Time for Another...Acreage Update!

Where did November go? I'm sorry, is it really DECEMBER FIFTH TODAY?!

No. No. No.

We knew this was going to happen. We had mentally prepared ourselves for months for how crazy this farmhouse monstrosity would be. But there is just no amount of planning and organizing that can prepare someone for a December like the one we're about to have. I'm admitting defeat.

I should have started my Christmas shopping and crafting in August. Because at this rate, none of you will be getting presents, and our letters won't arrive in your mailboxes until January. Seriously.

I knew it was a good idea to start writing our Christmas letter in September! I KNEW IT!

So the house...where do I begin...storm windows are up on the outside and there is plastic on all the windows inside. Bathroom is in the process of being torn apart and put back together again. Fun Fact: We currently have a nice little 'laundry chute' from the main level to the basement, in the form of a rotten hole in the bathroom floor! That probably freaked you out a little and made you question our sanity (like you have been for the past two months)...never fear. My husband is Josh Boersma. And a rotten bathroom floor is nbd.

Josh replaced some pipes in the basement. Our plumber/heating/cooling guy ran ducts/vents upstairs to the three bedrooms that didn't have heat, and fixed a laundry list of other small things. The propane tank is filled! The water softener is on and operating correctly! Kitchen cupboards are up and the kitchen is FINISHED. Parlor is FINISHED. Two out of three upstairs bedrooms are FINISHED. Landing/Stairway is FINISHED. That felt good...here's what's left.

Bathroom re-do. Front entrance re-do. Final coat of paint in the 'Great Room' (aka the living and dining room...). Final coat of black paint on ALL floors (so excited for this part). Priming/painting/finishing the third upstairs bedroom. Rolling out living room carpet. And a final cleaning sweep of the entire place. I'd say the end is in sight, but my husband isn't exactly feeling that way today (the impending snow storm, his lack of extra helpers, and the hole in the bathroom floor are a perfect recipe for high blood pressure).

We're meeting with our favorite renter candidate today at the farm and praying that we will have a signed lease very soon! With that part off our 'plate' I think we would be able to enjoy the remaining work at the farmhouse a lot more.

My farmhouse projects are at a standstill until more 'stuff' is ready to be painted. So in the meantime, I'm attempting to keep our finances, house, and schedules organized. Oh, and make plans for hosting the annual ThanksChristmas party. :) I tried meal planning last night but realized that I'll be gone for supper for about 8 nights during the next two weeks (thanks to a busy cheer schedule). So instead of planning meals into my Google Calendar, I inserted a shopping trip to Fareway tomorrow night after the basketball game to buy more frozen pizza. Yes folks...tomorrow night at 8pm, my schedule reads, 'Pay monthly bills' and 'Grocery trip to Fareway'. I gave it a good effort though, right?

And a midst all the shopping and spending and farmhouse craziness and Christmas insanity I have managed to get a Nativity in almost every room of our house, and plastered every chalkboard surface with Christmas Hymn's and verses...because I WILL NOT let this season slip away, and forget to give GLORY TO THE NEWBORN KING!

Stay tuned for more 422 13th St. Christmas magic. ;)

MmB

#imabirthdayprincess

It seems completely inappropriate that I haven't gotten around to blogging about one of my favorite things in life...MY BIRTHDAY...until December 2nd, but better late than never, right? Here are a few highlights from my birthday week celebration AND and a small update on what we accomplished at the house during that week.

Monday of birthday week was celebrated by going shopping for my birthday present with Jamie. She bought me this adorable pillow that looks perfect on our magical Christmas bed. I ended the evening with a visit from my BFF Nikki and a bottle of Prairie Moon wine...the perfect way to kick off birthday week.

On Tuesday I got to see some friends at Connection Group, which was fun, but missed Josh being there because he was working. I like having a birthday week because people start to forget when my actual birthday is, give up, and just wish me happy birthday all week long. This has been part of my master plan from the beginning.

On Wednesday THIS arrived at the office for me which was a surprise for a couple of reasons...1) It was Wednesday and technically not my birthday and 2) Jamie has no money and she STILL sent me flowers. What-a-sis. 

Thursday was extra-fun because my best-friend-since-2nd-grade-Erryn and her husband Sean came up to Ames for our annual birthday celebration supper. I had grand plans to take them to The Cafe, but when the wait was 45 minutes, we ended up where we always do...Hickory Park. :) Erryn's birthday is on the 18th, so we've made a big deal about our birthday's since our first sleepover in 2nd grade when I had Erryn over but she left at 8:00pm because she didn't want to spend the night. Which was actually some sort of weird foreshadowing because with their hectic work/school schedules, Erryn and Sean usually like to end our dinner dates by 8pm so they can get home and get to bed. ;) It was a great night and we need to fit them into our schedules more!

Aaaaaaaand Friday. The grand finale. My dad called me at 7am to sing Happy birthday; Josh's dad texted the words, 'Have a fantabulous day' (hahahaha Vern); Nikki and Peter Seehusen BOTH called to sing Happy Birthday over the phone in it's entirety (note: neither are known for their singing talents, so this was pretty special); everyone at C21 wished me happy birthday, cheerleaders wished me happy birthday, my fellow cheer coaches/friends got me a Starbucks gift card, my boss Tami got me a scarf (she knows me so well); a voicemail from G'ma Junice; and to really make the day, JOSH BOUGHT ME FLOWERS!!! My husband has never gotten me flowers in the three and a half years that we have been married, so this was a big deal. In fact, when Stacey brought them back to my desk she said, 'Are they from Josh?' and I said, 'Oh no they have to be from my parents, Josh doesn't buy me flowers,' and SURPRISE! He even specifically asked for a hydrangea to be in the bouquet because he knows that's my favorite flower. :)

My birthday present from Josh this year was an iPad in July and a car that came a couple weeks after my birthday...both of which were totally over-the-top, undeserved, and wonderful because I have a husband who goes all out, or would say it's not worth doing at all. This is a pretty good example of that. ;)

We went to Old Chicago for birthday supper and then to the movie About Time which was REALLY GOOD! Josh even liked it...probably because of the touching father-son twist at the end. It wasn't what I expected for a romantic-comedy, but it was still really good.

Just when you thought birthday week ended on Friday...just kidding! We partied hard all weekend long. And the partying hard consisted of guilting as many people as possible into helping work at the farm in honor of my birthday. :) Nikki and Kate got up early on a rainy Saturday morning to come help paint, along with both my mother and father-in law and Jamie. We primed 'The Great Room' together in the morning and Kurt and Jill joined in the fun during the afternoon. I reward everyone with Casey's pizza when they come help, so let me know if you're interested...I'm convinced that at this point, we are the ones keeping the doors open at Casey's in Huxley we've ordered so much pizza in the past month. 

Saturday night was birthday celebration with the Boersma side thanks to Vern and Applebee's. My sister-in-law crocheted me a red infinity scarf and hat and Vern and Patti gave me money for the brown boots I bought back in September as my early birthday gift from them. ;) 

Sunday meant more work at the farm finishing trim on the bedrooms upstairs, and touching up places where we missed in the stairway. My parents visited both of my G'mas that day and swung back through Ames for my final birthday supper and presents at Noodles and Company. I got a serving bowl that matches my Christmas dishes and Sarah Palin's new book about Christmas...which I am planning to crack open today. :)

Of course I love getting presents and feeling special during my birthday week...but the most special gift this year has been all the help we've been getting at the farm from friends, and especially our family. Both sets of parents have been RELENTLESS in coming every weekend to help. There hasn't been a single weekend since October 18th that we haven't had one or both sets of parents helping on Saturday or Sunday or both...which is pretty amazing. Our siblings have all pitched in to help and people keep congratulating us on how great the place is looking and how much work we've accomplished and it's totally NOT US. We wouldn't have 1/4 of the work on this farmhouse done if it weren't for our families...I know I am in the minority when it comes to the amazing relationship I have with my in-laws but that's become even more clear in the past couple months. So this is just one big THANK YOU FAMILY. We are so blessed and so thankful for ALL OF YOU.

Here's what upstairs bedroom #1 looked like after birthday week...

MmB

This Old House - Acreage Update 2

Lest you think we haven't gotten anything accomplished in the past few weeks due to my lack of documenting everything via blog, think again!

Since I posted this update, the house has really started to transform. Josh has finished insulating and drywalling the third bedroom upstairs; he's patched drywall in a number of other spots; and he tore apart the front entrance area to open things up a little more. I get regular picture texts from him on days when he is working at the house with updates and questions about what I think.. On Monday during the mini-blizzard, I got a text proclaiming, "I'm saving the farm!"

Oh good. I was worried.

A few weekends ago I gathered both sides of parents for a work day...my dad did a number on the garage while my mom, Josh's mom, and I primed the kitchen, cupboards, and the first upstairs bedroom. The next day Jamie, her friend Natalina, my friend Andrea, and I set to work and got the upstairs landing, stairway, and second bedroom primed. When things start looking great, staying motivated is a little easier. I met Josh's mom at the farm last Monday and we were able to prime the entire Parlor in one night (this is a LOT when you're priming everything from the trim to the walls to the ceiling)!

Today Josh is mudding the new drywall upstairs and starting on the BIG room we have left. The cracks and some drywall need to be patched in the living and dining room, and it's the only room where we haven't made any progress (since ripping out the carpet back in October). I've decided I'm going to force people to start calling it 'The Great Room'...this house is so big and there are so many rooms, people get confused about which room I'm talking about...seriously!

I've learned in the past month that it's not very profitable for me to go out to the farm on week nights. Once I get done with work and cheer practice, I only have an hour or two available to work. Hauling all the paint and supplies and dirtying brushes isn't really worth it if I'm only able to devote a few hours to painting. I like long working weekends where I can make a lot of progress (with help from friends and family!) in order to stay caught up to everything Josh is accomplishing during the week days. His list is quite a bit longer than mine...all that's left for me is a frenzy of painting and cleaning!

Josh has been great about balancing all the different parts of his life that are requiring a lot of the "hard work." He's finished fertilizing and started preparing for snow removal...BLC, check! He's started clearing out and organizing our garage to make sure our 'new' car will fit, along with leaf blowing and mulching...422 13th St, check! And he's prioritized everything that needs to happen with the farm and is gradually crossing things off our long list...Farmhouse, check!

Here are some 'before' and 'after' pictures of some of the spaces where I feel confident enough to start taking pictures. The rest of the 'before' pictures I have will shock you...but I'm saving those until I have 'after' pictures to compare them to...

AFTER: Thanks dad!!! :)

BEFORE

AFTER: Thanks mom and Patti!!! :)

BEFORE

AFTER: Thanks Jamie, Natalina, and Andrea!!! :)

Confession

I have a confession to make.

I'm not as organized as you think I am. In fact...after three and a half years of marriage, there are still things about our household, finances, calendars etc. that are just a downright mess.

This came to my attention yesterday, specifically when I was FINALLY added as a member of Josh's business bank account...I just never got around to it. So even though it was a pain in the butt that I couldn't sign checks, it was just easier to put off going to Veridian with a member of the account and signing a paper.

Another thing...Josh and I went to the dentist this week for the first time in three. years. I never really got around to scheduling that either. I had the same dentist in my hometown since the age of 3...and who knows about Josh. The whole thing was just easier to ignore.

I'm ashamed.

And I started thinking.

Marriage 101, counseling with Pastor's, and chatting with married couples prior to marriage doesn't prepare you to just magically *KNOW* all of the 'extra' stuff that goes into marriage and RUNNING A FREAKING HOUSE. And by 'running a house' I mean suddenly handling laundry for two; extra messes made by this new person who is now living with you; dishes and schedules x2; doctor appointments; oil changes and vehicles in the shop; family events (both sides!); meals; planning trips; and paying bills...in my case this also grew to include designing BLC marketing materials, ordering BLC clothes for Josh and employees, paying bills, and attempting QuickBooks and invoicing.

I went from "Apartment Living-College-Girl" to "Married-Housewife-Of-Business-Owner" essentially overnight...and two months post-wedding added "Homeowner" and "Landlord" to that list. Along with all of this, I was in college for the first six months of our marriage...which made it even HARDER to transition into all this 'Married Life' stuff.

WHO IS PREPARED FOR THAT?! Is anyone?! Was it just me?!

I am STILL catching up on getting our life organized...and all this stuff takes consistent organization in order to keep things from unraveling. I'd love to tell you that I know exactly where the titles to our three vehicles are. But I don't. Ohmygosh just typing that is mortifying.

I read a blog last week about a mom  of four who has her entire house organized into a giant binder. Everything from doctor's phone numbers to paint swatches for every color in her house, from coupons to Christmas lists. It was humbling. And also infuriating.

I suck.

Sure we were prepared for the normal 'married-stuff' that everyone was shoving down our throats like, "Good communication is key," and "Josh needs to be a leader," and "Mollie read Proverbs 31," but where was all the good advice about how to combine bank accounts? Or how to change my legal name? Or how to go grocery shopping for a husband who only likes chips and frozen pizza?!

Disclaimer: Pinterest didn't exist when we got married, so all this meal-planning-calendar, weekly-cleaning-schedule jibberish was completely foreign to me until about a year ago...at which point I decided that 'stuff' was just for people who are, like, moms or something. I'm still working on all this noise. Just whatever about it.

I didn't find pointers for that crap in ANY of the 'Saving Yourselves for Marriage' books we were bludgeoned with. Here's something...All those well-meaning adults who insisted on talking about our purity should have taken a break from that ridiculous 'sex talk' and just talked to us about how the freak we're supposed to get a pre-approval letter to buy a house...or secure a private insurance plan...or how I'm supposed to get a new social security card...and then they should have explained that we would need a filing cabinet for All The Stuff.

Of course everything in this entire post seems like common sense now...but I was 21 when we got married...and things like mortgages, car shopping, insurance, and cleaning up after a BOY were all very foreign, scary, and annoying things. And taking care of all this EXTRA STUFF that no one warns you about requires an insane amount of meticulous organization...that even I am not capable of.

So there you have it. I'm an unorganized freak. Our life is in shambles.

Okay not really...

But sort of...

And in case you forgot how adorable we are...

Acreage Update

On October 18th, we closed on our farm. Not everything went as smoothly as planned (ie: the outbuildings and the house were still 30% full of the previous owner's junk...even though he had promised to have it cleaned out...but we're over that). We found some SWEET stuff even though it took a little extra time and effort and we're working diligently to have the place ready for renters starting January 1st.

We now own an investment property "and a half" if you count the renter we have in our basement. ;)

My parents came down on the 18th. My mom and I went to Target to pick up cleaning supplies then came home and constructed our 'Game Plan' for the next morning. Our goal was to be out. the door. by 8am.

On Saturday morning we were fresh-faced and excited. We swung through the Starbucks drive-through so I could treat my mom to some coffee as a 'thanks-in-advance-for-helping-us-with-this-ridiculous-project' and you'll never believe what happened. THE CAR IN FRONT OF US PAID FOR OUR COFFEE! We pulled up to the window and the lady read the wrong order, but then corrected herself saying, "Oh never mind, the car in front of you paid for your order this morning." My heart stopped and I literally almost cried with happiness over some silly free coffee. By the time we pulled forward, the car in front of us was long gone and I had no way of signaling our happiness and gratitude via dramatic waving from my driver's seat. It was an awesome start to our morning. The short time that followed was filled with planning and a little silent reflecting on all the blessings God has given us...my mom and I were in my car HEADED TO OUR FARM. Is this even real life?! How a cup of free Starbucks was capable of causing me to pause and be thankful, I'm not sure...and it's a little ridiculous. But thanks whoever was in the car in front of us at 8:13am on Saturday, October 19th, and thanks be to God for His provision, allowing us to buy our dream acreage, even during a drought year!

My parents had never seen the inside of the farmhouse in person before, but they had visited the property earlier this summer. Sadly, Josh had to go to work blowing out irrigation systems before the first hard freeze, and I'm not sure he knew what 'we Keil's' were capable of. ;)

Day 1: We emptied kitchen cupboards, bathroom cupboards, closets in every room and the hallway, moved furniture (what was left is being sent to Leftovers!), Shop-Vacced every wall, window, floor, cleaned fixtures, hauled junk to the dumpster, burn pile, and the "treasures" to my car. We spent some time outside picking up garbage and junk around the property. We rolled up the remnant carpet in the upstairs bedrooms and tossed it out the windows. We tore up the carpet on the upstairs landing and down the stairs...and THEN Josh got there. #keilfaminaction 

I'm pretty proud of everything we accomplished! Josh finished ripping up the carpet downstairs while my dad spent most of his time on the ground ripping up tack strips (bless his heart). Turns out my dad can tear anything apart...it's the handy-man fixing part he's not a master at. ;)

We were all exhausted by 6:30. And all of our feet hurt. It was a 'we're just ordering a pizza' kind of night and I think we were all in bed by 10:30pm! And here's the reason we fell in love with this place...

Day 2: Our goal was to be out the door by 9am. We hit Starbucks on the way out of town again and worked on our strategy during our 15-minute drive to the acreage (have I mentioned its PERFECT location?!) We rescued my old, beautiful doors from the barn and wiped them down. We brought a bird-poop-covered dining room table up from the barn and wiped that down with an AMAZING mixture of dish soap, vinegar, and baking soda...the thing looks like NEW! We pulled out all of our appliances to wipe and vacuumed behind them. We pulled the refrigerator apart and I wiped down the inside (with our special cleaning concoction) while my mom wiped down all the shelves. I Shop Vacced cupboards, we wiped down four cute wooden chairs the seller left for us, and my mom wiped down the washer. We carried 100 Mason jars up from the basement and my dad was helpful carrying other junk up from the basement and to the dumpster. Then he spent most of the day walking around, observing the house, and making really great discoveries for how we can replace trim, hide ugly things with some leftover paneling we found, and replacing some stained ceiling tiles with new ones. Josh weed whacked around most of the trees at the front of the property and down the lane...he also did some weed whacking around the house...which in itself made the place look 1,000 times better!

I'll post pictures of all of this once we get a little farther along. ;)

Josh's friend Tommy stopped by to take a look at our washer and dryer and run some 'diagnostic testing' on our appliances. :) The washer passed and once the dryer got cleaned out, it passed inspection too. They hauled them outside, tore them apart, figured something out, and then brought them back in. All I know is that I've been washing rags while I'm out there and they both work great now!

Our friends Ben and Tom stopped out for a couple hours, which I was thrilled about. These two are true farm boys, and can accomplish more in an hour of their time (if they're not distracted with climbing windmills) than most humans can accomplish in an entire afternoon. They hauled our giant pile of carpet down to the burn pile and started work on cleaning up junk and brush around our little shed. 

I'm not sure I'll ever get tired of snapping pictures during every sunset...they're pretty every night! 

Day's 3 - 7: Josh and his brother spent a lot of time at the farm last week setting some mouse traps (yes there WAS a mouse problem, but I think our cleaning frenzy did a good job of taking care of most of that...he's only caught two!), filling cracks in the foundation, and more endless weed whacking. Josh also found a pocked door hidden in the walls in the living room! Jamie and I came out and did a pretty decent job of emptying the corn crib and barn of junk and sorting everything into 'Keep,' 'Burn,' 'Dumpster,' and 'Scrap Metal.' The four of us worked together to move a big metal gas tank and a metal fed bin (excuse my lack of farm-girl terminology...I don't care what that thing is called, I just know it's ugly and needs to go) to our scrap metal pile...I'm thrilled both of those large things are out of sight for possible tenants driving by with interest.

Day 8: Josh and I woke up on Saturday tired, but excited to get to our farm and start working more on the inside of the farmhouse. Josh continued weed whacking and I started puttying cracks in the first bedroom upstairs. Josh joined me, and we finished that bedroom together. Because it was a nice day and apparently we have a hard time working inside, we went outside to keep working on cleaning the outbuildings and sorting the junk. ;) 

I also wanted the barn to be cleaned and arranged in certain spots so it would be ready for pictures that night...Here's another one from our farm photo shoot...I'm IN LOVE with these pictures!!!

Day 9: We got a late start since we went to late church...but we were in serious need of some sleep...so it's whatever. We have to ease into this 'farm life' thing...it's a lot of hard work! :) Josh and I filled the cracks in the second bedroom upstairs, finished the hallway and the stair way, and also filled cracks in what I'm calling 'The Parlor'...it's the front room on the main level and is quickly becoming my favorite room. It's right off the front entrance, but it has that secret pocket door, a stained glass window, and another pretty door separating it from the foyer entrance. It could be a bedroom, a play room, an office, or... a 'Parlor.' :) I can hardly wait to get my hands on a can of gray paint so I can go. to town. Josh sanded the putty in the first bedroom upstairs and we couldn't stand being inside any more. Josh moved some logs, I kept compiling and organizing my 'wood-that-would-be-good-for-crafting-a-Pinterest-sign pile' and we called it quits when it got too dark to see in the barn. ;)

It might not seem like much, but brace yourselves for when I post the before and after pictures. The process is slightly less enjoyable because we're working with a strict deadline in order to get the place rented in time for turnover...but I think so far we're doing a decent job of balancing the duties in our 'real life' with the work we have left to accomplish out at the farm. Certain things have had to be cut out and some of our time and energy has had to be redirected, but our priorities are straight where it counts...we keep telling ourselves 'we'll have time for that after January 1st.' :)

If you feel like painting...or chopping down a tree...or burning a GIANT pile of crap...or raking out a barn...lemme know. I can hook. you. uuuuup. ;)

MmB