Overwhelmed | BulgingButtons

February 24, 2020
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Getting My House In Order

So far 2020 has been the year of “cleaning up.” What does that mean for me? Well, it’s multifaceted, which is my fancy way of I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to do too many things and not doing any of them particularly well. Let’s break that down a bit further, and see where things really stand.

Home: This is what I first think of when someone talks about getting their house in order. I suppose I’m a bit of a simpleton, going for the literal meaning, but that’s the way my brain works. My house is still undergoing a transformation. My beautifully remodeled bathroom is done, but the rest of the house still hasn’t quite recovered. I sort of think of it as having gone through a major surgery. Everything looks okay, but there’s still some healing to do on the inside. I did have friends over, so that gave me a jump start on some of my delayed cleaning up projects, but there’s still so much to do.

Not my actual house.

Finances: I’m actually doing pretty well with this one. I’ve been reading some self-help books and following some of their “Law of Attraction” types of advice, which really can’t hurt, and things have been going well. My credit card is paid off, my retirement is funded, and my bills are paid. Now to do my taxes. UGH.

Not my actual money.

Relationships: These have been going pretty well too. There are some far away friends I need to reach out to, and some closer to home who I haven’t seen or heard from in a while, so there’s that. Family is good, the kid is good, the sweetheart is good, and the dog… well, she’s the best.

Not my actual dog.

Work: I’m a little scattered here. When our schedule gets a bit mixed up everything sort of falls apart, at least that’s how it feels. We’re experiencing that right now due to field trips and artist-in-residence experiences. These are all terrific learning opportunities for our kids, but they mean major schedule changes, and, this is a biggie, I have to teach math. I can teach math. I’d just rather not. I have colleagues who are experts at this, I am not. Still, we’ll muddle through. And then there’s my national board process. I need to light a fire under that.

Not my actual plan book.

Well, as expected, when I put it all on paper it doesn’t look quite so daunting. Make a few phone calls, straighten up here and there, and review the lessons before teaching them, and I’ll be all caught up. Oh yeah, and do that little national board thing. Wish me luck, I’m going to need it.

July 17, 2019
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Busted Bathroom or Now We Start to Remodel

Our house was built in 1986. Our bathroom was constructed and finished in 1986. Needless to say, it had its day. That day has passed.

One morning I heard a crash from the bathroom and walked in to find several tiles had flung themselves off the wall to meet their fate on the old stained shower pan below. Several of their compatriots were clearly considering joining them, so we helped them along. As we did we discovered that there was no longer anything for them to cling to. The wall beneath them had disintegrated from years of water damage. Who knew?

Now when we bought the house we knew that eventually both bathrooms would need renovations, but we thought they were going to be purely cosmetic, and that we had more time. We always think we have more time, don’t we?

Needless to say, the shower is currently unusable, and we’re sharing the hall bathroom with my son who is home from college for the summer. Oh joy.

Well, since I’m the one who’s currently off work, it’s my job to find someone to fix this problem, but here’s the thing, if we fix this the way we want to, then we also need to do something about the tub, because I refuse to put a beautiful new shower next to a molded acrylic fudge ripple bathtub. And when we address the tub issue, we’ll need new flooring. Do you see what’s happening?

I can’t keep the nasty old oak cabinets when the rest of the bathroom will be beautiful and new, so out they go, which means a new vanity along with a counter top and sinks. Oh, and the giant mirror? Well part of it has lost its finish, and honestly the look of two separate smaller mirrors appeals to me. But then we need different wall lighting, because one light in the middle just doesn’t make sense. Oh, and the overhead light? Well, it’s got to go, as well as the brass-trimmed closet door. And don’t forget the medicine cabinet – having it stick out from the wall might have seemed like a good idea in 1986, but nowadays we know better.

So, all that being said I’ve had a couple of contractors out to look at the job, and now we have to pick one. And then we have to pick everything else. It would be a lot easier if it was just for me, but I do want to take my sweetheart’s preferences into consideration, too. Unfortunately our taste doesn’t exactly match.

Wandering around the tile warehouse (O.M.G.) I asked him to point out his preferences to me. He likes nature inspired colors and textures. To me they just read dark, at least for a bathroom. I prefer light and bright, with maybe some tan and turquoise mixed in. I’m sure there’s a middle ground for us, but I’m not sure what it might be yet.

Oh, and then there’s the cost. It’s not cheap, but I only want to do this once, so we’ll bite the bullet and do it. Besides, we’re not planning to move, at least not for a couple more decades. At least our home has built up some equity in the years we’ve been here, so that helps a lot.

Now I’m off to figure out exactly what these bids mean, and search for some more ideas on Pinterest, because I’m not nearly overwhelmed enough (okay, maybe I am). Wish me luck as this thing gets underway.

So much nastiness lurking behind those innocent white tiles.

The shower is adjacent to the tub, so we have to address both.

The photo doesn’t quite do it justice, but this bathtub reminds me of fudge ripple ice cream.

November 15, 2013
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My Poor Aching Hamster Paws

I feel like that proverbial hamster on a wheel, the faster I go, the faster I have to keep going so I don’t get flung off into oblivion. I’m afraid I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew, here at the midway point of November. Yes, I have blogged every day for NaBloPoMo and yes, I have added to my word count every day for NaNoWriMo, and yes, I have showed up on time for work each and every day of this month (and all the months before, thank goodness), but how am I really doing at each of these things? Fair to middling, I’d say. But I won’t give up. I can do this!

Lucky me, I have a great support team at work and at home. These people pick up the slack without as much as a grumble (to my face, anyway). They know I will step up my game soon, and they will hold me to it, but in the meanwhile they’re cutting me a little slack. I love these people. Instead of making me feel like an incompetent jerk they grease the skids of my life. How fortunate am I?

So now I will take a deep breath, clear off another pile of paper from my table, and dig back into my work. Thanks, guys. You know who you are, and you know I am the luckiest person on earth because of you.