The thing that scares me most

I wouldn't say I am a seasoned DIY person by now but over the course of two homes and 16 years there isn't a lot that really scares me. My husband is super handy and is an AC guy so he took a load off my mind the minute I said "I do".

But....there is a project that looms, one that I am mentally preparing myself for this spring and it scares the crap out of me.  I am not kidding when I say I watched 10 episodes of Fixer Upper this weekend looking for spiritual reinforcements from Chip and Johanna Gaines. 

       photo courtesy of HGTV.com 

I know there is usually at least one home an episode where they pull up some carpet that looks worse than mine and unearth hardwoods that usually look something like this 

             (These are mine)

And they assure the potential buyer they will restore them to amazing and of course they do.   Sigh. 

This is the project that looms like a sword over my head.  Do it right and the trumpets in heaven will proclaim me queen of all DIY'ers.   Do it wrong and I will melt into the cracks between the wood like sludge never to be heard from again or maybe I will just paint them black? 

No pressure.  When we bought this house I knew this would be something I wanted to do and I really wanted to do it myself.  It isn't the first time I have refinished floors, I refinished the entry in my old house. That was a rather small space and this is 3/4 of the house. The thing is, aside from remodeling the kitchen, which I can't do myself and which is at least a few years off, this is one of a few projects that will add instant value to the house and which more importantly will make this house much more a home.  I hate the carpet. We all hate the carpet.  This has to be done.  I have to put my fear aside and tackle this project.  

So, anyone out there ever refinished your own hardwoods? Do you have any words of encouragement?  Better yet, does anyone in Waco, Texas know Johanna Gaines because I want to be her best friend!