just need to do a little laundry...oh guess not

Excitedly I bound up to my new stacked washer/dryer to do my first load of laundry in my new pad!  So I put clothes and soap in and press all the buttons...then start AND....nothing happens!  WHAT!!!  So first thing I think is that I have to buy a new washer/dryer!  But first I decide to investigate... so I pull the unit out of the closet....Lesson 1.. Unless you are looking for a rollerskating challenge...never were socks, on linoleum and try to move heavy items...it was like being on wheels!

Anyway, so I get a look behind the unit and low and behold...nothing is hooked up!  My initial reaction was to call someone to come and help me...but it looked simple enough, so I decided I SHOULD be able to do this all by myself! 

So I get it all hooked up....

 

Or so I thought...I turn the washer/dryer back around and proceed to get it all set back up, press the "go" button...again...NOTHING.  Which brings us to LESSON 2....DON'T get it all set up and ready to go, till you KNOW its fixed!

So I pull the unit back out and realize I forgot to turn the water on...DUH!  So I turn both the hot and cold on and they spray everywhere  :(   I work on tightening them, nothing worked.  One thing I do know is that water and electricity make a wonderful combination IF you are looking for a new hair do...something more vertical, not wanting to change my hair, I UNPLUG the unit.   Work on the water a little more and realize, I have to make my first trip to Homedepot!

Off I go to Homedepot, having a pretty good idea that I will just need to buy new hoses, I say NO to everyone that offers me help and decide I want to do it BY MYSELF!  Finally after searching and searching...staring and starting, a nice man offers me some help, so with defeat I accept, as I go on explaining about the thing and thingy that I need to fix, all the while irritated at my own ignorance, he goes on to tell me I probably just need a washer and some teflon tape...$4.00 total!  SWEET! 

I get my stuff and decide that I need some tools and a tool box.  Excitedly I go to the tool box isle thinking, surely I will find something cute for girls there...WRONG!!!! I was terribly disappointed by the total lack of femininity in the tool isle!  Apparently I am the ONLY female that has ever bought a tool box and tools!  I ended up with a red and black tool box with HUSKY written on it :(   So NOT feminine...must we also look like men when we are working on our house?  This disappoints me, however I suck it up and go on about my way.

I get home with my new box of manliness and put the washers in and put the tape on the water hook ups...

I plug it all back in, turn the water on and squeeze out from behind the unit, press the buttons and PRESTO...it works...no squirting water, and everything appears to be working!!!!  I get it all set back up, and start my first load of laundry!

SUCCESS!!!

I am VERY proud!!!  

So here we go...

 So I am 33 (34 this month....but I still have a few weeks at 33...so I am 33)...anyway I digress.  I just bought my first home...its a little 938 square foot, single level town home.  From the minute I walked into it I loved it!!!  It has a cool breezy, beachy look.  In my search for my perfect home I learned that words like "cute" and "quaint" are clever euphemisms for "small"...however, for one single girl like me, small was just right!   

 So I put an offer in and get it and the rest is history....NOT!  Then comes the moving and then comes living in your own home...no landlord, no maintenance team and no one to call to check or fix things...there is you or the alternative...is paying someone or constantly relying on your wonderful male friends.   I decided, its time to be a big girl and do it on my own.  I am sick and tired of having to ask for help and rely on the generosity of my friends.  Besides...this is the year 2011...there is no reason I can't learn how to do everything "they" know how to do!  

My journey is just beginning.  Right now, I am not the DIY darling AT ALL!  I am a student at ASU, I work full time, I teach yoga and self defense/fitness.   I love pink, bows, and sun shiney days and my favorite quote is “A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.” said by the one and only, Coco Chanel. I love to read, cook and take long walks on the beach....OOPS wrong website  ;)   So you see...I am just an ordinary girl with NO, NONE, ZIP, NADDA, ZERO knowledge on how to do ANYTHING related to home repair or improvements.   

My goal is to become that powerhouse DIY darling in my title, and hopefully do it without blowing up my new house, or killing myself in some electrical fire I have caused because I decided I could re-wire my house by myself. 


I will write about each project I take on...and decide if I should DIY it OR call a professional.  My blog will also include info about tools that I learn about, where I bought them, good deals and all my blunders and success along the way...IF however this blog randomly stops, then you will know I have blown something up, hopefully not myself and have decided to leave it to the pros or my friends.


I have many projects I will be working on... no too much in the way or repairs right now...mostly just improvements and some renovations, and decorating.  However, as I am sure every homeowners knows, shit breaks....and I will fix it and blog it!


I hope other women out there will take up their hammer and tool belt and bear a new burden of becoming POWERHOUSE DIY DARLINGS!!!