Another Week

This was another busy week for us starting with a meeting with one of the builders on Monday night which went really well.  All four of us liked him and he had some great suggestions for us on where we could save some money without putting up some cr*ppy little place for the old people.  We are waiting for his final quote after we made a few changes on the night.

What didn't go so well was the phone call from Council advising that, despite a meeting with them and a few phone calls to confirm overlay maps etc, the application that we submitted would result in us having to pay $19k in infrastructure charges.  This all despite the fact that we had been advised to get the size of the house/garage under 100m2 to avoid infrastructure charges !!!  This meant that we had to redo the whole application - a trying task that we finished at 11.45pm that night - and, we went to the bottom of the pile again.  That was the worst thing about it because basically now we are 12 days behind where we were and, given we are trying to get the retainer wall at the back of the house and the retainer wall for the slab built before the Christmas break, we are cutting it really fine now.  But, I'm of the opinion that things will get built when they get built and stressing about it isn't going to make them get done any quicker.

Yesterday after work I went to see my podiatrist to see if he could help with the pains I am getting in the balls of my feet when I run.  The body glide has definitely helped HEAPS with the burning but the pain has still been there.

He has recommended I get a different pair of orthotics for running because there is not enough cushioning in my current pair which are fine for every day wear (although I only really wear them in winter when I wear shoes - in summer I spend most days in thongs or barefoot in the office).  He said that I am suffering from capsulitis where the nerves and tendons on the bones of the balls of my feet are inflammed from the added pressure of running on them. I said that I knew that my weight was not helping but, at the moment, there wasn't anything that I did that was moving it so I am trying to increase my exercise to burn more calories in the hope of creating a calorie deficit which would have to result in some weight loss at some point in time.

He also said that he wouldn't recommend the running shoes that I am using as they are over correcting my problem.  I have run about 850kms in them and they will be fine for walking in - just not to run in.  He gave me the names of two pairs of shoes so I am going to see how much they cost and look into buying one of those pairs.  Hopefully I will be able to sell the second pair that I have at home (same as the original pair I bought) that I have run exactly 2km in !!!!  He also adapted my current orthotics to spread the load under the balls of my feet better so, hopefully, that will help until I get my running orthotics.

Her back yard

We got some photos this morning from K showing the first snow fall in the garden.  They did have some snow on Halloween but it melted as soon as it landed on the ground.  When I FaceTimed a little while later she had to keep changing her hand holding the phone as she doesn't have gloves and it was too cold to keep one hand out her jacket longer than about 25-30 seconds !  She said that getting gloves was the last thing she needed and then she should be set for winter.  When the wind doesn't blow she said it's amazing but when the wind blows - it goes right through you if you don't have the right clothes.

Another view

This weekend we are expecting temps in the mid to high 30s so I think we are going to spend lots of time inside with the aircon on as I doubt there will be much in the way of breezes around.  Plus, they started digging for the deck on the little veranda on Wednesday so there is sand e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e - the dogs haven't been allowed inside because they are just covered in dust and think it's great to be able to run up and down these huge sand banks.  I do hope that all that they have dug out will be used to support the floor when they do eventually throw the slab otherwise we are going to have a continual layer of dust over everything in the house which will drive me to drink quicker than you can say Jack Flash !  They are supposed to be pouring the concrete today for the foundations and the footings.  Then they have to build the supporting walls and then they can throw the slab - the quicker the better is all I can say !!

I have a 9km run planned for tonight - I hope that it will have cooled down a little by the time I leave work this afternoon !!!!

Have the best weekend !

TFTD :  Love and kindness can move mountains.  Learn to give without any reason.  Today, be someone who helps someone else look forward to tomorrow.

Back Running .............. Sort Of

Thank you to everyone for the condolence messages you sent.  I really appreciate them.  I am really happy that I could make my aunt's funeral and even more so that I managed to get up and speak - until the last two sentences when I sort of lost it a little and had to take a little longer than a moment to regroup and get those last two sentences out - but I did it and, for me, given how much I hate public speaking - or any speaking involving more than a group of about 5 or 6 people, I was very happy - or at least as happy as you can be at the funeral of a favourite aunt !

Going back to South Africa was an eye-opener for me as well as confirmation that, when we made the decision and left nearly 15 years ago, it was the right decision for our family.  I phoned A when we had got to where we were staying and said "If there had ever been any teeny tiny inclination about whether we made the right decision to leave - we did."  Not that there has been ANY moments when we questioned our decision but it was good to know that we had made the right decision.

I was going to post about my 4 days in SA but, out of respect for the people who still live there, I'm not.  While I loved the country when I lived there, for me, my 4 day trip was 3 days too long.  And, as much as I LOVED catching up with my 'adopted' sister and seeing friends and neighbours I haven't seen for 15-20 years, I couldn't wait to get home.  Australia is definitely my home and to those people who don't like it here, there are plenty of airports - go somewhere else - and, once you are there, maybe you will appreciate just how good we have it here.

But, back to my running.  It starts.  And stops.  And starts again.  And stops again.  And this is doing my head in.  I am a few weeks behind other ladies in our LTR group but I'm not the only one who isn't keeping up (pun intended) with everyone else.  Between the trip to SA where I thought I would go for at least 1 or 2 runs and didn't go for any, and head colds and coughs, it's not going as well as I want it to but I am committed to keep on with what I can do.  I had thought I would enter a 5km run this Sunday but, having woken up with another head cold on Saturday and, despite stuffing armmo force and cold and flu tablets down my throat, I'm still feeling yucky, I may save my $35 and enter another one after I have actually managed to keep going for 5km !!!!!!

I am loving my Garmin 220 for keeping track of what I am doing - although it would be heaps better if I could figure out exactly how it works before I start my intervals so that they are all recorded instead of only part of them being recorded !!!!  Last night I read that it could sync it to my phone so I am going to try to do that tonight - even if I don't manage to get out and run myself given I am barking worse than all the dogs in our neighbourhood put together and my chest is soooooooo sore.

I have another appointment with my hormone fairy later this week so that will be good because (a) my toche taking has been iffy at best which is probably the reason I am suffering with hot flushes, the itches and sleeping badly although, to be fair to menopause, I probably can't blame the poor sleep on it, I have been a bad sleeper for a lot longer than I have been going through menopause and (b) I have run out of medication so even on the nights I did remember to take it, I didn't have any to take.

Thankfully the renovation of the bathroom and WIR are FINISHED !!!!!  The only thing left to do in the house is - carpets in the other rooms bar the study and security screens if we decide to change those.  There is heaps that A wants to do outside but it will all depend on how much money we have available.  We think we are getting closer to finalising a builder and getting council approval for 'the little house' - I just wish there was a step by step guide somewhere about how to go about building a granny flat so we would know that before we go to council we have to get the waster management system guy in or the soil tests done etc etc.  The delays in moving forward because 'Oh, have you got XYZ or have you done ABC - no ? - oh well you need to do this or that before you come to us' is doing my head in !!!!

On that note - I am off to read other blogs joining in with Jess for #IBOT.

Have a fantastic week !

TFTD : Nobody who ever gave their very best regretted it.

A House Warming and A Farewell

This past weekend saw us have a combined house warming (for our 'new' home) and a farewell for K.

I was planning on having the house warming once we had done what we wanted around the house and garden and then I realised that it's probably inappropriate to have a house warming 10 years after you have actually moved into the house so, with that in mind, once the roof was on the deck (luckily we had it after the roof went on because it did rain during the night and we all stayed lovely and dry given the size of the roof) we tidied up around the house and garden and invited everyone over.

We saw friends we haven't seen in forever and neighbours we haven't seen since we left Wewak Ave.  It was great.  We saw photos of what has been done to our old home - good for them for making it their home.  They aren't changes I would have made but hey, it's not my house any longer.

We chatted and laughed. We drank and ate.  And ate some more.  There was so much food I landed up sending some home with people as they were leaving.  We had cake.  There was so much cake, some of that went home with people as well.  And we still have left overs at home.  Thankfully lasagna freezes so well although there is a limit to how much lasagna two people can eat !!!!

There were tears.  Tears from my baby as she said goodbye to friends - realising that she wouldn't be seeing them for a while - unless they Skype her, in which case she will see them quite regularly.  But I don't think that part of her brain was engaged.  There was sobbing about not seeing the old people and requests for them to go and visit her - I'd like to say that will happen but my folks aren't getting any younger and I'm not sure that they are up to a trip to the USA to see their grand-daughter for a few weeks but we will wait and see what happens.

I know that this is going to be a great experience for her - she will grow up and she will mature and she will come home a different person - and hopefully a better person - although given she is going to be an au pair to one child, the family she is going to be living with obviously has money - I hope she doesn't come home expecting us to keep her in the way to which she would have become accustomed !!!!!  Like white Christmases and 10 day cruises on the Caribbean - those we will not be providing on her return home.  What we will give her is lots of hugs and kisses and job applications to find a job so that she isn't financially dependent on us and wanting to lounge around watching day time TV when she could be out in the real world earning a living !!!

Photos were taken and will be downloaded and uploaded onto here for you to see at a later time.  Right now, we have to get our bedroom and WIR cleared and the bathroom gutted because I saw an e-mail yesterday morning that said "Sorry we can't make it on 28th at 7am - we'll be there on 30th at 7am" - apparently A forgot to mention that they had given him a start date for the renovations !!!!!!  So, now that it is the 30th I hope we managed to get it all done in time (given I am writing this on 29th !!!)

And, Thursday and Friday that we had taken to spend some time with K before she leaves, may actually be spent with K adding her 2c to our choice of tiles / basins / toilets / shower screens etc !!!

Have the best week !

TFTD : Knowledge is essential.  Your mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains it's original dimensions.

What Do I Know Today ?

It's Friday so it's time to join in with Ann from Help I'm Stuck for Things I Know - the easiest linky going !!!!

This week I know a fair amount - not anything particularly exciting but then, that's how I like it at the moment !!!!

- I know that I am happy to have signed the quote for the roof for the deck and paid the depost.

- I know that I am not that happy that since signing and paying the deposit, we haven't heard back from the sales guy who has to bring his boss around to check the measurements prior to them ordering the materials as apparently 148sqm of roofing is a rather large job !!  (No, they aren't a fly by night bunch, they did our veranda roof at our last house about 8 years ago)

- I know that I was very happy to get a quote for the shutters and blinds for the southern side of the house - it was nearly as much as I was expecting it to be so that was a bonus !!

- I know that if I can get A to get to their offices in Burleigh tomorrow to agree on a colour, they can probably start production sooner rather than later.

- I know that A leaves for Mackay on Monday.  At this point it will be a month before he comes home.  If he has to go back he will be home a week and then go back for another month.  All of a sudden they seem to have heaps of work up that way which is a little sad as I have gotten used to having him at home with me.

- I know that if he does have to go back, I will be rattling around in a house that is too big for 3 people never mind 1 person !!!!  I also know that at the same time as I am rattling around at home, K will be house sitting for a friend of mine in a big 4 bedroom home - at least I will have the dogs for company and they may even  be allowed to sleep inside the house !!!!

- I know that having everyone over for dinner on Mother's Day, while probably not the brightest idea I ever had, was so enjoyable and so much fun.  It's been ages since we had roasts with all the trimmings including cheese sauce for the broccoli and cauliflower but next year I think we will just take my folks out to dinner on the Saturday night !!!  We all laughed so much - it was great !

- I know that I'm starting to go grey.  The colour in my hair has grown out a bit and I can see a few grey hairs poking around in there - I was beginning to wonder if I would ever go grey - now I know I will !!!

- I know that I am pleased to be picking up A's wedding ring this afternoon.  Last weekend we took it in to have it made bigger and I can pick it up after work tomorrow.  He will be very pleased to be able to wear it again.

- I know that today is going to be a slow day at work because I don't really have a lot to do and I'm the only one in the office - roll on 4pm !

Have the best day and an even better weekend !

What do you know this week ?

Have you joined in with the

easiest linky going ?

TFTD :   Life is short, live it.  Love is rare, grab it.  Anger is bad, dump it.  Fear is awful, face it.  Memories are sweet, cherish them.

De-cluttering, Renovating and Moving

I'd like to say that I don't know where the time has gone since I last posted - but I do know - it's been taken up with looking at homes and going back to homes to measure and see what will fit where and painting (oh the blisters from painting for 3 days) and weeding and more weeding and getting the front garden ready and the front front garden ready and the back garden and the house.

Thank goodness I was able to take 3 days leave last week to get some of the above done but it seems that every time I turn around, there is something else that we 'have' to do before we put our home on the market.

The de-cluttering has been good - and so cathartic.  It is also very stressful because I am married to someone who likes to hold onto things.  I'm not sure if you would call him a true hoarder but he doesn't like to get rid of things - even if there is only a very teeny tiny possibility that we may use it, he likes to keep it - just in case !!!!!!  It does drive me insane but I am sure that there are things that I do that drive him insane - so we sort of cancel each other out like that.

I am enjoying going through our stuff and finding little treasures that I had forgotten about - a letter I wrote to my Upstairs Gran when I was 4 yrs 8 mths old, photos of family members no longer with us, writing paper/notelets I never even knew I had, 50c stamps that I will need to buy 10c stamps to go with on a letter and so it goes on.

The bookshelf, which is floor to ceiling and 1500mm wide - is full to overflowing with books - some of which we will never read again so Lifeline will get those as well.  I know that there is someone out there who will read them.  The ones we don't give to Lifeline, will get packed away so that we only have shelves that have books one row deep instead of two rows deep !!!

Ideally I would love to live in a minimalistic home, but I understand that living with someone who likes 'stuff', it probably isn't going to happen.  All I can do is hope that what we keep is worthy of the space that it takes up.  And really, do we really have to have more than two sets of anything - be it towels, linen, table cloths, place mats, coffee machines etc etc.  I am sure you get the picture.  It seems that Lifeline is going to be getting a lot of 'drop offs' over the next couple of weeks - I know that there are people who will actually make a lot more use of these things than we do, having it sitting in our sideboard, linen cupboard, bedroom cupboard or kitchen.

We have taken a storage shed that we are moving 'stuff' into this weekend which means that this week is the week that I pack up as much as I can and send it off to storage.  I know I can take it into storage at any time but I would rather do it all now and then they will cart it there for me instead of us having to do it later.

I don't know how much I am going to be around over the next couple of weeks - last week we worked pretty much until we collapsed into a bath and then into bed.  There is nothing quite as exciting as weeding by torch light - but it was so much cooler than what we had put up with from 8-11 in the morning !

Joining in with Jess for #IBOT because it's Tuesday and I like to join in with such a fun linky !

Have the best week !!

TFTD : Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.

The Finished Bathroom - Finally !

Finally - the towel rails and toilet roll holder are in and I can post pictures of the finished product !!!  Our other set of towels are post box red and they look really good too (well I think so anyway !)

The toilet was the first thing that threw our budget out the window - it was about $150 more than the one we originally chose (even though this was the one that I wanted) A didn't, but then he changed his mind and we got it - it would have to be one of the nicest toilets I have ever sat upon !!!!

TFTD : A single sunbean is enough to drive away many shadows.

A Little Loss !

This morning saw me jump on the scales in K's bathroom - for - the - last - time - becase we will be able to move it into our new bathroom today or tomorrow when we move all our crap stuff back into our bathroom.

Anyhoo - a loss of 0.1 - is not great BUT better than a gain and at this time of the year, I will take anything I can get.

Catch you all soon - love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : Your gift to the world is not what you buy or do.  Your gift is your happiness.  - Alan Cohen

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like .....

a bathroom !!!!!

Last night the plumber came so the toilet, basins and dropper are in.  Now to just wait for the arrival of the shower head.

The shower screen and mirror are booked in for lunch time today.

When I get home tonight, I might even be able to have a shower in my new bathroom - just in time for Christmas (well except for the missing shower head, towel rails, toilet roll holder and soap holders - still working on these) - but at least we can use it !!!

Last night before training I walked 700m and then jogged 400m - my knee did not hold up too well - bugger.  I am going to have to seriously think about setting myself a date for getting back to running otherwise I think I am going to just keep messing it up by trying when it isn't ready.

Off to Inala now - have a great Wednesday.

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : Character is the ability to win an argument without saying a word - Chard

Another Loss !

Well this week has seen me get on the scales daily (as I do !) and the number keeps dropping which is really strange because I have exercised less this week than the past 9 weeks.  A loss of 2.4 kgs - I did weigh myself 3 times to make sure I was seeing the number correctly - and it gave me the same number 3 times.

The tile place had the wrong code on the feature tile and so it will take another week to get the right tiles here.

The insurance company had the wrong car policy but are still arguing that K is only listed as a learner driver - she has had her licence for over 2 years - come on please QBE - this is a valid claim on a policy that is paid up - pay out like you should !!!!!  And then I am going to cancel all my policies with you and go somewhere else !!!!!

K seems to be doing fine - she talked to the counsellor at work and was more her normal self last night.

I knew that it was only a mini meltdown and that, in the greater scheme of things, I would survive - just lost the plot there for a while yesterday.  Of course, if the weather would just fine up for the period 4pm-midnight tomorrow so we can have our street party with good weather, everything would be just dandy !!!!!

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : The more you let go, the faster you move ahead !

Mini Meltdown

This is how I feel - holding on by the skin

on my teeth !

I know that in the greater scheme of things, my problems are not huge and they are not insurmountable but for me they feel like they are just getting a little too much - and I could probably deal with them fantastically if the universe saw fit to throw them at me one at a time instead of all at once.

Yesterday I saw the naturopath and she is REALLY happy with how things are tracking which is great except that I had to take 90mins out of my working day to go to her.  Then at 3pm I got a call from K to say that there had been a medical emergency at work that she was involved in and they had told her to go home so could I fetch her.  She saved someone's life which is think is just bloody amazing.

The insurance company have stuffed up the policies and now we are trying to work out what they have done with nominated drivers on the cars.  Then they lost the quote for the repair for the accident K had last week so have had to start from scratch so what should have been 7-10 days of no car is now looking closer to being over 2 weeks.  K has been really good about fitting in and cycling to work etc to get around but it is wearing me down.  Then there are issues with the bathroom - the drop in basins turned out to be under counter basins so the vanity we had designed wouldn't work so we have had to go back to the cabinet maker to try to work out how that can be changed plus the cost is going up because they need to polish the granite for the under counter basins which they wouldn't have had to do for the drop in basins.

Then A got the tiles last night and the feature tiles aren't the right ones so I have to go back after work to find out what they can do about getting the right ones - can they even get the right ones or do we have to go back to the bloody drawing board for the feature tiles ? 

Last night I tried to run on my knee - didn't even get 200m and it was sore, so, as I promised myself I would, I stopped and hobbled home and then went to training where we concentrated on upper body work.  It appears that I am going to have to be patient while my knee repairs and see how I go with cycling rather than running.  Man I miss my running (those are 4 words I never thought I would hear myself say !!!)

We are supposed to be having a street party on Friday night and if the weather doesn't break soon I don't know what we are going to do - I really don't want to have to open my home in the middle of the renos to a whole bunch of people - not sure we could even fit them in on the verandah as there are tiles and mirrors and taken apart vanities taking up that space !!

It will get better - I know - I just need to be patient and put on a happy smile !

Love, hugs and positive energy !

TFTD : People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel - May Angelou

Some During Photos

Some Before and During Photos

A Great Weekend (even if we have eaten into our contingency !)

Friday night saw the shower walls and tiles get ripped out and the vanity (after lots of discussions and debates and a little bit of  lot of swearing on my part) in pieces and outside.  My client arrived on Saturday morning to see the shower doors alongside the gate to our yard and the toilet on the grass (not the best look but she is also a friend and understood we were in the middle at the start of our renovations).  The plumber and A were very good about not making a noise while I was busy with her for which I was EXTREMELY appreciative.

I spent most of the day moving stuff that we had taken out of our vanity and filling 6 x 32L plastic boxes that I had bought on Friday afternoon and wrestled into the car while it was raining - along with our Christmas crackers (wonder if they will 'crack' or if they got too wet ?).  Who would have thought we could fit so much stuff into a vanity ?  Who would have thought that we could have filled 2 x 1620 vanities and 1 x 1300 vanity when there are only 3 of us in the house ?????  Where am I going to put my 'stuff' for the next two weeks so that I can go to work at least looking half way respectable in the make-up department ?  I found out today that I can fit a teeny weeny bit of what I need into a teeny weeny drawer in the bathroom vanity - might have to make do with 'half a face' for the next two weeks !  People may not even notice the difference !!!!

The plumber finished the rough-in yesterday and then kindly helped A with the pipe that he had sort of managed to fix a few weeks back.  I went to get K from baby sitting and take her to meet the family she is baby sitting next Saturday - only to get about 10 mins away from them and have a flat tyre.  I call A.  She gets into the back of the car, pulls out the jack and begins jacking the car up.  I ask her if she knows what she is doing and shouldn't we wait for Dad and she replies "What do you think ?  I don't listen when Dad is talking ?" (Yes ?") "When I got the flat tyre at work a few months ago Dad came and showed me how to change the tyre - you didn't need to call him to do it, we can do it."  And we did - I was just tightening the nuts when A got there so he tightened them a bit more and we were on our way.  I was pleasantly surprised - I never imagined that she (or I) would be able to do that - not because we are useless but because I have never had to !!!  At least I know in future I can do it (unless I am in a suit and high heels - oh no, that wouldn't be me then because I don't wear suits or high heels !!!)

Today saw A finish jack hammering the floor and I spent about 4-5 hrs weeding - our next project once what we can do in the bathroom is finished (which I think it is) is going to be to get our garden sorted out - again !!!  I really wish we could get it looking nice and then maintain it like that - seems like we do it and then other things happen and it gets out of hand again.  I managed to weed about 1/4 of it - will tackle it again next week.  A lot of what nees to be done is really physical work so it is hard for A to do it when he has been up and down masts all week - will see what happens.

I can't believe we are only 2 days into the renovation and already our contingency has been eaten into - change of mind on the toilet and plumber had to take an additional 3m x 1200 high of blueboard out to get to the pipes.  Take a deep breath - it is going to be OK !!!!!

This morning all three of us were trying to clean teeth, do hair and make-up (no no no - only two of us doing hair and make-up, three of us doing teeth before you start thinking A is a little strange) - luckily we have a vanity in the family bathroom and another vanity outside the toilet.  K asked "How long do I have to share with you ?" and when I replied two weeks she went "REALLY ? TWO WEEKS ?" - I am guessing she isn't that keen - well probably as keen as I am given that when I want to go to the loo and am in bed, I now have to walk down the whole passage - past our bathroom, the laundry and her bedroom to get there - by the time I get back to bed I have woken myself up !!!  A real pain - roll on the finished renovation !!!

Have a great week !

Love, hugs and positive energy !

Let the Renovations Begin !

Today I got to work just after 6am as I need to leave a little early today.  I have to pick up tapware and basins because tonight it all begins (well apart from the bit that A began on Tuesday night and then received a stern talking to for changing our arrangements !!!).  Move out the old vanity, pull the shower out, cut the wall tiles out, jackhammer the floor tiles up ready for the plumber to fit the mixers over the weekend so the reno guy can start on Monday.

In between all of that I have to get my knee x-rayed (still can't decide on whether there should be an 'e' in there or not - probably should look it up in case I have to use it again if I don't get it done today !!!) and try to get my eccentric loading done.  Oh yes, and keep the house all quiet for a hour between 9-10 tomorrow morning as I have a client booked in !

Have you got anything exciting planned for the weekend ?

Have a FANTASTIC Friday and an even better weekend !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : Success is largely a matter of holding on after others have let go - Zig Ziglar

Waiting is Frustrating !

On the weekend, A didn't work at all and so we were out and about looking at tiles, baths, toilets, vanities, tapware - pretty much anything that we might want to replace in the bathroom.  So, because I am so anal about finances lots of stuff, we did all the homework about how much (roughly) the bathroom reno was going to cost us except A kept saying, we can get that cheaper through XXX.  On Monday I sent him off with the list of items we had seen - makes, models etc so he could get the 'mates rates' from XXX and we could see what we could really afford to get done.  No luck with him getting there on Monday but he did get there yesterday.

Original comment from XXX - bring us what you want and we will get better prices for you even if we don't deal with them normally.  Not so fast !!!!  They can't get a price on the vanity and basins because they don't deal with them but they did say here, have this brochure from the people we do deal with.  OK, so we look through that - our current vanity is 1620mm long - the longest one in the brochure 1200mm.  Can they make bigger vanities ?  I don't know - will have to ask them.  BUGGER - another day of waiting !!!!  A is really keen on a double basin vanity - why, goodness alone knows ?  We have always shared everything and it is so seldom that we both want to use the basin at the same time, I can't see the point but he hardly ever says "I would really like this" - how can I say we only need one basin ?  Geez, I don't care one way or the other, I just want to know - are we doing the reno or are we going to Canada OR can we do both ?????

Who would have thought that choosing taps and showerheads could be so difficult ?  Who knew that there were so many different ones to choose from ?  Who knew that there were so many different shower heads and combinations of dumpers, rails, out the wall, out the ceiling ?  Do we want taps or mixers ?  If you want taps what tap head would you like ?  If you want a mixer, what style mixer would you like ?  Jeepers, I don't know - I just want something that lets me get the water out the shower or into the basin.  The toilet, I just want something I can sit on and do what I need to do - does it have to be soft close - not really, does it need to do anything else - not really - can I just have some basic model that does what a toilet is supposed to do ? 

Are all renos this difficult ?  Is that why we have done very little renovating since we moved in just over 11 years ago ?  Is it just that I forgot all the hassles from that long ago, otherwise I would never have suggested doing the bathroom reno and would have just not looked at the tiles falling off the wall ?

Hopefully by the end of the week we will know one way or the other whether we are renovating or not and whether we are doing a complete renovation or a 'do what we need to but keep what we can' kind of renovation.  I know I want to do the complete renovation but don't want it to be at the expense of celebrating in Canada.  I have horrible memories of an $8k pool renovation turning into a $30k complete outdoor renovation which added great value and space to our home but one thing just seemed to snowball into another and before we knew it, our budget was blown.  Granted, none of the money was wasted and we have a fantastic entertainment area but it just shows me how one idea can lead to something so much bigger than we ever anticipated.  We have the money, it is just ear marked for something else so I guess I am going to have to play finance policeman to make sure if when we go over budget, it is within an acceptable limit.

Do you have any reno stories that may help me in my quest for making sure that, if this reno goes ahead, it goes smoothly ?

Have a wonderful Wednesday !

Love, hugs and positive energy.

TFTD : Don't use errors as an excuse to beat yourself up.  Use them as an opportunity to lift yourself up.  Forgiveness is the great healer - Alan Cohen