Ta Daaaaaaaaah!!!

After living with a kitchen that I've HATED for 6 years, I finally took the plunge and committed to a DIY remodel. Since moving into this house in 2002 I've managed to have all but one appliance "mysteriously" malfunction or die... allowing me to pick out a fabulous stainless steel replacements!!! I have a premonition that the fridge will croak right before Christmas, just in time for my annual holiday cookie exchange... so that I can be the proud owner of an LG 22.4 cu ft. French Door Freestanding Fridge... not that I've picked one out already or anything, providing ample space for multiple trays of wonderful holiday treats.

As usual, Keith was roped into helping me complete this task, taking on the rewiring of the USELESS exhaust fan to nowhere - no really the former exhaust fan turned on, but didn't actually move the air - its like having a fireplace with no chimney. Where in the hell is the soot supposed to go exactly? So that was taken away and we are actually in the process of installing new overhead lights above the stove. We basically spent 3 weeks (from 8pm (after Isabelle's bedtime) to 11pm) up to our knees in spackle, formica dust, paint, and 20 years worth of the previous owner's mess. I learned how to use a ruler during this project... 29 years old and I had to go online to learn what the smallest notches on the ruler represented... laugh all you want, I can correct the hell out of your terrible grammar/spelling but I have no idea where to find 7/16 on a ruler. So I actually googled it and found this wonderful site: http://www.onlineconversion.com/faq_05.htm. I must say Keith was shocked when he glanced at my rough draft of measurements - totally amazed that I'd been able to specify certain lengths. I didn't tell him that I'd cheated, but I didn't need to because apparently I forgot to close down the window on the laptop and he totally busted me. Any MORON should know that 1/4 converts to .25, which I really do know, but I get soooo overwhelmed with the numbers that my common sense takes a vacation. Keith had a good laugh at my expense on our 18th trip to Home Depot when we were looking for items that needed to be converted and as soon as I asked, "Honey, what is 1/4 in the decimal form?" I saw his face turn red... and the answer came to me at about the same time that he fell to the ground in laughter. Oh well.

Its just so nice to walk into your kitchen and have it actually feel like it represents your personal style. It gave me a chance to reorganize all items stored in the kitchen, most likely just an extension of my need to "nest" right before Andrew is born.

So I'm as happy as can be with the final results - it reminds me of the day after you buy a new car and you just sit there at the window staring at it for hours---which is exactly what I do all evening from the couch - just stare at the wonderful results after hours and hours of blood sweat and tears.