ilene-84, Happy Birthday to your Dad! Is he a WW II vet? I hope all the medical issues are behind you and your family now. Spring is around the corner and it's such a great time of year. And, I'm sure when your kitchen is all done, it will be great simply because it has been a labor of love. It's good to know I am not the only one sleeping terribly. I wake up every day with a terrible headache and neck pain. I also wake up in the middle of the night repeatedly adding up cabinet sizes, trying to make a list of events of what should come next, what goes and doesn't go, if I do this then I have to do that and the infamous DID I MAKE A MISTAKE and what are my options now if I decide to change the layout. I started keeping a pen and paper on the night table to be able to jot down the ideas and make notes. However, one kitty is a pen thief, the other is a paper tearer. So when I get up to find the pen, big doggie has to come over and inquire as to what I am doing but more so to make sure he is not missing out on a food tidbit. Then DH starts in, what's wrong, is everything okay . . . it's so pitiful I have to laugh because I would cry. Now I try to get back into bed and find out that another kitty has stolen my warm spot and I just can't bear to move them so to the couch for me where I wonder, I just left that bed with all of them so how did we fit on there before! At least I'm off the kitchen biz. So much for the couch idea. There is usually the shy rescue cat there who so prefers DH to me. Then if I manage to lay down, it's impossible to get my back comfortable but then I finally fall asleep out of sheer exhaustion and then there is DH waking me, come back to bed, you know the couch is no good for your back. Argh . . just leave me be! This is a daily routine for us. I almost want to quit my day job and get a night job just so I don't have to go to sleep. I am sure also that the massive amounts of junk food I am eating is not helping the situation either. I am actually craving veggies so I don't know what that says about the diet. But in the end I will have a nice enough kitchen that I have built out of a labor of love. I am so looking forward to cooking again for us so hang in there! Christine, thanks for sharing your perspective on things. I must say you must be one strong resilient woman! You go girl.

Bru, I share your love of pets especially cats. I have lost 5 cats over the years. The three of these I had since they were kittens died at Ria 15 1/2 (liver disease), Leo 17 1/2 (euthanized months after he had a stroke - still have doubts about this decision), Zorro 18 1/2 (stroked out). The other two were feral or strays. One was white Miffy - we found him with a severe ear infection at the bottom of some stairs while watching my son play softball - he died of a rare form of feline leukemia (my other cats had had shots. The other black cat - Mickey Mew - died of an intestinal infection that spread quickly. He was such a character although Ria was the biggest character - almost human. Ria would answer the doorbell. He inspected new art when it was hung on the wall. Ria attempted to turn door knobs to exit a room. And he even tried to turn light switches on. Crazy. He let me and the kids dress him in baby clothes and push him in a stroller. But he was psycho kitty at the vet - screaming, peeing, biting. Ria inspired my son's first word - Key he said pointing at Ria the kitty - at 7 months old. At least twice my husband and I had to come home from an outing when two different babysitters called us to say that Ria the cat would not let either of them into Greg's room. Amazing, he was. Here's a great story. A lady mail carrier in the Phoenix area was on a different route than normal yesterday. She looked up and saw a baby near an unscreened open 2nd floor window. The baby crawled out and fell directly into her arms. Talk about the power of God, the presence of angels. Wow! Take care Bru and I hope your kitties improve very quickly!

Thanks everyone for your help! RemodelFla, you picked the perfect glass tile in the BuyTile crystile cinnamon, my husband actually got excited for the first time over the kitchen remodel. On top of that when the sample came they also sent a 20% off coupon for the tile. Yeah to that because now I am closer to budget, however I have contacted an eBay seller on a tile in the same category & brand but different color to see if I can get it even cheaper. Darbuka, love the harlequin light but that too is over my budget unless I find it on sale so I am exploring other possibilities. ButÂif it is cheaper somewhere I will find it. I may splurge though but not sure yet, I just know me and may want a slightly different look in two or three years so I donÂt like to waste money when I change things out.

hmm... agree regarding the opening frig door and little space between tall things. I am not liking frig/oven next next to each other because: the nearest landing spot is either a sidestepping 30" or a pivot across traffic to the opposite counter carrying hot and heavy items.. Opening the frig means you are opening it in front of the ovens or vice versa.... If the white is the stove area, then I would definitely suggest shortening the wall behind to allow plenty of room for people walking by you and getting into the frig or other "helping" activities. Or could you switch the sink and the cooktop areas? Just not sure about having cooktop and its grease and steam in narrow passage area.... How about moving the oven down one more section and making larger space in between the frig/oven stacks? The oven would be by the table if you needed extra landing space for cooling multiple racks of cookies ... :)