Tuesday, December 13, 2011

We're in!!!

We moved into our new home on Saturday -- when the weather was misty/sleety and in the 20's -- and we hardly noticed. To us, it was a great day!

The movers arrived at our former home at 8:45 that morning and I started crying almost immediately. I know - people always talk about the emotions tied up in their homes. I knew I'd probably cry, but I wasn't sure when it would get me. Well, let me tell ya - it was within the first few minutes! They had just started carrying things out when I had to disappear (a couple of times) for a little while. The house on Oak Ridge represented so much for me as an individual, and to us as a couple. I just had to grieve a little bit.

And then........ We walked into OUR NEW HOME and the butterflies started! Everything is so fresh and clean. It has a great "new home" smell!! We absolutely love it!! Sure, there are some quirks that we'll have to get used to (meaning: change so I like it!), but that's part of the fun.

This house is layed out so differently from our old house, that it's a challenge trying to figure out where everything will live. So far, we're just putting things somewhere "close", knowing that time will help us figure everything out. It's going to be fun.

Unfortunately, I have no idea where my camera cable ended up!! We finally got internet today, so I was excited to update my blog, but now I can't upload any pictures. Ha Ha! Oh well - this just means you'll have to come back another day!!

Well, I'm off to tackle another box! See ya later alligator!

Friday, December 9, 2011

OMG - It's OURS!!

Well, today was "The Day!!" We closed on our new home!!  We couldn't be more thrilled! The entire Tim Roten operation did a super job and we love everything about the company and our new home. Here's just a few pictures.

 Love the wood floor in the Dining Room!


In the Dining Room, looking through the Family Room to the back yard.



Scrapbook Room.

 Hall bath



Guest bed/bath.


One view of the backyard. Eventually, Dave's shed will fill in that spot. Until then, it's Riley's space!!


Close to the back fence, looking back towards the house.


The movers are coming tomorrow at 8:30. It's hard to believe that we're actually moving, but we are!! Guess I'd better hit the sack pretty soon. Tomorrow promises to be a full day!!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

I got to see!!

I was finally able to leave the Preschool long enough that I could run by the new house!! Yeah for me!!

This is what I saw.....

Plumbing fixture in kitchen. Dishwasher installed.


Microwave and range --installed.

Chandelier in the Dining Room. Isn't it beautiful?? It looks black, but it's actually oil rubbed bronze. We were able to choose it and I love it!!


A shot of the fire place. I'm a little bummed b/c it isn't a wood burning one, but that's OK. This one is electric and will put out heat, or we can have the flames w/o the heat. It'll take some getting used to, but it might actually get used more than the one we currently have.

Ceiling fan in my Scrapbook Room!!!! Whoo Hoo!! I don't have one now and it gets hot! Guess I'm just working hard.....


Lights and plumbing fixtures in the Master Bath. (Obviously no mirror yet.)


Guest bath - light fixture and faucet - no mirror.


2 ceiling fans on the back porch. Finally some relief from the super hot summers!! We ran wires for our surround sound. It will be nice to sit outside, enjoying the breeze and listening to music.


They were blowing in the insulation when I left. Later today, they were planning to start laying the wood floor in the Dining Room. Next week comes the rest: fence, sod, window blinds, mirrors, shower door, and bars in closets. Closer......

Monday, November 28, 2011

Lots to report - nothing to see : (

Wow!! Lots happened at the house today, but unfortunately I don't have any pictures. It was way too dark when we got there tonight. We had to use our headlights and even then could only see a little bit. Anyway, here's the list of what happened today.....

1) Appliances have started. The microwave is in and we think maybe the stove. Maybe also the dishwasher?? Couldn't see.
2) Light fixtures are installed. The chandy in the Dining Room is GORG!!
3) The interior ceiling fans are up. We couldn't see if the fans on the back porch are in place.
4) The exterior coach lights are up. I couldn't tell if they are black or oil-rubbed bronze and I can't remember. They are so pretty!!
5) Both the a/c and the heater are installed.
6) The metal fence posts are in place.
7) The trenches for the sprinkler system have been dug.

Just a few more things to finish and we get to move in!!! Yippee!!

Sunday, November 27, 2011

What a great weekend!

I sure hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I know we sure did. No picts to post - just fun stuff to share.

Our 4th wedding anniversary was on the 24th - Thanksgiving Day. I am so very, very THANKFUL that God brought us together and has showered us with so many blessings over these past 4 years. I always dreamt that marriage would be amazing, and it has been even better than that. Dave is funny, smart, loving, and ...... I could just go on and on, but I know he's going to read this so I'd better stop!! (Love You!!)

I know I've shared The Proposal story before - just remember that it happened on Valentine's Day at Olive Garden. Since we got married, we have celebrated every Valentine's Day and every anniversary at Olive Garden - in OUR booth! This year was no exception. We had to wait a little while, but it was totally worth it. The manager has her own love story -- she met her husband at OG and they have their own booth! She remembered us from this past Valentine's Day. She also bought our appetizer. Ahhh.....a fellow romantic.

Thanksgiving Day was quiet. We spent it together and it was wonderful! Dave cooked a delicious meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin pie. It was his first time to make this meal and it was D-Lish! : )

Allan and his family had come to town, so we took them out to our new home.

The rest of the weekend was spent by running errands, shopping for the new house, measuring all kinds of spaces and walls in the new house, packing boxes, and of course working. (You know I can't spend 4 days without working at least a little!!)

The house is coming along very well. The electrician should finish up in the next day or so. All of the light fixtures and appliances are due to be placed on Monday. We are expecting the wood floors to be layed this week. Tonight, the builder's wife called because she hadn't asked us what kind of shower door we wanted! I hadn't even thought about it. Guess that means it should be hung soon. Whoo Hoo! It's so hard to believe that we'll be moving in to our new home in 2 weeks!!!

That means I'd better get back to packing. Now, where is that tape again????

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Tile is finished!

Yup - 1 more checkmark!! The tile guys thought they'd be done by today and they were right!! They did a great job. We couldn't be happier with the results.
I didn't know they would put this much detail around my tub. I'm also super excited because my tub has 8 jets -- twice as many as I have right now!! Oooooooo. I might need a really big Do Not Disturb sign!


 I also didn't realize there would be so much detail in the shower. The floor is tiny little tiles.

Pretty tile in the kitchen. The black squares add so much!


The electricians arrived today. They started installing all of the outlets and the lights.

He's putting the can light over the sink.


The painter finished the exterior paint today. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it. Hopefully sometime this weekend.

Well, that's all for today. We'll see what happens on Friday! Yippee!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Tile has started

The tile guys were there this morning when we stopped by. We have tile going in all three bathrooms, the kitchen, the laundry room, and the entry. Builder told us our tile was discontinued right after they ordered ours. Whew! Glad we got it ordered when we did!

Tile guys are planning to be finished sometime on Wednesday. They want to get paid before Thanksgiving! Ha Ha!

We spent some time "shopping" for moving companies. Can't believe we're looking at moving in just 3 weeks!!! Oh My!!

More good news: we did our weekly weigh-in this morning. I've now lost 16 pounds! Yippee!! More to go, but this is good.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Getting closer!

I had a meeting this morning, so I took advantage of some daylight and stopped by the house. I was thrilled to see that the garage door was open -- this meant I could go inside and see the progress!!

The builder was installing our granite!! Ooooooo -- look at that dark stain on the kitchen cabinets! Beautiful!!


We're now standing in the family room, looking into the Dining Room. I love the big window looking out to the front yard.



I'm standing in basically the same place, but this picture is looking towards the front door (middle right of picture), scrapbook room, and the mantle. The arch on the far right leads into the Dining Room.



Hall bath. Obviously no plumbing or lighting has been installed.


Guest suite. The granite has been installed around the sink.


This shot is of the Master Bath. We are SO looking forward to the double sinks!! Whoo hoo! Sorry this picture is so dark -- remember, no electricity yet.


My jetted tub!!!! Yippee!!! The tub is nestled in between the doors of the wrap-around closet. Sure wish I could get a picture of the closet. WOW!


Dave drove by later this afternoon and saw the painter prepping the exterior. Seems like that should be happening pretty soon! The builder says that all of the flooring will be next! YIPPEE!!

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On a work note: our temporary cook didn't show up today!!! Are you kidding me?!?!? I was away at a meeting until almost 11 and when I arrived at the Preschool, I discovered that the Assistant Director was not only putting away the food we had ordered yesterday, but she was also trying to prepare lunch! Obviously, I jumped in and got things taken care of. Then, I spend the rest of the afternoon writing the lesson plans for our music classes next week. Whew!

You never know what your day will look like when you are a Preschool Director!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Blogging again.....

I wrote a long post last night, but then blogger freaked out and stopped working. Sure hope it stays up tonight. I don't want to have to re-do it again.
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We had a great week in Florida, but I don't trust hotel wi-fi's though, so I didn't want to get on my blog. 'Cause, of course I wouldn't want some crazy person comandeering The Purple Zone!!! Ha Ha!

We started the week at Dave's Aunt Katy's house. She lives right on The Eagle golf course (in Tampa) and it was beautiful! Next time, we're going to bring our clubs. Look who was playing this hole -- right in her back yard....


We took off for an afternoon at Clearwater Beach. It was so relaxing walking barefoot through the white sand. I was able to really clear my mind and relax. What a rare moment!!


We arrived in Orlando the day before the conference, so we headed out to the Kennedy Space Center. It was amazing and we highly recommend everyone taking the tour.


We were able to see the Endeavor - up close and personal.


We spent Halloween at Epcot. It was great!! Dave was selected to participate in a street show! How did they know how much he loves doing these things!! Ha Ha!


Unfortunately, Dave was sick for several days, so he spent quite a bit of time in the hotel room while I attended sessions. Still, we managed to squeeze in a few fun activities.

Downtown Disney


Lego Store (at Downtown Disney)


T-Rex restaurant


I know that's a bad picture. The restaurant is really dark. I just wanted to show how close we were to the dinosaurs! See the menu at the bottom of the picture??? That's my seat -- inches away from a moving, growling triceratops!!

The conference was wonderful. I am so fortunate that I'm able to attend it. I have always wanted to, and it's so thrilling now that I actually get to. One of my favorite pieces is meeting children's authors and other people who have influenced my professional beliefs. This year was no exception. I was able to meet 2 of my favs......



Alice Sterling Honig, infant-toddler guru!

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Meanwhile, back in Lubbock, the crews were working on our home. Our builder agreed to meet us after work so we could have a peek at the latest. Darn this time change!!! It gets too dark too fast! Oh well, at least we got to look around for a few minutes!

Look at all those cabinets!! Whoo Hoo!! Door on the far right is leading to the laundry room and garage. Door on the left is the walk-in (step-in) pantry. STORAGE!!



Close up detail of the mantle.

Front door. (Not the actual color)


It's coming along!!!

Friday, October 28, 2011

Just a peek

Well, we were unable to meet up with the builder this evening, so we only got to look in the windows. I'm really bummed, because we are going out of town in the morning and it will be a week before we'll have another chance to see the house. I really wanted to go inside before we left. Oh well.

The good news is that I'll be overjoyed when I get to see it later. I know that lots of things will be different by that point!

Tonight, we saw that the interior trim around the doors and windows are going up. Most of the interior doors are now hanging. AND......all of the cabinets are being built! Whoo Hoo!! As opposed to our current house where the stock cabinetry just had to be installed, the cabinets in our new home are all being built on-site. I'm really excited and can't wait to see them. If I take a really deep breath, I can almost smell the wood. : )

I wonder what they'll do while we're gone???

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

We can't get in!!!

Well, it's official - the doors are locked and we can't get in. Grrrrrr!! So the builder officially still owns the house - small technicality! It's OUR HOME!! Ok - Ok. I'm alright - just disappointed because we really enjoy walking around and checking out "the latest". Guess this just means we'll be even more surprised when we actually see things.

Tonight, we saw that all of the concrete has been poured. Yes - we scratched our initials into the back patio. The concrete was already fairly dry, so I don't know if the letters will show up, but WE know they are there! That's good enough for us.

When we peeked into the windows, we saw the interior doors and trim laying inside the different rooms. That can only mean one thing -- installation soon!! Whoo hoo!!!

Monday, October 24, 2011

Next phase

Yippee - things are still moving along with the new house. Today when we stopped by, we discovered that the forms for the concrete are all in place! Looks like they'll be pouring the concrete tomorrow -- sidewalk, driveway, and back porch.



They also sprayed the primer and texture on all the walls. Hopefully that means the painting will go up tomorrow!! Every day it looks more and more like a home.

UGH --- they have now started locking the doors!!! Luckily, Dave crawled through a window and opened the door for us. We better find another way in!! I HAVE to see my house on a regular basis!!!

Friday, October 21, 2011

No pictures

No pictures today. It's hard to take decent pix of mudding and sheetrock. Looks like they've finished the second coat of the mud. There are still a few places that need fixing, but looks like they are basically done. Next step -- sanding. Glad I'm not the one doing it!

The garage door has been installed. Unfortunately, it was raised, so I didn't get a picture.

They've sprayed the orange marks for all of the concrete. Maybe tomorrow?

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Stone is finished!!

Hooray -- all of the stone and brick is completed!! It looks great! The trim still needs to be painted, but that won't happen for a while.

We didn't know we'd have that brick archway. I think it looks great.

The sheetrock is all up!! Tomorrow they'll start mudding.

Archway on the left leads to the Guest Suite. I'm standing towards the back of the family room, looking towards the fireplace/flat screen. All the cables are run through the wall and come out on the left side of the fireplace. (outlet on the right)

Fun Fun!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Brick and sheetrock!

What fun -- the brick is almost finished and the stone has started. It looks great!!



The crew started the sheetrock today. The lead guy said he hopes to have it finished tomorrow. Can't wait to see what it looks like. It's like opening a new present every day.



Lubbock was hit with a "wall of dirt" this afternoon.


 
Those are not my pix - I was busy with children and wasn't thinking about taking photos. Still, this is exactly what it looked like. NASTY!!! The wind had been blowing pretty badly most of the day, but about 5:30, the entire sky turned DARK!! The 3-year-old I was holding said, "The sky is angry." Yes, Josiah.....the sky is definitely angry!!

Check out some videos different people took. http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-690655

The sky began to clear a little, but it still looks bad. We knew there was a bad drought, but this is extreme. I've seen lots of dust storms, but I've never seen dirt like this. I sure hope this is just a fluke and not a precursor of upcoming weather!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

14 pounds down!

Saturday was "Weigh-in Day". I'm always nervous to step on those scales!! Luckily, the lady behind the counter never announces my weight and it doesn't show up where people can see it. I just quietly take off my shoes, wait for her signal, and then step on the scales. I hold my breath and try to think "thin thoughts." I don't even look at the print-out until I'm safely back in the truck. I never really know if I've lost weight until I look at my book. THIS TIME........14.0 pounds down!!! Whoo Hoo for me!!!

I've noticed that my clothes that were "just right" are now a little loose and my clothes that were "too tight" are fitting, but I still didn't know about the "number". Well, now I know and I couldn't be happier.

I still hate it - don't get me wrong. My deisre for my favorite foods hasn't gone away. Still, the fact that my clothes are fitting and that my weight is dropping is certainly helping my motivation. Guess I'll keep going.

I don't have a goal weight in mind. I'm just taking it pound by pound.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

The brick has started!!

The house is changing so fast right now. I can hardly wait to see it from day to day. Just like we were told, the brick work started today. It looks great!! We went with a really dark (not quite burgundy) red. It will look quite striking with the dark grey roof and white stone.

The bricklayers started in the back of the house. The brick hasn't been cleaned, so it looks like it has some grey. It doesn't.

Guest suite is on the left. Family room is in the middle and master suite is on the right. The patio will be 18' across. Right now, it's 7' deep -- from the windows to the end of the roof. We are planning to pour some extra concrete and add a couple more feet to the patio. We want to be able to put a table outside and enjoy our backyard.


This shot gives you a little better view of the guest suite. Obviously, they are still working on the master. I'm standing almost, but not quite, at the back of our property. 

All of the wiring is finished --- electrical, tv, data, alarm, and surround sound, and the few things we discussed last night have all been addressed. (Moving an outlet or two and adding the data lines.) It looks like all of the air ducts are in, and the shower units are all in place. It sure is fun to walk around every night just to see what's new. I know it will slow down soon, but for now it's really fun playing "I spy" with all the new features!!

Now, I'm curling up with my new Pottery Barn catalog!! After all, I have a new house to furnish and decorate!!