Posts Tagged With: YBW

Sunday morning at the home site 12.27.20

Third floor is up!
We have a bedroom level now.

It was in the twenties Sunday morning. Damn cold even bundled up.
Baby K and her parents joined us, but after a bit of trying to break the ice over the puddles, she got too cold and they went to wait in the car.


This is from that same spot in the garage that will eventually be under the stairs. I’m shooting towards the back of the house this time. That open space on the third level will be our bedroom.

I’ve not yet shared the back of the house, and I couldn’t back up any more without falling down the hill, so this is as much as you’ll be able to see.

On the ground level you can see what will be YBW’s office space. French door on the left and double window on the right.
Above that, the telescopic sliding door in the living room that will lead to an open deck.
On the third floor, the windows on the left are in our bedroom, the high window on the right is above the double vanity in our bathroom.

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Sunday morning at the home site 12.20.20

Y’all!!
We have a second story!

That bump out part over the garage is the dining room.
The window all the way to the right above the front door is the powder room.

It was cool and sunny this Sunday morning and once again, Thing 1 and Baby K joined us for our weekly visit.
After the snow last week, the site was so muddy, the concrete floor of the house was puddled up, and water dripped on us while we were inside.

Baby K climbs down from underneath where the front stairs will be into the garage while her Papa (YBW) takes photos.

She was being super careful!

I took this shot standing in the garage under where the stairs will be. I’m facing out the front of the house so what you can see above will be the top of the first flight of stairs, the pantry, and the powder room. Down below you can see the top of the front door.

I love exploring the build site. I love engaging the building process. I love sharing it with y’all!

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Sunday morning at the home site 12.13.20

Sunday morning was sunny and almost warm when we went over to the new house.

OH MY GOODNESS!
So! Much! Squee!
We have an actual ground floor!

Thing 1 and Baby K came with us again this week.

I’m in the garage and Baby K is standing in (what will be) the bathtub in the ground floor bathroom. Thing 1 is slipping through from the mechanical closet. YBW is in the background taking a photo of…the floor…? Must remember to ask him.

Baby K picked up each of these items. The pieces of concrete and the washer were in the pocket of her hoodie. I carried the nail, screw, and nut for her. I’m adding this to the rocks she brought home in the previous weeks.
Maybe I’ll find a way to incorporate her collection into the decor of her room at the new house.

I know

But being there was even more exciting than I expected!
It gets more real each week, y’all and I am SO here for it!

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Sunday mornings at the home site

YBW walks by our homesite almost every day. He shows me the photos he takes and we discuss what’s new. I love that he’s keeping me informed. But that wasn’t good enough for him. He wants me to experience the process as much as possible. So, we’ve started going over early on Sunday mornings.
Nobody’s working. We’re not disturbing anyone or anything. We can check out everything at our leisure. (YBW can scratch our surname into the not-quite-cured foundation with a concrete nail.) We can explore the site and take photos of the progress.

November 22.

It was gray and damp and we went alone.

November 29.

It was sunny and chilly.
We have ground floor foundation!

This Sunday we had company.

The step in the foreground is where our house ends and the next one begins. Baby K climbed that step and danced around on the neighboring foundations.
Cutie pants!

Decebmer 6.

It was damn cold and the wind was bitter.
Garage foundation poured and lumber delivered!

We had company this Sunday too.

Y’all might think we posed this pic, but we didn’t.
Baby K was fascinated by the hard-core fork lift. She sat right down on that big ass fork and giggled.
Maybe Santa should bring her construction equipment…?

It gets more real each week and we’re SO excited!

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tricked out kitchen in a smart house

When it comes to the new house, YBW is eager to make it a smart house. He’d love for there to be a central command (thingie) that we can tell to do what we want it to do. You know, like saying “OK Google” or “Alexa” but it’ll be connected to all of our house and have it’s own name.
It feels so Varrick to me.

(For those of y’all that don’t know, this is a The Legend of Korra reference. I did not enjoy Korra anywhere near as much as it’s predecessor, Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I absolutely adored.)

Anyway…
YBW is all about making the house work for us. To be able to control lights and thermostat and even the garage door from a tablet. That if we weren’t sure we’d turned out the lights on the ground floor he could push a button from the bedroom so we didn’t have to go down and back two flights of stairs. He wants the house to do as much as possible from a central hub.
I love to watch his brain work. See his face get all excited at the smart house possibilities. He’s committed to making our forever home one that does all the things we need, and many of the things we want.
For the most part, I’m interested in learning how to use it once it’s set up, but I’m less enthusiastic about choosing how to set it up. He’s cool with that, as long as he can get his geek on. He’s super patient when I ask questions that probably aren’t applicable, or he just explained to me.
I’m more concerned about surround sound for the big tv, and speakers around the house so I can play music. But there is a bit of pleasure at the thought of being able to turn things on and off from a screen…
We each love what we love, right?
My husband loves science and math and tech and super cool nerdy things. He is getting to play with that in creating a smart house that works for him.
I support this fully!
I’m like, get your geek on, bud! Hook it all up and make it do your bidding. (But please let the command be “Zhu Li do the thing” so I’m constantly amused.)

I want to get my geek on in the kitchen!


This picture is the kitchen at the model.

My kitchen will have a bigger island (my favorite design option). It will have another row of cabinets above the wall cabinets up to the ceiling. The hood vent will be hidden behind cabinetry. And the lower cabinets will have more drawer units than cabinets with doors.
All the cabinetry will be navy and look a little something like this.

I’m salty about paying so much for a brand new house and having wire shelving, so…
I may want to trick out the pantry.
I’m already designing closet systems for our closet, probably Pax from IKEA, but I’m also looking at Easy Closets.

The laundry room is on the bedroom level (thaaaaaank yooooou) it’ll start out boring, but I’ll fancy it up too.
With a roof deck, main level porch deck, and ground level back yard, I’m getting excited about designing outdoor spaces too. Plant life and lighting, water features and accessories will create beautiful spaces for us to be outside.

Now, if YBW’s smart house can control outdoor lights and fountains, etc. or could somehow make my laundry run, I’d be inclined to get as excited as he is!
“Zhu Li do ALL the things!”

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Friday feels

Today is the first day I’ve stopped and taken a big breath this week.
I needed it!
Of course, stopping and breathing gave me the opportunity to be all in my feels.

gratitude
Even though it took two full weeks, Thing 2’s covid test came back negative
I got to hug Meredith and her Mommy when their family returned from a forty-five day cross-country trip
My gloriously supportive friends who encourage me to think outside the box

than central air

joy
YBW and I put down the deposit for our house yesterday, and will sign the contract Wednesday

excitement
Road trip with YBW (we leave for GA in the morning and return with Thing 1’s family on Monday)
Baby K will be here all the time
I’m going to tutor select students this virtual school year (kind of like being an ‘at home’ substitute teacher)

It was an exceptionally great week to be me!

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accentuate the positive (and weird)

Y’all, my husband is a precious man.
I mean a truly precious man.
When he asked about my day and I told him I was feeling a way (mood) he began suggesting things he could do to help. From providing me with things to keep me occupied, (things he knew I didn’t really want to do) to coming up with things he could do to be helpful.
When I told him I appreciate him trying to help make it better, but I didn’t need him to fix it. He told me knew that, but he wants to help fix it because he loves me. And I honestly couldn’t argue with that.

We talked about me going to Thing 1’s. He inquired about girlie hotel weekend with Thing 2. She’s on the way regardless of which direction I’m heading.
This man is over here like, I can’t make it better for you, but if being with one or both of your girls will, I can make that happen.

He’s been very clear during the pandemic about how he understands his life is much more normal than most of the rest of us. He goes to work every day every other week, so those weeks feel normal. He gets out. He sees people. He gets do do the work he loves doing.
And I know how lucky we are!
We aren’t worried about how to pay the mortgage, or feed ourselves, or whether or not there’s enough loo paper.
We don’t have little kids at home who need to stay safe and continue to be educated.
We don’t have elderly parents to worry about.
Our kids are safe and healthy.

I’m quick to get frustrated.
And my husband often bears the brunt of that. I mean, sometimes he’s part of the situation, sometimes he’s just in the line of fire. But I hope he really understands how precious he is to me.
We had a conversation over the weekend in which I shared my concern that he never hears the good stuff. That he only hears negativity and criticism. I suggested that predated me. I’m not saying that I can’t be critical, because I can.
I’m hopeful he’s listening more for the good stuff.

My feels for this man are deep and wide.
We were meant to find each other in this life, but only when we were truly ready to accept the other with an open heart.
I waited my whole life for YBW.
He was worth the wait.
He told me “I think I’m falling in love with you.” the first time we were in the same physical space after dating over the phone and email for a couple of months. The smartest thing I ever did was decide to trust him.
His love and his kindness are without measure.
His desire to do all he can for the people he loves is bigger than he is.
His sense of humor is twisted and kind of gross, yet he continues to amuse me.
He’s creepy and weird but it somehow compliments my own creepy weirdness.

He has loved me though the last ten years with a kind and playful heart.
I am grateful for his willingness to fix my problems even when I don’t need him to.
Him simply being him eased my anxious heart and helped me feel more calm and settled.
I am grateful to feel safe in his love.

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IWotB 2020 edition ~ day two

YBW is working from home this week so when he finished his 12:30 conference call, he invited me to go for a walk.
As we neared the front of our neighborhood there was the question of which way we were going to go. Then I remembered it’s gosling time at the pond up the road from our neighborhood!

The parent geese were super pissed when we walked by. They were hissing and craning their necks and bobbing their heads at us.
YBW was talking in a calm voice and I was saying softly, We’re not going to hurt your babies. I just want to take their picture.

It’s sunny and breezy, a beautiful day. Though still only in the 50s, which means it’s a bit chilly for porch life in the shade of the house.
When we came home he got on his computer, and I’m organizing my bookshelf and making a stack of books I’ve read to go to Josie.

I’m going to open a bottle of wine and enjoy the rest of my day.
Y’all do the same!

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IWotB 2020 edition ~ day one

Yesterday was Mother’s day. Also the first day of International Week of the Birthday.

YBW and I planned a shoot day, but as it turns out, he was feeling a bit wonky in his belly, and my head was trying to hurt, so we decided against that. Instead we went over to the construction site where our new house will (eventually) be.
The first building has plumbing and electrical.
The second building is missing the topmost floor.
The grading is almost finished for the third building.
The fourth building is still a big ass pile of rubble.

This is the same model as ours at the end of the first building.

After about an hour going through and taking photos of the unit, we headed for home.
We sat at the table on the porch for a while before YBW decided he wanted a nap.
I got settled with a coca cola, book, and notebook. (the coke helped my head feel better)


I’m eager to dig into this book.

And then the phone rang.
Thing 2 said: Happy Mother’s Day!
We talked for nearly two hours.
I said: Thanks for letting me be your Momma.
She said: I’m so glad you’re my Momma. She paused for a moment and said: I’m so glad to be your kid.
We talked for a few moments about the difference in meaning between those two statements.
Essentially, my daughter is content to have me as her mother, as well as being content to be my child. And these are two very different things.
(this may actually become another post)
As we do every single time we speak, we said: We need to do this more often.
She giggled and told me, I’m going to talk to you Tuesday anyway!
I said: Wow! Twice in two days. That means we probably won’t talk for a few months!
We decided that might be too long.

While I was talking with Thing 2, Thing 1 called. We exchanged texts earlier in the day, but hadn’t yet spoken. I texted her I was talking with her sister and would call her asap.
We talked about how even though this is her second mother’s day, it feels so much different than last year. Baby K was still brand new, and she was excited to be with her Momma on mother’s day for the first time in many years.
But this year, mother’s day is real. She has a daughter who can walk and talk. She has a daughter who can express her joy and love. She’s having a ‘real’ mother’s day.
My eldest daughter is a mother.
It doesn’t get any less weird the more I say it.
I can tell you that it is so wonderfully cool though!

When YBW woke from his nap, we ordered delivery food and watched the last two episodes of season two of Westworld.

I had a very Roby sort of mother’s day and first day of IWotB.

Even though the world is still shut down and in chaos, and I’m not getting to celebrate the way I’d like…
I’m chock full of love.
I’m chock full of gratitude.
I’m celebrating the forty-ninth anniversary of my birth in new and creative ways.

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the little things

I face timed with Sally and her family on Tuesday.
So many kisses blown!

I had the worst headache I’ve had in nearly two years on Wednesday.
Waves of pain so great they caused involuntary tears.
Lying down with my magnet mask saved the day!

I saw Thing 2’s relief money was in her account Thursday morning.
Replenished savings FTW!

I talked with Jessica Thursday morning.
That love is real!

I saw Holly in the afternoon on Thursday!
She stood in my yard and I stood on my porch. We exchanged a bottle of olive oil and a ten dollar (founding father without a father)

I went to the acupuncturist yesterday. Had my treatment and picked up my Chinese herbs.
Listened to the Hamilton soundtrack on the way home.
I can’t tell you how much better I feel!

I talked to Thing 1 while I was in the car on the way to Falls Church.
Husband N said, “Love you, Birdie!” and I heard Baby K giggling!

I read the 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle this week.
Am still reeling!

I swung by Bards Alley Bookshop.
My (prepaid) book was in a basket on their patio waiting for me to come pick it up!

Watched Lego Masters finale off the DVR last night.
The team I love most didn’t win.
The team that started out with the most trouble ended in the final three!

I woke this morning to hot coffee and gooey cinnamon rolls.
YBW is the best!

I’m picking up shampoo and conditioner at the hair salon today.
Prepaid and waiting in a bag for me at the door.
Healthy clean hair!

So much rain this week.
But, much less pollen!

The sun just came out from behind the clouds!

These are the little every day joys from my week.
It really is the little things, y’all!

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