We broke ground!!!

It is officially "real". They have cleared our lot and even laid our foundation at this point. The only hiccup so far is they cut down one of the trees they weren't supposed to. On one hand I'm kind of glad I don't have a lone pine tree close to the house just waiting to fall on it during a hurricane, but on the other hand the ARC was super clear that they wanted as many trees kept on the property as possible. I also hate cutting down trees! Below is the final approved landscaping with the pine tree they cut down circled... I think they may have also cut down a young oak near the back patio but it was hard to tell when I walked the property as there is a cluster of smaller trees in the back. The builder said they informed the ARC of what happened but I haven't heard anything else about it. I am upset about it and am hoping they will purchase a few more trees to replace it with (fingers crossed!).

We definitely have more grass now. I must admit it is more interesting of a yard with the new design, so that's nice. The drawing also makes the lot look huge which it really isn't. For reference, I think the length of the driveway is going to barely fit one car. I was hoping to get a golf cart at some point, but with the driveway so short it is going to be hard to maneuver it out of the garage without having to move a car, unless we park in line with each other...which would obviously potentially hinder one person leaving the house. Or maybe we could be those people who don't keep any personal items in their cars and can just drive whichever car is last in the driveway...yeah right!

Here is a photo of the cleared lot.

As you can see there really aren't any trees left on the property which is why I'm trying to plant as many as I can. They will all be young and small though. But we will be able to look back and say, "I remember when that tree was only 10 feet tall!". I think I am the most excited about the weeping willow (It'll be in the front left of the property). The other trees will be a dogwood, a magnolia, and a live oak near the back. I am really looking forward to being able to view the dogwood surrounded by azaleas in the spring out the dining room window!

Here is what the foundation looks like!!! I am a little surprised by how tall it is in the front. The property is on a slope so I knew the back would be high (looks like it is almost 5 feet at the back corner!), but I only expected maybe one step to the front porch. It looks nice though and the elevation looking out the windows will probably be great. I hope the limelight hydrangeas get big enough along the side of the house to cover the foundation! I was worried I wouldn't like the brick color, but I think it looks nice. The trim of the house won't be white though so I'm hoping the almond color doesn't clash too much.

I can't remember if I mentioned our exterior color scheme or not, but we were inspired by the Bald Head Island chapel! Kind of a blue grey with "almondish" trim and a dark teal door. Our garage door will end up being the almond color as well. I actually based the trim off the garage door color options that were provided us. I thought a white door would look weird with off white/cream trim....so we went with more of an almond color.

Below is what they sent me as a mock up for the exterior. I'm glad the actual brick looks different than their sample in this collage. Also the actual architecture above the front doors will be a little different. We went with a peaked design instead of the flat roof for the dormer.

Some other regrets I am thinking of is maybe wishing we had considered adding an L shape portion to the drive way as a turn around, but I'm really not sure there is room anyway. We'd likely have to go over the ditch area which would mean extending the culvert, which would mean big bucks....I'll live!

They are waiting on the utility company to give hookup access to lay plumbing so we have slowed down a bit in progress. Hopefully they will install plumbing this week and pour the slab. Then I think we will see some walls go up!

My husband had a fun project idea to kind of commemorate the build. Before they laid the foundation we went out to the property and collected some awesome moss that was on the lot and made terrariums! I think they all turned out pretty great!

On the GLP-1 front (Zepbound), I just increased my dose to 10mg and am down to 191 lbs! Very exciting. I am still trying to find the right exercise routine. I started lifting weights a few weeks ago and tried to be very gentle but inevitably lifted too much and hurt my back some. After discussing with a few folks, I think I am going to switch to body weight exercises and increase my step count. I haven't worn my fit bit in ages, but I think I may bring it back out (if I can find it!). I know that I am way too sedentary, especially at work. I must admit it is so hard to tamp down my pride. I still feel like such an athlete on the inside and am having trouble taking baby steps. I am working hard on letting go of all or nothing thinking, but this one has been a struggle. I feel like if I can't do right away what I was able to do before, then I just shouldn't do anything at all...obvious poor thinking! So I am trying to shake that out and be mindful. It really shouldn't be that hard to just walk! But here I am! So wish me luck. Hopefully next post I will have some positive things to say about gentle movement and progress.

On a more exciting note, I started another pottery wheel series class that my mom got me for my birthday. Super stoked!!!! I went for it and signed up for the intermediate class. I am already glad that I did as I have learned a lot even in the first class. I will post some pics of progress pieces next post :)