A better update ...

The thing with the painting - I'm not painting for 12 hours straight. That's why it's taken several days.

I usually started around 10 or so and then went until around 4 or 5. With breaks in between while waiting for various coats to dry. Believe me - our kitchen isn't large enough for me to spend 12 hours at a time painting and still not be done after 4 days.

Plus I'm about out of paint and will need to get some more. I'm going to paint the trim and outlet/switch covers the same color as the cabinets and I won't have enough paint to finish it all.

I found it so tiring, though, that I pretty much neglected most of my other daily duties. Patrick's been pretty patient on that front.

Ms. J continues to be a wonderful help in allaying my fears of a home study, sharing their experiences and what they did to prepare. I'm still amazed that she used the same agency for her home study that we'll be using for our adoption.

Speaking of ... I'm really hoping our stimulus check arrives today. I got the letter telling me it was on the way, but it wasn't in Saturday's mail. I'm hoping it arrives today so I can cash it and stuff my 1/2 away.

I'm still applying for jobs weekly and I'm trying to not get discouraged. The headhunter continues to be a big fat waste of space.

Smokie, known as the basement kitty, continues to be a huge pain in my ass. The cat is sweet. He really is. But he imagines himself an alpha cat and has wreaked all sorts of havoc. Mainly with Lucy. He's learning, though - now as soon as the yowling and hissing starts, he runs. He also has less manners than our cats. My mom never cared if her cats were on the counters or table. I've always cared and mine will only dare the counters every great once in a while. Smokie, on the other hand, sees the counters as just another area for him to be. Especially if we've left any food on them.

It's been very trying, but I don't want to toss him back into the basement with those tiny bloodsucking freaks. Who, by the way, seem to reappear like magic. The bombs I set off last week seemed to do their job. Yesterday, though, they were back.

I keep saying ... I don't get it. I just don't get it. Maybe all that's happening is some are coming out of their cocoons when I do a few cursory walk-throughs to check for live ones after each fogging because I've been getting the growth regulator kind that kill the eggs, pre-adults, and adults. That should, technically, only leave the ones still in their cocoons. I don't know. But I do believe it's time to bring out some bigger guns.

Not sure what bigger guns there are than those damned bombs, but we'll find them.