Highs, Lows, Progress, Setbacks

Ever have one of those days when, despite your best effort, hope wanes and you fight to stay upbeat?Or in my case as a Christian, firmly planted in one's belief that God is sovereign and nothing is left to chance under His watchful eye?

Today has been one of those days.   Optimistic at 8 a.m. but ready to cry, yell, throw shoes or a pity party by 8 p.m?  And yet, there were bright spots, reasons to smile, a mix of good feelings with the not-so-good.

Let me give you the aerial view of the situation here in my corner .Then the details, because what's a blog post (or conversation or email or even a text) from me without more details than anyone needs?

We are in the process of remodeling our kitchen.
We are planning a vacation.
We are buying our first rental property.

That's the aerial view.  If my marriage survives the remodel,  I'll blog about it.  If our family survives an 11-day road trip in tropical heat without actually being in the tropics, I'll blog about that as well. And if we ever get a settlement date pinned down on the home we're buying, you will read about it right here .

The kitchen is coming along very well, actually.  I survived not having a kitchen sink. You gain a new appreciation for that humble vessel when you have to do dishes in the bathroom.  I can honestly say I'm sick of going out to eat every meal. Thankfully my kitchen is now fully functional.  Complete with Dispos-All.  (Thanks, honey. You're the best.)

The granite countertops were installed yesterday and I love them.  Paul came home from a three-day business trip and I told him I was so happy with the granite that it was like having a new boyfriend. 'I just want to stare at it and touch it all the time. Sorry, honey, you've been replaced by a rock." 



(sneak peek...)

So, back to the high/low/progress/setback timeline...

At 8 a.m. I was hopeful we might go to settlement by late afternoon.
By late morning, there was 10% chance.
By noon, we'd gotten word there was no way.

Paul took the day off because we were SUPPOSED to go to settlement today and move the kids into the new house tomorrow.  But a bunch of incompetent foreclosure attorneys and their peeps have royally screwed up, dragged their feet, shifted blame, and made life very rough the past few days. suffice it to say that, if we had used their title company instead of our own, they might have passed a bad title on to us!  Our very experienced title attorney will be personally visiting a judge on Monday to try to straighten out the mess.  We might (???) settle Tuesday.


At 1:00, my hubby started cutting the underlayment for our new kitchen floor.  The floor we chose is engineered wood in Brazilian Koa from Lumber Liquidators. No two pieces are exactly alike--and that's my style. A unique look.

Paul called me to the kitchen after getting some of that blue underlayment in place. He wanted me to do the design. (Pick each piece; there are long, medium, and short ones in all different tones and grains.)

He regretted. occasionally, having asked me. I didn't just pick up planks willy-nilly and click them in place. I auditioned each piece like I would audition fabric pieces in a quilt. He asked me, "Do you really need to look at three different ones every time?"  Yes, I do. You need contrast. That makes a quilt sing, and that's what will make this floor sing. Variety and contrast.Trust me.

And guess what? When we stopped for the day (seven hours later), he looked at it, smiled, and said he really likes it.  He said I did a good job, and that made all the backache worth it.

Our  rowdy golden dog, on the other hand, isn't so sure. He is skidding and sliding all over it like Kramer entering Jerry Seinfeld's apartment.   God bless him, he lives life full throttle.

So that's my all-over-creation-in-my-thoughts blog post. I actually feel better now that I've gotten it out of my system . Writing has a way of helping me sort things out and calm down. It might take 5 drafts to not sound like a blog-zilla, but I do it.

To recap truth:
a. God is sovereign.
b. The kids won't be homeless. We invited them to stay with us if need be, if that tent doesn't work out so well for them in a lightning storm.
c. Some lawyers are worth every penny you pay them.
d. Others aren't worth a plug nickel.
e. Our kitchen is feeling less like a construction zone and more like a favorite new hangout.
f. I'm really tired from installing a floor today.
g. Secretly glad we're not moving anyone tomorrow in the pouring rain.
h. I really like doing home improvement projects with my husband when I get to design.
h.  I can't resist details.