If you decide to update your kitchen...

   If you decide to update your kitchen,
 

Make sure you take lots of before pictures!

 And when you take those before pictures, 

Make sure you take very detailed pictures of each and every aspect...

   Because several months into the eight week project, you will want reminders of why you started in the first place. (Not to mention how useful it will be when trying to remember after all that time where stuff is supposed to go!)

Umm, cabinet, dishwasher, cabinet, then stove? Or was it Fridge?

      When you want reminders as you slowly progress, take more pictures of what you encounter, even when it's a mess!

Wait, are 2x4 supposed to do that?

This is heavier than I thought!

Because others will ask you why it is taking soooo long to complete the project. And when they start asking you those questions, you will need the pictures so you can remember why it is taking you soooooo looooong to complete the project.

   

   Once you have started the update process...

 Remember you will find unexpected things. That need fixing.

   And when you find unexpected things in your project, they will cost, you may be sure, 

Nope...Not the quartz after all.

   Be prepared to make unexpected changes so the budget lines do not blur.

I suppose the laminate looks pretty good, though I really wanted quartz.

  As you make those unexpected changes, don't let yourself get blue.

     Instead take time to enjoy the things you like to see and do. 

                     

   And when you take that time out...

       You will realize that the project is just a project. And you are just you. That unlike TV shows, you have no team of carpenters, no master tiler and no design engineer. Your deadline can be moved, there's no producer for you to fear. There will be no camera's showcasing your home for viewers far and wide, no need to impress, no need to preen. Vinyl floors are pretty and laminate is easy to clean. That what you really wanted was a space that felt fresh and new, to share with friends and family, all who mean so much to you.

   So if you decide to update your kitchen...

Make sure you take lots of pictures!

Getting back into the swing of things...

   Been gone awhile from my blog. Seems that life got busier, but time did not stretch to accommodate all the extra stuff that was stuffed into each day. I tried not to beat myself up about it, told myself everyone needs a break now and then, that it would be okay, I would get back in the swing of things.

   Then a little more time passed. And a little more. And a little more. Time did not become any more accommodating. After a while, I began to wonder, where do I pick up the thread? How do I get started again?

   If you have ever felt like you were on a road to nowhere, I can say that I found the bridge when you get there...

   Since it seemed I was crossing a lot of ground with no purpose, and going nowhere very fast, I decided to take a look at pictures that I took during my absence from my blog. I was relieved to find that I was not the only one with a monkey on my back.

   Though I don't tend to chain my gorillas to the roof. Perhaps they have had a gorilla theft problem?

   My writing problem somehow seemed much smaller. And I realized that I was not just frittering away my time, I really was getting into mischief fairly busy. I did have a lot of pictures after all.


 


   There were at least 300 concerts at the end of the school year! Band, Choir, Musicals, you name it, I think we attended them. Recitals, I forgot recitals!












 And then there were graduations....

And graduation parties...

Then there was that pesky kitchen redecorating that is still on-going...

Nothing like a bit of paint to freshen things up.At least the appliances are back in. 

   

   We might agree on counter tops in the next year or two...so in the meantime I have a makeshift counter. And appliances, AND running water. In the kitchen. Such a deal! 

Gotta love plywood.

   Then I found some vacation pictures...

Our view

We rented a hopper!

So that is how to use a noodle...

At some point we went to the orthodontist too!

   There seems to be a theme of having stuff on your head.

      After looking at the past days weeks month or two or so, I didn't feel so bad. I may not have been doing much writing, but I was doing a whole lot of living. And in that living there are a number of stories for me to share! Like finding Nemo, when we were supposed to be finding Dory. I felt like I was passing a hurdle and well on my way back to the blogging world.

Perhaps while I am at it, I will find Dory.