What Ana Does

Behold! The Wall of Restraint I call this wall, the "Wall of Restraint" because it's just about the only wall in my entire house that is blank. And I love to have pictures, art, books, drawings and hooks everywhere, so this blank space is indeed unique. It's near the garage door and we walk past it several times a day. And each time I do, I give myself a little mental pat on the back to "say yay" me for holding back in once place. But that's started to wear thin. I'm starting to lineup some around-the-house painting projects for next week, since the sun will be out and the temperature will warm. It's been raining all week. And I keep looking at this wall .... Ok, first off, I'm going to paint this wall  white . That's for sure. I can't deal with the green anymore. It was once a soothing green, now it's just looking vaguely avocado and when I take pictures of it, it looks even less attractive. The kids look sickly and p...

I have NO COOL around meeting authors.  In past jobs, I've interviewed actors and musicians and was mostly calm and professional. To be honest, they rarely live up to the hype. They're pretty regular people. But there is something about authors that make me totally geek out. I get tongue-tied and I'm not able to hold a normal conversations.  As an example, I've totally freaked out at meeting a long-revered author to get my book signed, so I ran for the door. Shamefully embarrassing.  So TODAY the author of Six of Crows , which I've been touting here for the last year because it's awesome, will be an hour away promoting the followup that COMES OUT TODAY called Crooked Kingdom . Do I make the drive to hear Leigh Bardugo talk about the book and then GEEK OUT and flee? Can I maintain my cool? 

For months, and maybe even since Christmas, the girls have been sleeping in the same room. They are going through that stage where they are afraid of just about everything. And I mean, everything that could possible go wrong in the world. (Eg. Leah watched a fire safety video at school and she's now convinced of a fire in our house.) And sleeping together makes them feel safer. When we had the bunk beds, this was convenient. But since we got the daybed, Leah's been sleeping on a mattress on the floor... Not awesome. So, this weekend it was time to make this sleeping arrangement permanent. It wasn't easy, because that bed was pretty tough to move, but after a day's work, Leah has a real bed. Hooray! And after a sleepover the night before, she was more than ready to use it. The Beds All Lined Up! It's too bad this room isn't a little larger -- when my sister I shared a room we had enough space to run the dressers down the middle. But, I guess at that...

Today is my first day of unemployment. I gotta say, I underestimated how quiet it would be around the house. I've been playing Amazon Music stations on Alexa in the kitchen as I've been getting to my various tasks for the day, but it's still pretty lonely. Anyway, there's so much that I want to get done in the next two weeks, I'm not really thinking too much about the solitude. Besides, I have the dogs to talk to ... when they're awake. I've been working on new lists and looking over house project lists that I've made in the past. I'm this-close to creating a spreadsheet or Gantt chart! There's just so much I want to accomplish. So, here I am: Brimming with time and anxious to get so much done that it makes this all worth it. As I see it, I've silently asked my family to put up with a little less income for a while, so I owe it to them to work my hardest to make that sacrifice worth it. I'm starting with smaller reorganization...

Darn you Pinterest for making me feel like I can just up and leave my job. I was already thinking about this, but then my Pinterest board just kept sending me these mantras and I was subconsciously influenced. Where are the motivational mantras about being financial prudent? See my Words of Wisdom Pinterest board . But, warning, it might make you do something crazy.

Well, that's disappointing. Our budget for finishing our unfinished basement isn't going to cover a new bathroom down there. Blurg. So, I'm trying to figure out our options ... Option 1: Move Forward We go forward with the basement finishing and put bathroom on a phase 2 list. Option 2: Up the Budget Somehow figure out a way to increase the budget. Though, will we get the return on that higher investment when we sell the house? Hmm. Option 3: Cut out the Contractor I'll be home, I could act as the contractor, find and work with the electrician, drywall guy, etc. This doubles my work, as I have to get references, bids, etc. But then we’re not paying the contractor to project manage. Option 4: Change Projects We could scrap the plans to do the basement completely and remodel the master bathroom. The estimate is less about than the basement and new bathrooms are always solid investments. Decisions, decisions ..

We finally got around to replacing the broken faucet in the kitchen sink, with the help of our fantastic handyman Rick! Get ready for some sexy faucet pictures! Before Faucet Picture. That Grey Button Broke Off Months Ago It took him all of 40 minutes to make the switch. The hardest part was cleaning out the cabinet below the sink last week.  After: New Swan-Neck Faucet Yup! Super thrilling post! Faucets are just about exciting as they get.  Thanks for looking at sink photos ... as a bonus, here's a sweet picture of Claire and Jamie from Outlander. Enjoy! 

So ... I did something crazy ... I put in my notice and am leaving my current day job. Pinterest Told Me To Do It I know. What am I thinking!?!?! But there are a thousand reasons swirling in my head that have to do with home and family and career and I'm 40(!) and all sorts of things ... but the one thing I've learned from past jobs is NOT to stick around after you're get just done with it. I did at AOL and regretted it because my relationships with those coworkers suffered. It's just ... I want to pursue my original career path and over the last decade I've moved so far away from it (and really, it's the only thing I'm good at) that it's going to take a concentrated effort to kick back in to it. So, never fear, I'm not planning on being out of work too long. Just enough to decompress, clean out my house and build up what I need for the next gig. My head is saying "HOW CAN YOU QUIT?" because I'm not a good quitter. But t...