Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Finally.

Well, we got in about a month ago. That's how old that graphic is. Then came unpacking, and boxes, and garbage, and more unpacking, and then school finals. End result? This post's completion (and publishing) kept on getting pushed, and pushed, and pushed again. Hopefully, you won't mind a condensed reporting on the past month, as there is still work to be done.

We got all of our stuff the day before Thanksgiving. A 40ft semi trailer filled with crates full of boxes (about 400+ of them) dumped its contents into our house. We're continuing to unpack the boxes, the majority of the common rooms have been unpacked. Our kitchen is nice and roomy, although a lot of our tools seem to be misplaced (which we discovered when trying to cook a holiday dinner yesterday). The one car portion of the garage is still filled with boxes, as well as our spare (guest) bedroom.

In other news, I have now got my Driver's License (technically). I took the test on Monday and passed with an 80% (it would have been higher, except the tester's car performed erratically on the parallel park). We were also blessed (so some say) with a White Christmas yesterday.
Myself on our front porch Christmas Afternoon
We were told to expect about 6-8 inches of snow, but fortunately didn't get much more than half an inch. Thank goodness for that, since Dad and I had to venture out for some last minute groceries from our local supermarket.

As we move forward into the new year (and our second year as Oklahomans), we want to thank all of you for supporting us and keeping us in mind. Your support and calls were a shining part of a tough year, and we look forward to the next year.

Even though the house is complete and we're now moved in, this site won't stop updating. Well, not completely at any rate. I will continue to update the blog and our Google+ profile as events occur, so check back when you can!

Merry Belated Christmas!


Yes, we did have a White Christmas. Whoopdedoo!

As for what we've been doing for the past month, expect another post in a couple of hours. Thanks for your patience!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Down for moving.

Sorry about the delayed information. Been moving a lot of stuff around, and I don't have access to the Internet to do a full post. I will make a full report as soon as I have access to the Internet at large again and not just on my mobile. Thanks for your patience and keep checking back: it's bound to be sometime soon.

Monday, November 12, 2012

House Report, Week 32


The end is nigh... check and double check, boys; we're wrapping up soon! This is the House Report on week 32 of the build project.

(If you were wondering why that sounds bizarre, check out the Verge's 90 Seconds on the Verge tech news overview video clip.)

Click for pictures: Mon 5-NOV | Tue 6-NOV | Wed 7-NOV | Thu 8-NOV | Fri 9-NOV

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

House Report, Week 31 + Branson, MO


Welcome back to the House Report. Now updating for the last week of October... we're getting close!

Click for pictures: Mon, 29-OCT | Tue, 30-OCT | Wed, 31-OCT | Thu, 1-NOV

Monday, October 29, 2012

House Report, Week 30

I've decided I like the new format I demoed back a couple weeks ago, so here goes nothing:

Click for pictures: Mon, 22-OCT | Tue, 23-OCT | Wed, 24-OCT | Thu, 25-OCT | Fri, 26-OCT

We've got Lights (and Fans)

A picture of the fan and light in BR2
Well, we have gotten our lights and fans in, both interior and exterior. Pictured above is a typical fan/light combo seen in bedrooms and common rooms. Also, there are special types of hallway lights, closet lights, and exterior lights.
Some undercounter lighting (dimmable) in the Kitchen
A look at the front of our house, showcasing our style of exterior lights

Foilage!

We've got the majority of our bushes and trees in:

Hardware Delights

Our doorknobs are in, and with it come the doorstoppers:
and hinge stoppers...

When'll Be Finished?

Supposedly, November 16th. We'll see about that. They really are moving along though, adding the final touches and prepping it for occupancy. Meanwhile, we prepare to take a weekend trip to Branson, MO. Stay tuned for that!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

House Report, Week 29


Hullo folks: the house is so close to becoming a home, it's mouth watering. We're excited and can't wait for it to be finished... hopefully we'll get in before Thanksgiving now! Read on for all the juicy details (ok, maybe not juicy, but still details...)

Monday, October 15, 2012

House Report, Week 28


Normally, this would be the standard report that I fill in on a weekly basis. However, this past week has been... shall we say highly irregular? So, you get a custom based House Report for the second week of October. Whoopdedoo!


Painters have been working all week on primering and caulking holes in the wood work. They expect to be finished with all the primering of the cabinetry and other wood designs and begin truly painting starting today (October 15th). Most of the house will be painted an off-white:
This image sourced from Behr.com. Due to the nature of the website, no direct link is available.
The home theatre will get some love and be painted an extremely dark blue:
Coming Soon
Meanwhile, my room will be painted a light green:
This image sourced from Behr.com. Due to the nature of the website, no direct link is available.
And Sis' room will be painted a light blue:
Coming Soon

We're excited for this step to be completed... this is one of the final steps to getting the house ready for final touches. (Carpet | Appliances | Hardware Fixtures | Landscaping | Redoing of the Tile Floor).

The Standard House Report should return next week. Stay tuned for more information! (which should be more freely flowing, since things have returned to a normal flow... I think.)

Sunday, October 7, 2012

House Report, Week 27


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, October 1, 2012

House Report, Week 26

Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, September 24, 2012

House Report, Week 25


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

House Report, Week 24


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, September 10, 2012

House Report Week 23

Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Happy Labor Day!


Now Posted!

Check it out... they did some work!

House Report, Week 22



Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Give us Feedback (on our house)!


Displaced SoCalers
Displaced SoCalers   August 30th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
They left us a key to the house today (they locked it up yesterday... and didn't give us a key. That's the reason for the no post.), so we got to see what the cabinets looked like. You tell us, is it any good? What could be changed? I know I have some strong opinions, and so does Dad and Mom. Do you think there is too much deadspace?

Comment here on the blog: (coming soon)

Comment on what you think right here!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Lifestyles Update (for lack of a House Report)

Alrighty folks, I apologize for the lack of information on what is going on with the house. However, providing a "House Report" with everyday being listed as a "glitch day" can't be too exciting for you. So, to summarize House Report for Week 21, nothing was done whatsoever. The official explanation from the builders is that the cabinetry is being built off-site. However, with a bunch of odds and ends to fix (back door latch needs to be redrilled so that it aligns, mailbox needs to be reconstructed so that we can actually access it, etc.) it gets pretty frustrating to see nada getting done day after day.

Now, for the other things that you are interested about:

School

School resumed on the 17th of August for our district. Most of our teachers proved to be satisfactory (my English teacher is somewhat cuckoo, but that keeps the class on its toes, eh?) and it can be a relief to have a habit and tasks to do. For me, the bus and the campus seems to be more crowded as there is a larger freshman class going to the high school.

Driving

Yes, I have been learning to drive over this summer. I have logged almost fifty total hours of driving without major incident, so I know I can drive safely. Whether I can drive safely and consistently remains to be determined. To be continued soon...

Weather

This past summer was not the fiery superheated oven of 2011, but compared to SoCal summers it was pretty brutal. Even though it was milder than last year, we still had a fair amount of days that were triple digits, and humidity was always there to smother us. We now understand how wonderful air conditioner is... if you ever enter a room that's at a cool 80F from outdoors at 107F and high humidity, you feel like you've entered paradise. Right?

Other

We have integrated pretty well into the lifestyle here. We still miss things from home, but we aren't as disoriented as we have been before. Dad has a group from work that meets once a month to try different restaurants  in the area, some of them are quite interesting. Most are local family owned and run, and all of them have been excellent in almost all aspects (they do hit the pocketbook a bit hard though). The church we attend is really great, although it isn't the same as the one we attended in SoCal. I won't say which is better, because both of them are the Lord's church, but I will say that both are equally friendly and a wonderful group to worship with and hang out with socially.

I hope I covered most of what y'all are interested in... if you think you want to learn more about something, let me know and I'll try to write more about it. No guarantees, since schoolwork can be... a bit painful at times.

Hopefully, the house work will resume this week. Keep tuned to our Google+ profile for more the most up-to-date information, and expect the House Report to return next week (knock on wood stone brick drywall you get the point, right?)!

--Displaced SoCalers

Sunday, August 19, 2012

House Report, Week 20


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

House Report, Week 19


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Sunday, August 5, 2012

House Report, Week 18


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, July 30, 2012

House Report, Week 17


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Monday, July 23, 2012

House Report, Week 16


Howdy, and welcome to the weekly report on the status of the house in construction. A great way to look at what is happening as a quick overview, it includes links to pictures and other great content. Click on the read more link to find out the latest news this week.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

House Report, Week 15


This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.

Monday, July 9, 2012

House Report, Week 14




This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.


Sunday, July 1, 2012

House Report, Week 13


This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.


Sunday, June 24, 2012

House Report, Week 13


This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.


Sunday, June 17, 2012

House Report, Week 12




This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.


Happy Father's Day!


Friday, June 15, 2012

An excellent read for all

Today I stumbled across this blog named NeverSeconds that is written by a elementary school student in the UK. She writes on school lunches, her own and others around the world (she gets submissions from anywhere, some that come to mind include Japan and China).  She also fundraises for a charity foundation named Mary's Meals which provide meals to those in need in Africa. It's really going viral after the local council tried to ban the student from doing her writeups.

As of right now, the ban was repealed. I'd encourage you to take a look, as it's written quite well.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

House Report, Week 11



This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.



Sunday, June 3, 2012

House Report, Week 10


This is the report on what has been happening with the construction of the house. Remember, you can get a daily detailed report by following the updates on Google+!  To conserve the space on the blog, you're going to have to click the read more link to get the report.

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Mini-Vacation! Dallas-Fort Worth Area

Prior to Day 1

At about 8.15p CST (29-May), we have a huge thunder and lightning storm. Mr. Hail decides to join in the the fun by dropping his baseball sized friends all over the northern Oklahoma County area (including Edmond). Dents and chips are noticeable on our Toyota Highlander, but the main thing that catches our attention: the back windshield is blown out. Oh goody! Mom and Dad got some tarp and duct tape from Home Depot, then come home at around 11.30p. Meanwhile, I'm looking into auto glass repair services.

Day 1

We take pictures of the damage (view them on Google+), then go to get a rental car at Will Rodgers World Airport. We pass by an intersection that was partially shut down with the traffic light out. The road itself was closed with a fleet of utility vehicles while they tried to fix two major power poles. These are the ginormous, aluminum, super tall power poles. You'd think that they secure those poles well, but one of them toppled onto a gas station roof and another toppled into a residential back yard. By the way, power was out for a good square mile radius from that street.

At the airport, we attempt to find a sheltered parking slot for our poor, abused SUV. No luck, since every single vehicle within a forty mile radius of OKC was parked in the covered parking structure due to the severe weather last night. We ended up parking on the top level with the back of the vehicle to the edge of the structure. Hopefully that would hold.

We then go to National Rental Car to pick up a car from Emerald Aisle. The agent blocked us from using our corporate level membership since Dad was not the owner of the company he works for (she had no right to do that, but it was a moot point because) and there was no car available for rent save for a lone, white Chrysler 200. Brand new, yes (only 6 miles on the odometer), but small. We paid for that dearly on the four hour drive down to Plano, TX. Chrysler has the most uncomfortable back seats out of every single car I've ridden in. Our 1994 Toyota Corolla station wagon was more comfortable than the seats that they put in the back! I digress... (and highly non-recommend the Chrysler 200 for families).

We attended services at the Campbell Road church of Christ in Garland, TX. Very nice congregation, but very, very large. For people who are used to a core of 50-75 people, a congregation with over 400 people was... sensory overload. Still, we had a great study with them.
Not a lot happened today. Dad went to his business meeting,we stayed at the hotel. The pool was very nice (according to Sis), but we spent most of the day inside and on the computers. For dinner, Sis and I went with Dad to eat with his coworker at BJ's.

Day 3

Today, we visited Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington. Mom opted (very vocally) to stay at the hotel, since she did not want to wander the park in 90F weather. Lot's of fun was had, even though traffic was... well, what Californians should be used to and there was a few school groups visiting as well. The parking lot was about a quarter full and the lines varied from just 10 minutes to over 45 minutes long, with the average wait about 20 minutes. 
We really enjoyed the all new Texas Giant, which was apparently torn down and completely rebuilt in winter of 2010. 
Our special favorite was the Titan, which is the tallest and fastest coaster in Texas.

After having fun in the park, we all went as a family to our favorite, non existent in Oklahoma restaurant: Souplantation (aka Sweet Tomatoes). Needless to say, all had a great time, with me consuming gallons of their wonderful Big Chunk Chicken Noodle Soup. It was a really new building, albeit a bit on the small side, so everything was designed logically compared to what we are used to. If DFW was just a couple of hours away, you can bet that we'd be down there at least once a month.

We drive back tomorrow, so expect a condensed house report on Sunday!