We have been knee deep in demo (with a break for Christmas) this past week.
It is starting to take a toll.
I woke up today from a crazy dream that I was 8 months pregnant (and the craziest part was that I could see inside my stomach and the baby was a bag of frozen hamburgers and a big frozen turkey).
wtf. nuts, I know.
I'm also exhausted and PMS-ing,
and my house is a mess and covered in plaster dust,
so I am not fun to be around at the moment.
I have made an angry swear face montage for you:
yes, I have lost my mind,
but my hair actually looks pretty damn good all things considered.
I am just a *teensy* overwhelmed.
Kind of: "what.did.we.do?" We just started ripping our house apart without a real plan.
I am overwhelmed with emotions... excited, nervous, grateful, crazed...
I know it is gonna be great eventually, but I am just pooped. Having the kids home on break is tough. Danger lurks everywhere, and I think I am most tired just from trying to keep them away from it.
I have been in design mode every free second (and there aren't many)
drawing exterior window plans for the new windows,
floor plans for future kitchen and baths
and scouring my Pinterest for ideas of what to do.
The possible window plans:
Reality + LVL beams:
The shop vac & broom are my new besties.
I am constantly in clean, search for sharp objects, wipe down and vacuum mode.
When I am not doing that its make popcorn and hot cocoa mode for the kids.
Poor things have been good sports during all this.
This was yesterday:
Rip out sunroom windows and take off rotted deck:
I got to beat things with a sledge hammer... so much fun!
The sunroom turned into a nightmare when we opened a wall.
Hello carpenter ants- seriously gross:
They had eaten all the exterior beams (but didn't touch the house for some reason- thank goodness!)
so the whole sunroom came off.
Huge thank yous to my Dad, Eric, Mike, Jill, Ryan and Florentine for joining in the demo party.
This would never happened without them.
I am trying to pull together an eventual patio/ gardens and fire pit look for that area.
The silver lining of losing this room:
a shit load more natural light here...
I am off to find my happy spot.
I will be back with a plan & pictures of what I am planning to do once I find it.
13 comments:
I love to hear from somone who is authentic. It's a turnoff to hear all happy talk when you know someone is going through hell trying to get something done. I know it will be worth it, but it's still hard. Good luck.
Wow! You are taking on some hardcore projects. Good luck with the craziness- it will all be worth it in the end.
Hope you had a happy holiday. I know that being in the middle of projects plus holidays is pretty insane. But you are surviving! (And your hair does look good!)
That sledge hammer picture is too funny! Looks pretty serious, but knowing what you have in store...its gonna have to be worth it in the end.
It is going to be great! Just take a deep breath sister!
May the Force demo with you!
Holy shit! That's crazy! Your house looks so much bigger though, that's a good thing! More open and airy. I hate cramped houses. They drive my nutso. I'm super excited to see more progress, keep your head up, Danika!! We're all 100% behind you!
Much Love,
Trissta
Didn't you get a snow storm yesterday? You must have squeaked in this demo before it started falling! LOL!
You are so brave! So glad I found your awesome blog. Can't wait to see more. :)
Happy New Year!
Kathy @ www.lifeonlakeshoredrive.com
It looks fantastic and will be SOOOO worth it! Hang in there!!!
Namaste my friend, or at least drink a really good glass of WIne!! It will be fabulous when completed!! Stay strong!
Happy New Year-Karolyn
You house is so open and the layout looks great! Remember it gets worse before it gets better.
You did something different with your blog background. Love it!
You're not doing it right if you're not in a totally crappy mood. When we went through our reno my face broke out like a 16 year old teenager...believe me it was bad for about 4 months. Now that I look bad it was worth it but seriously some of the hardest months of my life. I hope my kids won't need therapy after our house reno.
Yuck!! Just showed this post to my husband, who despises all of this and says every day, "How can you stand the stress of this job, or even reading about it?" (Mike Holmes he is not). Reason #5,478 I will never reno again. My heart bleeds for my clients going through this while living in the space--especially with kids. I've been through it (3x's) with little kids! I still feel like shit when I think of the toll the last house gut took on my family. Baby number three wasn't around yet. Hopefully, the other two have only suppressed memories--that stay suppressed. I feel for you. Our "carpenter ants" turned out to be black mold discovered at the "end" of the project. That meant another 4 months in demo and abatement, a late night home invasion when the doorknobs came in too late and my husband was out of town on a 6 week shoot. (God's honest truth, I was under the bed with my kids while LAPD helicopters hovered overhead and a SWAT team scoured the backyard...The police told me I was crazy to stay in the house like that and escorted me and the kids to a hotel on Ventura Blvd.), Subsequent huge hotels bills...Ah reno... Hang in there. If you ever feel like you're losing it completely (like enough to bring your kind, Buddhist contractor to tears), picture me hysterically sobbing (in front of my two confused, McDonalds stuffed preschoolers) at a marble yard because they sold my slab. No it wasn't the end of the world. Just the end of my nerves. We sold that house a year later.
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