One Room Down, One To Go

Well we finished the living room this weekend! After 3 days of continuous work and very, VERY long shifts, we finally finished a room! The living room looks lovely with it's Acorn Nut and Barely Beige walls, Olive patterned, stain-resistant 12x12 rug, new accent pillows, wall hangings, and cool new table and benches:) Unfortunately, the "aqua" color we chose for the bathroom made it feel like one was drowning in a Shamrock shake.... so we added a gallon of white paint to the mix to try lightening it up some. And now it looks like a slightly-lighter Shamrock shake. It's ridiculous the physical reaction we all seem to have upon walking into the room! So a new color will be chosen immediately. However, kudos to my man for working like a slave all weekend, asking what he can do to help ME, and then not telling me how much he hated the bathroom wall color until I mentioned it first, just in case I liked it. Very sweet, very needed:)

I Can Suck My OWN Thumb

Early this morning, I was awakened (after being repeatedly elbowed all night) to my husband poking his index finger in my face until finally shoving it INTO my mouth, somewhere between my upper teeth and lip. Um, excuse me? Can I help you? Unless you are a dentist, get your wood-choppin', dog-pettin' hand OUT of my mouth. After being elbowed in the face so many times, I should've bitten his finger, but his not-so-subtle snoring told me that he was still, in fact, asleep.
Thankfully, we had a productive day of painting (I'm loving my Acorn Nut colored living room!) and getting rid of old appliances in our basement. Then we went to dinner for some Mexican food with a group of friends, with Pat putting the moves on me the entire time, just like we were on a real date:) Hopefully tonight he remembers that although I do like the occasional Lady Finger, I am generally NOT in the mood for a Chubby-Italian-Man Finger, and to keep his hands, digits, and elbows on HIS side of the bed and out of my mouth.

A Night In

We decided that after a long week, me with the new job, Pat with mudding and sanding, that we would spend the night in watching funny zombie movies and snuggling. It was going wonderfully until my lovely husband decided to let the dogs in without wiping their feet. Again. So the evening turned into a wonderful time of cleaning up mud from the floor and the furniture. Apparently we are now "taking space". It's a good thing I like cleaning. Because that's obviously what I'm going to be doing. For the REST OF MY NATURAL LIFE. I sincerely hope God has a special jewel for my crown entitled "World's Best Husband-Picker-Upper-Afterer". And Pat's jewel can be entitled "Ew. Gross." But those are just options. I'm open to other titles.

Mono of the Heart

I am honestly and downright sad about leaving my old job and the families that I worked with for a year and a half. All day I find myself thinking about the meetings that I'm missing with the insurance company, school observations that I want to follow up on, and brainstorming with parents to come up with new ways to work on target behaviors. I'm stressing about the new job, feeling incompetent and fearful for what lies ahead. There have just been so many recent changes, and I think that it's effecting my physical body.... I thought I may have mono; super tired, weak, fatigued, nauseous, grumpy, runny you-know-what, not to mention the allergies. But I'm thinking it's more emotional stress than anything that is causing these mono-like symptoms. Heart Mono.
On the plus side, my observant husband noted that our one dog had become ill (also runny you-know-whats) on the new hard wood floors and tarp we had down while mudding the dry wall. But have no fear, he tells me. He's taken care of it. Ladies, if your husband has ever told you he has taken care of something, you too, may have found yourself with poop on your arm as you were walking out the door for work after he's left the soiled tarp outside of the door instead of washed off and put back in it's place. "I didn't see it!" he claims. But you and I, we know better. I'm probably going to get Mono of the Arm now, too.

First and Last Day

It was the first day at the new job, but the last day for my parents. They leave in the morning, Project Master Bath not yet completed, but further along than we could've expected considering all that's gone wrong. With a few mental breakdowns, several major fights, and a zillion house catastrophes, it's a wonder we're all still speaking (or living) at this point. But I was alive enough to drudge through the first day of work, consisting of signing a trillion papers, attending meetings, and reading massive amounts of literature regarding the company. I think after a 6 weeks of every possible change known to man, I need to hibernate (just for a few months). I will miss my parents, though. And eventually my bathroom/living room/stairwell/hallway will be complete. It's an exhausting miriad of emotions going on right now, and I know that all will eventually work itself out and be wonderful... hopefully sooner rather than later, because first and last days are never the easiest, especially when they are the same day.

Project Light-It-Up!

Today was a super good day as far as being productive on a bunch of little things around the house that were really starting to get frustrating.... and strangely enough, they all had to do with lighting. The overhead light in our bedroom now works (thank God, cause my makeup was starting to look overly-"fierce" since I couldn't really see myself until I got outside), the outlets in our bedroom now work, we hung our chandelier and our outside lights for the front porch (which my mom completely cleaned and spider-sprayed for me:)), and we hung our living room light.
Additionally, my man did a great job installing a second shower head downstairs so we can spray the dogs off, replaced piping on the hot water heater that had gone bad, and he merged our hot and cold hoses so they equal warm water now in the basement.... I'm actually really impressed. I knew he could do plumbing, but the initiative he had and just beautiful job he did was very exciting (and it was all without being asked, which I'm more appreciative of than he realizes...) and all he asks for in return is something about white thigh highs..... ;)

Possibly A New Low

It's not like I plan to have temper tantrums, they just happen. And it's not like I try to have impulsive thoughts of murder, violence, and blowing things up, but hey, like you've never been there? Perhaps my anger at this house (and my husband this week) has gotten a little out of hand, but (like there's really a justification for throwing things and screaming that you'd rather die than hear a train again) seriously, I've been teetering at that breaking point for 6 weeks and I think I finally tottered on over the edge this morning.
Thankfully, God saw fit to send me an angel in the form of Ace, the lovely man that works at our local Busy Beaver. He was the correct amount of helpful, encouraging, and lighthearted that I needed in my time of insanity.... that and the large amounts of chocolate I shoveled into my blood stream upon leaving the store. Ace gave me helpful hints about bugs, gardening, home improvement, paint colors, and the relationships. He has become my Dear Abby.... "Dear Ace, Today I tried to throw myself off the second story of our farmhouse and onto a strategically placed pair of hedge trimmers. What do I do to succeed next time? Signed, Tired of the Train"
"Dear Tired of the Train, just remember that if you die in the yard, the spiders will carry your body off and eat your remains. Do you really want to let that happen? Of course not. Next time, just eat more chocolate, change the paint color, and remember my soothing voice as the train screams in your ear at night."
Thank you, Ace. Thank you.