Taxes & Life

Taxes... grrrr The state sucks! Nothin but troubles trying to implement this new sales tax program our computers were upgraded with. Hopefully by tomorrow (July 1st) I'll have these issues resolved but considering it is 3:25, not very likely! Frustrated!!!!

Here are some updated pics of the house. Our appliances have arrived! We have to find someone that can help install the dishwasher as it is not just a plug-in type thing, need to find that electrically inclined friend or family member... any volunteers? :)

Dad made the sign, it looks really good next to the road.

There are a couple wall issues, so sheetrockers should be out this week to fix those. Basically they forgot to screw down one wall so it looks pregnant and the other wall needs some bondo/fill type work done. We dont really want them tearing out the whole wall, so they'll just fill in the area that is not flat. Not much else happening with the house this week or next until the kitchen island and bathroom counter show up..

Oh we did go out yesterday and look at dining sets and found one that is perfect for our style and likes.. we are excited that we found something we really really like. Well that's how I feel anyways. There is matching couches we could get too and end tables, that might have to wait. It would be nice to get them all at once, but we dont have that money to spend. Considering the living and dining room are one big room, it would be nice to have it match though.... Here's the pic of the set.

Softball this past weekend.. team did pretty good in the 90 degree heat! We (they) didnt hit as well as they could have, but it was H.O.T.! Played 5 games total on Saturday, lost the first and last games. Took 3rd out of 12, so that was pretty good. Derek was able to have an injury free day! Yeah!!! Here are some pics taken of him in Moses Lake a couple weeks ago.

Oh, horses... so I went out yesterday to see the horses. Thought it would be nice to hose them down, they love to roll and be frisky (just like the dogs do) after they've been hosed down. Well as I'm hosing down Oakley, I notice his knee is about double the size it is supposed to be! DANG HORSES! Can they just stop playing so hard that they injure eachother.. I've been waiting actually for this day to happen, I knew it was a matter of time for Oakley to get a puncture wound and that is exactly what he has. I hosed him down and put some peroxide in the hole.. yuck! It is a nice size hole, I'm just hoping that I can keep it clean and handle this w/o a vet call. I've dealt with punctures before, but never in the knee and I mean the spot is dead center on his knee. Andrea says I need to be leary of joint damage, so if he is super lame today, she says I need to call the vet... So I'm hoping that when I go out today, he is the same or better than yesterday. I would normally wrap the puncture to help with swelling, but for 1) he would bite and chew the wrapping off his knee, he is just a shit that way! lol and for 2) it would loosen and fall off within minutes since it is a bending joint and no real good way to keep it on especially when he is in a pasture and not in a stall. I did seperate the boys, they are going to have to suffer and spend a week apart! I should keep them seperated constantly, but they really do enjoy being together so much... dilemma. Horses safety vs horses well being....

We have no plans for the 4th yet.. just not sure what to do this year. Wish we were celebrating in our own home. Mom is havin a big BBQ on Saturday, she's got the chore list written for the to-do list on Friday.

The expensive neglected Big Kids

There was a time a few weeks ago, I had time to ride and acknowledge that I even have 2 horses. Now....... Yeah, not so much. It has been more burden than pleasure the last couple weeks. Not that my horses are a burden in any way, but we've been sooooo busy, that I just have not had time to even brush or pet them it seems. Maybe these next couple weeks while things are in a lull, I'll have time.....

SCREETCH... That is my thought process stopping in it's tracks. See just cuz the house is sittin empty, doesnt mean nothin for my workload... lol Who was I kidding.

While the house sits, I need to be clearing a fence line so I can build a fence, so I can install a dog door, so Russell will not run free and get lost. I need to move some things out of the SHACK so we can tear it down and burn it. We have a lot of wood to burn, which will actually be fun to burn. Who doesnt enjoy a good ole fire? Seriously.. that is hardly what I call work. But I cant build that fence til I tear down that shack.

That is the next major obstacle to tackle on our place. We have to get this fence issue done so our little buddy has a nice big yard to run! :)

Carpet, the word that represents the end!

I never thought the word carpet would bring such happy thoughts to me. Carpet installation is supposed to be the VERY last thing that is done to your house when you are building a house. Carpet was SUPPOSED to be installed this Friday 6/27. Did you catch the word, supposed to.....

So the builder screwed up, or the cabinet manufacturer did, nobody is fessin up to who caused this problem, but my new updated carpet installation date....... ready...... drumroll...... 7/16!!! Yikes.

What a bummer. :( 3 weeks later. I am trying real hard to let this slide off my shoulders. See the problem is that the kitchen island was never put on order, so I am pretty lucky I guess that it is getting to me as quickly as it is. That is what I am being told anyways.

The interior of my house is almost done. Trim is up, doors are on and hardware is on, kitchen cabinets are done, bathrooms are almost done. By tomorrow, the interior will be done except for the island, the bathroom cabinet (they screwed up that one too and brought the wrong one!) and the carpet. Oh and fixing the messed up crooked walls... We've got to deal with gettin those fixed before carpet comes in, wish us luck. They want to wait til after carpet when they fix other little minor things to save themselves a couple hundred bucks... long story, but parts of this process have brought out the not so best in me.

I have realized over the past 4 months or so, that I have become a more bitchy person at the drop of a hat sometimes. I'm not talking about bitchy to Derek, I'm talkin about rude/bitchy behavior in public with strangers. Sometimes unprovoked and unnecessary! Call it stress, tension, not sure what the heck to call it, but I have noticed. In the moment of being that way, I could care less how rude I sound, afterwards sometimes I just laugh and shrug because it is so uncommon for me and not normal. Am I really changing or is it just this process taking it's toll on me?

Sometimes you just have to vent a little steam. There is one guy that we just cannot stand, the general manager of our building project.... Barry. Barry is an arrogant man that you get that little man syndrome vibe from. He is part of my problem, he is a P-in-the-A to deal with and unfortunately I've had to deal with him a few times on issues. Nothing too major, but he sets me into a tone that is not always nice.

I'm looking forward to finishing this house so I can get back to me! I am learning to stand up for myself a little more and demanding what I expect. Since I am paying a lot of money, I am learning that I HAVE to be/act a certain way to be sure things are done properly and not the lazy half-ass way that the builder sometimes wants to go.

So after this week, my house is most likely going to sit empty with no action for 2 weeks, waiting for cabinets so then the plumber can come back, the electrician, the trim guy, the countertop guy, then probably the carpet guys.. then we do a final walkthrough with Barry and create a "punchlist" (which is a list of all the little/big things that we expect to be fixed by the builder), then we call the county for Final Inspection and hopefully Pass, then we sign papers to release the final funds to the builder and THEN hopefully we get to move in! Sigh....

Softball.. the not so painless sport!

Softball... When you think of softball, do you typically think of a broken shin bone, how about bruises on your back, what about a scrape mark on your elbow that took the whole top layer of skin off? Do you think about a dislocated thumb, maybe a bruise on your thigh the entire length of your outer thigh, then again, maybe a bruise to your ankle that extends up your leg almost to your knee? These are some of the major injuries Derek has suffered over the years.

The broken shin bone from a hit ball while pitching... about 3 weeks ago

Bruise #1 to the back where ball was thrown as he was sliding into 3rd and it hit him instead of the 3rd baseman's glove... 5 days ago

Bruise #2 to the back from a hit ball (again at pitcher position) he turned away from the ball (to avoid a hit to the frontside!) and as he was turning the ball skimmed his back enough to leave a welt/red mark and then tore the skin completely off his elbow and the ball did not slow down... last night!

All those other injuries listed above... over the course of the last 8 or so years and I'm sure there are others I have forgotten about.

Here is a pic of the bruise to the thigh from last year. It got MUCH bigger, this was still day one!

Derek plays in a very competitive league and tournaments. This is not beer league ball, these games are very fun to watch, some great competition. I enjoy watching these games more than any other league or team he has been on, plus I keep score so I thoroughly enjoy these times. Not sure how much longer these times will last with all these injuries, I think Derek is wondering the big ? How much longer do I put my body through this!

The season is not over yet, lets all keep our fingers crossed that Derek does not suffer any more punishment while playing the sport that is his passion!

Okay, this time it might work!

So, the purpose of this entry is to post some pics!! I am using dads computer, although not super fast, fast enough to get some pics up here as I know you are all waiting! Here we go.....

This is what I look like when Derek is playin softball! lol Feet are ALWAYS up on the fence. :)

Wow, the first one finally worked! Let's try some more...

Here are a few of my house. The exterior color is not going to be this light color, it will be darker but that is down the road in painting.. the front entry way is FANTASTIC! We are just so happy with the concrete work, it really is impressive. A HUGE thanks to all our friends and family that showed up that Friday to help us out. There are almost 7 yards of concrete there!

Here is an interior picture. Not very good, my camera was putting all these spots in the picture. It is showing our kitchen area and the main color of the interior.

Finally, what you all have been waiting for... Pics of our New Baby Kids! Briggs is the black one and Stratton is the brown one. Briggs was harder to photograph, he would not stay away from me! But damn they are cute. Come visit them in person, you will fall in love..

Stratton is tryin to eat my camera cord! That picture makes me laugh!

Pictures... and it's still the first day!

So I got motivated to download those pics off my camera finally. I took some CUTE pics of my new baby kids... Enjoy!

Well not so fast. My wireless connection at my parents is soooo slow that I am unable to gets these pics uploaded to my page. SO, if you can wait a few days, I'll post new pics on Monday when I am at the super fast work computer! I have some cute ones to put on here.. I'm off to Moses Lake.. see ya when we get back.

Just Getting Started

The first Entry! I'm here to keep you updated on the happenings in our life. Derek and I both have myspace accounts as well but this might be kinda fun to try out for a while. So what's going on right now you ask? We are building a house, well we are not actually doing the building part... whew that would be tough work. I should say that we got a loan and are paying Reality Homes to build us a new house! :) We were/are responsible for a lot of the little things that actually are not that little in the end. Building decks and landings and front entry ways.. painting interior and exterior.. all the cleanup of materials because those workers are NOT clean! We have a huge pile of scrap wood to burn, we've made numerous trips to the dump (good thing it is close by). So where is the house progress.. let me tell you. We are about 2 weeks from completion... OMG! I may actually get to move back home by July 1st. That is the goal. I love my parents and have enjoyed (to some extent) living back home, but it has been 8 months and I'm so ready to have a home of my own again. Nothing against the folks at all, but living in a bedroom vs living in my own house, doesnt take a Rocket Scientist to figure out that I choose my own house.

If I was super organized I'd have some pics for this first post! But hey, I've been so unorganized lately that I keep loosing things! I just lost my mortgage statement a few days ago, have no clue where that went. I lost a check that someone gave me a month ago. I am just scatterbrained and can't wait to get to a place where I can R.E.L.A.X. mentally!

My life is lived w/o my best friend Carrie. She'll come up here/there in my blogs because honestly, I just am still struggling with her being gone and she was my life and I just cant ignore that. Some days I am sad, other days I am happy. I'll keep this first entry on the up side cuz I'm just not in a place to be sad right now. I have so many positive things going on around me to help keep me up.

So the house is close to being done, we are heading to Moses Lake tomorrow for a softball tournament, and I just got 2 new Baby Goats (Briggs & Stratton) are their names. So we are up to 4 goats (Troy, Echo, Briggs & Stratton) now and these new babies light up my day every day. The goats are at my parents for now until we get some fencing issues fixed and the pasture bulldozed. We still have Russell, he's our buddy and he's lovin life (we hope). And then the horses, Oakley & Edgar. The makings of our mini-farm who are temporarily spread out throughout Snohomish at different pastures.

I could keep going on and on and on.. but I'll stop for now. I will do my best to have pics next time! :) Thanks for checkin me out and I hope you come back again...