She was! She was!

Whew. We actually made it.

I’ve wanted to sit and write all week, but I haven’t had the energy after the whirlwind of last week.

My exhausted body has been bruised, paint splattered, scratched and sore.

My legs ached, my feet hurt, and my back is in “I hate Rose” mode right now.

My body has been moving in slow motion and so has my brain.

I’m not gonna lie. Last week and the one before took a lot out of me.

I’m old! Too old for all the shenanigans I put myself through.

 I remember the early days after we moved here when I stayed up until the wee hours painting, or wallpapering, or doing whatever project I was immersed in. I had so much energy back then. I’m sure it made it easier because I didn’t work out of the home, but still…

I am worn out. T.I.R.E.D.

Any other word for exhausted…that is what I am.

But…but there is all this to show for it, and I gotta say, it’s worth it. We somehow managed to whip things into shape for Rachel’s party. Not perfectly in shape, but acceptably in shape.

Isn't it pretty? I am very pleased indeed with how the cabinets turned out. I still have some touch up work to do, and I need to run a bead of caulk in the cracks and edges where the cabinets meet the walls, but I am so happy with how they turned out. The expensive paint was well worth it as it has such nice finish. I also still need to paint the island, but it does give me a good feeling to know my kitchen is once again useable and no longer a dirty disaster zone.

 

 

I love the new brushed nickel hardware. Rachel's boyfriend came to the rescue once again and put the new handles on less than two hours before party time. 

 

 

My only regret at this point is that I didn't take the time to do the extra step of filling in the wood grain. The finish is beautiful, almost enamel-like, no brush strokes, but I think doing that extra step would have made a huge difference. 

 

 

One of the first things I did after my kitchen was back to a semi-respectable state was buy some happy flowers.

 

 

The party was at 2 on Saturday. Tony placed the last piece of flooring in the very far corner of the family room at 10:30 Friday night.

At midnight Friday night, Justin’s friend Dylan was hanging doors on the kitchen cabinets.

At 2:30 AM, I was putting my kitchen back together before I fell into a zombie-like state of tiredness and sleep deprivation. This is what my house looked like just a few hours before that:

 

At 6:30 AM, after about 2 ½ hours of sleep, I was guzzling caffeine and cleaning like a mad woman.

I think it was all worth it. Ask me in a few more days when my body feels back to normal, and I may be more sure of that “it was all worth it” statement.

We took this past week off and did absolutely nothing to the house. I spent my free time being lazy, watching tv, reading, and working on a crocheted blanket that I started at the beginning of the summer. I have truly come to love crocheting, I find it so relaxing, and the past few weeks, I really missed having time to crochet. I'm making this blanket

 

to drape on this chair in what is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house. 

 

After taking a week off to relax and not work on the house at all, we plan to hit it hard again this weekend. Tony is going to put up the baseboards...

 

 

It has been fun uncovering all of the various paint colors and wallpaper we've had over the years. But, I am ready say buh-bye and hide them all again. 

 

My biggest goal is to finally paint the ceiling and walls in the family room. It’s going to be a little more of a challenge now than it would have been a week ago before the floor was finished, but I am so ready to be finished painting. I am really looking forward to see how the color I picked out looks in the room. It’s a lighter shade of green than the one in the kitchen; it’s called Beach Grass. How can it not look pretty with a name like that?