How does one define 'sane', anyway?
As was pointed out by my cousin/friend Brendan last week on fb, I haven't really talked much about my/our sanity levels, although I have alluded to my shifting mood at different times.
Mostly, I think I am handling things quite well. Especially considering how many decisions I make/we make in any given day. It helps greatly that the pace has slowed quite a bit. There are things to do, but the urgency isn't quite as intense as it was before we were prepping for drywall. Now I can stay in bed till 9 or 10 if I want to (the other day I slept till 11 - like, actually slept. Clearly I was exhausted), which is what summer is all about, in my opinion.
All that said, I have driven Jake right up the wall a few times with what I guess must be a touch of crazy.
When he got back from his bachelor party in the woods (5 days he was gone!), he was raring to go and I was already used to a slower pace. Add to that the fact that the drywallers were still working, which severely limited what we could do, and we were both driving each other nuts. I was desperately seeking some balance - I can work all day every day when there is a specific goal in mind and I know there is an end in sight, but when that is accomplished, I want a break before the next project. Jake just wants to keep going. He LOVES this, and would be happiest if he didn't have to go back to school in September and could just keep working on the house full time.
Ok, so stereotypically speaking, man starts huge project, things go swimmingly till the energy peters out and then wife nags/whines about nothing ever being finished.
This is the stage we are at now (with a few exceptions, like the floor). Paint is up, cabinets are in. We are waiting on counters and appliances, and patio door and need to refinish the floor (before the appliances arrive), but beyond that, I feel 'done'. I want to get back to living life in balance. I want to sleep in, go to the beach, read a book all day - basically, I want to do nothing. Plus work on the wedding, I guess. I figure trim, wainscotting, mantle, sunroom and side door (cork) flooring, shoe rack, doors for manifolds, finishing areas like the back of the fridge and the little storage area above the back stairs - all of that can wait. Jake doesn't see it like that. He sees a list of jobs that need to be done, and he will continue to tackle them one by one. Working on the house is his hobby - it's the activity he likes best. I should probably be more excited about his attitude than I am - this is where the crazy comes in. I should be encouraging this continued progress! Closer and closer to living in a finished house! But mostly what I try to do is convince him to have fun with me. And by 'fun' I mean something other than working on the house.
Anyway, now that the painting is done, the wedding is getting bumped back up to the top of the priority list. August is running away, as August tends to do and daytime errands are a lot more difficult to do when you work full time.
So. Crazy? Perhaps. I did change a paint colour the other day after one coat. I convinced Jake to stray away from his favourite muted, neutral colours to something with a little more pizzaz. I LOVE IT. He is getting used to it. I kind of want to post a picture, but I'm also getting excited about the 'before and after' shots, and I sort of feel like we are at the point in the renovation tv show where they don't let the homeowner help any more so they can be surprised. I want you to be surprised!
Today: very last coat of paint in the sunroom (PIZZAZ!), electrical hookups in the evening. Sidebar: We've been without electricity on the main floor (except sunroom) for 4 months and I haven't really missed it.
Tomorrow: measurements for counter, working on the floor (Jake), working on wedding and probably more blogging (me)
Friday: Patio door install! Woot!
Mostly, I think I am handling things quite well. Especially considering how many decisions I make/we make in any given day. It helps greatly that the pace has slowed quite a bit. There are things to do, but the urgency isn't quite as intense as it was before we were prepping for drywall. Now I can stay in bed till 9 or 10 if I want to (the other day I slept till 11 - like, actually slept. Clearly I was exhausted), which is what summer is all about, in my opinion.
All that said, I have driven Jake right up the wall a few times with what I guess must be a touch of crazy.
When he got back from his bachelor party in the woods (5 days he was gone!), he was raring to go and I was already used to a slower pace. Add to that the fact that the drywallers were still working, which severely limited what we could do, and we were both driving each other nuts. I was desperately seeking some balance - I can work all day every day when there is a specific goal in mind and I know there is an end in sight, but when that is accomplished, I want a break before the next project. Jake just wants to keep going. He LOVES this, and would be happiest if he didn't have to go back to school in September and could just keep working on the house full time.
Ok, so stereotypically speaking, man starts huge project, things go swimmingly till the energy peters out and then wife nags/whines about nothing ever being finished.
This is the stage we are at now (with a few exceptions, like the floor). Paint is up, cabinets are in. We are waiting on counters and appliances, and patio door and need to refinish the floor (before the appliances arrive), but beyond that, I feel 'done'. I want to get back to living life in balance. I want to sleep in, go to the beach, read a book all day - basically, I want to do nothing. Plus work on the wedding, I guess. I figure trim, wainscotting, mantle, sunroom and side door (cork) flooring, shoe rack, doors for manifolds, finishing areas like the back of the fridge and the little storage area above the back stairs - all of that can wait. Jake doesn't see it like that. He sees a list of jobs that need to be done, and he will continue to tackle them one by one. Working on the house is his hobby - it's the activity he likes best. I should probably be more excited about his attitude than I am - this is where the crazy comes in. I should be encouraging this continued progress! Closer and closer to living in a finished house! But mostly what I try to do is convince him to have fun with me. And by 'fun' I mean something other than working on the house.
Anyway, now that the painting is done, the wedding is getting bumped back up to the top of the priority list. August is running away, as August tends to do and daytime errands are a lot more difficult to do when you work full time.
So. Crazy? Perhaps. I did change a paint colour the other day after one coat. I convinced Jake to stray away from his favourite muted, neutral colours to something with a little more pizzaz. I LOVE IT. He is getting used to it. I kind of want to post a picture, but I'm also getting excited about the 'before and after' shots, and I sort of feel like we are at the point in the renovation tv show where they don't let the homeowner help any more so they can be surprised. I want you to be surprised!
Today: very last coat of paint in the sunroom (PIZZAZ!), electrical hookups in the evening. Sidebar: We've been without electricity on the main floor (except sunroom) for 4 months and I haven't really missed it.
Tomorrow: measurements for counter, working on the floor (Jake), working on wedding and probably more blogging (me)
Friday: Patio door install! Woot!
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