The Blog FKA Construction Chronicles

I Really Don't Get It

2009-01-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

As you all probably know I visit a few NASCAR-related sites on the interweb. Most of the people there are disgruntled. Not all. But most. A lot of people feel that the racing sucks, NA$CAR sucks, the drivers suck, etc. Blah blah blah.

I have to say that in 16 years my dedication or love or passion for NASCAR has not waivered. I'm not sure what the driving force is behind it, but I suspect it's Jeff Gordon. Once he's retired, I don't know what will happen. I just know I cannot wait for Daytona. And I'm not sure I'm forgiving my bosses for scheduling a freaking Ladies' Tea for Feb. 12 @ 2:00. Do you NOT know that I always take that day off to watch the qualifying races that day? So sad.

I do want to say this. I get SO tired of people complaining about it. If you don't like it, then don't watch! It's not that hard. Ugh.

Merry Christmas !

2008-12-25T05:50:00.001-08:00

Left to right, my cousin, Julie, me, Julie's daughter Kelli, Julie's stepdaughter Brittany and my mom, Connie.

Just a heads up

2008-12-22T16:34:00.001-08:00

I'm gonna blog more. At least I'm gonna try. Just a warning.

1 Year Anniversary

2008-12-21T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well we have been in our house for 1 year now and it couldn't have gone any faster. We had a few glitches (some of them self-induced....Brandon hitting the propane tank with a dozer isn't anyone's fault but ours, wait, what? His!) but for the most part it's been fantastic. I don't have our bedroom or the upstairs the way I want it yet, but that will come. As soon as we get the carpet laid in the basement we're going to move the furniture from upstairs downstairs and also move the big tv above the fireplace. Then the upstairs great room will be 'great' for just sitting and doing nothing I guess. The basement will be our main living area from now on I think.

Christmas is here. I guess. It's been quite a few weeks with Steve's mom and dad being so sick and being put in a nursing home. Everyone's been sick with colds and flu, but we're still going to celebrate Christmas. This year it isn't about the gifts. It's not about the money. It's about family and being happy and HEALTHY and thankful for what we have. I know I am very thankful and will continue to be so into the New Year.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Carpet anyone?

2008-12-21T12:04:00.000-08:00

All we lack at this point is a small piece of trim in the bathroom and some carpet. It will happen after the first of the year probably. We've already had several drinks at the bar and guess what? It works! Yay!

Here are some pictures. Oh, we're also lacking a pool table. Wonder if the people who bought our old house would want to part with the pool table?

Some bar photos

2008-10-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Some more basement photos

2008-09-02T16:13:00.001-07:00

This is the bathroom.

This is where the bar will go.

This is the area behind the bar where the sink (left) and fridge (right) will go.

The TV will go on the wall to the right of the fireplace then we'll put another tv behind the bar.

This is where the pool table will go.

Ready for electrician and plumber

2008-08-03T11:18:00.001-07:00

Brandon's got all the framework done. The rooms that you see framed in are a bath, closet and the area behind the bar. Plumber and electrician are both coming this Thursday.

Mid-Summer

2008-07-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe Summer is 1/2 over. Time flies I guess. We've been very busy hanging with friends and family and had lots of company. My Aunt Mary Jane and Bub were home from Atlanta. As always we had a great time and took not ONE SINGLE picture. What's up w/that? Not sure. She loved my house and I believe her exact words were, "I woudn't change a thing." That's nice to hear.

The landscaping/flowers are coming along. Here are some new pictures.

Brandon's started on the basement. I expect it to be finished by Christmas. He's not happy unless he's got a project. I guess I can't complain. It's better than being married to a lazy bum. :-)

I'll post more pics when I have them!

Just some additional pics.

2008-06-09T17:18:00.000-07:00

Brandon finished up the stone tonight in the 96 degree heat. We have to still work on the other side of the front door and that should be this weekend.

Enjoy!

We just passed the 5 month mark

2008-05-26T06:53:00.001-07:00

For only being here for 5 months, I think we've made remarkable progress. The landscaping is pretty much done. Just waiting on our river gravel Tuesday night and then that will be pretty much done. Yay. I'm not messing with mulch. Just decided I didn't want to do that each year.

This was a good weekend. We pretty much just worked outside. Brandon moved tons of dirt and planted some more grass seed. I worked on the flower beds and then we had a cookout for some friends while we watched some racing. Here are some recent pics. Notice our new inhabitants. The lady that came to measure for my shutters in my bedroom told me we have an Eastern Phoebe and those are her babies. So we've named her Phoebe and she craps all over my sidewalk. Thank you, Phoebe.

Hey Look! I'm updating my blog! FINALLY!

2008-04-27T09:32:00.001-07:00

Here's a pic of our living room with our new furniture. I think I finally have it decorated the way I want it.

Things are going great! We're loving life in our new home. A.C. has adjust just fine. He still drools but I just deal with it. And it's still disgusting. They poured our concrete pad this past Thursday. It looks great. We're having someone else finish it out to the road. He will hopefully get here in a week or two.

We also started on our landscaping. That is interesting seeing as how I know nothing about plants. Thanks to Mom and Steve for all their help! We've so far planted ornamental grasses, hostas, seedum (sp?), black eyed susans, dianthus and bleeding heart. Oh and we also put a wheeping cherry tree and some box woods in. Right now it just looks so bare. I know it will take a while for everything to fill in.

Brandon has been working on the yard for a few weeks now. He really has it looking nice. He filled in all the low spots and we're pretty much ready to seed. Hopefully we'll have grass soon!

Oh and I got a new truck. It's an '08 GMC Denali. I like it a lot. I guess I'm just a truck girl.

Hopefully the next pictures I post will have grass in them!

Well, it hasn't been without incident

2008-01-02T15:58:00.000-08:00

We have had some minor (& major) things to work out, but overall we're doing well. A.C. (my 8 yr old Great Dane) is having a horrible time adjusting. I think he's starting to come around. He wouldn't go to the bathroom outside, he chose to do it the minute he came inside. And right before company was to show up. Also, Danes drool. A lot. You don't notice it so much on carpet, but you do on hard wood and it stains. It's disgusting. I have to use a Mr. Clean eraser on the floor and window sills to get the stains off. I also am having a good time 'Swiffering' the dog hair daily. It is not fun. I love my dog dearly though and wouldn't trade him for the world. It is what it is.

Last week our lights started dimming and then coming back on full. I called the electric co and they said it was inside the house. Something was draining the electricity. It was quickly determined it was the geothermal unit. They had to order parts (which aren't in yet) and we are currently running on 'emergency heat'. Then Saturday Brandon ran over our buried propane tank and all the propane shot out of the top of it. He's very very lucky he didn't blow himself or us and our house up. That was $900 worth of propane basically vanishing into thin air. But it could have been worse.

Other than that, things are great. That's all I have for now!

We've officially moved in!

2007-12-25T07:53:00.001-08:00

As of 12/14/07, we are officially moved in. It was hectic, as all moves are, but well worth it. We're having Christmas in our new home with family and it's been very fun. We've had lots of company too and it's been fun showing everyone our new home. It's just now starting to feel like home. The first night I felt like I was sleeping in a hotel.

I put up two Christmas trees and lots of Christmas decorations so it really looks like a home now. Enjoy the pictures!

Wrought Iron

2007-12-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

Granite

2007-12-05T19:03:00.000-08:00

12-01-07

2007-12-02T07:33:00.000-08:00

The dining room is alm ost trimmed out. Looking from the kitchen out into the foyer, dining room and the upstairs.

We're moving along! The granite countertops were supposed to come tomorrow, but there is a small problem with the cabinets fitting with the refrigerator, so the cabinet maker is coming down to fix that. They are moving them about an inch to the right. So the countertop is delayed. Also, it appears that the cabinet in the laundry room is too wide. According to our prints, it should be 31 1/4" wide and it's closer to 36" wide. There's no way my w/d is going to fit, so the cabinet maker needs to adddress that as well.

The stone is looking fabulous!

November 29, 2007

2007-11-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

This is the area to the left of the front door on the front of the house. The chimney around back will be covered in the same stone.

Stairway to Jessica's Room

2007-11-20T17:31:00.001-08:00

Jessica is my sister who thinks she's moving in with us. :-)

11/18/07

2007-11-18T14:20:00.003-08:00

Garage

Dining Room

Standing in the kitchen looking out into the great room.

Well, they're really buttoning things up now. We're on track for a 12/15 move in date.

11/11/07

2007-11-11T12:19:00.001-08:00

As you can see, the only brick left is just to the right of the door. To the left of the door will be Cypress Fieldsstone.

This is the desk area in the breakfast nook.

The breakfast nook...

Laundry room

Bathroom vanity off the kitchen/breakfast nook.

Master bath vanity. The vanity is a redder cherry than the rest of the house. Brandon's choice. It looks beautiful.

The tub deck in the master bath

Master bath dual vanity

Some more detailed pictures of the kitchen...this is the spice rack.

This is the name of the cabinet company stamped on each drawer. Notice the dove tailed finger joints. The construction of these cabinets is just top notch.

Here is our granite...just a sample obviously. The real top will be here in about 2 weeks.

Mixer Lift!!!! How cool is THAT?

Cabinets

2007-11-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how happy I am or how beautiful these cabinets are. The pictures do not do them justice. Enjoy!

Heading into November

2007-10-30T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is the upstairs fireplace.

This is the downstairs fireplace. That's an old barn beam for the mantle.

The interior paint is done. (No pictures, sorry!) The trim has started so go up as have several doors. The woodwork is cherry and is beautiful. The doors are so heavy! Also, both fireplaces are almost done. Here are some pics for ya.

A Little Tour of the House To Date

2007-10-21T10:08:00.000-07:00

Okay....just thought I'd update some pictures. As you can see they're getting some brick done. It goes slow that's for sure, but looks beautiful. The painters start Monday!

This is walking into the bathroom off of the master bedroom.

Garden tub in the master bath.

Master bedroom.

This is the sunken dining room off the great room.

Standing in front of the fireplace in the great room, looking up toward the 2nd floor hallway. This will have wrought iron railing cherry handrails up the steps and along this hallway.

Looking up toward the stairway/ceiling from the kitchen.

Fireplace and sliding doors in the great room.

Looking into the kitchen/breakfast nook area.

This is what you see when you walk into the main entry door.

Looking into the foyer from the 2nd floor hall. There will be a big light hanging here.

View from the 2nd floor hallway.

Bonus room at the end of the 2nd floor hallway.

Full bathroom on the 2nd floor. It has a cool skylight.

This is where the pool table will go in the basement once it's finished.

Fireplace in the basement. It will be brick from ceiling to floor.

Some more pictures

2007-10-13T15:12:00.000-07:00

2007-10-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Finally, some updated pictures. They started the brick on the garage side. I love the keystones and the brick work above the windows. Notice the quoins on the corners. They're very pretty as well.

The chimney will be stone. What a beautiful October sky, huh?

This is the kitchen. Cabinets will be done the first week in November. Appliances are going to be delivered October 19th.

This is the great room looking up toward the ceiling.

Looking up toward the 2nd floor. This will have wrought iron railing with wood banisters.

Landscaping

2007-10-01T17:21:00.000-07:00

Granite!

2007-09-29T14:19:00.001-07:00

We picked out our granite today. I won't describe it because, well, I'm posting a picture! It's very pretty though and I think it will be beautiful with our cream colored cabinets.

09-26-07

2007-09-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

The garage is drywalled. Yay!

The chimney is done. Now it just needs covered in stone.

An update....FINALLY!

2007-09-23T16:29:00.001-07:00

Sorry I've been horrible lately at posting updates. There really isn't anything significant to post pictures of as the work that's been going on the past few weeks is mostly electrical and plumbing related. The entire house is wired and the power company has dug their trenches. The wires are run to the house and we expect to have 'juice' by the end of next week. We now have running water too! Currently the masons are working on the 2 fireplaces and as soon as they're done they will start on the outside brick. Several tons of bricks were delivered this past week and the retaining walls are done on the walkout basement side. Unfortauately we forgot to get pics of the walls. We suck. Oh, and I've been in Myrtle Beach for the past week so that's another excuse too! Here is a picture of the downstairs fireplace.
Yesterday, Brandon and I went to http://www.mulletcabinet.com and picked out the cabinetry for the kitchen, the desk and all the bathroom and laundry cabinetry. I am getting a vanilla cream painted cabinet with a glaze finish in the kitchen. It will be so neat. I'm very excited. The desk in the breakfast nook will be stained cherry to match the trim and the hardwood floors. We've decided to put hardwood flooring from the front door, in the great room, dining room, kitchen and breakfast nook. Brandon picked out most of the stuff in the master bath. He picked a cherry vanity with a cultured marble top that has some red in it. It's very rich looking. The tub deck will also be cherry.

Then we went to the lighting place and picked out lights for the entry way. Here is the one I picked for the foyer. The ceilings are 18' high so this one will be very pretty I think.

The next step is to pick out carpet and ceramic tile for the laundry room and bathrooms. They are starting the insulation and drywall on Monday/Tuesday. It's really looking like we're going to be in way before Christmas. That was the goal.

Can't think of anything else to add. I will post pictures of the drywall and the chimney/fireplace when they're more complete.

Garage Doors!

2007-09-07T18:34:00.001-07:00

This is a storage area off the bonus room. There will be a small door leading into it. I can see Christmas decorations, etc. going in there!

Doors and Windows!

2007-08-28T18:30:00.000-07:00

We have Shingles!

2007-08-27T17:44:00.001-07:00

These are the windows that go in the breakfast nook. They're Semco and will be stained to match the trim, etc. The panes are between the glass and they tilt in for easy cleaning, etc. There are two sets of these in the breakfast nook...lots of windows! Here are the shingles!

A better look at the windows.

My favorite window. This goes in our bedroom. I truly love it.

A few different shots

2007-08-26T13:02:00.001-07:00

This pic shows how big the house actually is. That's my mom and I way down there. This is the view out the window above my garden tub.

This is what you see when you walk in the front door. That's looking toward the kitchen and breakfast nook. It's very open and I really like that.

Steps from the first floor are up!

This is the bonus room above the garage. It's huge.

Roof is sheeted!

2007-08-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

The roof is sheeted and ready for shingles! Hopefully in the next few days they will start that. The weather forecast is favorable, HOT, but dry and that's important. Next week the plan is to finish the shingles, doors, windows, pour the garage floor and retaining walls! Yay!

Taking Shape!

2007-08-14T18:40:00.001-07:00

I'm running out of titles

2007-08-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

So here's some pictures:

Some basement pictures and 2nd floor

2007-08-12T09:49:00.001-07:00

This is the fireplace downstairs.
Basement steps....I love how they curve.
This is how we get to the second story....for now. So far we haven't had too many takers, although Brandon & I have been up and down it several times. Going down is scary!
This is the front door/foyer from the top of the steps. It will remain open to below like this.
View of the great room from the 2nd floor walkway that goes to the bonus room and other bedrooms. It too will remain open to below.

Directly in front.
I like this picture a lot.

Trusses are going up!

2007-08-08T16:23:00.001-07:00

I knew I could incorporate Dupont in my house somehow!

2007-08-05T08:15:00.001-07:00

Make sure you click on this picture and read the rules posted by our contractor. Isn't that awesome? :-)

The trusses for the roof are scheduled to be delivered this Tuesday, the 7th so we should see some more progress then. I still can't believe we have another story to go! Yikes!

August 1, 2007

2007-08-01T19:15:00.000-07:00

Making More Progress!

2007-07-31T20:17:00.001-07:00

This is standing at the end of the house with the garage looking all the way to the other side, where the master suite is.

This is the master bedroom.

This is the front entry, which will be flanked by a fieldstone.

This is the back of the house, as if you couldn't figure that out.

This is the sunken dining room that will be void of furniture for probably quite some time. :-)

This is the bathroom window above the jacuzzi tub!

Brandon is standing in our walk in closet. That's my mom in the master bath.

This is the breakfast nook area. Notice the two huge windows. I just love those!

Here is the walkout basement. The master bedroom and bathroom are directly above it.

Framing Has Begun! ! !

2007-07-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

They started framing today! The garage is mainly framed. Brandon thinks by the end of this week the first floor should be pretty well framed up. According to the weather forecast we're not supposed to get any rain whatsoever, so we're expecting lots of progress!

The Deck

2007-07-24T18:40:00.001-07:00

Yay! Some progress!

2007-07-23T16:30:00.001-07:00

So they finally got to work on our house after two weeks of basically nothing. I'm so glad. I was afraid Brandon was going to either 1) Jump off a tall building; or 2) Kill our contractor. As you can see, they have started the deck, which is basically the first floor. They anticipate starting to frame on Monday of next week. Yay!

We made yet another change today in that we're going to have them put retaining walls out the walkout basement. That better be it for the changes. Our checkbook cannot handle it! Enjoy!

Something other than block!

2007-07-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Friday, June 29

2007-06-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

After 2 solid weeks, the block is done. Yay. Looks like they will start bricking around the walkout basement side and also along the bottom of the back. Enjoy the pics!

More block and more block!

2007-06-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

This is from Monday, June 25th and is the portion of the basement that is directly behind the garage and below the breakfast nook area. Not sure if that helps or not, but it helps me visualize!

More block!

2007-06-22T20:31:00.001-07:00

They now have 7 courses of block laid all the way around. You can see the door and the windows taking shape where the walkout side is going to be. That's going to have a French-style sliding glass door with a concrete pad and a nice retaining wall. The basement should be all blocked up mid-next week. For those who understand, we're doing 14 course of block. That means the basement will have higher ceilings and that's good! Hopefully soon I'll have pictures other than block for you all to look at!

June 21, 2007

2007-06-21T17:16:00.001-07:00

Today they pretty much continued the block. We also had gravel put down on the road so that's good too.

June 20, 2007

2007-06-20T17:12:00.001-07:00

Yeah. I'm running out of titles, let alone clever ones. So I think I'll just start using dates! There has been a lot of progress the past week or so. They started laying the block as you can see in the pictures. Also this week, I picked out siding, shingles, windows and doors. It was fun. So far the decisions have been fairly easy for me and I don't fret about it. I just pick what I like and don't second guess it.

We have decided to not only brick the front and the garage side, but we're also bricking the walkout basement side so that will be pretty. I can't wait until they start on that!

Enjoy and thanks for the nice comments!

Footers Are poured!!!

2007-06-14T18:04:00.000-07:00

The title pretty much says it all! Footers are poured. They have to set for 5 days or so. The block will be delivered Friday and they will start it on Monday! Here are some pics. The first pic is me and my friend, Mandi. I wanted some people in my pics!

2007-06-03T16:27:00.000-07:00

Brandon spent 8 hours at the property yesterday (Saturday) and another 9 hours out there Sunday and I believe the basement is finished and ready for footers. It's all very exciting. Here are some pictures. I think you should be able to click them and make them bigger. The builder is planning to start a week from tomorrow, Monday June 11. Maybe if he sees the progress Brandon made this weekend, the builder might start sooner! Yay!

Walkout Basement

2007-05-28T19:21:00.001-07:00

These pics are of the lot that we believe is ready to start digging the basement. The first picture is of our back yard. It's huge. Much larger than I thought it ws going to be. The pictures of the hole is the side where the walkout basement will go. As has been the case since the get go, Brandon did all the digging and clearing. I was starting to think he was working on other people's lots he was out there so much! But it turns out he was working on ours.

Stay tuned. Our builder is out of town until tomorrow; hopefully he will let us know when we can officially dig the basement soon!

Bricks and Stones

2007-05-26T16:39:00.000-07:00

Brandon and I went and picked out our brick an stone for the house. I've realized that this is going to be pretty much to me as Brandon 'doesn't care' what I pick, as long as I'm happy. :-)

The brick we picked is made by Belden Brick Company and is called Winewood blend. It's a mixture of red, brown and gray brick. Here's a picture.

The stone we picked is called Cypress Fieldstone. Here's a picture of it as well. Just keeping everyone informed! Thanks for stopping by!

About our house

2007-05-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

I know most of you know (i.e. the family members) but for those that don't, I thought I'd give a little background on the type of house we're building.

It's a 2 story. You walk in the front door and go straight back to the great room. The dining room is sunken and is to the left. We currently don't have a formal dining room table, so that room may be sort of a formal living room for awhile. We'll have to see. The great room's focal point is a fire place on the back wall with double french doors on either side leading out to a patio. We're not doing a deck as neither one of us are fans of the maintenance required so we'll have a concrete patio. Open to the great room is the kitchen and there's a small breakfast nook off to the side. The laundry room is also off of the kitchen as is a small 1/2 bath.

On the other side of the great room is the master bedroom with a full bath and walk in closet. Back track to the front door and go upstairs to 2 more bedrooms. The upstairs is open to the great room below so the ceilings are really high. Also above the garage there is a huge bonus room that will probably serve as an office/workout room until there are little ones running around then it will probably turn into a toy room. There is also a full bathroom upstairs.

The garage is side load and 3 stalls. Brandon eventually wants to build a separate garage behind the house but we joke that we'll do that in 31 years when the house is paid for. The front and side of the house is going to be brick with stone around the front entry way and extending up to the 2nd floor on the front. The same stone will be used on the back for the fireplace. There is a full basement and we went ahead and had a bathroom roughed in and also a fireplace. That way when we do finish it a few years from now, it will be a little easier. Walk out french doors are also in the basement.

That's about all I can think of for now. Brandon's hoping to start digging the basement this weekend and then once that's done, the guy can come in and start pouring the footers! I can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by!

Moving Dirt

2007-05-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (May 12) Brandon and I went to the property. He was preparing the site for building while I sat and read my book and got some sun. I had a purpose for being there, really I did. Once he got the site all scalped, we then staked out the house and decided where it would go on the site. Here are some progress pictures. The one above shows our lot before he started.

This is Brandon just starting to cut the driveway.

This is the view across from our house, essentially what we will see out of our front door.

This is the site once it was pretty much scalped. Brandon got all this done in one day. We're hoping to start digging the basement in about 2 - 3 weeks, just whenever our builder calls us and says to go ahead!

Not much else to report right now. We are going on the 24th to pick out our brick and stone. We have a pretty good idea on what we want, it's just a matter of picking it out. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy!

And So It Begins....

2007-05-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, May 3, we signed the final construction agreement and got our final cost to build from the builder. We are offically locked in to this whole deal! Woo hoo! The next morning I received a fax from the builder's right hand lady, Irene, with specific instructions on what I need to get started on. She wasn't messing around! She made an appointment for us to go and pick out all of our plumbing fixtures today at 9:00. So today Brandon and I picked out our faucets, bathtubs and showers. The sinks will be picked out with the countertops because they're all one piece. I know nobody cares about this, but I'm going to post some pictures for my reference, that way I won't forget what I picked. And some of you might care, who knows? I just want to document as much of this as I can so I can remember it later!

This is some brick I saw today when we ate lunch in Amish Country that I really like. Thought I'd take a picture for later when I pick my own out!

All of our bathroom faucets, etc. are going to be in stainless finish. Some of these pictures are of chrome, but they're all going to be stainless. The stainless is sort of a 'brushed' look that I really like. This is the faucet and handheld shower that is on the whirlpool tub in the master bathroom. It has jets and a heater so the water never gets cold!
This goes in the shower in the master bathroom. We got the 'rain' type head. Brandon's always wanted one of those.
This is the faucet that's going in the master bath. There are 2 sinks so obviously we'll have 2 of these.
This is the faucet for the half bath off the kitchen. Again, stainless, not chrome.
This is the faucet going in the kitchen.
This is the faucet that is going in the laundry room sink. The faucet comes out like a hose for easy cleaning, etc.
The commode. :-) It's a tall one and Brandon liked that. It will be in white.

The only thing I really didn't take a picture of was the tub. But it's cool, let me tell you. Everyone was stressing out about making all these decisions, but truthfully today was fun. Next up is picking the brick, stone and shingles. After that is the cabinets and countertops. Should be fun!

Here's The Story of a Lovely Lady

2007-05-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

When our friend, Todd, saw our rental home he said it reminded him of The Brady Bunch house. It's pretty dated. It was dirty. I mean gross. The girl who lived here before us made homemade candies and sold them. Apparently she also slopped chocolate all over the floors, countertops, stove and refrigerator and didn't clean up after her nasty self as well. It was disgusting. The kitchen has these nasty green counter tops and, get this, metal tiles on one wall. They're brown and silver.

With a little sprucing up, the house is coming along. We haven't purchased a computer desk yet and as I type this, I am sitting on a Rubbermaid tote filled with dog food with the keyboard on my lap. The mouse is on a tv tray and the monitor is on an empty $8 filing cabinet. The dog's crate is directly behind me and my grandma Mabel's beloved La-Z-Boy recliner is to my left.

The other spare bedroom is crammed full of furniture and my treadmill. Brandon did hook up the plasma tv in there so I would have something to watch while walking/running. Thank you, Brandon!

The basement is straight out of Silence of the Lambs. I put carpet remnants on the floor because I didn't even want to put my dirty clothes on the floor. But let me tell you something this house does have: a laundry chute! I am loving this thing! SO VERY COOL! Also, another positive, the landlord put an all new bathroom in prior to our moving in and I'm very thankful for that!

Here are some pictures:

This is all of our stuff stacked in the basement

The scary basement

We have a really nice back yard though! Nice and flat...the other side of those trees though? I-77!

Here's the front view

The dining room

Notice that metal tile. Too funny!

Enough complaining. The big picture is this. We have a decent little house and believe you me, the rent is nice. We're building a new home and this will all be a distant memory soon enough! Until next time.......

The Lay of the Land

2007-05-05T16:05:00.000-07:00

I know it doesn't look like much now, but this is where we're building. I'll have more pics of the land later on....

A Little Background and a Timeline

2007-05-05T15:50:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, Brandon and I are building a new home. It all began back in August of 2006 when we listed our current home, which we bought in 2000 on the market for sale. The ground that we're building on is a new subdivision near Old Washington, OH. It is an 'executive' subdivision with specific deed restrictions (i.e. minimum sq ft is 2400, no cows or horses, etc.) We bought our lot and were just waiting on our house to sell. We had the option to do a bridge loan, but I knew Brandon's heart would never take it. It would stress him out to begin construction on a brand new place before our old one sold. Yes, that means moving twice, but financially it was the wise decision.

Our house finally sold on April 20, 2007. We were very happy with the sale price and had 2 weeks to vacate! With the help of our excellent friends, Bill Cowden, Todd Knauf and of course, my mother, who is a saint, we got all moved. The rental house is for another post. Stay tuned and welcome to our blog!