This is MY House

While Kelly's been off bonding with men from church this weekend, I've been splitting my time between working on my company's website (the never-ending project) and working on the new Hayley House.

The contractors are done, for the most part. We had to pull the plug on the remaining "big" project, the master bathroom remodel, when the estimated cost for the project exceeded our cash on hand. Bummer.

However, the good news for the Hayleys was that all of the Really Important Work was completed within our budget:

• Popcorn removed
• Roof decking repaired
• Wood trim replaced
• Eaves rebuilt
• Walls repaired and painted
• Secondary line installed on the HVAC units
• Ducts repaired and retaped

Our primary focus during Home Improvement: Phase One was to catch the home up on years of maintenance neglect and to make cosmetic improvements that we would likely someday decide not to bother with (ceiling popcorn) if we lived with it for a while.

Now we're in full-court press mode heading towards move-in.

• Clean and refresh cabinets
• Line kitchen cabinets
• Clean out previous owners'...stuff...from garage
• Steam clean carpet
• Scrub tile floors
• Thoroughly clean bathrooms

Not much left to do at all, in fact. I have to admit, it's very exciting.

Friday night, I sat inside the house, as the last bit of sunshine was filtering into the kitchen. Looking around, I couldn't stop myself from announcing:

This is MY house!!!