Better Late Than Never!

I think I say this a lot.But here is what the house looked like for Christmas!






I think I say this a lot.But here is what the house looked like for Christmas!

Electricity goes crazy!

So I yet again apologize for the lack of blogging lately. Hopefully tomorrow when I get off work I will take pictures of our Christmas decorations and put them up. Needless to say I have been busy working at my real job and stuyding for finals. Last week happened to be a very interesting week at the house. It all started on Saturday night when I noticed the internet connnection had gone out. No big deal I will just call Charter sometime next week and get them to come and look at it. Well I had a final on Wednesday so I waited till tuesday to call Charter and then had them come out on Friday. I didn't want to have to deal with them messing up my study time. Wednesday night I had gone out with some friends and when I got home Rob stated that all of the lights had been flickering in the house. So he turned all the lights out except for the room he was in. I stated that it was really windy outside so maybe that had something to do with it. Well the next morning, I went to start the dryer and all the house dimmed when I attempted to start it. Big clue that this wasn't good. Charter arrived and stated that my cable internet cord looked burned. Like electrically burned. Not good! Then he went outside and he said sparks were coming out of there connection outside. Yet again not good! Sparks don't come out of cable internet.The supervisor for Charter came out and looked at it and said that he would turn off all the power in the house because some how I had lost my ground wire connection. Basically, saying my house was one big electrical charge. At the time I happened to be alone at the house. And of course freaked out! To make a long story short Alabama power ended up coming out and fixing everything our ground wire was completely broken. Everything is fixed now and working better than it had been. Oh the joy of owning a house! But it is totally worth it. Hopefully, I will get a new camera for Christmas so I will be able to post more pictures!

Update on plumbing.....

Well the good news is - the sink can be used! The bad news there is definitely more plumbing to be fixed. We have really old pipes so if we don't replace a certain section we risk flooding the basement. No good! So the plumber will be coming back out to fix that section and hopefully everything will be fixed.

Plumbing 101

Well the good news.... the part my mom and I fixed. NOT THE PROBLEM! Good job girls! Bad News there is a leak in the stack that so happenly is covered up by a wall, but at least it is behind the dishwasher. So the plumber is coming back out today to build us "bigger and badder" under the sink and in the wall plumbing. (In his own words). When he was messing around under the sink, all the old plumbing just fell off the sink. Needless to say the 1970's plumbing had to go! So by tonight hopefully I will have a functioning kitchen sink! YAY!!!

Plumbing problems!!

So we officially have an issue that Rob and I can not fix on our own. The kitchen sink had been backing up. About 16 hours later the clog was out, but one small little rubber coupling would not stop leaking. So after much debate and putting our pride aside the plumber is on his way and hopefully will be able to fix the problem that Rob and I (plus my mother) have been battling for a week.

Fall is definitely here!

Here are the pictures of the front of the house I promised a few weeks ago! Notice no crate murtles.

"The Wall"

So we have this retaining wall to the right of our house. It has looked bad from day one in my opinion. It used to have vines growing over it(actaully roses) but the week before we closed on our house they chopped them down. So now the wall is an eye sore. So I think I am going to paint it! The picture below shows the wall as being a dark taupe that will match the siding. Rob is off next week so I hope we can do it then.



The bushes along the bottom of the wall are going to be yellow knockout roses. And remember the crape myrtles are gone and replaced with compact hollys.

Also we are going to try to get an electrician out to the house to give us a qoute on putting up two sconces on either side of the entryway. Right now there is just one light as you walk out the door. It happens to be right at the height of your head so therefore at night you get a facefull of bugs. I also want to put a recessed can light above the door. This is the sconce I really like:

Crate murder!

So on Wednesday I committed crate murder! Yep it was quick only about 30 minutes,a handsaw, and they were GONE!!! I can't believe how much removing the crate myrtle trees opened up the front of the house. I need to post a picture, but I don't' have access to my camera right now or the time, but shortly my friends. The crate myrtle trees where replaced by a compact holly. So I added some yellow mums and said "HELLO FALL!." Did I mention that I did this all in 60 degree weather. AMAZING!! Especially in Alabama. My mom is working on a fall wreath for me this weekend. I can't wait!
All I have to say is I love FALL!!!

Updated slideshow of the house...

Enjoy....because I know we are!!!

A little art project....

So I wanted something with scripture on it to go in my entry way.....after a lot of thinking I came up with this! It is the scripture verses you can get at Hobby Lobby. Then the background is a light tan. Then with the help of Stephanie and Jessica we stenciled on a lighter tan color.
Thank you Ashley J. for the shout out at Johnson and Johnson!

Ideas for the Living Room

So I have been thinking about what I should do in the Living room....considering there is absolutely no furniture (well I take that back there are two chairs in there now). So I have been looking for fabric around Birmingham - which is a joke. I have to say there are still a few places that I have yet to visit such as King Cotton and M's downtown. Hopefully, next week I will be able to venture down that way. I have found a few pieces that have stirred my grits,but then I found this stuff a potterybarn, which I am beginning to like. I mean why buy fabric and then make it, when I can buy it already made for the same price without the time. I am just saying that it is what I am thinking about right now. It could change and it probably will. Rob- thank you for putting up with all my frequent changes.
So here are the pillows? And Roman shade? what do you think?

Fall and procrastination

So I have been named the worst blogger ever by many people(ahhuh....A. Johnson). So what did I do? I created another blog....haha.It's called Grace of My Life- this blog will cover day to day stuff with the Bensingers. The current blog is just going to cover renovations - which I have a lot to update on.
So currently, what is going on with the foreclosure? Well Lots! We are just so busy I don't post. We have updated the guestbath, which definitely needed it. This is step 1 probably/hopefully of 2. The second thing is we are actually going to get furniture for the empty living room. People always say when they come to our house- they probably just haven't gotten around to decorating this room. NOPE! We just don't have any furniture. But that is ending soon folks! So this is the sofa I have picked out and in the very near future will be ordering it from Atkins Furniture(a.k.a Dogtown)



So what do you think?
And we will be adding two wing chairs that belonged to my grandparents. I will be recovering these chairs so they will definitely be a work in progress. But I am very excited to be getting some of my grandparent's furniture. It truly means a lot!

New floors = new house!!!

So the floors are AMAZING!!! Who knew I would get so excited about floors, but its true! I LOVE THEM!! here are some pictures so far....

Long time no blog...........

So a lot has be going on at the Bensinger home! Drum roll please..........we are getting all new floors! What a blessing if you have seen our old ones you would understand why I am so excited. In addition to the new floors we are repainting some rooms to compliment the new floors. The floors will be installed in two weeks so be expecting new photos.

Renovating

Well here are some rough pictures of the renovations so far.......

A Beautiful Day

So this past Sunday we took advantage of the wonderful weather and went to the park with some friends for the afternoon!

Coupon clipping inadequacy!

So I have been really excited about clipping coupons! I started back in the fall (and saved some money like $20 per grocery visit), but was quickly thrown off by the move and Christmas! Well I am back at it and frankly I have become very intimidated. Over the last three months I have found some very serious coupon addicts. They have this down to a science. Well when I sit down I get way to overwhelmed. Where do I start! Did I file that coupon under refrigerated or canned? Because before it was opened it was probably on the shelf, but then after opening it has to be refrigerated. You would think that was easy, but it just kind of depends where I filed the coupons depending on the mood I was in. So here I am jumping back in to the coupon game. Wish me luck.......
On a different note- Meal planning! This is the one thing I hate about being a wife! I don't know what I want to eat or what he will want to eat next Tuesday. I feel like I fall into the same routine over and over again. But I found this website with a lady who plans meals on Mondays! I think I will join her. And where I see fit I shall copy her menu. Saves me time and if its yummy it will totally work.

God is good all the time!

Last week began with Rob coming home with walking pneumonia on Monday. So needless to say he was out of work all week. His co-workers kidded him all day today about possibly having to send him his last will and testament. But as much as I hated Rob being sick last week, I did treasure our time together. Although, I think he would have perferred different circumstances. By friday he was still running fever so back to the doctor he went. He came out with a new perscription and a coupon for it. When the doctor gives you a coupon you know that the price of the drug is not going to benefit the checkbook very well. So of course we being newlyweds don't have a lot of extra cash lying around. So in my mind I am trying to figure out how we are going to swing two doctors visits and LOTS of medicine( that was previously perscribed during the first doctor's visit that didn't help one bit) and now the new medicine. Well we go to the pharmacy to pick up the new medicine and it was $58 ( for ONLY 5 pills) and that was after a $25 off. Wow.... I was like this better be a miracle drug, which it was. He was better within 24 hrs so it was totally worth it. But the most humbling thing was when I went to the mailbox that day we recieved a letter from the gas company. I quickly came inside and asked Rob "did you overpay the gas company?" He quickly replied " Nope, I just paid what they said we owed". Well the letter was to inform us that we had overpaid our last bill. Attached was a check for $58. WOW!! I say God will provide all the time, but it was so amazing just to feel him smiling at me and saying "you worried and I told you I would always take care of you."
So by Saturday Rob was feeling well enough to do light house work with rest periods. How much our house transformed this weekend. First of all it is completely clean with the exception of the basement. But isn't everyone's basement unorganized? Anyway that will come next off week. I even go to clean up the yard. It is all ready for spring plants! Mom is already planning where things will go.
Right now my life is truly a blessing! Day by day I am seeing the Lord's provisions for me and my family. I just pray that I will seek humility and don't become jaded to His will.

Christmas update....

So Christmas has come and gone . And boy did it go by FAST THIS YEAR! I think part of the reason it went by so fast for Rob and I was we bought a house and moved between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't think I will ever do that again or suggest that.
Our first Christmas together was absolutely wonderful! But it was so different starting new traditions. ( Especially for a girl that doesn't like a lot of change). I mean when you have been doing the same traditions for 22 years it makes things feel a little different! But it was all a lot of fun. I told Rob that if we started his family tradition of on Christmas Eve eating breakfast for supper that I must really love him, considering i despise breakfast food.
We got to spend Christmas day with both of our families and we definitely ate a lot of food. All in all I can't wait for all the years to come and the traditions that we will start with our own family.

These are pictures from my parents house.... I will add more pictures later!

Here's to a wonderful year..

So I made this blog along time ago, but just never got around to posting that much. I just didn't think I had anything to post about. But tonight,Kristen, one of my best friends said she had started one. I think that this will be a great way to keep up with each other and others!
So Rob, my husband, and I had an exciting 2008! First of all we got married April 12 and went on an amazing honeymoon! We got a dog in July named Macy, whom we adore and we bought a house.
Our house has definitely been an adventure. We bought a foreclosure and to say the least it needed work. I will post pictures as soon as I can get them loaded to my computer of before and the beginning of after. Some rooms are done but others are done for now and will require more work in the future. I love our little house and Rob and I have definitely learned a lot about renovating.
The beginning of our marriage has been wonderful and I look forward to the many things to come together in 2009 and the years to come!


Before pitures of the house: