Okay, okay. Couple things. It's hard to get good shots in a tight spot. You know this. And I had to wait to post anything until today because my mom is on her way, and we wanted her to be surprised. I should have posted befores. There somewhere around here. I'll look around. Trust me, it was bad. No bath, just a shower. And that shower leaked and the lowest point in it was not the drain. So, ugh. Impossible to clean. The floors were hard to keep clean too, and the vanity was 72 inches long and crammed into a 71 inch space. So, also ugh.

It's better now. We put radiant heat in the floor, a jacuzzi tub and two vanities instead of one long one. We frosted the window. Hee hee. We went from six drawers to four, but it was a good lesson for us. There was a lot that we didn't need. We're each using a sink, so I'm not storing my hair dryer in one of them anymore. Erin will be pleased to hear this, I'm sure.

This project took entirely too long, but that was largely our own fault. Neel demoed the bathroom when Cal left for Richmond back in January, and we just moved back in this weekend. We sat on our hands and waited for our contractor and trust me, it was worth it. He was meticulous and patient and I fell madly in love with him. He listens to NPR while he works. He keeps bees. He grows flowers that attract butterflies. See what I mean?

So I miss having John around, but all in all, we're pleased. The floor is my biggest complaint. It's hard to keep clean, but I'm sure that when it's warming my tootsies in the dead of winter, I won't even mind that. What do you think?

1. I think I can't even believe that it's been exactly one year since we received the devastating news of Violet's cancer diagnosis. I can barely go back and reread that post but I don't need to. I remember every moment with shocking clarity. None of us, not one, ever imagined that she'd stick around with us this long and do so well in the process. Sometime around when we came back from London, I kind of stopped waiting for her to die (I know, that sounds awful, doesn't it?), and just enjoyed the fact that she was still living. I'll write up a post on Miss Violet (still as vocal as ever) for you guys next week and let you know just how well she'd doing. Sweet baby girl.

2. I think, despite the fact that we'll spend most of tomorrow at school for Cal, Neel will have a much better birthday this year than he did last. I will be, I assume, weeping less. Which is good.

3. I think, at this rate, the nine week General Assembly Session is going to FLY BY. I can't believe it's Friday already! Neel picks Cal and a couple other kids up this afternoon (so I can't go, not enough room for Mama), and we're hoping for a slightly less hectic weekend. And a slightly more celebratory one too. Happy Birthday, Papa!

4. I think we've reached the "oh crap, now we have to make decisions" stage of the bathroom reno. Neel has continued to wait until I leave the house (lucky man, I was out two evenings this week) to destroy the space (very neatly...we're talking about Neel, remember?), and we've gone about as far as we can go. Any suggestions? What does your dream bathroom look like?

5. I think this is such a funny time for us, but good too. It's been so exciting. You've all been so supportive, and I owe responses to all your lovely comments. What would I do without you guys? Really? What would I do?

revealed {life}

five things, january 17 edition