors sanded and finished and two days later the cabinets were installed. Given that that was 3 months after we moved in, life became grand! But of course, more waiting was involved. Our countertop came in 2 1/2 weeks later.
We've reached a point now where we are waiting again. Our final paperwork has all come together for our rehab loan, but now we wait for them to release our second and final payments. As first-time home buyers, we will also get a significant tax credit. Waiting on that too.
In the meantime, there's a long list of painting projects, that in our beginning over-eager days of renovation we already bought the paint for. Man-friend will be pulling drywall (also from the over-eager days) out of the garage and patching in the rest of the downstairs hall. Someday we'll have a floor upstairs! And maybe be the sole residents of our little home with Boomer, instead of having squirrel residents. They kind of cramp my relaxation.
February 26, 2010
February 11, 2010
Guess I should update my blog
I blogged for work today... I suppose I should update my own blog!
If you're interested in learning about the 33rd America's Cup, head on over to Chicago Sailing's blog.
When Seth Godin offered advance copies of his new book Linchpin I jumped all over it. Of course, this month has been crazy busy since I received it and I'm taking much longer than I want to to read it... Sigh. But, I can tell you what I have read is awesome.
It's also made me want to pull out another book, which could be difficult as those are still in boxes in the guest bedroom, RenGen by Patricia Martin. Read together, they should make an interesting commentary on societal trends in work and leisure.
Side note to Hilsberg: Seth is awesome and sent me a second book. You get it first, then Dossett.
In the midst of trying to read a book, The Long Room celebrated its 10th Anniversary, Chicago Sailing had a highly successful Strictly Sail and I started advising people on their social marketing campaigns. Yup, I'm an "expert."
The man-friend and I have cooked multiple times in our mostly working kitchen and have only had to call the plumber back once. Adventures in plumbing success! We even agreed on tile, just need to figure out how to pay for it. This Sunday some of my friends are coming over for brunch, V-Day (that dreaded holiday) and to see the house!
It's time for one of these!
If you're interested in learning about the 33rd America's Cup, head on over to Chicago Sailing's blog.
When Seth Godin offered advance copies of his new book Linchpin I jumped all over it. Of course, this month has been crazy busy since I received it and I'm taking much longer than I want to to read it... Sigh. But, I can tell you what I have read is awesome.
It's also made me want to pull out another book, which could be difficult as those are still in boxes in the guest bedroom, RenGen by Patricia Martin. Read together, they should make an interesting commentary on societal trends in work and leisure.
Side note to Hilsberg: Seth is awesome and sent me a second book. You get it first, then Dossett.
In the midst of trying to read a book, The Long Room celebrated its 10th Anniversary, Chicago Sailing had a highly successful Strictly Sail and I started advising people on their social marketing campaigns. Yup, I'm an "expert."
The man-friend and I have cooked multiple times in our mostly working kitchen and have only had to call the plumber back once. Adventures in plumbing success! We even agreed on tile, just need to figure out how to pay for it. This Sunday some of my friends are coming over for brunch, V-Day (that dreaded holiday) and to see the house!
It's time for one of these!
January 19, 2010
2009 in Review
I'm really going to try to keep a blog updated this year. For realz. But first, last year in review.
January, 2009 started with a worsening economy and lots of cold job leads. By the end of the month, things looked grim. I took a chance on a very shady Craigslist post regarding some employment with an athletic facility that involved marketing and customer relations. Which in February lead to Chicago Sailing...
Within two months of starting at Chicago Sailing, I'd traveled from the North Branch of the Chicago River to Belmont Harbor aboard a houseboat. (Remember when Chicago was trying to get the Olympics? So glad that didn't happen!)
I spent a harried 6 months learning a different business (though still a leisure activity), new "life skills", and meeting lots of very interesting people... More about that later! Once October rolled around, I realized how busy I had been and had something even more pressing to work on.
See, one Saturday in late March or early April, the manfriend and I were getting ready to go out. He had worked the night before with one of the Long Room bouncers who has a day job working as a real estate agent. We had been tracking Craigslist and looking at 2 or 3 bedroom apartments to move in to when our leases were up at the end of July (coincidental, no?). Jeremy had been talking about houses you could buy, in Chicago, for under $200,000.
By the end of April, we had a contract on our little piece of property in Chicago.
A classic Chicago bungalow, on 1 1/2 city lots, the picture of the outside is much better than the inside. Over the course of 4 months we discovered mold, evidence of squirrels and many involved projects. We finally closed at the end of August and spent one month trying to get it ready to move in to! THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME.
It looked good on the outside.
On the inside we chilled in our bedroom, luckily it's big and about the size of a studio. Last week we got running water on the first floor. And a working kitchen. The joy I hold for things such as running water cannot be explained to people who have not gone through a rehab!
So, in short, 2009 held a new job, moving in with the manfriend and a homestead of our very own - desperately in need of repair. I'm hoping for a calmer 2010, but in the meantime, lots of posts to process!
January, 2009 started with a worsening economy and lots of cold job leads. By the end of the month, things looked grim. I took a chance on a very shady Craigslist post regarding some employment with an athletic facility that involved marketing and customer relations. Which in February lead to Chicago Sailing...
Within two months of starting at Chicago Sailing, I'd traveled from the North Branch of the Chicago River to Belmont Harbor aboard a houseboat. (Remember when Chicago was trying to get the Olympics? So glad that didn't happen!)
I spent a harried 6 months learning a different business (though still a leisure activity), new "life skills", and meeting lots of very interesting people... More about that later! Once October rolled around, I realized how busy I had been and had something even more pressing to work on.
See, one Saturday in late March or early April, the manfriend and I were getting ready to go out. He had worked the night before with one of the Long Room bouncers who has a day job working as a real estate agent. We had been tracking Craigslist and looking at 2 or 3 bedroom apartments to move in to when our leases were up at the end of July (coincidental, no?). Jeremy had been talking about houses you could buy, in Chicago, for under $200,000.
By the end of April, we had a contract on our little piece of property in Chicago.
A classic Chicago bungalow, on 1 1/2 city lots, the picture of the outside is much better than the inside. Over the course of 4 months we discovered mold, evidence of squirrels and many involved projects. We finally closed at the end of August and spent one month trying to get it ready to move in to! THIS WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME.
It looked good on the outside.
On the inside we chilled in our bedroom, luckily it's big and about the size of a studio. Last week we got running water on the first floor. And a working kitchen. The joy I hold for things such as running water cannot be explained to people who have not gone through a rehab!
So, in short, 2009 held a new job, moving in with the manfriend and a homestead of our very own - desperately in need of repair. I'm hoping for a calmer 2010, but in the meantime, lots of posts to process!
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