It's Getting Close

We went by the new house today so Roger could see it since he hasn't been there in a week. I was there on Monday afternoon to meet another deck guy for an estimate. We didn't think anything had been done since I was there Monday, but we opened the front door and saw hard wood flooring. You can see pictures we took today at the Flickr link to the right. All that's left are the appliances and carpet to be installed and clean up before we walk through and point out things for them to fix. Right now the closing date is set for Friday, January 23rd. We'll probably move the next week. It's getting close.

Reason For The Season

Isaiah 9:6

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Rejoice in the peace and love of the Savior Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas!

Texas Winter

This is why I love living in Austin, Texas! It was 75 degrees today. It was a beautiful day and I was able to go swimming. I was talking with a guy at the pool and he said it best. He felt like he was "getting away with something" being at the pool on a bright, sun shiny day at 1 o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday in December. People were laying out. There were a couple ladies doing reverse crunches on beach towels beside the pool after they already swam laps. It was a gorgeous day. And to think late Sunday night a cold front came in and put our highs in the 30s on Monday and Tuesday. It started to warm up Wednesday. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 80 degrees. But another cold front is coming in late Saturday night which will put us in the 30s with wind chills in the 10s and 20s on Sunday. I'm sure it will warm up again. The last few years we have spent Christmas day in shorts. I'm sure this year will be no different. As long as that cold front Saturday night holds off until Roger and I get home from my birthday dinner I'll be fine in my little, black dress.

Closing

Well, we did our part to close on our old house this morning. The buyer will do his part this afternoon. It feels good to have that done. Now all we have to do is wait for the new house to finish then close on it and move. Sometime around January 23rd. More and more little things are getting done every day at the new house. The water and electricity were connected this week. So we have lights and water. The plumbing fixtures have all been put in. One set has the wrong handles, but the builder has been notified and will remedy that soon. There is one light fixture and one door frame and door to be installed. The fence in the back yard was put up this week. And the travertine back splash was installed on Saturday. My mom got to see that completed when she came to visit Sunday. We gave her a grand tour of the place.

We have already made a list of items we want to get and install the weekend after we close since we probably won't be able to move over the weekend. That will give us some time to get those things done before we move in. It's a long list, but just a bunch of little stuff like replace the vanity lights in both bathrooms, replace the shower heads in both bathrooms, install cabinet knobs and drawer pulls in the kitchen, seal the tile and grout on the back splash, install cabinet and pantry organizers, add an extension to the family room ceiling fan and install a TV wall mount in the family room. It would be nice to move in and not have to still do those things while we're unpacking. I can't wait!

Tile And Countertops

It's more exciting at the new house every time I visit. You think nothing has probably been done since the last time you visited, which is about every other day for us. But then you go and you are surprised by something new. I went by Tuesday evening about 5:30 p.m. It was really too late to go because it was already dark. But Roger wanted me to go by and see if anything had been done. We assumed nothing was done since we visited on Saturday. But low and behold, the ceramic tile flooring in both bathrooms and the utility room was installed. I took some pictures with the flash so they would turn out because it was so dark I couldn't see myself. I didn't notice until I got home after uploading them and looking at the pictures with Roger when he got home that the ceramic tile around the second bathroom shower was installed. It was that dark in the house. So we wondered if the ceramic tile around the tub in the master bath was installed also. Since it was so dark inside, I didn't take a picture where we could see that.

So today I went by during the day to take better pictures and check if the tile around the garden tub was installed which it wasn't. This is when I discovered that the granite countertops were installed. I saw a truck with a few guys standing around it waiting out front of our house. I wondered what part they were working on. I said hello to them and they spoke Spanish so I couldn't ask them as I walked in because I don't know how to ask what are you working on in Spanish. So I waited to find out once I got inside. I was so excited. I try hard to contain my giddiness inside so as to not jump around like a school girl. One of these days I'm not going to be able to hold it in any more and I'm just going to blow. I took a bunch of pictures so I could show Roger. It's super dark when he leaves work so I have to take pictures for him and he waits until the weekend or a lunch break every once in a while to go by the house. I thanked the installers as I left. I can basically only greet in Spanish. I can't wait to see what's new when I go by on Friday.

A Little Snow

We got a little snow tonight. Nothing to write home about but enough to blog about! We started the day very warm and humid and I believe we topped out at 80 degrees. Then throughout the day the winds came and dropped the temps ever so slightly until they got down to the 40s. By that time it was raining and hailing a bit. After I got home from work this evening, I had to go back after dinner to reset our firewalls and on the way home I was driving through some pretty steady hail. Soon after that, it was snowing big wet flakes. It won't stick because it was 80 today, but the weather in Texas sure is interesting... and all in one day.

Holly went by the new house today and they have installed the ceramic tile! It was pretty dark though, so she didn't get good pics. We'll get some more late this week.

One last thing... after years of thinking about it, and the Army ruining my plans for four years, I have decided to get LASIK. I visited three centers in town and I chose not the most or least expensive, but the one where I felt most comfortable. I put in my last pair of disposable contact lenses this morning. I'm truly excited at the prospect of waking up every morning, and being able to see without having to reach for glasses or just see blurryness until I can get my contacts in. It's not cheap, so please join me in prayer that I am making the right decision. My surgery is scheduled for Jan 8. Yay! It can't come soon enough.

Painted

A short update: The new house interior painting was completed Friday. There are still a lot of touch ups, but they will get those soon enough. It looks great and we are more and more excited every time we visit to see what they've done. After all the foot work I did for the inspection repairs that were recommended, it turns out we don't have to do any of them. So all the footwork wasn't a waste since the buyer could see they weren't necessary. For sure, this will be one exciting holiday season for us. What a blessing!

Progress Continues

Progress on construction of the new house continues. Today Roger and I met there at noon to see the progress since our last visit before Thanksgiving. The foundation for the driveway, walkways and sidewalks are being put up. They'll probably pour the concrete by the end of the week. All the doors, wood trim and cabinetry were being installed while we were there. I can't wait to stop by tomorrow and see how far they got. I'm sure all the kitchen cabinets will be done. It's looking more and more like a home every day. We also received a new closing date of January 23rd. Boy are we glad we did the lease back through January 31st. To give us an idea of when we might move in so we could negotiate the lease back with the buyer of our current home we asked our construction manager for a possible move in date to which he said January 15th. Thank goodness we know the reality of construction and with the holidays coming up, we figured another week or two would give us some leeway just in case. And it looks like we needed it.

As for the progress on the sale of our current home, we're set to close on December 17th as long as nothing new comes up. We had four things to "repair" after the inspection but two items were not really repairs but clarification. The other two items are stumping us. So we have called an electrician for a bid to address one item and are awaiting a response from the city water department regarding the other. Please pray for these things to go smoothly. We're hoping we don't have to spend several thousand dollars repairing what we think are unnecessary items.