What a Weekend!!

Good grief!! Who accumulates this much STUFF in a hotel room over the course of 4.5 months? This doesn't even include a 50 inch plasma TV, satellite dish and a giant stainless steel grill! Friday evening Deaner and I went to dinner and had an early night. We had to get up bright and early on Saturday morning because we were borrowing Steph and Jon's SUV to take all our big stuff out to the new house! We were so excited to get most of our stuff out of here! It seems so bare now but I know that we still have plenty of stuff to bring when we finally move next weekend. It took us THREE FULL loads to the new house and back. It seemed like it took FOREVER. After all our stuff had been transported we knew we needed to hit up Ikea and what better time to do it than when we had the big car? Thank GOD I started thinking ahead of time and double checked to make sure that Ikea accepted American Express. Guess what? They only take CASH!!! (well, they also accept their Ikea credit card but who the heck has one of those?!) We also had to hit up the bank beforehand!Check out the 500 euro bill! That one bill is worth like $700! I wish they had those in the States! Not that I would have the occasion to possess one very often! So, Ikea is a pretty stressful place. I never went to one in the States so I didn't really know how it worked when you decided what it is you wanted. Figuring it out when no one speaks English makes it a bit more challenging. I actually had a lady that worked there tell me "NO" when I asked her if she spoke English. I have not come across anyone in Germany yet that has denied knowing ANY English. Typically I attempt to speak German when interacting with Germans but I just didn't know how to ask where to find the TV stand! Stressful! Not to mention everyone that lives in the Wiesbaden area was in Ikea at the same time we were! Anyways, we got tons of great stuff and MOST of it is put together. I promise I will post pictures of all of it tomorrow! Deaner has German class tomorrow night so I will have plenty of time. We got a kitchen storage butcher block piece of furniture, TV table, a rug, 11 light fixtures, a lamp, curtains and several other things. By the time we were done (we also went and bought paint at the hardware store) we were exhausted and Steph graciously made us a delicious dinner. I cannot wait to start returning the favor to them!

Sunday we woke up pretty early and headed out to the house again. Steph and Jon met us there to help us start working on the house. Steph and I stripped wallpaper while Deaner and Jon put together furniture. There is no nice way to put this so I just have to say it. Stripping wallpaper is a BITCH. I can't wait to post the pictures of getting it all down. Steph and I worked from 10:30am to about 2:30pm and then I worked from 3:45 to 7:15pm. And I was not even close to done! I dropped Deaner off at work this morning and was at the house by 8:00am. I stripped paper from 8am to 12:45pm before I was finished! What a pain in the ass! Steph got over to the house around 12:45pm and we miraculously got up the entire first coat of paint! I'm a little bit nervous about the paint color BUT I also was nervous about the kitchen and it turned out fine. I'm going to work all day tomorrow as well and hopefully get up the second coat. I need to cross the bedroom off my list of things to worry about. Just need to find a vacuum to get all that crap off the floor!

Deaner also managed to get up a few light fixtures. We have a LONG way to go but I know that it is going to be worth it in the end. It just takes so much hard work. I am SO lucky to have Steph who is so willing to help me out! I can't wait to get more done. After the bedroom (which I am hoping to finish tomorrow) I have to paint a two story wall in the dining room while we still have scaffolding up. I can hardly sleep at night because so many things are running through my head! At least George is out of town until Thursday so I haven't had any advice thrown my way!! My dad pointed out that I am making George out to be a really bad guy. Let me be clear, George is one of the NICEST most HELPFUL people I have ever met. He has made things loads easier for Deaner and me and we are super grateful. I just want to get things done sometimes and he always wants to get his opinion in! Plus, he is really funny to write about!

More tomorrow! I left my camera at the house by accident. I'll post pictures of all our new stuff and all the process in the house! Happy Monday! Here's to a LONG week! 3 days until I see my things again!