The Virgo Times

Friday. Yay!

Today is better, because it's Friday!  The office was mostly empty today, and I finished up a couple of tasks that had been hanging around and irritating me.  I also did some speculating about what I could conceivably do with my frequent-flier miles, which was fun. 

The kitchen isn't finished yet, but the lower cabinets have been installed and the electrical outlets are done.  The countertops are in the works and should be installed next week.  (The granite guy is pretty busy, apparently.  That makes me happy for him, even though it means a longer wait for my stuff.  He's a nice guy and I'm glad he has work.)

I decided to take up an old hobby--cross-stitching--for relaxation purposes, and I'm working on gifts for M right now.  One is a sappy sentiment that he will love because he's such a romantic softy, and the other is an inside joke (which he will also love).  I'm pretty sure he'll hang them both over his desk and tell me repeatedly how much he loves them because I made them.  He's such an excellent boyfriend in that way!

So right now, I think it's time to make a cup of herbal tea, light a good-smelling candle, settle myself on the couch next to J, and pull out my stitching.  The week is now officially over.

Gah.

Well, I was about to tell my boss that I want to start working a four-day week and take a 20% pay cut.  That's how much I need some distance between my job and myself:  I was prepared to do without a substantial part of my income in order to have one more day away from the office every week.  I scrutinized my budget, figured out what I could cut, and I was ready!  I planned to submit my request before the end of the year.

I was really in love with the idea of having Fridays off.  I could do so many things with an extra day--volunteer work, help out in J's classroom from time to time, cook Shabbat dinner and invite friends over.  Maybe I could read a book, go to a yoga class, or do the grocery shopping without a ten-year-old dragging along behind me moaning about auuuuuuuugh the unbearable agony of shopping.

Then I got a letter from my mortgage lender.  There's a small matter of my property taxes being waaaaay higher than anyone anticipated, and now I have an escrow shortage, and the result is that my escrow payment will increase by $700 per month.  That's right:  seven hundred dollars.  Every month.

So I guess the good news is that I had already figured out how to trim the budget.  And after a year, the escrow shortage will be paid off.  And my 2008 taxes will actually be lower because I can claim the Homeowner Exemption.

The bad news is that I will continue to report for duty five days a week for another year.

I'm confused.  I felt so keenly that I was on the right path when I was planning to cut back on work.  I thought, oh, this is so genius, this is how I'm going to keep from becoming completely burned out.

Fail.

I need a new plan for the whole not-burning-out thing.  (Besides the lottery.  I'm all over that, trust me.)

Kitchen-Fixing

 

So, that's my kitchen up there.  The contractor is coming tomorrow to start work on the kitchen and I am starting to freak out just a bit over the cost of this project.

In the second photo, you can see the challenge of this kitchen:  the big blank wall.  A more creative person could have done wonders with that blank wall, I'm sure, but what I really want is more storage space for all the dishes and cookware that come with keeping a kosher kitchen.  I've tried various configurations of free-standing storage, but I always felt it looked cluttered and felt awkward and cramped. 

Not too long ago I had a contractor install some recessed lighting, and he did a great job.  We started talking about the kitchen and eventually he drew up a plan to line the big blank wall with shallow (12" deep) cabinets and shelving made to match the original cabinets.

It took a long time for the cabinets to be made, but now they're finished and the installation starts tomorrow.  Then the countertop guy will come and measure, and I'll pay him a rather large sum of money for the new countertop.  And then the contractor will finish the cabinets and I'll write yet another substantial check.

(See??  It's a lot of money.  Am I crazy?  Panicking.)

But, by the end of the week I'll have double the storage space I have now, and I know I'll love that.  There will be room for the cookbooks, the wineglasses, and the Passover dishes, some of which are currently stored awkwardly in inconvenient places and some of which are still packed in boxes.  I think it will feel fantastic to have all my stuff organized and put away.  Then I can pick out some paint and really have fun.