Home improvement

The deck framing- Success!! the kitchen projects that I was supposed to get done- FAIL!! We have decided to put more electrical outlets in the kitchen so we can't put up the backsplash. We also found out that the only thing that really works to strip vinyl peel and stick tiles is ammonia. Not in my house this weekend...it was too hot to keep the windows open....so instead

My mother in law and I made nine and a half gallons of pickles. INSANITY is what got into my husband when he ordered two bushels of pickling cucumbers. We used up one bushel on nine and a half gallons. My mother in law took the other bushel home with her. She did leave a few of the larger pickles with me and David decided last night that he missed out on the pickling fun so we did another three gallons. We have enough pickles for the rest of the year...and probably some of next year!
This is the first time I have ever done any kind of canning. It was kinda fun. I am going to try to do jam next. Don't even know where to start, but like doing the renovation ourselves, there is something quite satisfying about knowing that we have cut one thing off our grocery list cause we did it ourselves.

Progress

The kitchen counters are almost done. We ran out of grout to finish them so another trip to the store is in order to get them done. The guys are building a deck this weekend...so major home improvement will be done after this weekend.
There really is nothing that is as satisfying as working up a sweat while working on something that literally transforms the space where you live. It would have been easier to hire someone to come in and do the counters (and probably a whole lot less stress) but it is something that is actually relatively easy to do. Time consuming absolutely but easy none the less. My house is a mess and I can feel it messing with my balance, but I scrubbed dried grout off the counters last night and stood back to look at it and was amazed at the change. The kitchen was the one room in the house that we hadn't really changed since we moved in 2 + years ago and by the end of the weekend it will look completely different. This is the part of owning a house that makes me smile.

Red Door

I painted my door red this weekend....we are in the middle of some crazy home renovation projects including a kitchen sort-of remodel and building a deck. Nothing went the way it was supposed to go this weekend as far as scheduling was concerned (primarily my husband had to work all day on Saturday) so I decided to venture to the home improvement store all by myself. I generally dislike these stores because it is usually too much testosterone for me. This weekend was great at the store. I found the things I needed for my kitchen without too much hassle and I decided that I was going to paint my front door red. Bright fire engine red. So I painted, in the insane humidity that made the paint take FOREVER to dry but there are three coats on it right now and it needs one more. I am going to give it one more day to dry completely and then this will be the final coat.
What does the red door mean? I don't know. It means that the people who live in the house don't take themselves too seriously? It means that they want to be different from everyone else? You don't really know what to expect when you walk in the house? I don't know, but I have gone in and out of my house a dozen times since I painted it and the door has made me smile every single time I have walked through it. To me, the door means that I am home.

Last day of the month!

I work a sales job- our last day for the month is the first day of the following month. This means that we need to make our goals by this day. Last week it looked like the month was going to be lost and that there was no way that I was going to make it. Today- I am 33 cards away from making goal. It is very satisfying to know that there is a potential to pull it out. It makes me smile to think that I will be working as hard as i possibly can to pull it out today. Also tomorrow starts a brand new month...a chance to start over and get going all over again.

Acupuncturist Advice

I have been thinking about this post for the last several days. I am seeing an acupuncturist, who is a life saver. We were talking at my appointment the other day about fears and how in the Buddhist religion it is believed that individuals should write down what they fear the most and how their lives will be affected by the worst happening. He said to be as specific as possible about your fears and what your life would look like and having confronted the possibility of that reality, you will put the fear away and not let it affect your everyday life. I found this remarkably interesting because I had never thought of it that way. I know that there are times when everything just gets so overwhelming that you just need to clear your head completely and I feel like hiding under a rock. I haven't done that for a while, but I do know that I need to recharge soon. When I get to this completely overwhelmed point, it is difficult to ascertain where one worry/fear/stress ends and the other begins and I know that I can't deal well when I can't find a box to put things away, or at least compartmentalize so that I can deal with the issues one at a time. I don't know how I feel about writing everything down like that...I guess it makes sense in the long run because there is a natural fear of the unknown....and if you write out what could happen then it's not unknown anymore...maybe? I haven't done this yet...I am considering it..

New Shoes...

Today what is making me smile are two new pairs of shoes. I am a bit of a shoe collector. I easily have over 100 pairs of shoes and yet still find ones that I love. The last two days have been two new pairs of heels that I bought a couple of weeks ago. One pair is a basic black mary jane style shoe with a chunky heel. Today's shoes are purple with a stilletto heel. The purple shoes are uncomfortable as all get out but they are adorable. Even better though is knowing that I have my dependable flip flops under my desk- so when they hurt too much I can slip those on!

I had acupuncture yesterday and a really great conversation with my acupuncturist. i am trying to figure out how to follow his advice and write out some things.

Smiles have been hard to come by..

This weekend was okay...it was great to see my grandparents and be able to hang out with them. Other family drama put a damper on whatw as supposed to be a pretty low key weekend.
It has been hot and humid, two things that happen very rarely up here in Maine, and I am LOVING it. We are supposed to get some crazy thunderstorms today. I love summer thunderstorms.
My mom sent me this quote the other day and it seems to encompass the wisdom that I need this week
"Do people let you down? Don't carry them on your shoulders; take them into your heart."