Using My Fancy New Cooktop

First Load of Laundry

Why am I so excited???

It Can Be Done!

Attempting to install a metal dryer vent duct.

Goodbye.

A few tears were shed.

Our Animals Are Ready To Go!

SUPER HUMAN STRENGTH!

Costco Cleaning Wipes

How I love thee... It's 5am and I'm cleaning the apartment before we leave here forever. It was a good place... but I shudder to think that we were planning on living here longer. Even as I sit here, taking a break from Swiffering using Costco wipes, I'm being serenaded by the sound of the toilet leaking in the main bath. Also, I'm kicking myself for transferring the allergy medicine to The House. After living here for 2 1/2 years, some of the hidden corners are mighty dusty. Anyway, so long old apartment. You've been good(?) to us!

My Pretty Kitchen

Love The Whirlpool Tub

It's been another long day. Mostly watching appliances being installed. Tomorrow the furniture will be moved to The House and we will officially live here. I am looking forward to getting settled. Mostly can't wait until The House is clean!

I am now soaking my aching feet in the tub... I need to catch up on my sleep and stop being so damn anxious. I'm honestly waiting for something to go horribly wrong. There have been issues but nothing that wasn't manageable. Secretly I feel very undeserving of all of this good.

Once the furniture is in and everything is somewhat clean, I will post a walk through video and more pictures.

Bad Picture...

But can I get preliminary thoughts on this tile?

Inukshuk!!

Soaking My Tired Feetsies

Main Bath First Coat

Horrible picture... It looks almost bright Aqua!! It's called Buxton Blue. Look it up!

The Office First Coat

The color is called High Park.

Dining Room First Coat

The color is called Barley. It brightens the room and looks fantastic with the hardwood.

Updated Entertainment Center

I Spy A Green Office

Messy But Lovely

The Start Of A Green Office

Very Messy Bluey-Gray Kitchen

My Dream Bedroom Is Painted

Oh Blessed AC!

Bluey-Gray Kitchen

Fridge Going In!

Drew & Rod Helping Out!

Oh Boy

The Colors Of Our House

Painters are here!

Kitchen Started!

Grandpa's retro glasses and the Starbuck Mug collection are put away!

Yay Box Moving Day!

I'm heading to The House now to be there in time for installer/painter people. Last night was hard to leave it, but the call of AC and a normal bed was too much. We will be "living" there by Saturday night. :)

View From The Back Slider

And It Begins...

Ian putting together our first piece of furniture... a tower for the powder room. :) I'm supervising!

Sitting In The Living Room

Girlfriend needs a pedicure. Damn!

Today

We are waiting to get the call that our lawyer is finished with his side. Then we should get a call from the site that the keys are ready to be picked up. This day has snuck up on me. (As you snicker thinking of all of my countdowns...)

It really has though... This morning I was about to say to Ian "Do you want to go to The Dirt after work?" Yes, we still call The House "The Dirt". Hopefully that will change when it's ours. =] Just think... this all started with me Dreaming Out Loud.

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Originally posted on April 5, 2010:

"Dreaming Out Loud"

On Saturday, Ian and I decided to swing by this new housing development that I had heard about called Doon Creek. We aren't planning on buying house until 2012 or so... But it doesn't hurt to look. As we were leaving Ian's parent's house there was a rainbow in the distance. When we turned in the direction of the housing development we could see the rainbow end to end, which was pretty cool. The funny part was that, I kid you not, the rainbow ended right on the location of the development. Pretty crazy.

We followed the signs and eventually found ourselves in a newer housing track. We passed a nice looking public school and then turned onto a rough gravely road. Imagine my surprise when I see that the housing development is still piles of dirt! I thought when the signs and website said that they were open February 2010 meant the houses were finished building but not even close. Apparently, just the development office is open, not even the model homes. We drove around a bit and found another rough road to take. There was forest all around (part of which is protected and will be left in place) and a ton of frogs. It turns out the roads we were on are going to be turned into hiking trails and were just set up for construction to start.

As we were leaving the area, we passed by an open field and in the middle of it were 2 deer! Seriously, it was like a production crew was following us... "Queue the rainbow! ... Turn on the frogs! ... Send out the deer!" It could not have looked more perfect.

Back to reality... can we afford to live in a place like that? Right now? Probably not, we'd be scrapping by and not able to do as much as we do now. In 2 years or when the development is finished? Yeah... maybe. If we save our pennies and budget for it... it is possible. Anyway, I can dream.

Here is the rough map of the area. Tilt Drive is the road that will be turned into a hiking trail. The Protected Forest and Stauffer Drive (will also be turned into a hiking trail) is where we heard the chorus of frogs. At the end of the word drive in Robert Ferrie Drive is where we saw the deer. Above the sign for HWY 401 is the direction we currently live. It would add about 20 minutes to my commute. Oh, and they are making a pond where the blue color is.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. We basically wait most of the day to hear when the keys will be ready. Then we head to The House and walk through our final inspection. Very exciting/nerve-racking.

Max Quacks - Ready For School!

Adorable.

Moving Tips

I found these to be super helpful!

Doon Creek Sign

We were hoping that our little development would have a sign at the entrance. It does now! I love it!!

Max Quacks - Beach Bummed

Ian likes to impersonate Max. He uses this pose a lot lately...

A Nerd Machine Annoucement

Final Inspection Complete!

I must first say... today is one of the hottest days I've ever experienced. It's currently 32 - feels like 43 (90 - feels like 109). Not so great to go into a house that has no AC!

As Ian said, our final inspection could not have gone better. The first site supervisor that worked on this development was not good. He just didn't care anymore. It was very apparent during our framing walkthrough that he had checked out. The new guy, Mike, is THE best. He made us feel so great about everything. He could answer our questions, he knew some of the issues and has solutions lined up, the stuff he didn't know about he got on top of - it was just perfect. We were all smiles when we left. All we have to do is wait to hear from our lawyer about our closing costs and sign the documents to the house. We close in about 5 days. Scary!

Onto the issues... honestly, there weren't many. We checked almost everything if it turned on, opened, closed, we tested it. This list below is probably not everything... but we feel 100% comfortable with the house we're buying. I know we can't be 100% sure we caught every problem, but at least we are comfortable.

• Entertainment Center: It is finished but the doors, knobs and hinges are not correct. They will be fixed and done for closing.
• Kitchen Issues: Spice Drawer is missing. Need Pantry pullout shelves moved down one (I can't reach the top one). Dishwasher electrical is not pulled up through the floor due to unconfirmed placement. Mike assured us Mr. Electric can do it for us. Pendant move above the sink is not confirmed but they will look into it.
• Hardwood: Because of the humidity and settling there are some cracked pieces of hardwood. They will be replaced.
• Speakers: Haven't been installed yet but that should be happening tonight, definitely by closing.
• Powder Room: The light isn't centered over the mirror and sink. They will move it.
• Ensuite: Heat lamp bulb isn't working and will be replaced. Wrong temperature control installed and will be switched.
• Moldy Fruit Cellar: Mike had all the answers regarding this. He knew it was moist in there and there was some mold. They are installing a vent this week and will be washing the inside down as well. We felt very reassured about this.
• Siding: Due to the installation issues as well as the heat, some pieces of the siding have been bubbled up or warped. They are going to fix it as much as possible and monitor it over the new few months. We are not too concerned about it. It's noticeable only if you're really looking for it.

There are a bunch of little things I didn't include. He gave us a full run down of how all of our house systems work. It was great because this is our first house. We don't know anything from anything really. Mike was very open and honest about things... if there was a mistake, he would say it was mistake and they will fix it. We are super grateful to our builder, Losani and especially Mike. He has had to come in and clean up the mess that was left by the last guy. And it's clear he is trying to make it as painless as possible for the homeowners. Ian and I left feeling 100% happy. Now all we have to do is work with our lawyer and close this deal up!!

Happy Inspection Day!

Today is our Pre-Delivery Inspection! We plan to be pretty thorough with our review. We have one advantage - we've had almost constant access to The House. This is frowned upon by our builder but I think it helps them in the long run. Thanks to our wonderful relationship with our designer, we've let them know various issues. A vent installed too close to the toilet. The wrong office doors installed. Bulkhead problems with the entertainment center, etc. It gives them time to fix the issues.. instead of only a week. Continuing with my love of lists... I've made up small note card checklists. This way I can check everything off, write notes on the back and still have my hands mostly free to take pictures.

Found Slideshow

As you can tell from previous posts, I'm made a few slideshows. I was on my slide.com account and found this show. I'm not sure if I've shared it before... but here it is.

Canadian Adventure: Day 5

Last day! :( Ian and I planned to do the Old Railway Bike Trail and we did.... sort of. We got up early and rode through the Pog Lake campsites down to the dam and across to the trail. Oh... the bugs. I was coated in Deer Flies. Ian had a bee nesting in his hair. I couldn't stop to rest because I would just get surrounded. It was a nightmare. Even worse was that the area was gorgeous... especially early in the morning. But the bugs... I pretty much had a meltdown. We went about 2 or so kilometers in and turned back around. Maybe we'll go back when the bugs aren't as bad!

Once we got back to camp and showered, Ian's mom thought we should go "Moose Hunting" aka "Driving up and down the road to spot Moose eating breakfast". Unfortunately, we didn't see any... just a Heron. We did go back to up to Opeongo Lake. It was the best view.... The water was like glass. So very pretty. I can't wait to go back to this one too.

As I have said many times in every post, I want to go camping there again. A big thank you to Ian's parents, Duncan & Maureen for taking us along. We had a lot of fun. It helped me relax a bit. I was able to put the upcoming move to the back of my mind and enjoy the time off. I hope to see Algonquin next year!

New Stamp!

In a week, I get to use this stamp... Yay!!

Canadian Adventure: Day 4

This was the BEST day. This was the day that I saw a Moose! :)

This is a Cow Moose - aka a female moose. She was beautiful! It was so cool to see a moose in person. They are so big and odd looking. We stopped to look at a wild turkey that was at the side of the road... And I joked about how while we are watching this turkey there is a moose behind us. We drove a little up the road and there was one!

After awhile, more cars and people started to show up. She got nervous and trotted back into the forest. It was amazing though...

We headed to the next hike - Beaver Pond Trail (Rated: MODERATE). This one was great because we saw some turtles and a beaver munching on some lily pads!

We went to the Visitor's Information Center again and this is the view from there:

One of my favorite spots was Canoe Lake. I would like to go back for sure. We just sat on the dock and had an ice cream. Also, we watched a family try out canoeing for the first time. They slammed into the dock two or three times and we left after they hit the shore line for the second time. (It was hysterical!)