Calling All Grilling Experts

I've got spring fever.  Bad.  It has taken all of my effort not to play hooky pull out my laptop, forward my office calls to my cell phone, and set up shop in the grass outside out office.  Instead, I have been racing out of the office at quitting time and begging Jordan to go with me and Harley down to the greenbelt, signing up for any and every sand volleyball match I can find, and thinking up excuses to spend the weekend at the lake house.  You get the picture.

So, when we found an $200 gift card (wedding present) that had been left at Jordan's parents' place, the first thing I wanted to buy was a grill.  Nothing says summer like burgers, hot dogs, and grilled veggies and Jordan refuses to use the apartment's grill.  Plus, every respectable Texas home has a grill in the back yard.  Right?

Unfortunately, I am no grilling expert.  I know how to start a charcoal grills and recognized that gas is more convenient, but charcoal can taste better.  But beyond that, I judge grills purely on looks and price.  So, knowing that, here is one that I have picked out.

 

Jordan, of course, has his own opinion about grills, but I would like to meaningfully participate in this purchase.  So, I am asking you:  Do you have a favorite grill?  What are your suggestions based on our limited budget?

Out of Touch or In the Zone

Technology is a wonderful thing, and sometime a curse.  I often find myself working on a project when the phone rings or an envelop appears at the bottom of my screen signaling that I have a new email.  Do I stop what I am doing, switch gears and answer the call or do I let the caller leave a message and get back to them when I am done with what I am doing?  I will easily lose 15 minutes of work making the transition from one task to another and then back to the original task.  But, if I wait to respond there is always the risk that the potential client (or current client) could move to on to someone else or become dissatisfied.

In today's world of smart phones and instant access our society's patience for a response is growing ever so thin. On the not so rare occasion, I have received follow up calls from people wanting to see if I have received their email they sent less than an hour ago.

Our mortgage broker has never, not once, taken our phone call.  Instead, we are always left to leave a voicemail and hope that he will return our call.  He generally returns our call in a couple of days. This leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a feeling that our business is not worth his time or effort.  The only reason we have not jumped ship is because our builder will only pay our closing costs if we stick with him.

I like to think that while he is not at my beck and call, he is being productive and making magic happen for his clients.  But does that 15 minutes of magic outweigh the cost of losing potential clients and upsetting your current ones?

Moving Up and Out

Our little community, Ridge at Lantana, is growing up.  Linda, our sales rep, informed me that she will be selling the last house in the community on Sunday (not sure how she knows this).  Then, she will be closing up and model home and reconverting the office into a garage.

The model home was one of the first homes sold.  Instead of moving in, the new home-owners rented the home to the builders.  The garage was converted into an office and the interior was stage accordingly.  Then, three years later, when the builder has sold all the houses in the community, the sales force moves out, the garage is reconverted, and the home-owners can finally move in.

Linda also informed me that construction on our house will begin THIS month.  As in March.  Woo hoo!  We are looking forward to moving this process along.  And, when construction is over, moving into a neighborhood that is complete.

What? I could BUILD that?

So, as we continue to wait to hear from Tony,our builder, I cannot help but begin to furnish our mount of dirt soon-to-be-built house.  Our one bedroom apartment is so tiny that we are storing our kitchen table in the garage (our coffee table is doing double duty).  So, we do not have enough furniture to fill our new 4-bedroom house.

Between Google reader, magazines, and brick and mortar shops, I am not lacking inspiration.  However, between the new law practice, new mortgage, and student loans, we are lacking the financial backing to turn my imagination into reality.  Until, this lovely lady, opened my eyes to Knock Off Wood.  Now, Ana of Knock Off Wood is not your typical housewife.  She and her husband built their own house by hand -- and it is still standing!  But somehow she makes the impossible seem down right easy.  When I first discovered her, she was taking furniture from Pottery Barn and the like and recreating the plans in a step-by-step guide for those of us less talented with a saw, hammer, and nails.  She did such a good job, that William Sanoma (the parent company of Pottery Barn) sent her a cease and disist letter.

Since we currently have one bed and are moving into a 4-bedroom home, we are going to need some more beds!  As a starting off point, I would definitely like to make this beauty.  And with these plans, I can!

If kids were in our near future, we could even make bunk beds for about $50!  A farmhouse table for our dining room, also for $50.  Or maybe bookshelf or a secretary.  But, I will definitely want to make this dresser (pictured below).