Happy Birthday RJ

I wanted to take a moment to wish my nephew RJ a very Happy Birthday! Dameone and I love you and miss you very much.

Happy Birthday

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...

Moving...A Game The Whole Family Can Play

So, I pretty much learned this week that moving is one of my least favorite activities. Fortunately for me, this move was not mine and my friend hired movers to not only do the heavy lifting, but to do ALL the lifting.


Now that the move is over and done with, I can look back and honestly say it was a bunch of fun. A lot of work, but a whole lotta fun! The move started on Wednesday with a rather lengthy trip to Home Depot (the first of like 10 over the last 2 days) to pick up paint, a doggie door, and a ladder. (Note to self: when planning a paint project, purchase the paint prior to the day in which you plan to use it.) Well, the stop at the paint department did not go as swiftly as planned no thanks to a flippin' contractor who just had to order 20 GALLONS of paint...all in different colors. I thought there was "Home Depot PRO" for just this reason. Well, once the guy behind the paint counter could breathe long enough, we placed our order and went about to collect the rest of the items left for purchase. TWO HOURS later, we were back at the new residence with everything we needed to turn her house into a home.

So, the agenda for the day was to include the installation of 4 ceiling fans and paint in 3 rooms. An easy enough task for a couple of home-improvement novices and two new homeowners. Well, OK, I guess it wasn't that easy since we ended the day only having installed 3/4 of one fan and got 1 3/4 rooms painted. The 2-hour Home Depot run certainly did not help our already cramped work schedule, and to keep things in the spirit of "this was fun", we won't talk about the other things that set us behind. Here is a couple pictures of the one room we did manage to finish on Day 1 (Paint Color: BEHR Light Topaz in Eggshell finish): *click on photos to enlarge

Day 2 of the move hoped to be a bit more promising. The old place was all packed up, it was a beautiful 80 degrees outside, and the movers were prompt and helpful. Once most of the old place was packed up, another friend picked me up and we headed over to the new home to hurry up and paint the remaining room before the movers arrived. We took what we learned from Day 1 and got that room painted up in about an hour and a half (and if I do say so myself, it looks the best of all the painted rooms - pictures to come shortly). By the time we finished the painting, the movers were mostly finished unloading. Finally, it was time for pizza and beer!

After our 30-minute "union sanctioned" lunch break, we were back to work to try to knock out as much unpacking as we could do. Kitchen...done. Upstairs Bathroom...done. Owner's bedroom...done. It felt so good to see that stark-white empty house transform into a home in just a few short hours. Oh, and in just a few months, that's gonna be me and D!

Yeah, you read right...a FEW months! The latest update from the builder projects our completion to be sometime in December. We just can't believe how quickly things are moving along. While I was out in the area, I snapped off a few shots of the progress they've made just since Monday (photo's taken Thursday 9/20): *click on photos to enlarge

The first picture is a shot taken directly across the street from where our new home will be. Look, the frame for the slab is down! The second picture is looking back at our lot to the homes that will share a "courtyard" with us. Where will my house fit, you ask? Well, you've gotta remember that these are patio homes, so no one has a traditional yard - only a patio - and believe it or not, our home will fit in that dirt lot where you see the guys working.

My Mom and Dad are coming up tomorrow for a visit, and you know my Dad with his camera! I imagine that he'll get some fantastic shots of the lot and the whole community for me to post up here. Oh yeah, my shoes for this post...well, what else do you wear when moving other than utility shoes? YES...I not only own, but I also wore a pair of hiking shoes (Columbia "Black Rock" hiking shoes).

Happy Birthday to ME!

Ok, so that title sounds bit conceited, but the more you read you'll understand why I'm so excited. You see, about 2 months ago, Dameone and I decided that it might be time to grow up and settle down. By that, I mean WE'RE BUILDING A HOUSE!!

The whole thing really came about so fast and unexpectedly. A good friend of ours just finished building her house and recommended that we come out and take a look at the new builds in her area. The area that she is building in is somewhat near an area where we had once lived - an area we were 200% certain we would never return to. Much to our surprise, though this area shares a common street name, it is nothing like the other place. In fact, it kind of reminds me of Tucson.

Anyway, after several failed attempts at declining her suggestions, we took the marketing materials she so kindly picked up for us and realized that this could become a reality for us. We glanced at the floor plans that were offered and selected a nice-sized 3br 2 1/2 ba 2-story patio home (For those of you who don't know, a patio home is a stand-alone home in a planned community that does not have a full yard...only a patio). We really feel that this will be the perfect transition for us out of apartment living and into our own home.

Ok, so why "happy birthday to me", you ask? Welllll....they broke ground on our new home today! So, it's one day after my birthday. Close enough.

Here are some pics from the day we signed our contract...enjoy! More updates to follow as the build progresses...