The Bramer Time Blog

Its Been Awhile

2009-06-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

So it has been six months since we posted here. For those that don't know, we backed out of our house that we were building. That was a bummer!!! I was never just really into blogging that much at the time. Then we found another house and had to get moved in. Well, we are finally settled in the house so we decided to post some pictures for people to see. Hopefully we will get back in the blog groove in case anyone ever reads. Enjoy the pictures.

Life Moves Fast.......

2009-01-22T20:15:00.001-08:00

A funny thing happened on the way to building a new house. OUR BUILDER FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY!!!!! Yep, Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Check out this link: http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/stories/2009/01/19/daily25.html

While I am not an expert, Chapter 11 bankruptcy for lack of a better term is financial reorganization. Companies will use this filing to restructure terms of debt. Of course, the builder tells us that it is no big deal. Everything is fine!! Brotha, bankrupt is bankrupt. You are having problems paying for something.

As the article states, the builder has a desire to complete the homes in process. Good for us, no issue right? Maybe, maybe not. After I read the article 6 times, I came to and confirmed my understanding that the court must approve any continuation in operations while the hearings are taking place. So no guarantees.

So what does one do when your builder does this? Hang on, cut loose. Pray!!!

Syd and I have gone back and forth over the last couple of days trying to determine what the best options would be. We have always felt that the home we are building was "The One" But all signs are starting to point to the fact that we may not have a house to move into. So, I guess we are officially house hunting.

Truly, we are in great shape. We are blessed that we have sold out old house and that all we have is an apartment and storage. We will be fine. It is actually funny. We do ask to say a little prayer for us. Just for direction and we make the right call.

I would post pictures, but it seems pointless right now. More to come... By the way, a high schoolgirls basketball team in Dallas got beat 100-0. No the girls basketball team did not employee any member of the Dallas Cowboys!!! Have a nice weekend.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2009-01-05T18:15:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone had a great Christmas season. We spent a lot of time with our both of our parents in a one bedroom apartment. Good thing we like each other, right? Actually, this was one of the more relaxing Christmases that we have had. A nice simple Christmas meal of chicken and dumplings, salad and asparagus. Relaxing time playing with all of our Christmas toys and an unfortunate Christmas dinner prayer. I will not elaborate here but ask me sometime and Sydney will be happy to fill you in on it.

This Christmas I gained an appreciation of what my parents must have went through when I was a child. We decided to spilt Guitar Hero World Tour with our neighbors as our gift for this year. Funny thing was the drums didn't work, we took them back, then the guitar was broken, bought another copy of the game, switched guitars, and finally got to play. So the moral of the story? Thanks mom and dad for staying up late at night to make sure that Christmas happened.

So here we are at 2009. My New Years resolution is to be even cooler than last year and also move into our house. We are about 5-6 weeks out and things have finally began to move again. Drywall and cabinets!!! It is almost time and we can't wait. Some picture are below.

We hope that each and everyone of you have a blessed 2009 and that we get to spend time with you before the new year becomes the middle of the year!!

Garage and Kitchen

Living Room and Stairs

Going to the Game Room

Entry

Master Bedroom and Bath

Media Room

Bathroom and Closet cabinets

More bathroom cabinets

Kitchen cabinets

Merry Christmas

2008-12-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

We are so blessed to have wonderful friends. We wish you and your a wonderful Christmas. We will be enjoying Chicken and Dumplings and hopefully a nice Christmas afternoon of Guitar Hero World Tour.

Gig 'Em Aggies and Merry Christmas!!

House front: insulating and sheet rocking next week.. Pictures when they are actually interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGyGNxHtvRk

Christmas in an Apartment

2008-12-08T19:50:00.001-08:00

So I actually decided that we needed Christmas decorations around I one bedroom love shack. This may not be the most elegant Christmas decorations that we have ever had, but at least we are in the Christmas spirit now!!

Our Christmas Tree

The stockings were hung by the bar with care in hopes that the redneck Santa soon would be there.

On the home front. Bricking is almost over. We should begin the sheet rocking portion of the show next week. I am actually starting to get really excited. We should be ready to move in by February. It will be a real blessing to get back into our house. Especially to a room where I don't have to be subject to 17 year old girl movies (which is what Sydney is watching right now!!!!!!!!) Here are the latest pics. More to come as we get them!!

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T07:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family. We are spending time in Lake Jackson with Sydney's parents for the rest of the week. If you do have to travel this holiday season, DON'T!! We only spent 7 hours in the car yesterday...ugh. Oh well. We made it. We are very thankful for all our family and friends that enhance our lives each and every day. Enjoy the day full of football, food, and fun.

Then gentlemen, start your wallets as we will all probably experience our own personal recessions when Black Friday rolls around!!!

It's Over!!!

2008-11-19T19:16:00.001-08:00

Praise the Lord!!!! Closed on the old house today. It was a little sad waling into the house for the last time. We had fun and a lot of you spent time there with us. I know one guy that is going to sleep very well tonight!!! Now onward and upward. We have learned it is much harder to sell a home than buy one, no doubt about it. We are just beyond thankful that it is a done deal. Goodbye 216 Colt Ln., goodbye Bursey Ranch. It was fun while it lasted!!!

Here are a few pictures of pipes and duct work. That is pretty much all that is going on right now. Should sheet rock it in a week. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. Make sure to check out The Malt if you are interested in aTm football opinions.

Here is the living room with windows.

Our neighbors (Bart and Lisa, yes I know) with their slab down and framing under way.

Slow Week

2008-11-10T20:00:00.001-08:00

So no pictures of the house this week. Just a lot of wiring and plumbing going in this week. We will be getting over to take pictures probably tomorrow just so we know where all that stuff is for the future.

We actually got to meet some people in the neighborhood on Sunday. They came by while we were looking at all of the progress from the latter part of the week. They were actually the people who have the same floor plan that we had been copying off of until they put a door on the house. They invited us to their house so we could see the finished product. It was great!! Made us get really excited about the house and the possibilities.

We should be closing on the old house later this week. That has been nothing short of an adventure. You know those adventures you had in college. Road trips to an unknown destination no less than 18 hours away and you're stuffed in the trunk for the majority of the trip. Yeah, that kind of adventure. It has been a true test of faith from a deal falling through to the latest replacement of a hot water heater that home warranty did not cover. It has built some character and taught us a lot for when we sell this house no less than 30 years from now!! We are just thankful that this part is coming to a close. Once that happens, my budget oriented mind will be a little more at ease and the real fun will begin for me. Just say a little prayer for us that everything will go to form this week.

One thing that I haven't realized is all the decisions you make when building a home. The latest, where to put outlets. It makes perfect send, but I never really thought about it. It can be so much to take in at the time because everyone seems to want an answer right that second. I always get frustrated then think clearly after a couple of days. I then call my sales person back and change everything. I am probably the worst customer alive.

OK, enough from me. Time to get ready for another day at the coal mine tomorrow. Watch "The Malt" later this week for my opinion on tech and my sadness that football trips to College Station are done for another year. Must mean it is time to plan all my basketball trips for this year!!

Progress

2008-10-29T21:09:00.001-07:00

It's crazy to me to think that they laid the slab on this thing three weeks ago. It is actually starting to look like a house.

Yes, the bricks are here.

Our kitchen and staircase

Entry leading to the game room.

Looking outside from the living room.

The covered back porch taking shape

This is our former down the street neighbors that are now our next door neighbors. They should have their slab poured any day now.

Just a random blurb. Deal or No Deal is a beating. I watched it with Sydney tonight. That is an hour of my life that I will never get back. Please cancel this show!!

Hope everyone is having a good week and weekend!!!

Building A House

2008-10-22T21:29:00.001-07:00

Ok, Hopefully this will be more than house pics going forward, but more about what we are doing with our lives updated on a regular basis. I will keep the sports talk to a minimum here, but get over to www.singlemaltsports.com I am trying to keep it up weekly.

As soon you sign your life away to a mortgage, builders will really get after building you a house. This progress has been in a span of the last 2 1/2 weeks from when the foundation was laid. Here is the time line up to yesterday. Syd and I are getting excited and ready to live in our new home

My Favorite Bible Verse John 16:33 and a prayer that was buried in the center of the house before the foundation was laid.