THANKFUL FRIDAY

Well, we've done it. This week we signed a contract with a construction company to come in and re-tile the bathroom. I am not getting everything on my wish list, but I'm getting some things I didn't even think about putting on my wish list. Like a new tub. The old cast iron tub that I have now has been resurfaced to the point of no return. There is an area around the drain is chipped off to the bare parts. But because I figured getting a cast iron tub out of this house would be dang near impossible, I figured we could live with chipped off bare parts. So this is what our almost $9,000 is going to get us: new tub, new window (that is not in a wood frame that will grow mold), new subway tile with epoxy grout (non porous grout that will not grow mold...see a theme here?), new shower/tub fixtures, removal and cleanup of all the stuff. Though the company is super busy right now and I have been told that they may not be able to begin for another 8-10 weeks, the project should only take about five days. Is my stomach hurting? Yes. But just a little and here's why. I know when and how long every thing will be disrupted and I think I can handle five days. Remember when I bought that new shower curtain and I wanted to rip out and redecorate the bathroom then? Well, now I get to actually do this. After the tile and tub is all done, we will be painting, installing new shelves, towel racks, and (very important) new sink faucet. I am pretty excited about that. When we first moved into this house, all of the rooms were painted the same butter yellow. I am down to two rooms with that color: the bathroom and the kitchen. Pretty soon, I'll be down to just one butter yellow room. I'm thankful for the timeline. Trust me when I say that scheduled chaos is better for me than just chaos. Getting a time frame for when the project would start and how long the project would take lets me prepare my OCD brain. I am thankful that when the bathroom is completed, I will have a clean bathroom. Like really clean. I mean, there will be no more bloody knuckles from scrubbing uncleanable grout. I cant even express in words what this means to me. Also, there is the benefit that upgrading the bathroom will increase the value of this house. This will be important later. This is a very responsible grownup thing to be doing and falls into my "look at me! I'm a real live grown up" folder.

The first week back from a vacation is always difficult, but I've managed my reentry into normal every day life pretty well I think. Besides meeting contractors for estimates, there has been yoga every day. I'm thankful for the time on my mat because I did not get on it at all while on vacation. I took my mat and yoga blanket with me, but the weather was just not suitable to outside yoga. During one of my practices this week, I had my yoga blanket in the middle of my mat and when I pressed back into child's pose, my nose was right on my blanket. When I inhaled I could smell pine needles. I am thankful that even though I didn't have an opportunity to do yoga in the woods, my yoga props found the opportunity to absorb some of those woods. This week I also inadvertently put myself on a cleansing diet. I didn't mean too. It's just that our meal plan for the week included beans and quinoa and rice and veggies and did not include gluten. My lips look amazing (but I really want a pizza). I am thankful for my food. I'm thankful for our time with the Cabbage (we've had her all week!). I am thankful for the things growing in the garden. I am thankful for every day on the scooter! And I am super thankful for you. Here's to a fantabulous weekend and a truly Thankful Friday!