a simple equation

Dear US Government,
Typically I avoid most things having to do with politics and governmental structure. But today, I would like to say thank you. Thank you for the lovely checks the Man and I recieved yesterday. Who doesn't love a tax refund? I think this is where we would cue the music and thank the Academy-- or in our case, our accountant. Seriously though, partner a tax refund with the First time homebuyer's rebate and you have two very happy nerds. Not only will this be going to cover the replacement game console (which arrived yesterday-I'm telling you, Amazon is amazing!) but it will also help fund a few projects around our nest.

Before we talk projects, let me share with you what I came home to after class last night. The Man decided to try and repair his current console. When I walked into our kitchen, he had pieces and parts scattered everywhere. By 1:00am he had completely taken his console apart, repaired the problem and put it back together. It was completely worth missing out on a few hours of sleep to see those little blue and green lights flashing when he hooked everything back up. I am so proud!

We're still going to keep our backup from Amazon because the Man says it is only a temporary fix on his old system. How's that for accessorizing a nerdy nest?

Returning to our regularly scheduled refund announcement.. I have some big plans for our rebate. My goal is to get the most bang for our buck and still fulfill the following criteria:

+ pay off some bills

+ put some in savings

+ complete a big house project or two

+ indulge in a few small treats

Since we don't have a minivan to add racing stripes to, watch wrestling or have any interest at all in Hannah Montana like Nick from Punny Money hypothesizes; hopefully we can prove him wrong when it comes to how we spend our refund. Although I should confess, a new iPod might make it onto the list as an indulgence. My nano bit the dust about two weeks ago and I've missed it more than I thought I would. But that's low on the priority list.

In my last post, I mentioned a little thing about tearing out a wall? We are finally able to move forward on this! The Man's uncle has done a lot of work on building and renovating local homes in our area and he quoted us a great price to help us with this renovation. I'm a big believer in DIY, but when my DIY involves a supporting wall and makes someone with 15+ years of experience say repeatedly "what a mess, this is gonna be a mess, what a mess." I'm not afraid to call in the pros.

Our goal is to open up our great room and tear down this wall between our kitchen and great room. The Man and I have always wanted our kitchen to include a bar and love open floor plans. Although we plan on a total kitchen renovation eventually, I'm trying to find a way to make everything we have "new" again. I am always amazed at the changes people have made in their homes while reusing a lot of what they already had.

We're hoping we'll be able to do a split level bar and then eventually replace the tops of both our counters and bar with granite (or something like that).

I love the light and bright look of this kitchen. There's just something about it that's so cheery and feminine to me.

This is a lot closer to what I expect our setup to actually look like. We're hoping to eventually add in new dark wood cabinets (to replace our builder's grade laminated-front lovelies--more on that later) and add in slate-look tile floors, and upgrade to stainless steel appliances. I like to blend traditional and modern, and I think those changes will do just that for our dated kitchen. But, all in due time!

For now, opening up the space will bring a lot of change to the feel of our nest. We'll also be relocating some cabinets and I'll need to brainstorm some creative storage, paint colors, and little things to spruce up the kitchen in the meantime. Mix that in with the fun of a main wall demolition and we have our first true renovation adventure.

In honor of last night's quantitative research methods class, I present you with the following equation:

tax rebate+two working consoles+tearing down a wall =
very happy nerdy nesters