Sunday, June 12, 2011

Life's Renovations

I guess I am not so good at keeping the BlogSpot updated. It seems I have no problems staying active on Facebook. I always say I'll do better...but fail miserably. Its hard to believe that I used to journal everyday in my youth.

It has been a complete year since Kelsey graduated high school. When Courtney graduated High School in 2007, she was still involved with outside activities that we attended. While she was in HS, her & Kelsey were in many of the same activities so it was shared time. Having both girls, plus Nick & Amy, in college has been a different stride in my daily walk. I love being able to interact with them on a less hectic schedule but I do MISS the chaos that sports & music brought into our lives.

Kelsey had planned on running in college, although choosing Nursing as a major,
grades weighed heavily, add the need for additional tuition funds on top of sports $$ being offered at select universities, her desire of not wanting to run Cross Country in the fall & not wanting to be gone every weekend...she settled with Grand Rapids Community College. Last year, Courtney changed courses from Nursing to a path toward Physical Therapy. When course selection became very competitive at Grand Valley State University, she was enrolled & ready to transfer to Baker College in Muskegon. She was finally able to secure classes & continue her path at GVSU, without having to give up so many credits! She will hopefully graduate in LESS than 2 years with a Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. While many of her friends & her cousin, Christine graduated this year, after 4 yrs of college life, she perseveres through change. Depending on job selection upon receiving a BS, she will decide if she will continue on for a doctorate in Physical Therapy.

Courtney works at Ulta, a retail beauty supplies store & salon. She loves her job. Kelsey works for Dave in the rare event that he needs help, therefore she has actively been looking for additional employment. Filling the gas tank takes a healthy part time job to say the least. Both girls are free of classes for the summer. They can usually come up with free or low expense activities to make life a little more exciting. I've been trying to stay fresh with photography, looking to launch a website soon.

We have been sorting and purging, painting and decorating, mostly the basement. Dave ordered enough cork flooring to complete Courtney's room, so her carpet was ripped out this past week. A few more planks & it will be done. In March of 2010, we undertook a renovation project involving of our kitchen, living room, laundry room, bedrooms & garage. We even moved to our RV inside the barn for 1 1/2 weeks. We installed cork in our bedroom & Kelsey's bedroom but didn't have enough for Courtney's room. Now, in hind sight, Dave wishes he had purchased the whole LOT that was being offered at a phenomenal savings. It would have covered all 4 bedrooms & the 3 walk in closets.
Looking for granite for my mom on Craigslist, when we saw all that was for sale, I called Dave to come with the checkbook =) We were only able to secure just under half of the cork flooring originally offered, as someone else snatched it up quickly! We also brought home a good amount of composite granite, pendant lighting, 2 different sets of cabinets & a vessel sink from a high dollar Downtown Grand Rapids office property that was never used. Kelsey & I wanted some other goodies, but even at unbelievably inexpensive prices, the bank account can only stretch so far. We paid $500, or maybe it was $600 for the cork. Had we taken the original LOT it would have been ONLY $100 more. The bargain price we just secured to complete a few square feet....$533!!! I told Dave tonight he should have put something different in Courtney's room...AAHHH! I'll try to post some pics of the finished areas soon.