Jenk  as owner builders doing lots of new building science in an area famous for not changing... yeah, we had a lot of resistance from various subs. We found it helped to do two things. First - try not to see their questions as criticism or the sub not wanting to do it your way, but that they just may have not heard about the way you want it done. (even with the subs who really just donÂt want to do it a new way, it helps YOUR state of mind). Put it to them in those terms  "I know itÂs new to this area" (thus they are not expected to know about it) "but weÂre really set on doing it this way for these reasons." And while you may not feel like you should have to explain your reasons, you will get better work if they feel like part of the process. Trades people are not all stubborn mules against learning something new. Second  know what you are talking about  if you are vague nobody is going to take you or your ideas seriously. Graphics and visual aids are helpful if itÂs really new. When we discussed our plans to insulate our crawlspace walls (virtually unheard of in this county/state), we showed the people involved the drawings and research on the method. It took some arm twisting to get the county inspectors behind the idea but between the printed sheets and calm discussions they approved the finished work. Our HVAC people loved the idea and now they recommend it to other people. They hadnÂt heard of it before our house, but we presented in a way that they felt they didnÂt need to defend their experience. Even in the "just how you want it" stuff itÂs not always a matter of Âmy-way-itisÂ. We did two walk throughs with our electrician before he would string one wire. On both trips he would ask us, Âwhy do want this here? and Âhow about having that there?Â. This wasnÂt to discourage us from what we wanted, but to find out what our reasons were so he could make suggestions. He had wired enough houses to know what people tend to regret later, and he made some great suggestions that we went with. The stuff I was sure of I had reasons for and it didnÂt bother me to explain them to him. I hope this helps, and good luck!

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Thank you all! I haven't thought about any type of blue because I thought it might be too cool. I do like the idea of a warmer light blue though and will look at BM crystal blue. The LR is just a couple of steps away from our bedroom that's BM Woodlawn blue so maybe that would really work well. My eyes seem to see green in every cool beige I've ever tried. Even if no one else sees the green, I see army camo screaming at me so I think a neutral beige might be out. Grt8day- I've used SW Believable Buff at my cottage and it's a great color. SW Whole wheat might be an option too. My SW/BM color fan decks are at the new house-darn it! I can't wait until tomorrow to get scope out your great ideas. Thank you again! MM

Love, I don't think these people even care if or how much damage they are doing. When DH has tried to talk to her about how x is upsetting SS, she just immediately blows it, says that DH is a liar, she knows what's best for her son (she doesn't know anything about her son!) If someone told me that a child (or an adult, for that matter) was very upset by something that I had done, I would seriously consider my behavior. Even if the person telling me tended to exaggerate, that is not the kind of thing you just gloss over. Yabber, really? That's kind of funny. I wonder how/why they all do similar things. But it is true, BM has had a slew of pets that "disappeared" as well. It ticks me off too because healthy pets very rarely just drop dead overnight, and now SS is worrying that our pets are going to suddenly keel over. Did you get the dangerous flight thing too? Anything could happen on an airplane! Maybe snakes will get loose on it! The amusing thing, of course, is that BM has no idea whatsoever of what his day to day life is like; she doesn't want to hear about it. We could be letting him run with scissors, play in traffic, take candy from strangers (that'll be Sunday!), go have sleepovers at the single guy down the street who wears one glove - she'd have no idea. But as soon as she hears vacation, she's suddenly oh so concerned about his welfare - so very concerned that we should pay for her to go and take her too! Ha ha ha!