More Progress on Our House!

We were told to stop by our house to make sure all electrical, phone, and network outlets were installed in the correct place. So, since we were already there we decided to take some more pictures....

Front of the house complete with brick:

Our grinder pump (feel free to ask us what it is—we got a whole lesson on it):

Stairs going upstairs and hall closet to the right:

Jeff taking a bath:

Our garage:

Initial Walk Through Day!

On May 6th, we had our initial walk through with our project manager. Our PM walked us through the house explaining the foundation and all the energy efficient stuff that goes into our house. During our walk through, we also got to point out all the places we would love to have a plasma TV mounted one day, so he could mount extra pieces of wood where needed.

The best part of that day was actually seeing the brick on our house being put up!


I just love the look of a brick house!

Doors, Windows, and Stairs...Oh My!

At the end of April the doors, windows, and stairs were installed/built in our house. With the stairs installed, we finally got to see the top floor of our house and I must say....I CAN'T WAIT! I am looking forward to the day where my closet is in the same room as my bedroom once again. (If you didn't know my clothes are in my office closet, since Jeff has so many clothes and shoes in our bedroom closet that my stuff couldn't fit).

Front of Our House:

Side View of Our House:
(If you look real closely to the picture below, you may see someone waving at you).

Other Side of Our House:

Future place of Our Deck:

Basment Stairs:

The Framing of Our House!

Last week Jeff and I drove by our new home site just to see if any visual progress was made. As we're about to turn down our street we could actually see a glimpse of our house from far away. Jeff and I couldn't believe it. The frame of our house was up in less then a week. It's actually starting to feel very real now seeing the house all put together.

Here are some pictures of our house:

Jeff's Graduation Present

Almost 2 years ago, I graduated with my Masters in Information Systems at UMBC. For a while, I was talking about getting another dog to keep Lucy, our pug, company during the day (Lucy at that time started not to hear or see well, so I thought the company might do her some well). I wanted another pug, but Jeff as much as he had grown to love Lucy didn't think he could handle two dogs snoring at night and snorting in his face. Jeff's grandfather always had beagles, so he wanted to get a beagle. I told him we could always get a puggle, but he said "no, we don't really need another dog." Little did I know that almost a year later, Jeff would drive all the way up to Northern Pennsylvania to get a puggle.

That night he came home very late, after spending the entire day with his friend in PA (oh so I thought), that I rushed upstairs to meet him at the door. There Jeff was holding in his hands this wrinkly and adorable puggle puppy. I quickly said "What is that?" He said "Look we compromised; it's a puggle - part beagle / part pug. Congrats on your masters. I'm so proud of you."

Zoey has been a great addition to our family -- it was totally worth getting my masters. LOL

Here is a picture of Zoey on her first night home:


Now that Jeff is graduating with his Masters in Information Assurance on May 15th. I had to think of something very special to do for him also. I asked Jeff if he would like another puggle, but he didn't go for that one.

After 3 months of researching and planning, I decided on the perfect graduation gift. I decided to get Jeff a pool table with a ping pong conversion top to put in our new basement.

Last week (when Jeff finished his last assignment), I told Jeff what his gift was and that I wanted him to come with me to pick it out. He was so thrilled to hear he was getting a pool table that he quickly started doing research.

We ended up purchasing the pool table on the first night we went out (after negotiating a wall cue rack, upgraded felt, the ultimate accessory kit, delivery, and installation all for free). It was a done deal...almost. After purchasing the table, Jeff noticed that the guy charged us $5.00 too much. Instead of refunding us the money, Jeff got the salesman to give us pool table cover valued at $115.00 for the $5.00 extra we spent.

Here is a picture of Jeff's graduation present:


Jeff - I'm so proud of you. Congrats. I love you.

Foundation Construction Part 3

Spoke to our project manager today and he said within the next two weeks the frame of our house will go up!

Pictured below are more construction work to the foundation:

Below is our basement and to the left of the picture you will see our basement door walk out on the side of house.
Below I am pictured on the side of our house where the stairs are for our basement exit.

Appliances Check!

When we purchased our new house we got to choose a double oven, microwave, and dish washer at a much upgraded selection for almost FREE! We had the option to go through our building company and also get a refrigerator and washer/dryer, but both Jeff and I opted to go purchase those units on our own.

We both wanted very specific things in our refrigerator and washer/dryer, so before even buying our new house we use to use the phrase "in our next house" a lot. So, today after seeing our favorite fridge go on sale at Best Buy this weekend, we decided to mark one more thing off "Our List to Do before We Move."

So below is what I call the "SUPER FRIDGE":

I LOVE THIS FRIDGE! It comes complete with French doors, a ice and filtered water dispenser (a must for Jeff), very spacious, energy star qualified (to save some money), and an LCD touch screen (for both of us). Plus it got great reviews from both customers and professional critics (researched by Jeff).

With the LCD screen: You can also access a calendar, check your schedule, read nutrition facts, showcase personal photos, and even check unit conversions for those last minute cooking emergencies.

Jeff also pointed out how the freezer is also child proof, because the handle needs to be lifted up and then pulled to be open. I love it-Jeff thinking in advance!

And finally below is what I call the "STEAMERS TO THE MAX":

Both the washer and dryer steams clothes (less ironing) and can fit up to two queen comforters (less loads)! We also purchased the pedestals for extra storage and the fact they sit up higher, so we don't have to bend over to get clothes out.

I am so excited to see our purchases in our new house!