Rock With You

My one and only favorite song from Michael Jackson... done acapella style. Love it!

Backfilled!

Even though I was feeling crappy... I still made the journey to The Hole. We've been backfilled! It was the first look at the house and how big the space around it really is.

On Sunday, we climbed the mound of dirt on our side yard and got to look down into the basement. The doorway towards the front of the house (right side of the picture) is the entrance to the fruit cellar. The white pipe on the outside of the wall is our rain pipe drainage... (I forget the better term). Anyway, it's been backfilled and they should start framing soon. Crazy!

And some videos! This one was taken on Saturday, it was super cold~

This is the video from what I described above... we threw a few pennies into The Hole before they backfilled... for luck. =P

Basement With A Wrapper

They're motoring on our house. Yesterday they took the forms off of the basement. Today they have wrapped it snuggly in a vapor barrier... and possibly did some tarring on the inside.

Happy REAL Thanksgiving!

It is the real turkey day today. Not the dry run that happens in October in Canada. I miss my family a ton but I get to see them in 9 days!!! I am thankful for my wonderful mom, who is always there for me - even 3000 miles away. I miss her and her cheesy potatoes. My sister who dares to live in a house full of boys and hold her own - don't worry the potty training will eventually kick in! My husband (still feels weird to say that) who graciously let me throw away the options price list for our house. And by graciously, I mean he threw a temper tantrum with much screaming and crying - just kidding, kinda. I'm also thankful for my in-laws who acknowledge my need for Thanksgiving dinner in the month of November - but in reality just know that Ian would have turkey dinner any day/every day. And lastly, I am thankful that I am not a member of the family that was sent the letter below. This was posted on a site for Awkward Family Photos about a year ago. They've reposted it just because it's so awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

---

From: Marney

As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.

Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.

All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.

HJB—Dinner wine

The Mike Byron Family

1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don't feel like you a have to feed an army.

2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don't care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).

3. Toppings for the ice cream.

4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.

The Bob Byron Family

1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.

2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).

The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family

1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).

The Michelle Bobble Family

1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.

2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon

3. Proscuitto pin wheel - please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.

4. A pie knife

The June Davis Family

1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.

2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay

The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)

1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.

2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.

Looking forward to the 28th!!

Marney

{Source: http://www.californiakara.com/p/thanksgiving-letter.html}

Foundation Started

Yesterday, I braved the cold and the rain to get a picture of the house. They have started to build our foundation. There is a concrete outline of our house and they've filled that with gravel. I've put an arrow on the picture where our foundation is... there was a guy working on our neighbor's.

They seem to be moving really quickly. Thankfully, Ian's mom has agreed to stop by each day and take a picture for us while we are in California. I have a feeling though that they will be pretty far along by the time we leave.

Video Of The Hole

We braved the cold to take some pictures and video of The Hole. The wind literally took my breath away. I had to wear my cold winter clothes... Crazy! [Snow is expected to start a little next week~]

Daytime @ The Hole

Our usual picture is now obscured by mounds of dirt.

Looking into our actual hole... It's not that far down. We will have roughly 3-5 steps up onto our porch and 5 steps from our garage into our house. So that gives you some idea of the grading...

Max Quacks - "Young" Spice

The Original "Old" Spice.

Max Quacks - I'm Canadian, Eh?

Cooper agrees. Very Canadian. Very Awesome.

The Dirt Is Now The Hole

After feeling crappy all day, Ian and I got word that The Dirt has now become The Hole. By the time we got there, it was pitch black as there are no street lights yet... and mud everywhere (Hello the next 4 months!). But we got to sneak out and try to take a picture - result is below. We looked over the edge and from what we can see they have just dug the foundations for our house and our neighbors. We can't really figure out why... but maybe so that they can pour both foundations and backfill all at once? Either way, the numerous trips to The Hole start now.

Max Quacks - I'm A Little Poser!

It's Just Hair - Evidence

Nothing special.

It's Just Hair

It's pretty silly... but damn it's annoying when people ask me if I've done something different with my hair. It's not just once or twice... If I wear my hair straight... or curly... or any other way, I get asked multiple times a day if I've had it cut or something. Today, my hair is straight and I'm on my 4th person asking me if I had it done. Granted - this is not worse than actually getting your hair done and having no one notice. But it's mainly the people that DON'T BELIEVE ME when I say that I haven't done anything. Yes, I am silly. =P

Time Lapse In Progress

Each visit to The Dirt I take a picture in the exact same place. I doubt I will always be able to do this... just given the crazy construction that is happening there. But the video below is what I have so far. We went today and got to walk around our neighbor, Alicia's house. It was enough to give me a panic attack. Our house is going to be huge. It seems more real after seeing her place.

TRESPASSER!

Ian's dad tried to test out our lot.

Look Who I Found Again!

It's Little Cooper! I was going through some wedding photos and came across some cute ones...

Love The Power Of The Pun