Home Depot @ MindSay

It's always a potentially dangerous thing for a married couple to agree to redecorate or remodel their home.  It's rather like negotiating a minefield, you never know when you're going to step on something and then, "KAPOW!  A successful remodel takes patience, compromise and just a little luck (and lots of money).  At the beginning of the summer, Garrett and I, decided that we would remodel our masterbath.  As with any remodel project it all started with a simple desire to change something simple.  Our old faucets were in desparate need of replacement, but everything else in the bath was working just fine, except it was all ugly and dated and boring.  So, we had a functional bath, but it just wasn't very esthetically pleasing.  We both felt this way, but neither one of us felt up to saying it out loud, *said in hushed tones* "Remodel."  We went to Home Depot found some new shiny, faucets and headed toward checkout, right past the lighting section.  Just as I was thinking about the ugly light fixture in the bath, my husband says, "That fixture there matches the faucets and it would be easy to switch out the old one for a new one."    Yup, yup, we added it to our purchase and went home.  Once home, we looked around and realized that if we changed out the faucets and the light, we would just add the to "ugly" in the bath, because then nothing would match, and we still had to look at the hideous vanity, cabinets and shower.  My husband and I looked at one another and just said it out loud, "Remodel."  Now, I'm very lucky to have a husband that is extremely handy.  When he says he can do something, he can and it's never half-assed.  When he starts with a project, he sees it through and it's always well done.  I say all this because his plan was doing everything himself.  His annoucement gave me a moment of pause, but deep down, I knew he could handle it.  The only worries that remained with me were the future decisions regarding the "appearance" of the new bath.  You see, Garrett and I, have opposing ideas when it comes to decorating and chosing things of that nature.  He is vanilla and I'm peanut butter crunch with chocolate fudge swirl.  So, when we work together it's usually Rocky Road.  When we purchased our home most of the rooms were painted a boring neutral off white.  After 3 years I got sick of it, and devised a plan.  See, every time Garrett and I would think of painting a room a different color we would get into the same old arguements; "That's too bright.  That's too boring.  That's too trendy.  That's so tame."  In order to avoid this (and I'm great at avoiding confrontation and conflict)  I waited until he had a 3 day long business trip and I painted our bedroom.  I chose a deep plum color and a bold complementary yellow.  It looked fabulous with our bedspread and cherry furniture.  I knew if I had it completed by the time he came home, he would freak a little, but he would realize it wasn't so bad.  I was right.  It worked and so a tradition was started.  My next painting project was our kitchen and family room.  I used a faux finish with a gold-orangeish color.  It has a Tuscan villa type feel to it. The powder room is a bold shade of blue and the guest bath, maroon and taupe.  All those rooms painted while he was away, and I never told him beforehand.  Sneaky, yes, but a woman has to do, what a woman has to do.  I knew this masterbath project would be different, well because, he was involved.  There were a few arguements and a tear or two, but we made our choices together and picked out new tile, tub, vanity, cabinets, hardware and shower.  The hardest decision was the paint.  The dreaded paint.  This time I couldn't wait for him to leave town, we had to choose before the new shower got put in, we had to work together!  Well, I'm happy to say the bathroom was painted this weekend.  Our remodel is near completion, and we still love each other, and we have an awesome looking new bath.  Yay for us!  Oh yes, and let's give it up for my incredibly talented, skilled, and patient husband.  Garrett, you rock dude!     

Well it's basically the first day of summer for me and I'm already kinda bored.I gotta take Ashley to school today and then I'm going to eat lunch with Griffin and Wesley at Ranch House. This weekend was crazy. Firday night was the football game, it was pretty fun and then Saturday I went to Dothan and then to my brothers house. And yesterday I helped my brother and Hayley move some of their stuff and it was just really crazy.Next Saturday I guess I'm going inner tubing with Griffin and whatever else, I don't know yet. Well I gotta call Emily and see if we are still gonna ride around Brookdale today lol.

I once blogged about Brandy and I am again today.  Went in to home depot and got to see her again.  Yes she is married but she on her second one now so I am hoping that as long as I stay in the picture I might get to be the third.  I really do not want to get married again but would rather have a roommate with benefits with her if that could happen!

 

I say all of this because she is changing her job and going to a veterinarian.  Mattie needs some attention and I miss having the pooch in the house with me.  I do not miss all of the friggin' dog hairs, though.  Anyway, she is going to meet early at her new job at the vet this week and I am going to bring Mattie in for a look.  They are going to board her for the night and I will pick her up Friday and take her home before I leave for Cincy.

 

See I figure this way I still might have a slight chance of keeping in touch in case this marraige doesn't work for her.  You never know?  Oh, and you know I had to tell her about my new car!!  Her jaw dropped and then she told me she wanted one.  Ha!  You never know unless you try, right?  But that will be all I will be doing.  I do believe in the sanctity of marraige so that will be all.  I also believe, however, if something did happen for the bad in her marraige that we could go out again. 

 

I will miss seeing her in home depot.   

Yesterday I saw Brandy again. 

 

As I returned some of the parts that I had bought to save my old hot water heater I got to speak to her again.  It was almost as if I was speaking to her for the last time.  I told her that it might be another couple of years before I see her again but if something happened between her and her fiance that I would be here and would love the opportunity to see her again.  Did I say that she called me yesterday?  She called me from work asking if the installer had called me.  I know that this is something that I am sure she must do as an employee but damn it was nice to hear her voice.  But she called me.  I told her when I was leaving the store that now she has my phone number that if she ever wanted to talk to call me.  I doubt she will.  I am guessing she is living with her man.  I asked her about her upcoming wedding, if she had picked out her dress and all, but she said no.  She didn't know exactly what they are doing for their wedding.  If I were her man I would have our wedding as a primary focus as an event so long as that was something that she wanted. 

 

I wonder about the signifigance of their relationship.  Talking to her and looking into her eyes it is as if  I have known her all if my life.

 

I wish she felt the same.

She smiled when she saw me.  Her eyes sparkled when she talked to me.

 

I saw a girl I used to know today.  I hadn't seen her in a couple of years.  I used to really like her.  I could have fallen in love with her so easily.  Her soft blue eyes.  The way she smiled at me.  Her laugh.  We met at Home Depot a few years ago.  She worked there and I was looking for a drill on a Friday night.  She was standing in front of the check out lane all alone so I asked her for some help.  I noticed her name was Brandy.  After she showed me where the drills were at I asked her some questions about drills.  She reluctantly admitted she knew nothing about drills.  Neither did I so we had something in common.  We laughed about it and we went back to her check out lane as I purchased one and left. 

 

Two weeks later I came in with a friend and saw her again.  I don't know how I ended up doing this but in the middle of Home Depot I sang the song "Brandy" to her outloud and right in the middle of the store.  I think she liked that.  I kept looking for excuses to go to Home Depot during the coming months and finally got the courage to ask her out.  She gave me her number, smiling, and we penciled in a date to go out.  After calling her a couple of times we finally ended up going out.  I had a great time that night.  She said she did too.  We talked a couple times on the phone again but never could get together on going out again.  I only saw her one more time at Home Depot again.  I wanted to ask her out again but I just didn't have the "feeling" that the timing was right.

 

So a couple of years go by and I have been to Home Depot many, many times.  I always thought about her, even looked for her car to see if she was there when I came by but never saw her.  I just guessed that she moved on to another job, moved away or did whatever people do.  Last night I go in to buy some stuff for  home insulation and went home to install it.  I get everything almost done except I find that my smallest screwdriver is a piece of crap so I throw it away.  Today I go into to get a new one and as I walk in I see her!  There she is sitting behing the customer service counter.  She does a double take when she sees me while she is talking to a customer.  I wait for a moment behind the customer to talk to her but not wanting to look like a stalker I leave to go and get what I came for.  After I find what I am looking at I go to see if she has a customer and, yes, like I figured, she has some guy in front of her with a problem.  So I walk to check out and look to my right and there she comes heading my way smiling.  She stops by to talk to me and I notice an engagement ring.  I ask her about it and she looks down and says yes it's true.  We talk for a bit and then I let her go since she is at work. I couldn't help notice her eyes still sparkled as she spoke to me.  I gently touched her back as she walked away and I felt that electricity again.  I  I always used to think that when a girls eyes sparkled at you when they talked to you it meant they liked you.  I must have been wrong, though.  As I left Home Depot I must admit I got a bit choked up.  I sure did like her.

 

I get in the car to go to get some beer for tonight and my Creed cd cranks up.  I turn it as loud as it can go but in my mind I remember that the loudest music in the world and the strongest drink you can get cannot take away that pain you get when you feel like you missed out on someone special.  Only time can.

 

"The sailors say Brandy, your a fine girl.  What a good wife you would be.... "