New Year, New Blog

Hi Everybody,

I bet y'all gave up on us...since it's been about 4 months since my last post. Sooo, what's new??? Rob's been working hard at building the Austin branch of Step Technologies. He's also been working equally hard at building the bike track in the back yard. At this point, it's probably 90% complete, and totally rideable. Yesterday there were at least 8 bike dudes over here, including a pro racer who's been frequently featured in Decline Magazine. One of the cool things about the track is that "ANY skill level can do it." Note results of Amanda's ride in the pic above...

I had 10 days off work (between Christmas and New Year's) so I used the time to take a few road trips. Amanda and I went to Enchanted Rock, just outside Fredricksburg, TX. It's about 1.5 hours west of Austin. See pics of us w/ Ruby on the Texas version of "a rock". OK, that's it for now....more posts to come....

Dear Blog, I'm sorry for ignoring you,

but I have a good excuse...here's what we've been up to (starting with most recent):

1. Amelia's first trip to Texas: It was an excellent adventure. See pics below- she got to see Hamilton Pool (which I'd never seen), kayaking on Town Lake, and froze her butt off at Deep Eddy (oldest spring fed pool in Texas). A visit from the H-town girls overlapped w/ Amelia's visit- that involved a lot less swimming and a lot more drinking.

2. Pump Track Nation had its ground breaking party. All the Austin bike dudes (who all have Toyota pick ups) were here digging up the backyard, and riding around on bob cats. If you don't know what a pump track is, google it. It's a kind of bike track that gives you momentum w/out any peddling. I suck at explaining it, so I defer to Google.

3. Surfing on Lake Granger with T & T (Tim & Tracy). We went out for Tracy's 30th Bday. Surfing behind the WetSounds boat (not me, but Rob rocked, of course.)

4. Went to beautiful Beaumont, TX for my grandmother's bday. Good times- Ruby got to come with us, and we had burgers n tots from Sonic (as requested by G-ma) and drank wine from a box. yuuuummmm.

So with all this fun stuff, not much has changed on the house, and that's why there's no pictures of it. I'll save that for the next post.

k, enough writing...here are the pics: i'll post more pics later this week.

Sacrifice to the Moving Gods

I've now looked through every box: we only had to sacrifice one white wine glass to the moving gods (i'm not counting the coffee mug Amanda broke between Mesa Verde and the house). Happy only one thing broke, but not thrilled that it was one of our GOOD glasses- as opposed to the set of 24 for 8 bucks from IKEA. So, we're patting ourselves on the back for being excellent packers. yeah.

Also, we now have internet- so we're officially plugged in. This also means Rob and I hang out in completely seperate parts of the house. Me in the living room/ kitchen and him out in Step Tech Headquarters (aka- above the garage). We text or IM to communicate. Is that sad? Maybe, but its kinda fun.

George Update: she's adjusted OK to the house, but I think now she's a tortured kitty- all she wants to do is go outside. And since we don't have a fence yet- that ain't gonna happen. So, she just sits at the windows that face the courtyard and whines. The one time she did get out, she ate some of the weeds in the yard, came back inside....and puked. Good times- thank god for concrete floors.

OK, that's it for now. I promise next time I'll have visual aids with the post. All text and no posts make for a boring Blog.

Closing in Texas

We did it! We closed on Monday, and the last 3 days have been spent moving, packing, unpacking, cleaning, driving all over town....typical moving in stuff.

All that business is sooo worth it- the house is amazing. Pretty surreal being in a place you've been dreaming about for a year and a half. Neighbors are cool- but we already knew that. A few of them stopped by for a beer on the deck and the sunset. All agreed that we have the best view in Agave.

Our punch list is pretty short- nothing major to fix or adjust. A few of the outlets in the kitchen don't work, and the fence needs to be completed. The contractor is still coming out to the house to water the yard- the grass gets yellow quick w/ all this sun.

A few things that I would guess are unique to Texas in a real estate closing:

1. Your property is called your HOMESTEAD.

2. There's a whole section of documents on SQUATTER'S RIGHTS. they actually asked if we noticed anyone campin out on our "homestead".

3. We do not have the rights to the "minerals" that may or may not be present on our property. Translation: If it turns out there is oil on our property, we do not have the right to drill it. We had to sign something that stated we promise NOT TO DRILL FOR OIL.

Only in Texas. (but please correct me if I'm wrong).

Moral of the story: The house rocks and it was well worth the wait. You're all invited anytime, doesn't matter if you have to fly, drive or walk- just get here! We'll be on the balcony with a glass of wine.

Are Y'all Ready For This?????

WE HAVE A CLOSING DATE!!!!

JUNE 3OTH: Exactly 548 Days or 78 Weeks and 2 Days since we signed a contract and put down earnest money.

I guess they missed their completion date of October 2007 by a day or two....

Random Interior Shots

In order from top to bottom: Master shower with channel set glass panel, kitchen cabs and stove (5 burner), kitchen sink faucet, Rob in the living room, and the 2 steps leading up to the ground floor bedrooms (that unfinished concrete edge will be covered with a black steel angle.) I'll ask again- How cool is this????

Fresh Dirt & Stair Railings!

Even the new top soil coordinates with the house colors. We went by the house yesterday to find the yards being graded with top soil. I have to say, the yard really cleans up good. We also found the metal stair railings in place. Now all they have to do is paint them and add the acryllic panels. We gave the builder a sketch showing how we want the front yard landscaped- we'll see if they actually follow it. Also note- the garage door is stained and it matches the wood plaque for the house numbers.