Thought I'd Pop In

I wanted to pop in again and post some updates. Snow Queen and I went to pickout our carpets, flooring, cabinets and countertops today. It was hard for me, because I have been sick for about a week now, and today started off pretty bad. We had to get this done today though, since this would be our only chance together due to work, and they needed to get the orders in due to time. We picked out some great looking choices that we think will fit our style perfectly, and that will be flexible enough to be able to be matched easily.

Anyway, we took some more pictures the other day and here they are:

As you can see, they are progressing along on the house quite nicely. They have started framing in the roof/second floor, and with that step, you can get a good idea how big the house is going to be. I figured I would take some pictures inside during the day, because most of the others have been at dusk, so you could get a good look. The second pic is a view of the living room from the dining room.

While we were at Dukes picking out things today, we got a nice surprise. We got to meet Bill, the owner of NHC Inc, who is building our house. We got a chance to chat with him a bit, and he gave us some surprising news. He said that at the current rate, we should be in the house the first week of April!!! Yes, April!! That is about 2 months sooner than we had thought, since we were looking at the end of May.

Now this would normally be great news, except for me it was also a bit distressing. With the "changes" happening at my job, it makes it a difficult time to nail down good solid info for the mortgage. At least if it was the end of May, my store would have been closed almost 2 months and we would know where I was at and what I was making. Now as it stands, the ending time for both my job and my house is about the same time. Grrrrr.....it never gets easier does it?!?

More House Stuff

Wow, I didn't realize it had been that long since I updated about the house. Well, they are moving right along on it and things are progressing nicely. Here are some photos:

Those were photos of the floor after it was put it. As you can see, the kiddies popped into one of the photos...lol. I have taken a few more photos since then, but with the overcast sky and the fact I can only get out there right before sunset, most of them really dont look all that good. They look neat if you "photo negative" them though. Here are a few of the better ones:

The first two are of course taken from inside the house. Number one was taken looking toward where the garage is going to be, through the walls of the living rom and utility room. Number two is looking sort of toward the hallway that leads to the bedrooms, with the pantry door visible in the back. Number three was taken at an angle looking toward the front of the house where the porch is going to be. Nice looking sky in the background in that one. :)

Well, thats all I have about the house so far. I'll try to get some more pictures soon.

Also, no new news on my store closing. We still are. Word on the street is that Dick's Sporting Goods might have pulled out of the deal, but nothing firm on that. Man, that sentence really came off dirty sounding didnt it...lol. We just go to work and try to find something to do at this point. We are still finishing up some returns that need to be completed before the "Big Sale" hits on Sunday. No worries there though....

Hopefully, more on stuff later.....

Yea, well um....

So, not a whole lot of news on the house today. Looks like they have finished the steps leading up to the porch, of course in the nice red "Georgetown" brick, and they have leveled the dirt in the garage area. There is also a bunch of wood that has been left at the site, for I'm assuming the sill plates and whatnot, but what do I know...lol.

I guess I will go into the news I alluded to in a previous post. For those of you who know me and the area where we live, you will understand the news a bit more. If you dont know me or the area, I hope I will be able to properly illustrate the situation. Im not even sure Im allowed to be posting about this, but what the hell. I hope I dont get in trouble or something. Not like the damn rumor hasnt been floating around anyway.

The store where I work is CLOSING. Yes folks, the B. Dalton in the mall will be gone soon. And the sad thing is that it isnt because of anything we did or didnt do, or even because of the Barnes & Noble up the street. ( B&N is the parent company of B.Dalton) We had no control over this situation and only found out that we were going to cease to exist the Wednesday after X-Mas. An X-Mas that was VERY successful for us saleswise among other things. We found this out only a few months after we signed a new lease with the mall, which as you can probably surmise, means this nugget of info came as a bit of a shock to all of us who work there. Our official last day or "operation" is March 18th. (ironically 2 days before my wedding anniversary..figures?!?) We have to vacate the store on the 31st. Crazy ass sales between this Sunday and March 18th...lol.

From what I have been told officially and also unofficially, it was a mall decision. They basically cancelled our lease, which is their option I guess, because there was a store they wanted more than us. Now mind you, we have been in the mall since it opened 16 years ago. But the allure of a "big box retailer" was too great for them, especially since the one that was on our end just opened their new "Super Regal Movie Theater" outside the mall, and left a big gaping hole inside the mall where they once were.

From what we have been told, the mall finally got it's wish and have signed a lease with Dick's Sporting Goods, who they have been trying to get in the mall ever since Montgomery Wards left. So because of this, we get the boot. No more bookstore in the mall. Well, at least not us. The arcade is leaving too, along with After Hours/Smalls Formal Wear and FYE. Well, FYE is moving across the hall and merging with Saturday Matinee after GNC moves to its new location.

All I know is, something doesnt sound right about this whole thing, but then who am I to push the fact and delve deeper into what is happening with this whole thing. I just sell books at the soon to be gone bookstore in the mall. Not really a newsworthy event in the scope of the world, although an event that will in the long run probably impact quite a few people.

So, what does that mean for the employees? Dunno. There are no guarantees that we will get positions at the "big sister" store down the road. They will try really hard to get as many of us in down there as possible, but no one knows for sure either way. If it was up to Steve, the store manager of B&N, it wouldnt be a question of whether or not to do it. He would welcome us all with open arms. But its not up to him sadly, so we are just kinda stuck in limbo until something is figured out. It would definitely be a huge addition to the B&N, experience-wise for sure. Susan-8 years, Cindy-9, Pam-9, me-5, plus two others with less experience. Not too shabby an addition to a store, but who knows?

That wasnt really the type of news you want to find out when you come to the mall on your day off with your family to see Chronicles of Narnia, and decide afterward to stop by your store and go to the bathroom....know what I mean? Especially since you are building a new house and know that there is a real possibility you might not have a job in two months. But oh well, such is life I guess. I keep on moving along and doing my job the best way I know how to. We have a lot of work to accomplish between now and the 18th of March. I guess we just stay focused on that and let the chips fall where they will.

Not a whole lot more we can do.....

On a side note also for those that know me but havent seen me, I got a haircut. Not normally a news worthy event either, but I REALLY got it cut this time. Like REALLY short. Like nothing I have done before. Most people who have seen it really like it and actually say it makes me look younger (???) but I dunno. All I know is I can put on a hat, wear it, then take it off and you cant tell I did. No hair sticking off or anything. It is freaking awesome to be able to "do" my hair in like 3 seconds. Little splash of water and.... whooooosh, Im off and gone....lol.

Looks like 2006 is shaping up to be the Year of Change for me. Wonder what is next......

Bricks, Bricks and More Bricks

First, I want to say a big yeehaw for the Redskins and Panthers wins this weekend. Way to go!!!

Of course, I have more house pics. It seems they finished up most of the foundation to the point they could put on the brick facade. Here ya go:

Not a huge step in the construction of the house or anything, but at least we can see what the front of our foundation is going to look like now. A nice decorative red brick called in construction terms "The Georgetown."

I think that the next thing to be done wil be the front steps, but I could be wrong. I guess we will see.

Heres a pic I meant to post the other day, but forgot too.

Yea, thats the kiddies the day we walked the property. They can't wait to actually be playing in the backyard. I know the feeling....lol.

I have some other big news that I am not really allowed to post about yet, but I will as soon as I can. It is kinda hard what to classify the news as, either good or bad, but I will go into that later. Stay tuned.

Pictures

Well, its been a bit since I last posted, and in that time, there has been some progress on the ol house. I'm not really familiar with how long it normally takes to build a house and how fast certain things get finished, but it seems to me that things are moving along at a good rate. Here are some pics:

Here was the picture we took on Christmas Day. We figured that it would be a good time to go out and take a look, sinec no one would be working on that day. The only things that have been done in this picture are the staking of the corners and preliminary work on the trenches. Here is another:

That picture is of the trench and rebar for the front of the house. The next step was pouring the footers, which we thought would be delayed due to the weather. I guess they got them poured at just the right time, because they were in on the 27th. Although we rode out and checked up on the progress every day, we really didnt get a chance to click more pics till the other day. Here they are:

So, over the course of less than a week, we went from trenches to foundation walls. Not too shabby I must say. I keep looking at the size of the foundation and thinking that the house is going to be small. Then I look again, and think that it is going to be huge. Then I realize it is really hard to judge the size of a house by just the foundation...lol. Cant wait for some framing to begin to get a better idea.

Then again, at the rate they are going, that should be happening sometime next week.