| How I Spent my Summer Vacation By Coleen Mitchell As I stood at the door of my daughter's bedroom I looked with pride and amazement that with some help from family members this task was finally completed. It took four full days.The room was spotless, but I knew this was only a temporary state, as my daughter would soon move into her new room. This project started so we could give my daughters separate rooms. I can tell you first hand there is almost nothing worse then having two teenage girls sharing a room. I still don't know which was worse, the dueling radio stations at full blast, the blood curdling screams, as one girl would take another's piece of clothing, or the fact that I had not seen the color of thier carpet for a long time, due to the clothing strewn about on the floor. My diluded hope is that with seperate rooms it will be easier to get them to take responsibilty for the state of thier own rooms. So with all the reasons mentioned above, off we went to the local Ikea store to buy furniture and Home Depot to buy paint and hardware. Once at Ikea we had a great time selecting different furniture for each girl. I apparently suffered amnesia, because I forgot just how time consuming, and at times confusing this stuff was to put together. Eighteen boxes of furniture later we left the store. Next, to the Home depot, where I purchased the paint. I think the paint attendant at the store, as well as some of the customers were convinced I lost my mind when they saw the colors in the containers. My daughter wanted a colorful room, so we chose orange and yellow. I am almost sure these colors will cause blindness if exposed to them for a long period of time, but we'll see. Day 1& 2- Prep and Paint How hard can it be to remove a border and black paint from the previous owner's decor? Answer- HARD. After tring several products, the best thing to remove the border was good old vinegar and water. Five hours later, with wet pieces of border stuck to various parts of my body, the border was off. Next, spackling, sanding and priming. Pretty easy, right? Answer- NO Lessons learned; (1) some nails just should stay in the wall, (2) wear a helmet when sanding down the ceiling or risk blunt head trauma from the extended sanding tool. Finally it was time to paint. As I donned my old paint clothes, then tried to find a appropriate head wear for this I learned another thing. Some people just do not look good in baseball hats, and I would be one of them. So instead I chose to wear a bandana. I didn't look much better. I received various jabs from family and friends regarding this "new" look of mine. These ranged from being a "gang" member to a "chemotherapy" patient. Let the painting begin. At the end of the night I then went into the bathroom and looked into the mirror and took inventory of the reflection looking back at me. I got to see for myself that I probably would not look good with freckles, especially orange ones. I also wondered if I could possibly convince others that the orange streaks in the strands of hair, that managed to escape the hideous scarf I was wearing, were a new fad at the local beauty shop. As I climbed into bed, showered but still speckled I looked forward to tomorrow's adventures. Day 3 & 4 Room and Furniture Assembly My husband (new name " The Bull") carried the boxes of furniture up to the room. (He could probably compete and win in the upcoming weight lifting olympics after that experience) After he brought up the last box my assembly began. With my cordless tools in hand ( my best Christmas present this year ) I began this torturous project. First I hung a new ceiling fan. I thought this would be the hardest part of this, but it was in fact the easiest. It took one hour to put up and connect and thus far is functioning fine ( no electrical fires). Now the furniture and lighting. Do you know the craziness that can come from one missing lag bolt? A total of eight hours later the furniture was assembled. In hind sight, I think with a purchase of ten boxes of furniture or more, Ikea should provide you with a boxed mechanical engineer, complete with tools. As I placed the last piece of furniture in its given area, I breathed a sigh of relief. I learned that after placing several misplaced holes in the ceiling, that "stud finders" are worthless, and I am grateful I never took a liking to acrylic nails, as they certainly would have been ripped off my fingers, sometime during this whole process. The room is now complete and beautiful. But Iam not done. Onward , to the other daughter's room, as I bravely accend the stairs. I have left instructions with friends and family members to send a search party up if I am not seen in a day or two. |
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