Laundry and Packing!

Scott and I were up bright and early at 7am today, thanks to our sweet little miracle. Although neither of us were too excited about being up so early, we took advantage of the time awake. I made a pot of coffee while Scott walked down the drive and got the newspaper. 

I clipped my coupons while he read the sports section of the paper, and then we both showered and got ready. At this point (which was an hour after we woke up), Brooklyn was already down for the count. Since it was so early we decided to run to Target (yes, again), and then go to brunch. 

Brunch was fabulous, we both had chicken and waffles with mimosas, and all I can say is yumm-o!

We swung by the house just to drool for a bit, and when we got home I pretty much immediately began doing laundry and packing. So far i've got two loads of laundry done and a full box of Brooklyns bedroom "stuff" packed away. Just putting her stuff in boxes for our new place put a huge smile on my face. I absolutely cannot wait anymore - I am just so happy! We've finally arrived to moving week!!!!

Just thought i'd give an update...now back to more laundry, and more packing!

A Saturday update!

This morning I woke up a tad on the early side, mostly due to my sweet princess being wide awake at 7am.  So although I would have gladly slept another couple hours I woke up with her and had my cup of coffee prior to heading to the bank.

I had to go to the bank to get a screen shot of our balance in our bank account, that showed our account number and our names. Well....I was able to get the screen shot showing our balance, account number, and names - but, my name on their is my maiden name! Oh my gosh. This is like the most unreal thing ever. I know that the lender is going to request our marriage license. Which is in the very back of our storage unit. So I'm not really sure what the heck I am going to do, but I have a couple of ideas in my head that *may* work.

I know for a fact that I have a copy of my social security card with my old name on it, and I also have a copy of that same SSN # showing my married name. Hopefully they'll accept that. If they don't, well then I work right across the street from the building where you apply for a marriage license, so hopefully they can print a copy of it for me.

What a mess, and it really is my fault. We've been married for over three years and I still haven't changed my name on anything finance related.

Today Scott is busy with another corporate challenge event, this time it is volleyball. I really don't want to go, but I also don't want to be stuck sitting at "home" all day, either. What to do, what to do...

I also have some Kohls cash that I expires today and if nothing else I can pick up a couple candles or bath towels with it. I just hate when it goes to waste.

Other than that, nothing is planned and I am not complaining!

My rug arrives today!

My new area rug was loaded on the FedEx truck this morning, and should arrive sometime this afternoon! I am so excited to meet my steal of a deal, and am crossing my fingers that it really is the most perfect shade of raw pumkin that I need.

No word yet on when our wall-mount for our TV ships, but I am assuming it shipped either yesterday or today. I personally don't give two cents if they never let me know when it shipped or when it should arrive - I am just so happy to have gotten it for such a great price.

Today is just another day of waiting as far as i'm concerned, and I am using the time to get my plan of action in place for Wednesdays bold bust out of here. That's right - I plan on booking it out of here faster than the last launch to space. Get me the heck out of here!!!

In other news, I am hoping my little pea is a good girl at dinner tonight, and maybe if Scott and I are lucky we'll get to stay out "late!" LOL, right.

I'm bored.

Today is day #3 of Scott not being home until late, and since it is a Thursday night that means my MIL is not home yet, and my SIL and FIL are working tonight. So I am home with my sleeping baby and am bored out of my mind.

If I were in my house at this point I'd be able to knock out some cleaning or something like that, but since I am still here I am pretty much forced to just sit and watch TV. I am however getting some laundry done - which is always a plus no matter where we are living.

I went to BJ's today to pick up some stuff I had coupons for, and I've gotta admit I am pretty hooked to shopping there - at least for personal items. I bought 3 big bottles of Dove bodywash, 4 sticks of Dove deoderant, 2 bottles of Oil of Olay facewash, 3 boxes of Q-tips, 2 big bottles of shea butter body lotion and 1 bottle of shea butter body oil for the small price of $40, and I was blown away. No way could you buy the same items at Target for that price - no way.

We also had a lot of "closing stuff" to get done this afternoon, but most of it will have to wait until tomorrow morning. The only thing we could get done today was providing the lender with our insurance agents information. The things that have to wait til tomorrow are: faxing them the HUD statement from our last house showing it is paid-off, and Scott needs to email two paystubs. Apparently when we faxed them over the fax was a bit hazy so they need clearer copies.

And now, to jump to yet another topic...I am wondering what dinner will be tonight. I didn't feel like cooking since it's just the three of us eating dinner together, and everyone but me isn't going to be home until 7-ish. Ugh...I'm not even hungry, I just have that horrible problem of eating when bored.

How many more days?! ;)

Who knew this process would be so emotional?!

We are so close to getting the keys to our beautiful new home, yet instead of being happy and excited like I was the first time we bought a house, I am feeling stressed and frustrated.

The process of buying an existing home was so easy, (comparatively), so straight-forward. You go house-hunting, see a zillion houses, eventually find the house that fits your wants and needs, put an offer in, negotiate, close, and move in. The process of building a house is anything but easy. Don't get me wrong, it's fun, and definitely well worth it, but it is so emotional. Both Scott and I are beginning to have nervous breakdowns, and are starting to get emotional over things that aren't even related to the house!

For example, yesterday I went to Target just to get out of the house. We didn't really need anything aside from a new bottle brush and a couple jars of baby food, but I needed a break from being at home. So while I was at Target I decided to look at their bath towels. Our current towels are from when we first moved into our old house, so they are four years old. We also still have towels from our apartments, which are obviously even older. So I decided to do some towel shopping. Anyway, I like the Fieldcrest line, as that is what our current towels are, and they hold up extremely well.

So I'm at Target, shopping for new towels when all of a sudden I felt like I could cry. CRY over towels?!?! Yes. Why, well I don't know the answer to that. I got over it relatively quickly, and decided not to add more stress to my life so I didn't buy them. I do however know that I will be going back next week and buying them. Hopefully they will be on sale next week (crossing fingers), because each bath towel is $12.59! Yikes! The color is perfect though, as it is just the right shade of orange. I believe the actual color of the towel is 'nutmeg,' and so not only is the color perfect, but I even like the name!

Then, later in the evening I began getting all emotional about my daughter already being eight months old. How has the time gone so fast?! It honestly doesn't seem like it's possible for her to already be that old. I'm pretty sure I know what triggered this emotion though...

You see, friends of ours just had their baby (boy) two nights ago, and whenever someone has a baby I am instantly jealous of that experience. To be in the hospital with your hubby and newborn child is one of the greatest experiences in life. I miss the days of having such a tiny newborn and it makes me feel all sad that my baby is getting so big! Anyway, I was able to calm myself down from that ridiculous emotion as well, and at the end of the night asked Scott if we can just not limit ourselves to two children.

Probably knowing that I was just feeling tired and stressed, he agreed that we don't need to say we are only having two children, and hearing him say that made me feel a lot better about things. Afterall, we do have a four-bedroom house! ;)

I won't drag on anymore about all the tension and emotion, I just have to keep my chin up and realize that we are officially less than a week away from being in our new home! WHEW! :)

Walk-thru was a success!

I just got back from our walk-thru, and I am even more anxious to move in now! There were a few minor things that need to be fixed prior to us moving in, but all the items were marked with blue painters tape and will be fixed between now and next Tuesday. Aside from pain smudges and a few nail pops, some of the faucets and my beloved tub will need a visit from the plumber again. Apparently he didn't put something in, and that something is the thing that makes the water stay in the tub. Yea, I am taking a bath next Saturday, so the water better not drain out!

Anyway, I am so happy to be at this point. Our home looks beautiful, and everything is shiny and new and even more gorgeous than we ever could have imagined. Our lot is gigantic, and although we aren't very 'country' people that need a huge yard, it is definitely nice to have plenty of space to call our own.

Hooray for getting to this point! Can't wait to move in!!!! :)

Our final walk-thru is tomorrow!

I can barely believe it myself, but our final walk-thru is finally tomorrow! Hasn't time flown by rather quickly? I know, i know...it's like the words I never thought i'd say myself, especially with all that has happened. But at the end of the day, the time has really flown by.

My sister-in-law and I drove over to the house this evening and contractors were busy with all the final touches. There will people painting, people finishing the trim around the doors, people making sure the gas and electric meters were working, etc. It was a full house, that's for sure!

One thing that surprised me was that our ground has been graded and all the nasty "grass" has been removed and is smooth, flat dirt! I can't wait to be able to put in a lawn, which is still something we aren't exactly sure of when we are doing. It may be in the fall, it may be in the spring...who knows!

Something else that surprised me is just how huge our yard is. I know that we have .38 acres, but to me that doesn't sound like all that much, but it is. Don't get me wrong - I couldn't be happier to have so much space to call our own, but it's crazy to see how big it looks now that our house is up and the ground has been cleared and graded. Sort of crazy, but I actually think our land looks larger now that there is a house on a property than before when it was just land with all sorts of tall grass growing.

Also, on a somewhat unrelated topic, I bought the wall-mount bracket for our TV today. I must share the website since I got it for a steal, and even with shipping included it was about 10% of the price that BestBuy is charging for the SAME one! http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp

Okay, i'll give the update tomorrow...wish us luck!!! :)

Wheelin' & Stealin' the DEALS!

For those of you that know me, you know that I have champagne taste on a beer budget. Well, low and behold this issue has come into play during my search for an area rug. For about the past two weeks now I have been in search of the 'perfect' area rug for my breakfast room, as we have hardwood flooring that I don't want scratched by chairs.

I went onto Kohls' website and found two gorgeous area rugs, both were the most perfect colors, and both were beyond my price point. So for the past couple weeks I have been scouring websites such as eBay, Amazon, even checking out HomeDepot, Lowes, Target, etc., but nothing has caught my eye. Nothing had the right shade of rustic orange and chocolate brown. Nothing was contemporary, and nothing was like the rug at Kohls.

Just as I was about to give up, I checked out the site Overstock.com, and there it was. The rug from Kohls. Same brand, same pattern, same size, but a wayyy different price. With shipping I ended up paying only $134.00, as everything on the site charges $2.95 for shipping. I feel like I should have won a prize for finding that steal of a deal! Go me!!!

Anyway, although I ended up buying the rug from Overstock.com, I have attached the link to the picture of the rug from Kohls' website (better picture). You'll notice - it matches the accent color of my couch pillows just perfectly! Oh, I am so proud of myself!

http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/furnitureandhomedecor/rugs/contemporary/geometricabstract/PRD~c22705/Surya+Cosmopolitan+Rug.jsp

Lord Grant Me Patience...And Grant it to Me NOW!!!

The title of this post is a quote from a little sign an old co-worker of mine had hanging on his cublicle wall. I will always remember it, especially at times like these when I feel like the quote is my personal motto.

Although I know we are all feeling a bit high-strung and irritable at the house, I can't help but to personally feel like I am in a circus 'funhouse,' except it's not so fun. Scott and I are sleeping in a too-small bed that is uneven, our baby is sleeping less than three feet from us on a mattress with no support of a frame, our dog is sleeping in the too-small bed with us, and our cat is lucky if he gets a couch cushion to call his own.

Our clothing is in about twelve different places, so getting ready in the morning is an absolute nightmare, and since we have no storage anymore everything is just laying out in everyones way. I'm pretty sure that all of us actually enjoy going to work right now just to get out of the house for a while. It really is terrible, and I know it isn't just Scott and I that are losing our minds.

The plan was always to stay with his parents for about a week after we get the keys so that we can get everything unpacked and put away prior to actually living there, but since the flood and all the chaos it has brought, we decided to start staying at our house on Thursday night.

Sure, it will be a bit odd since we won't have a full house worth of furnishings, but it will be a whole heck of a lot better than living the way we currently are. Our toothbrush and toothpaste will be in the same bathroom as our hair products, hair dryers and razors, and our clothing will all be in a (spacious) closet. We won't have to worry about waking the baby up everytime we need to get something out of the bedroom, and we won't have to store our baby diapers on top of a laundry basket on top of a hamper on top of the pack and play.

So, come Wednesday after we get the keys it is time to move  full force. There are no if, ands', or butt's about it, we are moving as much as possible in as little time as possible, and I will use Thursday night and Friday morning before the baby wakes up to put as much as possible away.

In the meantime I will be making to-do lists, drinking wine, and praying for some patience and sanity!

Daydreaming...

I am working right now, but i'm also daydreaming about being in our house. I was reading other blogs of bloggers who just recently moved in their new homes, and began thinking, 'what will I do the first weekend?'

We get the keys on Wednesday, August 3rd at 9am. Unfortunately I do have to work that day, but I do plan on making a couple trips to the house once I am done working for the day. I also plan on making trips non-stop on Thursday, the 4th, from 2:30 until it gets too late or my little peanut gets too tired. Friday, the 5th, I am off of work, so I'll be taking full advantage and will be moving stuff like a mad man. If all goes the way I plan we will be staying the night in the house that night after coming home from the zoo.

Saturday will be a busy but exciting day as our refridgerator and bedroom set arrive, and Scott and I will be moving even more stuff over from the storage unit. My hope is that we will be all moved in except for the big stuff (couches, mattresses, etc) by Sunday night.

Monday, the 8th, all our furniture is being delivered, and hopefully we will then be able to start putting all our decorations and everything out. It will be so nice to have all our belongings back, to sit on our couch, and to not have to sleep in the same bedroom as my baby.

So, when will I first use that gigantic bathtub of mine? Well, to be honest I want to use it for the first time on Saturday night. Eek! Now, whether or not that actually happens will probably depend on if I can stop putting things away, which I give a 50/50 chance of happening. Something tells me I just may end up pulling a 24 hour shift that night just unpacking and running the dishwasher a thousand times to get all the dishes put away. I am SOOOOO ready to be in the house, and it's pretty obvious, too!

Okay, so how about the washer/dryer? Hmm...well this is almost a trick question. See, I would probably be jumping at the opportunity to wash all our towels and bed linens the second we move in, but the problem is that we won't have a washer/dryer until they get delivered on Monday. Bummer, right?

And the kitchen? Umm...yea, that is a flat out silly question. PRONTO, is the answer! :)

A full house

Right now there are five adults, one baby, a dog, and a cat all living in a three bedroom - 1500 square foot house, with no beds being larger than a full. As of tonight there will be another two dogs and a guinea pig, and possibly two more adults.

My sister in law and her husband came over yesterday to pick up fans since their A/C went out and their house is hotter than you-know-what in this horrible heat we are having in the midwest. To make matters worse, they are leaving for vacation tomorrow morning, so they are leaving the dogs here while they are gone. Oh, and if a repair guy can't come out today, well then they are going to stay in this house as well to keep cool. It's not that I blame them, or that I'm upset about it, but c'mon...really?!

It's to the point where I am seriously contemplating asking the builder if we can begin moving stuff into the house. I can't believe that this happened, but I am constantly reminding myself that we are fortunate all this happened with only two weeks of living here left, and not two months - or more.

Since today is a Thursday I am working from home, which is always nice since that means I get to sleep in a bit longer than normal, as well as work in my yoga pants while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. My focus remains on moving in rather than this mess of a situation we are currently in. I just keep telling myself 'only twelve more days, and then we get the keys to our beautiful new home!!!'

Which reminds me to mention that we officially have enough toilet paper, paper towels, and tissue for the next six months - minimum! I know for a fact that I bought a ton of the stuff prior to moving out of our last house and I know that I put it in storage. Since then I've bought two more jumbo packages of everything again for this place and we hardly made a dent in it (the packs from BJ's have like 48 rolls of TP, so it's not the 4 pack from the grocery store).

We also have enough shampoo, conditioner, baby products of all sorts, toothpaste and cleaning products to last a few months as well. It's borderline stupid that I bought all of the stuff, but in a way it's nice to know I don't have to buy it for a good long time.

Anyway, I'm beginning to ramble so I guess I'll end this post here. Twelve days to go and I CANT WAIT!

As if things couldn't get worse!

Last night was great, Brooklyn went to bed at 7:30, Scott and I were able to watch TV with the family in peace, and I enjoyed a nice glass of wine without the baby monitor going crazy. We then went to bed at 10pm and since we moved a fan into our room we actually were comfortable falling asleep.

Fast forward to about 2am, when all of a sudden massive thunder and lightening bolts woke both Scott and I up. We both did our best to fall back asleep, but even so we only managed to sleep lightly. Very lightly. At 3am we heard footsteps above us in the kitchen - and within minutes heard someone coming down the stairs. Scott decided that he's see who it was prior to them waking us (and therefor the baby) up. The next thing I knew Scott opened the bedroom door and said "you have to come help." I didn't even know what to think, but i'll tell you I would have never guessed what came next.

I walked outside the bedroom and immediately noticed water on the carpeting. By 'water' I don't mean a thin layer of water, I mean about four to six inches of water just flooding the entire basement and all of our belongings (that are here at the house). We moved quickly, but managed to get everything up off the floor in time. The only thing that was ruined was my vacuum cleaner.

To be honest I didn't want a new vacuum cleaner, and I still don't want a new vacuum cleaner even though I know it'll be covered by the insurance claim. I'll end up getting $200 for it though, and since I have a 20% Bed Bath & Beyond coupon i'll end up being able to pocket $40, which can go towards my area rug in the dining area.

It was a totally unexpected day on multiple levels, but the things I am most upset about are having to take a day off of work, and having to get a new vacuum cleaner. Yuck.

Anyway, so now that the apartment we were staying in downstairs is completely ruined we are staying upstairs with the whole family. Thank goodness this arrangement is only for another two weeks - I don't know how much more i'd be able to stomach! Honestly though, I don't think I am the only one feeling this way. I'm sure that my in-laws are also counting down the days, and are ready for all our stuff to be gone.

So all in all, just another day in paradise, but with only two weeks left I can't be in bad spirits!

Home Stretch!

We are officially in the 'home stretch' as far as I am concerned, and it feels gooood! Stopping by the house on Friday, Scott and I found a few more things that will need to be fixed prior to us moving in, but as usual it is nothing significant.

By the time we got to the house on Friday we noticed that the fireplace had been installed. It was an exciting moment because the fireplace is probably one of my top ten things I love about the house, and even more so, that room. I'll be honest though and say that there have been more issues with the fireplace/mantel that there were in the entire rest of the house. First they put the outlet in the center of the mantel instead of the left corner, then the mantel itself began crumbling, then tile grout got on the white woodwork, and now the fireplace itself is giving us grief!

What I love about the fireplace is that it is gas, and that it is enclosed in glass with little crystal rocks at the bottom that give a nice glow. What I don't love so much about the fireplace is that you can't see a flame! Honestly, we flipped the switch and although we heard it go on and saw a little glow at the very bottom, by the time you sat where the couch will be, you couldn't see a flame anymore! For me I expect to see a nice fire, just like you would see in a woodburning fireplace.

So I guess we will be adding that to the list of 'to-do's' for the builder. Our list is quite long, but most of the stuff is just pidly little stuff that they know about. We've got some missing floor molding in the breakfast area, a bent shelf in the linen closet, the wrong color doornobs, etc. All things that will get fixed prior to August 3rd, which is only a couple weeks away!

I've begun planning my escape route to my new house, which is very exciting! I plan on staying the night at my house beginning Saturday, August 6th. Even without a mattress it will be better than staying with the in-laws. I plan to move nearly everything that is in his parents house to our new house on my own between Wednesday afternoon and the end of the day on Friday. The only thing that will stay at his parents house until Saturday is Brooklyn's crib - and come Saturday that will be moved in, too. I also plan on taking some stuff from the storage unit on Friday (since I am off of work), and hopefully we will get the rest of the one unit emptied by that Sunday.

The movers come to empty the other unit (the one with all our major furniture) on Monday at 9am, so at that point I don't plan on having anything else left in storage - yay!

Then I'll be able to take my time unpacking and setting things up just the way i'd like for a whole week!!! First things first I plan on washing all the bed sheets and bath towels since they all need to be freshened up, and simultaneously I will be running the dishwasher non-stop to get all our dishes and glasses sqeaky clean. While all that is going on i'll be putting in some cupboard liners and filling the pantry and fridge to the brim. It will be so great to have all my "stuff" back and in its' proper place.

I'm just sooo excited!

Did it go fast?

Lately I've been preparing myself for our big move into our house, and all feelings and emotions aside, I thought to myself - it went fast. It feels like yesterday that Scott and I were still expecting our first child, on our way to the clam bake, and made the decision to stop into that model home. It feels like yesterday that we made the executive decision to put that call into Gail, and get our 'for sale' sign. It feels like yesterday when we got the 'your house is sold' call. It feels like yesterday that we signed the papers for our dream house to be built.

It all feels like it was yesterday, and then I realize that my baby is now seven and a half months old, and I am less than three weeks away from living in a house that is just about ready for us to move in. Can you believe how fast six months goes by? It's exciting, but so crazy and even a little sad. I'm not suggesting that I will miss living with my in-laws, or that I'll miss living out of boxes and sleeping in the same room as my daughter - so please don't think i'm that sad that it flew by!

We are finally seperated from our old house, too. Today I got the email verification that all the repairs done to the (old) garage were inspected and passed, which now mean that we get our money back from escrow. I'm excited, since it's a nice chunk of cash...but it's like the final break from the old house. We officially have nothing to do with it, our names aren't tied to it at all anymore, and it's time to move on.

I am getting prepared to be insanely busy with our new house though, with unpacking all the boxes that are waiting for us in our storage unit, doing all the laundry, and of course putting everything away. As much as I am stoked to have my own place again, I am definitely not looking forward to a week full of chores when we move in!

Under 20 days...time to update!

Last night my friend Melissa and I went to the house to see if we could still get in - and although the front door was locked, the garage door was still unlocked! We were able to just kind of hang out in there for a while, which although probably bored her to tears, it was so exciting for me! I felt like I was just hanging out in my house...which made leaving somewhat sad. Oh well, less than three weeks now!!!

While we were in the house our builder, Bill, dropped by. I kind of think that he was popping his head in just to make sure a nosey neighbor or someone other than the owner wasn't in there - but once he saw it was me he asked me about the doornob color. He said that he thinks all the doors should be the antique bronze - so that's what we ended up going with. I'm actually going to miss working with these folks, they're all so nice!

After we left my house we went on a short walk before going into the mansion two doors over. I can't see much progress (on the inside) than when I went in there a few weeks ago, but their siding and roof is on so progress is definitely being made. Also, the house across the street from us went up! Scott and I hadn't been over to the area in almost an entire week - so to see a whole house framed already was quite the surprise. It is the same 'model' house as the mansion, but it isn't nearly as large since they didn't go with the bonus room. It's still 3,000 square feet though!

All in all, it was a great evening. It had been far too long since Melissa and I got together, and it was nice to see the future home of our Wednesday Wine Nights! I'm honestly looking forward to all the get-togethers we will have in that house....I am just running out of patience!

Area rug drama...not fun!

The past few days I've been actively looking for an area rug for under our kitchen table. Since the flooring in the breakfast room is hardwood I want to protect it from all times you drag the chairs back and forth - I just don't want my new flooring to look worn and beat up too soon. The color theme I am using for the entire open area of the house, aka the entire main floor, is based off our family room couch - brown and orange. It just so happens to be my favorite color combination, which is probably why I picked the couch in the first place.

Anyway, the orange isn't a bright orange, it's more of a rust looking subdued orange - which is very difficult to match just perfectly, and believe me, it needs to match perfectly. I found an area rug yesterday that is a Candice Olson collection (from HGTV's series Divine Design), that is sold through Kohl's, but it is over $1,000 - and I don't think i'm allowed to spend that much on a rug. I did tell Scott that I'd buy the rug if I ever got an extra 30% off coupon, but then of course I went home yesterday and really did get a 30% off coupon (ironic, right?)

Long story short, I am trying my best to find a rug that isn't as expensive, but how come nothing else would fit the bill nearly as well? This is so frustrating for me since I always am attracted to the things that cost the most :(

Here's the rug...it's beautiful, and perfect, right?! http://www.kohls.com/kohlsStore/furnitureandhomedecor/rugs/contemporary/PRD~c23193/Surya+Candice+Olson+Modern+Classics+Floral+Rug.jsp

Getting the utilities set up!

I never thought i'd be so excited to set up all my utilities, especially since utilites aren't free! Today I tackled DirecTV and Time Warner for internet. Just those two took me over an hour between comparing and making sure I was selecting the right package.

We finally decided on DirecTV as our source of cable TV, and I am so excited because we get the NFL ticket for the entire 2011 season free of charge!!! (Let's just hope there IS an NFL season!) With the ticket you get every single football game, so you're not stuck watching whatever lousy game they are broadcasting in your area. My only concern is that I'm going to fall in love with being able to watch all the games that I will end up buying the ticket next year for a whopping $350 - yikes!

As our source of internet, we chose to go with Time Warner Cable. Since I work at home I opted for the "turbo" internet speed. It was the higher of the two options, but is needed since my job relies on the internet.

All in all I am very happy with our selections and hopefully tomorrow i'll tackle the electric and gas companies. Somehow those utilities just aren't as fun!

Anxiety...

This past weekend was so enjoyable - we went out to dinner on Friday and then listened to a live band. Went to Marblehead on Saturday and spent time on the boat and the islands, and just relaxed the entire time. It truly was really peaceful, but the entire time I kept thinking about our house.

I feel like every day I grow more and more anxious to get those keys to my house and begin the moving process. I can't wait for the weekend after we get our keys when we get our new fridge and bedroom set, and I can't wait to not have to live with my in-laws!

It will be so fabulous to make healthy meals again, and to watch whatever TV we want. I've been printing out recipes I want to try like a mad man, you should seriously see the stack of things I want to try making! I just want to have our lives back again, and being in our new house is the first step towards that goal. It will be so great to do things on our own accord, which sounds corny but is something that you take for granted once you've been on your own.

I am hoping that my anxiety calms down a bit, but something tells me i'll probably continue to be so excited until we finally get settled into our new place.

In addition, I am looking forward to some days off of work...come on August third!

My Bedroom Set!

Apparently I forgot to report that I will be the proud owner of an actual bedroom set come August 6th! Last weekend Scott and I went to Levin's to check out their sales since they were advertising "unreal deals." I wasn't all that interested in going since I had my heart set on the Paula Deen one, but I was open to checking things out.

Scott and I were pretty set on a collection called Borano, http://www.levinfurniture.com/p-1397-borano-collection.aspx, but I just couldn't get used to how small the handles on everything were. It was just odd and confusing, instead of having nice sized handles to pull. I did however like the lingerie tower thingy, but not enough to spend a few thousand dollars on it.

Just as we were about to head out of the store we both looked to our left and saw a set we both actually liked! It's called the Rockland collection, http://www.levinfurniture.com/p-1700-rockland-collection.aspx, and we LOVE it! What is great about it, is that the bedroom "package" includes the bed, the long dresser, the mirror, and a nightstand. So, we (obviously) got the package, but in addition we also purchased the tall chest for Scott and the media table/chest for our TV! While we had to pay a small fortune for the tall chest we got the steal of the century on the media chest - from $599 down to $99 with the purchase of the bedroom set! I am so happy to finally have a real bedroom set, not just a bunch of random pieces of furniture we call our bedroom furniture!

I do think it's quite ironic that the finish of the set is called Merlot! Anyway, I am really pleased with our selection, and if it has the quality of other pieces we've purchased from Levin's, then I think i'll be really happy.

I need a drink, and a more normal family...

I love my family dearly, but my gosh do they have their weird quirks. You know, when we moved out of our house and had to make a zillion trips to the storage unit not a single one of my family members offered to help. It was very disheartening and somewhat frustrating to Scott and I, maybe even to his family.

My husbands family on the other hand put in several hours helping us pack, box, and transport all of our belongings. I will admit right now that I was embarrassed that my family didn't lift a finger. It wasn't just that I was embarrassed, but I was humiliated in front of my husbands family that they were all helping while mine just continued on with their lives.

Fast forward five months and I'm on the phone with my mom when she asks if Scott can help lift a TV into my grandma's new place. I knew he'd be really mad at me if I didn't say something to her, so I confronted her saying "I know he'll help, but I just want to let you know that he wasn't too happy that you guys didn't help us, or even offer to help us."

You can only imagine how my insecure mother reacted. Holy jeeze. I love my mom, but her insecurities since she was a child can only be an excuse for so long. Before I knew it she was doing the horrible fake cry saying obnoxious things like "I've never felt as good as his (parents)." Oh. My. Gosh.

When I asked why she felt that way I got silence. Apparently she didn't want to elaborate; because, you know, that's what people do. You say something and then don't explain yourself. My frustration just about peaked at that point. For the next fifteen minutes we went round and round while my dad said completely ridiculous things in the background.

Don't get me wrong - I definitely felt bad saying this while my grandfather just passed away a week ago, but it was the timing of her asking us to help move things.

I think we all have insecurities, and it is how we deal with them that makes us all different. I personally have a very low insecurity level, but I do struggle with large group settings. Even giving presentations at work still scares the pants off me, but at some point you just have to suck it up and roll with it.

I feel bad for those who have deep insecurity issues where it creates paranoia and low self esteem. I'm not saying my mother is 'that' bad, but I do feel that her level of insecurity is way higher than mine.

Anyway, now it's time to enjoy the weekend....cheers!

#25, 26 & 27 - a POWDER room!!

I still have no idea why they call it a powder room, but I'll agree that it sounds much more glorious than a half bathroom. I love this bathroom, and although it isn't a room we put many upgrades into I definitely see it being the most used bathroom in the house.

The upgrades in the room include the flooring (hardwood), the toilet (elongated), and the light fixture (antique bronze).

I've always liked the idea of having a bathroom for guests to use without there being a tub or shower in there. Like, oh don't mind all the stuff that's behind the curtain - you know, the pantene and gillette, and my razor! It will be a bathroom I can decorate all cute for every season and it will be relatively easy to keep clean since it's only about 5 by 5. I also like the fact that it's down a hallway away from the kitchen. Personally, I think it's mildy disgusting when the 'powder room' is off the kitchen. Oh, you just took a dump? The kitchen would smell fantastic! HA!

Anyway, I'm stoked about the half bath - it's something I never had before, and have truly always wanted!

I want outta here!!!

I am so sick of living under my in-laws roof. I used to love their house, and at one point considered going to their place on Sundays to be enjoyable. Now I just feel like pulling my hair out 24/7 and screaming. Not having my stuff and my life and my happiness is really eating at me today, and I'm actually not too sure why. Nothing significant or unusual with the family happened today, it was just a bad day all around which made for emotions to run high.

Work was absolutely awful, as I launched a project which always makes for a hectic day. In addition I had to get a metrics report done for some higher-ups as well as some web site changes. To make matters worse I was still having serious wireless internet issues that I finally got resolved after being on the phone with the help desk for two hours. Yes, it was that awesome of a day.

Somehow after having that kind of a day 'at' work I wasn't in a very pleasant mood. I showered afterwards thinking that would help melt some stress away, but no such luck. I did however get lucky and was able to sneak in a nap in while the baby napped. I don't even know what I would have done without that!

I won't get into the details of all the family drama, but bottom line is that i'm tired of living here. If I could move into my new house now with no a/c or carpet, I probably would. I love my in-laws dearly, and in some ways will actually miss living with my sister in law, but to actually live under someone elses roof is just not for me these days.

Having my own house is something I pride myself on. I felt the pride in my apartment and my house - it was just my own space where I could do what I wanted, how I wanted, and when I wanted to. I haven't a clue how kids who go to college come back and live with their 'rents again, although I am aware that is a totally different circumstance than a forty year old still living at home.

Anyway, I have been extremely bad about writing a countdown post, but I will compensate for it tomorrow. I just wasn't in the mood to write anything pleasant tonight, which you may have been able to tell!

It's all coming together now!

I drove over to our house yesterday and was excited to see the front door was being painted! Not only because the color came out better than I had anticipated, but because it meant I could get in the house!

A lot has been done on the inside, the outlet on the mantel was replaced, the cabinet with a scratch was replaced, the hardwood flooring was re-done so it now connects and goes all the way from the front entry through the powder room, hallway, breakfast room, kitchen, and mudroom with no breaks. The toilets were put in, along with all the faucets in the bathrooms, and all the doors now have hardware.

I am so glad the hardwood flooring was fixed, because it really makes the space look a thousand time larger and it just looks so much better. I actually feel like the rooms looks more spacious once flooring goes in, so it should be interesting when the carpeting arrives.

Everything looks fabulous except for the finishes on all the doornobs. We selected antique bronze for all the rooms except for the bathrooms - where we selected brushed nickel. All of the doornobs are currently brushed nickel. This is actually something that seems odd to me, since they took off the old doornob that was antique broze, and apparently didn't think anything weird as they replaced it with a brushed nickel one. Whatever, it just needs to be corrected, i'm not going to get worked up over it.

It's beginning to feel real!

I just scheduled the movers to deliver our belonging to our house on August 8th! I can hardly believe that we are getting close to having our own home again, it just makes me so happy :)

We are having the fridge and the bedroom set delivered on August 6th, and I plan to do the grocery shopping that same weekend. I *may* even buy the canned goods prior to then just so my first grocery bill doesn't ring up at $500! I feel like it's been an eternity since we've had our own place to call home and not be bothered by family members 24/7. I love our families - I just don't like seeing them every day, you know?

Scott and I are also beginnng to check out and compare Dish Network and DirecTV. I think we are both leaning towards DirecTV since we could get the NFL ticket. Okay, I admitt that it's more me that wants the NFL ticket - but this way we'd never be forced to watch a lousy football game just because it's what the area is offering!

We also found out today that the builders are hoping to have our house 100% finished by the end of this week - including the flooring, finishes, appliances, etc. Unfortunately, that probably means that sometime this week our house will be locked until we get the keys :(

#28-32...well worth it!

As you may have already guessed, I was extremely busy this weekend since it was the fourth of July weekend, and there was a lot going on that kept me from writing. Today's post covers five days on the countdown though so it needed to be about something really good. That something really good is the family/great room.

Although tiring I will again compare it to my old house, where the family room was a glorified shoe box and other than housing our sectional, it didn't have much purpose. The family room in our new place is nearly double in size and will not only fit our sectional, but everything else I want in it too!

If you know me, then you know that my favorite holiday is Christmas. There is nothing better than bringing out all my decorations and having cinnamon scented candles fill the air. The one thing that I look forward to every year is setting up my village and pretending like it is a real place where people do nothing but sip hot chocolate and sit in front of fireplaces. When the sun goes down at 5pm I turn all the lights off, light up the village and stare for hours.

In addition, I will be able to have my Christmas tree up and not have to walk around it, or bump into it every time I go in and out of the room. I won't feel clostrophobic when my Christmas decorations are out, and won't feel rushed to put them away just so I can have room to breathe again.

Our family room is really big (19 by 16), and it will probably seem even larger since we won't have to use a TV stand as our TV is being mounted above the fireplace. I am so eager to cozy up on MY couch again, watch MY shows, and be in MY own family room!

I. CAN'T.WAIT :)

Long weekend - ever feel this way?

Today is the fourth of July, and we just got home from my parents house where we had a cookout to cap off the long weekend. I feel terribly guilty saying this, but I was bored out of my mind. Although I love my family dearly, they are beginning to get extremely bland. Going over there tonight we barely had any conversation, and when there was any it revolved solely around the baby.

I understand that when there is a baby involved that many people focus on the "oh, how cute!'s," but let me tell you - there is only so much of that. My dad wasn't home since he was visiting his mother, and my mother had absolutely nothing to contribute to any conversation. Our fourth of July "party" was so lame that it made me feel bad that we didn't join Scott's family up at Marblehead for another day. I hate feeling this way, because it makes me feel like i'd rather hang out with a family other than mine, but when it is so boring with my own family I can't help it.

Part of me wants to tell my mom that we really need to 'spice things up,' and do more exciting things than grill burgers and stare at my daughter, but as far as I know there really isn't a tactful way of saying that.

I'm not sure when the boring-ness started, but I'd have to peg it on when my dad lost his job of nearly thirty years. Ever since then my parents have gotten extremely frugal and haven't made any effort to have a good time. No more fun, elaborate vacations, which is sad since they could go just the two of them these days. No more anything. My dad needs to stop delivering newspapers, and they need to get a hobby. They need to do things like Scott's parents, get a place up in Marblehead, enjoy Put-in-Bay, etc. They just need something to do.

Anyway, that was totally off-topic, but I needed to let it out since it's on my mind and I feel bad about it. Tomorrow will be a big post on our house - hooray!