Catching up....

It has been, I must say, an interesting past couple of weeks.

Since my final day at BSC, I have been tearing apart my home. Its a constructive tear down, but necessary. Its amazing how much crap two people can accumulate after only 5 years of marriage and a complete cleansing of home and possessions is overdue. The only completed rooms as of yet are the bedroom and most of the kitchen.

* In the kitchen, I cleaned every dish we owned (we don't have a dishwasher, so washing all those dishes by hand was a lengthy task, I must admit), re-arranged all of the cupboards, cleaned out the oven (literally, I actually took the entire thing apart to get to the drip pan underneath the burners) and hand-scrubbed the floor. It doesn't sound like much but there was a lot to do, and it took me almost three days.

* Our room was an interesting task. We ended up getting a new bed this last week due to the fact that sleeping on a full size bed was no longer an option with Nate and his cast. Nate is not a big man, but he does have very wide shoulders and trying to sleep next to him the last five years has already been a task on its own. I was forced to convert from a tummy sleeper to a side sleeper just to avoid having my ribs bruised during the night. BUT, when you include the cast, it became near impossible to sleep. So we finally caved and bought a new bed. And, to my intense relief, Nate finally let me buy a new dresser. Our old set was a hand-me-down from his grandmother and was in need of replacement. I do not wish to criticize a gift from family but it is over 20 years old and smells like bad moth balls. I stopped putting my clothes in it a year ago because it kept leaving wood shavings on everything, on top of making them smell....well......rather nasty. So we also have a new dresser. I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday removing all clothing and "stuff" from our room, I moved the two old dressers and the old bed fame into the office and set up the new dresser and frame. For the first time since we moved into this old house three years ago, I actually feel like my bedroom is a haven and I enjoy being in it. I found an adorable bedding set from L.L. Bean that I am now saving up for, My old quilt is coming apart, the poor thing. It has been with me for 8 years and I am surprised it has lasted this long.

The next task is cleaning out the second bedroom and turning it into an office/sewing room.

Right now I am doing a massive amount of laundry. Having a dresser to put everything away in helps. :o)

In the job arena, I am still looking. I put out four applications over the last two weeks, two of which have since been filled by "more qualified applicants" and one is still open. Its closing date is not until March 8th. We will just have to see how it goes.

Cleaning my house has been a wonderful experience and I am honestly proud of how much I have been able to do, but I have to admit, not having a job and being at home all day has been hard. I have had a full time job since I was 17 and I keep feeling as though I am being a slacker. Its hard to transition from full time job to full time house cleaner.

Having Nate home for the first two weeks was fun but also a test of both of our patience. With my lack of income and his diminishing income due to his injury, I was constantly stressed about finances and trying to get stuff done, while he was stressing about the work NOT getting done at his job and worrying about not being my protector and provider.

But God has provided, as always. My severance check came a week early and was quite a bit more than we expected. Nate's employer has worked out a deal with us and their insurance company that provides us with compensation for any time Nate did not work in a full 8 hour day. And since he returned full time to work on Wednesday, Nate has not only been working his full hours, but quite a few hours of overtime. He is also working today, a Saturday. I have to say that I love him more for his dedication to his job and for his concern for me and our welfare.

All in all, its been an interesting month, but I am no longer worried. I will keep up with making my house a home and when it is the right time, God will provide me with employment.

I have to say though, I am looking forward to working again and being able to get back to my random crafting projects. Its been a while and my fingers are itching to start something new. :o)