Last week was really all about Advil Cold & Sinus and Kleenex, as I caught a cold. I still have it, and nearly two weeks later, it's gotten old and annoying. Last week also marked the first time I worked from our home since July, as I waited for hours for our new iPhones to arrive two days earlier than planned. Our builder put together a makeshift chair for me with scrap wood and a planter that I somehow neglected to photograph. I wish I could publicly thank one of my neighbors for having unsecured wireless as they were the only way I survived the day, sitting on a planter in a house with no electricity. Following Murphy's Law, UPS showed up 20 minutes after I gave up and left. (Thankfully one of the crew guys was able to sign for the packages.)
Our windows arrived, which was exciting and nerve wracking as I made a few bold choices and it was time to see if they worked.
First bold choice: color. Seeing the color in front of me, and not in a catalog was reassuring. Olive was the right choice. "Go with white," everyone said. Pshaw.
Second bold choice: family room window design. I wanted three windows for the family room that reflected the rise in the ceiling. Our architect drew exactly what I wanted, but I was given suggestions for something different, which is what our builder wanted as well, mostly because making one big window is less expensive than three smaller windows. The more cuts, the more cost is the rule, and this would be more labor than one big trapezoid, which is what the builder recommended. I stuck with my vision, and I'm so glad I did. It adds a little design flare to the room.
Third bold choice: self-designed door. I'd fell in love with a door similar to this during my research, but Eagle (who manufactured our windows, master bedroom french doors, and kitchen door), didn't make anything like it. Thankfully our window rep had a great can-do attitude and said he'd check to see if they could do it. When they said they could, I had to verbally explain the spaces I wanted with dimensions, which made me a little nervous. They couldn't provide a sketch of what they were going to do, making it a gamble, and we had to make a leap of faith. I was worried, but Kevin reassured me that if it was a horrible failure, we'd buy a new door in a few years, and while it would be an expensive failure, it wasn't the end of the world. With that, we leapt and I'm so glad we did. It's exactly what I wanted and it matches the exterior window color too. It gives the kitchen needed light, without feeling like it is totally open to the outside. I love, love, love it.
A lot of time was spent with our electrician planning for lighting and a/v wiring. Kevin made sure that the wiring will handle Nintendo's soon-to-be-released Wii U. We got to try out the Wii U in San Francisco on Saturday, and the kids loved it. The kids were game focused, but my interest is how the Wii U will handle TV controls too. There will be more to come as the November release date approaches, but for me, it's important to note that this goes well beyond gaming. (While I'm a Nintendo brand ambassador, I wasn't compensated in any way for the event or asked to write about it. It happened to play into our wiring schedule.)
We ditched school and work to go to the final Giants regular season home game. It was awesome. When explaining to Rocket that there will be post-season home games because we're going to the playoffs, there was a slight misinterpretation. "We're GOING to the PLAYOFFS?!" he exclaimed. Um, not us kid, unless you want to bust open your college fund. Go Giants!
Finally last week, I calmed down about the kids getting into a good college. I was invited to a talk at Stanford, and while it wasn't the point, that was the lesson I left with. We all need to calm down about our kids getting into great colleges. It will happen. They won't all get into Stanford, but that doesn't mean they won't be at a great college that is a better fit for your child.
This week is roofing, lighting, window framing, more Advil Cold & Sinus, a Frankenweenie screening, and a fancy dinner made from McDonald's ingredients (no joke!). Stay tuned.
