Black Mold

I haven't been feeling well.

Well, let's say that again: every time I breathe in I feel like someone is stepping on my chest and smashing it in. This makes it difficult to breathe.

Could it be an upper respiratory infection? My head is killing me too- Jay didn't get any sleep last night because it hurt so bad and couldn't find a comfortable position and tossed and turned.

Apparently my little painter's mask didn't really do the trick. Note to self: next time I ever have to deal with black mold: invest in a heavy duty mask for ultimate protection.

I am starting to wonder if all of this is really worth it....

The Bungalow

Have I told you about where we are moving?

Where you ask? Oh, it's going to be somewhere nice and quiet and cozy, tucked away from the world.

My grandpa's old workshop.

Do workshops have running water typically? Do they have a bathroom? Nope.

No need to read it again...you read that correctly.

And it may surprise you to know we are not the first to attempt this feat.

This "room" is 10 by 20 feet. That's not very big. I bet IKEA could do something amazing with the space and I have spent hours looking through their catalog for inspiration.

There is a good sized closet in the back: about 5 by 10 feet. And my grandma would let us use the kitchen inside and one of the bathrooms in the main house.

First, my two cousins went to school and made the place more of a room by putting up sheet rock. Then one of those cousins got married and the happy newlyweds lived there for two years! My cousin's wife added some beauty to the place by adding baseboards and moldings.

And why are we willing to live here you might ask. Simple: money. Well, no money that is. Does that explain why I am willing to live like a pioneer? Rent free baby.

So this week I have been scraping the old paint off the cement floors(my grandma painted it when my cousin and his wife moved out) and it has been a good 4 day job. I really really wanted something other than cement as the floor and my grandma said she would buy the tile for us!!! To get one sqare foot takes about 10-15 minutes...yah it's hard work and I'm sore- good workout but I think the finished product will be worth it.

Well, prepping for the tile floor, I removed the baseboards and lo and behold.....

BLACK MOLD. DUN dun dun.

Yah, gross! And dangerous. I didn't know what to do. We figured out it was from the place flooding the week before from the irragation my grandmother gets to water her back lawn. Okay, so to stop it from growing it can't be fed (get wet again) so now we are watching the irragation very carefully. But now what to do with the black mold?

I called around to get an estimate on how much it would cost for a professional to get in there and remove it and the guy was very cryptic on the price but I finally wore him down so he told me that after all the air testing and special tools they use to make sure it is gone, that it would be somewhere in the ballpark of $1,000 for this small room. Wha-wha-WHAT?!!! That defeats the whole purpose of us living in this thing. No way. I kindly thanked him for his time and promptly began searching the internet for better, less expensive ways to be rid of the beast.

I came across a few articles on black mold and apparently clorox is a big no-no, for once the mold is dry it can become airborne and if the bleach were to cling to these little airborne particles, they could become even more toxic. After reading and reading I finally decided to go with a product that is non-toxic and very inexpensive: Vinegar. I equipped myself with vinegar and gloves and a painter's mask and got to work. It was slow and tedious and every time I wiped the wall, some would end up on the floor- so after the walls were clean I went back over the floors to make sure there were no traces left. After about 5 hours, the mold was gone. Phew.

This is some project, I tell you what. Stay posted for before and after photos of course;)

Meeting in the Middle

Jay and I are living under separate roofs in different cities.

No, we didn't have a fight... I just had to finish out my nanny job while Jay immediately began working in Provo (thanks to my cousin-in-law). It's great and everything, Jay working out there, especially because now that is where we plan on living and going to school and everything. He's living with my parents...while I'm living with his... ha ha.

First night was weird- the bed was big and empty so I piled my clean laundry on his side in hopes it would fill up space and not make the bed feel huge. I woke up with the clothes all on the floor, guess Jay was right about defending his side. Myth is now fact.

So Mandi is into theater and it's so fun because she will get us tickets when she is in a play so she is now in Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Hale theater and gave us some free tickets to watch her.

It couldn't have come at a better time as it provided Jay and I an excuse to meet up in SLC and have a date. The play was amazing by the way, go see it! And Jay and I even splurged on a meal at Olive Garden (I seriously have forgotten how expensive it is to eat out!!!! I feel like some kind switch has gone off in my brain telling me how many hours I have to work to trade for one pasta meal and I can't switch it off anymore...it might be stuck that way now). Oh well, it tasted fantastic and I did enjoy it, so that's all that matters right?

It feels so weird to be dating your husband, not living under the same roof! I miss that goofy grin of his:( This week needs to hurry!!!