• It's July...so we're at it again!

It was right around this time last year that we bought our birdhouse and began some major reconstruction. If you follow our blog you know we're far from finished! But, we've taken a break from our place to help our family (Gina & Max) with their new purchase. The big project is the detached garage, which Gina plans to turn into a letterpress studio.

The previous owner built the garage to house a car he was fixing up (we're guessing) and other items. There was one light fixture, one outlet, one single-pane window, a garage door (duh!), and outside paneling attached to the studs.

Here's what we accomplished over the fourth of July holiday weekend:

With the help of an electrician we're running a sub-panel to the garage so the press has power and we've added a European-style hanging a/c unit, 10 outlets, 3 switches, 6 can lights, and a fan box. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly as planned!

The red circles are two of the new outlet boxes Gina and I installed together. The pink circle is where the a/c unit is going to hang on the wall. The black pipe thing has two copper lines inside for the a/c duct work.

In order to run the wiring from one outlet box to another Gina and I had to drill holes through the middle of the studs. Afterwards we ran the wire through the holes to daisy-chain everything together to the sub-panel.

My dad realized the former owner did not "shore up" the garage as he should have. David added 2x4 pieces running perpendicular to the ceiling trusses. Max added 2x4 "blocks" around the entire garage so George (our drywall guy) had something to drill into when attaching the drywall. There were a few other wrinkles as well, but let's just say we're all over the Home Depot surveillance cameras (more trips than I'd like to remember!)

Brandon (Max's college buddy) came over to frame and help install two new windows.

Before we could drywall Gina, David, and I cut and hung insulation between the studs and around the newly installed windows.

Later that afternoon/evening I worked on caulking the outside of the windows and trim and Max added foam and insulation to the windows on the inside.

Sunday and Monday George came over to install the drywall for the ceiling and walls. Gina & Max are leaving the garage door so there are really only 3 walls to cover.

In between all of this fun going on Gina and I ripped out all the old carpet and pad- ewww, gross! Because the house was built in the 1950's the cement floors are really nice and heavy-duty. Gina & Max are still talking about what to do with their floors; one option is to just buy some cheap rugs for the time being and live with the concrete.

Gina's mom (Cathy) and Max's mom (Barbara) were also over cleaning out cabinets, shelving, the refrigerator, etc. Barbara and Max pulled out the linoleum kitchen flooring as well. The move actually goes down this Thursday, but the kitchen items and some other boxes have already started making their way over to the new house.

My dad (Paul) was over three different days getting things ready to install the a/c unit. He had to create a drain pipe for the unit, figure out where to hang it, and create an area for the outside part of the unit to sit. Thank the lord he was over because he gave us a lot of great ideas and helped us figure out some of the initial issues before we got too far in our work.

Mike (another of Max's friends) sawed down the overgrown bushes in the front yard, and later Max and Barbara hauled them into the alleyway for the bulk pickup. The yellow circle is where the bushes once were.

A random item worth mentioning is the amazing (sarcasm here) bathroom fountain that was created and installed by the last owner. Let us know if you'd like this masterpiece for your house! :)

Today George was over at the new house taping and mudding the drywall. Tom (the tile guy) was also over to begin ripping apart the master bathroom and getting it updated to Gina & Max's liking. A trench guy was also over early this morning to dig the trench from the main house panel to the garage for the electrical to sit in. We'll be stopping by later to check out the progress so far. Sit tight everyone...another house remodel is underway!

• June work time

This summer I decided to teach summer school for my school district. I'm still not sure if I like the idea. Don't get me wrong--- I like extra money, and it's only 16 days total (4 hours a day), but I also like to sleep in a bit. :)

So after I get home I eat some lunch and think of more house projects to finish. The big one we've been putting off has been painting the bathrooms. When you get out the paint it can't ever be just a quick thing; you've really got to invest some time because just cleaning your brushes can take forever if they're all gooped up with paint.

Our upstairs bathroom walls have been painted for quite some time (thanks David!) but we never did the ceilings. Plus, we never got around to the upstairs hallway ceiling. So, I got out the white paint and decided it was time. They're not kidding when they say heat rises let me tell you! I got as far as painting the edges of the ceilings white twice. 

I know what you might be saying...why is there white paint now on the walls at the top too? Well, in order for me to trim it I do a better job painting the wall color up to the edge than the other way around. Believe me! Later I went back and did the blue-gray and yellow (other room) trim.

Apparently I inspired my husband (high-five for myself!) because the next day he rolled the white paint in all the places I trimmed. Meanwhile, I was downstairs trimming the bathroom walls yellow. A few days have passed and we also accomplished:

• rolling the yellow on the bathroom walls

• taking down the old light fixture in the downstairs bathroom

• replacing all three bathroom fans

Just finished edging the yellow!

We used spray foam around the openings in the fan and drywall to insulate our place a little better. After it sets for 24 hours you can cut the foam back with a box-cutter. Then we'll put the cover up and wa-la...finished!!

A few months ago (if you've been following) we planted some flowers in our back "yard". I'm proud to say we only killed 2 out of 14. Home Depot has a year warranty on plants so we took our dead ones back and picked up some living ones, plus a few extra. Yahoo! We love the way our back"yard" looks with all the flowers. Now I just have to convince my husband to get the patio furniture we've been looking at and then we'll be all set back there!!

• it's a blowin' colder now!

At the end of May we got a new air conditioning unit! Hooray! We've been talking to my dad since we bought our place about making a replacement. The time finally came- not only monetarily but weather-wise too!

When you get engaged and start planning your wedding every book (and person) in town tells you to use all the contacts you have to save money. Luckily my dad is our a/c contact! Waaay back in the day (before I was born) my dad went to a trade school for air conditioning. Living in AZ means he is definitely a wanted man! Growing up he did a/c work on the side for friends, neighbors, and family. Nowadays he just does it for family (me, thank goodness!) and maybe the occasional good friend. Anyway- my dad is just altogether super handy. So, instead of new a/c unit costing us a fortune, it just took a bit less out of our bank accounts.

I couldn't take the day off from work so David stayed home and documented (pics and video) the replacement and even helped quite a bit!

Geez-Louise that unit has seen better days! This picture makes me laugh because it looks like my dad is pushing the unit off to the side with one arm. Go dad!

He brought over the new unit on his trailer early that morning. David and my dad had lots of work to do before the new unit went up on the roof. They went up to scrape and cut back all the foam that helps insulate. Right on time, they got finished and the crane guy showed up to take the old unit off and haul the new one up!

The guy putting the old unit on the truck showed up right with the crane and hauled our old unit away. One less thing to worry about! My dad told us that he's been places where they just leave the old unit up on the roof instead of taking it down...how dumb!



Once the new unit was up on the roof the real fun began! Fitting it together with the flashing piece (I hope that's right!) and refoaming everything. Plus, the water line and electrical panel were on the opposite sides of where the old ones were...lots of adjustments to make! David told me they only had to make a couple trips to Lowe's- that's pretty good in my book!

i heart fonts

any of my work friends who know me well know that i am a font lover. i take that back - font fanatic. {i think i turned some of my friends into this as well.}

i will not tell you how long i have been looking at/downloading fonts today, but i will share a scaled down picture of my desktop. next step - extract the files and add them to my folder. thank you summertime!

• let's go back in time to colder weather

Finally YouTube has worked long enough to post some of our ski trip videos. We went to Mammoth back in February with Gina and Max (the fam) and Steph and Steve (the friends). David and Stephen put their heads together to plan the trip at an October wedding we were all working at together. The six of us had a great time together. We were definitely spoiled by our sweet accommodations- walk to the lift from the condo! The weather was a bit windy at times, but we got dumped on pretty good too. We can't wait to plan another trip!!

Every time I watch this video it makes me laugh! I love the slow-motion suspenseful camera work by my husband! I posted a few other videos at our YouTube account or go to YouTube and type in mudacorsa.

• it's getting warmer!!

I love being outdoors! Now that we have this great garden going it's been really hard not being able to enjoy our back patio. We have no patio furniture just yet...but we're workin' on it! I can't wait to have some chairs, a table, and an umbrella and just sit outside and enjoy the day! Until then we'll just enjoy walking past our flower beds!

Our priority has become our ancient air conditioner. It's not old enough to make it into a museum just yet, but it's still old. Last weekend David and I went up on the roof with my dad - not super easy to do by the way! He was actually going up for a purpose- measurements, etc. while David and I were just curious to see the roof. We found a ton of crap up on our roof. Since we live in a townhouse our roof is just one long piece over everyone's place. Other people have had air conditioners replaced, satellite dishes installed, etc. but some of these people just left stuff behind. Being the anal retentive people we are, David and I went around and picked up old pipe pieces, palm tree fronds, etc. and threw them over into our front yard to throw away.

Since we moved in here the lightswitch in our storage shed has not worked. The carport light has never worked either. Well, since my dad was already here we decided to ask him about it. David had found a wire just sitting inside the fuse box not connected to anywhere. My dad switched a few wires around to other breakers and...wa-la! Now the storage light and carport light work! Hooray! Thanks dad! We're glad you're so handy!!

After our Mother's Day brunch with my mom (and family) David and I headed home to do some work. David worked on his RC car, while I learned how to use some new animation software on the computer. Next on the daily list- head to an early Mother's Day dinner with David's folks! We are so geeky I know!

• We know, we know...

We know our birdhouse to-do list is super long.
We know we need to install the baseboards upstairs.
We know we need to paint the upstairs bathroom and hallway ceilings.
We know we need to paint the baseboards downstairs.
We know we need to start working on the bathroom downstairs.
We know we need to finish the open pocket door.
We know we need to install the quarter-round in the kitchen.
We know we need to get new windows.
We know we need to put a door handle on the front screen door.
We know we need to get a new air conditioner.
We know we need to get the light working in the storage room out back.
We know we need to get a new french door.
But...we decided to plant a garden instead!

While everyone else we knew were spending time with family, eating lots of ham, and going to church, David and I decided Easter Sunday was the day to be outside planting a flower garden! Call it divine inspiration! We actually started on Friday afternoon pulling weeds and getting the soil in tip-top shape. All the rain we've recently had did a wonder on our sliver of a dirt area in the back.

Saturday we were busy with a photobooth gig, which led us to Sunday. David and I had a general idea of what we wanted- plants- but that was about it. We spent a considerable amount of time wandering around Home Depot looking at plants and deciding what would work best and be the easiest to maintain. Finally we picked out verbena, salvia, snapdragons, and one other plant type I can't remember! Plus, we got a new hose and hose hanger. After we opened up the drip system kit we bought earlier we realized we needed more t's and drippers- so off to Lowe's it was!

The hardest part was digging up the ground where we were installing our main drip line. After that- piece o' cake! David punched holes in the main drip line and I followed up measuring, cutting, and installing the 1/4" line for the actual drippers. Back went all the soil to cover up the line and then dig more holes to plant the new plants!

All in all- not a bad looking garden I must say! We started about 3:00 and finished up just after the sun was going down. Of course, after we cleaned most of the items up we realized we needed to install the hose hanger. It actually didn't take us long- I held the flashlight, while David drilled the holes and attached the hanger.

Monday early evening David planted the three other plants over near the palm tree. Plus, he had to take back the first hose we bought because it was crap! So, we spent the extra money and bought a good hose that works great. David also ended up buying a few new spray nozzles too.

So far, the plants seem to be holding up well. We're a little befuddled with the snapdragons right now though. In the afternoon their leaves are droopy, so we thought it might be too hot- we planted them under our kitchen window where they're slightly shaded during the main part of the day. They do get afternoon sun though. But, we see snapdragons out in the sun all day and they look great. Now we're thinking maybe they're still adjusting. Who knows?! I guess we'll see.

So- now our backyard is getting there and we still have quite the list to do indoors. Maybe next weekend we'll go buy some patio furniture so we can sit outside and admire our garden instead of working on the inside list!