One Step at a Time

So, I have totally sucked at blogging since we started looking for houses back in March. I feel all guilty about it, but I also feel completely exhausted pretty much all the time. I know that home ownership is generally a series of projects, but I have to believe that buying a foreclosure means those projects are larger in scope and more immediate in urgency. We have basically been in a constant state of fixing our fixer of a house, and between those projects and my pre-existing obligations that previously took up all my time, I am just spent. Every damn day.

All bitching/excuses aside, I am excited about our house! Already, the different online house appraisal sites show our house as being worth $50k+ (or close to 25%) more than what we paid, and that doesn't take into account everything we have done to the place. And we have done a lot: refinished the original hardwoods; installed (really nice) carpet in the bedrooms; took the master bath to the studs and completely remodeled it; installed a custom closet organization system in the master bedroom; replaced several doors; painted nearly every room in the house; replaced all the hardware in the house (it had really old, worn out brass fixtures/hardware); installed cabinetry/storage in the garage; fixed the plumbing in the garage for the washing machine; changed the exterior light fixtures; and, about a million other little things throughout the property. This weekend, Logan painted the exterior of the house, and I am so excited for the change! We have had several neighbors come by already to tell us how much better it looks, which of course made us feel really good.

This week, we are spending a long weekend in Colorado with Gavin and family (and we finally get to meet Ellie!!). We are super excited to be with our friends and to have a little get away before Landon's life gets extra chaotic, as it usually does around this time of year. Something about fall and/or the coming of the holidays apparently puts folks in a litigious mood, I guess.

Once we get home, Landon will get into full-swing trial preparation mode (for a trial scheduled for early October). And me? I will get full-swing into fixing the damn yard mode. Our landscaping currently consists of copious weeds on uneven/holey ground. I will be rototilling the entire 1/3 of an acre, digging trenches for new irrigation, laying out planter beds, preparing soil and doing some basic planting (seeding for grass and putting in some plants that do best when planted in the fall). Landscaping is our next big project, and it is largely going to be me doing it by myself (hooray?) for the next 6+ months.

After the painting and landscaping is finished, we start saving like crazy for a kitchen remodel. I have been crunching the numbers and am hopeful we can redo the thing for about $15k. After that, we have only minor changes that can be done as we have money for them, and then I think we start looking to sell this place.

I am grateful today for completing different stages of fixing up our home. It feels so good to have accomplished goals, even the small ones, and see how our home is really starting to show pride of ownership. I am grateful that folks are noticing and complimenting us on our hard work (and probably secretly feeling really happy that this eye-sore is getting closer to no longer dragging down home values in the neighborhood). I am grateful for the continuing help from our families, especially Logan, who is a total and complete stud. We wouldn't have anywhere near as much checked off our to-do list without his help. We are taking it one step at a time, and I am grateful to see our progress!