BUSY BUSY BUSY

I can't believe I even have time to sit down and write this blog! Things have been so hectic! We went from having record heat last week to freezing cold temps in the 60s with RAIN, THUNDERSTORMS, LIGHTNING, and a TORNADO! These all sound like normal spring things to me too-but not in Southern California! People were freaking out, but it was nice to have some "severe" weather. Felt a little like home!
We got the keys to our house on Friday and went to check things out. We found out that the floors are a lot worse than we had originally thought. When they removed their refrigerator, some of the laminate parquet has been rolled up (or something) so there is a big roll/bubble in the middle of the kitchen! I kept tripping on it all weekend! So, that is now to the top of the list. Good thing that we took our tiling class this weekend because we are ready to take on the task. We are excited about it and it doesn't look like it will be too difficult. We also will be replacing the garbage disposal and ceiling fan in the master bedroom.
Friday night we went to dinner in Rancho Cucamonga with Josh and Erin (Nick's roommate from college that lives in Riverside) to Famous Dave's. I haven't been to FD's for over 10 years, so I wasn't expecting anything. I had an excellent home style meal. I ate everything on my plate! It was so good!
The rest of the weekend was spent painting, mainly the living room (see pictures below). We also started priming the master bedroom (say good bye to the fella above who was in there!!) We finished that up tonight after work and will start on the real paint soon. We also went to Sears and picked out our appliances (refrigerator and washer/dryer). We got some good deals and got the Energy Star appliances. We will be getting $75 back from the electric company for the washer and $200 for the refrigerator. Of course, that will be in the form of credit on our bills-but hey! Savings is savings! They will be delivered on June 9.
So, we have a lot of work to do. We have painting in nearly every room to be finished, tiling in the bathrooms and kitchen, and placement of bamboo floors in the living room. Of course, also carpet installation on the second floor. I know we won't be done by June 15, but hopefully, we will be close enough to be able to live in it while we finish up the projects!
That's all this week! I am going to continue running, but I know it will be worth it in the end! Enjoy the pictures!

BEFORE



AFTER

Blazing Hot!

We've had a fairly hot week here in SoCal. The Santa Anas have been with us, which has been nice to keep the air nice and clear. I am sure they will be changing soon enough!
We've had a fairly uneventful weekend. Friday after work we went to Corona to sign the loan docs with the escrow agent. Yesterday, we did some scouting for appliances and carpet at Lowe's and Sears. It was so hot, we decided to stop at Jamba Juice, along with everyone else in the IE. I was really mad, because they somehow missed our order-I actually think someone else walked out with our order. It did taste good when we finally got our cool smoothies. This Jamba Juice by our house is really terrible, so I guess they prove their true incompetency when they are busy.
This afternoon, we will do the final walk through of the house. Just a formality. We are anticipating closing on Tuesday with the old owners being out by Thursday, so we will be able to get in there and do some work over the long weekend. By then, it will be much cooler in the 80s. Before we move in, we are hoping to have the living room and master suite painted, the upstairs carpeted with new carpet, and the master bath tiled. With the exception of the carpet, we are planing on doing it all ourselves. It should be pretty interesting. I will be sure to keep the blog updated with pictures!
Have a good week everyone!

New house pics are here!

Hello everyone! No big news to report for this week. Another uneventful week and weekend. We did have the home inspection this morning, which the house passed with flying colors. While he was doing the inspection, I took some measurements for carpeting and paint, but after 5 minutes of that, we decided we would have a professional come out and measure and give us an estimate. We wouldn't necessarily have to use that company. So, that is what we will do. Being in the house again made me realize how much I hate the flooring on the first floor (we will be replacing it, but not right away) and how much I hate the paint, which will be changing right away. Anyway, here are the photos, starting with a copy of the front. Enjoy!

Uneventful jury service

I don't think I told anybody that I was selected for jury duty this week. I did not have to report at all on Monday, but did have to report in Tuesday at 12:30. I was really lucky, because this allowed me to see my 19 patients from 8-12 at the clinic and only had to cancel 4 evals and 5 patients for the afternoon. So, I was happy with that.
The whole time I was at the courthouse, I was in the "holding room" waiting to find out if they would need our services. There were some people there who had been waiting since the morning, so I felt pretty lucky. We sat there until about 3 and then we had a break and I took a walk around the courthouse area, which actually is really nice here in Riverside. When we got back from break, they called roll, and told us they would not be needing our services and we were done for the year. WHOO-HOO! I was home before 4 pm, which is earlier than I would have been home from work!
All in all, a pretty boring experience, but happy that it's done for the year. Now, I can't wait until Nick gets his summons! I know a lot of my family has never received a summons, but here in Riverside, everyone gets one once a year. Guess that happens when there is a larger population and more crimes and civil disputes.

Amazing weekend

I must say, we have had the most amazing weekend. I really did get quite a bit accomplished (18 evals), which feels good, but we also had a good dose of fun too!
Saturday was Nick's birthday and his wish was to go up to the mountains (Big Bear) and do a day hike up there. So, we did. I started out slow, but it was such a beautiful hike, that it didn't take long to get going. We make it up to the top, which is always a gratifying feeling. Unfortunately, since it was cooler up there (high 60s), it didn't occur to me that I should put sun block on. I got a whopper of a sun burn on my neck and arms and real sexy farmer tan. That will take a good year to go away-especially on my neck! See the pictures below for a real taste of the day. We also got to see a rattle snake, which Nick made rattle by actually poking his walking stick at! It was one mad snake. But, it was neat to see (after we were away from it).

Anyway, last week seemed to go really fast. Nick was gone on Tuesday night, and I had myself a great girl's night! I went shopping after work and came home to make myself a frozen pizza. I ate the whole thing myself-but it was a small one! It was actually really fun to eat and drink and watch AI by myself with no interruptions.
That's about it for this week, and of course, the house news, which you can see below. We are anticipating having the inspections this week, so then after we have those done, we will feel a lot better!!! Have a good week!

Big News!

We have very big news! We officially have a house! After almost 2 months of ups and downs, we heard this week that our offer was officially accepted! Just when you decide to give up, you are surprised with good news! We are really pleased with the house, as it is in the neighborhood we want (that we currently live in) and it has a decent sized yard.
Of course, now we have to go through the home inspection and termite inspection, but we are officially on the road. They want to close escrow by May 25, so that is right around the corner! See photo of the outside and backyard. The photos of the inside are bad, so I guess you will just have to wait until we are in it!