May was a jumble of anxiety, stress, and obnoxiously detailed preparation. Brian and I left our last goal post feeling hopeful, but our feelings were dashed once we realized how much of a fight we needed to put up with our contractors.
For a project that was agreed to during the first week of April (with a 3-day timeline to completion), our issues have only been resolved as of May 31st. I’m grateful that we did not agree to any other renovations. Working with this contracting company has been a painful experience. We contested payment the first week of May, which prompted the owner’s involvement. Since then, we have been trying to reach a solution in terms of repair and payment. The project manager actually told us that they have already lost money on this job (not our fault) AND that the poor workmanship wouldn’t kill us!
I compiled an extensive record of events, video surveillance, and, because we are in a single-party state, voice recordings of our meetings and subsequent conversations. Fearing that we would have to take legal action, I spent the majority of the month preparing for a solid case. Luckily, the owner agreed to a partial refund and dismissal of the balance due. Keep good records, guys! You never know when you might need them as a reference.
Brian and I are so relieved to close the chapter on this company. Now, we can refocus our time and energy to enjoying ourselves and tackling our goals from last month! C’mon June! We are rooting for you to be a much more accomplished month!
Revisiting May 2019 Goals
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Read 2 books
I managed to cross this one off the list! I read Colleen Hoover’s All Your Perfects and Stephanie Rosenbloom’s Alone Time: Four Seasons, Four Cities and the Pleasures of Solitude.
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Have a new experience
Heeding advice from friends, we embarked on our first trip to Punta Cana to experience an all-inclusive resort. Immediate realization: It’s not for us! We travel much more independently and this trip was definitely not for the independent traveler. Secondly, it was a terrible trip – from the food, to the exploitative nature of the resort, and the constant threat of theft, the trip was anything but relaxing. Be on the lookout for a detailed review soon!
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Complete a house project
Ah, this is STILL a massive failure. We had to keep the state of the kitchen the way it was until we reached a resolution with the contracting company. On top of that, we attempted to start painting our cabinets and discovered that Sherwin Williams gave us the wrong products AND defective primer. Brian and I are preparing to sand down our cabinets for a 3rd time to start over.
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Sell on eBay
I created listings on eBay, but nothing has sold yet!
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House Purge
Nope – didn’t get to this one either. Our main level has remained a bit of a construction zone and we definitely notice there are some things in both our kitchen and closets that need purging. We are absolutely purging this month!
June 2019 Goals
Finish our cabinets:
It’s June 2nd…plenty of time to sand and re-paint our top cabinets for a 3rd time. Third time’s a charm, right?! We still have our bottom cabinets to go, too. I hope we can knock this out so we can have our kitchen back!
Exercise once a day:
I admit, we fell off the exercise train with the added stress of last month. Time to hop back on.
Set up our deck:
Can you believe it’s June and we have yet to set up our deck? Our outdoor cushions are still in the attic. We’re going to do a little cleaning, throw on the cushions, and maybe add a new plant or two!
House purge:
I can’t wait to shed some of this extra stuff floating around the house.
Start practicing Italian:
It will be good for us to have a little Italian in our back pocket for our trip. I’m a big believer that learning a little bit of the local language wherever you travel makes a big difference!
It’s time to shake off the frustration from May as we move into June. Brian and I are looking forward to reclaiming our kitchen and enjoying the start of summer! What are your plans this month?
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