uh oh, based just on what you've written so far, I foresee problems. First off, does your contract specify TRCC "standards"? There are a couple of things you need to know about TRCC and the TRCC standards. First, TRCC (for you non-Texans, that stands for Texas Residential Construction Commission) is now a DEFUNCT state agency. It was sunsetted this past September when the legislature finally got the message that the TRCC was operating as a builder-protection agency and that homeowners simply weren't going to stand for it anymore. Second, while the TRCC was in effect, it adopted a set of minimum warranty standards that replaced the old legal standards of good workmanship and fitness for purpose. The TRCC standards include a one year warranty for workmanship and materials, a two year warranty for plumbing, electrical, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, and a ten year warranty on structural components. Each standard specifies in excruciating detail what is and what is not considered a defect. Whether those standards still have any legal effect now that TRCC is defunct is up for debate and, so far as I know, no legal cases have yet worked their way thru the courts to settle the issue. IF your contract specified that the builder would meet TRCC minimum warranty standards, then my guess is that a court would say the standards apply in your case. If your contract did not specify TRCC standards but you entered into the contract with your builder before TRCC was sunsetted then there would be a good argument that the standards should be applied because both parties were relying on the rules in effect at the time the contract was signed. But, if you entered into your contract after TRCC was sunsetted AND your contract doesn't specify TRCC standards, then I think you would have a winning argment that TRCC standards have no application. And, given that TRCC's warranty standards were written so favorably to builders that 8 foot tall walls could be out of plumb by as much as two inches, the earlier legal standards of good workmanship and fitness for purpose served homeowners far better than the new warranty standards. Prior to TRCC, it was was left up to juries to determine if an alleged defect was bad enough to be considered covered by implied warranties of good workmanship and fitness for purpose - and since juries were likely to think about issues as if they themselves had had to face the problem in their own new homes, they tended to require builders to meet standards that the rest of us find more reasonable. Like, walls should not bow an inch and a half in the middle and there should not be 1/8 inch gaps between pieces of trim work! But, even tho the TRCC standards are so loose (despite being so detailed) that a house has to be practically falling down around you before it is considered "defective", NO WHERE in the TRCC standards does it state that a punch list defect must be "visible from 20 feet. If your builder is telling you that, he is lying thru his teeth (which is why I predict you'll have problems). Instead, different potential problems are defined in different ways. For example, paint issues are often "punch list" items and RULE 304.21(2) specifically states "Paint shall cover all intended surfaces so that unpainted areas shall not show through paint when viewed from a distance of six feet in normal light." Another big punch list item is often defects in hard surfaces such as ceramic tile, granite, finished concrete, etc. RULE §304.20(3) specifically states. "A surface imperfection in floor hard surface shall not be visible from a distance of three feet or more in normal light. A surface imperfection in non-floor hard surface shall not be visible from a distance of two feet or more in normal light." See what I mean about your builder's so called "20 foot" requirement! I think you would do well to download the old TRCC warranty standards and read thru them carefully well before your walk through. If you believe that they ought to apply, get your builder to state in writing that he considers them to apply then take a copy with you to your walk through so you have it to refer to. The TRCC warranty rules can be downloaded from the site linked below. DON'T just rely on the so-called "plain language" versions. They leave out the details and those are what you need to read. The formal versions are rather long but other than that, they are not difficult to read or understand. So read them and be prepared to make your builder meet them. And, forget the idea that you'll do the walkthrough to find defects WITH your builder in 1.5 to 3 hours. He'll be doing his best to rush you along and distract you from seeing defects. Go to the house ahead of time with several very observant friends and do your own walk through without the builder there. If your house is a 2000 foot home, expect to spend at least 6 hours. If it is larger, expect to spend proportionately more time. Make detailed notes of all the issues (room by room) so that when you are walking thru with the builder, it is just an opportunity to point the issues out to him. That you can do in 1.5 to 3 hours... and you can give him a typed up copy of your lists at the end so that he can't claim you never mentioned something. If you're anywhere in the Austin area, I'll be happy to try to make time to meet you at your new house (before your date with your builder) and help you do a walk through. I've gotten pretty darned good at seeing the defects and I am sick to death of lousy builders screwing homeowners. I just this minute finished talking to my next door neighbor who is in the process of having a horse barn built behind her house and it is already a total screw-up...to the point where I think her best option at this point would be to fire the builder, tear down what he has done and start over. Among other things, the concrete foundation is not level but rises and falls with the slope of her land and then her builder put NOTHING between the concrete wood 2x4 sill plates so they're going to rot out almost immediately. Anyway, back to your situation, while your builder may SAY he'll be showing up for a year to finish punch list stuff when you find it later, don't count on it. Once he has his money, you have ZERO power to get him back without filing a lawsuit against him. Anything on the punch list that you aren't willing to fix yourself better be fixed before you close. Since he seems to be lying to you already about the 20 foot thing AND wants to rush you thru the walk thru in 1.5 hours, I somehow doubt he is going to be a stand up guy and come back to fix problems you find two months after you move in.

There are lots of food charts for serving a crowd available on-line, and sometimes you can find this information in older cookbooks, especially those put together by a church group. Locate a few and use them as a guideline, plus your natural instinct. I'm surprised there isn't a chart or book as a guideline in your church kitchen for serving crowds. The link below is from a friend of mine. 1. I figure 2-3 (average-size, 2-inch) cookies per person, or approximately 3-4 dozen cookies for 25 people - but it depends on other things on the menu. I wouldn't make large cookies. 2. Five kinds of cookies is more than generous and your list sounds like it should appeal to everyone. It's not necessary, but I would suggest at least one gluten-free choice and one that would be appropriate for diabetics (which could easily be one and the same recipe). These additions seem to be well-received, and much appreciated these days, where food allergies and diabetes are rampant. I often make place cards with the name and an ingredient list, especially if it contains nuts, coconut, etc. - common ingredients people may dislike or have an allergy to, as a courtesy to guests. If making gluten-free items, be careful not to cross-contaminate it with gluten-containing foods (don't bake gluten-free cookies on cookie sheets after you baked gluten-containing cookies without thoroughly cleaning them first). You could also buy sugar-free or gluten-free cookies instead of making them, or find a friend who makes them on a regular basis to help you out. I regularly make these for church-related and family-related functions, since both have a number of people who need gluten-free and diabetic friendly dessert options. 3. A way to judge the amount of drinks is to figure 1-2 beverages per person per hour. -Don't serve large portions of liquid, even iced tea (unless it's going to be summertime hot). -Most (glass) punch cups hold 1/2-cup (4-oz.), but if you use plastic 6- or 8-oz. cups, do the math per gallon of punch to get how many servings to expect to get. -Use cups/glasses children (especially small children) can easily hold, if appropriate. Make sure your servers know which glasses/cups to use. -Iced tea (especially in the winter) - 8-oz. plus ice is a good size. -Coffee - figure 3/4-cup (6-oz. - or the size of the cup you are using). 4. I would serve the cider spiced and hot at the home reception, and the cranberry/cherry + fizzy something-er-other as the punch at the church reception (make a couple ice rings from the cranberry/cherry juice so when it melts, all you need is to add another ice ring and a little more fizzy). I would also make a test batch (using smaller amounts, but the same ratio of ingredients) if you aren't going to use a recipe. If the weather is going to be extremely cold, hot cider and coffee would probably be more popular than iced punch and iced tea - depending on the ratio of adults and children attending. If you need a "back-up" punch that can be made as needed is one frozen container (12-fl. oz.) of orange juice and one frozen container of lemonade. Make according to package directions and mix the two together. No fizzy anything necessary. It's almost too simple ;-). -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Shaboom's Kitchen

Ginger ale will lose it's fizz if frozen. I don't know how you are planning on serving not how long the reception will be...but given the fact of a punch bowl and maybe an hour reception, I would have the ginger ale and the pineapple really really cold and the sherbet frozen and mix it about 30 minutes before the ceremony...but I would freeze a ring mold of a mixture of pineapple juice and ginger ale with perhaps a few mint leaves....or some slices of lime....and pop that into the punch bowl to keep everything cold. Linda C

You can also make your own letters to trace on your computer -- in MS Word for example, you can pick a font and size you like, and you also might want to play around with "word art" which you can find under Insert, Picture, Word Art. If you don't have MS Word, any word processing program that you do have should have a selection of Fonts and sizes.