The Parking Lot

For fear I will never get to posting all my pictures of the move, I'm going to just start, even if they are not in time line order. 

Here is the front of the shop when we first got here. 

We really needed to have no grass here, so we got someone to build us a parking lot. 

 

This is the same excavating company for whom Josh works.

The finished project: The only spot on the property that is not completely mud right now!

 I think we're going to be laying down fabric and graveling the driveway all the way around the shop as well as building another parking lot in back very shortly!

Inside This Door

Was where we called home for three years.

Inside was a lot of stuff that we didn't even know we had and where there were dirty dishes and grease smudges.

Inside was where we have lived the longest in our married life and where the chimney leaked every spring. 

Inside there wasn't much we could change because it wasn't ours. 

Now this door is across the driveway from work.

Inside is mostly all that same stuff, but in piles rather than with much organization and already there are the same dirty dishes and grease smudges.

Inside is where we look forward to living for a good while and where the shower leaks down into the basement.

Inside we can change whatever we want because it's ours. 

And we think that's pretty cool! 

( I was packing so I didn't take pictures of the house move, but you could check out this great post that my sister-in-law did with lots of pictures!)

One Down, One to Go!

Our house move is done - and thanks to tons of help, the whole thing went really fast and smoothly! We still have boxes, and all the excess stuff that is waiting to find it's new home, but for the most part it's cozy and at least it's all there!

The shop... well that's another story.... We will be closing the business next week so that we can focus on moving. This week we've been working hard at clearing out projects from the shop so that we don't have to move customers' vehicles and then every evening we try to take a trailer load of stuff home with us. Last night Josh came and weed-whacked all around and another guy has already installed all new lights in the main shop area. They are currently working on getting air hoses and oil lines installed. Once that is done, they'll be pretty much ready to move the lifts into that area. The front needs a bathroom, a wall, and shelving. And the parking lot spot needs to become a parking lot.

We have had so much help! My brothers and sister are also coming out to help us for a week, which we're really looking forward to!

And our goal is to all moved in by the end of August. I'm pretty sure it's do-able. :)

Next Up: Change!

Change is a little hard for me.

Still, I am convinced that waiting for it is worse than the change itself.

After almost six months of working on and waiting for a property that we wish to buy...

We now have a closing date set!

We are thrilled. We are excited. We are ecstatic!
(And we are going into debt, but that is not why we're happy. :) )

The place we are buying has four acres, is on a main route, and has two large buildings on it. It also has a house. I guess that is probably a bonus. It was for the bank!

The shop is more than double the square footage of where we are currently. It has space behind it to park customers' vehicles that we are working on and space in front for customers to park when they stop in. It has space for the actual work bays far in the back and office space/showroom in the front.

An added bonus? The ability to have some distance between working employees and talking customers!

The second building behind the big front one is considerably smaller but will be awesome for storage.

It's going to be different owning our own place after renting for four years, but we're looking forward to the changes that it will bring! 

I can. not. wait. to move. I have mixed emotions about it because this shop is going to be such job to clean out and get organized into a new place. We have had many offers from friends and customers who have trucks & trailers and muscles & time. Finding ways to move with organization will be most challenging I think.

The house, as I said, is an added bonus for the bank because it will eliminate all our rent payments. I'm loving the idea of having a kitchen that I can paint any color I want. I am not loving the idea of living right by the shop. Frankly, it terrifies me! Perhaps living in that house will not last for a really long time, but whatever happens, I will be thankful to own my own house. And there will be some advantages of it too- like being able to walk home now and make supper. :)

There are still tons of variables, such as the seller deciding that he doesn't want to close yet, or the seller not agreeing to let us take possession any time soon, but for now, we actually have a closing and we are thankful and will just not worry about those big unknowns!

Wednesday.  
This coming Wednesday. 

Blake's not holding his breath.
That's good because I need to have someone to catch me if I faint!

Mozzeralla Sticks

The other night I made french fries and burgers.

We get homegrown beef and it doesn't have the fat in it the same as from the grocery store. It's good burger, but makes horrible burgers. My husband has always said that I don't know how to make a good burger, and that may very well be. They come out rock hard and are nasty. I counter with the fact that it's because there is no fat in them. I was bemoaning this to my friend, who logically suggested that I'd better just add the fat then.

So this time I added bacon bits and finely shredded mozzarella cheese. Then I also added a little extra oil to the pan and fried them slowly, just like normally.

Since we were already eating plenty of fried food, I decided to try this recipe of mozzarella sticks. 

Ever wish to know how to make them yourself? 

Well here is one way :) 

Put one part corn starch to two parts flour into the first bowl. 

Beat an egg and add a little water to the second bowl.

Dump some italian style bread crumbs, garlic powder, and salt into the third bowl.

I didn't have the string cheese style sticks, but I did have a chunk of cheese, so I cut them in approximately the same size pieces. 

Next you roll/dip the pieces in the each bowl: Flour, Egg, then Bread Crumbs. 

 It will look weird when you dunk the cornstarched cheese into the egg cuz it will bubble off it but then you get to roll it in the bread crumbs and it will cover all the strangeness and you'll start thinking that maybe they'll really turn out ok after all.

Next drop them in frying oil and don't fry for longer then 30 seconds. Believe me, you shouldn't roll the next batch and wash your hands before you take them out!

Blake's plate

My plate

Needless to say, I did beg my husband to eat a mozzarella stick and he was not thrilled with it. I must admit that they weren't my favorite food either, but they were better than any that I've ever had at a restaurant! As for the burgers, well cheese and bacon apparently really help them out!

Dessert? 

Mint chocolate chip ice cream and brownies.

My husband's response to dinner? 

Awesome :)

Little Stuff

My husband played plumber.

Both of my drains work wonderfully now!

Josh has a fun toy, but I don't spend much time on it because it gives me horrible motion sickness!

I guess jet skis need a lot of work done to them. Kind of like anything else with an engine I think.

I still am pretty partial to my niece, so I made her a little blanket last week.

She probably won't use it much right now in the 100 degree Texas weather, though!

I put my piano on Craigslist for Free. Apparently you can't even give away a piano because I have had only one person text me about it and they decided to get a keyboard instead. I thought it would make me sad to not have a piano but I didn't want to move it again. My husband said that it would be ok though because he does like to hear me play.

Happy 1st anniversary to Micah and Lanna today!

And just so you all know,

 this guy can relax once in a while.

And on that note, I think I'd better stop relaxing and go make food. We have a busy week ahead and having food to eat always makes the week better!

The Undesirable

It's the late nights at work. The people who tell you that what you have is just not good enough. And the lack of lettuce to make taco salad. 

It's the unpaid bills. The sink drain pipe that never stays connected and that splatters yucky water all over your feet unexpectedly because you forgot. 

It's the customers who get mad at you, or tell you they are #1 priority, or that just know they are and love to take advantage of you at any time. And the house that always smells like something rotten when you walk in the door.

It's the oil spills in the shop that you accidentally step in. The Appraisers who can't seem to write phone numbers down correctly and wait for a week and a half to call you.

It's the customer's kids who run wild through the shop. The projects that don't get finished. The alarm that rings at 6:28 a.m. 

And then you remember your husband who tells you that you look like a million dollars. 

And the engine that you sold today that didn't fit in the shop anyway. And the lemonade waiting in your fridge at home. 

And Sunday where you can sleep all day. Or work on a sewing project. Or wash the dishes. Or go for a bike ride with your husband who hates biking but does it just to spend time with you. 

And you remember your God who is bigger than all our problems. And title agencies who know what they're doing. And for the mall where you can go just to buy underwear if you want. 

And for a whole bible that you can just pick up and read anytime you wish. And how that bible can calm you amazingly by just reading.

 And sisters who wait patiently for weeks for you to call them. And employees who come to work anyway even if you don't wake up when your alarm rings. And for the guy who is going to buy a truck from you. And for the trailer that was junk and got sold this week. 

And for the half finished pink blanket that can just sit there and wait and make you smile every time you look at it. And for the one year old brother in law who chatters your name and begs you to watch him jump on the trampoline every time you stop by. And for the date your husband took you on because "he likes to spend time with you". 

And for taco salad. And for a husband who will literally eat a taco meal every single night of the week. And for brownies that actually almost turned out.

 And for the cross and for my God who went all the way there for me. And the extremely gracious landlord at the shop. 

And the cardboard crates that you found can hold lots of weight to haul stuff when you move. And your husband who tells you he likes you even after you've had a disagreement. 

These are the things that make the undesirable things fade. And make me realize how small those things are by comparison. These are the things that put a smile on my face and make me thrilled to start each new day. These are the beautiful. These are the desirable. These are my life.