random thoughts... all free today

Casa Del Graham 8.13.06

I am not dead.  Really.  Just crazy busy.  I had a small inkling of how much work moving entailed but I have never moved into a brand new (still kinda under construction) home with a man, 2 boys, 2 cats and a dog.  Mucho trabajo.  Muy suck-o.  (no, it’s not a real word, but it fits)

Most everything is at the new house.  Norm still has to pack up his computer and office and a few things from the shop but basically we are moved out.  Spent a good amount of time yesterday cleaning the dirt that living in a house for 4½ years brings.  Lots of memories made in that house and I reminisced about them all as I scrubbed the remnants of us off the walls and floors.  I’m a sentimental type.  Get over it.

I admit it was bittersweet driving off yesterday.  We started our lives together in that house, brought a child into our family in that house.  So many good memories, happy times.  They will continue and more memories will be made in the new house but the place where we got our start will always hold special meaning to me.  From there each of us began, nurtured and loved and molded into a family.  Excuse me while I get a tissue…

(big deep breath)

Okay, aside from being at the ending of this chapter and the dawn of a new one, this new house is truly wonderful.  I love it, I really do.  The kids love it, Norm loves it.  It’s nice and quiet outside at night and the stars are absolutely brilliant.  So much more room and every night as I drive up to the garage I still can’t believe this is our house.  It’s awesome and I never want to leave.  Everything is just like we wanted it and it truly is our dream home come to life.

But along with the good comes the bad.  First night we slept there I killed a scorpion.  In my kitchen.  Running up to my feet as I loaded the dishwasher.  I don’t typically walk around the house with shoes on but I do now!  Same night I found 2 black widows as well but Norm killed them.  I am the official bug/scorpion/pest finder.  He is the official bug/scorpion/pest killer.  Since then I have found 3 more scorpions but no more black widows and a host of assorted bugs and creepy crawly critters that have decided that our new home is so lovely they may stay awhile.  Bastards.

We also are infested with house flies.  I actually broke down and bought fly strips at the grocery store last night.  I just couldn’t take it anymore.  We have no less than 3 dozen flies in our kitchen at any given time.  I’m over it.  Soooo completely over it.  It’s pretty bad when you have to have your coffee in your bedroom because the flies will attack you if you are in the kitchen.

Of course this may have something to do with the fact that we have no doorknobs.  That is supposed to be remedied today when Guillermo comes over.  For the past week we’ve been living with a board screwed across the front door to keep it closed.  Talk about the original red-neck deadbolt.

Still no internet.  Got our phone hooked up Wednesday but they can’t hookup the internet until after they have tested our phone and decided what kind of internet we can have.  Yes.  Really.

Boxes are still as far as the eye can see.  I started unpacking a bunch of them today but had to stop and make my hour long trek to work.  Yes, on a Sunday.  Mandatory overtime.  The commute sucks.  50 mins each way.  I believe it’s around 94 miles round trip or something close to that.

Lots of dust and debris from the construction to clean up.  It seems no matter how much I dust or scrub, there is always more dust waiting to land on any surface.  I know that is just something that will go away eventually but it is soooo frustrating to think a room is clean only to have to clean it all over again the next day.

Hot water in the master shower is backwards.  If you want hot water you have to turn the faucet to cold.  One of the shower heads drips continuously and the shower in the guest bath doesn’t work at all. 

Figuring out what light switch goes where is a fun game we all love to play.  There are at least 6 switches per room so it’s an adventure to find out exactly what you are turning on at any given point.  Jack’s new game is “turn every switch on in the house”.  I go through each room multiple times each day and it seems he just follows behind me flipping them back on again.  My P-touch is gonna come in veryyy handy.

But really don’t let me paint a grim picture of the new house.  It is fabulous.  Grand and wonderful and everything I had hoped it would be and more.  It’s just very much a work in progress at this point and I can’t see past all the cleaning and unpacking of 3,800 square feet of house.

It will be beautiful and I will share it with you all.  Just as soon as I can find my camera to take pics, load them to my computer (that sits dismantled in the corner of my studio) and get internet access to load them to the site.  Oh, and maybe after I clean up a little.  Looking at it now you’d think I lived in a sea of boxes and crumpled newspapers.

I’ll update soon,  have a lovely week!

~h

shopping today!

They are right this very minute pouring concrete for our patio, front walk and driveway.  So darn the luck, I can't go into the house or go out of it unless I want to hurdle through a side window.  I'm thinking no thank you, very much.

Norm took Connor to school this morning, so I got to sleep in a whole 45 minutes this morning!  So I was up at 7:30 instead of 6:45.  Thank you honey, I soooo needed some sleep!  (especially since we went to the track last night and didn't get to bed until 1am - *yawn*)

So mom, Jack and I are off to IKEA in search of house stuff.  Namely drawer and pantry organizers and a butt-load of white sheets.  No blinds at the new house, so we are going ultra cheap with the sheets.  Windows at night freak me out so I must have coverings of some sort.  Go ahead and make fun.....you know you wanna.

I'll report on my great adventure into the huge ass store that is IKEA later.  Never been and I'm actually really excited to go! 

Toodles!

~h

what's that I see?

could it be a light?  It may be a small pinpoint of light but indeed it is one.  (small yippee from me!)

Thank you to all my dear friends and family that have been reading my blog (and ringing my phone) and encouraging me.  It's a big SWEATY ordeal to move all this stuff and the little extra words really help a lot.  Did I mention the sweat?  With the latest bought of humidity here in AZ it's been sweltering and steamy.  And no fun to move in, definitely.  Every day I walk around in a mostly soaking wet bra and then freeze my ass off when I finally do get in some air conditioning.  TMI, I know but I just feel compelled to share that.  ;)

Thanks to my muddah for coming by and helping me try to figure out what to pack next (I'm running out of stuff to pack that we don't need) and for bringing me an icy cold Frappuchino from Starbuck's to boot.  And if that wasn't enough, she helped me pack up the kids' toys, load the trailer, drive out to pick Connor up from school and then helped us unload the trailer when we got to the new house.  Thanks MOM!  Totally needed the help and the company was much appreciated.  Love you, mom!

The plumbers worked all day today and we now HAVE RUNNING WATER.  WOOOHOOO!!!!!  Everything is hooked up except the whirlpool tub which is FINE but we are officially ready for our final inspection!  (HUGE sigh of relief)  Final inspection will be done tomorrow and then we can have our power turned on.  YEAH!!!!  We should have power by Wednesday, probably sooner.  Which means one thing.  We will be moved in by this weekend.  Thank God!!!  I was so stressing out about it and now it is in sight.  :D

So that light that I have been promised will appear is definitely there.  I just hope it's not a train headed in my direction.  LOL!

Back to packing and trying to figure out what the hell is for dinner.

Ciao!

~h

moving bites

Day 2 of the move.  Or rather I should say day 2 of me packing a whole lot of boxes.  Not necessarily moving anything quite yet. 

I have packed my entire scrapbook room, 85% of the kitchen and both kids' rooms.  I still have so much more to go. 

I am out of small boxes and newspaper.  I can't get all the black newspaper dye off my hands no matter how many times I scrub.  I cut myself on a knife packing the utensils.  Jack has spent the last 2 hours intermittently crying about god knows what.  The dog loves to be underfoot so I've tripped 3 times this morning because she needs to be right next to me all the time.  My back and shoulders are aching and I still have yet to shower, brush my teeth or eat anything.  It's 12:31 as I type this. Norm is at the new house installing closet shelving and doing his laundry list of crap that needs to be done to pass final inspection.  Moving bites.

Add to all this crap the fact that we can't even move into our house yet.  We still have no electricity and it's still up in the air exactly when that will happen.  We have to have a final inspection to obtain a certificate of occupancy.  (after our grading inspection which will be tomorrow)  Without said certificate, SRP will not turn our power on.  Without power, Qwest will not turn on our phone.  We also still do not have all our faucets/tubs hooked up because the plumber wouldn't come out last week because the granite guys were there.  He's supposed to be there tomorrow.  And so help me if he isn't, I'll be seriously damaging one plumber by the name of Burt.  *sigh*

I'm off to shower and clean up.  I only have so much more that I can pack, the other boxes we have are freakin' huge.  Looks like tomorrow will be a search for more boxes and newspapers.  So much fun.

Amidst the dust and boxes,

~h

Casa del Graham 7.19

Got up early this morning, met da man at Mesa Lighting.  Picked up a truck load and a car load full of light fixtures.  Drove out to La Casa and dropped them off.  Happened to have my camera with me (totally not an accident) and snapped some pics of the tile.  Holy freakin' crap is this stuff gonna look nice.

Observe:

Here is the backsplash in the kitchen over the cooktop.  I love how this turned out and the gold colored pencil rail tile is gonna totally match the granite perfectly.  (granite guy will be there Saturday)

Close-up of the backsplash.  That little round thing poking out of the tile on the left is for the pot filler spigot.  Fancy schmancy, huh?  (plumber will be out next week)

View of the curved breakfast area.  I love this!

A better close-up picture of the tile.  See my tootsies!?  :D

A shot of the kitchen from the peninsula at the far right of the kitchen.  I love how much light is in here and it shows off the tile so well.  (I love this tile!)

Here is a another shot of the tile.  the colors look a bit different depending on what light you are standing in.  They look much richer and darker in the hall and entry.

My favorite part is the entry.  (I have a lot of favorite parts, huh?)  At $35.49 a foot (48 feet total) for the border and $29.69 (4 needed) for the corners, I'd say it's worth it now to see how beautiful this is turning out.  Mind you, that doesn't include the installation.  *sigh*  We had a SERIOUS case of sticker shock (kinda still do) when we got the pricing for this but just look at it! 

A close up of the tile.  Gorgeous!

That's it for now.  Thanks for wading through my picture laden post.  More pics come Sunday.  It's almost time to MOVE!!!

Later,

~h

freaking out a little bit

okay, freaking out A LOT.  We move in 2 weeks.  2 weeks.  Am I ready?  Not really.  Started packing yesterday and this is how far we got. 

Jack can't stand a camera being around and NOT being in the picture.  So I give you my son, the HAM.

Note that most of them are my scrapbooking stuff and I haven't even touched most of it.  I would say I still have 80% left to pack up.  Norm is beginning to realize exactly how much shit I really have.  ;)  I can actually see the top of my desk and 3 of the shelves are absolutely empty. 

I am out of boxes.  The only ones I have left are the larger ones and I have a sneaky suspicion that Norm would be none to please with me if I packed a bunch of my 12x12 papers in just one.  Can you say HEAVY AS HELL?

Packed up the living room photos and tchachkies after dusting them all.  Been a while since I dusted, LOL.  Norm packed up the stereo equipment, movies and CDs.  Also very dusty stuff.  Now the only thing left in the living room is the one bucket of the kids' toys, the couches and the lamp.

The kitchen I started on but didn't get very far.  There's only so much you can pack in a kitchen that you don't use everyday.  Small appliances are packed, except for the Tassimo, toaster and crockpot (potluck at work soon).  Packed up some of the funky, little-used utensils and all the large knives.  Serving trays and junk like that are packed up too.  I currently have 3 empty drawers and 2 empty cabinets in my kitchen.  Never thought that could be done!  :P

It's kind of depressing seeing a room stripped of what makes it look lived in.  Moving makes me sad but excited at the same time.  Saying goodbye to a familiar place that we've called home and opening our arms to a new one.  Putting our memories and lives and dirt into a brand spankin' new place and making it home.  It usually takes a bit of time to adjust and of course make it your own.  I know the boys will handle the dirt part just fine.  ;)

Gotta run.  Today I tackle the closets.  Blech.  Later!

~h

Casa del Graham 6.11.06

New and improved pics of La Casa.  Everyone's been bugging me so here they are.  Now leave me alone!!!  ;)

Beginning at the front of the house.  Notice we have the first coat of stucco!  :D

Heading to the right, the garage and the window of Connor's bedroom.   

More of the garage and the boys' bedrooms.

Back of the house.  I'm trying not to think of the weed problems we will eventually have.

North side of the house.  Pretty boring and my least favorite side.  :)

Another shot of the entry just because it' s my favorite feature.  I just love the grandeur of it.

Moving along to the interior of the house.

The entryway.  Notice we have paint on the walls and the trim has been installed.  Love the trim.  (all courtesy of da man)

This house is absolutely FULL OF LIGHT which I adore.  This is the formal dining room entryway which is on the right side of the front door.  My studio is on the left. (still diggin' that trim!)

Close up of the trim around the walls.  Love how it wraps around like that.  Pretty nice, huh?

My favorite shot.  Nothing in particular on this one, I just love the lines.

Master bedroom.  See what I mean about all the light?

The best part.  The KITCHEN!

Beginning from the left of the kitchen.

Being silly.

A crappy merge of the other side of the kitchen.  I promise it's straight in real life!

Above the cooktop.  I know how big this thing is (and also how heavy) because I've lifted it at least twice.

And lastly.  A view from the street.  :D

Enjoy!

~h

presenting..........the dry wall

Went to the house Sunday afternoon.  They have hung the drywall.  Talk about looking totally different.  Holy crap, it's looking like a HOUSE!

 

 

And remember the shot last week of me sitting where the columns were to go?  Well here's that same spot, only with columns installed.  Nice huh?

This is the view from the kitchen doorway looking into the breakfast area and the family room.  That's the fireplace in the corner.

View from the entry into the family room looking across into the breakfast area/kitchen

My scraproom!  The windows look really short because they hadn't finished cutting the dry wall yet, but they go nearly to the ceiling.  Lots and lots of light! 

  This is the view from the hallway outside the master bedroom down the hall to the kitchen/dining room/family room/kids rooms.  I just love the lines of this and believe it or not is my favorite photo.  Love it!  (nice wires hangin' out of the wall, huh?)

That's it for now.  Pretty sure photos next week will look the same except perhaps with less shit on the floor.  LOL!

~h

Casa del Graham

New updated pics as of 3.19.06

Front view: l to r - Norm's office/guest room; my scraproom; entry; formal dining room; storage room; garage

Right side view: Garage and Connor's window (to the far right)

Back view: Jack's window; family room; kitchen; breakfast area; formal living room; master bedroom; master bath

Left view: Mater bath; closet; (yes, it has windows) laundry room; guest bathroom

And here we are back at the front of the house.

View from the street.  This thing is H-U-G-E!

One just for fun.  There's me in the breakfast area.  Hi everyone!!!

~h

Because I can...

I'm sitting here in my jammies, like I am every morning until around 11am which is when I get in the shower and ready myself for work.  I know, I'm a lazy bum.  Dh asked me why I do this every day.  My answer?  "because I can."

Didn't get much accomplished this weekend as far as scrapbooking but spent a lot of time with dh and the boys and with friends.  I'd trade scrapbooking any day for that.  Saturday spent the afternoon with Nequal, Margarita and Regina.  Went to a scrapbook/rubber stamp convention (mostly rubber stamps) and had fun.  Love hanging out with the girlfriends.

Went to check out progress on the house.  They have dug the footings and and started pouring on Monday.  Sat or Sun we'll drive out and get updated photos but as of Sunday it looked like this:

See my honey wayyyy over there?  He was moving the wiring for the fuse box from the outside of the house to the inside of the garage.  Have no clue how he knew what to look for or where to move it to.  He's so smart, huh?

Also met our neighbors to the north of us.  Penny and her daughter Danielle (who's 16 - possible baby sitting!!!).  Very nice people.  Have a butt-load of creatures on their property.  Trying hard to convince me how much we need goats.  BLECH.  I HATE goats.  They creep me out with their crazy pupils and their constant need to EAT SOMETHING.  Norm wants to get a couple of goats to "keep the weeds down on the property".  Can't we just invest in gallons of Round-Up?  Not purchase and then let live on our land 2 eating machines?  Of course he tells these nice neighbors (read strangers) of ours how much I dislike goats.  So my secret it out.  I'm a city girl and I don't like goats.  Now they are hell bent on changing my mind.  As they started to question why I don't like goats (what kind of idiot am I!?) I almost wished I could produce a hand minus one finger and then regale them with my tale of childhood woe about the petting zoo incident that went horribly wrong.  About the goat that ate my poor little finger.  A horrible thing to wish for but being a city girl out in the country you don't want the country folk to KNOW that you are a city girl.  Then they seem determined to transform you or at least gross you out pretty badly.  *sigh*  Thanks honey...

The boys had a good time meeting 2 of our new horse neighbors, Gidget and Misty:

Neighbors to the south of us are putting their home up for sale and moving to Wisconsin or Minnesota.  Can't remember, but I do know it gets miserable cold wherever they are going.  Selling their house for a cool $600K.  Yes $600,000.  Absolutely amazing.  True they have a newer house and true it's horse property but holy crap, that's a lot of money.  I'm sure they will get it, which is good because that makes our house worth more.  Sorry to see them go, we've known them since we purchase the property last summer and they have a girl that's Connor's age.  Ah well, such is life. 

Did get this LO done Sunday night.  Only took me 2.5 hours.  That's a world record for me, I swear:

  One of Norm.  Being pictures of him are RARE I really had fun with this.  Showcasing the yet to be released Crate Papers.  Awesome stuff, if you are at all on the fence about buying these, BUY THEM.  You won't regret it, I promise you.  :D  Oh, papers all courtesy of Croppin' Paradise.  Being on the DT has it's perks!

Met a new online friend and oh lordy have we been having a blast!  Syndee who's also on the CP DT.  We IM on yahoo every night until the wee hours.  (which is probably a big reason I'm still in my jammies at 11am)  :D  We're a couple of goofs (well, I know I AM) and I truly enjoy spending my time chatting with her.  I think maybe we were separated at birth, even though she's older then me. (hey, it could happen!)  If you are reading this Syndee, thanks so much for being my friend and for chatting with me.  YOU ROCK!!!!!  (((HUGS)))!!!!

Well I think that's it.  I don't blog for a week or more and then suddenly I spew.  Anyhoo, laters peeps.  Time to get ready for work!

~h