Bathroom Remodel Reveal

The kids/guest bath remodel took a bit longer than expected (what is new), but we were able to finish it up before my surgery (and before my mom came to stay to help me out afterwards). Of course, as with any remodeling job, there are always unexpected surprises. This time there was one of our own making. We checked all of the connections in the bath/shower area after installing the new tub and fixtures -- but forgot to check the DRAIN! It wasn't seated properly, so the first time my mom took a bath, quite a bit of the water went under the drain and down through the garage ceiling below (sigh!) Mike gets to spend this weekend cutting the new drywall for the garage and installing it and new insulation.

I promised some before/after pictures -- and here they are:

Before: The doorway between the vanity and bath/toilet area really made the room feel small (and it was stupid -- because there wasn't even a door there!) You can also see where my son put a hole through the tile in the shower -- turned out that the builders used regular drywall and a bad grout job -- and the drywall had turned to mush.


After: We knocked out the wall with the useless door and built a pony wall instead. It opens the room so much! We also used the same tile we used in the master bathroom (discontinued -- so it was a steal), as well as accent tile left over from our kitchen remodel -- and there is the mosaic I made. I think it looks great!


We were running short of tile by the time we got to the floor, so we created this pattern to make use of the different types/styles of tile we had left. We like it a lot! You can also see the "new" cabinets. We found a mirror we liked in an espresso colored finish -- and got paint to match. We updated the old cabinets with the new paint and hardware.


Here's a better look at the cabinets and pony wall.


My son is loving his updated bathroom! I've already started on my next project -- updating my daughter's bedroom (who spends most of the year at college) to be more adult, sophisticated, and a great looking guest room when she is away. Pictures soon to come!

Grateful for Medical Insurance!

I haven't been posting much the last few months because I was in the midst of a health crisis. It took some time for the doctors to figure out what was wrong and what parts needed to come out -- and I recently had surgery. That was good news, because they were able to fix things (and they didn't find some scary things they thought they might). The bad news was that I was out of work for a couple of weeks and I had no sick leave or short term disability, as I had not been an employee long enough. Since Mike is still out of work and going to school, this freaked me out a bit, as I worried about the money.


I'm back to work half days for now (and will go full time again in a few weeks). I'm feeling good and grateful that things went so well. I'm also very thankful that we have good medical insurance through Tricare (which we qualify for since Mike is retired military). The hospital recently sent me a bill for my surgery and overnight hospital stay -- with the doctor's fees included, it was over $20,000 for a two hour surgery and less than 24-hour hospital stay! If the insurance pays for everything they are supposed to, our out of pocket cost will be just $25!

This was a real eye-opener for me. Since I work in the medical field, I see many patients come through who have no insurance. It's bad enough when one has to pay for an office visit (which can run anywhere from $150-$300) -- but can you imagine having an emergency hospitalization and suddenly getting a bill for tens of thousands of dollars? What was also interesting to me is what the providers/hospitals will accept from contracted insurances. For example, the bill from my anesthesiologist was $1700 -- but my insurance only paid $350 as part of their contract with the hospital, which was accepted as payment in full. If the providers are willing to accept that amount -- why not just CHARGE that amount to anyone, with or without insurance?

It adds a whole new layer to the current health care debate. This is not a political blog, so I won't go into my feelings (both pro and con) towards a health care bill -- but I'm just really glad that we have insurance when it is needed.

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