aorbeta

I found houzz.com extremely useful. Wife and I are almost finished with our custom home and the site was invaluable at searching for particular cabinet designs, kitchen layouts, etc. When we were in a bind for creative tiling ideas in the bathroom we looked on houzz.com for inspiration. Also, the metadata they have associated with pictures is pretty decent so if you're looking for a particular lighting fixture or appliance such as a 60" Wolf range(which we chose) it's useful to see them in a pic.

Go over to houzz.com for tons of pics for inspiration. Neatly laid out site, even has an iphone app

Currently renting an apartment while our house is being demolished this month for a custom home. We purchased a small home built in 1950 in a well established neighborhood in Alexandria, VA about 3 years ago, always with the intention that we were going to renovate or tear down and build new. We started the process of finding a builder early this year. We narrowed our search down to a handful of architects and design/build firms and started interviewing. In the end, my wife and I went with a design/build firm that's been around for 40+ years and has a good reputation. A design/build does everything for you so they do the design as they have architects on staff and they also build the house for you. I didn't want the hassle of a traditional architect and having to bid out the job to contractors. I really wanted a one stop shop for everything. I also wanted a firm fixed price contract so my budget is set and the price doesn't go up as the job goes on unless I add something to the job. If I stick to the contract my price is set. In the end, ask around, do your research, and find an architect or builder that has the right style that you're looking for. Also ask to see houses that they've built and speak to the homeowners about their experience. Also, a good working relationship is always key. I feel comfortable with the firm that I'm dealing with and can ask them to make whatever changes I wanted in the initial design phase. My wife and I collected pictures of houses that we liked, inside and out, and threw it on the table when designing the house. We started designing the house in May and will hopefully break ground this month. Good luck.

Thanks, been lurking for a while. No Lambo for me yet, just cruising in the minivan so no need for me to post. Made partner a few years ago but taking care of my real estate and investments first and getting my toys later. Crossfit is no joke. You'll find lots of military/ex-military types doing this workout. Most of it is based on powerlifting, gymnastics, and cardio. I jumped into a sample session and it kicked my ass and I considered myself in pretty decent shape. It mainly emphasizes natural movements and hardly any isolation stuff. Lots of core involved. You're right though, it's a killer workout like Insanity. P90X and Insanity are great workouts but I'm tired of listening/watching the DVD's. Although the eye candy is much better in Insanity. Plus it's nice to work out with real people again.

Long time lurker on here, first post. I did P90X and Insanity back to back. The most important thing with both is to eat right and use the nutritional guides that came with the DVD's. Calculate how many calories you need in a day(it gives you the formula in the nutritional guide) pick a few meals from the guide that sound appealing and hit the grocery store. I usually plan my meals the night before and cook/pack everything so I'm set for the next day and not have to worry about it. If you don't get your diet right you'll most likely not get the results you want at the end or else you'll burn out. Also, if you don't already have one, I would invest in a decent heart rate monitor. You'll find in the workouts that your heart rate will shoot up and there will be a resting period between workouts. In this resting period there's sometimes not enough time for your heart rate to come down, especially when you're in the first few weeks of the workout. Monitor your heart rate and make sure it comes down to a safe level, if not, pause the DVD until it does. If you and your wife are both using the DVDs at the same time, you'll find out quickly that you will need some decent space to move around. Good luck, have fun with the workout. I'm 5'10", during P90X I went from 210 down to 185, and Insanity got me down to about 175. I'm burned out on the Beachbody stuff for now and starting Crossfit in a few weeks.