Momentum Killed....

So this weekend Katie and I started working on the floor. We got the first three rows done, but then needed to let it dry so we could reach the other side and not disturb the tile. I had some real determination tonight to go get a good chunk of the floor finished, but after only 4 tiles I ran out of mud. So I am on the couch, blogging about it for all of you. Tomorrow I hope to hit the Depot on my way home and do a few more tiles. This weekend I plan to be ready to grout and paint, which will put me in the home stretch for the project.


Thanks for checking in!

We Have Walls!

Well, I am happy to say that the shower walls are compete. I am very happy with the progress to this point and am ready for the next we major phases. I have laid out the tile for the shower floor, but need to wait for a new drain cover so that phase will wait.

The next phase will be leveling the bathroom floor. It is slightly raised in the center so I need to level it and prep for tiling. I plan to hit the Depot on my way home tomorrow and hopefully prep and poor tomorrow night. After than Sunday I think I will be ready for floor tile in the bathroom.

The project is on budget and so far, I am happy with the timing. I had a goal of May 1, and it may be close to that or shortly over.

A Day of Progress

Wow, I totally should have bought those knees pads at the store next to all of the tile supplies.... After 8 hours of tiling, the knees could have used them.

I started at 8:30 this morning with a goal to make as much progress as possible on the shower walls. I started with one row remaining on the back wall. Below is my time lapse for the day:

By 10:30 I had a good jump on the second wall.

By 1:30 I was getting close to two walls done.

At 2:30 I finished wall number 2!

I hammered out another 3 hours downstairs and managed to get a great jump on the final wall.

I hope to spend a few hours Monday or Tuesday night and finish the third wall. Then it's on to the shower floor. I am very happy with the progress so far and I am actually impressed that I have not messed up too bad yet!! Live, learn, and Read the Home Depot Tiling Book!

Let the Wall Begin

After I finished the curb this weekend I was ready to start the walls. I started with the rounded edging tiles. The the past two nights I started conquering the back wall. So far, so good! Hope to wrap on that wall tomorrow and start on the other two walls this weekend. Should see some good progress this weekend.

More tiling....

I spent another couple hours downstairs last night. I was able to start the shower walls. I bought a nice cornered tile to do the edge of my shower. I was able to get the laid out on each side of the shower last night. Tonight is the fun task of laying out the back of the shower wall on the carpet. I want to make sure I know exactly what I am doing before I start throwing tile on the wall. Should be a fun process. Check back for more photos and updates later this week.

Bathroom Update

Well, after a few weeks off after travelling and recuperating, I hit the bathroom hard this past week. I finished sheetrocking and then began to prep for the tile!! Steve brought me his tile saw on Easter so I was ready to go.

I went to Home Depot (of course I did) to get some primer and also picked out my paint color for my ceiling. I primed the walls after the final mud and sanding process was completed. I also wired the light switch, with only two shocks in the process. Lesson learned.


Today I finally got comfortable with the tile saw and was able to get the curb completed. It is drying as we speak and so far, only one piece of tile scrapped. Actually, it wasn't a total loss, I was able to salvage half of it for a piece of the curb. I only swore a couple time and only cut my hand once, so all in all, a successful day.


On top of working on the bathroom, Katie and I tackled the garden today. I dug up the grass and put in a new small fence around the garden. Katie got the small pots planted and we will keep working on that project. For now, more time in the bathroom this week to try and get the tile done in the shower. Then onto grout.......

Finally, the Chicago Update!

So it seems like a long time ago, but it was only a few weeks ago mom, dad and I took for of a long weekend in Chicago. We flew in Thursday morning and immediately hit the ground running. Here is a schedule of what we did:

Thursday AM- Arrive and find our hotel after riding the Subway

Thursday PM- Walked and found a great local Italian joint for lunch. Then off to Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower. We did the Skydeck which took us to the 103rd floor and even let us step outside the building in the glass box. It was crazy, but a clear day with amazing views of the city. After that we walked the city. Stopped at Harey Carey's for a drink and then walked Michigan Avenue, Navy Pier(we got the good Garrett's popcorn) and eventually found our way to an Irish Pub for happy hour with the city folks.

Friday AM- We hopped in a cab after our Starbucks and headed to the Shedd Aquarium. We spent the morning, lunch and early afternoon taking in the shows, sites and sounds of the aquarium. It was very cool.

We walked back to the hotel through Millennium Park and got ready for our night out. We headed out for a nice dinner before we went to the musical, Billy Elliot. The show was amazing. The kids involved were so talented, we had a great time.

Saturday we got up and found our way to the bus stop to head to the museum of science and industry. This was a very cool place. There is a full size German submarine and a United 727 in this place. Along with a coal mine and science of storms exhibit. We spent all morning there and part of the afternoon.

After the museum we took a couple hours to relax and watch some hoops at the hotel. We then headed back to Pizano's, the place we found for lunch the first day. My great friend Sarah was able to join us so we had a wonderful final night in Chicago.

Sunday- Went to the local deli for some breakfast on the way to the subway. We hung out at the airport and safely made it home mid-afternoon.

It was an amazing trip and went very quickly. Thanks to mom and dad for being troopers and hiking all over the city with me. It was a blast.