Beth, my kids keep telling me I'm "turning into a guy." Classes? Directions? What are those? I'm not sure about hardwood. Laminate is a lot thinner and it's actually pretty idiot proof. No glue. No nails. You just cut off the length you need and "click" it together. Each box comes with instructions BUT as an amateur my problem has been getting enough to allow for the 10% "waste." I think that is based on an expert doing the install.
Sometimes having no choice is the best teacher of all. But, it is the time involved. Had I had money to pay for it -- it would have been finished months ago.
My dad (72 yrs old) and I put in about 1000 square feet of solid hardwood this past summer. It took forever and was agonizing!!!!!! And then STBXH came in and said it looked crappy. LOL
"You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf." Jon Kabat-Zinn
Well, 2008 may yet provide me with target practice. When I bought my zero lot line (or half a duplex) I tried to find a decent neighborhood. I swore I wouldn't live in Mountain View ---- lots of crime or maybe I should say lots of publicized crime.
I even went on the muni web site and dug up crime statistics for areas I was looking at. Surprisingly, one of the worst areas for crime was where I worked -- big red circle. The area where my house is was orange. Colors for crime range from yellow (almost zip crime), to orange, to dark orange, to red.
But, as I've lived here I have learned more and more. We have gas stolen a lot. Some smuck stole what he thought was gas from my yard but it was water 'cuz the last schmuck didn't put the lid back on the gas can. There are police sitting around A LOT and two or three at a time go past my house on a routine basis.
I've heard faint gunshots before but tonight I flippin hit the deck. S22 and I were watching a movie and three shots went off -- could have been in my front yard. And, yes, I can tell the difference between gunshots and fire crackers. I regained my composure and checked my front yard for damage or bodies -- .223 in hand since it was all that was loaded. S22 checked the back. There was a lot of vehicle activity about two buildings down and several people. No one gave me a second glance. No more shots fired. No police were seen by me. Well, I didn't call them either since I pretty much feel it is a waste of my time. If I'd found a person hurt or dead -- I would have called an ambulance.
Geez -- can't a girl even be totally lazy and watch a movie in peace?
Well, 2008 may yet provide me with target practice. When I bought my zero lot line (or half a duplex) I tried to find a decent neighborhood. I swore I wouldn't live in Mountain View ---- lots of crime or maybe I should say lots of publicized crime.
I even went on the muni web site and dug up crime statistics for areas I was looking at. Surprisingly, one of the worst areas for crime was where I worked -- big red circle. The area where my house is was orange. Colors for crime range from yellow (almost zip crime), to orange, to dark orange, to red.
But, as I've lived here I have learned more and more. We have gas stolen a lot. Some smuck stole what he thought was gas from my yard but it was water 'cuz the last schmuck didn't put the lid back on the gas can. There are police sitting around A LOT and two or three at a time go past my house on a routine basis.
I've heard faint gunshots before but tonight I flippin hit the deck. S22 and I were watching a movie and three shots went off -- could have been in my front yard. And, yes, I can tell the difference between gunshots and fire crackers. I regained my composure and checked my front yard for damage or bodies -- .223 in hand since it was all that was loaded. S22 checked the back. There was a lot of vehicle activity about two buildings down and several people. No one gave me a second glance. No more shots fired. No police were seen by me. Well, I didn't call them either since I pretty much feel it is a waste of my time. If I'd found a person hurt or dead -- I would have called an ambulance.
Geez -- can't a girl even be totally lazy and watch a movie in peace?
Posted earlier from Beth's thread: Your kids will be okay because they know you love them unconditionally. I'm 50-something, my parents divorced when I was about 4 and my dad left me with my grandparents. I didn't go back and forth -- actually never saw my mother after that but she was a very physically abusive person -- but when my dad remarried he determined I should then live with him. It wasn't pretty there either. Stepmother didn't want instant motherhood. BUT -- knowing my grandparents loved me, especially my grandmother, got me through. I got to spend some time with my grandparents after that. When I was 16, my stepmother said my dad had to choose -- either I went or she did. I went and even though it was tough I got a job and finished high school because I knew that was what my grandmother would want me to do. It may sound weird but I just felt like she was my angel watching over me. Having one person who loves you just the way you are can make all the difference.
Glenda, You constantly amaze me. You're one helluva lady!!! When I grow up, I wanna be just like you.
Edited by qoe100 (Today at 05:57 AM) _________________________ I love being boring!!!!
That's what one of my bumper stickers says! When I bought it, it was a toss up between that and "Gun Control Means Hitting Your Target."
I think that is one of the reasons S22 has been in no hurry to find an apartment of his own. He'd rather throw a few bucks my way and make sure his seemingly absent-minded country girl mom locks the door at night. Another reason, I'm sure, is at $7.00 an hour he would have to have a room mate or spend 3/4 of his take-home pay to rent an efficiency in Mountain View.
But -- I have some GREAT news. Besides ADD, S22 is obsessive-compulsive. In order for him to help me with the floor, he got out his CAD software, loaded it on the computer, measured the whole space, loaded the information regarding where the room wasn't "square" to figure out what angle to put on the cuts so the boards fit the space correctly -- way more work than I did when I put the laminate in upstairs but I have to say the dining room looks better than the upstairs. And, in the middle of all of this, he says he thinks he'll go back to school and finish his autocad.
Woohoo. He's really good at it and it would certainly offer him more opportunities than day jobs. He was about halfway through when XH left and he just stopped going to class. So, tomorrow we're going to head to the couple of schools that offer it and gather materials.
I'm not sure about hardwood. Laminate is a lot thinner and it's actually pretty idiot proof. No glue. No nails. You just cut off the length you need and "click" it together. Each box comes with instructions BUT as an amateur my problem has been getting enough to allow for the 10% "waste." I think that is based on an expert doing the install.
There are police sitting around A LOT and two or three at a time go past my house on a routine basis.