aok27502 wrote: Are those pictures from naturallycurly.com? I browsed through there a while back, but to me every style just looks messy. The first two look a little like mine if I go to bed with my hair wet! I just grabbed them from a google image search of medium-length curly hair. They do look messy in some eyes, but I can't find a way to make curly hair like mine look neat without a significant amount of time. And this "messy" look is in style now. Last weekend, I was at an outdoor sporting event and took a break from the wind by getting a coffee at a local shop. My hair looked like the first photo I posted--I literally had just gotten out of bed and did nothing to it that morning. The young girl who served me coffee complimented my hair. Her words were, "By the way, I love your hair." (I wanted to hug her... they probably train them to say that to women my age!) I'm 45, and to have someone more than 20 years my junior give me a compliment--trained or not!--made my day. Yes, I'm both vain like that and appreciative that, at my age, I still have some flair. Call it messy. For me, it's easy and makes me feel good. I'll take it!

Why do you think it is taking longer? TLDR: See millworkman's comment - It really goes back to economies of scale, all things being equal, your house is less attractive to a sub-contractor, than someone who represents continued work. This is an absolute certainty and there are largely three ways to combat this. Hire someone who the sub will see as an opportunity for continued work to represent you (that is usually a G.C.), or pay more money so that the sub sees your job as more attractive, or find someone that has limited opportunities to work with G.C.'s (this can either be someone who does high quality work at a high price or low quality work for a mid price). Without one of those three things happening you need to anticipate delays. It is possible that your build will happen without any sub-contractor delays, however in most of the U.S. right now, that would be the exception and not the rule. Note: only a few years ago the situation was quite different so be wary of stories where everything went right a few years ago. Those delays can and do add cost, and you should anticipate their arrival and work to minimize their impact. ----- The most important thing about self contracting a project, is being honest with yourself about your abilities. That supposed savings is seductive, yet for most people it doesn't materialize, and not because it wasn't available, simply because those people were chasing savings over creating savings. The things that create savings for self-G.C.ing homes are actually the exact same things that would lead to some success as a contractor were you to enter that business. For example, a large part of G.C.ing is managing your time and schedule well, if you are excellent at managing time and scheduling, then you may create value, and if you were a G.C. that would be a viable pathway to value creation for clients. Or maybe you or your spouse are incredibly talented with construction, having done it for years, or maybe you are incredible at visualization and design so you can communicate and achieve your design efficiently. With all of these things, you are still going to encounter the economies of scale problem, but may still create some savings because of your skill set. However, most people want the savings without any efficiencies to create savings, and attempt to simply cut out a step in the value chain. That rarely works. G.C.'s create value, denying that value is a foolish move. Working to substitute your value for theirs might pay off, and it might not. But either way, they are earned savings and not simply avoided costs.

Get one of these: https://www.amazon.com/1-Inch-3-Ring-Binder-6-Pocket-SLIM-621-FN-Blu/dp/B0148OFBSY?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 With these: https://www.amazon.com/Samsill-Heavyweight-Protectors-Reinforced-Archival/dp/B07736KVRJ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=1XHG80ZE1J1ZP&keywords=sheet%2Bprotectors%2B8.5%2Bx%2B11%2Bheavy%2Bduty&qid=1653698996&s=office-products&sprefix=sheet%2Coffice-products%2C93&sr=1-2-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQlZNUE1QN01CMCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRJZD1BMDYzNDg4NzFGN0hURlFTTVlLQkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDAyNDgyNTNDOENFODcwTjRBWTQmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl&th=1 And some binder tabs too. Also get some of these and you can carry them in a tote bag: https://www.amazon.com/SUNEE-Supplies-Cosmetics-Accessories-Organizing/dp/B08DNVC517/ref=sr_1_13_sspa?crid=1SX7T79VXGE7N&keywords=zipper%2Bpouches%2Bfor%2Borganizing&qid=1653699150&s=office-products&sprefix=zipper%2Bpouch%2Coffice-products%2C84&sr=1-13-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExVThTM01KTTBKSkYmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA5MTU0MjVYVkUzMDBIRzlaOEEmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDMzNDIxMEkzVlk2RU5ZMVUzSiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU&th=1 You can even take your building plans and fold them and place in one of the zipper pouches. keeps them clean and protected from the elements. Google how to properly fold architectural plans ... they have youtube videos! I always had my binder and tote bag with me wherever I went and always at the construction site. The vendors and subs would ask questions and 99% of the time I had the answer in the binder or tote bag. We did a custom build and I was the owner and designer. My builder was great, but he didn't know all the exact design details that I wanted, so we had a very collaborative relationship and I had direct access to work with the subs and vendors. My builder was usually part of the meetings, but the subs/vendors could always approach me for clarification when he was not around.

From the website: "AutoStart "Program starting via the app "With the AutoStart function, your dishwasher can be programmed via the app to always begin washing automatically at preset times. Thanks to AutoDos and PowerDisk there is always sufficient detergent available so that the appliance can get to work autonomously. There is no longer any need to start the appliance manually or via the app. And having unclean dishes after forgetting to put the dishwasher on will become a thing of the past." One is going to start (or delay-start) a dishwasher when its full -- from its control panel, not at some unrelated, pre-programmed time. And the cheapest model with this is a whopping $2049. A "solution" in search of a problem. Dumb.