Moving? Think again...

[GRR! My origin text disappeared while I was uploading all my pics!]

So we're not moving in this weekend. The banker was (rightly) worried about the builder, and the builder was (rightly) worried about the bank/paperwork. And then work schedules became inflexible. Tentative closing has been set for Tuesday afternoon. Coincidently, the beautiful weather we've been having will surely change by then. Another "artic front" is supposed to drop temps to low of 26 and high of 40 with chance of rain/wintery mix. Joyful.

After being gone for a week and a half, the builder came back Thursday (the day before our scheduled closing) to break my heart and let me know that we would no way be moving in this weekend. The foreman had busted his rear to try to make it happen, but a few loose ends just couldn't be wrapped up. Thankfully there were workers out there today and we got the game room carpet installed and the painters are coming (AGAIN) to finish touchups.

On the banking side of things, the appraisal came in under value. So my banker (who has been more like a teacher walking us through this whole process), made sure the appraiser had all the valid documents. No luck on that. So banker-man had to re-manipulate the numbers again. So that complication would have kept us from closing Friday anyway.

And then Taylor's sergeant informed Taylor that the days he has asked off and been given off had been rescinded. So even if we did move this weekend, Taylor would be splitting at least half his day with work. On my end of things, Friday would have been a terrible day to miss because we were so crazy busy! It was the busiest day of a very busy week and, frankly, I am exhausted! This weekend off is unexpected but absolutely appreciated.

Cross your fingers that things will actually fall into place this week as (re)scheduled.


The carrige light outside the garage

The lights and mirror trim in the master bath

Two corner shelves and the bench in the master shower

Dual shower heads in the master shower. Notice the decorative accent band

Master vanity- has dual sinks and my air jet tub; countertops are really tall which is good for us tall people!

The awesome light box in the master bedroom- the dual steps give soft ambient lighting- I love it more than I thought I would!

Kids' bath has the same basic stuff (countertops, cabinets and dual shower heads, except we set their hand held head low)

See, it's low- perfect for little people

West side of the front porch with the fence posts being set today

Close up of the front porch lights

East side of the front porch- note the concrete has been poured now; can you imagine sitting and rocking out here?

My fireplace, hearth and the mantle; note the stained concrete floors- my first time to see them was today!

My house- pic taken from the dining area; living area to the left and kitchen to the right; the doorway there leads to my office and the master bed/bath

The dining area- I just LOVE my floors! Except that we had to be on them barefoot today- they are COLD! (Gift ideas- house shoes for everyone!)

Ah, my kitchen as seen from the dining room; the entry way on the right leads directly to the laundry room and a right turn takes you up to the game room

My island with butcher block top

My country cabinetry with tumbled travertine back splash and granite countertops; refridgerator will go in that big open spot. Notice the flat coooktop between the double ovens and frig

My farm house sink! I have wanted one of these for ever I think. I just love it!

Another view of my country kitchen

Taylor posing in the laundry room; half bath is to the right and my utility sink and work area is to the left

Work area of the laundry room

Not so good pic of the game room- carpet being installed; Strange, but I love the smell of newly installed carpet...

Game room lighting- wish I could have gotten a better pic of the pool table light- it's just perfect for the space!

Nearing the end?

More house progress this week, but I'm a slacker on the pics (Sorry!).

Been working with the bank on the final paperwork. My banker is concerned that the house won't be finished when the builder says it will. Funny- the builder is concerned the banker won't have all the paperwork finished when he says it will. So if you ask me, each are in charge of their own destiny. AND- closing has been scheduled for Feb 19. Yup, that's this Friday!! Can't be anymore excited and nervous and skeptical...

Since our house is in the boonies, our cell phone reception is not so bueno. So, I called AT&T to see about a home phone (but primarily internet). They set me up a 4 hour window to wait for the AT&T guy. And wait I did- for 4 1/2 hours! AT&T was a complete no call, no show. And I waited in my car in the cold, rainy weather. What a waste of my time from work. Well, not completely... I checked out a library book Scream at the Sky and essentially finished it in one day. Taylor thought I was crazy to sit and wait that long. But, really, I got to have some quiet alone time without any pressing issues. Was kinda nice. AT&T ended up coming out to the house (unexpectedly and without our presence necessary) and hooking up the phone line. DSL is a no-go in our neck of the woods- only dial-up. Still working on that one...

The granite has been completed this week and the tile is as far complete as they could go. Plumbers have been in and we got some sinks and toilets and fixtures and my bathtub hooked up. Electricians have begun their necessary work as well. It's pretty exciting to see all the progress and know that (hopefully) within one week we will be sleeping in our house.

All in all, the process of building has gone smoothly. Now that we're nearing the end though, I think the stressors are getting to Taylor and I. There's the concerns of what gets done inside and outside of the contract, and our list of things yet to be done. AHHH!! Phone, internet, TV, driveways, our new bedroom furniture, Haley's new bedroom furniture, moving, paperwork, payment amounts, closing on time, getting my new cookware and silverware, bedding,, chest freezer, TV(s), Macy's things... AAAHHHH!! Don't remind me...

Really though, this whole home building process has been a test of faith. Not just spiritual faith, but in the all around sense of the word. That's why Taylor and I have agreed that Macy's middle name shall be Faith. The significance of the word spiritually and "real world" just caps exactly what the last few months have been for us. Plus, Haley is Grace and now we will have our Faith. I think it's fitting and significant.

With any luck, the next time you hear from me will be several weeks from now, as I will be so super busy unpacking (I'm forbidden from actually moving...) and settling in that blogging will be on the back burner. I will begin boxing up the apartment Monday and Tuesday (T works). Wednesday I have a committee meeting and then back to boxing Thursday (T works some more). We should complete the walk-through and closing on Friday (according to schedule) and begin wrapping up loose ends and non-heavy moving (like our food). Tay's determined we're renting a U-Haul so we don't have to make multiple trips with a stock trailer. So we'll load up the apartment Saturday and hopefully also empty out storage that day as well. Yeah, our plate is full.

I may be calling on some of my girlfriends to help me unpack and decorate the house... FYI

Wish us luck!

Hunt for a bargain

I'm getting wiser in my old age. Buying something expensive on a whim doesn't excite me any more. Knowing that we were going to put a flat screen over the mantle in our new living room, I have been researching TV prices for literally months now.

I found that we needed a plasma (vs LCD or LED) for the wide viewing angle. We measured the hearth and figured that anything 42-50" would fit best and give us the TV viewing experience in our living/dining/kitchen great room area.

So I turn to Consumer Reports-- unbiased reviews on real products. Samsung and Panasonic are the leaders in the areas in which we were looking. Samsung is not quite so friendly on the pocket-book, so Panasonic it is. More research for model (I'm talking hours spent looking and researching) and I determine that the Panasonic TC-P50S1 is the one for us.

I found the P50S1 at Sears-in stock and on ~30% sale. Taylor was skeptical that we had to space to store a TV in our mini-apartment. So I called Sears and talked to the head electronics dude. He said that the sale was going for another 2 weeks and that he doubted that he would sell out of that specific model. So I/we waited (despite my gut feeling...).

When it was time to go buy the TV, it was all out of stock, un-order-able, and they wouldn't sell us the floor model. (Take note that January is the end of the model year for TVs and people take advantage of low TV prices just before the Super Bowl.) The electronics guy called around and found the same TV in Big Spring for another $200 off!! Guess who drove to Big Spring that night?!?

It took forever to gas up and get refreshments, but we arrived at the Big Spring Sears at 7:10 last Friday. And Sears closed at 7 p.m. GRR!! But we made a little road trip of it and ate at Cowboys- a steak house in Big Spring. The had a chicken-fried rib eye! (My stomach is shrinking as Macy grows, so I didn't try it.)

The next morning (Saturday) I broke free from the family and did some house item hunting (Haley's new furniture and two rugs). Then we made a family road trip to Big Spring- again. I'd like to say that they had my TV and we went home happy, end of story. But no...

Instead of the P50S1, it was the P50X1. Uhh... the big difference is that the X is 720p v the 1080p of the S1. (Side note- knowing your stuff prevents "surprises" in the store.) The S1 was already sold out. Taylor and waffled in the store b/c we really wanted the S1, but knew it was going to be a hard find anywhere local. I knew that even though it was a 720p, the X1 is still a great product with little difference vs the 1080p S1 set.

So we bought the X1 new in the box and took it home that day. I did more researching later and found that the S1 is apparently all sold out anywhere except E-bay (and those prices were not reasonable!). We're happy as can be because we got a great TV on an awesome sale (~40% off)! Can't wait to get it all put up!

MORAL OF THE STORY:

He who has the most knowledge wins.

Latest House Progress

Without further delay, here's the latest on the house. We should be able to move in sometime in the third week of February. It's longer than we were told and longer than we expected, but I suppose that's part of the pitfall of building during the dead of winter. We've got our time line in place, but that could be delayed again by the weather. This week, the septic should have been started. Builder says its too hard to excavate a hold the size septic tank with a backhoe when it rained 2" in 2 weeks... Hmm... Makes sense I suppose.

I absolutely love my closet and the height of the counter tops and my farmhouse sink and the beautiful full stone fire place... I love the game room on it's own merits, plus Haley thinks its the coolest thing ever. One of the things I'm most excited about is the heated swimming pool. It's supposed to be swimmable year-round!

Last weekend I was able to get a lot of leg work for the house completed. Several furniture stores were having sales. I went to Ashley's and found a rug- it was the floor model so I got it at a good discount, plus it's in good condition. Carter's is having a moving sale and I found a complete solid pine captain's bed set (with a desk, mirror, chair, and dresser) and a beautiful girly soft gray rug for Haley at a real bargain. I'm tellin' ya-- I don't pay retail for anything big! And we got our new flat screen TV (fun story-- needs to be a separate post!).

I will post the latest house pics, but know that the house has already evolved since these were taken. I think I'd drive myself crazy if I stayed right on top of it.

The back porch: the "nook" part of the porch is full stone. The wall under the balcony is brick. The black tarp to the R of the pic is the pool template.

The front of my beautiful house. Look closely- the window sills aren't complete here (are now) and the temporary posts are now square cedar. Haven't looked yet this week, but it should be rocked ~3 ft high up the posts. Front porch has not been poured yet.

This is the notch-out for the farm house sink. By now the cabinets are stained a rustic green and lacquered. It's possible that the countertops have been installed and that the tile back splash is also up.

My beautiful rock fireplace. I love the raised hearth and the rounded corners (especially with a new baby on the way). Our flat screen will be on the mantle which will be a cedar plank. I love the detail-- the brickers saved the best fossilized pieces for here. I love it! The walls should be painted by this weekend when we go look.

Ah, the pool- installed just before a good-ol West Texas spring wind storm! It's now all the way full and has cool-coat decking around it. This pic is taken from the balcony-- the edge of the pool is far enough away from the balcony that children (and drunk "boys") won't be tempted to jump in. (The balcony now has concrete poured but we're still waiting for the railing to be installed.)