Missing in Action

Well, I guess I deserve the prize for the most inconsistent blogger ever. Life has been so crazy that I just haven't found a moment to jot anything down. The other annoying thing is I think my phone was stolen, so all the fun pictures that I would have had to post are POOF! I was pretty ticked at first, but I am loving the new iphone I bought.

Where do I begin............How about with some categories?

House

Basement is done!  It is all completed and ready to begin framing. The problem is my framers got behind on their other job and now my framing job can't start until May 23. Boooooo! So frustrating. Road is done, and not without some major miracles. There as been a long standing disagreement with the Town of Cardston and I about this road. I thought they should be contributers, as it is a town road, and they thought I should foot the whole bill. Finally, I called up the mayor and the town admin and had them meet me and Dad up at the build site. We emphatically explained our case and asked for some concessions. They said they would see if council would pass them. A few days go by and I was standing there teaching my grade 7  class when I looked out my window and saw dump truck after dump truck heading to my property. I dashed up there after school to find out that the town agreed to pay for the grader operating cost, donate 26 truck loads of clay, and haul it in to boot! Miracles I tell you! Soooooo happy about that. That being said I do need to say that general contracting my own house was pretty much the stupidest decision that I have EVER made. Definitely over rated my abilities on that one. Basically, I have aged at least 10 years since the process started , taking at least that much time off my life span.  I just want a break from being in charge of every little thing. It would have been so nice to share this process with my best friend.

School

I have had some very stressful decisions to make in the last few weeks regarding school. First the vice-principal position came up at my school and several people encouraged me to apply. I hmmmed and hawed for many days and then decided it was not my season to do that kind of thing.

Then another opportunity presented itself to transfer to the High School. It is so hard to make a decision when both options have positives. I decided to stay put, which will have me teaching something completely new--grade 6 and a choral class. Big time stretching for me as I have been in a comfortable place for several years.

Other Stuff

Soccer season is in full swing. I decided to coach Marin's team this year, which has me coaching two nights a week. All together we have soccer three nights a week. The kids are loving it, but it a is mach speed life. I finally got my favorite color (orange) for my team color this year and I think it is a good omen. My players are trying to convince me to call our team the School Bus so that they can yell a chant at the other team each game, "We'll take you to school!" They are so funny. Today we were able to get outside and play some ball. I bet I pitched at least 100 pitches in the back yard. The kids never tire of it. Then it was on to some kids against mom soccer. After taking the lead, Mar says to me, "Mom, if you are going to play adult soccer you'd better step it up. I mean, you've got to me able to beat kids,". Touche!

Pinch Me!

As you may have noticed, I have been a terrible blogger lately.  My general contracting "job" has been taking over MY ENTIRE LIFE AND MIND SPACE.  Seriously, it has been pretty stressful. I probably wouldn't do it if I had to do it over again, but I am committed, so I am going to see it through.

Us trying out our new living space

 

The view from my future deck

The events worth celebrating this week are the excavation and the pouring of the footings which were done today. It is finally real. It was hard to believe I was really doing this until I saw those footings.  My biggest job right now is to pray away the rainy weather that is supposed to be coming at the end of this week.

In addition to all the house stuff, Marin had surgery on Wednesday.  She had to get her adenoids out as well as tubes put in her ears. Both of us hate hospitals for obvious reasons. I hate how they all smell the same, no matter which one you are at. I hate that smell is the strongest evoker of memory.

She was so terrified. It is so hard to see your kid like that. At one point as we were walking down the hallway to the surgery waiting place she said, "Mom, I'm not doing this," and started to run away. Luckily, I am quick on my feet.  I had to keep a firm arm on her for the rest of the trip to the waiting room. Oddly, once she found out that she could get her IV after she was put to sleep she was totally at ease. Everything went well and she was out in no time. The recovery from the anesthesia burned up the rest of the day though.

 


We are glad it is all over to say the least. We aren't going anywhere for Easter break this year. The kids were a bit bummed but they understand that we have to sacrifice a bit for the new house. My sister and her husband are in Hawaii so helping my mom and dad take care of her kids is breaking the monotony up a bit.

I'm just grateful for the sleep in days. I have been running on empty way to long.

Pictures of the footings are below:

 

Rocket Speed

I think I have finally come to accept that my life only operates on one speed, and that is ROCKET SPEED. I need to stop expecting it to slow down. I need to stop expecting free time and just deal with the fact that there is always something major going down, or a whack load of minor things going down, all at the same time. This week was no different.

Highlights:

* 5 suits all in my classroom at the same time. The superintendent, the deputy superintendent, a big wig professor from the U of L, the principal, and the vice. Nice, really nice. Of course the kids and I act completely normal when they are wandering around the room. Ha!

*More house problems. Site plan had to be tweaked. The person I never thought I would be dealing with again........yep, will be dealing with him again this week to get the tweak approved. Lumber quotes still not done from the people who said they would have them done. Still waiting for three contractor quotes, and hoping beyond all hope that I don't go over budget. My awesome cousin Ty helped officially stake out the house for excavation. So grateful for his help, time, and expertise.

*Early mornings. Monday- Marin early morning choir. Tuesday- Coop early morning choir. Wednesday- Marin early morning choir. Thursday- Reg early morning badminton try out. Friday- early morning staff meeting. Did I mention I'm not really a morning person?

*Badminton tryouts. Reg kind of had a major meltdown during one of the try outs and left before it was over. He has kind of of a bad temper at times when it comes to sports, which he probably got from me. I told him that my kids would not be quitters. I made him apologize to the coach and beg to come back to the next try out. He was pretty ticked at me but now he is glad he is continuing. Why can't kids realize that mom is ALWAY right ; ) ?

*Went and saw the Lorax with the kids on Friday night. It was the only way I could convince them to come to Lethbridge with me while I sneaked in a visit to Challenger Building Supplies. It was pretty good. 3D movies are not my favorite. Too much going on for me, but the kids loved it and recited lines and laughed all the way home.

*Saturday morning we did some more fence removal and house staking. Then, in the afternoon I took the kids and my two nieces snowboarding. Conditions weren't the greatest, but man was it warm. Sure hope that was not the last run of the season.

*Daylight savings kicked my butt. Going to church at what feels like 8am is not the most pleasant thing in the world, especially when you waited until late Saturday night to prepare your Young Women's lesson.

Blast of to a new week of adventures in T minus 8 hours!

Yeah, My Dad's Awesome Like That

Two of my favorite guys

I know maybe I have sung my dad's praises before, but I just can't stop from doing it again. My dad and I have always been tight, but lately we have been best buds. This house thing might have something to do with that. I mean, who else could enjoy talking nonstop with me about the price of drywall, lumber package quotes, and traditional heating vs geothermal?

The kids are getting a little perturbed because every time we get together we get into hours long conversations about the above mentioned topics. Obviously, the world doesn't know how freaking awesome he is or he would hold special status, or at least have a holiday named after him. Remember how when you were little you thought your dad knew about everything and could do practically anything? Well, I'm 36 and I still believe that because it is true. You just won't find a person as kind, selfless, hardworking, and humble as my dad. Here is a recount of his awesomeness this week:

*Helped Coop build his cub car.
*Came over several times to talk house.
*Took off work early to Lethbridge with me to meet with the geothermal guy and price out lumber packages.
*Made the most delicious chicken noodle soup and let us have some.
*Worked with me to take out fencing on the building site.

Love my dad!!!!!

A Small Victory

Never thought a small piece of paper could make me so happy. After six months of pure frustration with the Town of Cardston, I finally have my development permit! I didn't really think I would get it going into the office yesterday, but I asked if I had finally met all their ridiculous requirements and he said yes. I was stunned. I was so used to having to go and do one more thing.

Tentatively, I asked if I could get the permit today. He said yes, I could, but it would take a half an hour of paperwork, and was I sure I really wanted to get it now, and why are you in such a rush, and you know you only have 90 days to begin development, and there is a good chance the weather will be bad, and all kinds of other garbage to talk me out of it. I firmly say YES.  He rolled his eyes and sighed, but began the paper work.

Let's such say it was a long and uncomfortable 25 minutes where no words were uttered. Let's just say that after everything that has gone on in the last few months my relationship with this person is a little strained. It ended with me handing over my debit card and him signing the permit. I snatched it and dashed out of there before he had a chance to change his mind.

One of the perks of this small victory is that I will never (I think) have to deal with this guy again. He also told me that I probably wouldn't get my house done in a year. What I have to say to that is WATCH ME!

Fun Trip

Even though it started rather horrifically, we had a fantastic 3-day ski/snowboard trip to Kalispell. A while back my brother in law signed us up to stay at the Meadow Lake Resort near Whitefish. It was a good deal, but of course you had to listen to their time share pitch. I have never had the pleasure of sitting in on one of those so I was hoping I could be strong.

Upon arriving we were handed an info packet that stated we were to attend the 2 hour sales pitch at 9AM. Because skiing was going to be our primary activity, we asked the management to switch our time. And THAT's when the wheels fell off the wagon. In a few short minutes they made it quite clear that we were not allowed to switch our time to ANY OTHER TIME, and that we were getting a good deal, and that they were doing us a big favor, and that WE were being unreasonable, and a whole lot of other garbage. We didn't want to miss half a ski day just to listen to those clowns.

Don began to get a little steamed, as did I. Pretty soon we were in an almost shouting match trying to get our point across to these numb skulls. I have never experienced such horrible customer service in my entire life. We booked another hotel and got the h.... out of there. I am sounding the alarm to everyone far and wide--NEVER, EVER, STAY AT MEADOW LAKE RESORT no matter how good of a deal you think you are getting.

Whew. After that little incident, everything was awesome. We stayed at La Quinta which the kids love. We have never been there when we haven't had the pool and hot tub to ourselves. It is cheap and they also throw in breakfast. The first day we skiied at Blacktail, which is a fun little, family friendly mountain south of Kalispell. It is super cheap and very family friendly.

The next day we skiied Big Mountain at Whitefish. No so good of a deal, but I have never seen so much snow on a ski hill. It was unbelievable. Cooper would crash and he would go right out of sight under the powder. Falling was like landing on a marshmallow. The kids even convinced me to take a few of the jumps along with them, and amazingly I didn't kill myself. I almost felt young for an afternoon. Can't wait to go back there again. My new favorite find in Kalispell is the Bahio restaurant. Mexican food is a favorite of mine, and this restaurant did not disappoint. Such good food and so much of it.

The ride home was a little sketchy from Marias pass on. The roads were horrible and visibility was almost non-existent. However, after my brush with death on the Duck Lake road last year at this same time, I hardly bat an eye anymore.

Now it is back to reality and on to teacher's convention on Thursday and Friday.

P.S. Could someone please do something about this weather. I really want to dig my basement. Thank you in advance.
 

Small Prayers Are Answered

The last few weeks, ok let's be real about it--MONTHS--have been really difficult as far as progress with the house goes. A while ago I asked a friend who had recently built a house what her best advice might be. Her response was "DON'T BUILD!" I now totally understand the wisdom in that statement and I haven't even broken one foot of ground.

Bureaucracy is the bane of my existence right now. I like to think of bureaucracy as a large, disgusting beast, kind of like Jabba the Hut. It is unfriendly, ruthless, oily, and ugly. It gobbles money, common sense, timelines, and hopes. In its slimy wake it leaves frustration, bitterness, feelings of defeat, and injustice. I'm just so done with it! I had a moment last week where I was 100% ready to throw in the towel. I couldn't stand dealing with it one more minute. Then, I realized if I did give up, then they would win. Now, if you know me at all you know that I am a little competitive. Ok, I admit it, I'm too competitive. I cannot let them kick me down and then slither away with my tail between my legs. I needed to come up fighting. I had a good sleep and a lot of chocolate and I was ready to go again.

That night I sought some divine intervention. I was doing everything I could do on my end and nothing was progressing. Sending up a desperate prayer, I left it in His hands. I don't think I have ever said a prayer with words in it like, road allowance, planning commission, and septic system, but who cares? We have been told to pray over EVERYTHING right? No lie, 20 minutes after I finished the prayer the phone rang. It was one of my contractors who was essential in getting the ball rolling. He wanted to meet the next day. Wow. Then the next afternoon, I came home to a message on my machine from the development officer stating that they reconsidered something that they weren't going to consider before. Double wow! Then that night I got an email from another key player who was willing to help me out in a big way. Flabbergasted, I sent up several prayers of gratitude. Ask and ye shall receive, I tell you.

I know this stuff is small potatoes in the eternal scheme of things but it had been consuming my every thought and spare minute. I was on the verge of a breakdown and the Man Upstairs knew it. I am so grateful for this tender mercy that let me know that HE IS AWARE OF ME and my STRUGGLES.

If everything goes well, I should be able to start excavating in a couple of weeks. Fingers crossed. I got a lot accomplished on that vein this weekend as well. I went in to the window place and got all my windows organized and quoted, as well as meeting with the geothermal guys. Plans for quotes have been delivered to all but a couple of my contractors. I don't dare curse myself by saying things have been going ALMOST smooth, but the last 3 days have definitely been better.

Hopefully, I can forget about house woes for a few days while I am ripping up powder in Whitefish. Cooper has been down with a fever for the last couple of days so hopefully he will perk up tomorrow and that the trip can go forward. So looking forward to a change of pace!