I'm A Superhero!

Tile & Cute Nephew

Honestly, how adorable is Cooper? Like a whole freakin' lot! [My sister is picking tile... I like this one the most.]

I Love Google

I really want to move in to a place where people can actually find me! Via Antonio was like that... We still have problems with the Cambridge place because the postal code was wrong in the beginning and it was brand new. I'm happy to get this process started before we move!

Negative Normans

I try to be a Positive Peter or an Optimistic Oswald. But I'm getting pretty tired of Negative Normans. This weekend we went to walk through the house with Ian's parents. Afterwards, a woman walked by that Ian's mom knew. She basically went on to say how she's had all kinds of problems with our builder and, to quote her, "had to completely renovate the house". This statement was pretty shocking to us seeing as it is a brand new house. She went on to explain a few problems. Doors needed to be repainted. The hardwood has a few white spaces you can see. Nails have popped. Not exactly what I would call a "complete renovation".

I honestly wanted to explode on her. Her house was built during the winter time. It was also one of the first houses to go up. It's not going to be perfect and frankly lady, you're not paying the right price to deliver perfection. So what that the doors needed to be repainted? They did it, and I'm sure they look good. The hardwood... that's because it was installed in the winter time and it's shrinking and expanding. I'm sure they will get it fixed. And the nails popping... it's in our contract that those will happen and the builder will fix them. No big deal.

I realize that there are Builders From Hell in this world. Our builder isn't one of them. I'm tired of the people who believe that everyone is out to get them! The woman was convinced that these little problems were just another sign that the builder was trying to screw her over. It's a bunch of bull. She was stating these things like we should be seriously concerned about this beautiful house we are building. It was overly dramatic and unnecessary.

This isn't to say that our building process has been smooth sailing. We have our fair share of issues. Currently, it's our main bath that things seem to go wrong. The tile is in and the hole for the heating vent cut - it's about 1 inch from the toilet flange. It's obviously a mistake and the builder is aware they need to fix it before a toilet can be installed. The hydro was turned on this week and lighting fixtures installed. My electrician in the sky was off drinking a Long Island and didn't slap the guy working on our house... He clearly messed up the wiring to the fixture in the main bath because no switch controls it - it was on all weekend! They installed the wrong doors to the office. The right doors were delivered within a couple days. All of these issues are minor and will be fixed before we move in.

The difference between that woman and us is that we expect problems. We're paying a builder that is creating a development. It's not a custom home builder that only works on a single house at a time. I think it's better to be realistic than a Negative Nancy. Anyway, here is a picture of my awesome nephews that I get to see in 2 weeks!!

Too Much?

Ian is still holding on to the idea of some form of design gables in the dining room. The builder couldn't deliver on shaker style due to the level of detail required. The alternative was a chair rail and beadboard. We didn't say yes at the time because we weren't sure about it. Today we bought a piece of beadboard and set it against the wall in the dining room. Ian is convinced it looks good. I'm on the fence. YOU DECIDE. =]

The House Video

It's been a horrible day. Neither Ian or I needed to actually be in the office... but we set out for work anyway. It took us 3 very long hours to get to Mississauga. I was not a happy camper. When I arrived it was still snowing and most people did not come in because of the weather. I left 15 minutes early at the end of the day... only to spend most of the extra time cleaning off my car. See below.

It took about an hour and a half to get home... but it was a lot more treacherous. We decided since we were getting home late to head to The House. The drive up there wasn't too bad and since it was past 5:00pm almost all of the construction workers were gone. Lucky for us... the house was unlocked. =D

Here is the video of the first floor with all of its new shiny stuff! [And no, when I step into the office and dining room I am NOT walking on bubble wrap!]

Here is the view from the end of the peninsula.

And towards the back of the kitchen...

Looking at the fridge...

And towards the dinette at the sink... still some stuff left to do of course... a couple cabinet doors, the end of the peninsula, etc.

Needless to say... we are really happy with the progress!

Happy Birthday Kamber!

The Shack Is Now The House

Today we got lucky and were able to go into the house. It was quite shocking and I had a few minor freakouts. Below is a list of changes that we got to look at:

• Stain applied to 1/3 of the stairs
• Doors installed
• Hardwood Floors stained and installed
• Entertainment center created
• Columns installed inside and out
• Some moulding done
• Fireplace put in
• A few rooms have been painted
• Cove moulding installed in the coffered ceiling
• Half wall finished

So yeah.. pretty exciting! Here is a shot of Ian seeing what's behind Door #3...

And here is the latest shot of The Shack, which can now officially be called The House.

Becoming More House-Like

The garage door has been installed. We have a fancy yellow string to pull on to get it down. =P

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Red Velvet Fudge

Uhm, yum.

Source: iammommy.typepad.com via MyKelle on Pinterest

It Will Be A Better Week

New Shack Videos

Exciting........

Lost Spark

I've had a bad week. Plain and simple. It's been a bad week. I thought it was looking up... until I woke up this morning. After taking one look outside I knew my drive would be bad. Heavy wet snow was falling... it had rained before that and so there was a layer of ice under the slush. About halfway to work I decided to turn around. It was getting scary. I couldn't see anything and was concentrating so hard on keeping the car on the road that I missed my exit. I moved over to the slow lane and the back end of the car became squirrelly. Very scary. It was panic attacking inducing and all I wanted was to just get home without ending up in the ditch.

But I'm feeling a bit better. I'm listening to one of my favorite bands - Mumford & Sons. It's perking me up a bit. I'm linking a live video of them playing. They are one of those bands that sound better live than on their albums. I think that's a mark of a good band.

I was told this week that I've lost my spark. Maybe I have... I don't know. ... I don't think so. Maybe. Maybe I'll find it again.

Very True On Friday

March Is Here

I don't know why... but I'm really happy it's March 1st. Maybe because we are under the 5 month mark... February went by in a hurry!

We are in a holding pattern for the house right now. We still need to sign our last amendment but our builder is having issues getting our drawings from AutoCad. Go Figure. You can tell that there is a lot going on inside the house though. Yesterday, a bunch of people were leaving as I drove up. We walked through it last Friday and got to see the 2nd floor with drywall. They looked pretty much finished with drywall and taping. Next steps seem to be flooring... which will probably be a sad day because they usually lock you out at that step. Our only way to see in will be through the back windows. *sad face* Here is the latest photo - only 2 exterior items left [aside from landscaping, driveway, warm temperature activities...] the front porch column needs to be installed and the front eaves on the first floor.

Let's Go To Washyourhandsington!