Did it!

I did it! I demolished the upstairs bathroom getting it ready to remodel. On Tuesday afternoon, I took off the shower surround and uncovered black mold. Tons of it! a It freaked me out and I wasn't masked so I sealed up the room and called it good. On Wednesday, I put on a mask, opened the window and removed as much of the yucky wallboard as I could until I had a headache. Last night I employed the Tom Sawyer method with Joel. He spent about 15 minutes and matched my two hours of labor easily. He loved it! "This is easy mom!." So with little cajoling and offer to pay him, he helped for about 1 1/2 hours today and we finished! Joel mostly pulled off the sheetrock and I scrubbed black mold, removed nails and toted the sheetrock out to the driveway. I also did the research on how to remove the toilet. And voila! Its done! I'll bet I burned some serious calories.

Letters from Adelle

The last two times I've picked up Adelle, she's written me a letter which she reads to me as soon as she gets in the car. Even though she has been pushing my limits lately, these letters are pretty cute.
This one was written on lined index cards:
Dear Ms. Clark: Nicki Minaj lost no. 1 in the eight-at-eight yesterday the same day Tim Cowlinshaw and Woody Paige were stopped cold. I like when I can do my twelve hobbies. If I do dance camp, I'm on the dance team. Sports--I'm out vellyball, basketball, and track this year. I can do volleyball and basketball at the DCC gym. The tennis clinic and Stagg Hill Golf club give me more to offer. I can do it all at once next summer--long as I add weight training to mix for a tug of war. Back to sports--If I'm into soccer and softball, that's fine next summer. According to some people, I can get lockers unstuck. Darby Price update--She wants to know if I can form a fan club and do girls club, which is nice. I helped her when she was hurt, and I wonder if she'll invite me over. Jackie Mac update--she hasn't won since June 29--a span of just one loss. She wins today, the Cowlinshaw and Paige woul do the same, and Nicki Minaj will get No. 1 back. I want a high GPA. The fair offers me a chance at the Idol and Fair Factor, and I have a good team. School activities--I had fun in Thespians, FCA, and Stuco, and will do the same in the variety show, Battle of the Bands, Art Club, Spanish Club, and I had fun in choir. Imagine doing volunteer work, right? Mentor news--can I work for it? I want to see if Darby can read my publications. See you in a bit, Adelle.
This one was written on the back of a peice of notebook paper--I couldn't read the other side. Dear Ms. Clark: Woody Paige won Friday, defeating JA Adande 2-0. Adande led 1-0, but lost his point in the final showdown. Both, along with Bonami Jones, scored 20, but Jackie Mac was limited to 19 and was out after Buy or Sell, so she would go on to never make a showdown this past week. I was watching TV at 4:00 Sunday. You know Around the Horn isn't on air on weekends. Something caught my eye, and there was...Nicki Minaj. A female rapper. I couldn't help but watch it all. When it was over, I thought, "This I could tell you about when we get together in a few days. Surely, I'd tell all my friends on Facebook and the E! Special. Here's what I'll upload for my friends: a video of Nicki Minaj performing "Super Bass." See you in a few days, Adelle. P.S. Can we see a movie or go swimming?

Cure for Melancholy

1. Ask God to search my heart for any unconfessed sin keeping us separate.
2. Cling to His words: example: Why are you crushed down, o my soul? And why are you troubled in me? Put your hope in God, for I will again give him praise who is my help an my God.
3. Resist the devil.
4. Make a list of all God has done for you--His blessings.
5. Do something for someone else.
6. Search you heart for any unforgiveness, confess, ask God to help you forgive.
7. Worship.
8. Cling to Phil 4:12-13
9. Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will continue beholding your face in righteousness (right standing) I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake, beholding Your form (having sweet communion with You.)
10. Confess your discontentment because it shows ingratitude and a lack of trust.

Lately

I've been fighting melancholy lately...or is it lonliness or do I just miss Scott? I can't predict when it is going to hit...Joel might be home when it happens and he might not. It usually occurs when I don't have anything planned or when plans don't work out. It always happens when I make big plans to go somewhere then decide not to, like Saturday when I planned to drive to Towanda for the funeral then to see Leah then home. I decided it was just too much driving since Leah worked til 6, so I didn't go. I felt good about the decision but then I'd done all my errands and by 1 I was bored and lonely and just, well, melancholy. I haven't felt that way since. Again it goes back to living a purposeful life. Every day I seek to be a blessing to someone else but it is so easy in the summer to fall back into self-focussed living. I go get Adelle but she is pushing limits, taking our time together for granted, and I end up feeling used. I know it isn't about me, but she only wants to eat my food and get on my computer. I can't seem to find things she really wants to do other than that and even then she pushes limits. I do plan to get her today and try to keep her busy. I offered to take her to the movie but she doesn't want to go. So we'll go to the grocery store and the library and come over here so she can snack and look at her facebook. I am looking forward to teaching deep water aerobics today (a little nervous but oh well). The bank appraiser is coming so I can start demo on the bathroom too! I am so anxious for this remodel to get started and I don't know what the hold up is! No melancholy today.

Remodeling!

Its really going to happen! Finally! It doesn't feel real quite yet but we've met with the contractor, the bank appraiser is coming on Monday, and today I went to the custom wood cabinet shop and "picked out" vanity/closet cabinets and kitchen cabinets and counters. Tomorrow I look at tiles for the bathrooms and then I'm supposed to start thinking about harware, lighting and shopping for appliances. Its crazy overwhelming! Today I spent time organizing the bedroom upstairs for Joel to move into temporarily and then as soon as the bank appraiser goes through, I can start demolition upstairs! Here is the total plan:
Fix the rotten bay window in front.
Replace the front door insert, repair the front steps, and build a small portico over the front door.
Repair the sheetrock in Joel's room.
Completely gut and remodel the upstairs bathroom (except for the tub).
Remove the closets in the master bedrooms and replace the floors where the closets were. Repair the ceiling and walls of in there and replace the ceiling fan and light. Gut the bathroom and remove the wall between the bathroom and small bedroom. Add a double vanity, tile three quarters of the room including a walk in shower surrounded by glass and a free standing tub, and build a large closet with shelves and dressers, etc.
Gut the kitchen and replace everything! Remove the built in cabinet opening up the space and add a kitchen island. Remove the back door.
Either replace the patio and extend it and add a roof over it OR remove the walls and enlarge the whole room.
Refinish all the floors and replace all the lighting.
Yahoo! I can't wait to get started but I'm overwhelmed and a tad freaked out about the details--where will we put all the stuff from the rooms we are working on? How will we live? Will we pick all the right things? EEK!

Water Jog

Teaching water jog continues to be fun but challenging. I have to keep inventing and changing it up to keep people interested. We've done an interval class where we do a strength move like lunges then spike our heartrates with our arms or sprints or jacks in the middle, then we alternate with strength moves again. We've done a favorites day where each lap I call on someone to name what we do next. Friday we will get out the tubes and encorporate them into class. Tomorrow I cover Ashley's class right after mine. Its going to be HOT out there! Next week I fill in for her one day at deep water. Should be fun! I have had some complainers and some know-it-alls but I get compliments too. The positive comments outweigh the negative. I guess the class is harder than I expected overall but I don't have to pay and am making money (in theory--my first check didn't cover the water shoes and swimsuit I bought!:) I love keeping in shape and water class does it! I also really like helping other people get in shape, too!

Lots more leisure

Since I was getting bored, I decided to embrace the nothingness. Why fight it? My quiet time yesterday actually said that Satan can twist anything out to be negative not by changing your circumstances, but your attitude toward them, turning it to negative.
I got up in time for breakfast. I had oatmeal with brown sugar and raisins, OJ, and coffee with milk and splenda and sat at a table with a white tablecloth in a courtyard outside. I got my Bible study stuff and my computer and my book and decided not to go try to find someplace, I just sat at the chairs and tables outside the hotel. It was quiet and there was a nice breeze and pretty flowers. I could even hear birds chirping amongst the high rise buildings. I also like people watching.
Just before lunchtime, I walked to Old Market and just browsed some of the interesting shops we'd missed-- a merantile, an outdoor decoration and fountain store, the Christian bookstore. Then I stopped by Patrick's Market and bought a turkey, cheese and fresh spinach sandwich, kettle chips, and a vitamin drink. I bought Scott a toothbrush and ibuprofen and a ginger ale for later. I went back to the chairs and read for a long while, then went to the room. I layed in the dark, cool room on down pillows all afternoon and read and napped.
Scott got back at 5:30 and I put on another of my new shirts with my new white jeans. We joined his classmates at the Spaghetti works. They were interesting people--all from different places with a variety of backgrounds. The whole group walked to a nearby bar but Scott and I got sidetracked on the way by gospel singers. We listened to them for quite a while and enjoyed them throughly. They had amazing, strong, loud, confident voices that blended together really well.
The bar had irish music and I felt somewhat awkward because I couldn't hear anyone to be able to have a conversation. We did meet some interesting classmates on the sidewalk outside, one who works in the foster care system in Oregon and they have an 84% success placement rate!
Today is catch up and pack up day. I do hope to catch up with Marie Larson today if possible. She is recovering from surgery so I have waited to call her.