Construction Day #7 & Day #8

Yes, I'm impatient. Yes, I'm a tad compulsive, but can you blame me? This is our first house and I want to make sure they're doing it right, dagummit! Not that I'd be any help...after all, I did major in Cheerleading and Field Hockey in High School. I'm sure the last thing Mike the Builder wants to hear is,

"Action, Action, we want action...A-C-T (clap, clap, clap) I-O-N... Action, Boys, Action!"

Thank you all for listening. I'm stepping down from my soap box now. Good-Bye Forever.

And I'm back.

So it's now been a week since the builders broke ground and not only do we have a hole and some footers, but now we have walls. WALLS, people! Basement walls, to be terribly specific.

Day #7 consisted of setting up the mold for the basement foundation and actually pouring the concrete into the molds. This sat over-night to cure and...

Day #8, the removed the mold and have sprayed black, water-repellent goodness on the concrete. This water-repellent protects the concrete from absorbing any water from the ground/dirt after the holes are filled around the foundation. It's preventative against any potential, future water damage. Yay for preventative maintenance! Can I get an AMEN?!

So, here's our updated schedule:

Day #1 - Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.
Day #3 - Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.
Day # 5 - Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.
---Day # 7 - Monday June 22, 2009: Mold is installed and concrete is poured for foundation walls. ---Day #8 - Tuesday June 23, 2009: Mold removed; black, water-repellent goodness sprayed on foundation.

Day #7

Day #7

Day #8 - Progress Point

Day #8 - Foundation

Day #8 - Our Back Yard/Dirt Pile

Day #8 - House Facing Court

Whew... look for more updates soon! And I promise, Bobby and I do other things besides go and visit our new house. Just you wait.

Construction Day #3: Footers

Note To Self: Don't walk through a construction site right after it rains in heels. Very, VERY bad idea.

Moving on.

Bobby and I have been visiting our new home site almost every day to check out the new things they are doing. We've been told that during this phase of construction, everything goes SO fast. In an effort not to miss anything, I have been visiting with my camera!

Here's a schedule of what's happened so far. For almost each new change, I'll update it here...mostly because I want to document how this thing went down so we can show our kids some day and reminisce about our first home! But, if you happen to enjoy it too, great... I hope you enjoy the ride!

Day #1 Monday, June 15, 2009: Ground broke and hole for basement has been dug out! Only after about 2.5 months of waiting for our building permit to come through.

Day #3 Wednesday June 17, 2009: Footers poured and let to rest and set.

Day # 5 Friday June 19, 2009: Mold for basement walls and foundation arrives on site.

That's it for now! And to back our schedule up... here are some pictures.


Ok, so every time we go to take pictures, this will be my constant spot. I will take a picture at this point so we can do a time lapse of pictures at the very end!

Footers!!! Once again, the big square to the right that is not dug out will be our garages.

Our House Footprint :)

The view from (what will be) our front yard! Hi Bobby.

Our neighbor's house... They started around late April and are this far already. This gives me hope. Right behind that dirt pile to the right of the house is where our house will be.

And the view up the street! Our view will be somewhat obstructed eventually, as there will be a few houses in those empty lots right beyond the dirt pile.

That's it for now... hopefully more updates next week! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY for nothin' but SUNSHINE so they can continue working!

...and We Have a Ditch!

After work yesterday, I drove past our new house lot to see if anything had been done to our field of dirt. The builders finally got the building permit back from the county last Monday and they gladly informed us that they would break ground within the next week. Every day, I drove/walked/biked/ran past our lot obsessively checking to see if any dirt had got up and walked away... but nope...until yesterday.

I was in my heels (after work, of course), so there was no way I was going to climb the Mount Everest of Primrose Park to take a picture. So, I stood in the street like a lady and took my humble little picture on my yuppy iphone. The builder Project Manager noticed that I was totally out of place and came over to let me know what was going on. Normally, I would repeat what he said here, but I was so excited, I don't remember anything he said to me. Except that my toe nails weren't painted.

I made that part up. The PM didn't notice my toes. They were not painted though, that's the unfortunate truth.

I over-anxiously shook his hand in thanks, got in my car, turned on my yuppy iphone and called Bobby to squeal. Today at work, the woman who sold us the house e-mailed us pictures of our pretty little hole in the ground. She was man enough to climb up the dirt pile, I guess. Regardless of how she got them, she sent us the pictures and... here's our ditch!!!!


That square space on the right is what our garage will sit on top of. The garage will face towards the street.
This is where the rest of the house will go!! It looks rather small here and I have no idea how deep it is, but they have dug out for the basement space.

You better believe that when I get my pink tennis shoes on, I'm going to climb that dirt pile and take some pictures myself. Without my yuppy iphone. More to come! Hopefully there will be more progress by the end of the week!

Easy Like Sunday Mornin'

Although today, it's Saturday morning. Thank you, Lionel Ritchie, for inspiring me (or inspiring me to be lazy) this morning.
I must confess that I have not been diligent about posting to The Barrick Times lately... My priorities have been elsewhere (namely MB Photography Blog) and I have been blogging LIKE A CRAZY PERSON on that blog. It's rather picture heavy and I try to inject bits of Barrick Times humor into my writing. Not that I'm funny or anything. I'm just sayin'...
Anyway, I PROMISE you that once our house starts, I will be posting much more frequently on The Barrick Times to give updates and progress on the house. Have I mentioned that they still haven't started building? But, there's a dash of good news as we finally got the building permit back from the county! It's all a-go and they should break ground early next week!!! Bobby and I have been driving/bike riding/walking past our lot almost every day to see if they've started. As of yesterday, they have the digging machine (help me, I have no idea what the real name for it is) out in, what will be, our front yard! Progress!!! Look back next week for some of it.
As for today, I am taking my time getting the day started and it's been so very nice. I've been organizing my pictures as my OCD requires and have come across several that I haven't posted yet. I was also harassing my poor kitty this morning with my big lens so I have some pictures of the blessed cat to post as well. I know how much you love seeing Killian!
So anyway, thanks for hangin' in there... tap, tap, is this thing on? Anyone? Well, if you're here, Happy Saturday Morning. I hope it's quite a lazy one for you, too.

I made Starbuck's Perfect Iced Coffee for myself this morning... only with Chock-Full-O-Nuts. Triple the amount of grounds for your normal coffee preparation, fill a pitcher full of ice, pour hot coffee into iced pitcher, cool down completely. Prepare glass half full with ice, pour milk and desired sugar over ice, pour in cool coffee, mix and enjoy. Then drink 10 more cups and pass out an hour later. It'll be totally worth it. Oh, and drink it with a straw. It will make your life complete.

J-Money, Bobby's youngest brother, graduated from Mount St. Joseph High School in May! I love the tradition of the white tuxedo's instead of the boring old cap-and-gown deal. Hey Joey, GQ called. They want their tuxedo back.

The famous class ring. Now, all of the Barrick Brother's have this same ring... Along with the other thousands of Mt. St. Joe graduates. Ahh, tradition.

Racoon-Eyes Jokes welcome. Bobby and I spent the entire day before this outside at the Air Show. Some of us wore sun-screen, and some of us just wore sun glasses. The reason for not wearing sunscreen on his poor forehead? And I quote, "I don't want to smell like a girl."

The Barrick Brother's: Bobby, Nick and Joey.

And now on to less important things...like my emotionally manipulative cat, Killian. He knows full well that I'm behind him with my camera. He's determined not to acknowledge me.

He hears me calling him. Here Killian... here boy! The one ear cocked to the side means I'm about to win this game of emotional roulette.

He couldn't stand it any longer. After all, I might have some bread crusts or lunch meat in my hands. He wouldn't be able to meow-the-heck-outta-me for the next 20 minutes if he didn't turn around. Bread crusts are bread crusts, man. Me - 1, Killian - 0. I win.

For whatever reason, I always imagine Killian speaking to me in French, much like the cartoon skunk, Pepe Le Pew. Tu es ridicule, ma petite chou, mais je t'aime (you are rediculous, my little cabbage, but I love you). I know, Killian, I know. Just stop biting my toes at night and our relationship will never suffer.

Now, go and speak French to your loved one like you are Pepe Le Pew. It will make your Saturday that much better. I need to stop drinking my coffee now.

Hello Loverrr

I have a new pair of friends on my shoe rack. And I think I am in love.
I moved them to the top so as to be able to look at them every time I walk in and out of our bathroom.
(Only my work shoes "make" the top of my shoe rack). But this pair is different. Oh, so different.

You boys cannot relate. When a girl finds the perfect pair, they can never be replaced in her heart. These will forever hold a very special place in my heart. Right next to my $29.99 Coach Shoes.

Last week, I was the proud winner of some fab-u-lous J. Crew Shoes from E-Bay. To those of you who know me, this is not at all a surprise that I would be stalking E-Bay for something J. Crew. Anyway, I was SO proud of myself for getting a bargain. The only thing is... there's a large dash mark right through my beloved brand name. Bummer. I don't think Eleanor will mind, do you?

Ladies (and any Gentlemen that may still be reading this)...meet Eleanor.



Hello, my darling. Where have you been all my life?



Yummy. You better believe I'm wearing these to work. I don't care if they look like prom shoes or not.



Thank you for humoring me. I'll see you all next time.
Hello? Anyone there? Ok, good-bye forever.