We bought our land 4 years before we built our home. We wanted to build our dream home and were not in a hurry to rush into it and then regret decisions made too quickly. I was the designer on the project and honestly enjoyed all that it entailed. We also had a wonderful builder that made the whole process go seamlessly and stress free. After we chose a house plan and had it updated to include the must-haves on our list, I poured over those plans for hours and hours making sure each room was as ideal as possible. Now is the time to decide if you want an HVAC duct in that place or a light switch or outlet in that spot. Decide if you want floor outlets, special outlets in pantries or cleaning closets. Are the rooms the right size? Could a couple feet make a difference anywhere? I sure wish we had made our laundry room 3 feet wider. Choose as many products as you can before your builder gives you his estimate. If you want granite and he's giving you laminate pricing the cost will be more. Also, painting the interior all one color is less expensive than having several rooms painted differently. Are you going with pre-painted siding or having the exterior custom painted? Are you using brick, cultured stone or natural stone? Huge difference between brick and natural stone. Plumbing fixtures vary in price as do lighting and appliances. Make sure he's taking your choices into account with his bottom line. Think about any upgrades in insulation, soundproofing, radiant heating, etc. The best advice I can give from someone who's been there, done that, is to sit down and really think about how you want the house to look, function and feel....and cost. Are there things you can't do without? For us it was a 3rd garage, his & hers master's closets, a computer space off the kitchen area where we can monitor our son, and a particular type of kitchen layout. Break the house plan down room by room if it's overwhelming but KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. If you're unsure of that then you can be talked into a lot of stuff you will find out later you really didn't need or want. Almost all of us have to stick to a budget so the trick is getting what you want overall at a price you can afford. This website is a treasure trove of information that I'm sure will benefit you in the days to come. Good luck on your build and keep your chin up.

Salmon from one end of the continent and lobster from the other...this is one good swap. You'll like Bittman's book I bet, Robin. I bought one for the kid's roomate when she graduated high school and, of course, had to preview it for her. The trivet is beautiful, Catherine... nice choices.

Had gorgeous Carrara marble in our last house for several years with our two year old, lived normally with them and didn’t baby them, and they still looked dreamy and gorgeous when we sold the house. Everyone loved the counters. So did I. You’ll even run your hand down them and they feel velvety soft, cool, expensive even though they’re not, and just downright perfect.

I find it despicable that some employees have no rights concerning sick days It's not that employees don't have rights concerning sick days. It's that there are not separate and additional days given for sick time. No one says you can't get sick or that you can't have time off if you are. They are saying that if you ARE sick, you can easily prove it with a doctor's note. If you need time off you can use vacation time or take the time without pay. If you knew your employer was OK with 5 days a year as sick time, for example, you would use them. Maybe a few of those days you would call in sick because you really were, but some of them were used for sick children, "Mental Health" fun days, a last shopping day before the Holidays, whatever. With Paid Time Off (PTO) you get x number of days throughout the year to use as you see fit. Vacation, sick, anything. If that's all you get then you need to budget those days and keep a few for illness. I agree that 2 weeks is pretty low, but it's not unusual. Have you watched the news lately? Companies are struggling to stay open; paying employees when they aren't at work is an expensive item. In some companies close to failure, employees have chosen to give up all vacation time in order to keep their health insurance. It was one or the other. Just for the record, your decision not to sign the warning has no effect one way or the other. All they'll do is put a post-it note on the paper in your file that says "Employee refused to sign". You were out. They told you not to do it again. They don't need your signature. Your refusal just makes them think you plan to do it again and then say "But I didn't know!". I stand on my prior advice. Don't fight them, just talk to them. What are you gaining by this? If your relationship with them was good, then you are destroying it. If it was shaky, then you've confirmed for them that you are a problem. If it was bad, then you've taken them one step closer to termination. Is there part of this story you haven't shared yet? You don't have to tell us any of this but you should consider that it may have had an impact on how this was handled. Did you not call in the first day within 30 min of your start time? Did you call in every day that you were out? (Usually it's a requirement). Were you written up the prior week for something unrelated to attendance? Did you come back in on Thursday in almost perfect health so they questioned whether you really were sick those days? Are you habitually behind in your work? Do you treat your boss with disrespect or anger? Do you often talk about how great it was at the place you worked last? You said you've been there 2 years so by now you know the people and personalities you work with. I bet you can figure out exactly why this happened. I'm not saying this was your fault - your boss may be a total jerk - but in a confrontation with a supervisor, the employee almost always comes out the loser. Time spent 'managing' your manager is time well spent. Don't fight; talk.