Home Improvement Week at the White House

One of these days I'm going to turn on the television only to find that Dameone has blocked HGTV from me. But honestly, I can't resist the temptation to attempt home improvement projects! This week was particularly busy in the home project area. I managed to tackle flooring in both the main bathroom and the kitchen. Here's before and after pics of the bathroom and an after only pic of the kitchen:

We also hired Elite Sunscreens to come out and install solar screens on our house. For those of you who are outside AZ, solar screens are installed on the outside of the house to block sunlight from penetrating the windows. In the summertime, these screens can reduce our cooling costs greatly which in turn will reduce our overall impact on the Earth. Here are the before and after pics of the outside of the house:

The Most Anticipated Blog Update of the Year

So I know you're all thinking "Hey, I wonder if Jessica ever moved into that house she and Dameone were building." Well, the answer is "YES!" and we're all moved in and finally settled. Getting unpacked took quite a bit longer than I expected. We got about 90% of everything unpacked within the first week, but that nagging last 10% has taken us nearly 3 months!

Moving day was quite the interesting adventure. As you all know, it like hardly ever rains in AZ...except on the day that any descendant of my mother's has an important event planned (wink, wink). I haven't seen it rain this hard since Gretchen's wedding (those that were there know exactly what I'm talking about). For the move we decided that we could probably handle moving the boxes and some small furniture ourselves and then hired movers to come get the rest the following day. Here are some pics of us getting our truck loaded up:

Rain...

Sunshine... (It's a little difficult to tell, but I promise you...it was raining HARD. The slight flooding that you can see was the result of about 1 hour of rain.)

Our closing was scheduled for 1pm, so we stopped loading at around 1230pm and headed over to our NEW HOUSE!! We had our final walk through and then had to wait for the loan to be funded and recorded before we could get our keys. While we waited, our realtor, Dameone, and I went over to Applebee's for lunch. The only reason my nerves didn't take over my appetite was because we'd been working so hard all morning. Sure enough, just after we gave our food order, we got the call from the bank that the house was ours. Since the service at our new neighborhood Applebee's is less than speedy, we were forced to enjoy a nice slow lunch. Maybe it just seemed that way becuase I was dying to unlock the front door of MY house!

After lunch was over, we stopped by the sales office to pick up our keys:

That's goofy Martin, our K. Hovnanian sales rep. Super nice guy...but super goofy! Oh, and I'm totally aware that I look like a ragamuffin...but hey - I just loaded up a moving truck...in the rain!

And what would a new home be without a little champagne??? (there's nothing like drinking the good stuff straight from the bottle)

After we took a few moments to enjoy our new empty house, we unloaded the moving truck and my friends helped me put up some ceiling fans and paint the living room. You'll get the interior tour next time around.

Move-in Day is Here!!

I know I said that I was going to update everyone "as soon" as we got our closing day. Well, I got a little busy and forgot to tell you that we're closing TOMORROW (Monday, January 7th)!! I can not even begin to tell you how excited we are about taking the next step in our lives.

As soon as we get moved in and settled I will post another update, with pictures, of the finished product!

First There Was Paint, Then There Was Cabinets!

Well, I can't help but do another update today. My parents came up to Phoenix for a car show and while they were here I took them out to see the progress on the house. I was just as surprised as they were! OK, well probably not since the last time they saw the place it was a dirt lot.

We pulled up to the house and noticed the exterior paint job is about 80% completed and then went inside to discover that the walls had been painted, the cabinets were installed, and all of the light fixtures are in! Holy Moly!!

Here's a couple of quick pics to bring you up to speed (don't forget - click on the picture to view full-size):

In case you are wondering, yes our home is two-toned. It's a little difficult to see how the color scheme comes together, so if I get some better pics I'll put them up asap. We're still no closer to knowing our closing date. When we know, you'll know!

Alright, I better get back to work. He he he...

Yes...Another House Update

So, since the last time I posted, a few more things have happened with the house:

1. the holes in the floor have been repaired!!

2. stucco has been applied to the exterior

3. the interior walls were dry-walled and textured

4. the banister was installed on the staircase

5. the back "yard" was block-fenced in

6. the garage door was installed

7. the sliding glass door was installed

I think that just about covers everything. The community has begun work landscaping the "courtyard" right in front of our house and there's pictures of that included below (Don't forget - you can click on the photo to see the full-size file!):

We found out this week that due to safety concerns with the building of this type of home (courtyard style) we will not be able to occupy the home until all of the adjacent units are done with any scaffolding that may be necessary as a part of construction. This just means we'll be moving in January instead of December. No biggie.

That's all I have to report for now...hugs and kisses!!

You Have A Hole In Your WHAT?!

It has become evident to me now that I am not the faithful blogger that I was hoping to be. You know, the kind that has some fun, witty story to share every couple of days just baiting you, making you want more. Nope! That's not me. So, I've resigned myself to the fate of just the casual blogger that I've turned into.

For those of you who know me, which would be everyone that reads this blog (yes, all 13 of you), you know that I am rarely at a loss for words. I guess this house-building thing has me a bit too self-obsessed lately. To keep it short and sweet, here is the latest update:

The exterior of the home has been enclosed with the "Arizona standard" of styrafoam and chicken wire. This prepares the surface to accept the stucco that will later be sprayed on.

We decided to try to be a little "hi-tech" and ordered pre-wiring for surround sound in the living room. This required that we attend a frame/pre-drywall inspection so that we could verify the placement of the speaker connections and such. When we arrived and started the inspection, my attention was immediatly drawn to a suspicious looking pile of dirt next to what appeared to be two holes in our slab in what will become our kitchen. Here, have a look:
I was so distracted by the unsightly pile of rubble inside our new home that I found it extremely difficult to concentrate on the inspection. I sure hope D was paying attention, cuz I sure wasn't! Come to find out, during a routine test of the water lines and drain system, an under slab leak was discovered. Suspecting that the leak was coming from an intersection of several drains, they drilled in creating the rectangle-shaped hole. When they discovered that all of the fittings were intact, they opted to snake a camera through each line to isolate the leak and what they found was a wooden stake was driven straight thru another section of drain, thus the creation of the second, prefectly square hole. The picture to the left is what was fished out. So, construction has come to a screeching halt until the structural engineer can come out to verify the repairs are within code.

That's it for the house update. I really don't have anything else going on in my life right now. Work is good and I spend time with my friends when I can. I am really looking forward to moving into our new home then taking a break from working like crazy. Since today was a work day for me, it was dress shoes all the way...Jessica Simpson Abba in black suede.

Progress Report

Vacation is over and I'm back to work now. Work, work, work...that's all I ever seem to do these days. At least I have a job I love and the work is for a worthy cause - our new house! Since my last post, lots of things have happened. The slab was poured, and framing began. Here's a look at the progress that has been made...

So, this is how the progression of the above photos works: The first pic is of the slab (taken Monday, but slab was poured last Thursday). The second pic is of the first day of framing, which was Wednesday. The third pic is of the second day of framing, which was Thursday. I've been informed by a source close to the build (and confirmed by picture message) that the rest of the framing was completed today and the roof is completely covered!

I can't even begin to say how completely shocked/thrilled I am at how this build is progressing. I was able to go out to the property yesterday to take some interior pics:

The first pic is of the dining room/kitchen. See that pipe sticking out of the slab? OK, maybe you don't, but that would be the power supply for our new ISLAND!! The second pic is of the stairs and the third pic is taken from the garage looking through the stairs into the kitchen/dining room.

So, that's all for now, but as I have more progress to report, I'll pass it along! I think that may mean you'll hear from me sometime next week!! Till then...