by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 11, 2010 | Design Your Own House, for Home
Who knew choosing a vacuum could be so stressful? With a central vacuum, you're pretty much committing for life, so it carries long-term consequences. When we built our last custom home we found out—the hard way—how painful those consequences can be. We choose a...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 10, 2010 | for Mind
16 years ago we started homeschooling on a dare from our oldest daughter, who had just turned seven. Now she and her closest sibling are attending a prestigious private university and their four younger siblings are still homeschooling. I don't hate public schools,...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 10, 2010 | for Home
The first home we ever bought, in Boca Raton, Florida, started out as a lease agreement from the owners. We paid a regular monthly rent and a portion was credited to our down payment should we decide to exercise the option to buy the home after one year, which we did....
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 7, 2010 | for Home
Affordable housing is so important in this economy. Giving your family a place to live is one of the most crucial expenditures—and also one of the biggest drains on family finances. This afternoon I found that good friends of ours are looking at a foreclosed home...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 7, 2010 | for Fun, Yea Big
Caleb (6): Mom, when you fast you don't eat breakfast or lunch? Mom: Yup. … Caleb: Mom, why would you ever want to fast?
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 2, 2010 | Design Your Own House, for Home
Our new, craftsman-style front doors were installed this morning. Both doors are on the porch; one is the main door, the other the office door. They were custom made to our specifications by Meadow Wood Custom Doors and are absolutely gorgeous! Both doors features a...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 2, 2010 | Design Your Own House, for Home
Today our culinary water line was connected. Big trench in the front yard, new cover, hole in the cold storage side wall. Unfortunately the water meter cover is pretty much dead center in the front yard. Hopefully with the placement of the walk and plantings it won't...
by Alison Moore Smith | Jun 2, 2010 | Design Your Own House, for Home
We are looking for a bid for the central vacuum system for the home. Apparently, we needed this bid yesterday. So, if you've got the goods, send me a bid, pronto. As per the drawings, we have 6,033 square feet under air (3,423 main; 2,070 basement; 540 upstairs), with...
by Guest Blogger | May 28, 2010 | for Home
This is a guest post by Stephen Cragan. I recently purchased a steam cleaner on Amazon.com and love it. I got the idea to search for one after seeing an infomercial for another steam cleaner on television. I jumped on my satellite internet, did a search to see if I...
by Alison Moore Smith | May 27, 2010 | for Money
A few years ago I created a funny t-shirt for my daughter for Christmas. It wouldn't make sense to explain the inside joke, but it was a big hit. Within the next few months I made more for other kids, my husband, my dad, and later some other relatives. I created a...
