Elizabeth Weintraub, Sacramento Short Sale Agent, 916.233.6759, Lyon RE

It's been an exciting day. First, I threw on my sweaty old cut-offs and t-shirt from yesterday, pulled my hair back in a tangled mess and dashed out the door at 6:25 AM. I had to meet a home inspector at 6:30 and let him in to inspect a home in Land Park for my buyers.

Riverside Boulevard was backed up, bumper-to-bumper cars, so I took a shortcut zig-zagging through the neighborhood. Jumped out of my car, grabbed my display key and headed for the lockbox. Oh, I had a few showings yesterday, my key said. Hmmm. No time to think about that. Punched in my code, held it up to the lockbox and FFBBZZT. I hate that sound. That's the sound of a display key that is not working properly.

Then it dawned on me. Why-oh-why didn't I think of this yesterday afternoon? Grrrr. Of course my display key is not going to work because lockboxes are on timed access. They won't open before 7 AM.

You'd think I would have learned this the time I stood out on Vallejo Way shivering without a coat in January. The production crew and on-air talent from Good Day, Sacramento! were there at 6:30 in the morning to film one of my Land Park listings for a live program. That's when I discovered I couldn't open the lockbox. The seller lived 10 minutes away, and I had to get him out of bed to come with a spare key.

I swore this would never happen to me again. But oofda. That's what happens when I'm sidetracked with this glorious kitchen remodel.

I dashed back home, grabbed a shower, changed my clothes, dried part of my hair and went back to let the inspector in, which left me a whole 20 minutes to go back home, eat breakfast, finish drying my hair, put on makeup and zip back to meet the home buyers. Whew.

Day 4 -- More Mudding, Sanding and Finishing Floors

Some spots on the ceiling are requiring four coats of mud. After all, I had removed several vents, and those left huge holes. The drywall guy used hot mud, which dries fairly quickly, but we still need to do a little touch up tomorrow morning before the cabinets arrive.

It also means we didn't get the painting done, but I knew that would be a long shot. And it's OK, really. It will save on paint because I won't need to buy an extra gallon of paint. Most of the walls will be covered by cabinets and don't need paint. If the painter doesn't paint a clean line along the cabinets, I will be a very unhappy camper. He says he can do it, and I believe he can. No sense thinking negatively about him at this point, now is there?

The flooring runs through the kitchen and into the adjoining room, which I affectionately call the sunroom. It's really a large room with a side door to the back yard deck. It serves as a place to put the washer and dryer, and I have two pantries. One wall is covered with built-in cabinets that are flush with the wall and perfect for holding our massive CD collection.

I'm really jazzed about tomorrow. The drywall guy will sand one more time, bright and early before the cabinet installers arrive, the flooring guy will install the baseboards afterward and, in between, I'll get a coat of primer on the walls and maybe one coat of paint . . . if I'm really, really lucky. So far, I've been pretty lucky.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

Day 2 -- Electricians, Plumbers and Framers

Put a power tool in a framer's hand and wield that power tool with authority, and I swoon. There is something remarkably appealing about a young man clasping a reciprocating saw tightly in his left hand with his right forefinger firmly depressing the power button as he masterfully cuts a perfectly straight line through the wall. But, sshh, don't tell my husband.

We now have a 36-inch wide by 30-inch high pass-through in the wall to the living room. I've been talking about cutting a hole in the wall for the past six years. My husband kept saying no, we are not cutting a hole in the wall. I let him say that enough times to get it out of his system. I guess I wore him out.

I offered to email my husband photos of the lovely plumbing work when I spoke to him today, but he declined. Yet, the plumbing is beautiful, simple and perfect. All of the awful, twisted contraption that some nitwit jerry-rigged under the sink is gone. Gone also is my blind-man plumbing job on the washer and dryer connections and drain.

The electrician, plumber and framing guys all showed up on time on Tuesday and performed magic in the kitchen. It was refreshing to watch professionals. We had only one little glitch. As the electricians were cleaning up the floor and picking up their tools, I walked into the kitchen and said, "So, where's the switch for turning on the under cabinet lights?"

They looked at each other with that stare that told me somehow the head dude forgot to tell them we were also installing under cabinet lights. So, they had to work overtime, but the job got done. See, if I wasn't here, I would have had no task lighting.

I called my countertop people to get the template date booked and was informed that they can indeed measure for the template on Monday, but they could not install the countertops until August 7. That would not do. It must be August 4 because my husband will be home on August 5. The kitchen must be finished by then. Nope, they said, no can do.

Fine, said I. Then I will select a different countertop product from another company who can be here on August 4th.

Ten minutes later my phone rang. Why, they were able to reschedule a couple other clients and now have time available to do my install on August 4th. Isn't it funny how that happens? See Day Two photos below:

Day Three -- Sheetrocking and Flooring Install

On Wednesday, the Sheetrockers showed up at 8 AM with a boombox. Well, ya gotta rock and roll when you rock. I understand that. Talk about professionals. I was blown away. The seams were tight, corners intact, and like lightening, they zipped through the kitchen. By noon, the kitchen was Sheetrocked, taped and mudded. I want to kiss my walls, I'm so happy.

Soon as those guys left, my flooring guy appeared with boxes of Marmoleum. I am using the Click product, which are planks about 3 feet long and a foot wide. It's a green product, but the color is Lava, which is black with a bit of a gray design. It's designed to last 40 years.

The flooring guy said that last week he hauled a bazillion cartons of maple flooring up to a second floor in a home in Land Park, and when he opened the box, the homeowner took one glance and sniffed, "I don't like maple anymore. Take it back. I've changed my mind." I'm glad that I could never be that kind of person. It's not in my genetic make-up. More photos below.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub 2008

The cats are very upset. Everything is not where it's supposed to be. Not to mention, two of them were locked in the bedroom all day yesterday. The other cat spends most of his time in a 4 x 4 pen because he has kidney disease, plus a touch of senioritis. He was pretty oblivious to the goings and comings around him. After all, he had cat food, clean water, fresh litter and occasional pets. He was in seventh heaven.

Which is where I wished I could be. But not. You see, you absolutely cannot do a major home remodel and go away on vacation. At least I can't. I have to be home to say, "That doorway is too narrow to fit that piece of furniture you're trying to jam through." Or, "Hey, you better put a bucket under that leaky shut-off valve or you'll be replacing my flooring."

No job is without its surprises. Such as wow, wood boards are behind the sheets of glass of my walls, and all that wood has to be removed. Didn't count on that. But then, I've never owned a home where the walls were covered in glass.

The demo crew wasn't thrilled with that development. OK, I have a hammer and a crowbar, I'll help. I took out a wall and a half by myself. Get with the program, you guys.

Oh, so that old water heater vent in the ceiling I asked you to remove is covered with asbestos? Well, look, don't keep chipping away at the asbestos. Now it is airborne and you could all die a slow and painful death. (Well, wishing won't make it so.) No, don't yank it out from the roof and leave a hole in the roof. Just cut it off at the ceiling.

Ouch, is that a live wire? Why didn't you save the little screws and fasten the outlets back on the wall instead of leaving them dangling? How am I supposed to turn off the kitchen light? BTW, do you have Workers' Comp?

Hey, where are my baseboards from the laundry room? They were sitting by themselves in the family room. Did you throw them away? Well, thank goodness I bought extra baseboards because I know what I'll be doing on Tuesday -- painting them.

Yes, folks, somebody has to stay behind and make sure the work is done correctly. My lucky husband is away on a two-week vacation. This is my vacation. Staying home and yelling at contractors.

But I have to admit, there is a certain sense of accomplishment after everybody has gone away and I'm left to vacuum up the mess because they say, "The drywall guys will make a mess so we aren't cleaning up too much. Besides, we don't have a vacuum." Guess what? I do. I vacuumed up the mess and washed the floor. And then I retired to the Jacuzzi to sooth my aching muscles after hammering and yanking and tossing wood all afternoon.

I'd say yesterday went rather well. Despite the little annoyances, so far I've managed to avoid the Top 10 Do It Yourself Mistakes.

Of course, the cats are getting treats and attention. I know who really rules the house.

I would not walk into a listing presentation without a properly prepared CMA, which includes not only the active listings that will compete with this home, but data on the pending sales (even though they have not yet sold, I can generally weasel the price out of the listing agents) and, of course, the sold comparables. I adjust each comparable by adding or subtracting values to arrive at a price in line with the subject property. I also pull the expireds, canceled and withdrawn listings. By the time I sit down with the seller, I am fully prepared to discuss pricing.

Yet, when the demo crew hit my house this morning to tear out the kitchen, they arrived without a dolly, they were tearing the glass sheets off my walls without wearing gloves and smashing at cabinets without wearing protective eye wear. These are professionals. This is what they do for a living.

I suppose I sounded like a mother hen, prodding them to wear gloves, asking them if a sledgehammer would make their job easier.

Imagine if a seller had to tell me how much the home down the street sold for?

I know I said in the past that I would never go on the cable TV show House Hunters, but a few weeks ago I found myself eating those words. Hey, sometimes it happens that we change our minds -- it's a woman's prerogative. After all, I reasoned, I've done a few TV shows, and they are actually kind of fun. Besides, I am certain I will most likely bring a warped sense of humor to the show. Mark my words, I will NOT walk into the kitchen waving my arms to pronounce that "This is the kitchen." Besides, the kitchen in this Land Park home is open to the living room and doesn't exactly have a defined space within four walls.

My clients are pumped about it, too. Which is good because after the producers of House Hunters emailed me, I approached a bunch of clients to see if they had an interest, and most of them were too camera shy. In a few cases, the wife wanted to go on the show, but the husband did not, or vice versa. Others couldn't take off work.

These lucky buyers, though, are buying a magnificent home near William Land Park -- not too far from where I live in Land Park -- which is closing next month. They are beautiful, witty and charming people who will undoubtedly make valuable contributions to the Land Park community. That's all I can tell you about it for now. There is also talk about filming another . . . more later.

Photo: Big Stock Photo