Happy Birthday Stoli & Siblings!

Today is Stoli's 2nd birthday!!!!! OMG! I cant believe it's been 2 years! He is such a wonderful, smart, beautiful dog. My mother always said, " God only gives you what you can handle"...she was right! See Pics below

Here we go...

I've been waiting this week to find out where we are & what the next step is. Well....got some good news this afternoon. Looks like the bank is calling the contractor for approval and the broker is meeting with bank on Monday. Now....its in the banks hands to put it all together so we can get moving! Hopefully they call Scott today and he'll get an idea of a start date from them.

Im getting excited...still cautious, but excited. Look for more news...coming soon!

1 step forward, 2 steps back....3 steps forward?

Well.....progress???? I think so. Last friday I was given the bad news that the Mortgage interest company denied my loan. Well, after a weekend of working through my options, I think we are on track. Again, I sit & wait.....but just waiting for paperwork to be ready this time... =)

So.....hopefully.... in a few days, I'll have the loan in place and we can start the build. The contractor is waiting...I am waiting...everyone is waiting & I'm sure they are tired of my whining & moaning too....

Please still keep your fingers crossed, toes, etc....whatever it takes to get me to the point of building. Will keep the blog posted.

Does anyone read this? or is it just for me to vent? let me know....post a comment or send me an email.

One Step Closer! YIPPEE!

Well, I got the news late Friday afternoon that the loan has been approved! Now....we are just waiting on the Mortgage Insurance company to approve & sign off. Soon......

Im ready for the building to begin! The contractor is getting anxious...has already dropped off some of the foundation forms. Im getting anxious... I know that very soon I'll be watching the progress as the dream unfolds.....

Keep your fingers crossed!

Well, today is a milestone day.....My credit score is FINALLY back where it belongs & high enough to start processing my construction loan. We arent out of the woods yet, but at least the score part is done.

Hopefully, with fingers, toes, etc crossed, we'll be able to secure funding & start this little project...finally!

I will keep blogging as I have more news...Cant wait to blog the construction pics....but not crossing that bridge til it's built.

The house that Grant built...or is still hoping to build...

Well, the house plans are still moving along, just at a snails pace instead. A late payment at Home Depot has thrown my credit score into a tail spin....so Im just waiting for it to recover and then we can move forward. Scott, my contractor, is hanging in there with me. He has applied for all of the permits & we are just waiting on the approval of the septic plan. I am hoping to have a day off during the week, so I can go to the hardware store to look at fixtures and make some preliminary decisions. The store he uses is only open m-f....how weird is that?! Oh, well. My mind still races thinking about how to do things, colors to use, placement of furniture, etc. This home will really be my dream home since I will have been dreaming about it, vividly, for over a year!

Reality Check!

March has been a crazy month! Between the hospitalization of my ex-wife, her stay in Cardiac ICU and the death of my good friend Ryan's Dad on March 9th from a Pulmonary Embolism, I've been rethinking how I live my life.

Ryan's dad was 51, a Washington State Patrol Detective & a great guy. It always amazes me how the good guys are the ones to go first. I guess God needed him...so called him home. Well, 51....wow....Only 10 years older than me. The family had been in Vegas for a wedding and on the day Ryan was going home, his dad wasnt feeling well, so Ryan hung out with him until heading to the airport. Well, sometime while in flight, Mike was rushed to the hospital and died. Ryan got a call when he landed & in that short moment, his life was forever altered. Mike left behind his wife Tracy, Ryan & his brother. A rich & wonderful life, cut short.... The good part was that Mike & Tracy were so in love...lived every day to its fullest & enjoyed their friends & family.

My point is that I need to look at my life...am I happy? Happy with my choices in life....well, not really, I guess. I needed a reality check. So, I've been re-evaluating everything and I think Im ready for some changes. Nothing too drastic...well, YOU probably wont notice much, but I will. I am going to make an effort to Learn, Live, Laugh & Love...maybe not in that order....but will concentrate on doing a few things differently to make me happy. For too many years, I have done what other people thought was best for me, not what I thought was best. Well, with change comes growth. I guess its time to do things for me & if I screw up...well, I will learn. But I wont have any regrets, like I do now...that is what is important.

So...for all of you that are now scared....lol...dont be, that is my job! Change is good, change is healthy. Im ready for it and will embrace it no matter what.