Day 5:

The roof is coming together... they started putting in the shingles today.
The trees are almost all gone! (Even though there's tons of noise during thanksgiving holiday... but I am certain the neighbors LOVE us. They come to hug us because we are getting rid of the trees that are causing them problems since day 1 they moved into their homes)
The termite work is almost done. Monday is the last day for both trees and termite work. They are refunding us some money because they made a mistake in their estimates. Yay more money lol.

Today Mark (my agent) came by the house to give me something to sign and I gave him a tour of the house in the middle of renovation =P
He couldn't recognize the house even from the side because of how bright it is now. Without the trees, it looks like a totally different house... He was really amazed by the inside as well.
We will be inviting him over for dinner for it's all done and pretty :D

Later tonight we gotta go pick up the kitchen cabinets. There were too many today we had to come back to get the truck.

Day 4: SUPER busy and productive day!!!!

6:30am Wake up

8am Get to house, and trees people have already started cutting trees. It was CRAZY. there were guys on our TALL trees everywhere. and I mean those trees are gimongous. They're about 3 times the height of the house.. literally. These guys looked like monkeys on trees coz they're so high up.
The guys have to climb up there, using ropes, get rid of the skins of the palm tree with their feet and bare hands, start cutting one little section with chainsaw, throw it to the ground (HUGE thump- I think our grass has huge dents from those), then climb alittle lower, start the whole process again.....









9am Justin gets there. There were probably 20 Mexican guys working on the house all at the same time... (they aren't all together either. It was insane) We had the tree guys, termite guys, construction guys.

9:30am We get to Lowe's, pick up lots of stuff including bathroom vanity, tub, shower stalls. It was 2 truck trip worth of stuff

11:30am Justin and I went to check out Best Buy to look at what's leftover from BF then we ate at this sub place called Jersey Mike's. It was sooo good. Tons of meat, and they finished the sub with red wine vinegar and olive oil blend. Yum.

12pm Justin and I go to Target to shop for a bit, he bought a really comfy blanket

1pm get to the appliances place, met up with the delivery guys I found on Craigslist =p and they delivered the appliances while we followed behind.

2pm left for City of Industry to go pick out tiles, base boards, door casings, floors. We decided to not get carpet (sad) because my mom thought it was easier to clean and she's sort of allergic.

5pm ate at this Taiwanese restaurant (so good!!)

6pm picked up faucets for the showers

7pm Moved all 36 boxes of tiles to the garage. They said it was about 40lbs per box. THAT was a work out. omgoodness

8pm went to Home Depot with the intention to look at paint and microhoods. Ended up also looking at sliding doors, garage doors, and faucets

9pm FINALLY got home. omg. home freaking sweet home =P


so tireddd....
and seriously, just as the termite guy said, seeing different groups of people all working on the house at the same time.. is really not a common scene.... Lots of coordination, lots of orchestrating, lots of planning, and lots of organizing.

what's left:
tomorrow: pick up Kitchen cabinets (and look at granite countertops????)

Day 3: Happy Thankgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
I am thankful for...
- the good weather today!!! We finally were able to open the roof up and start putting in new roof tomorrow and removing the trees! How exciting!
- my family! mom flew down yesterday and we're missing Charlie and Maggie and Mochi.... We miss Charlie a lot :( I haven't see him in 5 months!
- my boyfriend! Justin has been great in helping out with the house etc.

tomorrow:
buying:
tiles,
carpet
paint
vanities
shower enclosures

picking up:
kitchen cabinets
gas range
refrigerator


I found stainless steel at a excellent price!!!!! so excited! and I have washer and dryer now!!! woot!

Day 2: busy busy

This will probably by far be the busiest thanksgiving.... not because of cooking turkey or making home made cranberry sauce.. but working on the house and straighening out all the kinks!
Yesterday when Mark called me and I missed his call, he left a msg. As I was listening to the msg: "title has been recorded, ... , it's official now, ... , you officially own the home, ... , CONGRATULATIONS"
omg omg omg haha I was at work when I heard it... so I whispered yayyy to myself.. giving myself a pat on the shoulder.

I did it! I am an official home owner!
that is pretty amazing.

Yesterday all the kitchen, some walls, and bathrooms have been knocked down. When I went to the house, there were wood cabinets (broken up of course) everywhere.

I am pretty excited to see more progress this wknd.

Today they're buying materials for the walls, roof, plumbing, etc. BUSY. especially before thanksgiving. but HOW EXCITING!

Day 1: and so it begins

Termite people are here
The construction crew are here
FINALLY closing escrow today (even though it was yesterday, unofficially =p )
Hopefully getting the gas range and microhood tonight

it's like conducting an orchestra... everything is coming together...

very exciting but nerve racking at the same time though!!!


I put this as Day 1 again since from now it's a new "chapter" of this process!
the days before this were preparation for today. the start of everything...

Day 6: wanted

Wanted:
gas range
refridgerator
microhood
washer dryer
bath vanity
tub
shower
shower rod
garage door
garage door opener
paint
base board
door casings


and the list is endless.....

Day 4 and 5: shopping and bargain finding

Yesterday morning we headed to the house and took some more measurements of the kitchen. Then as we were heading out a girl who was walking her dog (OMG SUCH A CUTE DOG- jack russell and maltese mix. OMG OMG OMG). FOund out she would be our back neighbor (yay maybe Mochi's new friend?) and she told us that they have a garage sale going on.
We ended up getting a working 10 dollar DVD player, and missed the opportunity of getting a 25 dollar garage opener (usually 100 dollars) brand new too. it was my bad :(

Then we headed to City of Industry. We drove around to different warehouses to look at tiles, carpet, door casings, base boards, and granite counter tops. and finally ate lunch at 3pm. Then we headed to IKEA to look at more stuff and found a brand new (just out of the box) kitchen sink for 75 dollars! (normally 150 dollars at IKEA) I was glad we went to the "As-Is" section there and found out they also carry alot of just out of the box new stuff.

Today Justin and I went to this moving sale and bought tons of stuff (3 brand new games including CRANIUM!, surge protectors, christmas lights, a trench coat for me, jumper cables, and my happiest find was ceiling medallions!) they look like these:
ceiling medallions

all for 20 dollars. omg. such a good deal.


God truly provides since we are really on a HUGE budget for this renovation....

Day 3: funding

So it's final that the closing of escrow is not going to happen today. *sigh* that means this wknd we can't do anything to the house.... that means all the work is going to be delayed and even more due to the holidays.

This morning I got to work before 7 since I had to leave for a bit to go sign the escrow documents. Justin picked me up at 7:45 he's such a good sport about it and everything that has been going on and we had to drive 30 min to go to the escrow office. Good thing it was AGAINST LA traffic. o man. we saw the traffic on the other side of the freeway.

I got back to work in 2 hours after signing like a million documents. My dad then drove to my work, picked up the wiring instructions, headed to the bank, did the wiring, then headed back to the house to meet with the retrofitter for final inspection. I don't know what I would do if my dad wasn't here. I think my stress level would be like 100 times worse. I am so thankful that he is here, and truly helping me every step of the way. And in the process, I (and Justin) have learned a tremendous amount of things... and gained experience for that house we will someday buy together :D

So. Got tonight and this wknd planned out. My dad and I and maybe Justin are going to Ikea tonight and probably eat at Porto's since we're in the area.
Then tomorrow we're going to City of Industry (such a weird name for a city right? When I think about the name, I think of a city with really bad air quality, haha) to check out flooring materials. Tiles, wood, carpet.

Then we are going to plan even more on the bathroom layouts and decide what kind of vanity, shower, etc.

But I'm still super thankful!!!! Despite the glitch we had with home insurance, we can still move on and ALMOST to schedule. Gotta thank God for that.

Day 2: blah

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!! He is turning 26 years old this year :D looking younger day by day!

Last night was a freakin' nightmare.
The escrow was supposed to close TOMORROW, but because of all the fires that have been going on around here, the home insurance companies are told to be put on HOLD on writing any new policies. Freakin' A.
so then my insurance agent (whom I had chosen because she's oh-so-nice and the rates are low!!!) calls another agent from another company who is next door to her and refers me to her. Then blah blah another procedure for a new quote, this time 400 dollars more.

don't really have a choice here since the only reason this new agent is not put on hold from writing policies is because they missed my zip code by one digit.

anyway, the whole night was phone calls between my main agent, the old home insurance agent, and the new home insurance agent while I was at the new house trying to take measurements for the new bathrooms, and kitchen.

Then today the retrofitter ditched us and said to postpone the inspection to tomorrow
Do you know what that means??? that means we probably can't even close tomorrow. That means everything else is delayed....
Those lazy people.

Ugh.

Day 1: retrofitting

First day dad's here.
Have bought a power washer for windows and doors. goodie. the windows are gross at the house. bleh. and needless to say, we can always use that to clean in the future. maybe car wash???? :D

then bought toilets and smoke detectors and will also be putting on the safety film on the sliding doors. stupid house being a short sale. we have to do every freakin' thing!!!!! ugh. but it'll be a good experience for me too I guess.

oh the fun has just begun.

My dad's coming today... and I cannot be happier!
omg, just feels like a huge burden lifted off..
of course, I shouldn't speak too early, with all the work we still yet to do!
Depending on what dad thinks, we might need to start the tree and termite work this weekend. (if they do weekends) so next week we can start working on the house.
I am super excited, but it's also so much work.
I am just trying to do it one day at a time......

weekend

Justin's dad arrived on Thursday so on Friday, we thought we were going to have dinner with him.
However, due to misunderstanding and miscommunication, we were waiting for his phone call while he was waiting for ours, so it became too late. We ended up driving 40 min to Pasadena and when we got to his hotel, he was asleep =P so Justin and I ate dinner some where near by so we didn't feel like we wasted our time

Saturday morning we picked up his dad and we drove to San Diego. In Justin's crappy little car (that someone in one of the parking lots in SD offered him 1500 dollars for), we dropped his dad off in San Diego's most expensive resort. Obviously we felt very out of place... haha. We then also picked him up in the person he had lunch with's mansion. and also had a tour of the home. it was really grande, and I cannot imagine myself living in a place like that, overlooking San Diego... with your own music room and a kitchen you don't need to cook in, and guest rooms that have their own balconies. crazy. Our dinner for 3 in La JOlla ended up being like 150 dollars.

Last night we went to eat at this Brazillian restaurant. I must say, their food is really not my thing.... but at least now, me, AND his dad can both say that we have now tried it. Justin obviously loved his black bean stew. He likes weird things. including me. =P

the fires have made the air pretty disgusting. I went to my car this morning and found a layer of sand sitting on the bottom of my windows. When I open my car door, there's ash flying around. It's pretty gross if you think about it... I am really praying for all the firefighters and the people who have to evacuate...

trust

it's interesting how it could take a few seconds to destroy trust
but years to build it

wine making

it was def a fun experience. we will be returning in 3 months after fermentation is completed to bottle them up and taste and make labels. how fun.

this was the funnest department meeting week as of yet.

hi everyone! :)

This wk is Department Meeting Week... you know what that means??? Food Food Food!!!
Last night we had a cocktail reception at Macaroni Grill. and today we had our Thanksgiving Lucheon, and tomorrow is our SECRET ACTIVITY: wine making! I'm super excited.

But don't get me wrong. We get tons done during our Dept meetings. The fun stuff are just part of it :)

I was so frustrated with the GAS COMPANY yesterday.
I didn't have gas in my stove since last FRIDAY. that means I CAN'T COOK.
I called the gas company yesterday trying to get service request. The convo went like this:

lady: ma'am, the first appt we can get someone out there is next Monday (a week later!) and we could come anytime between 7am and 8pm.
me: ok... can you call my apt manager to get the door code because that's a long time for her to wait by the phone for your service team.
lady: no ma'am, we can't do that. So is next Monday ok?
me: uh... fine...
lady: is there anything I can help you with?
me: yes, um, can you guys call me when there's an earlier appointment available? because I DON'T HAVE GAS. I CAN'T COOK.
lady: no ma'am, we cannot do that. it's whatever time we have available at the time you call.
me: ok...
lady: is there ANYTHING ELSE i can help you with?
me: no.... *sigh*
lady: ok ma'am, have a great day.
me: yes.... thanks. *sigh*


I hate them.

This has gotta be the first weekend in like a year that Justin and I are not spending time together.
ok maybe that was alittle exaggerating... but something like that.

He's going up North with his brother leaving me behind.................... just kidding

I guess it's stupid that I'm even blogging about something like this.
But yesterday I was talking to a friend, and I realized something that's easier to do with a long distance relationship. Her and her boyfriend live 6 hours apart i know it's not THAT long distance. and they see each other once a month. but she was sharing with me how she feels like this way she can be her own person.

I think that's true in many ways. That's really something I need to work on, and I know it's not where I NEED to always make arrangements separately from Justin, but that when it turns out to be that way, I am still okay with it, and still supportive.

With Pre-engagement counseling ended, I am SO glad that we started so early.. but am always reminded how much we need to work on. but we're progressing! that's the important thing I guess....



ps. I'm eating strawberry cheesecake as part of my morning "meals". YUM. I forsee clogged arteries.

counseling

our pre-engagement counseling sucessfully and officially ended this past Sunday. It was a good ending. But I'm so glad we're still unofficially meeting up once a month. God does provide.

I feel so blessed to have them as our counselors.
That reminds me of how it all first started

We wanted to start pre-engagement counseling when we first moved here
After filling out this huge packet of questions about.. YOUR LIFE, we turned it in to the secretary hoping that our counselors would be Tom and Amanda. However, since Ps David was the head pastor we thought it would be him.

this tied in to the convo about who was gonna marry us since we felt most comfortable with Tom and Amanda, but if Ps David were to counsel us, he would be most suitable to marry us.
Lo' and Behold, it is Tom and Amanda!

haha so there's that little story. it alll worked out.


oh btw, I didn't really finish the project that was due at 11pm last Wednesday, since I had another mt to study for. I ended up going straight to campus after work on wednesday and stayed until 11pm. It was insane. and it reminded me of college. I actually took Thursday off since i wasn't feeling spectacular, but i also studied while I was home. We'll see how I did on the mt today......... *nervous*