SNOW!!!

Hi!
Yup I'm still here.
I'm so far behind in my blog updates that I'm not going to give an excuse. Just know that I am still here.

Anyway it SNOWED!!! today, not the crappy icy kind or just a sprinkle, but those fat fluffy flakes that make you want to bundle up and play outside all day. So Amos and I took advantage of it:

Here he is playing as it is just starting to fall.

After I finished working for the day, we took a walk ran in the play field by the house and took a few pictures of the house. I think the snow sets it off nicely (and obviously some other people do too, as I caught a lady taking a picture from her car)

view from the school yard

view from the street

Well, if the snow sticks around i might just get caught up on my blogging!! Happy Valentines Day and Happy Snowpocalypse 2010!

Recipe contest!!!

So, we are having an open house in a few weeks and I'm looking for yummy gluten free goodies to make and serve to my guests. And since we are in the good ol' USA I decided to request your help in the form of a....

CONTEST!!!

(Oh and for you wheat eaters out there...send those recipes in too, I can convert them to what I have available in my kitchen.)

Both savory and sweet dishes will qualify for the fabulous prizes**

To give you some ideas, my random thoughts for the smorgasbord include:
feel free to build on these ideas or go a completely different route

• marshmallows (homemade, of course)
• ghetto petit fours (essentially any cake I can cut into small pieces and pour icing over)
• cookies (M specifically requested lime sugar cookies)
• hummus
• veggies
• fruit
• salsa
• guac(?)
• cheese dip (midwest style)
• tortilla chips
• Cheese chunks
• spinach dip
• beverages (of course, and we'll even have non-alcoholic for the kiddies)

Submitted recipes will be reviewed by my very prestigious advisory panel of Kitchen Goddesses*, who will help me select the final entries to be included on the smorgasbord.

If your recipes ends up on the smorgasbord you will win a fabulous prize**

So enter early and often, remember you can't win unless you enter!!!

Here are the contest rules:
Entries must be received by August 26th. Entries can be submitted by emailing them to zilla.ctw@gmail.com or by posting a link, or recipe, in the comment section of this post. If you post a recipe as part of you blog, please supply a link to the contest in your post. If you actually make the dish, please send me a picture, pixel size dose not matter, but please try to keep all pictures under 1MB. Posts that involve childhood memories or sappy stories my influence the expert panel*, we are human after all, however, the true quality of your dish is what really matters. Use of processed foods is permitted, after all "tater sluts" happen to contain all sorts of processed goodness and are a particular favorite of the expert panel*. If you are really nice to us, we may even share the recipe. All entries will be reviewed by the said expert panel*. If your entry is not selected, no pouting is allowed, although bribing of the judges may be allowed. Prizes** will be awarded to the winners. Honorable mentions may also be included in the round up post. Any questions can be submitted to zilla.ctw@gmail.com or posted in the comment section of this post. Contest void and prohibited in states and countries where this kind of thing is void and prohibited. This contest is not affiliated with anything, besides my housewarming. The Kitchen Goddesses* are not receiving any compensation from acting as the expert panel in this contest,unless you bribe them. They do, however, get to eat the fruits of their labor, as do all the guests.

In other words, just post it in the comments or send it to me in an email. zilla.ctw@gmail.com

*AKA MB and Ash

**My undying love and devotion, but if that is not enough, I'll also post a round up of the smorgasbord*** after I put the house back in order.

***if you don't know what a smorgasbord is you obviously are not Scandinavian, or did not grow up in the Midwest, a link is provided at the top of the post.

where did the summer go?

A month without internet (at home), madly finishing the house, a new position at the mothership, and suddenly I turn around and realize school starts on Monday. What a crazy month July has been.

So in brief summary here is the last month (or so) of my life:

June 25th. - We can move our stuff in, but cannot stay at the house since we do not have a C/O (certificate of occupancy, in case all of you who are not crazy enough to build a house don't know that). So, M and I are left at the loft with the futon and a few odds and ends.

June 26th. - M's birthday and his sister K arrives to celebrate with us and see the house before she heads home to Hawaii. Oops. No place for her to stay. Thank God for Ash, who says "come and stay with me at MB & D's while they are out of town". This will for ever more be know as the weekend of Poop and Moving. For Ash, who is an awesome friend, not only helped me with the movers the day before, is house sitting for MB & D, and also watch about 50 of other friends and neighbors animals.

Oh, and did I happen to mention that I was holding a surprise party for M at the house that night? Amazingly, we were able to pull it off without him knowing. Surprising him with about 40 people, including A&T who popped into town to stay with us at the urban refugee camp (AKA MB & D's).

M blowing out the candles on his cake, I have MB & D to thank for the use of their kitchen, M's birthday would not have been the same without Jello Cake.

The "weekend of Poop and Moving" turned out to be fabulous fun. The party was a success, we had a great visit with K and A&T, and we all had a fabulous time at MB & D's. (wish you guys could have been there, but I'm not sure where you would have slept!)

July 1st. - We get the C/O...kind of. We get a temporary C/O and are able to move in, but there are a few things to fix before the city will sign off on it. The main one being having a certified letter from our structural engineer that our decks are sound. Should be easy, right? More on that later.

July 2nd. - Just as the Kitties are settling into the new place, we disrupt their lives even more by getting a DOG!!!! We found Amos at Lifeline in Avondale Estates and welcomed him into our new home. While, we all are still adjusting (Amos included), he is a great addition to our four-legged crew.

AMOS!!

Most of July. - THE DECK SAGA
The whole deck saga stems from an incident that happened days before our C/O inspection. You see, a fine establishment about two miles south of us had a deck collapse. My Sister's Room had decided that the back deck off there bar would be a fine place for wrestling. While, according to the reports, they were not wrestling that night, M had witnessed it from an adjacent restaurant days earlier...hmmm.... Lets just say, we aren't planning on wrestling on our decks.

In essence, the impetus doesn't matter, the fact is we had to get that certified letter. Unfortunately for us, our structural engineer never review the deck plans. So, after reviewing them, he determined that they needed a few "minor" tweaks. Let's just say these "minor" tweaks involved things like cutting into our finished ceilings to add more bolts and further securing the supports to the decks and the house. M with help from me and some friends ended up getting the work done, but I am still trying to recover from all the drywall dust that is strewn and has yet to be strewn throughout my new house. And as everyone knows, I LOVE drywall dust. Now, although the decks seemed fine before, they now feel like you are standing on the ground. Wrestling anyone??

M working on the lower deck

The deck repairs continue throughout most of the month, and truthfully, there is still a little drywall patching that needs to be done.

July 30th. - We head to the beach for a much needed weekend. A&W invite a few couples to A's family beach house for a bit of a reunion. It was awesome. We went crabbing and shrimping, swam and walked the beach, M tried his hand at stunt kites and all in all had a fantastic time.

M castnetting shrimp at the beach. I have to say that those shrimp and the crabs that were caught along with them were awesomely delicious.

This leads to August 6th ---- we got the FINAL C/O!!!!! And we close on Monday. After over a year of preparing and building we are finally going to home owners.

FINISHED!!! Well, kind of, but definitely livable. See Amos keeping watch through the front window

Things not mentioned, my battle with Comcast and the decision to go with Clear and forgo cable TV, for a while. My new job, me a papermaker, is now going to be developing soaps, lotions, and potions!!

Getting close!

I am working on scheduling movers for Thursday. Hopefully we will have our C/O on Tuesday...

here is a couple of pics for you:

Standing in the dining room looking at the front door. I think I am going to love all the light!

The fan in the family room

Walking up to the roof

The front deck

the kitchen...we must be getting close, see I have a dish washer!

I'm sure I'll have plenty of stories with the move. Now, back to packing!

How much does M love me...

As he said to me last night, "If you had any doubt that I love you, this week should prove it."
And I believed him.

So, I'm sure you're asking, what on earth happened this week??

Well, he literally moved the earth for me.

No, not all of it, but about 12 cubic yards of it up 66 stairs on his back two buckets at a time. Yes, the poor man has been going through back breaking labor to make the roofs of our new house green for me. (or so he says, I think he may want green roofs too, but please don't ask him for a few weeks!)

While, no photos were taken of the yoke system he set up to carry the buckets. (you can picture two 5 gallon pails tied together by a moving strap. The strap was then stretched over a length of 2x4. He then lifted that contraption onto his shoulders and hefted it up the stairs)

this is M filling his contraption with dirt

I did, however, take pictures when I helped out on Sunday.

Here is us covering the lower roof with dirt:

Step 1: Build a pulley system. We used an extension ladder and counterbalanced it with our decking panels for the upper roof and a bag of cement

Step 2: M fills a 5 gallon pail with dirt

Step 3: He attaches it to the pulley system

Step 4: he uses the pulley to haul the bucket up to me.

Step 5: I catch the bucket, take it off the pulley system and attach an empty bucket. (the bucket here is waiting for its trip down)

Proof it was actually me on the roof.

Step 6: repeat, repeat, repeat.

So, in the course of a Sunday, our lower roof went from:

This

to this

to this

and finally this

Along the way it was not all fun and games, but we really pulled through and worked as a team. The only lasting effects are the dirt covered roof and my bruised thighs, from catching the buckets.

BTW, I truly think M had the tough end of the stick on Sunday and he is still hauling dirt tonight. While, he had been behind on his friendship dues...I think this might have caught him up and then some. I happen to see a massage, or two, and some jello cake in his future!

Inman Park Festival find

our new chair
Originally uploaded by frannylue

Our first piece of "new" furniture for our house! A vintage leather and wood recliner complete with an articulating ottoman. Very comfortable and modern. M found it at City Issue's booth at the Inman park festival. After sitting in it and thinking about it some more, we knew we couldn't pass this one up.

Sorry for the poor pic, but we had to get it back to the apartment somehow. Eventually I will post a better pic of it, most likely with M or the kitties in it.

Progress update

south side of the house
Originally uploaded by frannylue

I went a little crazy with the picture taking, so check out all the action on my flickr site. The drywall is up and the taping is finished!! I toured the whole house today taking pictures. It actually looks like someone could live there soon!

And that is a good thing. T-1month, from today, we are supposed to be in!

STUCCOED!!!

March 20, 2009
Originally uploaded by frannylue

I thought you might like to see the outside of the house as well.

Yes, we finally have stucco too!

Drywall and lots of it

Drywall and lots of it - from the dining room
Originally uploaded by frannylue

Yesterday morning M stopped at the house on his way to work and gave me a call. He said, "I just want to warn you, they are putting the drywall in, everything is going to feel smaller".

I'm of the opinion that it may feel smaller, but it is all progress and needs to be done if we are going to move in by April 29th.
The only room that felt really small to me was the office, everything else is just looking fantastic. This picture doesn't actually do the drywaller's justice as they had the rest of the house practically finished in 1 day!

I have a feeling that by the end of the day today the dry wall will be in and they will begin finishing it.

Oh, BTW, the guys at work are starting a pool for when we will actually be moved in. The only day they will let me have is the 29th. Any takers?

Yes, Virginia, there is insulation

Yes, Virginia, there is insulation
Originally uploaded by frannylue

Whoohoo!!!

I am actually about a week behind in blogging about this, so expect another post in about 10 minutes, but whoohooo!

I recently, gave our GC a firm deadline. Something along the lines of "we will be moved in by April 29th" and look what happens. Progress and lots of it!!

Stay tune for more exciting news!

A quick story before bed

It seems like it is yet again one of those nights. M is asleep on the couch and I am here at the computer, tired but not quite ready for bed.

I haven't written down a new neighborhood antidote in a while so here goes. As you all know we are building our house in a "emerging" neighborhood. This brings a lot of culture into my little Midwest born-and-bred life. And the vast majority of it I truly enjoy and appreciate.

So... the other day I was out in the driveway of the house and a minivan stops in the street in front of me and rolls down the window. Now, I am not alarmed, as this happens at least once a week when I am over at the house. People have a lot of questions and some of them they actually ask.

This time in the van was a woman about my age, driving, and a woman who appeared to be her mother in the passenger seat.

This was the woman with questions.

Here is how the conversation went:

"What is that?" She asks, curiously, but not rude

"A house" I answer

"In this neighborhood??" She replies with a head bob and swing I will never be able to replicate. After all, she was born with a sense of rhythm.
"Who's house is it?" she then asks

I say "it's mine"

"In this neighborhood??" She replies with the same bit of cultural attitude
"To sell?" she then asks

"No" I say, "my husband and I are going to live in it"

"you are?" she says, "In this neighborhood??"

By this time I can see that her daughter is frantically trying to shush her. While crouching as low in the drivers seat as she can.

After a few more questions followed by "In this neighborhood??" they bid me a good day and drive on.

I'm sure we are viewed as "those crazy white kids, building that crazy (or possibly godawful) house" But all-in-all our new neighbors have been very friendly and welcoming to us. Sitting on the front steps yesterday, I kept thinking this is going to be a good place to be..."In this neighborhood??" She replies


Oh and just to let all of you know...the roof is finally on!! That means stucco and wiring cannot be far behind. yay!

2009

Wow, we are already 11 days into 2009. There are so many things that are supposed to happen this year. In a lot of respects 2008 was a year of waiting, planning, and preparation for me, with 2009 being the year of completion.

Craziness!

This year, yes, this year, M and I will be moving into our, hopefully, gorgeous new home, my modern monstrosity.



This year I will be completing my second project with the mothership and launching it globally!! Hopefully getting to travel to all sorts of exotic locals to participate in the launches. By the time the launches are complete, I'll have worked on this project for 3 years. It will be strange not having to work on it anymore. Right now, the project work and the people working with me are my constant companions.

So, in general 2009 is going to be a year of hard work and hopefully celebration.

My New Year's resolution is to be grateful all year and appreciate what I have and what's around me. And, yes, I came up with this only 11 days into the New Year, so I think my procrastination might be improving. To keep my resolution I am going to post about things I am thankful for, starting today.

Coming back from the holidays, after thoroughly enjoying seeing family and friends, I think M and I both realized how much we enjoy our chosen hometown of Atlanta. Atlanta is the place where we truly began our adult lives. We graduated from school here, we got married here, and we are building our first home here. Who knows where our lives will take us next, but Atlanta will always have a special place in our hearts.

There are a number of reasons to love and enjoy "the city too busy to hate", and if you've been following my facebook, I've started listing them, with a totally random numbering system:

#15: Ria's - M's all time favorite breakfast place. We have achieved regular status, and if M could afford it, he would eat there every day. The food is fabulous and the atmosphere screams Atlanta, or everything that makes my Atlanta great.

#356: Zesto's - An Atlanta fast food institution. With locations all over the city, some kind of scary, you can get your fast food fix. While I can't eat about 90% of their menu, the french fries and ice cream are fabulous. With the L5Ps location a short walk from our door, M and I often head up there for a late evening treat. A chocolate malt for me and a cherry shake for him. Although every once in a while, I'll get a NBC (nut brown crown) Yes, I don't think naming is Zesto's strong suite.

#857: MARTA - our mass transit system. In a lot of respects, it goes nowhere, but does have some pluses. For $1.75 I can get downtown for a game, over to Decatur for dinner and a drink, or down to the airport. And, if I wanted to, I could take it to the mothership, although with the trains and buses, it takes me over an hour each direction. My hope is that they will extend the MARTA up 400 in my lifetime, so I can leave my car at home each morning.

What do you enjoy about Atlanta, or your hometown?

We have windows!!

Yes, about 70% of our windows have been installed and in preparation for heading north for the holidays I have changed my title picture to one taken last year at home. It is the view of my parent's back yard looking down on the Fox river.

Wrapping underway!!

Yes, this means that framing is officially done!! Check out my flickr for more pics. And A's page for the M &W working hard on sealing up the place.

Crazy busy

Tons of things to blog about, but too busy to do it.
So, when I have a chance I'll put new pics of the house up, it is getting wrapped this week!
I'll write about our fabulous Thanksgiving. (Thanks again to our South GA friends, who really are family, by choice!)
And coming home, where it is freezing cold. Yup, I think it was 1 deg F when I got up this morning, with a windchill of -13. Ahh... a lovely WI winter.

House update

Forgot to tell you, I took about a million pictures of the house today. Check out my flickr site for all the action. We are almost done framing!!

A few shots during the day

So you can actually see something.

The view from down the street, remember there will be one more story on the back half of the house.

The front of the house, think solid walls (with big windows) and that is pretty much what you will see from the front.

M on the third floor balcony, searching for the skyline view...looks like we may have to go up to the roof for that.

For more pics head to flickr.

Moving on up

This is pretty much full height in the front of the house, one more story plus roof access to go on the back. I guess we will be in the trees! (Don't worry no trees have been harmed in the making of this house, they have however been pruned a bit!)

Moving above ground

First floor walls went up today!

Hope you all took time to vote today. M and I were in line for about an hour and a half. We then rewarded ourselves for doing our civic duty by checking out the house and getting breakfast at Ria's before heading to work.

Not only do we have walls, we have a ceiling!

Or a floor depending on how you look at it. Either way framing has finally begun!

Check out all the action here.









Now, I'm off to do some knocking on doors for Obama. Remember to get out and vote on Tuesday!!