Shalom.
My daughter participated in her first dance recital today. Her performance was superb, for a three-year old. :-) I took her to the dress rehearsal on Friday, where her performance was less than spectacular (click here for dress rehearsal), even for a three-year old.
She more than made up for it at the actual recital. We arrived at the venue (which was Hatboro-Horsham High School) for the recital about a half our early. I wanted to get a parking spot that was close to the building and to the exit. And I wanted to make sure that we were well situated before the performance. We were so situated that an usher had to ask us to leave the auditorium because we entered too early. The recital didn't start until 12pm, however, we were i the auditorium at about 11:45am, but no one indicated that we were allowed to enter the auditorium. My daughter had to enter at the side entrance since she was one of the performers, you know. My mother, brother, in-laws, niece and friends were in attendance. We waited through 14 other performances before the main attraction -- my daughters group. They were dressed so beautifully. Their outfits were very pretty and had a sparkling effect. Their teacher was off stage "helping" them get through the routine.
I had wondered during the time when she attended her weekly classes how she would handle the recital. I wondered would she be scared? Would she just freeze in front of the audience? Would she run off the stage crying? Well, needless to say, she did nothing of the sort. She was a true performer. :-)
I was so proud of her. I was all smiles as I saw her following the direction of the teacher and not her fellow classmates. It was the beginning of something special. I am looking forward to my other daughter joining the dance school.
By the way, information about the dance school can be found here: Dance With M.E.
Blessings.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
House: 1 Me: 0
Shalom.
The task of remodeling our new home continues. I took three days off of work to remove the enormous amount of existing wallpaper in the house. After three days of scraping the existing the wallpaper from the walls, I can testify that wallpaper is evil! I don't know who created wallpaper, more specifically, the glue, but they must have had a sadistic nature. (Of course I am joking.) However, once you have had to deal with multiple layers of wallpaper and glue on top of wallpaper that has been painted over (several layers), you may come to the same conclusion.
I hired some helpers and it took us three days to scrape wallpaper on the first floor and some of the second floor. We are still not complete. We have the third floor hallway, the remaining second floor rooms, and the second floor hallway. Thankfully, the third floor rooms do not contain wallpaper. And once all the wallpaper has been scraped, we will roll it up along with the carpet.
This house has seen many repairs and experienced quite a bit of damage in some areas. The damage is not extensive, just typical for a house that sat uninhabited for a year and through repairs/remodeling not done the proper way.
We are working to get estimates to remove asbestos from the old boiler, radiator pipes and a heater tank. I never would have guessed that I would be dealing with asbestos. Having asbestos removed by an asbestos abatement company is a pretty penny. We have heard suggestions that it would be cheaper to remove it ourselves or have someone else remove it. My concern is that the disposal must be done environmentally correct. I do not want to damage this earth any more than it already has been.
We are obtaining other quotes for different work that needs to be done. That process is a learning experience. The individuals I met while obtaining the quotes seem like good people and they love what they do. Some of the quotes were reasonable, other seemed a bit higher than what I was expecting. I hope to have made my decisions by next week.
I hope to have some photos posted soon.
Blessings.
The task of remodeling our new home continues. I took three days off of work to remove the enormous amount of existing wallpaper in the house. After three days of scraping the existing the wallpaper from the walls, I can testify that wallpaper is evil! I don't know who created wallpaper, more specifically, the glue, but they must have had a sadistic nature. (Of course I am joking.) However, once you have had to deal with multiple layers of wallpaper and glue on top of wallpaper that has been painted over (several layers), you may come to the same conclusion.
I hired some helpers and it took us three days to scrape wallpaper on the first floor and some of the second floor. We are still not complete. We have the third floor hallway, the remaining second floor rooms, and the second floor hallway. Thankfully, the third floor rooms do not contain wallpaper. And once all the wallpaper has been scraped, we will roll it up along with the carpet.
This house has seen many repairs and experienced quite a bit of damage in some areas. The damage is not extensive, just typical for a house that sat uninhabited for a year and through repairs/remodeling not done the proper way.
We are working to get estimates to remove asbestos from the old boiler, radiator pipes and a heater tank. I never would have guessed that I would be dealing with asbestos. Having asbestos removed by an asbestos abatement company is a pretty penny. We have heard suggestions that it would be cheaper to remove it ourselves or have someone else remove it. My concern is that the disposal must be done environmentally correct. I do not want to damage this earth any more than it already has been.
We are obtaining other quotes for different work that needs to be done. That process is a learning experience. The individuals I met while obtaining the quotes seem like good people and they love what they do. Some of the quotes were reasonable, other seemed a bit higher than what I was expecting. I hope to have made my decisions by next week.
I hope to have some photos posted soon.
Blessings.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A New Challenge Is Upon Me...
Shalom.
I am embarking upon a challenge that will stretch me physically and mentally. We purchased a home that is about 5,000 square feet and the house was in pretty good shape. It was a foreclosure and sat vacant for about a year.
My wife and I happened across the house in March of 2008. We saw the house and liked it. We put a bid in and the bid was rejected. We had requested a $10,000 credit based upon the results of a home inspection. (By the way, make sure when you are about to buy a house, that the contract includes an escape via the home inspection.) So, we returned from vacation and the house was put back on the market for less (yes, LESS) than our offer price. Well, needless to say, we pursued the property again. This time our initial offer was countered and we agreed to the counter offer. We thank God that the house came around again.
Now, we are in the process of remodeling the kitchen and two bathrooms. We are removing the plethora of wallpaper in the house and painting the walls where there was wallpaper. We are removing the 16 trees that are on the property and adding a quarter bath next to bathroom. That way, people can eat and not be slowed down too much by having to relieve themselves. The work will be very involved and detailed, but when the work is complete, what a home it will be!!
This process is teaching me that I still have a ways to go when communicating with my wife. We thought we understood each other concerning a change for the side yard of the house. She was saying one thing and I was hearing another. :-)
The fixing up of the house is keeping me very busy. I am trying to keep up with my life outside of the house, but believe me, it is a challenge.
When this season has passed, I will be taking a vacation!!
Blessings.
Jason
I am embarking upon a challenge that will stretch me physically and mentally. We purchased a home that is about 5,000 square feet and the house was in pretty good shape. It was a foreclosure and sat vacant for about a year.
My wife and I happened across the house in March of 2008. We saw the house and liked it. We put a bid in and the bid was rejected. We had requested a $10,000 credit based upon the results of a home inspection. (By the way, make sure when you are about to buy a house, that the contract includes an escape via the home inspection.) So, we returned from vacation and the house was put back on the market for less (yes, LESS) than our offer price. Well, needless to say, we pursued the property again. This time our initial offer was countered and we agreed to the counter offer. We thank God that the house came around again.
Now, we are in the process of remodeling the kitchen and two bathrooms. We are removing the plethora of wallpaper in the house and painting the walls where there was wallpaper. We are removing the 16 trees that are on the property and adding a quarter bath next to bathroom. That way, people can eat and not be slowed down too much by having to relieve themselves. The work will be very involved and detailed, but when the work is complete, what a home it will be!!
This process is teaching me that I still have a ways to go when communicating with my wife. We thought we understood each other concerning a change for the side yard of the house. She was saying one thing and I was hearing another. :-)
The fixing up of the house is keeping me very busy. I am trying to keep up with my life outside of the house, but believe me, it is a challenge.
When this season has passed, I will be taking a vacation!!
Blessings.
Jason
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