Extreme Makeover: BARN Edition

We sweated, we hammered, we mudded, textured, tiled, grouted, carpeted, painted, scrubbed, bleached, insulated, cleaned, and worked our little tooshies off, and finally- finally- moved into... a... barn. We've lived in our lovely hippy-pad for a bit over a month now, and we love it. Also, thank goodness we bought good air conditioning, or we would be in a puddle on the floor. But yes, the time has come to post before-and-after pictures... and explanations, so this could potentially get lengthy. FYI, the "before" ones were with my iPhone camera, the "after" were with my real camera (in case you wondered about the quality difference).

Allow me to first give you a wee bit of background on this place. Thirteen-ish years ago, my parents decided to build a house in the country (we hated living in "the city"). They bought 40 acres and planned to build a beautiful house. While building said beautiful house, they built a small red metal building to subside in until the house was finished. The "barn" was, as I said, made of metal, and had bare concrete floors and one big room and a bathroom, and one window air unit. There were chickens and other animals just outside, and, well, it wasn't the most pleasant summer of my life. It has since functioned mostly as my dad's workshop as well as an occasional animal residence and general mulit-purpose building. It has evolved since then, adding a few more walls, flooring, drop ceiling, and recessed lighting. And from the time we started remodeling, it took about two months to complete.

Let's start with the front door and go to the left from there.

There is a set of double doors here, but the right one is covered by a curtain. I used chalkboard paint to paint the left one. Not too expensive, works great so far. I can write great verses and stuff, or honey-do lists for Michael :P.

Living Room

before->

after->

Major Efforts in the Living Room:

Mudding and texturing walls, replacing air conditioning hole with glass for window, removing door, installing large window.

Here's a close-up of the wall texture.

It takes a lot of time to do a whole room of this. I mudded while Michael went behind and textured with a trowel.

I love my new window. And it was only like $40 dollars. You can see our portable air conditioning unit peeking out. It works wonders- 105 degrees outside and perfectly cool in here.

Laundry Closet

Major Efforts in Laundry Closet:

Building it. And putting on doors.

Kitchen (brace yourself, this one is especially major!)

This is the other side of the kitchen. I wish I had more before pics- just trust me, it didn't look pretty!

Here's a closer-up of the backsplash and counters. All of this stuff was leftover from my sis and bro-in-law's house, which was leftover from something his uncle built. My uncle was getting rid of this stovetop. Not bad for hand-me-down materials, huh?

Major Efforts in Kitchen:

Everything. Building cabinets, installing stove, tile backsplash, granite countertops, electrical work, new light over sink, texturing, painting, new handles and nobs. Everything. But oh the difference now!

And now to the last area of the main room (yes, this has all been one big room so far)...

Office/Music room

(Same "major efforts" as living room). The unused doors are covered with curtains.

Bathroom

Major Efforts in Bathroom:

Texturing, painting, installing new toilet, fixing tub, building closet for hot water heater, enclosing loose pipes/wires/whatever that was in the ceiling, adjusting vanity size, installing cabinets that were in kitchen, stenciling/painting cabinets.

Here's the texture I did- light coat of sheetrock mud, then paintbrush in circles on it.

Bedroom

Much tidier, no?

The other side. The closet is behind the curtain.

Major Efforts in Bedroom:

Building a new building to put all the workshop stuff in (Dad does the building, by the way), moving all the stuff, cleaning after all the stuff, cleaning more, carpeting, rewiring lights.

Same texture as in living room.

Closet

For the "before", just go look at the bedroom "before" picture. It was pretty much the same thing.

^This is my little "dressing area"- has my makeup and hair stuff

So that's about it! LOTS of hard work. And LOTS of no fun. But, what does Delta think?

I think she likes it here.

Ginger Salmon

Ginger Salmon Recipe

What You Need:

4 salmon filets

1/3 cup diced onions

1 Tablespoon minced ginger

2 cloves minced garlic

1.5 teaspoon honey

1 Tablesoon olive oil

3 Tablespoons soy sauce (or more, if you like it like I do)

What You Do:

Preheat oven to 370.

Put a little olive oil in the bottom of a baking dish. Place salmon filets in the dish. Cut slits in the fish (partly to let the yummy stuff seep in, partly because it makes me feel powerful).

Mix everything else together in a bowl. Dump it on the salmon filets.

Bake at 370 for 20-30 minutes, or until it flakes easily with a fork and is... like... done.

I like to serve this with brown rice, and veggies stir-fried in soy sauce. Yummy healthy meal! I didn't take a picture of what it should look like because, well, I forgot.

Fu Mao 夫猫

I can't sleep, but I'm still too sore to do productive stuff (car wreck, remember?). I would take a muscle relaxer, but then I'm pretty sure I wouldn't wake up until Saturday. So Delta and I are watching a movie, except that Delta's asleep and I'm on the computer. And Michael's out of town... booooo. Blogging can count as being productive, yes?

I. Love. Kittens. We've always had cats around, but I haven't been able to have a kitty since we've been married. Michael didn't want to have one in a neighborhood that could get out and get run over and make me cry. But now we're in the country, so HA! And so yesterday I brought home a new furbaby. It's a boy! 4 inches tall, less than 1 lb, bluish eyes, and FUZZY.

And his name is Fu Mao,

aka Man Cat... aka 夫猫. It's Chinese... obviously. I love him, but he sure does meow a lot.

Also, I'm pretty sure that Fu thinks he's a dog...

When he's not meowing all over the place or eating tuna, he enjoys... following around the nearest dog, which is usually Delta. Or sleeping. Or just looking incredibly CUTE.

Cute.

Very cute.

This is what happens when you don't have kids. At least I know I'm messed up, though. Just think how annoying I'll be once I do have kids! Oh the millions of pictures there will be. But really, let's just say that I'm preparing myself for kids by making sure I can take care of furbabies first... feeding, watering, wiping up puke, changing their poop-holder (litterbox, whatever), keeping them from killing each other, and making sure they don't eat baby chicks. That's pretty much the basics of parenting, right? Yeah, it's probably going to be a while before I'm ready.

In other news, I got to use a cotton candy machine tonight. It was the highlight of my life, except for maybe the day I got married. I may give up teaching and join a circus just so I can make cotton candy. I always wanted to be a clown when I was little, but that's a different story.

And now I should probably take a hint from these lil cuties and go to sleep...

One Year!

Happy Anniversary to us! Actually it was yesterday, but we had a change of plans when we got hit by a wreck. Yes, I did mean to say it like that. One car turned left into another speeding car, then they both ran into us, who were sitting innocently (and... horrifiedly?) at a stop sign. But we had a great weekend until then and we are both alive and well enough, so it's okay.

The car is not as okay.

Anyway, I realized I had never done a post about "our story," and I think I am entitled to that... since it's my blog after all. So if you hate sappy stuff, consider this your warning.

Before the Beginning:

We met in choir, which makes sense since we're both nerds. We didn't think about each other then AT ALL. The choir did an Italy tour at the end of my freshman year, and we ended up hanging out a lot then.

Florence '06, with other choir friends.

We were decent friends in choir, and, as I look back now, I realize we were always doing something goofy... or goofy-looking at least... observe:

Point made. But again, purely friends.

The Beginning:

Summer '08. I was in China.

Little did I know, some random choir friend was developing feelings for me on the other side of the world. We started chatting on facebook quite a bit, and eventually I began to catch on to the fact that he probably liked me. And that brought up another question- do I want him to like me? I had said no to every other guy ever. But for some reason, I kind of liked him too... maybe?... possibly?... And I prayed a lot for direction. And made lists of pros and cons, because I'm a dork. But I decided to let him talk to me, and maybe even hang out with me a little. The first time he came over was with our friends Levi and Brittany. We watched the most boring movie ever on earth- "Vantage Point"- and then they left and Michael stayed to watch "Nacho Libre". After that, and talking until 2:00 AM at my parents' house, I remember thinking, "Okay, either this guy really likes me, or he is just waaay friendly and has nobody to hang out with."

Dad knew he liked me, because dads can tell that stuff, but Mom was clueless... sorry, Mom!

He would send me these really sweet emails and stuff, and I just couldn't help liking him. Before we could even officially "hang out" (not even date yet, just hang out with the possibility of it going somewhere), he had to go through an interrogation with my dad. Mind you, my dad was a green beret, 6th degree black belt, sherriff, and polygraph examiner, so this wasn't the typical ask-the-dad-for-permission type thing. Michael agreed without even flinching... on the outside, anyway. I was a nervous wreck. That was the longest two hours! They emerged from the study with the good news, and then I found a doodle on Dad's desk of Michael hanging from a noose. Once as we were watching a movie, a black belt came in and threatened Michael's life. It was the little thing like that that assured me this guy was very serious.

Eventually, Dad even let us go on an official date.

Notice- no touching, hugging, or holding hands here

The Officialness:

So we were official and it was grand. We stood next to each other in choir and our little hearts were oh so twitterpated. I just kept liking him more and more, and one day he told me he loved me. He said it really quietly, so I said, "Could you repeat that?" And he did and I said I loved him too and life was still grand and we were even more twitterpated. And the silliness kept progressing for the next several months

The Engagement:

I gave Michael a "date day" coupon and a "magic notepad", because we're actually

very cheesy like that. He could write whatever he wanted on the notepad and I

couldn't say no. He wrote all sorts of things, like play golf, play racquetball,

make oreo balls, make dinner, etc. We had a fun day, then I started a wonderful

dinner of Asian noodles. While I was cooking, he put "The Fellowship of the Ring"

on. Anyone who knows me should know how important this is. And he started

writing and writing in the magic notepad. I was like, what in the world?

Had no clue.

Then he went and put on a suit. Still no clue. He had even shaved. STILL no clue.

Really, Kacie? This clueless? Yes. I just thought he was being sweet. We sat

down to dinner, and he insisted that I read what he'd written. So I started

reading his novella, about why he loved loved me and how much he loved me

and stuff.

And then there were 7 or 8 pages of "I love you," and then...

Then I turned the page and read this aloud:

"Will you marry me? (This is a magical notepad after all)"

And then shock at what I'd just read. And then he got down on one knee and

pulled a ring box out and asked me to marry him. And through my happy tears

I said yes, obviously. It was such a sweet and purely joyous moment. Then we

went to my house to tell my parents, who of course already knew it was going to

happen soon because Michael had asked my Dad's permission.

And that is for real how I was dressed. Classy, as usual.

My ensemble was completed with chipped blue nail polish,

an obvious sign that I was not expecting a ring that day.

Needless to say, we were excited.

It wasn't until mauch later that I realized he cheated by using a magic notepad

I couldn't say no to. But it's okay, I'm pretty sure I would've said yes! anyway.

Coming soon:

The Wedding.

Moving Up in the World...

So after nearly a year of living in a beautiful neighborhood in a lovely 3 bed/2 bath home that we owned, with Michael having a great job at a public accounting firm, we have moved back to Conway, to live in... a... barn. Yes, we shall be living 100 feet from chickens, cows, and a donkey named Henry, driving down dirt for a driveway, and living in a 1 bed/ 1 bath former barn-of-a-house.

WHAAAAAA????????

Tis true. And why such madness? I shall discuss. Actually not discuss, just type it out and you read it.

Wellllsee, a few months ago Michael and I (admittedly, pretty much just I) had thoughts of moving back to C-town. We prayed about it A LOT-- as I would recommend doing especially for major life choices but also for everything else-- and decided that two of three things would have to happen to be our "fleece" in deciding to do this: Michael gets a job, Kacie gets a job, FS house sells. Well within a couple weeks, I interviewed for an elementary music job in G-town (which would be my dream job- elementary music in a rural area), and got a job offer an hour after the interview. Within another weekish, Michael had secured a job as an auditor with the government (government=great benefits, btw). He works fewer hours and gets more time off and has NO TAX SEASON. This may not mean much to you if you aren't closely related or married to an accountant, but it means not working 55 hour weeks for 3.5 months a year. Our house hasn't sold yet, but we got our 2/3. So we're here.

And now for the barn reasoning.

The barn is my parents'. It will be rent-free. It's not a normal barn, but actually more like a... umm, a barn on crack? I don't know how to describe it, but I'll post pics eventually. After about three years of living in what will really just be a small house, we will be able to build a nice house on our (free) land in the country and still have zero debt.

I am already so very much happier here. I didn't like living in the city. I like going outside and wandering around without seeing humans or automobiles, I like that I have my family and friends and GBFC back (though I miss my family in FS), I like that Michael and I can take random rides on the rhino, and I really like that I'll have a job I get paid decently for (I HATED subbing). Oh and I like that I get to see my husband WAY more. I do not like that the sun burned the crap out of me while I was mowing the field last week.

Anyways, we're VERY excited to be back here and to see how God is going to use us here! And I'm excited to transform this super-barn into our cozy home. Yeah, it's gonna be awesome.

Me sand stuff off the walls...

Michael texturing the closet...

We have this awesome window now!

Oh and by the way, these are some of our views...

oven fried chicken

Over a week on the healthy thing now.

Not starving.

Slightly proud.

That pretty much sums it up. This has been a relatively painless process so far, and I've lost 4 or 5 lbs (lol, just in case you wondered). A few nights ago Michael told me that my cooking didn't taste like diet food at all. I think that's a big key for successful healthy eating. That, and not throwing the towel in when you mess up. I actually plan to mess up on ocassion (popcorn on date night, chocolate cake with mom...). Oh, and the Xbox Kinect thing is working out splendidly. I don't have to put decent workout clothes on and go to some busy gym and fork out a ridiculous amount of money every month. It's perfect for an unsocial lazy person like me.

Anyway, I try to cook a yummy-yet-healthy meal most nights, and, for once, I actually wrote a recipe down as I created it. That never happens (lazy, remember?). Tonight's (very easy and fairly unoriginal) recipe is.....

Oven Fried Chicken

Ingredients:

Two 7 oz Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts, cut into strips

10 crumbled Whole Wheat Ritz crackers

1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt

Pinch of Parsley

Pinch of Rosemary

1 Egg

1 Table Worcestershire Sauce

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix crumbled crackers, garlic salt, parsley, and rosemary in one bowl.

In another slightly larger bowl, combine egg, worcestershire sauce, and lemon juice.

Dump the chicken strips into the egg stuff and coat every piece.

After egg, coat each strip in cracker mixture and place on greased pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until chicken is golden brown and yummy-looking.

Eat.

(Two servings, about 315 calories per serving)