April 26, 2012

April 20, 2012

Admission

Okay I'll admit it, I read Gywneth Paltrow's "lifestyle journal" GOOP. I don't remember how I found it, though I don't recall specifically seeking it out. She's often criticized for being self-absorbed. I ignore that. I don't care, I don't know her and if I don't like what she has to offer, I can move on to the next thing. I don't read all of the newsletters ... I definitely pass on the shopping / fashion ones as a) I don't have the budget required to purchase recommendations and 2) her body type is the antithesis of mine and anything she wears would look beyond ridiculous on me. Enough about what I don't like ... let me share something I do, this excellent post about healthy relationships. Enjoy!

April 19, 2012

Good cop, bad cop

Sad, helpless, tired ... this is how I feel about our bathroom remodel. The one being rebuilt for hubby's needs. It was supposed to be 20 days - we figured 6-7 weeks. It was supposed to cost X - we figured it would be a little more. We were told there would be open communication and things would go smoothly - we figured there would be a few bumps in the road. Here we are 12 weeks later with at least another 2, possibly 3, weeks to go. Here we are paying an additional $13,000 (30%+ over original quote), which doesn't include things we've paid for on our own like sink, faucet, toilet, tub. Here we are not knowing who is coming in our home, or if anyone is coming, on any given day at any given time. We've often had people working until 8:00 or 9:00 at night ... it kind of cramps your style but we figured maybe they'd be done quicker. Oh no. We're ready for this to be done.

We had a sit-down the other night with the contractor ... I'm VERY comfortable with candid conversations. Hubby always plays the role of good cop to my bad cop. Including parenting situations. It's super annoying. As usual, I was cool and calm, yet specific and firm. Hubby was dead silent (one of a good cop's best qualities). Then the universe shifted at one point and Hubby went all bad cop. He let 'er rip ... something, something, something, "this is bullshit", something, something, "get it done". He didn't say much, but what he said was profound. We made our point. We came to a reasonable resolution. When Hubby and I debriefed later that evening, Hubby said he didn't think the contractor could sink any lower in his chair. I'm evil ... that made me smile a little.

Being the results-oriented bad cop I am, I followed up our conversation with a detailed email of decisions, to-do's, timelines and outstanding questions. Of course there's been no reply. I've morphed from sad, helpless, tired to THIS IS BULLSHIT and GET IT DONE! I must be turning into good cop!

April 17, 2012