I remember when Brady and I were looking at our house as a potential home to purchase. It was the perfect location right on the farm and it had three acres complete with a woods and a barn. Brady was is hog heaven...I on the other hand couldn't get past the wallpaper, shag carpet, funeral home curtains, and old person smell. We ended up buying it and we have done a ton of work, our house really is a home and I love it! I have learned that the work is never done on an old farm house and a year later the remodeling continues!
When we bought the house we were very pleased with the large guest bathroom. It was complete with a large vanity, double sink, linen closet, and nice shower and bathtub. It also was complete with celery green shag carpet (yes...in a bathroom!), an old person shower sprayer (you know, the one on a long hose so you can wash all your nooks and crannies...like under your saggy boobs or your wrinkly balls), a light fixture that hung from the ceiling by a long chain, and both sinks had that really modern metal ring around them (insert sarcasm here), oh and of course there was a nice white countertop with celery green swirls on it to match the carpet.
We didn't have a ton of money to gut the bathroom and start over, and we really did like the layout...we just wanted to make it a little more modern and a little less hippie. We painted the walls a high gloss chocolate brown, replaced the light fixture, installed tile flooring, and put up a new shower curtain and it looked so much better. We still had the same vanity, sinks, and top...but all the other wonderfulness in the bathroom took away from those things and it wasn't a big deal to us at all.
In January I noticed some humps in the floor...great. Turns out that there was a sneaky little leak behind one of the sinks and it was constantly dripping behind the wall, in turn getting soaked up by the sponge-like particle board. We tore out the flooring and found out that the subfloor was sopping wet, we then tore that out, and tore out the vanity and found mold. So of course that led to tearing out drywall and spraying bleach water on everything.
We since have gotten the floor replaced and now we are going to install a new vanity. Brady and I went to Lowe's last night and picked everything out. It is a custom size vanity so everything had to be special ordered but it should be here in 2 weeks! I can't wait!
Where we saved a ton of money on this remodel though, is that we are going to use a custom Formica countertop with two drop in sinks. If we would have gotten a custom order bathroom vanity top with the two sinks built in, it would have cost us between $570 and $827 depending on the material. And there were only about 20 choices. Using a kitchen countertop gave us hundreds of choices, and it was so much cheaper. We upgraded the standard Formica by adding a high gloss finish and a custom edge on the front and it still only cost $143.49. But of course we didn't pay that...hello do you know me? I had a 10% off coupon for Lowe's so our bathroom countertop only cost $129.14 before tax! We had to buy two sinks then since they weren't built into the countertop but those were fairly inexpensive and we still came out way ahead!
Our bathroom upgrade will end up costing a grand total of just under $1000, but with payment from our homeowners insurance Brady and I will pay substantially less than that.
This whole bathroom remodel could have been super stressful...and it was at times. Especially when we found out we needed a "custom size", but everything has turned out wonderfully and I can't wait till everything arrives in a couple weeks and get it all installed!
Here is everything we bought at Lowe's...all for 10% off BABY!
Our new vanity...I love the dark wood and how it looks kind of like a dresser with the drawers.
This is the countertop that we ordered...isn't it so gorgeous!?
We ordered two of these sinks.
And 2 of these faucets will top everything off!
Thanks for reading! Sam
We are still winding down from a wonderful Easter weekend! We spent the weekend in Illinois with my parents and extended family. We celebrated the life of Jesus, His death, and resurrection! It was a jam packed weekend, and while it is always good to be gone, it is always even better to be home.
We didn't leave Sharpsville until Saturday evening because we were busy planting and repairing fence in the cattle lot. Of course the first thing we did upon our arrival in Grayslake was hug and kiss everyone, then challenge my parents to a game of Scrabble. We won't talk about who won...it wasn't me.
Sunday was full of church, family, good food, good drinks, and watching Bubba...no not Brady, Bubba Watson...win the Masters. On his Twitter bio he describes himself as "Christian. Husband. Daddy. Pro Golfer. Owner of General Lee 1." Yes his parents call him Bubba, yes he is a county bumpkin from Georgia, yes he drives the General Lee, yes him and his wife just adopted their first child less than a month ago, and no he has never taken a golf lesson in his life. How awesome was that?! I love that guy...he is such a fresh face for the game of golf. He isn't a emotionless robot like the golfer stereotype. And he definitely isn't a psycho dickhead like Tiger.
On Monday Brady and I were invited to speak on a Diversity Panel at a local middle school. It was basically career day for the 6th graders. There were eight of us who sat at a table in front of all the 6th graders, and all the kids had a list of all our careers and they had to try to match up the person with their job. We all answered vague questions that might lead the kids to guess what our job is, but we didn't tell them who had what job until the very end. There was a famer (Brady of course), a dog trainer, a vet, a marine, a cartoonist for the Chicago Tribune, and a couple others including me, the crop insurance specialist...how exciting right!? A couple kids thought Brady was a Marine! It was a great day for us and the kids! We had a lot of fun and got to meet some great people, the kids also learned a lot and a lot of stereotypes were broken down...letting the kids know they can be anything they want to be when they grow up! The best part of our middle school visit was when Brady revealed to all the kids that we were married, he put his arm on me and said "me and my beautiful wife work together on our family farm"...you should have seen all the kids giggling and whispering =)
Then Monday night Brady, Mom, Dad, and I went to Bills Pizza...yum. Sidenote - whenever we go to Illinois I have to eat either a hot dog or pizza. Yes we have both of those food staples in Indiana...and yes they also suck. I was so spoiled with delicious food growing up close to Chicago. Anyways then we drove down to Linden and hopped on the train to Wrigley. We spent the evening bundled up, sipping on Old Style, cheering on our Cubbies. Of course they lost...what's new...but we still had a great time!
Our weekend trips to visit my parents are always fun and eventful! I love seeing Mom, Dad, Dan and all the extended family! I wish they would just move down to Indiana already!
Brady and I getting ready to leave for the game!
View of the field from our seats, Mom and I had binoculars so we could get close ups of all the cute baseball butts!
Snuggle party to stay warm!
Dale and Brady snuggling before we left on Monday morning...aren't they so cute?!
Sorry its been a while! Thanks Megan for kicking me in the pants and making me blog! Sam
Earlier today I was blow drying my hair without a care in the world. I did the "head flip" (you know where you turn upsidedown to get mega volume) and noticed a huge creepy crawly spider on the wall just staring at me with all 8 of his little beety eyes! GROSS~! I am not a bug fan...pretty funny that I live in the country huh? Seriously though, I do everything I can to prevent bugs from ever entering our house. This spring I sprayed toxic chemicals all around the our house...both outside and in...being extra careful to get all the nooks and crannies where any sneaky bug could try to get in! I also checked all our screens for tiny holes...or big ones created by Gus...and took them to Compton's Hardware (love this store) in Tipton to get them all repaired. I was not messing around! Well sure enough...the bugs still find their way in. Usually they hang around at night when its dark outside because they are drawn to the fabulous light that oozes out of our house. Maybe the bugs like all of our new sexy light fixtures? So in that case, I just call Brady to come over with his big man muscles to kill the intruder bug and flush him down the toliet. But of course with planting season only days away Brady wasn't home today so it was me vs spidey and there was no one else on my team. And guess what?! I killed him! Flushed him down the toliet and everything! I still won't kill crunchy bugs though...like ladybugs or japanese beetles...that just grosses me out. So usually when I see one of those and Brady isn't home I just point out the little critter to one of the dogs and they will happily munch them right up! Free dog treats =) Aren't you guys proud of me? I still have a long way to go...there is no way I will ever empty a mouse trap! SICK! Sam
Yesterday I hopped on the ol' Bush Hog (yep I can't say or type that without giggling) and mowed the lawn...it was glorious. Let me just paint a picture for you...I am wearing my favorite "working in the yard bikini", I am drinking an ice cold margarita out of my Channel thermos (thanks Sue!), and cruising along in our yard without a care in the world...it is 85 degrees and sunny, and it is March! All my wildest dreams have come true! Sam
I am still winding down from the "best weekend of my life"...this is what I told Brady about a million times this weekend. For my first birthday as Mrs. Brady Peters, my wonderful husband surprised me with a weekend getaway that was jam packed with wonderful activities! Friday
We left around 11:30 and started heading southeast on 74. I had no idea where we were going or what I was in for. We just drove and talked, and sang, and Brady graciously listened to some girly podcasts that I picked out. Then we got into the weird little corner between IN, OH, and KY...and I asked, "Are we going to the Creation Museum?!" Sure enough we were! This is somewhere that both of us have wanted to go for a long time so it was awesome to finally be there. The museum was amazing...I learned so much! The pages of Genesis really came alive, and the museum proved that creation is indeed true and evolution is a manmade myth. The museum took all day, and that was barely enough time! I can't wait to go back! Brady's favorite part was the Planetarium and my favorite part was the Garden of Eden. After the museum we headed to the Drawbridge Inn, went to happy hour, then proceeded to dinner at Bonefish...one of my favs! And look at the special list that was on our table... Saturday
We woke up, headed to breakfast, then made our way to Chateau Pomije Winery. We tasted many delicious wines, had a private tour of the winery, and bought a couple of our favorite bottles. Then we headed to the Hickory Road Inn. It is a true Bed and Breakfast, which means we actually stayed in someone's house where they lived. It was our first "real" B and B experience...and we are hooked! They run about the same price as a hotel, or even cheaper...and they have so much more to offer. The ambiance and food were both amazing. Jerry and Leacarol were such gracious hosts and we have already booked our next trip to stay there...we are taking both of our parents down there in December for a little "triple date" weekend. After spending some time enjoying "Grandma's Room" at the B & B we headed to Ertel Cellars. This was my favorite part of the trip! Ertel Cellar's Winery is known for its sweet wine! And they had an amazing resturant where the special was Macadamia encrusted Sea Bass...it was so delicious...I felt like I was back in Hawaii. We had a great time at this winery and of course we didn't leave empty handed! It was a wonderful weekend, a perfect mini vacation, and an awesome time to relax and spend quality time with my best friend/hubby. I am so happy he planned this with the busy planting season only days away. Yeah in case you didn't catch that earlier...Brady planned all this by himself, I had no idea we were doing any of this...I was so surprised!
Until next time! Sam
What is the deal with this weather?! I am loving it! I will take 80's in mid-March any day! The only negative about this weather is that I feel like I am behind on my summer projects...and technically it is still winter...how crazy is that?!
With the nice weather comes a lot of work, that is just the nature of the beast when you live on a farm. Brady has been working long hours repairing the cattle lot, repairing the outside hog lot, and tearing out fence. I also have been working mega long hours along with lots of traveling. Today is Sales Closing Date for crop insurance though, so starting now I am going to have a little lull until after planting time. Which is perfect because I can help around the farm while the boys are putting the crops in the dirt by being their go getter.
My birthday is also this weekend, and I just can't believe it is going to be pushing 80 on March 18, because I can remember multiple birthdays that were spent with snow on the ground.
I am not sure what we are doing for my birthday this year...you know 24 is a big one! All I know is that I am supposed to be packed and ready to leave by tomorrow morning at 8:00 am and we won't be home until Sunday around noon or 1:00. And I am not supposed to snoop on Brady's laptop because he has an hour by hour itinerary for the weekend saved on it....oh my gosh, for those of you who know me well I am sure you know that at this moment I immediately because super horny because I LOVE ORGINIZATION! And I love surprises so I can't wait...I have such a wonderful husband!
Well I better get going because I have lots of cleaning, organizing, packing, and working out to do before tomorrow morning!
Hope everyone has a wonderful St. Patty's Day filled with much beer, corned beef, and cabbage! Sam
Yes that's right...I am turning into an old lady. I felt my youth slowly slip away last week as I stood in front of the mirror...tweezers in hand...plucking out my mortal enemy...a gray hair! Right away my mind started racing "Do I have any wrinkles yet? What's next...am I going to be playing bingo with my girlfriends at the senior center complaining about my bunions? Better make sure our insurance will cover my hip replacement!"
Of course I immediately screamed "BRADY!" He came running in worried...looking confused when he sees me just standing there. Of course I told him that it was all his fault and that being married has put so much stress on my life that my hair can't even maintain its youthful dark chocolate color...sigh.
Of course I was kidding...but seriously...why did I get a gray hair? I know that it was only one...but still, its like the end of an era. Now every time I do my hair there is much more close up inspection for any rogue hairs that have decided to shrivel up and die on me.
Boo hoo poor me.
I'm really not even that sad and it's actually pretty funny...but still sad. Sam
Let me take you into my little corner of the world today. It is leap day, February 29...it only happens once every 4 years, and it got me thinking this morning...where will Brady and I be the next time our calendar tells us that February is a day longer than normal? The bright yellow office I am sitting in right now might just be a nursery? It might have a little crib in it instead of a large executive desk? I might look out this same window and see a swimming pool in our back yard? (please please please Brady I hope you are reading this...I love you). Instead of sitting at my computer typing in information about my crop insurance customers I might be sitting in a rocking chair nursing our baby as Gus keeps a watchful eye? Maybe I will be helping out on the farm getting ready for the busy upcoming planting season? Or I might be wondering as I am this year..."What is Brady planning for my birthday in a few weeks?" My parents who currently live in Illinois might even be retired by then and hopefully will live here on the farm in Indiana? It is fun to dream on this day.
I sit here on February 29, 2012 and it feels like a day of complete freedom. It just so happens that my "day off" of working out is every Wednesday, and our Bible in a year plan doesn't include reading for February 29...so I am off the hook for that also! I am spending this day working from our home, hopefully I can squeeze in a walk with the pups. Tonight I am having dinner with one of my best friends, and I am also waiting on a phone call from home telling me that my Aunt Candy and Uncle Mike had their baby boy. Little interjection about that right now - My mom's little brother is Uncle Mike...him and Aunt Candy are 42 years old and have been married for 15 years...they are pregnant with their first baby and she is due today! Being married 15 years, pregnant with your first baby, and being due on February 29...crazy right?! Please remember them in your prayers!
It is unusually warm for a February day...61 degrees. The heat is off and I have the window in my office open. I can hear birds chirping in the apple orchard in our back yard...telling us that spring is near. A season of sunshine and new life is arriving. This leap day has really made me count my blessings...I may not have the biggest or fanciest house, my body isn't perfect, my marriage isn't perfect...but my God is perfect and He makes everything new. Our farm house isn't the biggest or fanciest...but it is our little home that is always filled with love and laughter. My body isn't perfect, but my husband thinks it is, and our marriage isn't perfect but we strive every day to make it the best we can...by honoring each other and honoring our Lord.
I hope you can also count your blessings and dream big dreams on this leap day! Sam
I was very annoyed on Wednesday (Ash Wednesday) by the number of Facebook statuses saying that people are...giving up junk food, or going to start working out twice a day, or giving up Big Macs, or pop, or whatever it is. Lent is a time for us as Christians to ponder on the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus! It is a wonderful time of the year but it seems that Satan has worked his way into it and made it completely worldly and selfish.
We need to observe Lent God's way...as Paul says in Romans “The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord” (Romans 14:6). Any recognition of Lent must be done in a way that honors God and makes Him smile. Do you really think it makes God smile when you get hammered and stuff your face with junk food on Fat Tuesday, but then Wednesday you nurse a hangover and vow to give up junk food and booze...I don't think so. The only way that we can really honor our Lord during this Lenten season is with our heart-level repentance and real faith, not just external obedience to church tradition.
During these 40 days leading up to Easter, I urge you to think about what they really mean. Also press into the Lord and remember that your body is a temple all 365 days of the year (1 Corinthians 6:19), not just during the 40 days of Lent. Sam
Episiotomies, VBACs, and doulas oh my! That is what I am saying after reading this book. It was written very much as a text book rather than a light read, but I learned a ton. I am happy I read this after reading "Your Best Birth". The Bradley Method simply means husband coached childbirth. This means that your husband is your main coach, and go to person, he is right there with you every step of the way during labor and he knows what is going on and knows how to rub your back, pray for you, and when to talk and when not to talk. This isn't where the husband stands in the waiting room tapping his toe anxious to pass out cigars to all his friends and family with news that his baby has arrived. In this situation the doctor/nurse/midwife is viewed more as a safety net if something goes wrong. Birth is a beautiful part life...it is an emergence not an emergency.
With all that being said, I am going to look for a newer book on the Bradley Method of Childbirth, because this one was last revised in 1996 and in many ways it is really dated. It had a ton of great information, but some of the stuff about a pregnant womans diet seemed a little off to me. It was also kind of hard to get past the pictures of hippies giving birth. Brady and I are confident that when we do have babies we will use the Bradley Method. There are others out there...most common is Lamaze, which uses planned breathing techniques are relaxation during childbirth. There is Hyponobirthing, which uses self-hypnosis for pain management. All I know is that Brady is the one person who can calm me down during a freak out moment so the Bradley Method seems like the perfect fit. For more information on the Bradley Method you can click here to go to their website. Also you can click on the picture of the book to buy it for yourself from Amazon. And little side note...I am doing horrible at my blogging twice a week New Years Resolution! I will try to be better, and please help me stay accountable to this! Sam
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