And ... We Have a House! (Somewhat. Okay, not really.)

Hey peeps!

Took some time out today to meet with our Project Manager (very nice, made me feel at ease, answered all of my stupid, anxiety filled questions) and to sign off on some (anxiety filled) last minute changes we've made to the house with our sales agent. We now have a garage door, steps, and a bunch of other things that I couldn't really identify, but they certainly look like they belong in a house!

We have a garage!

Not sure why I'm such a neurotic mess, considering this isn't my first time at this particular rodeo. Forget everything cool, calm and collected thing I said in previous posts, it's JUST as exhilarating, exciting and terrifying the second time around as it was the first time around.

We also met with Trinity for our wiring needs. Since we're not getting anything but the bare basics, it all took about thirty minutes, and then we were free to roam about and take pictures!

It FINALLY looks like a house! The fireplace and tubs have all been put into place, and it's so exciting to be able to visualize that yes, this is OUR house.

Our fireplace! We have big plans for this area!

Our glorious future Roman Shower. We opted out of a bathtub.

My son was beside himself with excitement, he couldn't believe that we were actually allowed to walk around a construction site. He jumped into nearly picture, grinning like the joker:

In the kitchen, next to the future (massive) island area

You know something you really don't consider though, when you walk into a warm, brightly lit model home? The location of your own house, and how much sunlight your home will have access to. Despite the fact that we chose an end unit, the house seems a bit dim and shadowy than the model home. Now that being said, it is something that you just have to gamble on, unless they've already broken ground on your house and you negotiate to buy it much later on in the building process.  For that reason, I changed my mind on some of the lighting rough-ins I thought we wouldn't need, and decided to add them in anyway. Even if it costs extra, I just don't think I will regret adding more lighting to the house, whereas trying to add it later will be a pain in the butt, and probably cost prohibitive.

Going up, going down. We have stairs!

Beginning stages of the deck.

Outside of the questionable lighting (and honestly, it's probably all in my my anxiety filled head), I couldn't be more thrilled with our lot and location of our home. My son will have an excellent view of the impending pond from his room, and we will be able to gaze at trees and watch them change throughout the seasons--that's certainly something we never had in California and something I missed desperately. (Well fall, and ... the first two weeks of winter. Haha)

If you squint, tilt your head, and jump up and down, you can see the view of some mountain I can't name.

Views from the third floor bedroom window

I have faith that this pile of mud and sludge will someday transform into a beautiful pond by next spring.

Can't remember if this is from the living room or one of bedrooms. But hey, we've got rooms! 

I should point out that we are living in a hotel 30 miles away in Bethesda, and I'm already homesick for Frederick. When we go out to visit, it's hard for me to leave the city behind and come back to live in a place I just don't really fit and can't really consider home, it feels so temporary! So after we left our appointment, we drove around the neighborhood to scope things out, and just to get a general idea of what our day to day life will be like. Plus, to avoid the monotony of the hotel room for as long as possible. Also, a pile a laundry.

Not sure HOW I missed it, but there's a Waffle House in our neighborhood! Like ... how even, and why me? The moment I saw it, I immediately looked up the closest fitness centers to our area, because ....

Despite being unbelievably happy about Waffle House, I still remain the most excited about the Urbana Library, which I mentioned before was definitely a selling point to the neighborhood. Libraries in So Cal were ... lacking, and we'll leave it at that. It's going to be so awesome to have a legit, traditional library within walking distance of our house. I mean sure, I read from a Kindle, but you still can't beat the ambiance and massive cookbook, magazine, and research collections of a library. Plus, I do like to hold physical books sometimes.

Urbana Library. How beautiful is this place?