Mar 1 - Mar 7

Hey,

Sort of a disappointing week. We have been doing some research on Arizona - had a dinner with Cathy and Chris to plan some of our trip details last weekend. And...this week it's looking like it might have been in vain.



We have been taking some financial hits lately...car repairs and eye glasses, and now...our bathroom is letting us know that it's in desperate need of attention. It's one of the frustrating parts of home ownership...those maintenance and repair costs that you try to prioritize...but never works out how you hope. We spent money late last year on a new fence because it was about to fall over, new doors on the front and back of the house because there were huge drafts and new basements windows because we were boarding them up - there wasn't even glass in 2 of the windows! So...you would think that we might get a bit of a break with home repairs just until after our trip...but no. The bathroom tub / taps have been a problem for a while now...the plumbing is just so old that we can't get replacement parts. So we thought that instead of having a massive demolition and remodel, we might be able to get a tub/shower overlay. This seemed like a good idea from an environmental perspective...no tub and tiles to dispose of. We could have it done by a company relatively quickly and they would be done the work in one day! I would not be without a bathroom (since our downstairs bathroom is worst that peeing outside) and that was a big plus!



The obstacle...the quote! It was higher than I thought. And it would take most of our saved nest egg. But we need a bathroom...so the stress becomes...how to do Arizona and a bathroom in the same year. It is going to take belt-tightening to a whole new level! Don and I had just worked out the whole mess when yesterday...our toilet started leaking water all over the floor. Come on!!! Can we catch a break...just a small one???!!!



If I had not already paid for Creative Escape, I would be opting out. Don says that he is going to pass on him going this year which sucks! I really wanted him and I to have this time away. But he brings up so many good points...it would be less money, the weather in August in Arizona is not really good for outdoor activities...heat being a factor. And many of the places we wanted to visit are not even operating during the August week that we are in Arizona. Something about heat! So...it might be a girls vacation - which saves half the expenses. Enter guilt! I feel sooo guilty...but Don says that this is my Super Bowl...anyone who knows Don knows that Super Bowl is sacred! He really wants Cathy and I to have this opportunity and have fun. He knows that we really want to go and he is the most amazing husband to think this way!



I really want to have a bathroom...so the dilema continues. I could get the bathroom done in a more DIY fashion, pulling the tub out, gutting the tiles, new plumbing, for less money that the company wants for the overlay...but I would have to have demolition ongoing for weeks, maybe even months. And we are not handy so we would be relying on help...helpers who have other priorities other than my bathroom. I am blessed to have a Dad that is amazingly handy...but he also doesn't have to live with me during the chaos! And who knows what we will find when we rip the wall down...I shudder to think!



So I move thru the weekend with more questions than answers...more confusion than ever. I know we will work it all out...but right now...I am spinning from all the possibilities.