Days 26-30 It's finished!

So sorry I haven't updated before now. We have been working hard this past week and wanted the kitchen to be totally (well less a couple little things that aren't noticeable to you) done before giving an update and posting pictures. Oh the drama. Anyhow...here's how the final days went down...

Day 26: This was a long day for Randy and my uncle. They worked until about 9pm and then my uncle had to take the 90 minute drive home. Anyway, this was the day they put the granite countertop in. I can't remember if the sink was also put in this day or the day before. But all I can say is it's awesome! Randy brushed up on his granite installation skills and I have no doubt is now a pro. We also ended up having to run out to get a new faucet because something was broke on our old one. There have been lots of unanticipated expenses, which I will say more about later. We also ended up having enough granite to do a full blacksplash behind the stove and also added a shelf behind the sink, we love it!

Day 27: Hmmmm...I don't recall what we did on this day. But I do know that Randy went back to work (he took Tues-Thurs off) and I'm pretty sure we did some stuff that night after work, but I can't remember! Oh wait, yes...we did do a few things, but we had our Fantasy Football draft this night.

Day 28: Hmmm..again, let's see, what did we do? Moved in and hooked up the dishwasher and range. I know there were LOTS of trips back and forth to Lowe's. We are SO done there! But overall, it worked well for us. Oh yes, back to what we did. I think I organized and painted the pantry. Randy has spent the better of this day and the next 2 on plumbing. Plumbing takes a long time and seems to be pretty frustrating, especially since we don't really know what the heck we are doing :) Well, I don't, Randy seems to know what he's doing, or at least he sure does act like it and there is no water leaking!

Day 29: Clean the fridge and move stuff in day! Also included was sealing the grout in the laundry room. All I can say is EWE about the fridge. It had been sitting since we did the demo and ewe ewe ewe! My lovely husband took on the role of cleaning this out, and boy did he! It sparkles like a new (white) fridge. Yes, as you can see, the white fridge doesn't exactly match, but it really doesn't look that bad...right? Maybe I'm just distracted by all the other new prettiness of the kitchen! There was also a lot of time spent trying to hook up the water line to the fridge. Apparently the previous owners used a copper pipe...not that good. After lots of trial and error, Randy called it quits for the day with the water line. But I cooked my first meal in my new kitchen this night!! WooHoo! It was our favorite yummy chicken! The smell of home cooked food in this house after a month of eating out, was just delicious! I spent the day putting stuff back in the cupboards, lots of organizing and cleaning. Oh, I had to wash every dish and utensil that was either covered in construction dust from inside the house or from the garage. That was fun. Although, I must admit that doing dishes in a new sink is a bit less painful than before :)

Day 30: This was today's work, our final big day of work. Randy spent again, the better part of today on the damn (can I say that?) water line to the fridge. He must have gone back and forth to Lowe's 3 or 4 times to get the right tools. After a couple hours of trying to work with the copper pipe, he got a better idea. He used some flexible braided stainless steel supply line thingy. Yes, that's the official title. The problem was that we had to get it from the fridge, behind the stove, behind the ROUND cabinet, behind the dishwasher and to the water line under the sink. We tried many different techniques before finally...um..threading the needle, so to speak. He actually had to take out the Lazy Susan to get the line back there and then put it back in. I'm getting tired again just thinking about it. He was the brains, I just did what I was told. But, we have the best tasting water ever!

Let's see...we also moved in the laundry facilities! Yay! Before doing this, Randy had to cut, paint and install the baseboards. There was also some minor repair that needed to be done on the dryer. Has Randy ever worked on a dryer? Not that I'm aware..but he figured it out! I finished organizing the kitchen, cleaned the granite, and just did what I was told. Oh and Randy also did the trim for the pantry door area as well.

So..in conclusion...um..we are done! And we have a kick ass new kitchen for less than $5000. There were lots of unexpected trips to Lowe's. Not that we thought we had all the tools we needed, we expected to have to go back and forth, but jeez! This weekend, we went probably 7 times. But it is all worth it in the end.

We did all the work ourselves with some expert granite and cabinets help from my uncle. And...we are still married! I must really hand it to Randy..you know what they say...that handy Randy! He really is amazing. His focus, determination, thoroughness and overall awesomeness really is what got this done. Yes, there were ups and downs and a few disagreements, but overall we are very proud that we did this together and now have a beautiful kitchen.

Not sure when I will update this blog next, but we are already thinking about our next DIY project, so stay tuned....