That Was Then, This is Now

It only took me 6 months to make my way back to the blog.

Kevin and I are doing great here in Minnesota. We made a trip to Vancouver over Christmas but other than that have been little hermits in our comfy home. I miss my family a ton, but it's nice to finally have my own home and family, too. We both have new jobs and are enjoying those, for the most part. Marriage has been so fulfilling and we learn more about ourselves and each other every day. It's everything I hoped it would be and more, but that's not to say it doesn't require effort. We are loving our home, even though we are currently ripping it apart (literally). Which is the inspiration of this blog post...

That was then, this is now.

Then: I can still feel the horror of Mom and Dad listing an appliance or lighting store as one of our Sunday errands. Oh, the boredom! Oh, the lack of age-appropriate stimulation! At least if we were clothes shopping for Dad at Meier and Frank we kids could have pin-collecting-contests (I do admit to cheating and pulling them out of the perfectly folded shirts instead of just picking dropped pins off the floor). But appliances?! Carpet samples?! Fortunately, we kids were usually able to avoid the torture of these stores by offering to wait in the van, where we delved into the next adventure in our "Box Car Children" saga. This consisted of Heather and I trying to convince Erik to complete our posse by playing the role of Benny and him insisting on being Watch, the dog.

Now: Plans to go to an appliance or lighting store is a huge carrot at the end of my busy work day. I even initiate visits to such stores. I've been known to get a wee bit giddy before going inside. Oh, the bottom-freezers! Oh, the gas cook tops! These errands are especially appealing since we are actually in the market for these items, as we are finally executing our kitchen remodel. (Yay!)

What's happened to me?!

HGTV is my new favorite channel and I can speak Recessed Lighting Lingo with the best of them. I could spew appliance specs and Consumer Reports' ratings until I put you to sleep.

This morning I left the house in one piece, went to a  -- you guessed it! -- home improvement store and met a friend of coffee, then came home to a missing door, a 1/2 torn out wall and insulation, shavings, and who-knows-what-else covering the counters and floors of home. 02-23-13: The Day My Home Became a Construction Zone.

Let the kitchen remodel (and mess) begin!

Stay tuned for upcoming posts:

*45 Days of Meals Using a Toaster Oven
*How Many Days Can a Paper Plate Be Re-Used?
*Complementary Seasonings for Dry Wall Dust
*I Do What With That Sledge-Hammer?
*The Kitchen Remodel That Almost Took My Sanity (I'm hoping this will be a fictional tale)