An inch of progress?

Since we hadn’t heard anything about our house for a few weeks, we impatiently pestered the nice lady at Beazer Homes for an update. (Sorry, Linda!) She told us that they would probably be ready to schedule our pre-construction meeting next week. I’m still not sure what that is, but we get to meet the guy who is in charge of building our house. And then, after that meeting, they can start on the house. I am having a hard time waiting. I stopped driving by to look at our lot, because nothing was happening and I found it a little discouraging. Derek still likes to go look at our dirt, though. He is very proud of it. It is nice, level dirt now. Quite red, too, sort of like the dirt in Oklahoma. Maybe I should have gone for carpet that was more orange or rust, then the mud wouldn’t show. Can I just make everyone take off their shoes at the door?

The Bloomington Parade of Homes, sponsored by all the home builders in town, was last weekend and the model home that has the same floor plan as our house won “Best Master Bedroom.” I’m not sure how much of that had to do with the layout and how much was due to the cute décor. The décor in the model is very cute, there is even a little tray for breakfast in bed sitting on the perfectly made bed. And, of course, everything is color coordinated and there is no clutter. I think there is ONE book in the bedroom, on the tiny bedside table. Totally unrealistic! I am sure our bedroom will look considerably, uh, “homier.” I once saw a pillow that had been beautifully embroidered with the words “Martha Stewart expectations…” and then had the following written in magic marker “Erma Bombeck reality.” Maybe I should make one of those for our bed! If you don’t know who Erma Bombeck is, she is a humorist who wrote mostly about the experience of being a stay-at-home mom. One of her books is called The Grass is Always Greener over the Septic Tank. She once said she would rather hear “I’ll cook dinner” than “I love you.” Smart lady. (Derek, honey, are you reading this?)

Time for more audience participation: now it is your turn to share your favorite moving tips. Please post your favorite advice for people who are moving by clicking the word “Comments” or by e-mailing me. Sorry, no prize this time. But you will achieve the world-wide fame and glory of having your name and tip posted on this lovely blog! What more could you possibly want? Well, I suppose you can remain anonymous if you prefer. And your tip will help us in our daunting quest (trumpet fanfare)… to move to our new house. I picture our move as looking something like this: