Welcome to Podunk!

This will be my attempt to keep you updated with all of the going ons in my life. A lot has happened, and I think it will be nice to look back and see all of the changes that take place. Drew and I got married in December of 2007, and there is never a dull moment. A few months ago, we purchased our first home together. Well, not really a home... at least not at first, but I will get to that! (patience, please) We decided to purchase 14 acres, smack dab in the middle of the country. Drew was born and raised here, so it seems only natural that I bring him home! =)

This property, came into our possession with nothing. No water, no electricity, no septic tank... nothing but a whole bunch of weeds, sticks, stobs, and it had 'what are we getting ourselves into' written all over it!

This is what it looked like the day we signed... did I mention the creek that runs through the middle of it??? We planned on putting our house on the OTHER side of it!


The first few weekends was all about putting up fences, bush hogging and clearing the back half. Not to mention, we had to find a way to prepare that mud hole called a creek so we could drive over it with out getting stuck. That took several tries, and to be honest, we still haven't gotten it figured out... I think we will end up putting a culvert in before it is over with.

After the clearing, the property actually started to show promise. I had to keep reminding myself that when I looked at it, I had to be creative and use my imagination. Hard to do when you can't see how the ground lays, and what lies in the middle of all of the over growth. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised. The more that was cleared...


The better it looked!


And that was actually the easy part of it!!!

After we cleared the back half... we really had to get busy! We found a used mobile home, only 4 years old that was in foreclosure, and were able to purchase it at a steal of a price. That meant that we would have a lot to do to get it ready to move into... again, I jump ahead of myself. I apologize. Power had to be applied for. Deposits paid. Engineers out to measure for the lines. BUT FIRST, you have to apply for a septic tank permit. Please know, that by applying for this permit, you open up an entirely new can of worms. We had to get the ground tested. We had to provide layouts of the trailer. We had to give them an estimate in feet, as accurate as possible, to where the septic tank would be on the property. This county will not give you power, or even let you fill out an application for power without this (not so) simple permit. But do you think they tell you this when you are inquiring over the phone? Nope... of course not. They make you travel back and forth and here and there, and then BAM!!! Someone finally lets it slip the actual order of things you have to do to get things started. But not until you have pulled half of your hair out!!!

Anyhow... the septic tank permit in hand, I go to the power company, and they FINALLY say, 'OK, we can NOW take your money'. So they send out crews and a month later... we have power poles. No power yet, but at least the poles are there! Hey, it's a start!

Next up... finding someone to transport the mobile home. Again.... you have to have a permit. To obtain this permit, I had to take a copy of the septic tank permit (luckily I have it now), and run around trying to find a state certified mover. Easy? Not so much. We finally found some one. A little rough around the edges, but hey... I am way too tired to be picky. He looks at where the trailer is and where it is going to be. Well... we are back to the creek (mud hole). So Drew spends a week and a half on a tractor and a bull dozier building this creek bed up to the rough around the edges guy's exact specifications. While this is going on, I am waiting patiently for his credentials, a copy of his license, and a block plan so I can go back for the 100th time to get the permit we need to move the house.

Long story short... rough around the edges guy changes his mind... Thanks Dude (more hair coming out of my head)! Back to square one! I make calls. Drew makes calls. Everyone is calling everyone. We found someone. This guy is a real winner. He is also my original call from a month or so back (he was highly recommended). Only he never returned any of my calls, so I figured he didn't want my business. Fine... I would rather pay someone else. Well... he actually called Drew (not me). Apparently, business was now slow enough for him to want to find business and because Drew was as panicked about the situation as me, he hired him... and didn't let me know. We can just say a doghouse was involved for several days. I obtained the necessary permit, and we got it moved. But not with out problems. As dude man was pulling onto the property, he gets the trailer stuck... for like 3 hours!!! (and he wasn't even at the creek yet!) Here are 2 pictures of the trailer getting moved.




That was the only issue that day... except for the nasty weather. But I stayed dried in the truck!I just wasn't able to get a lot of pictures. A few days later they came back out and anchored it so a hurricane hopefully won't blow it away, and that was (hopefully) that last I ever see of dude man transport guy. We can just say he and I definitely butted heads.

So the game plan is this. Drew and I didn't quite agree on this mobile home. BUT, we are planning to start building a house within the next couple of years. He told me to trust him, so I am trying. We will be moving into a much smaller space than what we are used to, but ok. We are doing this together. We have BUNCHES to do. But we have to start somewhere. And it is ours... his and mine. Eventually... it will be splendid! More to come... I am only on the tip of the iceberg!