Mission 365

You should read my friend Jenny's blog.  Here are the reasons:
1.  She is awesome.
2.  She is awesome.
3.  She is awesome.

Did I mention that she is awesome?  She said good riddance to corporate America and headed down under to explore a new life.  I was perusing through some of the photos she took in San Francisco a few months ago and saw that we had taken many of the same pictures.  However, hers were SO.MUCH.BETTER.  It wasn't the clarity or anything like that, she just has a much more creative eye than I, therefore the composition of her pictures really captures your attention.

Her blog is a documentary of her journey abroad and her mission to break out her camera and take at least one picture per day for 365 days.  Besides the beautiful eye candy that her images present, she's also a great writer.  And, at this very moment, I pretty much want to throw caution to the wind and go join her on her journey.  Except I'd really miss my husband.  And my dogs.  And college football season.  Maybe in the spring.  ;)

Vive la Jenny!

Swift Kick in the Butt

There have been a few things (one in particular) that have been weighing heavily on me in my personal life lately.  I have been praying a lot... asking God for what I want and asking Him to help me be content with what I have.  Literally, just in the last maybe 30 minutes, I was petitioning Him with all I have for contentment.  And then He gave me a swift kick in the a*s.  Just got some news that is beyond devastating for someone I know and another reminder of how fragile, precious and short life can be.  It's like He said, "Snap out of it, girl.  Your life has a plan and a purpose and it will happen in MY time and according to MY plan.  Enjoy what you have now and stop looking to the future.  I do not guarantee you a tomorrow."  I may not always like His answers, and in this case, the reminder that I am beyond blessed comes with the sheer pain and loss for someone else, but I trust Him.  My life has been good, but it hasn't always been easy, and God has not failed me yet.

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
-Psalm 9:10

So happy together

Three years, and that couldn't be more true (and I sure hope I'm speaking for both of us)!  :)  It's been a whirlwind three years between job transfers, job losses, fun trips, buying a house, doing all kinds of improvements and renovations on said house, adopting our little lickers, and just living that thing called life.  It hasn't always been easy and there have been a few "hard" times, but I couldn't imagine a better partner to walk through this with than Matt.  He makes me smile and laugh (and sometimes want to punch him in the face); he makes me proud and still makes me weak in the knees; he humbles me when I need it and lifts me up too; he still surprises me and I feel like I'm always learning something new about him.  No matter what else happens, I am so lucky to have a husband like him.

Our modeling shot.  ;)

A little moment... not sure what the smirk was about, but it's pretty typical with us.

Update on the kitchen... or why I've been driven to the bottle.

Renovations are not for the faint of heart, especially when you're renovating the heart of the house.  If we aren't sleeping, all of our time is spent in our living room and kitchen, both of which are currently rendered useless and have been for almost three weeks.  Now, this truly isn't a terrible timeframe considering the kitchen was almost a full gut job (no wall removal, but every other surface was removed or altered in some way).  We're looking at another 10 days before we have countertops and 11 days before we have a fully functioning kitchen (but not fully completed).  First, a list of reasons I've started drinking just about every night we've been in renovation mode. 

• Dust.  Everywhere.  (It has since been mostly cleaned, but the dining room/our kitchen staging area is in major need of a deep cleaning.)
• Spending all of our time at home in our bedroom.  With two golden retrievers who are antsy and confused as to why they are permanently confined to the bedroom or bathroom.
• My kitchen renovation diet.  Let's just say that a major paleo lockdown/detox is needed after a very increased consumption of grains and sugar.  And, it's a total reminder of how addicting sugar is and how amazing you feel when you're free of it.  Sugar = crack.
• Washing dishes in the half-bathroom sink.  The toilet is approximately two feet from said sink.  Sanitary much?
• A very laboring Labor Day weekend.  Seriously, worked in the kitchen almost the entire weekend (we took breaks to attend a Braves game on Friday night and to watch the Gators with some friends on Saturday night).  (I felt very accomplished after getting it all done though.)
• Finding out today that our floors need a third coat of poly, when we thought we'd be able to start moving everything back in this weekend.  Have I mentioned that we are a frat house???  Our couches are on our front porch.  Classy, party of two, your table is ready.  (Thank God for a giant covered front porch... I guess we would have had to get a storage unit or pod if not.)
• The fact that we bumped out the depth of our laundry closet a few inches (and a fair amount of $$$) to accommodate solid bi-fold doors and the depth of our washer and dryer only to find that the solid doors do not open wide enough to be able to open the washer/dryer doors.  We need like another inch, so we're trying to figure out ways to make this happen.  Thankfully, our contractors are awesome and even though this was not anything anyone expected (or necessarily should have), they are working to make it work at no additional cost to us.  I'm confident that we'll figure out something, or at worst, have to stack the units.
• The cabinet installer mis-drilling for the hardware on three drawers.  (No worries, they will be replaced at no cost to us, of course.)

Second, what's still left to do.

• Paint the doors. (us)
• Paint the ceiling. (us)
• Pick out fabric for Roman shades. (me)
• Pick out tile for backsplash. (us)
• Sew Roman shades. (me)
• Another coat of poly on the floors.
• Install dishwasher.  (Matt)
• Pick out different corbels and hang shelves. (us)
• Figure out shelving in laundry closet once configuration is known. (us)
• Make/install said shelving. (us)
• Install countertops.
• Install stove.
• Install faucet and disposal.
• Put in the tile backsplash. (us)

I'm sure I'm missing a few things, but that's the gist of it for posterity's sake.  What's left is mostly finishing items, except the countertops are a pretty big one.  I'm hoping to pick out the fabric and tile this weekend, paint the ceiling, and get the doors painted.  We should be able to handle that after all we did last weekend.  Our biggest project was creating the shelving in the pantry... I hate wire shelving, so I was the brain child behind our nice, solid wood shelves and Matt executed (I painted).  Besides the wire shelves, the pantry previously had yellow baseboards and I'm not sure it had ever been painted.  I don't know what it is with me and closets, but having a nice clean and fresh looking closet makes me so happy (same with walls... I just don't like stuff to look dirty).

She's a beaut.

So, besides the pantry, last weekend we did a ton of cleaning, finished painting (including the interiors of two other closets and trim throughout the kitchen and living room), and Matt put in the under cabinet lighting.  And, that, my friends (including trips to HD and said other activities above) took up our entire long holiday weekend.  I was so thankful for that extra day, because even though we worked our butts off, it felt good to cross those items off the list!

To be continued, but it's coming together nicely.  And, truly, things have gone pretty much according to plan, so I am thankful that the hiccups have been minor (and correctable) in nature... and eased by a nice glass of wine.  :)