{"id":379776,"date":"2015-06-07T23:15:52","date_gmt":"2015-06-07T23:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/07\/refurbishment\/"},"modified":"2015-06-07T23:15:52","modified_gmt":"2015-06-07T23:15:52","slug":"refurbishment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/07\/refurbishment\/","title":{"rendered":"Refurbishment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy Sunday, Journeyer!<\/p>\n

I refer to May and June as the hamster-wheel months as so many events are crammed into that sixty-day period, especially when you have active, school-aged children.<\/p>\n

Toss in a graduation and life becomes busier.<\/p>\n

Toss in a Valedictorian and, well…busier yet…<\/p>\n

Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy that all of Big Guy’s dedication to his schoolwork has paid off and I’m definitely a proud mama…<\/p>\n

Let’s just say I’m thankful my day job entails only twenty-five hours a week because our evenings during the next few weeks are going to be filled with recognition ceremonies and banquets…<\/p>\n

Toss in a complete master-suite overhaul, and…<\/p>\n

I know you can imagine…<\/p>\n

Warren and I first gutted the lathe and plaster walls, ripped up multiple layers of flooring, and upgraded our 1903 farmhouse back in 1998.<\/p>\n

The galley closet was so narrow that even walking in sideways meant being stabbed in the back by hangers.<\/p>\n

And when we ran out of funds to finish the initially-intended bath, we turned the room into a nursery.<\/p>\n

Twenty-eight years later I’ve outgrown the pink carpet and chair-rail with the floral printed wallboard.<\/p>\n

We’ve spent the past two weeks stripping walls, removing carpet and the windows that need adjustments since the house has settled.<\/p>\n

You’ve heard the expression, “It gets worse before it gets better?”<\/p>\n

THE MESS! THE DUST! THE CLUTTER!<\/p>\n

Furniture stacked on top of furniture…<\/p>\n

Warren and I sleeping in twin beds in Fave’s old bedroom…<\/p>\n

Our bed frame in the hallway outside of Big Guy’s room and our king-sized mattress leaning up against the 1800’s foot-pedal organ that occupies an adjoining hall…<\/p>\n

THE DECISIONS!<\/p>\n

I’ve spent much of the past two days shopping for lighting fixtures, a vanity, faucets and shower stuff…<\/p>\n

Just like life in general, this project is filled with excitement, enthusiasm, and some parts excruciating…<\/p>\n

Regardless, though, there is happy in the refurbishment…<\/p>\n

Happy in the fact that this has, overall, been one of the least stressful projects Warren and I have ever undergone!<\/p>\n

I once heard that there are a few things that will tear a marriage to shreds: Remodeling was at the top of the list.<\/p>\n

I’m happy for the helpful folks at the many stores I’ve visited this past week.<\/p>\n

I’m happy for our friends who came over last night to help us install the closet system and the electrical outlets and switches.<\/p>\n

I’m happy Warren suggested we hire someone to come in and help clean once the dust has settled…literally…<\/p>\n

Aside from the house project, I’m also happy to report that the restoration to Zee is done and I’ve got her back!<\/p>\n

\"Zee<\/a><\/p>\n

There’s not doubt that the guy who stripped and re-painted my car loves what he does. I’m super happy to have found him!<\/p>\n

And to top it all off, I enjoyed an afternoon at the circus with Beauty and my in-laws.<\/p>\n

I haven’t been to a circus in years!<\/p>\n

Following that outing, Beauty, who now lives in her own apartment, came to the house for a little dinner gathering.<\/p>\n

Now, Journeyer, I’m off to refurbish my tired but fulfilled soul by turning in for the night…<\/p>\n

I’ll try to come back and post some more pics, but for now I’m just going to wish you a good night!<\/p>\n

Sleep tight, Journeyer…<\/p>\n

What about you? Did you experience a moment or two that refurbished your spirit? Share your story in the comments below!<\/p>\n

Until we meet again, yours in hope, healing, and happiness…<\/p>\n

\"On<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Happy Sunday, Journeyer! I refer to May and June as the hamster-wheel months as so many events are crammed into that sixty-day period, especially when you have active, school-aged children. Toss in a graduation and life becomes busier. Toss in a Valedictorian and, well…busier yet… Don’t get me wrong, I’m super happy that all of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5221,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1034,1035],"tags":[316,1398,1399,320,1400],"class_list":["post-379776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-happy-happens","category-mental-health","tag-happyhappens","tag-datsun-280zx","tag-home-remodel","tag-random-happiness","tag-refurbishment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Zee-Repainted.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5221"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.annahelizabeth.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}