This Lo Life

I spent Saturday afternoon demolishing the kids' bathroom, which took me about four hours to complete. Having never demo'ed a room before, I took my time and followed instructions from the  Black & Decker The Complete Guide to Bathrooms, Updated 4th Edition: Design * Update * Remodel * Improve * Do It Yourself ( Mar 16, 2015,  Editors of Cool Springs Press) . I decided t o use Black & Decker's book because they have great pictures and easy to follow instructions. I began with the toilet. The hardest part about the toilet was loosening the bolts that secured the tank to the seat. It took me awhile-struggling with a flat head screwdriver and an adjustable wrench. The first bolt had developed some rust and its head had seriously deteriorated due to being submerged underwater for so long.  I kept telling myself to pause already and go find some proper tools to get the job done but I just kept the slow going. I figured I was already in it and just fini...

Last week, I started the remodel by scraping off the popcorn ceiling texture. The most recommended way to scrape a ceiling was to wet the popcorn with water, let soak for a up to 15 minutes and then scrape. However, I read one article that recommended against it. I thought I would follow the waterless recommendation because I felt it was less invasive and prevented any possible water damage. Surprisingly, it wasn't so bad, it just took a really long time. Texture comes off really easily if not located upon a seam (please correct me if I'm using the wrong vocabulary) connecting pieces of drywall. However, it is really hard if it is. You've got to scrape and scrape and scrape to get texture off of it because it's made its home there. It took me about 5.5 hrs to prep and scrape the ceiling in the master bedroom. I think I was sore for about three days afterwards. My right shoulder, which doesn't have any problems, started to hurt. I had to lay off working on the co...

I'm really excited about having a garage space. At the beginning of our real estate search, I didn't think having a two car garage was a big deal. I figured we'd buy a property with a one car garage, which would belong to Allison and I would just find street parking. However, my thoughtful and loving wife, was adamant on finding a place with a two car garage because she wanted me to have a garage spot. The reason why was because she remembered the difficulty in finding an on-street parking spot in a medium density housing area after work hours. There simply aren't any open spots. And there will be occasions when I come home at odds hours because of my job, making a long distance trek back to our place even more unpleasant. I kept brushing off the idea. I told her I'd just throw a razor scooter into the back of my car and use it to get to and from the condo. I figure it would be just like the old days back in college when I would leave my bike in the back of my be...

Allison and I are homeowners! After approximately two years of searching for a home in the City of Long Beach, we finally found one! In October 2016, with the direction and encouragement of our great realtor, Allison Van Wig and our patient and trustworthy mortgage broker, Michael Goh , we purchased a condo in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood of Long Beach. This was a dream come true! The property is a 900 sq. ft. condo with a two car enclosed garage. It has two bedrooms and two full bathrooms, kitchen, dining and family rooms. It's small but it's in a good neighborhood with lots to offer like a Trader Joe's, Vons, restaurants, a library, and much more. It'll be a big change from our current "resort like living" situation but it'll be our own little home. Here are some pictures of it. We've decided to renovate and update the condo. However, since we've got such a tight budget, I will be doing as much work on it as I can. I have next to no exp...