Cabin update

The outside of the cabin is finished. The electrical and plumbing inspections have been completed and we are now waiting on a general inspection so the insulation and drywall can be put up. The trench has been dug and the pipe has been laid for the water. Cabinets shipped yesterday and should be showing up on site next week to be installed.

Time is crucial at this point. Snow will start falling in the next few weeks, so we are hoping all the major stuff will be done. Chances are looking slim that we'll be able to stay in the cabin at all before winter. Oh well, something to look forward to over the next few months.

Shawn & Emma are staying at another cabin in the neighboring canyon this weekend and have promised to take lots of pictures...

Input please

So, Chad and I are coming up on our 5 year anniversary. Yes, it really has been that long. We have started to discuss what we will do for this anniversary. True, we just went to Hawaii 3 months ago, which I guess could count, but we would like to do something else specifically for the occasion. I had always wanted to revisit where we went on our honeymoon, but after much thought and discussion, and a near-death experience while trying to leave the honeymoon site after being snowed in during a mid-January snowstorm, we are reconsidering where we would like to go. So, what are your thoughts? Places you've been that are just awesome that you think we need to go? Here's what we're thinking:

1. Somewhere we've never been before, maybe warm and beachy. We're thinking somewhere in Mexico. A really fun city would be good too, but I would prefer to leave wintery weather out of the equation. In other words, nowhere like Chicago where a bad snowstorm could cancel our travel plans.
2. Somewhere that would be fairly easy to get to, and not too expensive as far as flights go.
3. A place where we could get one of those all-inclusive hotel deals, with meals and accommodations.

So, any thoughts? Places you've been that you'd love to go back? Places to definitely avoid? We would like to be there on our actual anniversary (January 3), but spring break is also an option, so I'd really like to avoid places like Cancun during that time.

Forum is open for discussion.

Pictures from last weekend

My only nephew, Kellen, turned 4 this last week. I was able to be in town when they celebrated his birthday, complete with a Thomas the Train cupcake cake. Bonnie's totally unimpressed, obviously.
Erin and I took the kids to the Amon Carter museum in Ft. Worth. Erin wants to teach the kids how to behave when they're in a museum. They acted really good, but I just had to get a picture of them right after they spotted a bench to sit on.

K & B showing off their new moose and horse toys. On the morning of Kellen's birthday celebration, he came in my room and asked very politely if I would wake up, please. He was so excited to open his birthday presents, and I had wanted to see it, so Erin & Josh told him that everyone had to be awake before he could open them. He was so cute. He kept saying, "Oh, I wonder!" and "It's just what I wanted!" when he would open up a new present.
Another part of Kellen's birthday was going to the Ft. Worth zoo, accompanied by some friends. There were 7 kids and 5 adults, and I still felt like I was counting kids the entire time. It was fun though.

My sweet little niece Noelle.

And my sweet little niece Bonnie. The picture's out of focus, but I love the expression on her face.
With K & B at the Ft. Worth Botanic Garden. The weather was perfect that day.

I just realized today that I haven't blogged in a while. I just got back from a trip to see Erin and her family. I was originally supposed to fly to Houston, but the Joneses were camped at mom's house because they were still without power from the hurricane and didn't know when it would come back. So, I flew to Dallas instead and got to see everyone anyway. It was a good trip. I got to meet Noelle for the first time, we got to celebrate Kellen's 4th birthday, and we got LOTS of playtime in and had a lot of fun. I took quite a few pictures and will post them later. I got back last night, and went back to work today...and we are back to the routine. No more days off for a while.

Things are progressing fine with the cabin, I guess. We really haven't heard much lately. I always assume when we don't hear, it's because our builder has been busy getting stuff done, or that there isn't anything to report. We did hear that our cabinets are supposed to ship out there in a couple days, and our in-stock stuff (countertops, etc.) is ready to be picked up in Santa Fe whenever our builder goes down there. We are still waiting for the plumber and electrician to finish and the inspections to be done, as far as I know, so the drywall can be put up. Then, it will be about the finishing touches and getting the appliances there and furniture moved in. I am still hoping that we get to stay in the place at least one time before winter hits, even if it is in sleeping bags on the floor.

Can't think of anything else. Will post pictures later.

I could have a cooking show

I have decided, after watching my favorite cooking shows over the past few years and more in recent weeks, that I could have a cooking show. It seems that you just need to memorize a few phrases and use them a lot. Here is what I would say...over and over again:
1. Be sure to scrape up all the brown bits in the bottom of the pan, because that is where all the flavor is.
2. You might be surprised that I am adding salt to (fill in the blank, but usually some kind of dessert), but the salt will just bring out the flavor and really make the flavors brighter.
3. Make sure and squeeze the (lemon/lime/orange/grapefruit) with the cut side up so you don't get seeds in whatever you are making.
4. (Takes bite of whatever I just made and then describes the texture and flavor of every individual ingredient)
5. Arugula is peppery and has a bite. Cumin is smoky. Paprika is sweet, unless you get the smoky kind. Ricotta is light and creamy and makes your baked goods more moist (as does plain yogurt). Every specific food seems to have one adjective the chefs prefer to use to describe it, especially if it might be unfamiliar to the viewer.

Recently I've even started hosting my own cooking show in my kitchen. Chad is my audience, but he doesn't really pay attention. Today he told me he didn't like it when I did that, although I think he secretly likes me to give him a step-by-step of everything I make.

My heart really goes out to all those people who are without power and homes after the hurricane. I was supposed to fly down to Houston next week to see Erin and the family and to see my new niece for the first time, but I'm not going now. Here are pictures of the town that Erin and Josh live in. It looks like Liberty got hit pretty hard. She told me earlier today that they think they will be without power for another week. They're at mom's right now, and my flight went through Dallas both ways, so I just kept my ticket and will just fly the Lubbock to Dallas leg next week.

We officially have no school tomorrow. I'm staying up late and sleeping in!

We've got flooding, yes we do, we've got flooding, how 'bout YOU?

It's raining.

Pictures of the deck without the railing

Latest picture of cabin

The cabin is coming right along! The builder says he is pretty much finished with his part. Now we have to wait for the electrician and plumber to finish (builder says he hopes they will be done within the week), three inspections, and then the drywall can go up. Directly opposite this side of the cabin is the large deck, which is waiting for a railing. We really hoped he would send us a picture of the other side! Also, the siding has not been stained. We are waiting to see exactly how much money we have left to decide if we want to stain it ourselves or have our builder do it. I am leaning towards having him do it because I would like to enjoy myself the first time we stay up there. :) The roof is a dark red. Seeing the picture of the almost finished product makes me really want to go up to the cool mountain air for a getaway! I am sure there will be lots of that in the years to come. Oh yeah, I almost forgot...as of today I have lost 6.4 pounds. Last week I didn't lose any so I didn't post. Must have been the lethargic weekend sitting in a cabin at camp and riding around on a 4-wheeler and not walking anywhere that did it. This week I was a bit more active.

Miscellaneous happenings

Not a whole lot has been happening here lately. It's been busy around our house, but not with anything monumental. Chad has become a lot more busy lately with teaching the high school Bible class on Sunday mornings at church, co-leading a small group at church, working, and studying for his clinicals. I've just been settling back into the routine of waking up early every day and going to work.

So, a few weeks ago I mentioned that we were upgrading our entertainment at home. Yes, we now have satellite TV, DVR, and a new TV. It's awesome! I come home every day and watch my favorite cooking shows...Everyday Italian (yes, she shows a lot of teeth and other body parts, but I like her recipes), Barefoot Contessa (so snobby and uppity, but I like her recipes), and Paula Deen (I like to live vicariously through all the butter and cream). It's wonderful! I don't really think it has increased the amount of TV I watch, but now I'm always watching something that is a show I actually want to watch instead of watching the TV because it is on. So, there's that update.

We also hosted small groups last night, so Chad and I spent the entire afternoon cleaning the house. I think I need to make a public confession that I am somewhat of a slob. Maybe you don't think so (and maybe you do). But if you don't, it's probably because I knew you were coming to my house and cleaned before you came, because that is the only time I clean. People come visit our house just often enough that it doesn't become a complete pigsty, but it is still no small task. I have been thinking about this aspect of my personality a lot lately. What does it say about me that I am more concerned about my house being clean when others come over rather than enjoying a clean house on a regular basis? Am I a people-pleaser? Just super accommodating? Is there anyone else out there who only cleans their house every month or so? Please tell me I am not the only one.

Also, we spent a lot of time at Lowe's last week. We decided to move our patronage to the only other big-box home improvement store available to us, thinking it would be better than Home Depot. It's still too early to tell, but at least the folks at Lowe's were pretty helpful. We designed cabinets for the cabin on Thursday night, and the poor lady's computer kept freezing up on her, so we went back and ordered them, the countertops, the bathroom vanity, the kitchen sink, etc. on Saturday. Apparently we were the first people ever to be at one Lowe's store and want to order items to be picked up/delivered at another Lowe's store. Or at least that's what it seemed like, because the idea of having everything available to our builder in Santa Fe seemed like a bit of a pickle to the people that we were dealing with. But, by yesterday (after 3 hours at Lowe's on Saturday, a call put in to the cabinet guy in Santa Fe and waiting for the guy to get back to us yesterday) we had ordered all that stuff, AND we got 10% off our cabinets and a free sink base cabinet. Yay! Anyway, like I said, it's still too early to tell if Lowe's was a good choice to work with, because we'll need to see if the order was done right and everything gets delivered in a timely manner. I'll let you know.

Also, Chad reminded me that I had not posted that the roof is on the cabin. Our builder says it looks really good, and I am hoping he will send me a picture. Also the electrician and plumber are working, so as soon as the wiring and plumbing is done then the sheetrock can be put up. We're hoping that the ditch for the water line can be dug this weekend and that our place will be hooked up to water soon.

Hmmm...what else...oh yeah. My friend Amanda gave me this idea to sign up for something called e-mealz (yes, with a "Z."). Anyway, I signed up for it, and it is basically a subscription to do the work I was already doing by making weekly menus and shopping lists. The only difference is now I don't have to do it, and they follow the weekly sales at the store to help you save money on your groceries that week. It has been good so far, and I did save money on my grocery bill on Saturday, so if you're interested you should check it out. Takes all the hassle out of the never-ending "What will we eat?" dilemma.

That's it for now.

Lots of pictures

As promised, I took lots of pictures this weekend to document progress on the cabin. I took over 100. I spared you about 75 of those. Here they are, in no particular order because I got tired of putting them in an order. The first ones are of the road immediately next to the cabin. It's a small private drive that is off of the main road. A regular car can get up here. Proof that we're doing this legally...our building permit. :)This is the first sight we saw when we pulled up. Our builder has started on the log siding. Also you can see that the windows have been installed. This is the view from the other side, the side facing the ridge. I could practically stand under the house without bending much, it is that high off the ground. Here is when you first walk in the back door (which is the door on the right side of the above picture). You are facing the stairs which go up to the loft, and to the right of that is the bathroom and storage closet. Straight ahead is the bedroom, and to the left is the living area/kitchen. The bathtub is in! Now let's just hope we can get some running water in this place!View of the hallway and staircase from inside the living area. Under the staircase will eventually be a washer and dryer, although that will probably come down the road. Here is the beginning of the road up to the canyon. You can see on the left tree the signs people have posted for their cabins. This picture doesn't really do justice to just how muddy and torn up this road was after the rains. This is the reason some of the trucks aren't willing to come up there to bring materials. They will slip and slide or get stuck. Believe me, it's really muddy and really rutty. Speaking of those signs, Chad and I decided to go to the "old dump" behind camp to check out the scrap wood for our signs. Here is Chad making the important decision of what pieces of wood to pick. Life-altering stuff. Here is a prototype of a sign that Chad made with a wood burner when he was bored on Saturday night because it was really rainy. We are trying to get Emma to make some prettier signs. Not that Chad didn't do a great job. Okay, back to the cabin. Here is the view of the living room when standing in the kitchen. That wide sliding door is awesome. It will go out to the front deck.
We bought all the lighting fixtures before we came up there. Thanks Home Depot for messing up our order on our wood floors, making us wait 6 months, and then giving us a gift card for messing up. That gift card paid about half the cost of the lighting, which wasn't a cheap expense, especially with all those lightbulbs.

All right, here is a view of me standing in the doorway to the hallway and the loft above. This is before the staircase was put in, which would be behind me.
More treasures we found at the old dump. Couch from the '70s anyone? Old rusty truck? The possibilities are endless.
Chad is in the back bedroom. He is facing what will be a closet.

Here I am checking out the bathroom. Chad took this picture from standing in the kitchen. The window on the right will be directly above the kitchen sink.
A view of the kitchen area. Refrigerator and stove will be on the left, then the sink and cabinets on the facing wall, then in the right side of the room, a dining table. It looks bigger than this in person.

Another living room view from kitchen.
The view out of the sliding door.
View from the balcony. We have decided not to put a banister to give it a more "open" feel, and just to be more adventurous. Good idea huh? Those of you with small kids will just have to keep an eye out. :)
Here's our little loft. The very corners will be areas of more storage space.
And here is our holding tank. Just thought y'all might like to see where "it" goes when you flush "it."
The bedroom. It's actually a pretty good-sized room.
And what would a weekend at BH be without some nature pictures?The sunflowers were in full bloom this weekend.

The weekend was so relaxing and a lot of fun. Chad and I have decided that every Labor Day weekend from now on, we will go to the cabin if we can for a little vacation. It was the perfect time of year to be there. I'm hoping we can make it up there one more time before winter hits, and hopefully the cabin will be pretty much done then. I'm sure I'll post more pictures if anything else happens. Enjoy!