Wednesday, May 16, 2012

before: let the destruction begin!

 Thanks for all your kind comments on my last post.
My life has been pretty darn stressful lately.
Someone had asked if I'd ever had panic attacks before. There's no definite answer for that question.
Several years ago, I started experiencing what I thought were panic attacks
but after describing what happened to my doctor, she was perplexed.
I had a ton of tests, including a brain MRI, an EEG, an EKG, and blood work.
Everything came back normal.
Anyway, this anxiety or panic attack that happened last week at work was
indeed a true panic attack, from what I've heard from others who have had them
and from what I've read.

Sooo...just to add to my stress level a little bit, we decided to have the ENTIRE  house painted!
It started out with just having the main hallway bathroom painted and the painter
 that we hired said that he could do every room in the house in a week
 and that his prices were really low.
After giving us a price - including refinishing all the oak cabinets in the kitchen, we said,
"Go for it!"
Nuts, I tell ya.

It gets even better. The painter called us Tuesday night and said he could start today - Wednesday morning. We had absolutely nothing prepared! Nothing taken off walls, no furniture moved, no supplies bought. Hubby and I worked like whirling dervishes - with a little help from our son - 
and moved most stuff downstairs into the basement. And then hubby had to run to Home Depot at the last minute.
We didn't get much sleep and were up at 6:00 for the painters.

 Here's what we're living in and with for a week:

The living room...





The hallway...

Guest room/office...

Master bedroom not prepped yet, but a lot of stuff from the closet thrown onto the bed...

Master bath...

Hall bath...

 One of the kitchen walls...


The basement piled with stuff from upstairs - we look like hoarders!

*sob*

 Oh, so there's where some of my clothes are!

 Needless to say, I took a vacation day from work today and tomorrow. I don't work Fridays,
Saturdays, or Mondays, so those days are covered. (And the painters don't work on
Sunday.) As for next Tuesday and Wednesday, well, I guess my son will have to
hold down the fort.

I know it'll be a challenge to put everything away and back into place once the painting is
done, but the part I'm looking forward to is re-decorating.
Hubby just shakes his head. ;-)

8 comments:

  1. Oh, Melanie, I feel for you! When my house is clean and running smooth, so am I. When it's a mess, I'm a mess. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and imagine how fresh and beautiful it will look when it's done!

    Panic attacks? I think more people have them than care to admit. I know I have but it is only when I am under hidden stress. If they keep happening, you might want to try another doctor. Good luck with everything!

    XO,
    Jane

    ReplyDelete
  2. OH there is just no way I could do this. Our STUFF would never fit in the basement! Nope, they'd have to do one or two rooms at a time.... which is why we always have to paint it ourselves. :-) Melanie, you have had some major issues to deal with in the past couple of years.. traumatic things. You've ruled out the medical reasons, so maybe it's time to visit with a therapist. Or take yoga lessons. Or both. Whatever you decide, please take good care of yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Melanie;
    All I can say is I'm glad its you and not me (ha ha). The end result will be sooo worth it! Treat youself, you hubby and your son to a really nice dinner when everything is done. You'll come home to a beautiful home and it will be worth it. Take care. Love Nana

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh dear! But just think of the pleasure when everything is painted! You will love it!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. It will be so fresh and clean and a week is not bad at all! I would like this for the excuse to declutter while everything is out only I would have to send Jos away for a while as he pulls everything back that I want to get rid of...lol. Are you planning on any major changes in how you have things arranged? I have always loved your home.

    We just had a discussion about how even the smallest amount of things can irritate when you clear out a room. Jos and I are at Cranberry Cottage for a long weekend and decided to paint our little shower room ceiling on Thursday morning when we arrived while it was a nice dry room. But if the roller is full of paint, I cannot see just doing this half hour job and cleaning up so I suggested we paint the extra bedroom...also very small. We brought out the stuff which is a fold up bed and table with a few little things to decorate and all the pictures and mirrors. I was very frustrated that Jos did not want to clean it up again at the end of the day but wait until the next day. I won that is in the end as it made me very grumpy to walk around it all in this super tiny cottage. :-)

    Hugs from Holland ~
    Heidi

    ReplyDelete
  6. it's hard to be calm when you house is turned upside down! Won't it be wonderful when it's all done!:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Looks like redecorating to me...always a mess before the beauty! Just think of how great it's going to look! Sorry to hear about the panic attack...no fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh my gosh! I know exactly how it feels to have your house look like that. Mine has looked like that more times that I care to admit. I'm always deconstructing to reconstruct something else and then at times I wish I had never started it..lol
    Think of how amazing and fresh it will be when it's done. Right now I'm in the middle of a laundry room/bathroom reno. Ick. I feel for ya!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment - I read and appreciate each one!