Garage Door!

The garage door is on and really ties the outside together. They did another coat of paint inside today and it really covered the walls well and looks great. They had the floors and cupboards all covered up so I didn't bother with pictures today. The plumber comes tomorrow to get everything all hooked up. Not sure what else is on the agenda. I think doors will be going on soon because there was a guy taking some measurements in there today. Landscaping happens Monday! All is on track and Ted and I bought some packing tape and bubble wrap today with plans for packing in our minds. Mom and Dad are still in town and we went to dinner tonight, so I think packing will have to wait and commence this weekend. I had lunch with my parents today at the house and we walked around the neighborhood checking out the other landscaping to get some ideas. Chad told me that if I get over there on Monday when the landscaper is there I can ask him to put things in certain places, so that's cool. Ted and I have some ideas about what we'd like to do for some landscaping out front, so I need to try to get the guy to arrange things so that we can make those ideas work. A little over three weeks until moving day!

On a side note, the after Christmas sales are in full swing down here and Teddy keeps giving me looks as I come home with bags of goodies and make him guess how much it all cost. It's more to pack, sure, but if there is one thing I love in life it's a great sale.


Ta Da!

Mom and Pops enjoying the neighborhood

Donnie K inspects the progress of someone else's home

Hard.Wood.Floors.

Love them! They are not completely finished yet, but the guy said he would be returning tomorrow to finish up. They look great so far. We also ran into the guy putting on the garage door tonight. He said it would take about 45 minutes to install. More pictures tomorrow!

Tagged.

Okay, here goes. I got tagged by Mindy, which means I need to list five things that people don't know about me. Most of you reading this know me pretty well, but I'll try to dig into my stash of secrets to keep in interesting. Stop me if you've heard this...

1. I got beat up on the school bus when I was in elementary school. This girl Lynnette hated my guts. I think I said something about her mom going to jail for forging checks. Anyway, she hated me and threated to beat me up for weeks. On the bus that day she sat in my seat pretending she wanted to be friends. Then she started pulling my hair and trying to smother my face in the seat. At one point she was sitting on my head and was trying to suffocate me, so I pinched her butt to make her get off. She howled (I pinched pretty hard) and the bus driver intervened shortly afterwards. I lied and told the principle she punched me in the face, but I don't think she ever did. I was an angel and she was a punk from the wrong side of the tracks, however, and so she got in trouble for the fight. After that I used to wear a special shirt every Friday to school. It made me feel tough and I thought of it as my fighting shirt. I didn't get in anymore fights, but I would be mean to people on Fridays because if I got yelled at by the bus driver he would forget by Monday and I wouldn't get in any real trouble. I loved that shirt.

2. I'm terrified of fire (especially things exploding) and electricity. My house burned down when I was young and I've been electrocuted twice, so that might have something to do with it. Sometimes I get really scared and won't even plug things in. I'm not sure if I've made Ted plug anything in for me yet (I've been pretty tough so far), but he has seen me freak out about fire.

3. I can't bite my nails because it hurts my teeth too much. I hate long nails though, so regularly cut them super short. I recently saw a picture of me in middle school with long fingernails, however, so I'm not sure when this started.

4. I hate nickels. They are ugly. I used to throw them out, but my mom noticed our jars of spare change that we are saving to cash in on a rainy day and noted that I must not hate nickels anymore. I do still hate them and use them first whenever possible to get rid of them. I do, however, realize the value of money these days.

5. After I got engaged I almost went off the road a couple of times because I was admiring my ring while driving.

I'm supposed to tag five people now, but don't have any other friends with blogs who haven't done this. So I invite you all to write your five secrets in the comments!

It was so hard not to put our handprints and initials in it.

They poured the driveway today! They put the cupboards in while we were gone! They did some painting! They made real stairs! They put bathroom vanities in! They trimmed the windows!

A lot got done while we were gone and I was stoked to see the progress when we returned from the North. Mom and Dad are in town and Donnie K was in his element yesterday doing an "inspection" for us. He had his flashlight out. He was looking in every nook and cranny. He saved the best for last--the attic space. Dad has given his seal of approval which is so important to us. It's hard enough making these big life decisions for the first time--it's so nice to have so many people around us with experience that can help guide us through it. Mom loves the house too and the location, so I'm hoping they'll be down for many visits.

We found a number of things to address during our inspection yesterday, but by noon today all of them had been pointed out to the supervisor and we have been reassured that it will all be taken care of. Most of the things we pointed out have already been spotted and he had a plan of action already in mind. It was very reassuring and Ted and I felt that our concerns were well addressed and that our input was welcomed. Everything is still on track for a January 30th closing. Hardwood floors go in tomorrow (this is my favorite part) and I can't wait to see what they look like. The cabinets and countertops are in but are covered for the painting and dusty. Just picture them all sparkly and clean! The windows look great all trimmed out and I'm looking forward to seeing all of the doors in place.

So, we're getting there! There is much to be done by the end of the month, but I'm so excited that it seems like it will be a cinch to pack up all of my junk and move it and unpack it and afford the mortgage and pay the bills. Remind me of that when I'm stressing and pulling my hair out...


Ted chit chats about how excited he is

Master Bathroom vanity

Doors, doors everywhere but not-a-one to close

Kitchen with cupboards!

Remember, imagine it sparkly!

View of the fabulous new front walk and driveway

Seriously. So hard not to write my name in that. Ted dared me and I was a chicken.

Besides, this dude totally would have yelled at me.

Pushin' Along

There was one guy puttin' along inside the house today working on the sheetrock putty. He put the first coat on the arches and it looks awesome. Can't wait to see the finished results. Apparently he'll put a couple more coats on and sand it all down. This should all be done sometime Friday. Cupboards arrive on Saturday. Garage door next Thursday. Driveway in the first couple of days in January. We are scheduled to close on January 30...better start packing! Seriously, it really hit Ted and I the other day: we are moving to our own house...SOON. It occurred to us that after we get back from our Christmas trip the move will be less than 30 days away. There's so much left to be done on the house that it seemed like it was still very far away. I talked to Chad today and it sounds like a lot of things will be occurring on a daily basis over there. We should have some great pictures to show after the new year. Happy Holidays to you all!

Putty

The putty portion of this extravaganza has begun. Looks like they have done all of the seams and nails in the sheetrock. It's sort of a snore-fest to look at, but at least it's progress! I imagine I'll have more putty related pictures next week, but will then be home for a week for Christmas...I'm hoping the more interesting things will begin while we are gone and there will be something to see when we get back.

I'm also including a couple of photos from the other day after they cleaned up the sheetrocking mess. Looks much nicer!

Gugaville

My friend Carrie and her husband Mike are building a house in Chaumont, NY. Check out Gugaville to see thier progress!

Actual Walls

Today was one of the coolest days so far in the building process. When I went over at lunchtime, the sheetrocking was complete in the entire downstairs and they were banging away at the upstairs. When Ted and I went back after work, they were nearly done. I spoke with Chad (who is growing on me now that I see actual progress) this afternoon about the next steps. They will be putting the putty stuff on the sheetrock next (now y'all know why I'm not in the construction biz--I'm not down with the lingo) which will take about 5 days. They will then do all of the moldings. Then all of the subcontracters will come in and do all of their "finishings," which includes everything from electrical to flooring. He said once the putty stuff is done things will move along pretty quickly. They are actually scheduled to be done BEFORE the end of January (eek!), but because anything can happen between now and then, he's still talking end of January for the closing. We will get a more exact date about 30 days before closing so we can start making the neccessary arrangements. Our garage is full of boxes that I've been hauling home from work for months now, so we are ready to start packing!

At any rate, it totally looks like a house in there now. You can no longer see through any of the walls and every room has a ceiling. It's really neat. You can definitely get a feel for what it's going to look like and what the space will be like. Admittedly, it's not a ginormous house, but will be cozy and fabulous for our first home. Hope you can all come visit. Preferably at the end of January. Bring a truck.


Loft view

Living Room

Eilis poses by the window in her giant closet

Ted peeks out the closet window


Master Bedroom

Living Room

Living Room

Kitchen looking into Dining Room

On another random note, as I was waiting for Ted to arrive at the house tonight I was sort of staring at the house and zoning out. I noticed some movement in the woods behind the house...and there were some deer back there! I definitely saw two of them, and possibly a third. I walked to the side of the house and this one just stood there staring at me. When we were up in the loft later on, we looked out the window and would have had a perfect view of them if they were still around. Who knew? Our house in Durham comes with wildlife fun!

No Longer Heating the Neighborhood

Insulation was done today! I was beginning to think that the new supervisor was lying to me because he said they would start it yesterday, but not a soul had been there when I went by at lunchtime yesterday. By the time I went after work today, however, it appears to be pretty much done. It's pretty neat...gives the place a whole different feel when you walk in. You can really appreciate the space of each room now. You can no longer squeeze between the framing of the garage and living room, so you actually feel like you have entered a "house" when you step into the living room. Sheetrocking is scheduled for Monday and I am so excited. Actual walls! Not being able to see through each room! That should really give the place a whole new feel, eh?

Inspected!

The framing inspection occurred the other day and we've got the green light to move on. Insulation will begin tomorrow, sheetrocking begins on Monday. All is still on schedule. Hurry up end of January! I'm so excited for this next phase. It was fun looking at 2x4s and seeing the frame of the house go up, but I want to see me some cupboards and hardwoods!

Nuthin'

Well, the inspection never got scheduled, so we are still waiting for that before anything more can take place in the house. I'm fairly irritated because the guy in charge made it sound as if he had the inspection all set up for this past Wednesday, but in reality it was never even scheduled and they don't know when it will be done. I'll check in next week and see what's up. I'm not sweating it--they assure me it's all still on schedule and we have enough on our plate right now to keep us occupied. At any rate, next stop after inspection is insulation and sheetrock.

It's Electric!

The wiring has been completed. We met with the construction supervisor today to go over some details and introduce ourselves (he took over for Chris Cooper recently). He's hoping to get the inspections completed next Wednesday. That will lead to insulation on Thursday and sheetrocking Friday or Monday. Everything is still on schedule for moving in the end of January!

Siding

The vinyl siding was added this week! It really only took the guys a day, but it appears that there is a pair of shutters that haven't been put on the front yet, so we need to look into that. The colors we chose look adorable, however, and all I can do is daydream about hanging a pretty christmas wreath on the door and stringing lights on some bushes out front. We'll have to wait a whole year to do that, but it seems to be the first thing that comes to mind what with the season fast approaching.

We head home tomorrow for a family wedding and early Thanksgiving. I'm hoping some progress will be made while we are gone and we'll have some wiring or something to check out when we get back. On a progress note, however, everything is on schedule and we are hoping to be moving in at the end of January!

News for the Peeping Toms

The windows were installed yesterday. It was so exciting to drive up and see them all in place. It looks a little funny with no siding, but I'm told that should go on in the next couple of weeks, then it will really look like a home to live in! They worked a bit more on the plumbing and air system as well. Electrical is the next step and then we will wait for inspections of those things to be done before they can move on. I'm told that all of this should happen in the next two weeks. Here's the latest pics, including an artsy attempt to show my excitement for the windows. There will be so much wonderful light coming into the house. Mmmmm...

Rough-Ins Begin

The heating/cooling and plumbing installation has begun. We hadn't been by all week and were able to see quite a bit of progress when we stopped by the house tonight. The roof has been completed and the plumbing almost completely installed. The bathtubs were even in place (and full of water!). The duct work for the heating and cooling has also been installed, so it was pretty neat to see how it runs throughout the house. I have no idea what the next step is. It looks like they have a little bit left to do in regards to the plumbing and air system. I imagine electrical is next...
I personally can't wait for the windows and siding to be done so I can get the real effect of a "home." Ted claims he won't be excited until we're actually moving in, but I know he's secretly giddy about the progress so far...