How much is it worth??

I got my house appraised today... I never realized a stranger (who I freely allowed into my house) could make me so nervous. I wasn't nervous, as in scared, I was nervous as in anxious. Anxious that my house won't appraise for what I need it to.

See... like many others these days, I am refinancing my house. I want to get the PMI off. I want to lower my interest rates. All of this terminology was unfamiliar to me less than 3 weeks ago. Yet, folks around me pushed me forward. (Sometimes I need a good push.) This will help me save $300/month. In teacher (I'm on a tight budget) language, this is a LOT!

In all this unfamiliar teritory, I am also dealing with bankers. Bankers that are telling me I have excellent credit, yet can't get me lower than a 5.25 % rate. This is frustrating to me!

So...here I sit...waiting on others to deal me my fate ~The appraiser with the amount my house is worth...the banker with the lowest interest rate possible...
And yet, somehow, this is supposed to make me feel like I have taken control of my life and finances...