Cabinets and countertops

I've chosen my kitchen cabinets - American Woodmark Ashland Maple Mocha Glaze Square. There's not a photo online of the exact thing I'm buying, but you can get an idea here:

This is the door style (except the wall cabinets will be square, not cathedral) and basic wood color (though the mocha glaze adds a different twist): Ashland Maple Spice Cathedral

This is a different door style, but since the wood and glaze are the same, you can better see the color: Richmond Maple Mocha Glaze

Now I'm waiting for a phone call to set up an appointment to measure my kitchen, then we'll finalize the design and order the cabinets.

I'm also still trying to decide about the countertops - I'm considering both Corian and Silestone. Silestone is more durable, and they're comparable in price, but the integrated sink is only an option with Corian. So, I'm still deciding about that. Really, it may come down to a color choice.

Alberto

I've never lived where hurricanes were actually a threat. A couple times in Frederick we got thunderstorms, but nothing insane. So, I'm kind of interested to see what that's actually like, now that I'm entering my first hurricane season in a place where they actually mention how your homeowners insurance benefits work if you suffer hurricane damage.

Apparently, Hampton Boulevard gets severely flooded in places when there's a lot of rain (thanks to Alberto, downgraded to a tropical depression today). It took me twenty minutes to drive what normally takes about two, since almost everyone had moved from three lanes to one (the only lane without standing water measuring a couple feet in some places). And I passed three cars that hadn't been smart enough avoid those lanes, and were stuck. I actually called Dad for a quick refresher on how to drive through standing water.

After shopping for a while (I picked out my cabinets), Heather and I drove by the first house I visited while house hunting - nearly every yard was severely flooded, and several streets. Apparently, Norfolk (where I work) and Portsmouth (where I will live, starting this weekend) are the first areas to flood. Even though my house isn't in a flood zone, I still felt a strong desire to just drive by and check it out, to make sure. No problems at all - guess I picked the right house!

This weekend and house settlement

I spent this weekend back in Frederick, visiting friends and family and going to friends' wedding. It was a full weekend, but still tons of fun. I even got to visit Dakota for about 10 minutes (I'm boarding her in a kennel).

Then, today, I closed on my house, which makes me a homeowner again. The sellers are renting it back for a few days, but I can't wait until its completely mine. And I'm even more excited for when I can move my stuff in (this weekend).

I got an estimate for installing central AC and converting to either gas or electric heat. Both were about what I was expecting, so no big surprises there.

Interesting coworkers

The weirdest thing happened to me at work yesterday. I was trying to talk to one of my coworkers about a conversation with our customers, and it went something like this:

Me: "Hey, Bill, I talked to Jim yesterday..."
Bill (cuts me off): "I just can't talk about that, there are things higher on my priority list."
Me (a little surprised): "Well, can I just tell you what he said?"
Bill: "You can, but I won't be listening."

At this point, he was actually walking away from me and around the corner, and he kept talking to himself.

I guess there's one interesting coworker in every office, right?

More accident stuff, bad movie

Its been several days since the accident, and my shoulder still hurts. I'm taking the prescription painkiller when I can and taking over-the-counter medications when I can't (like when I need to be able to drive to work). I have a doctor's appointment on Monday, and hopefully will know more after that.

I saw The Break-Up tonight - big waste of money. I suppose its too much to hope that a movie with that title would end up with the two main characters get back together. Heather said it best - when the credits started to roll, she said, "What the crap?"

Another first

Well, today I experienced another first, though this one wasn't nearly as enjoyable as the beach. On my way home from work today, I was rear-ended, and I dislocated and sprained my shoulder. To be safe, I was transported to the ER by ambulance, and now have prescription pain meds. Everything I've been told says that tomorrow is going to be miserable, especially when I first wake up, so I'm taking a day off. Also, I can't drive while I'm on the meds, and my right arm is in a sling for the next couple days.

I guess I'll get really good at typing with my left hand.

First day at the beach

I went to the beach today for the first time since I've moved here. We were only there a couple hours, starting at 3pm, but I still got the start of a nice tan. This is the part of living in this area that I think I'm going to like.

Nathan, however, did not enjoy the beach so much. Though this might be because early in our afternoon, a wave knocked him flat on his back and water flowed over his face.

We had fun, though. :-)

Still here

I'm still here.

Nick and Heather were on vacation this past week, so I had the house to myself for a few days. On Wednesday, Heather's parents came to take care of Nathan, which was a little odd, since I don't know them too well, but not too bad.

Wednesday I met with a kitchen designer at Lowe's and designed my kitchen, and got a cabinet and countertop estimate for what I want to do. I'm going to see if Home Depot has something similar, just so I have something to compare. I also started looking at appliances - it's a bit overwhelming. I'm hoping to find open-box items to drive the cost down a bit, if I can.

Last night I saw X-Men 3, which was pretty good (and of course, left open the opportunity for a sequel). I think the first one was probably my favorite, though.

Settlement for my house in Frederick was Friday, and everything went well (Melissa said - I wasn't there). And, all the contigencies for the new settlement have been taken care of, so we should be good to go on the 15th.

Not in there

One more thing...

Mom called me yesterday while she was outside with Jake, and Jake and I talked on the phone for a little while. It's a lot easier to talk to him on speaker phone, because I don't have to rely on him keeping the phone in the right position. At one point, I was waiting for him to answer my question, which I guess he didn't realize, and I could hear him say to Mom, "she's not in there."

Low-key weekend

It's been a good, low-key weekend. I spent a lot of Saturday researching kitchen remodel information - different types of cabinets, price estimates for different types of appliances, etc. Wow, there's a lot to that. At least I'm keeping the same layout! But, I do have a better idea now of what I want, in terms of different materials, and also the look I'm going for.

My house inspection is tomorrow, and I'll take a ton of measurements, inside and out, and I have an appointment Wednesday evening with a kitchen designer at Lowe's. After that, I should have some more specific numbers to work with in terms of an estimate, especially for counters, floors, and cabinets (the big unknowns right now because I need actual measurements), so I can start making some more concrete decisions.

I've also decided that though I will most likely want to join the launch team for the church Nick & Heather are planting, I need another place to get plugged in to in the meantime. BJ and I visited a church in Chesapeake this morning, and I'm going to keep looking over the next few weeks.

(In case anyone from Mountain View's praise team is reading this, I actually saw the pastor jumping during one of the songs, and thought of you guys. Acoustics are going to be so much better in the new building.)