In the beginning, there was dirt.

Derek and I are exhausted after several days of scrubbing, lifting, organizing, and moving, but let's back up a few days and review.....

February:
We were so excited because we were told we were going to close on our first home on February 17. This would give us 2 weeks to have both our rental and our home so we could move in easily... until we found out there was an issue with the title and the closing would be pushed back. Ok, so moving at the end of the month and not having an overlap isn't the end of the world... until we found out a week before that it wasn't going to happen by the end of the month, and that come March 1st, we would be homeless.

March:
Nothing says, "Happy Birthday!" like homelessness. Fortunately our friends offered to take us, our dog and our cat in. Its not easy living in someone's guest room when you're used to the freedom of living on your own and having your own space, but it's ok because we'll close on the 9th, and that's not long at all... until we found out that the closing would be pushed back AGAIN. In fact, even the day before I wasn't completely sure it was going to happen, and on the way to the damn closing, I got a call that it would be pushed back a half hour, but when you've waited a month, what's another 30 minutes? Alas the closing occurred, excitement was at an all time high. We are homeowners! We own a home! We can do whatever we want to this home!

Tuesday:
After closing on the house, I headed straight there to begin the cleaning. I had the car packed with cleaning supplies and was ready to go. The weekend before the closing, we had our final walk-through, and my glasses must have been particularly rosy because suddenly the house seemed more amazing than ever. Now, I'm beginning to realize just how filthy the people who lived there before us were, but I'm excited and ready to go, so nothing matters! I even stayed up until midnight cleaning and couldn't hardly sleep thinking of al the things I was ready to do the next day.

Wednesday:
I decided that the first thing that needed to be done was cleaning the floors, and my friend/temporary roommate told me about how she bleached the floors on her hands and knees and was so glad she did. So, using her method I started cleaning. It was today that I realized just how filthy these people were, adn I thought to myself, "Who lives like this?!?!?" Apparently the kitchen grout, which I thought was black, is white, and it's been caulked or painted... joy! The main living area tile is a reddish color with black under tones, or so I thought. Apparently, it has white undertones. I spent 8 solid hours scrubbing the floors and didn't even get to the bathrooms or finish the main living area (in fact, I have a 3 tile wide strip that STILL isn't done). My knees are black and blue, my wrist and neck are killing me, but I'm not done for the day. When my husband got home, I had to move in our mattress, the couches, and many boxes. It was at this time that I discovered that I am INSANELY allergic to the bushes in front of and surrounding our home, and since I am passing by these 5x a minute, my face is officially snot central... lovely! But, it's still an exciting day because this is the first night we get to sleep in our own home.

**Pictured- tile left side unbleached, right side bleached. When you see results like this, you just can't stop, even if you are tired!

Thursday:
My goal today was to get the kitchen set up before lunch, and then run a few errands. Mission Unaccomplished. I put contact paper in all the cabinets, and got the main items into the kitchen (which means that the one and only spoon we hadn't packed and the 1 piece tupperware is no longer our shared cereal bowl), had lunch with a friend, and ran errands. It was today that I realized that OCD neat-freaks shouldn't buy dirty foreclosures.

Today:
I am dead to the world. I am not built to stay up until midnight or later after a long day of physical labor, and then get up at 6:30/7:00am the next morning. I am literally running a quarter speed. Other than bleaching the bathroom floors, I can't even think of what I did today other than make a bunch of phone calls to get stuff set up. Tonight we will go to bed early (probably right after I make this post), and I refuse to wake up before 8:00am. If I plan on having this weekend be productive, I better get some rest.

So you're caught up. Look for more updates (and the future ones will be shorter guaranteed), and if you're reading this from a rental... you've been warned.