$1.36

I must tell you about the fabulous deal I found. I was wandering through Lowe's and nearly going into every department. I mean, we need home organization stuff, lighting, plumbing stuff, appliances, countertops, yeah - you name it, we need it. I was going through their clearance section, and I came across a bathroom vanity light bar. It has 3 sconces on it, and it's really pretty. For $1.36!!! One of the sconces is broken, and we're going to call and hopefully they will send us a replacement sconce for cheap. (crossing fingers) But, still, $1.36 for a new light bar (plus a few bucks for a new sconce) is pretty great! It was originally $68.

This whole house thing is so daunting. There's so much to do. The house is huge, which makes it feel even more daunting. It's about 4,500 square feet. Right now we're concentrating on the first and second floors and pretending the basement doesn't exist. Slow and steady isn't bad. I just hate when well-intentioned people ask if we're "all moved in and settled." Yeah right. We won't be "all moved in and settled" for at least a year. But each week we seem to make a few baby steps in the right direction.

We're so exhausted! In retrospect, we haven't done a whole lot in the last week and a half. We've painted the master bedroom & closet, painted the upstairs main bath, steam cleaned the carpets on the first and second floors, S put in a new front door lock and handle (because the old one literally fell off on the first day...it was taped together...).

I think what's slowed us so down is the fact they left this place an utter sty, left their crap, and neglected the house for 8 years. Everything seems so much more time consuming when you have to move their stuff (from every room of the house...unless you like other people's half-used Listerine), disinfect and clean everything, and then, finally then, unpack.

Good night!