It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Nope, not Christmas...

(although my sister has been cranking the Christmas music in our office since Tuesday. That would be October 5th. And I would not be kidding on that...but I digress.)

It is beginning to look like The Farmer and I might actually start building a house soon, and I could not be more excited. We have been living in our little house in the middle of a watermelon/blueberry field for a little less than two months now, and I am already so ready to get out. Our washer and dryer is on the back porch, which isn't so bad while it is still pleasant temperature-wise, but isn't going to be so great when it gets cold in a couple of months. And our cars and floors are always covered with a film of dust. And I can't tell you how many times I've almost had a collision with one of The Farmer's employees as I've gone rushing out of the field to get the kids to school on time -- and then they all love to go straight to The Farmer to tell him about how I drive like a bat out of you-know-where and won't get over to share the road!

But back to the new house...

The only problem with building soon means that right now we are going through the unpleasant, relatively painful experience of deciding on a contractor. I know that it is a contractor's business to bid jobs, and that in doing so they get rejected sometimes, but I just hate that we are ultimately going to have to tell someone that we aren't going with him. I don't like to be told "no," and I don't like to have to tell someone else "no" (unless it is my kids -- I can totally do that), so this just makes me anxious. We like both of the guys that we are working with, and the final decision is probably going to come down to the bottom line, and that just makes this whole decision even worse, I think; I sort of wish I didn't like one and he just happened to be the more expensive one!

The Farmer and I are also having to haggle over what we really need versus what we can live without. This house that we are building isn't one that we will live in for a while then sell. This is our house, forever and ever, amen. So we are making decisions that have to last us a lifetime, at least as far as the bones of the house go. I know that we can make changes on the interior eventually, but not for a very long time (probably), so we have to make good decisions. And this girl is not good with a budget. I would really like to go out and spend a million dollars and have this awesome house that I absolutely love. The only problem is that I don't actually have a million dollars, nor is a bank going to give me that much (and I would not ask, seriously!). But I do have a hard time saying "well, I can live without this because I really, really want this."

I'm probably going to be a nightmare to work with when we start picking out light fixtures. Or cabinets. Or counter tops. Or really anything.

So, while I am excited that it is looking like we are making some progress on the house front, I will be really excited when we have made a decision on our contractor and he is actually out there doing something. Just pray that I don't have a stomach ulcer before this is all said and done!