Written June 14, 2025
Hello Dear Readers,
We’re in the middle of a bathroom renovation. And when I say “middle,” I mean somewhere between “what were we thinking?” and “well, at least the plumbing still works.” This weekend’s mission: Operation Grout Removal. Because nothing says “romantic weekend” like scraping old tile lines.
Since this project is unfolding in slow motion—mostly due to my wife’s schedule being booked solid with, you know, life—she fits in the work whenever she can steal a few precious moments. Recently, she fell down the glorious rabbit hole of YouTube tutorials and renovation blogs and emerged victorious, brandishing a discovery: an electric grout removal tool. Apparently, doing it manually is about as fun as carving stone tablets with a spoon.
Armed with this newfound wisdom, we made our pilgrimage to the local temple of home improvement: Home Depot. My wife, ever the strategic warrior, insists on arriving at the crack of dawn—not out of devotion, but so she can interrogate the staff before the Saturday swarm descends. And ask she did. She’s never shy about picking the brains of the Home Depot veterans, many of whom moonlight as renovation sages.
Turns out, internet DIY tips are great—until they’re not. That silicone sealer she once tried to apply manually? She’ll tell you herself: it was like trying to frost a cake with a spoon that keeps turning back into soup.
Thanks to her early-bird Q&A session, we left with a shiny new electric grout tool, ready to tackle not just the downstairs bathroom, but the upstairs one and even the neglected grout in the storage room. Nothing is safe now.
Of course, all this delayed my run. But the weather gods smiled upon me—it was gray, rainy, and cool. If you’re going to have a schedule slip, at least make sure it comes with cloud cover.
Once home, I laced up and headed out for what became my longest run to date. My running app, which I suspect is part GPS, part confused hamster, announced my distances in that wonderfully random way it does—always just after I’ve passed them. I was aiming for 10k. I got 10.48. Because why stop when you can overshoot and regret it later?
My pace? Slightly off target, but close enough to give myself a virtual high-five and mumble, “Next time, gadget. Next time.” I’ve got a good feeling that next week’s 5ks will be the ones where I finally hit my pace goal.
Oh—and in the middle of all this productivity, I completely forgot to eat ice cream yesterday. This is not a drill. Combined with the long run, that little oversight cost me another pound. Guess I’ll have to fix that tonight after we get back from grocery shopping. You know, for health.