Silver lining? Try a silver cloud!

What's the best cure for a serious blow to the self esteem?  Doing something that (1) takes your mind off things and (2) gives you a little boost in the "can do" department.  What's my poison that fits both those criteria?  Generally, home improvement.  Specifically, laying baseboards.

These baseboards are incredibly beautiful and have been waiting six months to make my home a better place, and this was the weekend to end that wait!  Well, last weekend was the technical start of the project, but this weekend was the time to make it all happen.  Between wrangling the Toddler Terrorist and trying to make it big as an artist, not to mention my dad's hectic schedule, finding time has been difficult to say the least.

I love to work with wood.  I mean LOVE to cut and sand and nail and screw and... well, work with wood.  Actually, I love anything that involves creating something tangible from a hint of an idea lodged deep in the back of my brain.  Add that it is for home improvement, and you could say that I had a cheese grin on my face the whole day.

It was a slightly rocky start to the process because I had never actually done anything as technical as this project, but I have a pretty steep learning curve.  You have to understand my dad has been the boss for more than (ahem) thirty years, so it was difficult for him to give up the reigns and allow me to be the lead.  He did awesome, and it made me feel like gold when he said the same about me.

Color me six shades of awesome!  Each corner fit better, and each cut got easier to make.  I'm pretty proud of myself, and it shows.  Thanks Daddy for helping me find yet another silver lining!

A Continent is Amazing... Until You Are Promised The World

In the service industry, I must admit that perception is everything. Actual quality of service doesn't matter nearly as much as the way the consumer perceives the quality of your service. What brought this on, you ask? We just finished getting my new place tiled, so we have spent the past four days "dealing" with the installers.

Day one was amazing. The main man was there telling us how things would go and essentially promising the world. We walked out of there happy as clams in silt with our expectations soaring. The next day, we were a little disconcerted to find that he didn't bother showing up and didn't communicate the previous day's promises to his worker bees. So, we started fresh and let them know exactly what he promised and how we'd like it carried out. (We are strong, Southern women, so we aren't afraid to speak our minds - most of the time.)

The main man didn't show up on day three, either, but that's OK because we were very used to his number two and were re-adjusting our levels of expectations. Ah, but day four kicked us in the head again. Number two didn't even bother showing up, leaving what looked to be a fresh-faced teenager in charge. It turned out that the youngster was more than capable and did a wonderful job, but we kinda feel like a little bit of honesty would have gone a long way for our peace of mind.

We felt like we had to call them and ask for explanations rather than them calling us to explain and reassure. We may have beat them down on the price (did I mention we are incredibly frugal people?), but they knew what they were promising when the deal was done. A continent is amazing... until you are promised the world. Regardless, the tile looks amazing, and I'm so ready to move in; I just wish the journey would have been a little more worry free.