The Trouble With Blogging... and Winter Storm Jonas!

Well its been almost a month since I've been here and as that was not the plan that's how it played out. Honestly I don't know why, but I pretty much told myself that I would just blog when I felt like it, and I guess I didn't feel like it. I have a bunch of stuff I want to write about, a bunch of products that I have tried that I want to tell y'all about and I don't know why I just haven't been able to get here and get motivated to write.

I have gotten back into reading which has been great, I suppose I could do some book reviews as well. As you may know I got a new Nook for my birthday and I was struggling to get books on there so in the meantime I just read books that I had laying around. Finally last week I sat down and watched a bunch of youtube videos at Jason's recommendation and they didn't help at all. So I started reading forums and people were having the same issues I was, so I did a bunch of things they recommended and TA DA, it worked like a charm! My Nook hasn't left my hands since!

I fixed my Nook just in time for Winter Storm Jonas to hit us! We knew it was coming but truth be told I really didn't expect it to be as bad as it was. Wednesday night we got about an inch and I swear the city stopped, they didn't seem prepared for it at all, we had been out at Target and on the drive home the roads were terrible and there were no plows or salt trucks in sight. When it started to snow on Friday at literally exactly the time they said it would, I wondered were we really going to get all they were calling for and how they would handle it here.

Friday morning Tanya and I went for a walk and then came home to hunker down for all they had called for. It started to snow around 1pm just as they had said and it did not stop until sometime very early Sunday morning!

Friday the snow was steady and heavy but the wind wasn't nearly as horrific as we saw on Saturday. We had the weather channel on almost all day Saturday and they basically begged people to say in and off the roads, which you wouldn't have thought that would have been an issue on account you could barely see a thing outside with the blizzard conditions but people were actually out. They started fining people and arresting them in New York city for driving. They were concerned with people getting stuck everywhere and basically inhibiting clean up and emergency vehicles.. Honestly I just couldn't understand what would be so important to venture out in that.

We were not only worried about possibly losing power here but also at our house! Raleigh was also effected by the storm and as usual they got more ice than snow! We made sure to turn the heat up a lot just in case we lost power and fortunately things at the house were fine.

However on Saturday morning we woke up to no heat in our apartment. I'm not exactly sure why it wasn't working but we ended up calling maintenance and they had apparently contracted our maintenance out to people who had never been here before and basically said they would do their best to find someone with a four wheel drive vehicle to get out to us! I couldn't believe it! Thankfully the heat just started working again or I have a feeling we would have been without for awhile.

I'll share some pictures of Friday and Saturday with you before I move on to Sunday and what we got up to!

Friday late afternoon

Friday night. 

Saturday morning! Keep in mind the wind was CRAZY, there were snow drifts EVERYWHERE!

I was pretty bored, so I baked some peanut butter cookies.. then I ate a bunch. Note to self, don't bake when you cant get rid of the cookies ASAP. 

Saturday afternoon, you couldn't see a thing! 

Saturday night. Don't think these people are going anywhere. In fact a bunch of them are still out there looking not much different. 

Saturday night. What a mess. 

I believe it was suppose to snow until Sunday morning some time, we went to bed late Saturday night and it was still snowing, I was up at 7am on Sunday and it has stopped. It was such a huge mess. Jason had borrowed a shovel from Dave thankfully and went out a few times on Saturday to shovel out the truck so it wouldn't be a huge job Sunday.. it was really good thinking on his part. 

Sunday morning Jason helped Josh move some stuff from their storage unit to their apartment and when he got back he saw an older gentlemen who lives here trying to dig out his cars, honestly he was far too old to be doing it and god love Jason and his big heart he spent a really long time out there making sure his cars were dug out. 

I went out to see if Jason needed some gloves or anything and that gentlemen told me he and his wife were moving to the Philippines where his wife is from, they were over winter! I hear ya my friend, I hear ya!

Having said that it was an absolutely beautiful day and the snow looked so pretty! I was up and ready anyways so Jason and I decided to head over to Target because we had something to return, get Starbucks and see if we could make it over to Dave and Lindsey's to play with the girls in the snow! Believe it or not the people who were suppose to plow the Target parking lot didn't show so that was a bit of a mess but we managed to get everything done we needed to and headed to Dave and Lindsey's.

Lindsey had told me that their roads hadn't been plowed but on our way over every other one was until it was time to turn onto their street. I really thought Jason would just say forget it when he saw the 20 inches on untouched snow covering the road to get to their house. The truck is brand new therefore it just has all season tires on it and its the snow ultra lightweight Ford so there wasn't much for traction either. Well I assumed wrong, instead of just driving back home Jason laid on the gas and fish tailed down the road to Dave and Lindsey's house! I think the neighbors thought he was totally whacked! Then when we arrived he slid the truck into the cul de sac and was flying around! Literally snow was flying absolutely everywhere, the truck was spinning around and while the neighbors were all standing at the end of their driveways staring, Jason was glowing.. loving every single second of it! There was SO MUCH SNOW!

Finally he was stuck and he and Dave had to shovel out the truck, while they got to work on that I went in to see if the girls were ready to come out and play. Lily was already half dressed and ready to go but Ava took a little more coercing! Lindsey asked her did she want to get dressed and go out and play.. she said "NO!" haha I couldn't blame her, she doesn't like to be cold. Lindsey then told her that Jason came to play with her, was she sure she didn't want to go out.. she replied.. "ummm.. NO!". Not long after though she saw Dave and Jason working on a snow fort outside and she got dressed! 

I don't know if this fort was for them or the girls. 

Lily and I were trying to make a castle out of snow with her bucket but sadly it wasn't really good packing snow. 

That mess in the middle of the cul de sac was courtesy of Jason. 

I'm telling you if I had snow pants I would have been right down there with Lily making snow angels! 

Snow fort. 

Ava enjoying the snow fort! 

Jason enjoying the snow fort just as much as the girls! 

Lily was a big help in the shoveling department. 

Sadly there were no sleds around to buy, they all sold out much earlier in the week! So Jason fashioned this sled for Lily and her friend Elizabeth out of cardboard and a bungy cord! It worked for awhile!! 

We had a lot of fun playing in the snow, but sadly needed to come home to get dinner on and get ready for football. It was a good thing that we left early because as we left Jason realized we were passing the apartment of another guy he works with who is a little older and we wanted to make sure he didn't need any help getting out.. he was good but when we got back to our apartment there was a few other coworkers of Jason that needed help and then just other neighbors! 

They did some clearing of our parking lot last night but I wont lie it was pretty pathetic! They didn't touch anything until after it had stopped snowing and I really think that was a mistake. This morning the parking lot and sidewalks outside looked like a skating rink. I don't think they use salt here. People are still snowed in, I don't think a lot of people had shovels or expected this much. I believe more things have reopened today. 

I have heard a nasty rumor that we may get another storm this weekend but I am really hoping that is not true! We are heading to Baltimore on Saturday for the Garth Brooks concert and I really don't want anything to get in the way of that!! 

So there you have it, my account of winter storm Jonas. It definitely could have been a lot worse, if you have been watching the news at all you may have seen that coast of New Jersey had absolutely TERRIBLE flooding, I am keeping those people in my thoughts. At this point there are still people without power and dealing with way bigger issues than just shoveling out their car. It pays to be prepared in these cases as much as you absolutely can and listen to the weather station, take their advice and listen to their recommendations!! 

I am planning to be back here again this week, I'm setting a goal for myself to blog more than once this week! Thank you all for stopping by, I hope the new year is treating you well! 

Stay Warm!

Not an Apartment Tour... Oops

Good afternoon!

I planned to post an apartment tour of sorts today but I need to use Jason's phone to take pictures or wait until I bring the camera from home because I couldn't get good pictures on my phone. I will try tonight with Jason's phone and see where I get.

Truth be told I have nothing really to say because I updated you guys yesterday and we are still trying to get situated with the apartment and everything inside.

Yesterday I had a big fight with Verizon Fios and cancelled our less than week old service with them so if you happen to be one of the people I sent our new number to you can just disregard that! We weren't really happy with the setup of Verizon compared to Comcast but figured we would just get use to the different layout, but then we realized that they actually get us the wrong internet modem and wrong cable box. Jason called and explained the situation and was under the impression someone was suppose to come out yesterday and change everything out for us, although he didn't seem to know a time. I decided to give them a call and they told me that they weren't having anyone come out that we would have to go and pick all the stuff up and send the stuff we were exchanging back to them. I wasn't pleased about this as we paid for installation and didn't see why we should have to go through the hassle when they were fully aware that the error was on their part! They said they acknowledged the error was theirs but it would be easier if we fixed it ourselves.. easier for them! At this point I was pissed, I don't see why our time is less important than theirs. I continued to make a fuss and so they said they would send someone out but they were going to charge us $100.00.... say wha???? This is when I proceeded to tell them to shove their service up their ass! What kind of customer service is that???

I immediately called Comcast who gave us all the same stuff we had setup with Verizon for a cheaper monthly rate and extremely good customer service.

I'm truly shocked at Verizon's customer service, although they are separate we have had cell phones with Verizon for years and never had anything but great service. Neither Jason or I are impressed. So Verizon will be disconnected on Wednesday and we will have Comcast setup Friday! I'm very happy about this!

That's pretty much it, I believe the new truck should be ready by Thursday although Jason isn't happy with them either! HA! Apparently they called him yesterday and told him that the truck was in PA (which we knew) and they would be driving it down here. We were under the impression that it would be put on a truck and brought down therefore not to rack up the miles on what is a brand new truck. Apparently that is not the case and PA is 4 hours away and Jason is super unhappy that the truck will have a bunch of miles on it. I'm not sure exactly how many but none the less when we got to get it I'm sure he will make a fuss.

I'm really sorry if you popped in today looking for apartment pictures, it was my intention.

I will be honest the blog is going to not be as consistent this summer as it generally is. With the fact that we wont have internet for a couple of days again this week and that we will be going home for 2 weeks at the beginning of August but will be doing some traveling in that time I just wont have the internet access or time to sit down and write. However I will make sure to pop in every chance I get and fill you in on whats going on, share pictures of our adventures and hopefully get back to normal around here come the middle to end of August.

Summer is a hard time for bloggers, I have noticed my bloglovin account to be much quieter these days on account that bloggers like to enjoy the summer too and unfortunately during the nice weather posting falls a bit in priority ranking. Sometimes its just more important to live life and enjoy it than write about it.

Don't get me wrong I have no intention of abandoning this space all together, in fact I cant imagine but I wanted to make sure you all knew that things will be less than routine for awhile and daily posting will most likely not be the case.

I appreciate all of the time you all put in around here too, taking a part of your day to stop by my little part of the internet to check in and see what is going on, it really means a lot to me! I will see what I can do about pictures of the apartment tonight!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day and enjoying summer to the fullest! Sadly before we know it, its going to be over!

Goals for 2015

Good Morning,

Catch up week is almost done, I am here today to share my goals for 2015 because let's be honest everyone else has already talked about theirs and I figure maybe, just maybe I will feel the need be a little more accountable for the goals I have set.

I know what you are thinking, these are New Years resolutions.. but they really aren't. I think we should all always have goals that we are working towards and I look at the New Year as a blank slate. 2015 is a whole new year that can bring all new things, some of that I will have control over but I am going to assume most of it I wont and I am working really hard at being good with that. These are some of the things I would like to work on in 2015...

1. I would like to lose weight. 
Whoa way to jump out with the most cliche New Years goal right? I knew you would think that which is why I wanted to get it under the way. I have gained A TON of weight in the last six months and I need to do something about it because I do not feel good about myself at all. I could make all the excuses in the world as to why I have gained the weight but that is what has gotten me here in the first place. I have already changed my eating habits, as I know I feel so much better on a daily basis when I eat healthier, I have been inhaling water and green tea and plan to make a lot of other adjustments to achieve this goal. I know what I need to do and I know if I do it I will see results, so that is exactly what I am going to do.

2. Be a Better Blogger
I suppose this is an ongoing goal as I really worked towards this last year as well. I felt that I often fell into spells where I wouldn't post for a week because I just didn't have anything to say and although I think that is acceptable I would like to work harder at having posts in my drafts so radio silence wont last so long when I've got nothing to say, I would like to explore the idea of guest posts more. I would like to improve and expand my content, spend more time taking quality pictures and editing them so I am not constantly apologizing for grainy iPhone pictures. This blog will always be a work in progress, I will always have things I can improve on but although there are things I can work on and plan to I am really proud of this little place of mine and I am beyond grateful to all of you who stop by and share it with me!!

3. Read More
This one shouldn't be hard but for some reason I feel like it last year it was. I absolutely love to read and sometimes will read book after book and then other times I wont read anything (besides magazines and blogs) for months. I really enjoy books of all sorts and although its a crap excuse that they are a little harder to get my hands on around here I really do want to read more in the New Year. I have a Nook that I love and its high time I put it to better use! I actually have a book review coming Monday so please stay tuned for that. I have set a goal to read 50 books this year on Goodreads.com although I hope to surpass it, if you have any book suggestions or care to share an author or book you are loving please feel free to do so at all times!! I am also looking into joining an online book club, I have always wanted to be apart of a book club.

4. Stress Less
This will probably be a lifetime goal of mine, I sometimes do really well with it and find my life to be abundantly happier when I can do so.. other times not so much. I need to learn to let the little things go and focus on what is most important in my life. Let me tell you the things most important in my life, do not bring stress to my life so why do I always have so much? Not this year, I won't do it anymore.. I have so many things to be grateful for and bring joy to my life I refuse to let the people and things that prove not worthy to bring me down. Not this year.
Easier said than done I am sure but this is something I am really striving for.

5. Be More Positive
This relates to stressing less. I have a lot to be grateful for, I have an amazing husband, a beautiful home (that I don't see often but that's besides the point), I have opportunities that a lot of people would love to have and really the list goes on. I need to stop focusing on the things I don't have and the things that really in the grand scheme don't matter and be grateful and happy about the things I do have.

<source>

6. Start Writing in a Journal

I love to write, that is in major part how this little place you are visiting now came to be.. I have always love to write! Although I share most things here there are obviously things that I like to keep private and I think a journal would be a good way to work towards a few of my other goals. I can talk about my stress instead of bottling it up, I can make it a priority to document the things that are positive every single day and its also a wonderful creative outlet that I know I would enjoy. I should have asked for a journal for Christmas!

I think the key to being successful with your goals and sticking with them is making them realistic, not setting too many and knowing how you plan to accomplish them in a reasonable way. These are the goals I am starting with this year, maybe they are small but for me this is what I will start with. My year will be full of goals, some I will accomplish and some I wont.. that's just life, but I feel confident that I can do these things. 

What are your goals for the year ahead and how do you plan to accomplish them? I would love to hear all about them!

One Year of Homeownership

Well it has officially been one year that we have owned our home and let me tell you it has been a very interesting year! As we speak my house looks like this..

Ignore the grainy iPhone photos.. you get the point though. 

Jason and I talked about buying a house years before we actually did so, we debated the pros and cons of owning a home with the fact that we travel all the time and would not see much of it. We talked a lot about where we would settle with both of us being from different places and if the purchase of our first home would most likely be our forever home. 

We knew off the bat that this would be a starter home and the things that we were looking for and the area we had decided to look in would be what we wanted for our life right now and not necessarily where we saw our life going. After a ton of talking and debate we knew that we wanted to be in the south. Jason didn't want to go any further south than North Carolina so that knocked out our only other consideration, Tennessee! We absolutely love North Carolina and decided that before going to Alaska we would rent an apartment here on our off time and really explore the area and where we had considered buying a home. 

The short time we spent here (5 months) at that time really put into perspective where we would buy, areas that we considered to be what we were looking for in regards to convenience, safety and price range. We realized very quickly in our searching that although the prices were extremely reasonable (being from the North housing prices in the South to me are DIRT CHEAP) but we couldn't find what we wanted. It was probably unreasonable to go into things thinking that we would find a home in our price range, in the area we liked with everything that we wanted, but what can I say! 

After tons of looking we decided that it only made sense to look into building our own home and when we did it became very apparent that we could get exactly what we were looking for if we built and in a very similar price range. We met with every builder in Raleigh, I kid you not. We explored all the model homes and checked out all the layouts that would be available to us and after a TON of research and time we found the PERFECT layout in the right neighborhood, then we decided it wasn't the right time and we went to Alaska. Ha! 

I know what you're thinking, why would we find everything we were looking for and then not jump on it? At that time we were leaving for Alaska and that isn't exactly a hop, skip and a jump from North Carolina and we wanted to be around for the building process. We wanted to see what was going on and know that things were being done well so we decided to wait and hoped that when we came back all the same opportunities would be available to us. It was scary at the time having found everything that we wanted and not sure if it would be here when we got back but we left here confident that we were making the right decision for us. In the end it truly was, there was no way we could have been able to come back for mandatory walk thrus and such, we would have missed out on being around for the excitement that comes along with building a new home. 

We spent 14 months in Alaska and throughout that time we stayed in contact with KB Homes, our chosen builder and what was new and up and coming as well as what had stayed the same. Throughout our time in the arctic we did not make a trip back to the lower 48 at anytime. When we arrived back we made the drive from Seattle to North Carolina to see friends who were expecting a baby at anytime and to visit with the builders and see what had changed in the time we were away. We were pleasantly surprised to find the new area they were building in was everything we were looking for and they offered more floor plans. We viewed another floor plan that was within the size range we were considering and we totally fell in love, it was bigger than the previous "perfect" house we had viewed, it was the exact floor plan we had wanted from the beginning and there was nothing we would have wanted to change. The floor plan was over 100 square feet bigger than the one we had previously decided on and the exact same price, it was a no brainer! While we had such limited time in North Carolina at that point we viewed lots, spent countless hours with sales reps and in the end we left North Carolina without having signed the deal. 

I wont lie at this point I was heart broken, Jason wasn't sure and although I so badly wanted him to be he just felt that something wasn't right. Maybe it was the time constraint for such a big decision but in the end we left with no certainty when we would be back and if what we wanted would still be available. 

We went to Maine, Ontario and then made the big drive to Saskatchewan, this entire time I sat silently torn that we had made a big mistake walking away. I didn't say anything as I didn't want Jason to feel pressured but it definitely weighed on me. I knew when the time was right it would happen and I just had to hold onto that but this was definitely a tough time. When we arrived in the hell hole that is Estevan I was even more convinced that if we were going to suffer through horrible jobs than we were also going to have to have something to look forward to. The transition into that place and job was nothing short of disastrous! Throughout our first week or two there Jason started making comments such as "well if we had bought that house..", "well if had a house..." and at first I didn't push the situation but I had to wonder why he would make those comments if there wasn't a touch of regret on his part as well. 

Finally about two weeks in we seriously talked about it and called the builder. Things moved really quickly and although it didn't start off fabulously we figured most of it was technical errors and we would be on our way. 

With this particular job we had the luxury of having a week off every month and that allowed us to fly to Ontario to see family and then drive down to North Carolina to check on the build. I wont lie from the beginning we felt there was quite a bit of incompetence on the part of the builder but I think we overlooked it on account that we were so excited about the house and what the final product would be. Jason had extensive frustrations and I kept assuring him that the final product would be worth it. 

I will say the entire build process what nothing but a hassle, possibly because we were so far away but mostly because nothing ever seemed to play out the way it was suppose to. We were not impressed with the craftsmanship, the condition of the site and home throughout the build and as time went on we really began to wonder what we had gotten ourselves into and wondered would the final product really be worth it. 

Fast forward to the end of the build, Jason had been extended and the house was no where near being completed for the closing date we had anticipated. At this point we had considered walking away multiple times but had come this far. We were assured everything would be taken care of and too our standards, the day before closing we were 100% sure that would not be the case and were very unsure what would take place. 

The superintendent we were dealing with was very honest and basically said that his boss said they were to close on the house because sadly they were willing to sacrifice quality to meet a quota. We really liked Tony and he assured us that he would make sure the work would be done after closing and he would personally over see it. At this point we had to leave to go back to Estevan, we took Tony's word and signed the papers.. we were officially home owners. 

I will admit that although the process SUCKED the second we walked out of the lawyers office with the keys I was elated. We had been married a couple of years, we had traveled all over but this was such a huge accomplishment, a step towards our future and whatever it may bring. We had a little bit of furniture delivered and we headed back to Estevan to get our things. When we arrived back there Jason was extended so the trip home we had planned became a drive straight through as fast as you could to get here and drop me and our stuff off and then Jason to get back, so it was up to me to deal with what was now being considered warranty items on our home. 

It was literally a disaster I kid you not, they came in and made more of a mess than was originally here and didn't address half of it, round one ended with Jason calling the superintendent and telling them he wanted everyone out of the house and he would be home and deal with it in a few weeks. So during this time more furniture was delivered painting was done and visitors arrived. Sadly while Jason was away his grandfather unexpectedly passed away and therefore he ended up leaving work early, we met in Maine for the funeral and then headed home. As tons of our stuff had been stored at Jason's parents for years and we had both flown to Maine we just rented a Uhaul truck and made the trip back to NC. 

This puts us at the end of October last year, and the fight began.. all we have done for the last year is fight with them to basically get what we paid for, for them to do their job, and to make our home what they promised. We spent a good bit of time at home through the end of last year, beginning of this year. Jason made a few solo trips for work but for the most part we were here. I honestly feel like the entire time we were here so were they, in the house, making a mess, working on something, dropping by, emailing back and forth, nasty phone calls.. it was a mess to say the least. 

Here we are one year later, which is the final warranty inspection that will result in the builder being responsible for the items we are not happy with. I will say that some of the items on our list (which is about 20 pages) are items that would have happened due to the house settling and such, but most of it is shotty work and poor craftsmanship. We have fought and argued and emailed and basically gotten no where, left defeated. Jason has yelled and anyone who knows him knows he is not a yeller, but that has also failed to get results. I truly feel even at this point no one cares. 

I don't feel we were treated with respect, I don't feel they should be proud of the product they produced and although we love our home our first home buying experience and year of home ownership has been a feat. 

But I digress...

In the end we love our home, in this last year we have made some of the most amazing memories and every time I have to leave it is with tears and regret. This is our home, this is where our stuff is, we may not get to live here all the time but this is home. 

I look forward to this phase of things ending, as it soon will due to our one year of ownership. I look forward to the years we will have this house and the memories we will make as our lives change. Would I change things if I could, maybe. I'm not much for regret but this process has been hard, long and really challenging, having said that we faced it together as a team and being able to call this place ours almost makes the hassle worth it. 

I wish that I could tell you that KB Homes is someone to considering building a home with, but its not. Honestly save yourself the money and time and find someone else. We truly did research, although I don't feel like our situation is unique having talked to our neighbors. Buying your first home really is an amazing thing, don't let them ruin it for you. 

I am happy to call this place home, I look so forward to coming here and the days (maybe, if ever) we will live here full time. I look forward to the way our lives will change and grow in this home and the new memories we will make. I have enjoyed nothing more than decorating and personalizing this place, I love that when you walk in the house you get a sense of who we were as we have never personalized an apartment because they are always temporary. 

In the end I truly cant believe its been a year already, I guess time really does fly! We are home now and I am soaking up every single second of it. The deck is one of my favorite parts of the house and we have put it to good use as much as we can. This house is so much more for us than just a house and for that I will always be grateful. 

I am sorry I didn't get here yesterday, again we are soaking up every second of being here knowing that today they were going to start work. I plan to get back on a regular blogging schedule again so stay turned for all that is coming this week. 

Also lets just put it out there.. THIS WEEK REGULAR SEASON FOOTBALL BEGINS!!! WOOHOO!!!

Face Lift!

If you are returning reader, welcome to the new and improved look of Adventures of a Wild Sunflower!! If you are a new reader, welcome!

As I mentioned previously I was looking to make some changes to my blog, have it encompass me as a whole rather than just mine and Jason's adventures, as some adventures just aren't as exciting as others. So I wanted to put together something to keep your attention and show off the things that are important to me!

I have a ton of ideas and I hope you stick around and explore all the great things to come! Note on the right hand side you can also check out some of the the blogs that I enjoy following!

Stay tuned for more post, recipes, book recommendations and daily inspiration! I hope you enjoy the new look and content as much as I am going to enjoy sharing with you all!

Spring Time Construction!

Hey guys,

I just wanted to pop in and let you all know that you will definitely be seeing some changes to my blog, it will be understand construction for awhile but I think you will all be pleased with the end result! I am working towards bigger and better things, offering a lot more to my readers and giving a broader view of me and all the things I love!

I'll keep you posted and let you know when you can expect the finished products!

Onward & Upward to bigger and better things! XO