A Bulldozer CAN Make You Happy
I don’t feel the least bit silly for stopping my car in the middle of the street and breaking out in applause. You see, we just got back from our lot and this is what we saw:
and this. . .
Previously, there was nothing but weeds and overgrown grasses. Most of that is now gone. When we go back tonight, I’ll get Mr. BBM to take some good pictures. The bulldozer guy was looking at me like I was insane, and I didn’t want to distract him from his job by taking a close-up. This is my basement we’re talking about, after all.
After I took these, we drove up the street from the other end and the hole looks much more impressive from that side. By the end of this week, the hole should be completely done. That seems to be about how long it took the one across the street.
If you look closely in the first picture, you’ll notice the park that’s just a short walk down a path behind us. No more houses will ever go in behind us. I’d write more, but I need to go jump up and down (Don’t worry-on one leg).
7 Months
In just two days, I will be seven months post-op. I thought I would be back in the dojo by now, but I’m not, unless you count sitting on the sidelines watching Big I and trying to keep Lil C from running off with one of Hanshi’s trophies. The next opportunity to test for shodan is August. The next one after that won’t be until February.
For the first time in many months, my knee feels. . . good. One would think I’d be dying to get back in the dojo, but I’m just not quite ready. After having so much pain for so many months, I am enjoying the fact that I am pretty much pain-free for the first time in a long time. When I got to this point a couple weeks ago and went to the fitness center, I went right back to square one. Over the weekend, I woke up one day and realized that I wasn’t hurting. Steps aren’t bothering me much at all and although I still favor it and don’t squat down on it, even bending and doing things that previously caused me pain, isn’t causing me pain.
It’s not like my non-injured knee. I don’t think it ever will be. I still can’t kneel. I can’t crawl around on my hands and knees. I can’t squat down on that knee alone. But I’m feeling better and that has been wonderful.
Because of how I set myself back (going to the fitness center) a few weeks ago after I finally started feeling good, I’m afraid to ruin it. I’m afraid that if I start working out again or go back to karate now, I’ll rebound. I don’t want that to happen. I can’t have that happen with the move coming up.
So, I’m going to wait until August, see how I feel, and then start trying some things out at home before making a return to karate as usual. I am so afraid of pivoting, twisting and turning. I have made the decision that I would much rather wait a little longer to return, feeling confident that my knee is completely healed and solid, than return with shaky resolve and potentially set myself back months if not years.
I’m plugging along. I’m feeling confident that I’ll be able to return. I’m just not chancing it quite yet.
The Annoying Part
With less than two weeks to go until we move out, I am getting to that annoying and annoyed stage of packing. Certain things need to stay out like hair dryers and shampoo; certain things I’m not sure about like razors for example. I found myself contemplating whether or not I could get away with not shaving my legs until we move in with my parents. I decided that I’d like to use the pool a few more times before we go, so I should probably keep the razor handy. Honestly, I think I’d like to just buy everything new and just forget this packing and moving business altogether.
Each room in my house is in various stages of deconstruction. Pictures are off half the walls and things are starting to look empty. Curtains that aren’t staying are packed and moved. Mr. BBM and I have taken about six or seven van loads of boxes to my parent’s house and I feel like we’ve barely made a dent. It is absolutely stunning how much stuff you can accumulate after five years in one place.
Previously, Mr. BBM and I have only ever stayed for a maximum of about two years at any given location. I am really hoping that this will be our last move. There is really nothing fun about moving. As Mr. BBM was bringing container after container and box after box out of our crawl space yesterday, he kept making little comments about getting rid of things.
I’ll be honest. I am 99% sure that I am done having children. Lately I’ve been feeling that two is plenty. I can’t even imagine the whining and fighting if there were more than Big I and Lil C. There’s just that 1% of me that refuses to say so, because that means I’m closing the door on that part of my life. Right now, I want to keep that door cracked, just a bit. And if that means hauling all of the baby stuff across town, then so be it. Mr. BBM is just going to have to deal with it.
I have decided to get rid of some baby things that I never much liked, like an inflatable nursing pillow which never worked anyway. I’m also going to get rid of some of my maternity clothes that I know I won’t wear again if I ever get to the basketball belly stage again.
As I was packing yesterday, I came across three of my knee braces/wraps, two wrist braces and a soft collar that I used when I had whiplash. That was another box I wasn’t sure if I should seal or not. You just never know. Considering how good my knee has been feeling after going on hiatus from working out (as per my PT), I think I may seal it up today. Leaving this house is going to mean packing up all the memories, but I’m going to pack up the injuries too. I’m hoping that box is one that will remain in the basement indefinitely.
Scratch That
On Saturday morning, we met with the builder rep and completely changed all of our exterior colors, with the exception of the trim and window heads. We totally panicked. While driving through the development after selection, we realized we chose the wrong stone. I hated the stone we chose, up on an actual house.
So, we switched our siding to "frost" (white), our shutters to "midnight blue," and also chose our stucco color (light grayish white) and roof (slate). We basically recreated another house that we like that’s in the next development.
I told the builder representative that this was the last time I’d be "bothering him about this." He laughed and said, "Yeah right." I told him to remember that I specifically said "about this." I gave myself an out, so I can complain and change my mind about other things. It’s one thing to spend a lot of money on a shirt that you don’t like. It’s an entirely different thing to pick out the colors for your dream house and choose wrong.
Speaking of "wrong," we also got our inspection report on Saturday from the marathon home inspection. Apparently we have a radon problem. The EPA recommends that homes have a radon reading under 4.0. Our two cannisters came back at 4.2 and 4.9. Of course, the buyers want us to install a radon mitigation system and retest. I feel sort of like Leona Lewis right about now. "I keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding" because I feel like I’m being completely bled dry of any money I was going to have to buy things like tissue holders and towel bars for the new house.
While Mr. BBM was all zen about it, I was fired up. We’re already giving them seller’s assist in no small amount. I’m not thrilled about having to spend more money on the house I’m leaving in just two weeks. My realtor also thought it was a little ridiculous. The levels were only slightly over normal and those levels can vary depending on the season, humidity level, etc. I read online that they recommend you retest if the levels come in below 5.0 before you put in a radon mitigation system, because you may not really even have a problem.
The problem is that we don’t really have time and I doubt the buyers would want that anyway. Lately it seems to be all about what the buyers want, and I’m not a give-in kind of girl. I told Mr. BBM that if we put this system in, he can expect me to be unpleasant at closing. I don’t know what he’s more afraid of: the possibility of the buyers walking, or the prospect of dealing with a grumpy me at closing.
If I were him, I’d be afraid of me.
Selection
We met our realtor and the builder representative today at the design center. It took us just under three hours to pick most of our colors, lights and other items. Keep in mind that we have to meet directly with the kitchen people and the flooring people within the next few weeks. I know those visits will take hours too.
We chose the color "bone" for our siding which is an off-white. We chose "classic blue" for our shutters, front door and sidelights. We picked white window heads and cottage white colored soffit, gutters and downspouts to match the siding. We also picked a gray stone for the center column of the house and up to the windowsills on the front and garage. We panicked after we left when we realized we picked the wrong stone. We want the stone that’s on a pre-existing home and so we called the selection agent and left a message for him to call us back asap. If we don’t catch him before he copies it and sends it off to the multiple foremen working on the site, we can pretty much forget getting the stone we want.
We’re still up in the air about the stucco color for the doorway. They didn’t have the choices there for us so we have to go back; and he wasn’t sure whether or not we can get the blue toned roof we want.
We picked our exterior lights (satin nickel) and our interior lights (satin nickel). We also chose white marbled tops for our vanities and door knobs for the entire house (pewter levered ones).
Now we’re negotiating to upgrade our hardwood floors to tigerwood and for granite countertops and some staggered cabinets. We wanted to have it all wrapped up nicely today, but it looks like we won’t have it completely done until sometime next week.
It’s all very confusing. We got credits back for not using their mirrors in the bathrooms, and a credit for the kitchen light that looks like a hanging nipple. No thanks. If I want to see something like that I’ll consult National Geographic. If you don’t believe me, just do a google image search for "boob light" and just image that, but more suspended from the ceiling. We’re picking pendant lights instead. We have to make appointments with all the subs who will be working on our house. We even have to meet with the electrician once our house has been framed to tell him where we want outlets to be located. Shouldn’t he know this better than I would?
Tomorrow we’re going to go browse appliances and maybe pick them out. We have some time, but we just want it all decided. We were told that we’ll have our basement within the next week to 10 days and that once the beams and lumber are delivered, our home will be framed up in about a week. By the time school starts I should have some interesting pictures to share with you instead of just a field with some stakes in it.
Mr. BBM and I didn’t argue about anything. We pretty much agreed on everything. I’m thinking that trend won’t continue once we get to flooring and counter-tops. While we were talking about pricing out options, the agent was telling us that if we want anything special when it comes to excavation, we’ll have to talk to a certain sub. Mr. BBM says, "you mean like in case we want a moat or something." After three hours of staring at siding, stone, lighting and fixtures, you get a little bit punchy. I about fell out of my chair laughing because Big I would so love a moat.
It’s overwhelming alright, but I have to say. . . so far, I’m having a blast and enjoying every second of it.
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