The House That Built US- Week 1 The Nosey Neighbor

Well for months while we were looking for the perfect piece of property we heard horror stories of people who have built homes in Smoky Hills. Everything from nosey neighbors to NIGHTMARE of an HOA. It was one of the things that made purchasing our lot such a hard decision. We prayed and prayed about it and even took the step of getting HOA approval on our plans and staking out our home on the lot before we even closed on the land. I don't like confrontation so the smartest thing to do would of course be iron everything out beforehand...right??

On the day we went to meet with the HOA president I was a nervous wreck...should I bake him cookies or would that seem like too much of a suck up?? Literally every scenario went through my head. I wrote up a letter detailing out our plans and that we had already staked the house on the lot. I asked for approval before we closed on the property. We got to sit and talk with him and his wife for a while that evening and I left feeling very refreshed. They were super nice people who will make great neighbors! It had been a few years since anyone built in there so maybe things had changed.

After the first meeting with our contractor he came back to us with a nervousness of building a home in this neighborhood. He himself had heard horror stories for contractors who had built for customers in this neighborhood. We assured him that we were confident with our HOA president and that we will not have any problems.

We met two more times over the past month with the the HOA president and both times were truly enjoyable. We understand the importance of keeping the neighborhood nice, to keep up property values while also realizing that each person has their own taste in homes, decor, etc. I felt no reservations at all.

This week my two tasks were a) setup the new water service b) set up new electric service. I managed to get those done on Tuesday, sent over all the info to our contractor and felt accomplished....and then it happened.

While our contractor was at our property today setting the water tap flag a neighbor a few houses down from ours stopped by. He thought maybe a friendly hello but before you know it he was telling my contractor to stop his work because we couldn't put our house where we had staked it out. Our house had to be in line with all the other houses on the street. **SIDE NOTE there are only 3 on that side and none of them line up. Well the restrictions state that we have to have setbacks of 30feet from the fronts and 12.5' on the sides. Our home is at a 40.5' setback from the road and well within the side set backs.

There is not issue with our house except that it isn't where "this neighbor" would prefer it to be. My contractor though wasn't quite sure how to handle this guy as he knew him on a more personal level so he called us. We immediately called the president of the HOA and told our contractor to proceed with the his work. Once he called us back he assured us that as long as we were within the setbacks given in the restrictions we were fine to proceed. This guys may prefer it one way but we are not breaking any rules and his preference doesn't give him the right to come on my property and stop my contractor. This is where Sweet Southern Mel turns into MEAN Southern Mel. ;) He said he would speak with this neighbor about it but again we can put the house where we want it.

Day 3 and it has already began with the nosey bully. At this time I will just call him nosey neighbor but I sure hope he keeps his nose within his own property lines for the duration of this process.

I see now why this little blog will be a great place for me put all these memories. I am sure one day I will look back and laugh on all this...it just may be a while!!  I also hope that this little blog will bring you all some humor at the absurdness of some people! :)

Hoping to be back next week with ground breaking and no neighbor stories but for now I am enjoying the Contractors sign (yes something so little brings me such excitement and joy) and that beautiful view through the trees! 

Much Love,

Mel

The House That Built US Month 2

Well that took a whole heck of a lot longer than I anticipated!! 

After closing on the land and finding a good contractor we moved on to the bank process. Apparently around the holidays everyone who needs to sign off on construction loans goes on vacation which put a good month hold on everything! 

Finally over the past two weeks things have been moving at the bank and we closed on our construction loan this past Tuesday evening! Tonight we met with the contractor to finalize all the plans on the layout of the house and sign the contract with him. 

I am FINALLY excited! Don't get me wrong I have been excited theses past few months but in the back of my mind, until the dotted line is signed anything can happen. I knew the more I let myself want something the harder the disappointment of it not happening would be. You would think that buying the land would have been confirmation enough but it still just didn't feel real.



Tonight, this moment of red pencil marking all over our plans. Discussions of appliances, siding, brick, stone, fireplaces and on and on. This is real, this is exciting, this is the moment I have been waiting for for the past 6 months. 



If you have any advice, tips, tricks, do's or don'ts please share them!! I have pinned so many things on Pinterest it makes my head spin to go look at it but I am ready for the picking out of stuff. I am ready for the design of our new forever (if it is His will) home. 

So heres to granite samples, cabinet colors, light fixtures, paint colors, wood floors, tile floors and all the other decisions to come. Praying for clarity in each decision that we have to make and praying that as my husband and I walk through this process God will use this to build our marriage stronger. 


Hoping to share new updates of breaking ground in the next couple weeks! 

Much Love,
Melanie

The House that Built Us -The Beginning

Holy Cow it's been a while since I sat down to write on this sweet little blog that I still hold dear to my heart. I have so many memories and ideas typed on these pages that each hold a special place in my life. I've shared ideas, successes and failures. I hope I was an inspiration more often than now and I'm sure at times I probably shared to much. I can only hope that even in the craziness of it all you could see a woman who loves the Lord yet is just a sinner who needs that Savior every. single. day.

As my husband and I quickly approach our 11 year anniversary I look back on all the changes in our marriage. In ways we have grown closer and more alike, then in ways we have grown different...not apart, just different that those two young kids. 

*SIDE NOTE* I remember when we were dating we would spend countless hours working jigsaw puzzles together. No joke I remember coming home on night at like 1 or 2 and my parents asking what in the world we were doing...well we were working that awesome puzzle. Yep the whole time we worked a puzzle, together. It was love or we were aged beyond our years! ;) PS I need to find that puzzle, I'm sure we still have it because over the last 11years I have realized my husband is a hoarder. ;)

Over the years I have had a dream, I'm definitely the dreamer and he is the realist. When we bought this little house almost 11years ago it was a starter home that we planned to be in for about 5 years. Well we have double those years and doubled in size of our family. Over the years I have spoken of my desire to build our own home but it's never been more than just a dream...until here recently. 

To make a long story short after 11years of marriage, two kids and multiple job changes we are taking a leap of faith and building our forever home. Well the home we plan to be in forever unless God has other plans, which in that case it will be our For-now home. :)

For the past 5months we have looked at homes but none of them felt right, then we looked at lots, lots and lots of lots. We picked out house plans that we both agreed on (surprising that was pretty easy) then we had to pick a lot that was appropriate for our home. 

The lot choice was more difficult to decide on because we wanted to be in a specific location, where our children could remain at the same school yet we could have the same zip code. Then we wanted to build in a neighborhood that was a good place for our children to be able to ride their bikes and play outside without as much worry with fast vehicles running up and down the street.

We looked and we prayed and we looked and we prayed, had a few heated discussions that were quickly resolved then we finally found it. We made an offer and they accepted and just like that we were land owners! I'm pretty sure signing over the check to that piece of property was more nerve wracking than going in to deliver a child. So many "What If" questions, what if it wasn't the right lot, what if we should wait, what if, what if, what if. But at the end of the day, we prayed and put many stipulations on the purchase of that land and every step of the process (well almost every step) went very smoothly! We signed the papers, took some pictures, handed over the biggest check I've ever wrote (total gut punch) and BAM it was ours! 

After the completion of the land purchase, we ordered official plans, had a third meeting with our builder to make a few changes, got the deed to the property in and are well on our way to breaking ground. 

I have been told that building a house can be detrimental to a marriage. I can see why, so many decisions to be made that can drastically change the rest of your life. However I do not want to go into building this house separately but I want this house to be another piece of the puzzle that build US.

We are not those two crazy, wild, carefree kids we were 11 years ago. This journey through adulthood and parenthood has beautifully built US. There isn't a day goes by that I am not thankful for this man that God designed just for me. He doesn't ground me but he lets me fly and is there to catch me when I fall. He supports me yet brings me back to reality when I start to get too carried away. He is the perfect piece to my puzzle. 

I have blogged many wonderful moments of my life, some for you all and some for myself. I not only want to share this with you but want to have a log of memories from this process. A friend of mine blogged her journey of building with her husband and it was so sweet to read and be a apart of. I'm sure she will cherish this sweet memories as she builds a life in her new home with her family. 

Over the next 6-8months I will try to share weekly updates on anything new happening at the new Cobb family homesite! I ask that you will be in pray for me and my family as we go through this process. Pray it will teach us patience (me in particular), love, grace and compromise. Pray we will see God's hand at work in us and that he will bless our new home to be a place where love and grace abounds endlessly.

Much Love Friends,
Mel

Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not? My Love Story Part 2

Ok so we are traveling back to about 5 months before that night in Jan. I was in Morgantown visiting when I first seen Punkin. As I said in my last post he was my first crush so like any normal teenage girl those crush feelings flood back and I was bound and determined to make him see me! 

He drove a crotch rocket so I knew exactly what I needed to do...I needed to go for a ride! I ask, he agrees and we are off. It was a hot August day and we rode around for what seemed like hours but was prob only an hour. He even took me by to show me where he and another friend of mine lived. 

I did everything beside through myself onto him and he never seen me. I was crushed but also not surprised. I mean we all know that those childhood crushes never lead to the real deal. I thanked him for a good time and left just at that.

I later asked my friend and his roommate what the deal was and he was still in the healing process. I get it, I was healing too. Two very long relationships had left us both crushed and we didn't need to be rushing into anything. 

Now forward to jan 9th. Here we both were talking to night away. I'm sure we talked about everything for our hopes and dreams, what we were majoring in, who our close friends were. Funny stories of him and the guys living together and the stories of how our hearts were broken. Hand in hand we talked for hours...it was so relaxing, so ultimately perfect yet it was getting ready to end. 

The next morning I was heading home to Bolt. Three hours away from WVU. I was going to school full time Mon-Fri nod working a part time job in the evening and cheering for college. I didn't have time for a relationship and def not a long distance one but still this felt different. It felt too natural and easy. 

I knew that with girls the taking would be enough, I would remember those words long after I had left but sometimes words weren't enough for a man. Now let me stop and say I'm not talking about doing the nasty but just something extra to make sure he didn't forget that night.  It took a few minutes (maybe even an hour) for me to get up the nerve but the moment finally came. We lay there staring into each other's eyes waiting for that first kiss to happen....I didn't want the moment to pass so as I moved closer I whispered "Are you gonna Kiss me or not?" 

He did and it was a kiss I will never forget. To me the kiss was huge, if it was forced it wasn't right, if we moved awkwardly again it wasn't right. This kiss flowed like a smooth river. His slight touch on my cheek, the way his delicious lips felt on mine, the way he would stop and look into my eyes and it was like he was touching my soul. We kissed and kissed some more and that was it...I swear no nookie! He was a perfect gentleman and that night I seen what It felt like to be treated with respect and love all while having a great time.  

I left to go home after a night of NO sleep and all the way home my mind raced...how could this work? Did he feel the same connection I felt? He was probably out of my league...but it felt so right.

Only time will tell I guess!

Hope you enjoyed part 2! Part 3 will be coming soon!! 

Happy Valentines Day friends!

~Mel

My Love Story-Part 1

Well Happy Valentines Day friends!! It has been a while since I posted but this ost is not fitness related. I'm not going to tell you about dropping 3% body fat in the past month! or about the amazingness that P90X3 is. Tonight I'm going to tell you about my love story. I mean that's what valentines day is all about anyways right? Love and all that jazz...

I am starting this post late at night, maybe I have had a little too much red wine, maybe it's the fact that we have 6in of snow outside and it's still falling. That makes me like a little giddy girl again! I haven't seen snow like this in East TN since we moved here so I am beyond thrilled! 

Maybe it's because I thought I might finally share my love story. The who, when, what and a where's of how God lead me to the man he had planned just for me all along! 

<insert sips wine while laying in bed listening to nothing but the heat running> Apparently it's a combination of all the above. 

Let's rewind to 12 years ago, a little prelude to my story. It was 2012, I was getting ready to graduate High School, HOLLA C/O 2002, and I was planning the wedding of my dreams. Eight bridesmaids, a rainbow wedding, every girl has a different pastel color dress, my dress is a halter style dress with beading on the top and a very long train. Not only am I planning my wedding but I'm planning my graduation, my wedding and enrolled in college classes and living the dream...well my dream.

I will spare you details but three weeks before the wedding my high school sweetheart decided that he just didn't feel right about the wedding. I was crushed, everything had been planned, the wedding shower had already happened and all my new stuff was currently sitting in the apartment that was to be ours. I didn't know what to think or where to turn. 

Looking back, Gods hand was at work just as it always is. I was a stubborn, hard headed little girl, (I wonder where Lanie gets it) who unfortunately didn't listen to Him speaking to me. I did what I wanted then paid the consequences when I wasn't following the road He wanted me too. 

I don't want to go into that harsh story because it was part of my past, it ultimately lead me to the man of my dreams and it all worked out just as God intended. I do not regret a single moment of it and only a few small choices that I made during it I am not here to talk bad about the boy/man that I was once engaged too. It wasn't Gods will and regardless of who I was with or what the situation if God didn't want it to happen it wasn't going to happen.

So fast forward to Jan 2004. I have been single now for a little over a year. I still am "looking" for my dream man but finding that I am enjoying the single life. I like the free weekends to do as I please but I also miss those long talks sharing my soul with someone I hold so close. Man how I wish I had a closer relationship with God back then. 

My BFF wants to to go with her to WVU so she can see her beau. After talking to another good friend of mine who promises me a night of fun I agree to go...little did I know that night would be the start of my fairytale. I arrive at some friends house, right out schools, sweatpants and sweatshirt, no makeup and hair up. Not party ready at all but when I arrive a poker game is being place and there HE sits. Playing poker with the guys and just hanging out. 

<REWIND TO 1993, I'm 9, my cousin lived beside this boy and I am smitten with him. Maybe it's his skater haircut or his bad boy persona but I have my very first crush. Only problem....he is 4 yrs older than me so we NEVER see each other on any type of regular basis. What don't go to the same school yet we only live a mile apart. In a small town such as ours we know each other's name but that is it.>

Back to 2004, I am at my friends house and within 30min transform my homely looking self into total club ready babe...then I get noticed. Questions are exchanged and I found out the club scene wasn't his thing yet I still went. I was young and long Ing to cut loose and have some fun and dance until my heart ps content.

 He had just come out of a 6yr relationship also so that last thing either one of us was expecting was something that would lead to a lifelong love. 

I went out. Had a blast and came home only to find out he had waited on me to get back all night...

My first crush ever had waited on ME...maybe it was the early signs of love, maybe it was young stupidity but I'm sure Gods hand was all over it along with protecting me from the other stupid immature decisions I had been making at that time. 

After a phone call to him that night we ended up talking the entire night...that's it, just talking. Promise, 8hrs later I got my first kiss and that was it. One kiss, one long night of talking and realizing that this man was different than any of the boys I had been with before. 

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Hope to hav the next part up tomorrow! 

Love y'all! ~Mel

The End of the Cleanse

Yesterday was my last day on the Advocare 10day cleanse. I actually made it completely through and my husband also completed the entire cleanse with me which made it much easier when I was food prepping for two and we were eating the same dinners! I love it when we workout together and eat healthier together! He really is my best friend! <--Insert googly eyes

I haven't taken my measurements yet because I have just been TOO busy but I did manage to sneak in some pics and my post weight. 

First I want to talk about what the Cleanse did for me this time. 

I really want to change my way of eating and in order to change it I must first change my way of thinking. I am really focusing more on my relationship with my Savior. Not only what He desires me to do but how he desires me to treat my body. I have been reading ReShaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure and she gives some great scripture references to how God expects us to treat our bodies. I really believe that once I can totally focus on taking care of this body because that is what is expected of me from God, the process will become much easier. 

I am also in the process of learning how to fuel my body. Give it what it needs so that it will do what I want. I have been very encouraged by the large group of mommies who have came out publicly with their post baby bodies being all ripped and toned. Not perfect but I'm not striving for perfect just real. These moms have took a lot of flack from the public over their fitness and I think it that if we would all stop be judgmental then we could put an end to all this bullying. Bullying is a whole other post so I'm not going there but as far as these women go...I have been inspired.

Now onto what I learned. The first few days were rough. I ate like CRAPOLA over Christmas ya'll!! Tons of Oreo Balls, Peanut butter bon bons, pasta, pasta, more pasta and then some more bon bons. I think I made two separate batches of No Bake cookies (my absolute fave in the whole wide world) and I ate a good 75% of them myself. 

Surprisingly I only gained about 4lbs but the lack of lifting and running really put a hurting on my muscle mass. I felt bloated, yucky and didn't want to do anything. This cleanse is the kickstart I needed. 

I also started P90X3 the same day I started the cleanse so after a few days of being tired I became concerned about my caloric intake. Let me say I HATE counting calories and that's why Paleo always worked good for me, I ate however much I wanted within the realm of what I could have. No counting and keeping up. But the more fitness blogs I read they really stress keeping track of it all!! Calories, fat, sugars, protein, etc....omg how was I going to keep up!! Well I logged back onto MyFitnessPal (it had been well over a year since I even opened that App) and holy moly, it SO much better!! I can scan my food and add my own recipes and look up everything under the sun! Then it graphs it all out for me!! I had no ideas the improvements they made and I feel quickly in love with my app! 

(USER NAME IS punkslilangel) not SweetSouthernMel!! FIND ME AND ADD ME!! 

I was only eating about 800cal a day when I logged my food!! No wonder I was so stinking tired! So I sat down and watching the video on BMR, done some calculating and figured that my caloric intake needs to be about 1400-1600/day. I still fell under that each day of the cleanse but I stayed away from all grains while on the cleanse so that hindered me some. 

After I got my intake up to about 1300 I started to feel awesome and guess what....I lost 5lbs!!! WOW I increased my intake of good stuff, started P3 and lifitng and seen a big loss!! I consider 5lbs a good number since even last year when I was at my fittest I was stuck between 134-135 and now I am at 132! 

I can also see BABY ABS!!! WOOT WOOT! Belly fat really is all in the diet! 

I am going to continue eating as if I were still on the cleanse with just a little more headway on some whole wheat bread and Steel Cut oats.  

For the next 20days I am going to allow myself 3 cheat meals and 3 glasses of wine. I really want to see what my body is capable of in the first 30days of P90X3 but to really see those definition changes I have got to cut down on my body fat %. We are going to WV this weekend and Superbowl is in a week so there goes two of my cheat meals but I have a plan because we all know that...

FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL!!

Now for a couple before/after pics...

I SEE BABY ABS on the right!! 

So I have decided that I really don't like this bathing suit. I bought it last year from Venus and though it was cute but even as I get smaller it isn't flattering for me! 

Not HUGE changes in the pictures but I feel like I can see huge changes in myself and for that I am proud!!

I hope ya'll have a great weekend!!  

Love,

MEL

My New Year Challenge

Welcome 2014! I'm actually starting this year on a good note for once! Even though I did over indulge during the entire month of December I am slowly getting back on track. 

One thing I learned about myself in 2013 is that I NEED accountability. I need some sort of challenge or goal that is known to people around me for me to follow through. While the end result is great with our bodies there really is never an end result. 

Let's be honest, as women we are forever dissatisfied with one part of our body. I wanted to lose weight last year. I did it, felt comfortable in a bikini at the beach, kept the weight off (plus/minus 3-4lbs). I let some of my muscle decrease though which made a huge difference in how I felt. Even though my size 4 jeans still fit I just didn't feel "FIT". 

I don't want to be criticizing myself continuously so this year I decided to not pay attention to the scale but pay attention to my Body Fat %. This means lots of lifting heavy crap! I do enjoy weight lifting and am looking forward to starting back up with the new P90X3 on Sunday! 

It is only 30min a day which I know I can do. I loved the original P90X but those long 1-1 1/2hr workouts became hard to fit in. I want to do more than just the 30min a day p90x3 but on those days where between work, church, kids, dinner, bath and bed I only have 30min I know it will get done. 

No falling off the bandwagon!

I entered a challenge group with some ladies in my area. We all pitched in $10 and set three fitness/health goals for ourself. Each of our goals are different and they must be challenging(meaning losing 3lbs couldn't be one of them). Whoever reaches all three of their goals first wins all the money. 

We are in our own little contest, a private group where we hold each other accountable and we have a leader to report to weekly. She also posts monthly challenges we must do on top of whatever other fitness activity we are doing. 

So for the New Year, New Me Challenge my Three goals are:

1) Complete P90X3 without missing a day (unless I'll in which the day must be made up)

2) Lose down to  24% body fat

3) Complete 5 Unassisted Pull-ups 

The second goal will be the hardest for me because I love food!! I'm a lot like my fellow weightless blogger Mama Laughlin because my love for Reese's goes deep but I also don't want to just be comfortable in a bikini this year. I want to ROCK in a bikini this year! 

Diet is 80% of body fat loss and the other 20% comes from lifting heavy and HIIT cardio (not a fan of this either) so it is going to be challenging but hey...that's why it's called a CHALLENGE!! (Not a resolution that always gets broken)

I am only using my fitness IG account now so you can follow some of my food choices, my P90x3 challenge and some updates on there easiest as blogging is becoming more and more difficult to fit in. I will do a big post on Sunday though with my before pics....OH WAIT I forgot to mention the hubs is doing P90X3 with me so I'm hoping to have his Before pics too!! (That is if he cooperates and lets me take them). I will also put all my stats and measurements in that post. 

This year is about becoming FIT and learning to love my body and treat it as the temple of Jesus that it is. I'm currently reading Reshaping It All by Candace Cameron Bure and she is giving some great scripture references to why we should be taking care of our body. 

We bought our son a. Samsung Galaxy Tablet for Christmas a few years ago. When we gave it to him we out it in an Otterbox and had a nice long talk about how important it is that he take care of it. Keep it clean, be careful not to drop it, don't spill any juice on it and treat it responsibly. He has done a very good job and it is still running just well s what it did the day we bought it. 

God did this for us, be paid a HUGE price (sending His son to die) for us. He gave us 1 body to take care of and treat well. Why is it so easy for us to take care of our material items (home, car, iPad, iPhone, etc) but we can't seem to take care of our body? The one thing we have COMPLETE control of?? This year I'm on a spiritual journey too. I long to become closer to Christ and love my body the way he does therefore treat it the way he made me too.

The best way to keep up with me is through IG SSmGetsfit is my account name so look me up!  

For now I'll leave you with some pictures from my fitness journey last year , it feels so good to be able to write about the next step and not about repeating step 1 again because I let it all go!

Looking forward to a New Year and even better Me!! 

Much Love,

Mel