{Easter Weekend Recap}

If the past 4 months are any indication of how fast this year is going to go by - then I am fairly certain we are going to blink & it's going to be Christmas.  Which I am kinda ok with by the way.  You know my love for Christmas & since I couldn't put my tree up last year, mine very well may go up November 1st.   Or before.  And no I am not kidding. =)

I know, I know - one holiday at a time. 

I hope you all had a very Happy Easter!  I did & very much enjoyed my 3 day weekend. Friday I spent the entire day in Houston shopping by myself {definitely the way I prefer to shop}.  I didn't buy much {note my previous post about my room being completely full}, but it was fun to look!  Saturday night, my friends and I went to dinner & then decided last minute to grab a bottle of wine & head to my "house" to celebrate finally having a slab.  So, I guess you could say I hosted my first party at my new house. =)  I know things will change once there are 25+ houses on the street, but it was so peaceful out there.  It's kinda like country living in the city.  Fortunately I will have a tree line behind my house & not another house so it makes it really "cozy".  Hopefully this was just the first of many parties to come.

 

Sunday was church followed by lunch at Whataburger with my parents.  I know you are super jealous of my very exciting life.  ;)  I celebrated Easter with the family Sunday evening at my Mama's house.  We played our traditional game of baseball (it gets serious, let me tell you!), had a fish fry, played a game of pitch & finished off the evening with an Easter egg hunt.  My cousin Abby summed it up perfectly when she said "our family is pretty awesome".  I couldn't agree more.

 

  

I almost forgot...we actually finished off the evening killing this bad boy!  A copperhead was crossing the road at my aunt's house on the way home. See - way too many creepy, crawly things in the country!! =)

 

{Look What I Finally Have!!}

After about 2 weeks of NOTHING happening at my house, things finally started rolling again last week.  The final prep work for the foundation was completed and for once, something finally went as scheduled/planned!!  I had received word at the end of last week that my foundation would be poured bright & early Tuesday morning.  However, when the rain & 40 degree temps happened on Monday, I knew for sure there would be another delay. I sent a text to the builder Monday evening & he assured me everything was still on & we were still good to go!

I made a quick trip by there before work on Tuesday & sure enough - by 7:30 - the trucks were already there.  I waited til about 8:30 & then went back by and it was actually happening!  I couldn't get a very good picture of the actual pouring process because the street was blocked with concrete trucks, but seeing them there & seeing it FINALLY happening made me a very happy camper.  Add that to the fact that Tuesday was also April 15th & the end to {a majority} of my tax work & it was a VERY good day!!

Here are a few pictures:

 

 

  

 And this is where we are now.  I am sure it will be another week or two before framing begins & it actually starts to look like a house.  But, the process seems to be moving pretty quickly once framing begins so I am {kinda} starting to see a very faint light at the end of the tunnel.  =)

Happy Easter!!

{Long Time, No See...}

It's April.  How can that be?!?  And it's been almost 6 weeks since I blogged last...what can I say, I kinda suck at this.  But, in my defense - work this time of year is CRAZY busy for me.  My job involves tax stuff so right now, it's lots of 10 hour days & 6 day work weeks.  But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel...only a few more weeks! I think I can, I think I can...

And then there is the house.  Oh the house.  I am fairly certain it may be the death of me.  At the end of February, we decided that we would not keep the trees & so those came down a few weeks later.  It totally changed the look of the lot, but I think in the end - it was the right decision.  The idea of a tree falling on my house in a year or two wasn't too appealing.

 

After the trees were removed, there was an issue with the position of the house on the lot. Due to the angle of the lot & the position of the pre-poured driveway, I either had to have an angled house or a curvy driveway.  The angled house drove me crazy so we decided on a straight house & curvy driveway.  It will give it character, right??  Of course, all this meant more delays.  The construction crew was literally there that Monday morning waiting to get started while we decided what to do about the house.  Unfortunately they had to come back a few days later since plans had to be redone & everything reset.  But, by the end of the week, there was FINALLY a house starting to take shape.

  

Dirt was brought in & by the following week, the plumbing was roughed in.  And then the progress stopped.  Unfortunately it has been stuck at this step for almost 2 weeks.  When it's finished & I actually move in, I will love the fact that it's 3 minutes from work & on my way from work to the gym.  Right now?  Not so much because I drive by every single day & each day that nothing has happened, I get more & more frustrated.  This whole thing has definitely been a lesson in patience.  Next month will be 1 year since I sold my house & moved back home.  To say I am ready to have my own house again is an understatement. 

But, as frustrating has this whole process has been  & as many "issues" as there have been {and believe me - there have been plenty}, I know it will definitely be worth it in the end.  I can't wait to have walls to paint, rooms to decorate & a yard to work in.  Speaking of yards, if you have driven by the new subdivision & commented on the teeny tiny yards - no worries, mine isn't one of them.  It's hard to get a good picture of it, but space will definitely not be an issue for me.  Any volunteers to come help me landscape it or help build a pool?? =)

{That is the back of the framing of my house on the far left.  It goes from there to the treeline on the right.}

So, while I patiently wait for my house to be finished, what else is there to do but shop!  I need new stuff to put in that house, right??  But ask my mom & she would probably disagree.  I have acquired quite a large "stash" of stuff over the past year.  My room at their house is starting to look like a store.  I have stuff everywhere.  Pretty soon, the only space left will be a trail from the door to the bed & to the closet. =) Last weekend, some friends & I headed out to Warrenton {with all the other THOUSANDS of crazies}.  I didn't find anything I couldn't live without & what I did like, I couldn't afford.  But, it was still lots of fun & it was a gorgeous day.

{Seriously - what was up with the doll heads everywhere?? Kinda creepy!!}

 

I have also been embracing {and enjoying} my last few months of country living.  While it is pretty & peaceful, I am definitely ready for my city living again!  I have also found out who some of my neighbors are going to be & I am super excited because they are GREAT people.  Can you say awesome block parties?!? =)

 

{House Update}

This whole house thing has definitely been a lesson in patience.  It's been almost 9 months since I closed on my house  & moved back in with my parents.  It honestly hasn't been that bad, but I am so ready to have my own space again.  I fully intended to be in a house by April.  I miss having a yard to work in, walls to paint & I REALLY miss having people over; I loved hosting Halloween, Christmas & Super Bowl parties. 

Slowly but surely, we are making progress.  I had my preconstruction meeting & made all my selections 3 weeks ago.  I did have a slight panic attack when we first got started & they told me the lot I bought wasn't supposed to be sold.  Umm...what?!?!

A little background on the whole lot thing...  I was one of the first ones to be able to select a lot back in August.  As soon as roads were put in, I went & looked and fell in love with one.  It was the perfect size, backed up to a tree line so I wouldn't have neighbors behind me, & the sun wouldn't set in my backyard {important when you live in Texas & like hosting parties}.  So, they penciled me in for lot #25.  Fast forward to October & it was finally time to sign the official contract.  A few days before I was supposed to sign, I drove by one last time & there was now a fire hydrant smack dab in the middle of my front yard.  I wouldn't have a problem with it had it been on the lot line between my house & the next door neighbor, but the location really bothered me.  After a lot of debating back & forth and being told that it was probably put in the wrong place & might be moved, I decided it wouldn't be that bad & went ahead and signed the contract.

A few weeks later, I drove by after work one day & the "small" fire hydrant had been raised & was now over 3 feet tall.  Clearly they weren't moving it & it was now a HUGE eyesore.  I am pretty particular about my yard & there was no way I could have that directly in front of my house...not to mention the fact that no one could park in front of my house, etc.  Several emails & phone calls later, I was able to change lots; I ended up moving one lot over.  It's huge & much larger than I wanted, but I keep reminding myself that I will like the extra space & it will be better for resale {remind me of that in August when I am trying to keep all that grass alive & mowing it every week}.

The issue with this lot is that it has 3 huge pecan trees on it right where the house should be built.  I am assuming they didn't want to sell it because they didn't want to take the trees down...I don't know?!?  Once they realized their mistake & that they had in fact sold it to me, the original plan was just to take all the trees down & build the house as planned. 

Then it was decided that maybe we could keep the trees.  Since the lot is so large, they thought about moving the house back behind the trees. I would love to have trees, but since these are really old pecans, I didn't want them to be a problem for me in the future. I met with a tree man last week & he confirmed that they are dying, full of disease, etc. So, after talking with the builder Friday evening, we decided to remove the trees & proceed as originally planned.  They told me construction would begin by the end of the month, but I have a feeling this whole tree thing might delay the start date some.  Estimated completion is late June/early July...I moving in - finished or not! =)