The Month We Showered Elsewhere

I could never be a full-time DIY blogger because I have put off writing a post about our bathroom reno progress for awhile. And also because my husband has done 99.9% of the work. Someone's gotta watch the kiddo.

We decided to start with our shower first. We only have one shower in the house, so we figured it would be best to handle that start-to-finish to minimize the time we have to shower at relatives' houses.

So here we go. The photo on the left is what we started with. Hideous, yes? On a Friday evening after work about a month ago, T took the crowbar to the tile.

In just an hour, he'd made great progress on two of the walls. The crowbar was taking too long, so he started hacking at things with an axe... things moved a little faster from there!

Less than 48 hours after starting demo, our buddy Jim (who is a master plumber) was over to move some pipes around and get the new fixtures setup.

The following weekend, most of the Wonderboard went up and the seams were mudded. This process spanned two weekends because we didn't buy enough on Home Depot trip #8, so we had to make trip #9 before finishing.

T painted Redguard on the walls this past weekend, and I haven't been in to snap a pic yet. It's horrible looking though, and smells so. bad. Just so bad.

When T was in the demo phase, which was very loud, I made sure to take E out for the day. Once he moved on to Wonderboarding though, we hung out at home mostly. This is how she spent the vast majority of that time - standing at the baby gate, trying to catch a glimpse of what Dada was doing.

A finally, I'll close with this -

This is what was under one end of the towel bar after T knocked it off the wall. Seriously? I think there are at least eight nails poking out of that. Previous owners: construction mavens? Methinks not.

Young is the New Old

At some point Sunday, while perusing Facebook, I came upon the very sad news that a girl I went to college with has colon cancer. She is 29 and married with a son. 

Yesterday, while checking media coverage, I read a local story about a mother and daughter who were killed when they were hit by a car as they walked near their house. Although their names hadn’t been released, I had a weird feeling that I should keep checking for updates until I found out who these women were. The daughter turned out to be a girl I went to high school with. She was 29.

Obviously these are two different situations, and I’m not trying to compare them at all. I have every hope that the girl I went to college with will fight and beat colon cancer. But, these issues feel like those that should be affecting a different age group. 

The truth is though, they’re probably not. At 29, I can’t deny the fact that I’m getting closer to middle age. I know anyone in their 40s would roll their eyes at me for saying that, but it’s true. I can tell when I look at my skin and see the beginnings of smile lines. Or when I realize that I have a mortgage and a child and a husband and a house in my name. Or when I think about the fact that my mother has been gone for going on four years. At some point, people my age – myself included – became adults and I didn’t even realize it was happening.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. I really believe that my life gets better every single day. I’m incredibly blessed. But when will my life peak? At what point will I reach “the happiest I’ve ever been,” after which, things head downhill? I’m not trying to be morbid or depressing, but it’s been in the back of my mind for awhile. Recent events have just brought the thought to the forefront. I’ve heard my grandma say recently that it doesn’t pay to get old. I don’t think she believes that all of the time, but I know she believes it some of the time.

I guess the point here is that some things are just out of our control. Sometimes you’re dealt a really crappy set of cards. Do you live you’re entire life waiting to see if that happens? Not if you want to enjoy it. Throwing all caution to the wind isn’t smart either, but finding the right balance is important. Tomorrow’s never guaranteed. And that’s cliché but so true. I need to do a better job of remembering and believing that so I can stay present in the moment because so many moments are fantastic right now.

Musings of a Monday Morning Mind

My brain goes crazy most Monday mornings. I don’t have attention deficit disorder, but right now it feels like it. 

Even though I’m approaching 30, I still get excited about making a Christmas list. The contents of the list are definitely that of an approaching 30 year-old person. So far: books, a curling iron, and the Olay Regenerist Luminous skin care line. Yes, the one you can buy at Walgreen’s. I’m a simple girl.

Being almost 30 and a mother has made me much more frugal. I read this and couldn’t believe someone has this kind of disposable income. Maybe this is a famous person’s second house, but seriously? When I need time away, I get to go sit in my car. Because now that my daughter is super mobile, the bathroom isn’t safe anymore.

Having just talked about frugality, now I’ll say that I really want to go clothes shopping. Like, major closet overhaul kind of shopping. My body has changed since I had a baby, and so has the amount of time I can spend thinking up outfits. I’m considering limiting my work wardrobe to a few specific colors. My weekend wardrobe has been set in stone for awhile now. It’s nothing fancy in the least, but it makes getting dressed so much easier when I know what to reach for: skinny jeans, a white V-neck T-shirt, Toms or Chucks, and maybe a cardigan sweater if it’s cold. I think streamlining is the way to go. And to do that, I must spend money on more things. #catch22

One of my very best friends might be moving away. I’ve resolved not to beg her to stay because I want to help her reason through this decision as best I can, and I keep telling myself that it would be cool to visit her in a new city. But whatever, I still want her to stay.

The bath remodel is underway! I should write a detailed post about that, but considering my friend who might be moving away is the only person who reads this and I just updated her on the project this morning, I think it can wait. Needless to say, my husband is a demo and remodel beast, and we’re very lucky that one of our dearest friends is a master plumber :)

My daughter has not slept in her crib in two nights. Apparently, we’re a co-sleeping family. And that’s all I’ll say about that (she said as she sipped her enormous cup of coffee).

A million other thoughts: I really want to sit on the couch and read a magazine. I also want to clean my house. And decorate my house. And look for a new house. And make this house super homey. And sleep through the night. And go on vacation. And pay off my debt. And read read read anything and everything I can find. And work out. And be a boss at work. And help my dad at his new house. And spend hours upon hours playing with my daughter. And go on more dates with my husband. And write more for this blog. Ok, not a million. More like 15 things. I could keep going but I’ve run out of time.

The end.