Basement after 5 days of work

 So work started Monday. Monday and half of Tuesday was just cutting the cement floor trench to add the halIf bath.   Did not know that concrete cutting took that long! But then the next 3 and a half days - massive progress! Plumber did 90% of his work, electrician did over 50% of his work (these two contractors on just Thursday) and Brian framed the whole basement walls and 75% of saufets (sp?l on the ceiling. Just has half a saufet left and a grid for the ceiling left before ready for finishing electric & plumbing (half day) then drywall can begin.  

 I still don't understand the grid on the ceiling because it's drywall, not an 80's drop but whatever, we'll find out. We had the new water heater installed  yesterday which means today we're dealing with iron rust sediment in our water. So I couldn't take a bath this morning and I've now filled and emptied the tub 5 times cleaning out this red grainy sand like substance. He assures me it will flush out but like dude how long does this take? I'm tired of repeatedly cleaning it without the benefits of a nice long relaxing soak or you know - being clean. He also says it's not harmful so I could take a bath or shower but how can I feel clean with this nasty grit? Hoping I finish flushing it out tonight. 

He also still says 4 weeks total but we think he's under promise / over deliver as we don't see how with how fast it's gone so far that drywall, doors and trim can take 3 weeks with only half a day needed for the rest of plumbing & electric. I guess nothing but to do but watch and see.  But he'll be working week 3 while we're in Vegas so we won't see the progress then.  

I can't seem to add photos when doing this on my mobile phone so will try to remember to edit this tomorrow to add pics of progress.

Day Dreaming - European Trip

 So I've said for years we should take a trip to Europe for either our 15th or 20th anniversary.  (We'll be celebrating 12 years this summer so we're a few years off from either).  But when thinking of what I'd like that two weeks to be.... I've come up with a itinerary that might be overly ambitious but honestly I don't know.  But with a lot of my random thoughts I kind of want to put it down somewhere to remember it so here we go. 

First off I will say Jeff and I are both lucky in that we've each individually already been to Europe as teens.  I went to England and Wales as a 12 year old as well as having went to Hungary when I was 18.  My best friend is Hungarian and I saved for months working at JC Penney to pay for the flight and spending money (I remember I had like $400 for two weeks LOL) but we stayed in a condo her family keeps for relatives and food was seriously cheap there.  Plus some relatives feeding us here and there so the money lasted and that's all that mattered.  Jeff went between his Junior and Senior year of High school as part of a touring Team USA in soccer.  They went to like 3 or 4 countries for soccer tournaments over 3 weeks.  I've never heard him say that his team won anything so I'm guessing compared to the teams out there they were not that great.  But still; I'm married to an international soccer stud. LOL

That said, I've never been to Paris and would like to go.  Jeff has been as it was one of their stops and he has a picture of his team in front of the Eiffel Tower.  I figure Paris can be done (maybe not thoroughly but well enough in 3 days).  The obvious high points being the Louvre and Eiffel.  Walking along the Seine.  And eating lots of bread and cheese. If you figure we spend most all of day one flying over, day 2-4 in Paris From there I am thinking a train or flight to Nice. It's a six and a half hour train ride or a quick flight.  Either way I think and afternoon/evening in Nice is all that's needed.  But um, Monaco is 20 mins away.  And we like to gamble.  And I think at least one day in Monaco is totally required for us.  So depending on cost of hotel we might do two nights in Nice and just day trip into Monaco.  Or two nights in Monaco and spend an afternoon in Nice.  You get the point days 5 & 6 done.  So that leaves 7 to 8 days for Italy and flying home.   I'm thinking 2 days Venice, 2 days Florence and 3 days Rome.  

The main questions in my head are to rent a car, fly or train all the rest of the way after Nice/Monaco?  It's a 6 hour drive from Monaco to Venice.  but there are towns like Genoa or Verona (Juliet's balcony?) we could stop on the way.  But then that takes away from our time there for 2 days...so a flight that only takes 70 mins out of Nice seems the obvious choice.  BUT from then on, Venice to Florence is only 3 hours.  And then Florence to Rome is only 3 hours.  And these are the towns it seems best to have a car.  But you can also take speed trains and it's only 2 hours between cities.  So then it's - is enough stuff walkable or taxi? And how much to save for such a trip?  I figure $20k.  Flights, hotels, food money & spending money.  Yowza that's a lot of money.  But it's once in a lifetime trip.  Five cities.  Can we do it?  Will it happen or will it remain a dream?

Have you ever been to any of these places? Thoughts on "must sees" or amount of time are welcome in the comments - even you're complete strangers that stumble upon this page.  I'll need to start a bit of researching eventually but 3-8 years is plenty of time to learn more LOL.  For now, it's fun to day dream. 

Basement costs - OMG

 So were we BOTH waaay off. OMG this thing is gonna be hella expensive! I thought my husband was crazy insisting the walls, plumbing & electric would be less than we paid for our kitchen granite counter and travertine backsplash. But he was so insistent that I figured giving space it would cost $1k-2k more...so I guessed that would come in around 7-8k.  Nope! Double that shit. 

We've now downgraded from tankless to just a new tank water heater. And now we have to add couch etc since old furniture won't fit thru the door. 

Thankfully his bonus was really nice. And we should get the full stimulus $2800 this weekend. And we will probably end up charging about the $3k I said in previous post was my limit. So there are 4 possibilities on how to finish financing this project. We have enough to pay for all NEEDED items. The amount we'll be needing to charge and over is for the bar & couch and golden tee arcade game etc

Option one - don't buy the stuff til next year when we have full on cash for everything all at once (seems unlikely as who wants a new beautiful space with nothing in it?

Option two - buy $3k on credit and the rest use the money I have ear marked for a 12th anniversary get away in June and instead stay home. 

Option three - sell the stocks, spend 3k on credit and maybe still need to borrow some from anniversary trip.

Option four - we win big in Vegas and have no issues. 😂🤣😆 now admittedly last trip we won enough for this option but will lightening strike twice? 

My guess it will be a combo of coming home from Vegas with some, spending some on credit, and taking some from anniversary stash. We both agree we don't want to touch stocks unless absolutely needed. And we agree instead of paying interest on our current credit we can do a no interest for a year type deal wherever we buy the couch sectional from so it's not horrible.  

Work probably starts next week. Eeek! Will be complete to the point of ready for Jeff and I to paint, and install floors and trim ourselves (to save money) about a week after we return from Vegas. We hope everything is complete in time for when we host Mother's day to show off to the family.  Oh but the layout has also changed and now the cousin will be installing a back bar with sink. And the layout changes will help make the room feel larger/ not as sectioned off into areas. And he convinced Jeff on an actual ceiling- which I wanted originally. Getting real excited now that I've seen the chalk outlines on the floor etc and really laid everything out.

13 years ago....seems like a lifetime

 I feel like a meme from the Golden Girls "Picture this...Feb 19th, 2008...."

It was Democratic primary day in Wisconsin.  A Tuesday.  I was working as an account executive for a local ABC Television affiliate.  My only plan for the day aside from work was to vote after work and the following day Jeff would come up (he used to be able to "work from home" one day a week and he chose Thursdays so that he'd come up Wednesday night, work from my apartment Thursday so that we could have a middle of the week night together before driving down for Thursday night bowling and then I'd see him again either Friday or Saturday.  I think that's when I knew he loved me for sure- when he started doing that 90 minute drive in cold January Wisconsin winter in the dark just to see me for like 4 hours.)  ANYWAY - bam!  I was fired that day at around 4:30pm.  Man do I wish they had done it in the morning instead of spending the day working but I digress.  

Looking back, I totally get why they did it.  Back the previous summer US Cellular had gone national so I had lost them as my biggest regional ad agency client.  They brought in over $800 a month of my paycheck and over $325,000 a year to the station.  It was not my fault that they went national but I was told I would need to "step up" and bring in at least $50,000 in new business to make up for it (new local biz was paid at 20% commission so would be the equivalent in my paycheck of the 3% I got from US Cellular).  I needed to step up because to get by from the US cell move, they were supplementing my income from various places as a "favor" to this shock instead of my 100% commission just suddenly being $800 lower.  

Well if you remember the economy in 2008 - you remember it was the start of the crash.  And one of the first expenses companies cut are things deemed "unnecessary" like advertising.  Especially locally.  So I after over 6 months I hadn't come close to pulling in the 50k in local business I needed.  And I was the only non-Wisconsinite sale person so I think they thought I always had one foot out the door anyway.  And I had been dating a man from my home town for almost 8 months now and it was getting serious.  So I was the easiest thing to cut for them to tighten their budgets during the downturn and forthcoming recession.  

That said.  It was devastating to me.  At this point I had worked in TV for over 7 years at three stations around the country.  I had more than tripled my salary in that time.  I had won an "employee of the month" at my first station for having the most new local biz in a month ever.  TV ad sales was my identity.  But truth be told I was burnt out for the last year even before US Cellular pulled its ads.  I was losing hair from the stress of the 100% commission.  I drove with a dictaphone so I could record billboards I saw or radio ads I heard.  I slept with a note pad next to me because I would dream of work and things I needed to remember.  I also developed a rare eating disorder called Night Eating Syndrome NES (if you're really curious, look it up but I dealt with this off and on for years during high stress and would eat up to half my daily calories in my sleep often waking 3 to 5 times between 11pm and 6am and felt the need to eat in order to fall back to sleep).  The stress was a bit all encompassing except for Jeff.  I slept thru the night on nights when he was with me.  So while we'd only been dating 8 months, he was my first phone call after filling a box and doing the walk of shame out of the building to my car.  Not my parents. (clue number whatever that he was my whole heart).  

The rare photo of me at work from back in those days. This was May 2007 at upfronts when I first started to really not like my job.  That is a fake smile and I've cut out the General Manager from the photo that I hated and the media buyer that was just an angry moron that I had to placate with schmoozing at events like this one of the aspects I really hated.  I thought I should be able to sell on facts, not what free crap I could get you.  Ugh, some of the evils of old fashion sales. 

I do not remember how quickly he said "lets move in together" as the next day, hell the next week or two, were a blur.  But I know he suggested it sometime that first few days because I learned I could get out of my lease, researched and found us an apartment (he was moving out of living with his parents to live with me), rented a Uhaul, and had my brother and a friend help Jeff and I get everything out of that apartment to our townhouse rental all in 17 days.  Looking back I was so worried (what if I'm uprooting my life for someone where it doesn't work out? Do I even really know him from 2-3 days a week?) I had never lived with a man.  Would my parents be disappointed I was quote "living in sin"?  Seven days later he proposed.  On March 15th it will have been 13 years since I said yes to my best future, I just didn't know it yet.  I couldn't imagine it at the time but really getting fired was probably the best thing that could have happened as it pushed me off a cliff I don't know what it would have taken for me to jump off of voluntarily.     

Sometimes we laugh about how far we've come from that first year living together.  Turns out we really are so alike that living together has been a breeze.  And the only fights we ever really had were those first few years when I was mentally adjusting going from corporate world (and making a hella lot of money) to being a part time hourly worker at various rando jobs.  Like I said, I used to think my job was my identity.  But it turns out when people say "do what you love" don't know that it can sometimes stress you out to no end because you care almost too much.  And if you lose it, then you lose yourself.  And instead- doing something semi-menial  that at the end of a shift I can completely forget about and live MY life.  Not live to work.  I had to find out who I was (or remember it was there all along since before I got the jobs).  Again, I know it's a privileged situation being that my husband's job and love for me lets me to this.  My mental health is so thankful for that love.  

Sometimes I miss the TV world.  Sometimes I miss having a job I was proud of.  Sometimes I still deal with "shame" of being an hourly employee somewhere.  But then I remember how good I've got it.  And just revel in the gratitude that this life thru a series of chance happenings stumbled into my lap.  

Edit to add:  The reason I remember the specific day (and I had to look up the actual date) was because after I was fired and talked to Jeff, I did call my parents next and my dad asked me "what were you planning to do tonight?" and I said, go vote for Barak Obama in the primaries.  And he said - "I really think you should do that.  It will make you feel at least a little better."  So I did.  I drove straight to my polling place, placed my vote and a little over 8 months later he became the best president of my lifetime.  So there's that too.  If had been any other Tuesday night I'm not sure I would remember aside from it was February.  

Challenge Yourself - even in small ways

 As with every new year, there are a lot of people trying to get in shape.  I'll admit I've almost never been one of those people.  I am who I am.  Not great, not horrible. I know what I like to eat.  I know that I tend to be a bit lazy when it comes to physical fitness.  I know if I over indulge for a few days, then I need to eat healthier with extra salads if I want the trend to go back down instead of keep climbing up.  Maintaining the status quo for my weight has been my basic goal my entire adult life.  Since 1999 I have gained and lost 20 lbs slowly, and repeatedly.  I'm at the bottom of that 20 but even when I've been at the top I know that small tweaks will get me to good, not life changing diet and exercise.  Could I improve even more or faster if I did challenge myself? Sure.  But I also know I'd be setting myself up for (some form of) failure because any time I've tried to exercise I either stop after a month or two because I'm lazy or I keep at it but get pissed off because the scale doesn't move much.  In 2005 & 2006 I swam twice a week 30-45 mins at a time on and off for two years.  My weight didn't do a thing.  I joined a gym 5 years ago and worked out 3-4 times a week for 6 months.  I lost 4lbs.  In six months.  

Now, the logical part of my brain knows that I was probably gaining muscle while losing fat, and muscle weighs more than fat so therefore while the scale was not changing I was healthier (the only thing to keep me going before I had to stop due to osteoarthritis took over my lower half and literally everything hurt my knees).  But I was still pissed and considered it a failure.  

So instead for Christmas I asked my in laws for a recumbent cycle.  It is not physically challenging (can't change tension, it is simply for movement of joints without weight baring).  I sit on the couch and do it.  I do not sweat, my heart rate stays fairly calm.  But I have done it every day, 5 days a week for weeks.  Not for weight loss.  Simply to keep my knees and hips feeling as good as they can.  Because I didn't think of it as weight loss, it doesn't feel like failure at all.  I thought of it as a way to help my joints.  And I've have not had to ice my knees or heating pad my hips since.  HOLY SHIT is that a win!  Now, I know that this won't last forever as my condition is degenerative and the gel shot will continue to wear off etc.  But to draw this process out is good.  This was a slight challenge to myself and it feels good to feel good.  Feeling like a failure never feels good.  

So I thought what other way can I challenge myself and my thinking with during a cold, isolated covid winter?  What's something I wish I could do? Bread. Bake bread.  Not just any bread - sourdough.  I didn't think 'I'll do this because it's supposed to be the hardest bread to make'.  I didn't even know it at the time.  No, when I go to restaurants (back when we used to do that, remember?) and they offer toast or choice of bread for a sandwich; my first question is always "do you have sour dough?"  Maybe I was a sheltered child. Maybe it was offered but I was a picky eater.  But I remember the first time I actually had sour dough was in the right spot - San Francisco, CA when I was 17.  OMG I fell in love right then and there.  I can even remember what the interior of the restaurant looked like (sage green linens and all).  I think I had sourdough with every meal the rest of the trip.  

So I looked into it, and bought a started kit.  I named my blob of fermentation Mortimer.  I had read that since it's a living thing, you should name it.  And Morty sounded like a guy who could make good bread.  I read like 25 articles (I'm not kidding) as I daily fed and warmed my blob with nothing but the oven light.  After 10 days I decided it was ready to make (smelled like sour dough, had bubbles, etc. and I had been dreaming of it for 2 weeks now).  Nope! Worst.  Bread.  Ever.  It didn't rise.  It was the weight of a brick and just as thick & dense.  Had to trash it after a few bites from me, and one bite that was instantly spit out by my husband.  But I decided I was not going to just give up.  Because how many times as an adult do we do that?  Kind of figure, oh well I tried.  Yes, but only once.  Parents wouldn't let their kids get away with giving up something they really want to do just because they tried only once.  So I read another 25 articles or so, asked friends on social media for help, made several adjustments and TADA! one week later, I have made tasty (and more importantly edible!) sourdough bread.  Was it fantastic? No, there's still room for improvement.  But I did it.  I triumphantly gave Jeff a slice stating "You want to know what success tastes like?" Is it perhaps sad that I felt so triumphant over something so minimal in the grand scheme of life? No damnit!  Celebrate any win that you feel proud of.  

As President Bartlett would ask on the West Wing; "What's Next?"  There is something I've been looking into vaguely for 18 month on and off.  Night Photography.  I originally looked into it for our Grand Canyon trip as you see so many pictures in the desert of the Milky Way.  And how many of us have tried to take a picture of the moon on our phone for it to look like blurry shit?  Since my fathers passing in August, I have inherited his Nikon.  I think once it gets warmer out I might want to really take a deeper look into doing it right.  I learned a word/phrase in college that has stuck with me: intrinsic value.  Basically, I find something valuable and I can't explain why, it just is.  Why do I love night photography? I don't know why, I just do.  Why do I like the ability to bake my own sourdough, when I could just buy it in a store (for a lot less than I ultimately paid to make it myself)?  I don't know, I just do.  

I like to challenge myself and succeed.  And I think we're all too hard on ourselves.  I think we need to celebrate the small victories, because we all need to feel good.  Soak in self congratulations, even if it's something as simple as finally getting that sink full of dishes done.  Because with this stupid isolation of covid, we have all been our own best company this past year.  And so, if you're one of those people who has been trying harder at being 'healthier' in the new year (whatever that meant to you), I hope you remember to also take care of your mind & soul and celebrate yourself for challenges you've overcome.  

New furniture & snag with old furniture

 So the furniture we ordered from Ashley Furniture less than 4 weeks ago arrived today! Woohoo!  Now, I'm a little sentimental about my old furniture and I'll tell you why.  Back in mid 2004 I was 4 years out of college, 3 years into my career as an ad exec for local television stations, and this furniture was my first major purchase as an adult. My apartment had nothing but old donations from my parents.  So this was the first time I picked something out myself.  And I was able to afford it with cash thanks to how expensive advertising was in 2004 due to it being a presidential election year and a summer Olympic year. My single largest commission check was that summer just about to start my second year at the NBC station in Charleston West Virginia.  Ah - think back to what an innocent time 2004 was LOL.  Bush running for second term.  And I thought that was bad. Bwahahaha.  How naive I was.  But do you remember your first "I'm an adult!" major purchase? I mean sure, I had been living on my own for 3 years, paying rent and bills.  But this.  This was my choice.  Not only did I purchase the couch from Lazyboy and a chair & ottoman from Ashley.  I picked out end tables (that are now our nighstands in our bedroom), artwork (photo of Grand Canyon that's now in our dining room), wall sconces, pillows and a throw.  I mean I chose the entire look of that room to express 25 year old single working woman me.   

But after 16 and a half years, it was time for a new set - couch & chair. And thanks to the stimulus check that hit our account covering almost half the cost, this was our contribution to the economy.  Would have liked to have "shopped local" but all furniture around here is pretty much big box; but hopefully our sales gal at least got a commission.  

So about 15 years ago my brother bought a new couch that had this feature where the center back of the couch folded down as a table for between either side that I thought was just cool.  But having just recently purchased my black leather couch, it would just have to be envy.  But now we own one as Jeff agreed for us, it's a nice feature.  It also has cubbie holes in the arm rests for secret food and keeping junk out of site.

 Here it is with the center table folded down.  It didn't come in black so it's a realy deep chocolate brown.  I had set aside my laptop and little lap desk on it as I'm working from home.  The table also has two outles, USB port and two cup holders.  Shown here with White Sox mascot Southpaw pillowpet, that yes we talk to as if he's a real pet.  Because we're weird like that.  Power recliner and power headrest.  Feel like Chandler and Joey when they got new recliners.  Aaaahhhh!  And without how poofy the chair & ottoman we had were, we have about 3x3 feet of extra space now.  

But I had thought, at least I don't have to say goodbye completely yet to my old set as it would go down in the basement as we refinish it until we can pay for new stuff.  But there there is a problem.  Turns out we can't fit it down there.  Access to our basement is tucked under our stairs leading upstairs.  So along a wall, we have a little cut out that's about 3ft by 3ft. One side, is the basement door, the other is our downstairs coat closet. If you stand the couch on it's end, it's too tall to fit thru the door.  If you lay it down, it can't make the little turn.  So not only can we not have that old couch, we can't have any couch down there that is a) not a a sectional and b) is wider or taller that 3ft in order to pass the doorway.  So it might take a little longer for the basement to "look" totally finished if we don't have furniture for the TV area.  And now I need to go learn a bit about sectionals.  

Stairs down the door
to the left, closet opposite. Maybe 3x3 nook

Can't compare apples to oranges

I worry a little at times when I post on any social media about our home improvements or vacations (and since moving on from infertility that's all this blog is HAHA).  Do people think I'm bragging or am I coming off tone deaf to society? I really hope not, as that is not my intention.  

First of all; I just like to share and see.  Did you get a new dress? I want to see it.  Are your kids being super silly? I want to see it.  Cook a new bomb ass meal? I want to see it.  And because I want to see everything from others - be it because it gives me ideas for my life, I like a peak into others worlds (am I a voyer?!), or if a friend is excited about something - even if it's not my deal - - -I want to give them a little space to celebrate their excitement.  Geek out!  This means I like the same in return.  They say people like to talk about themselves and I guess in may ways I'm no different.  Do you know how often you talk about your life or interests (kids, job, politics)? But ya know what? That's your life, so it makes sense.  Talk away!  I may not relate to some or any of it.  I may not know how to respond sometimes (especially if the topic is kids), but I'm fine with hearing about it.  But yes, I fully understand they take a LOT of time and money.  But since we were not lucky with infertility treatments, we have to fill life with other things.  

So my life.  Yes, I read a lot of books.  And I try to cook new things (currently spending way more time and money then seems logical to try to make sour dough bread from scratch as it's a personal challenge that interests me).  I want to get decent at night photography someday.  I like to travel. I like to gamble. I like to do home improvement projects.  I like a good stiff drink on the weekends (and occasionally mid week).  I looooove taking baths.  There's always room for a pickle.  Cheese and peanut butter are the foods of the Gods.  And for entertainment; I'm more interested in serial killers and documentaries than super heros.  That's me in a nut shell.  And I know it's not for everyone.

Secondly on me sharing my life - You cannot compare apples to oranges! Yes people make different amounts of money...but there is also cost of living in different areas of the country, what you find important to spend your money on, levels of debt, etc. A comment that I'm lucky I can finish my basement giving us 600 square feet more of space? Yes! True! I do consider myself very lucky.  But if you're already living in a house with way more square feet than my house because you live somewhere that has a lower cost of living, or you bought a house when you had less debt or higher down payment so therefore could afford "more house" to start with - all I'm doing is catching up to you.  Or on the flip side, you live in an area that has an even higher cost of living so your house is smaller than mine and doesn't even have a basement.  Or you bought a "move in ready" house because home improvement scares you or you just don't have the energy for construction.  Or you're one of those people that given lots of choices you feel suffocated and can't make a choice instead of knowing what you like, what you want and so therefore do nothing.  Maybe your kids are taking up all your time, energy & money.  What I'm saying is EVERYONE'S situation is different.  And often you don't even know someones full situation.

One of my favorite phrases is "Don't compare someone else's highlight reel to your raw footage."  In other words, people tend to put the best of themselves on social media.  You don't see if they cry in the shower or toss & turn at night thinking of all the horrible things going on in their lives or the world.  You don't know if they "can't afford" something because they're saving way more for college for their kids or early retirement then you could ever dream of.  Maybe that's their goal; and you'd rather work longer and enjoy while you're young.  I have friends & coworkers that are shocked at what we spend going to Vegas yet they will drop hundreds on a designer purse twice a year while I carry around a $30 cheapo for 3 years straight.  Or their busy saving/spending on the kids, while we would have gladly done the same but we simply don't have them.  It's because what everyone spends their "discretionary money" on is not the same, because life and goals are unique.  

And then there's living paycheck to paycheck.  And trust me I know that one as well.  I have a budget goals post blog from like 7 or 8 years ago.  If you went back even further -like 12 years ago- I was $20k in credit card debt.  Jeff had a judgement against him and law school to finish paying off.  Hell my car got repossessed because I was a few weeks late on the very last payment because of odd wording on the payoff slip!  (Do you know how embarrassing it is finding your car gone at work only to learn it was repo'd? Never felt so ghetto in my life.)  We not only didn't have discretionary money, we sold his old class ring and some family jewelry at cash for gold so that we could make it some times.  I woke up at 4am for Toys R Us sale on black Friday because I couldn't spend more than $20 per nephew one Christmas.  We only went out to eat if someone had given us a gift card and often ate more like college kids (ramen, mac n cheese, tombstone pizza) because it was cheap.  We struggled. We scraped.  We chose to pay off everything and get our credit scores up before we bought the house.  And that's ON TOP of paying $30k for infertility out of pocket thru 401K loans and such.  Which is why we were 37 & 43 by the time we finally bought the house while so many friends bought 5 to ten years prior.  

And I feel I'm starting to ramble.  All I'm saying is - I try to celebrate others and not come across as braggadocios.  And I routinely count my blessings and remember how far we've come in a short time.  If you had told me 7 or 8 years ago the position we'd be in now I would have said you're crazy.  But you NEVER know the hardships someone else either IS facing or HAS faced both financially and emotionally.  So let's celebrate each others wins.  And I'll share mine.  Because damnit, we've worked hard to be here.  I'm not saying if you're not here, you're not working hard.  And I know my privileges.  Or I at least try to be cognizant of them. But life is worth celebrating.  In the grand scheme, we're not here for long. Might as well do what we want when we can.  Set goals, work to reach them, celebrate, set new goals.