Sprouts! and the process involved...

My home came with a front lawn landscaped. Which included sprinklers, sod, three flower beds, two trees that struggled to stand on their own, and four shrubs of various kinds that are still indeterminable as to what they REALLY might be.

My first contribution was none other than a wild pink rosebush. It was my way of putting down roots. And I -ahem correction - Brett, planted it before the ink was completely dried on my closing statements. It was the first of many roots to be planted.

I am really looking forward to the lawn, flowerbed, and garden aspect of owning a home. I grew up with the best looking yard in town, my ma is amazing, and I have high expectations of what I want mine to be, but for now I'm stunted by, money, growing periods, and just the right plan. However, I think little by little it will fall into place. My current theory is if I don't plant it...how will I KNOW I don't want it there? Time will be the real judge as things spring up.

After the lil rosebush came the tulip bulbs. I bought the Costco sized bag, so yep that means I hoped to have 90 tulips sprouting. When you plant these in October there is only a far off thought of spring. But the delight I found in my first uprisings was grand, I even let out a little yelp of glee! Here's my picture process:

After the spring planning came the summer plan of - I want a yard. This I dreaded and looked forward too all at the same time. After countless trips to Lowe's and a weekend of diligent Skinner Family work I feel that I may just get my yard I've always longed for. This was not an easy project, but it was fun. We rented a trencher and dug sprinkler lines, and laid pipe and made many trips for forgotten sprinkler supplies. Please note that yes, we did lay sprinklers in November when the secondary water was turned OFF so we may be in for a surprise and a lot of work if when the water gets turned back on in April they do not work. But I have utter faith in my "workers" and have no doubt that they will work just fine. My brother in law brought two loads of sand and we compacted it...and yes, that is me in the picture, I did more than just take pictures!!! And one load of top soil and rake rake rake we did. But what a cool truck that belts the sand right out to where we wanted it. One good thing of not having any neighbors is Robert just remoted his truck right where we wanted my dirt. And yes, I said remoted, he drives this thing with a remote. Period. So cool. I was so impressed.

I went with grass seed due to limited funds, and the thrill of anticipation, I do so love having something to look forward to. Rumor has it that grass seed should come up thick and lovely in the spring if planted in the fall...I've waited and waited for something to happen. I peer out each morning now that things are growing and HOPE for grass...and then one day to my sheer delight it SPRUNG. The grass is growing!!! It is sparse and of course I'm worrying that some places aren't growing, but my little seed is making an effort to take root and GROW and I'm soo happy to see it coming.

Don't notice the weeds...they are killing me, but all in good time!

Isn't it GREAT!!! Totally WORTH the WAIT!

pink polka dotted relief

SPRING!!!

I bought myself an "I'm overworked, freaked out, stressed, exhausted, anxious, (list it here, I've got it)" Spring Time Surprise.

I've been eyeing them for about a month and telling myself that I'm a flip flop girl, but now that spring is really springing up (see pictures of new chia pet grass and tulips!!!) out of my "mud to become a yard", I figured I'd get some use out of them before I revert to simply the flip flops.

Spring is really upon us, and if I survive the final 22ish days of tax season hell I'll be ready to embrace it in my new kicks. ;)

MOVING MONDAY!!!

I sign closing docs Monday at 11 and I begin the move Monday night at 7 pm. If your near by and your in the mood for a bit of heavy lifting let me know and I'll put you to work! If nothing else, come see the house...email me or call me for directions!

MY WELLINGTON

Here he is - house numbers and all. The sprinker system is in, and the sod will be laid today!

Lil of This/Lil of That

A lil different from my usual style of picture excitement....here's today's musings...I'm a lil overwhelmed to work.

After my furry of blogging last week, where I caught you up to date on all the pictures I had and all the last big steps of the building process things have certainly slowed down in all the ways that are important. There was a gas delay that held up the "ready to occupy" but that's been turned over to my lender and now I am simply waiting for the paperwork to push through the system. For those of you who have done this before and say ..."what's taking so long" ...I have only this to say: The lending industry is wary of the economy. The hoops are bigger, and the wait is longer. I've been told to cool my jets...so I'm trying. For me it has been extremely hard to wait for these last two weeks where nothing "notable" is happening. I'm not a patient person. I like things in my timeline!!! I've attempted to hold my lender to my timeline for my convince...however that hasn't happened quite as nicely as I'd like. My preferred closing would be Thursday or Friday - with a move in date of Saturday the 8th. Good thing I'm used to disappointments.

My biggest hurry is that I want to move in as soon as possible - however if I dont get moved in on the 8th then I'll likely not get moved in until the 19th or shortly thereafter...due to a pre-planned pack trip that I will be embarking on come the 11th. Yeah I have the life...new house that I cant move into, but heck...at least I wont be working! This years pack trip again takes us to territory unknown and never traveled by Sissy or Myself. I was asleep during most of the "plan" so all I can tell you at this point is we are heading in the direction of Yellowstone - but I'm sure we will be on the outskirts of the park as my old man stays away from people at all costs. I've been warned that we will be riding 20 miles a day - for three or four days. I may end up being ate by a bear....cause I don't imagine I'll be able to last that long. Insert good book here. ;)In preparation for this trip Pops brought Miss Daisy down for me to ride and attempt to get used to the saddle. I've certainly not ridden enough to justify being in the saddle for 80 miles! But I have enjoyed having a horse close by. I've certainly gotten rusty in the saddle.

For summer we've kept a very busy somewhat heavy workload. One partner has been really searching for new clients, and most all of them have ended up on my desk before too long. Its been a different summer than I'm used to but I've really like the added workload so you'll not hear me complain. Unless you bring up that one partner that yes, I still hate. He's a tool. However, somewhere along the line there has been an imaginary line drawn between the two of us and he no longer makes direct contact with me at all. Which works well for me. I still loath the contact I have to make with him, but it has certainly not been as bad as it used to be.

Living at Sissy's has been just the adventure I figured it would be. Full of ups and downs and this and that's. Its been fun, and yet I'm glad that its coming to an end. It was very nice of Sissy and Brett to let me live with them. My favorite moment was about week two when Brett walked past my room and gave me a "if your going to live under my roof your going to keep a clean room - so get in there and clean it." This got so many laughs that there has been a string of "if your going to live under my roof" jokes since. Its been fun to laugh with (or at) Brett for the last month! I long for the days that home is just a short 15 minutes away instead of at least an hour depending on traffic. Commuting together has been hit and miss; Sissy's rode with me at least half the days we'd planned on but her schedule is not the typical 8 to 5 and mine is 0r should be.

I do feel like I'm in a parallel universe where I'm still me but everything around me is different. It has been hard to keep in touch with the people I'm used to seeing while living in farrrr west, however I hope to remedy that just as soon as I get settled into the new place. August is always my burnout month and this August seems to be more so than normal. I miss my Augusts of old! But until my whirlwind dies down I just want to thank all of you who are supporting and getting excited for me, both near and far; it means a lot to have good people backing me. Love you all!

I'm off to direct my landscapers as to where I want my flower beds!!! Yeah I will have a lawn by end of today....thats worth missing the Cagle Concert!

APPLIANCES!!!

My appliances have been delivered and installed. I an thrilled to have a dishwasher that is not called Jane. I think its almost worthy of having its own name, considering how used and abused its about to become...any suggestions? My standard builder supplied appliances are Whirlpool, and white as you can see. I think that they help open up the place a little.
I was tempted to go with a Whirlpool refrigerator to keep things all matched up. However my good friend at Lowe's helped me to find the fridge that I think will make me as happy as can be. I went with this GE Profile fridge; it has cool led lighting, sweet fold up and sliding shelves, water and ice in the door and a bottom freezer. I like him immensely.

TILE & CARPET!!!

I think the tile looks amazing. I actually forgot what I had picked so this was a good surprise for me. I really like the way that it turned out. The tile is in the front entryway oin my living room.

Somehow this is the only picture that I have of the carpet. I suppose I'm getting dirilect in my duty and excitement and I'm skipping steps. Thankfully the steps are now behind me and I can start planning.

CEMENT!!!

I now have front stairs - the dirty devils broke a chunk of my brick on the face of the house. The front railings are holding me up right now on completion, however i'm still assured they will call him complete this coming friday the 31st.
I also now have a drive way and a garage door that I've yet to see put down as I still do not have any electricty turned on.

Sun City Carnival Tour - Kenny Chesney

The 20 song 100 minute show was worth the price of the ticket, the extreme heat, and the bad traffic. Kenny put on the great show he's always put on - however after seeing him perform live on numerous occasions I can say with a certainty he had certainly lost a step or to, or that the heat was taking its toll on Kenny as well. See that excitement? Jordan (right) and Linsey (left) were my concert going pals. The three of us had a good time, and to our delight our field tickets were in the shade all night. Thankfully, or we may not have made it all night. 102 degrees in the pounding sun may have sent us into shock.
Lady Antebellum put on a pretty good show for the miserable start time of 5:45. They got quite a showing from the crowd and I think that they really have a chance to go big they have great sound quality and they are marketable. However Miranda Lambert was redneck to the core. She was shreiky and trashy - the epitimy of all that I hate about country music. She was terrible, all 70 minutes of her was pure torture. The whole time that she was on stage I realized why it was that they took our bottle caps away - they didn't want the whole place throwing them at her.

Kenny missed a few beats and the sound could have been better - as far as venues go I'd far rather see a concert out at Usanna regardless of the miserable traffic that they have out there. However all in all I'd give him a 8 of of 10 on this one. At Usanna I'll give him a 10 out of 10.

"I'm what I am and I'm what I'm not, I'm sure happy with what I've got, I live to love and laugh a lot, And thats all I need...and I never wanted nothing more!"

Kenny came back for his encore wearing a Utah hat that some fan handed him. He wore it well, but we all know that he bleeds Tennessee Orange not Ute Red, but either way, we'll take it. The encore left a little lacking as Kenny didn't sing any of his own songs but teamed with someone I still haven't figured out who he was. They did put on a good show together but I would have preferred a little more original Kenny in the end.

COUNTERTOPS!!!

I'm one more step along in the process. My kitchen is 80% complete! The picture is dark, and no my kitchen is not that dark...it was just so bright out and I have yet to get the electricity turned on in the house, so I make do. But I felt I had to post the finished product regardless of the quality. The appliances still need to be delivered and installed. And I still have yet to find a fridge - I'm kind of a fridge snob so I'm struggling in this process. But I hope by Friday I will fall in love with the right fridge cause I'm running out of "next weeks!"

Kitchen Counter/Kitchen Floor - (the non dark version)

I'm very happy with the master counter top, which is black and right now I'm torn about the guest bathroom but hopefully it look alright when I can see it in the light. In addition to the counter tops I also have all my fixtures hung - lights, light sockets, vents all in. The toilets and sinks are installed and I'm quite happy with it all. Saturday night we stopped by with the parents and my tile in the entry way had been lain - I shall post as soon as I get a picture of it! So really the next step is the carpet - which I anticipated by now, but perhaps the carpet man has been busy.

TO DO: Appliances, Carpet, Finish Trim, Enclose Master Shower, Front Stairs, Railings Front and Back, Paint Touch-ups, and Landscaping and He's going to be DONE!!! (That list looks longer than it really is...I swear!!!)

CABINETS!!!

So this for me was a huge development - when the cabinets are installed it all seems to come together after that...and my cabinets are installed. Meet my new natural knotty alder cabinets.

I was told that Hallmark has my house's completion date as August 1, 2009 - that's one week earlier than I expected!!! I can hardly wait!!!

LINOLEUM!!!

Monday I also found my linoleum had been installed. I had a choice for an upgrade to Tile, but truthfully tile hurts my feet, its all hard and cold. I prefer the linoleum to the tile, and these days it looks like tile. I'm very happy with the way it looks. I couldn't pick just one, so I have different patterns in each room.

(kitchen)

(bathroom)

(master bathroom)

PAINT!!!

Monday night I had paint! Wonderful tan walls and white trim. A true beauty to behold. I went a lighter shade than what I wanted, but I still love the way it all turned out. I'm also very glad that I shelled out the extra $1000 to paint two tone...cause lets be serious - I want it all done perfectly the first time.

(front entry way - front door)

(my bedroom closet - all the closet shelves are in)

Shutters...

So most people have shutters outside their house. You know...around the windows. Good thing I'm not most people. Sadly the house I choose has no room for shutters around the windows...therefore I've had to improvise. And improvise I shall. About a month ago I ran across these great shutters in a consignment store in the avenues. I never remember the address, but its the upper avenues - great little place; on 9th I believe. So these little babies are going to be a wall of sorts in my very unfinished basement. My hopes are that these will be able to cover the unfinished plumbing and help me in my attempt to make the place livable while its still unfinished. We shall see. The greenish hue had to go...so I set after the first pair (I've only finished one of four pairs thus far...) with a mean handful of sand paper. After a hour or so I visited my local Lowe's and thanks to a gift card from Cousin Linsey I loaded up with some primer and chocolate spray paint.

My original hopes that these would be relatively easy did not prove to be the case. Actually they were an utter pain in the butt to spray. Shutters have tons of nooks and crannies and they took far more paint than I expected...but they turned out fairly well in the end. I look forward to the fully finished product, but first I must find the time to finish them.

TRIM!!!

Baseboards! Doors!
Windowsills!

And Finished Siding!!!

At the end of today it will be ready for tile, carpet, linoleum, cupboards and more...wahoo. The finish carpenter that I talked to last night said he'd be back in about two and a half weeks to install the final hardware; which is one of the last steps! I see an end in sight!!!

If I do not die of westnile virus before they finish that is...I've been eaten alive since moving to far far west with the sissy...last night I killed at least 35 mesquitos in my room so I could go to sleep in peace...and STILL I woke up with fresh bites!!! Damn the things!

STUCCO - PART 1

OHHHHH YEAHHHHH!!!!

THIS MY FRIENDS IS THE WET STUCCO...IT STILL NEEDS TO BE PAINTED. THEY PAINT STUCCO? THAT'S WHAT I'M TOLD.

WAIT FOR COLORS SOON - LIKE FIRST OF NEXT WEEK LIKELY.

HE'S STARTING TO LOOK BETTER AND BETTER!!!

SIDING!!!

I have SIDING!!! The siding went up in two days, and it looks outstanding. Both sides of the house are fully finished at this point and I'm only waiting for the back top half to be finished...i'm of the mindset that their ladders aren't tall enough yet! The whole neighborhood has been getting their outsides put on...and they all seem to stop at about the same height...someone needs a taller ladder! ;) All in due time I suppose....I hope by end of week they will have reached the top.

I took one lunch break outside my house this week, as I was waiting for a meeting in Bountiful to start and I watched a man put up my soffit and facia - is that the trim around the roof? I think so...but I cant keep all this stuff straight...good thing I'm only an observer in the house building process. I stayed my distance....but I did watch him work for a while...I promise not to do this very often!!! It was really enjoyable though...

MUD & TAPE!!!

The progress on the house has been moving quite quickly and I'm thrilled with each new development. This week, living in Ogden I drive by each day...I cant resist the gravitational pull. I've been a slacker in posting the pictures but not because I'm not thrilled, in a strange twist of fate I've been ubber busy at work, with no time for blogging in between clients can you imagine! ;) For those of you who constantly ask me what I do when its not tax season - I have an answer for you. I clean up messes...many of which are usually just "behind" but some, as in my current workload have to do with some shady bizness. It sure makes for interesting work, but the suspicion of fraud and deceit are not really my area. I far prefer to believe that people are just stupid rather than that they are intentionally stealing from their employers. However, employers are always looking for the thief in these cases. Posh...enough about work...lets get onto the good stuff!

I have mud and tape! ;) the inside really looks like a house...the only raw edges at this point are the doorways that will be covered with trim and the floor. All the walls look great all muddied up. I know I've seen them do at least two coats of this - I'm told it will need three and then textured. However I imagine they are nearly done with this part of the process. Forgive some of these pictures...they were the best I could do...and they were taken after the first mudding job.

(bedroom)

(entryway living room)

(kitchen....your looking at the sink here - great cam lights)

(kitchen pantry - fridge will be in the corner)