plumbing, etc.

our plumbing is almost finished! this weekend, we'll place the electrical boxes and hopefully the electrician will come next week. it looks like we'll be stretching into the beginning of july on this project.

i've kind of taken responsibility for planning/organizing the tile selection and installation and the cabinetry. i'm having so much fun! i told that to ben and he laughed, because i don't think he loves this stuff as much as i do. :) he's very patient with me, especially when i get excited about a beautiful faucet or something equally ridiculous. [although both our jaws dropped at the sight of these fixtures, which are gorgeous but would blow the budget big time.]

{images from restoration hardware}

God is teaching me the value of hard work. honestly, i am so lazy. i quit when things get hard—not only that, but i think that is what i was "known for" growing up. it's time to change that, both at work (my job) and at working around the house. God has given me a measure of hardworkfulness (that is not a word, but it is a mixture of hardworking and thankfulness) that i don't think i've had before. i think He is telling me that it is time for me to grow up and learn to be productive and creative for a purpose. when i become a mom, Lord willing, there is no room for laziness. life is work. heaven is eternal rest.

here's a little litmus test of the above paragraph: i love magazines. when i would get one in the mail, i would stop what i was doing to look through it. [i think working in publishing makes reading for pleasure a little more difficult—i read manuscripts all day at work, so sometimes, i just like to relax by looking at pretty pictures.] anyways, through promotions, i have free subscriptions to lucky and this old house. real simple was a gift, and i bought a subscription to house beautiful. i currently have brand-new issues of all four of these magazines...just sitting around, unopened. and the reason they are unopened is that every time i get a moment to start flipping through one, i have a realization that work needs to be done, like dishes, picking up the bedroom, or washing the car, and i decide to do that work instead. and you know what? that's okay! i'm not complaining, i'm not saying that i feel guilty about taking a few minutes to relax. i'm saying that God has helped me to find joy in work, to the point that i want to do it more than read a magazine! maybe this is juvenile, but like i said—it's time for me to grow up. i kid you not when i wrote that i loved cleaning the house on saturday. it was good, dirty, satisfying work. i've been wondering how to rest on the sabbath. i think sunday might become magazine day. :)

thanks for reading, and for all the kind responses and encouragement. blogging is kind of self-indulgent, so i appreciate all those who hang in there with me!