It's like a stinking dog hotel in here!

1. Check it out, a Doggie Bunk Bed™:

I'm considering beginning my woodworking career with something similar to this, but even better.

UPDATE: UM, HELLO!!!



2. I'm thinking about getting back on Facebook. It'd be nice to send messages back and forth. Luckily, I didn't go out in some blaze of glory, so coming back won't make me look like a quitter.

3. We've (I've) been doing some demolition to the ugly parts of our house. Enjoy:



Obviously we're still in the work-in-progress stage here, but it gives you an idea of what we're going for. This one wasn't too hard to get down, but I did put a couple of holes in the drywall. This doesn't worry me too much anymore, because there is tons of help on the internet to fix practically anything (e.g. here).


Yay! Ulgy 80's semi-useless desk is gone! I'm thinking I'll have to tear out all of the drywall along that side of the room because the top layer was peeled off with the vinyl paneling's adhesive.

At this point we're just slowly following our plans...

4. The second mortgage (initial balance $14,900) now stands at $5764.41. Natalie and I made an agreement to not spend any significant money on the house until this is paid off. We've turned in our paperwork to receive the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit, so if we receive that any time soon, it immediately knocks out the second mortgage and we can get started on paint/carpet/hardwoods/drywall/outlets/lightswitches/fixtures for the bedrooms.

Also, (assuming no raises or cost of living increases) if Natalie and I were to put all of our extra income into the mortgage we could have the house paid off by January 2012. Unfortunately it will probably be more like 4 years with the improvements we want to do and other circumstances of life. Can't wait to have the option to work at McDonald's and provide for my family. What an exciting thought.

5. On a related note, I need your help. I've never done any extensive drywall texturing. What is this kind of texture called and how do I do it?

It's like the standard 50's-60's texture, but I can't find it ANYWHERE online. The closest reference I can find is stipple, which kind of makes me want to giggle like a 3rd grader, and also perlite. But it's more like a "Yeah, that's kind of similar..." feel, and it seems like there is no industry standard terminology, so I've seen everything called everything else. Surely after having millions of houses built with this texture, there would be a demand in knowing how to do it. Maybe everybody just wants ugly knockdown nowadays...