WE GOT IT!!

Our bid was accepted, we signed the contract this morning, the home inspection is on Thursday! The first of many hurdles has been cleared!! Only several hundred more hurdles left!! :)

Found It!! Maybe....

We looked at 5 houses yesterday. I will detail each one.

1) The first house was very large and in a really great neighborhood. Most people would move heaven and earth to live there. Really great schools, close to everything, safe! The house itself was built in 1976, and the owners have not done ANYTHING to the house since then. We found orange shag carpet in the family room, green carpet in the living room and dining room, PINK shag carpet in the bathroom. Each room would need paint and updating. We liked the house and felt that the work might be worth it to get the neighborhood and the resale value.

2) This house we initially dismissed looking at because it only had one bathroom, but my husband wanted to look at it anyway and see if there was a way to build in another bathroom. We ended up really liking the house, the kitchen is kind of small but there is a way to add more counter tops. There is a roughed in second bathroom in the basement too! The location is close to my dad's and within minutes of work and everything else. We really liked this one!

3) This house was built in 1928 and had been totally remodeled. It is about 2 blocks from our current apartment, so the location is convenient. The bedrooms were small, and there were issues with the floor, it was not level in places, like the kitchen slanted downward! It was also right across the street from train tracks, and there was no yard. So we ruled this one out.

4) At this house the owner was home and hovered all over us the whole time we were there. It was hard to look at it fully with him right there listening to everything and telling us about oddball stuff.

5) This house was in the same neighborhood as house #4, but about $30,000 less! It said that it needed some cosmetic repairs. The house was totally trashed! It smelled! I mean we got half way up the stairs and turned around and left. The stench was a mix of animal, filth and human waste!

We decided at that point to go back to house number 2 and my dad met us there, he and his wife loved it too! This house is at the top of a hill and the property line is long and skinny, it is only about the width of the house, and there are neighbors very close on both sides. There is about 75 yards of wooded land out the front door and about 400 yards of woods behind the house. There could be another house built at some point next to our neighbor, but other than that, it is totally private. We met one of the neighbors and he told us that there is a family of 6 deer and several turkey's that rome around the front yards all the time. Smug-Hub is in heaven! The house is a great compromise between city living and country living. It only has two bedrooms, but it also has a one car garage, so there is plenty of storage! There is a skylight in the bathroom!

We are meeting out there again today with my Mom and Smug-Sister, and we are going to make an offer!! Wish us luck - I feel slightly sick to my stomach as this is really huge!!

I know that if it does not work out that it was not meant to be and we will find something else, so this is helping me not worry about it too much!!

House Hunting and News Years Resolutions.

House Hunting:
SUCKS! We found a house that we love, we wanted to sleep on it for a while as the house had been on the market for over 118 days, it wasn't going anywhere! The selling agent called our agent to tell us that another couple was looking at the house for the second time. We decided to bid on the house. That bitchy selling agent called that other couple and told them that we were bidding on the house. They decided to also bid on the house, they bid slightly higher than we did, and requested a sooner closing date. They discarded our bid!! OK, so my brain is telling me that this was not the house for us, that we will find a better house and all will go smoothly. But my heart has cracked a little and I have been depressed for a few days.

We are going to look at 5 new houses tomorrow and they all look promising. I am sure that we will find something, but whatever....

New Years Resolutions:
I have decided to start the year off by cleansing everything. I am going to cleanse my body, heart, mind, home, and office!

Body: I am going to start the Master Cleanse (a.k.a the lemonade diet) on January first and do that for 10 days. During this time, I am going to do low key workouts. I have gotten some beginner yoga and Pilates videos and I plan on doing one 20 minute workout each day. This will help with the cleanse, yet not be so demanding on my body that I pass out from lack of food! After the 10 days, there are 3 days of easing yourself back into normal food. I plan on setting up a low fat, low calorie eating plan for myself, so that I can 1) continue losing weight and 2) not clog my body up so fast again! I also plan on getting back into going to the gym a few days a week and working out at home a few days a week.

Heart and Mind: I am going to work on my negativity. I would like to think of myself as a "glass-half-full" kind of chick, but in reality I am not and I tend to see the worst in people. I am going to work on this. I am going to try to emulate my Mother-In-Law, whom I have never heard utter a bad word about anyone!

House and Office: I am going to continue the work that I have started at the house, packing up unnecessary items and taking them to mom's attic or the storage unit. I am going to finish getting my shoes and clothes cleaned out and taken to Goodwill. I am going to organize all paperwork in my office, so that I can easily find anything that I happen to go looking for.

As for the money part of my life, I have already made really good strides in that area, my checking and savings accounts are being balanced and handled properly. The credit cards are on a payoff plan that is steadily reducing the balances (albeit, very slowly). I have changed my 401(k) plan to take advantage of the new matching program. After the house is purchased, I will sign up for a Roth IRA and Smug-Hub and I will work on our Will's and Revocable Living Trusts and make sure that our Life Insurance is set up correctly. We just can't make too many changes to our finances while they are being looked at for the home loan and it makes no sense to create the will or trust when we don't have anything to put into them yet.

I am looking forward to all the new things that 2008 will bring into my life. A House. Financial Stability. Time with my Husband. A Baby Perhaps.....

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!!

I gave Smug-Hub an iPhone for Christmas and he was totally wowed! He loved it!! He gave me several of the items that I had asked for and several things from New Mexico. His family gave me 2 different sets of a necklace and earrings. I really love everything! I have to say though that the best part of the day so far was watching his face when he opened the iPhone! It was priceless! I love him so much!

We went to Dad's for Christmas Eve dinner last night and they gave us a blanket with one of our wedding pictures embroidered on it. It is actually very cool and I think that we will hang in on the wall when you buy our first home!

We then went to church for Midnight Mass, which actually started with carols at 11 and then mass started right at midnight. It ran long as there were so many people taking communion that we did not leave church until about 1:30. By the time we got home and settled into bed it was after 2:30am before we got to sleep and then woke up about 8:30 this morning so we would have time to play with our loot before heading to moms.

We will be heading to mom's here in about 10 minutes for dinner and gift exchanging! We plan on heading back to the house after this shindig to take a really nice long nap!!!

Happy Holiday's to all you guys out in blog land! Remember to hug everyone you love as often as they will let you!!

On The Eve of Christmas Eve

Today is the eve of Christmas Eve. I sometimes think that I like Christmas Eve better than Christmas Day. Christmas Eve is still full of all the wonder and excitement and anticipation of the big day. Christmas Day is kind of whirlwind of food, family and gifts, and it goes by really fast and leaves you feeling sort of let down at the end.

Christmas Eve on the other hand (at least in my world) is much better! In my family, we get together with my Dad on Christmas Eve, and normally I have to work. So, the day is full of food and laughter all day at the office. The work load is very light and most of the departments bring in food and pass out cards and goodies. Everyone is laughing and sharing goodwill with everyone else. Then we hand to Dad's for a gift exchange and a big dinner! This year the company has given us Christmas Eve off, so I will get to spend the day cooking and shopping.

Everything that HAS to be purchased as been purchased, so any shopping that we do today or tomorrow will just be for fun. Shopping without the pressure to find the perfect gift, or any gift. You can enjoy the hustle and bustle without getting caught up in it!

Yesterday, Smug-Hub and I looked at 3 more houses and they all sucked! We decided to wait until the hot sheet comes out on January 2 before we make a decision about bidding on the Reedland house.

After that we headed downtown. There were street vendors selling everything from hand painted bird feeders to fresh, hot kettle corn. We ran into my mom and my nephew and Smug-Hub bought some kettle corn for us all to share. We started to walk over to the Orvis store and ran into 4 different people from the office on the way. Everyone walking around downtown was in a good mood, most people you passed said Merry Christmas to each other. Everyone was smiling and having a good time.

We then all went to the Tahi place for lunch and met up with a couple that Smug-Hub and I used to hang out with all the time before they moved away. So the 6 of us ate lunch together. Then mom and Will left to take Will to a show called Winter Wonderland that the local theater put on for kids. Smug-Hub and I headed to the toy store to pick up one last minute gift. The store was full, but not in a crazy way. Perhaps the fact that we were not crazy or panicked helped the scene feel less intense!

We came home after that and got a phone call from the realtor. He told us that the selling agent of the Reedland house called him to let him know that they were showing the house to another couple for the second time. He said that sometimes Realtors will use this as a selling tactic, so he did not know if it was true or not. This sent us into a tailspin. Should we bid, should we wait, etc.... We talked with our parents and his brother and Smug-Sister and finally decided that if this was meant to be our house, it would happen. If it was not meant to be, rushing into bidding would not make a difference. I hope that this is the right decision and we don't let this house slip through our fingers....

Today is Sunday, I plan on getting the house cleaned up a bit, doing laundry and spending a lot of time on the couch. This head cold is getting better, and I don't want to over do it! Smug-Hub was talking about going to mass, but since he did not come to bed until about 4am, I doubt that will happen! We may head out to the mall to see if there are any good sales, but then again, we may just stay home!

Tomorrow, We are meeting with my Dad about 5:30, so I can spend the whole day cooking. I can make everything that I need for Christmas Eve and Christmas day at the same time! I want to make some cookies too, cause I have these cool cookie cutters! Maybe I will pick up the stuff to make those while we are out today! We can also do more shopping as we will have the whole day free!!

I have not really felt into the Christmas Spirit this year. I think that it has been trying to push through and I really think that small kitchen has a lot to do with it. I know that sounds silly, but Christmas, for me, is a lot about the food. With such a small space, things go wrong, spills happen, things fall on the floor, etc. With more space, you can spread out and things just don't go wrong as much. I have decided that since I have the whole day to make all the food that I need to make, I am going to make one thing at a time. Finish each thing before starting on the next. We will see if that makes a difference!

Happy Holiday's to EVERYONE!!!! :)

My Fucking Car is Fucking Broken.. Again :(

I got in the car last night after work and the fucking low power light was on again! I have not even had my car back 24 hours! I called the dealership and the little girl answering the phone told me that everyone in sales and management was gone for the day. I told her that I was on my way, my car was not drivable and she would find someone who could help me. I told her that I had been promised 3 different times that the car was fixed and I was not missing anymore work waiting to bring it to them in the morning.

She got a sales person on the phone and he told me that he would find something for me to drive. He found a traded in car that had yet to be cleaned up, it was stained and dirty and smelled bad. But it was drivable so I took it. I had dreams of cars all night and did not sleep well.

This morning I have a sore throat and stuffy nose. My husband thinks that all the stress is getting to me. Damn Skippy! I have already spoken with Lori (yes, that's right, I am on a first name basis with the service personnel) and she is going to keep me posted as they try to figure out what is wrong.

I think that after the morning meeting, I am going to call back and try to talk to the head person of the whole dealership and try to see if they will help either get the car fixed for real or talk about a trade or something. This car seems to be a lemon and I am fed up! It is only 2 years old for Gods sake. I bought a brand new car and pay a new car car payment so that I can have reliable transportation!! I am missing work, using up precises miles, putting tons of gas into loaner gas hogs, and stressing out big time!!

GOD FUCKING DAMN IT

The House Saga Continues....

We went to look at 2 new houses the other night (we decided not to waste time looking at the third as it was even smaller than the 2 we did look at). The first one was really close to work/where we live now and was built in 2005, so we were excited to see it. It was dirty. No, you don't understand, we tripped over shoes and clothes in every room. There was food and dirty dishes all over the kitchen. Papers, bills, kids drawings, coupons, etc on every available surface. Poop in one of the toilets - God I wish that I was making this up!! And it was way small! Hard to tell if was really as small as it felt or if it felt overly small due to all the clutter. The floors were hard wood, the kitchen had all white appliances with a flat top range, the kitchen also sported dark cherry cabinets and faux granite counter tops. I really, really tried to like this house, but it was just too small. Add to that the lack of good parking, tiny yard and possible lack of resale value (it had already been on the market for 263 days) and this one was a good, hard NO!

The second house was the same layout and size as the first. It still felt small, but much less small than the first house. It was in much better shape as far as clutter and had new carpet instead of the hard woods. But the kitchen was still to small for my liking and we did not care for the neighborhood. Again, we tried to like the house, but it had too much stacked against it.

We decided to go back to the Reedland house and take another look and see if we still loved it as much as we had before. On a whim, I called my Dad and his wife and my Mom and they all came out to take a look. They all noticed things that we had missed and brought up good questions to ask. We left there still loving the house, but still wanting to proceed slowly with the decision.

The next morning several new listings popped up, one of which seems to have a good size kitchen and is very close to work. I think that, for me, the only stumbling point on the Reedland house is the fact that it will take us 20-30 minutes to get to work each day. I would love to find a house that has everything that the Reedland house has, but is really close to everything that we do (work, school, family, etc.)

There is another house that is about 20 minutes from town in Shawsville (God, that is a redneck sounding place!!). It seems to have a bit of land with it, so Smug-Hub really wants to check it out. I am finding myself extremely resistant to moving out of the city center. I grew up very isolated up in the sticks. Add to this the home schooling and I had no friends, no sports, no group activities. I was miserable a lot of the time. Now, Smug-Hub and I are not planning on home schooling and we both want to make sure that our kids have lots of outside activities, but I know that I would not be happy driving 20 minutes to get milk! I told him that we would look at the house, but unless we fell head over heals in love with the house itself, I would not be open to it. The thing is, it would probably take less time to get to work from this house than from the Reedland house. My point is that it would take 20 minutes to get ANYWHERE.

I want neighbors, sidewalks for bike riding, kids for my kids to play with, post office, bank and library close by, stuff like that. I don't want to be in boonies losing power all the time, not able to get anywhere when it snows, no one hear by to help if there is trouble. What if we lived there and I went into labor, we might not make it to the hospital in time. OK, I know that we have not even seen this particular house and it might be in the middle of a great neighborhood and the only reason it is a bit of a drive is due to there being so many stop lights or something. But, I would say that I near panic mode when there is even a possibility of being out of the city. I love the city, I love people, I love traffic (OK, not really, I can deal). I never want to go back to being trapped.

OK, let's look at that a second... Why did I feel trapped? Because I did not go to school, sports or whatever. I relied on others to take me places and they did not. I was trapped by my age. Now I am a grown person with a full on driver's licence, I can go anywhere I want, anytime I want. As long as I have my car, I will never to trapped. Do I feel better about living in the sticks??? .....


NO

I must calm down! Everything will be fine. I am not going to agree to buy a house that I am not totally happy with! It will all work out fine (I am now doing some deep breathing). I am calm....

Ho Hum Day

I am having a very ho hum kind of day today. Last week was so crazy, both with work and personal stuff, that I have been running 90 miles per hour. Today, I am already caught up on everything that I need to get done today. There are two items that I could be working on, but they are not urgent and not any fun to do, so I have been procrastinating on them.

Smug-Hub got home last night, his flight into Greensboro was about 25 minutes late and then getting the luggage took some time, so we did not make it home until about 9:30. We did not even turn on the TV, do any unpacking or anything, we just fell into bed and were asleep before ESPN could even get to talk about the highlights of the Dallas game!

He woke up this morning with a sore throat and his head all stuffed up, so he stayed home from work today. I had suggested that we take today off from work, but he wouldn't hear of it until this morning. So, I had to come on into the office :( Only good thing is that I came in about 7, so I can justify leaving before 5 no problem!

We are planning on looking at the last 3 houses on our list tonight, (there were 4, but one of them sold, which is sad because out of all 4, that one was the only one I was feeling excited about). It will get dark while we are doing this, but since I don't really have high hopes, it will be fine. I am really thinking that the first one we liked is going to be "THE" house.

A friend of mine is possibly going to need to find some short term housing after the first of the year, so if she was able to sub-let our apartment, we could close ASAP and get moved!! I honestly believe that all things work for good, and if this is the house that we are supposed to buy, we will. If we are meant to stay out our full lease, we will. If we are meant to get out of the lease, we will. There is nothing gained from worrying about it :)

I am listening to a really good book on CD, called Eat, Love, Pray by Elizabeth Gilbert my mother recommended it to me, and I was initially sceptical as my mom tends toward books that are all spiritual, and self-help-y but it is incredibly good and well written. The writer is the one reading, so you really hear exactly how she wanted things to come across and it is wonderful!!

I have failed to send out Christmas cards this year. I really wanted to have the wedding pictures by now and have been able to make those cool picture Christmas cards, but we don't, so we can't, so I didn't send anything. First of all, I am still having a hard time not bah humbugging everyone this year. Secondly, we are saving every penny for the house and cards cost money, not to even mention the ridiculous cost of postage! I think that my friends and family will forgive me - I will be able to send pictures of our new house next year!! I am sure that I will be feeling much more Christmas-y next year!

I got an "A" in my first MBA class! I was concerned about the final presentation and paper as my group failed to reach a consensus on a couple of points in our paper. I still think that his markings on the paper itself will prove that I was right, but never mind now! I am happy to have the "A" and hope that I will end up with a whole lot more of them!

OK, I have killed 10 minutes, I need to get back to work and knock out at least one of these little nasty's that are currently hanging over my head!!

Cookies, Rum, and Tons of Laughs!!

Sassy, Sherry and I got together tonight for a cookie baking party! We were each supposed to have made one type of cookie on our own to share and then we were going to make two types together. I was unable to hold up this part of the deal because of this marketing class that is killing me already!

Sherry made 3 kinds and Sassy made two kinds and then we made chocolate, white chocolate chip cookies and gingerbread. The gingerbread was the one that I was really excited about, because of all my new cookie cutters, but they did not end up tasting very good, and the whole decorating part was a lot less fun than I was expecting. Sassy and Sherry agreed and we ended up tossing most of those.

The rest of the cookies were great and we ate ourselves silly! Sherry also brought egg nog and when combined with Sassy's rum.... needless to say we were having a great time! We ate and cooked and drank and ate and drank some more! We giggled over girl talk, sang to the Christmas songs on the radio and Sassy danced around the kitchen!

We really had a wonderful time, and I laughed until my sides ached!!

I have a lot to get done tomorrow, but it should be fine! Sunday my baby comes home to me!!

Sassy may be heading to Greensboro tomorrow and I told her that if she ends up staying the night (for "whatever" the reason), she could join me for some shopping while I wait for Smug-Hub's plane!

This has been a really busy, crazy week, but my love will be home with me soon and all will be right with the world!!! :)

The Ringing Phone and Other Reasons Why I'm Sleepy..

I took Smug-Hub to the airport yesterday in Greensboro, about 2 hours from here. We ate lunch and got him all checked in and he took off without issue. I then got some ice cream as it was 78 degrees!! I then drove all the way back home. I was really worn out, so I went to bed about 9:15pm.

The phone rang at 9:45pm, it was Smug-Hub calling to tell me that he was still moving along on time and getting ready to start on the last leg of his journey.

The phone rang again at 10:45pm, it was my Dad, who wanted to make sure that I made it home safely.

The phone rang again at 1am, it was Smug-Hub again letting me know that he had landed and was safely home with his family.

The alarm went off at 6:15 and I got up and was in the office before 7:30. I had so much to do to get caught up from having Tuesday off, that I never stopped moving all day! I had several errands to run during my lunch break, so no time for a nap!

I got home from work about 5:45 and washed the dishes and wrapped most of the Christmas gifts. I still have 4 left, but my Dad came over to watch a show that he had mistakenly erased. He will be here for a couple hours while his wife is doing something or another at the church. After he leaves, I will finish the wrapping and get the house cleaned up and ready for Sherry to clean and me to start a new class tomorrow night!

I am getting really excited about the cookie making party on Friday night with my girlfriends! I got some really neat cookie cutters and I found a bunch of icing stuff at Kroger today (I had to go there to get dish washing liquid for the Finance Department... the oddity's of my job!!). I am looking forward to this bit of holiday fun!

OK, I am going to try to spend some quality time with my Dad. Gee, I really want to fall asleep!!!

Wrap Up This Week

Well, I made it the weekend... Finally!

This has been the week from hell as both Smug-Hub and I are reeling from separate pain and separate stresses.

For Smug-Hub, the death of his Grandmother has hit him hard and he is feeling guilt for not being there and for not spending more time with her while she was alive. He is frustrated with his various family members for fighting or name calling or generally not honoring Grandma as Smug-Hub feels that they should. I tried to tell him that people grieve in their own way and it is much easier to be mad at someone for money owed, than it is to be mad at Grandma for dying or mad at yourself for not spending more time with her. He did not understand, and got mad at me. I try to remember that he is trying to grieve in his own way too.

I have been increasingly buried under the mounting school and work pressure. I have been spending one evening a week at class, one evening a week taking care of Will, one evening a week walking with mom and have no time for myself. Running the house, managing the bills, budgeting money for the new house, arranging showings of different houses, laundry, food shopping, fixing the car, etc. I feel like I am doing everything around here and being crushed under it all.

I talked with both mom and Smug-Sister about my various responsibilities, and I am going to stop getting Will and put the walking with mom on a flexible basis. This way all the evenings of the week are mine and school! I hope that this will help with ease the pressure.

I also took half the day off today, had lunch with Smug-Sister and spent some good quality time on the couch with my best friend - the remote!! I just finished making some chocolate chip cookies too, so the comfort food is ready for me!

Tomorrow is going to be very full, pull the Christmas stuff and the winter clothes out of the storage unit, buy a little Christmas tree and decorate it. Have lunch and then meet up with the realtor and look at about 6 property's. Have dinner and then there is a preview of a film called "The Business of Being Born at a local university at 7pm. Sunday is going to be the normal laundry, food shopping, Christmas shopping, etc.

Monday will be the last Human Resources class, Tuesday work half a day then drive to Greensboro to take Smug-Hubt to the airport. Wednesday will be work and then getting all the homework done for the first Marketing class on Thursday night. I will have Friday and Saturday to myself and I plan to make no plans!! Sunday I drive back to Greensboro to pick him up!

Maybe once Christmas is over, and we buy the house, and we move, and I get finished with school.... oh, wait, then we are going to have kids! I doubt that I will ever have free time again!! Oh, stop listening to me, I am just feeling sorry for myself!

Sadness and other things.

My husband's grandmother passed away this weekend. He is hurting, and feeling guilty that he is so far away from his family. I feel badly that I am not able to take this pain away from him, but I am moving heaven and earth to get us there for the services. Plane tickets are a fucking racket!

I checked online about grief discounts and they are most often 50% off the full retail ticket price, which would still be more than you can get it for at a travel site. Living in this crappy small town, means that everything is a connecting flight and therefore double the price it would be from a larger airport. I did find some tickets fairly good priced out of Raleigh, NC, which is a 4 hour drive from here. Once we pay for gas there and back and long term parking, it is still cheaper by about $180 EACH!!

I was thinking about asking Mom or someone else to drive us and pick us up, to save on the long term parking costs, but that would double the gasoline costs, and not end up saving anything in the end.

We are waiting to find out the exact dates of the services. There will be a small viewing this weekend, then she will be cremated. Then the real funeral will be next week, and then the family will scatter the ashes per her instructions. Next week is when Smug-Hub wants to go. He is unsure if he wants be to go with him and I understand his concerns. It will be the first time meeting most of these people and there will be family meetings to go over the will and there has already been some fighting and name calling - he is concerned about subjecting me to the darker side of his family. Smug-Hub will also want to spend time with him mother and brothers while he is there. I just want to be his support system in whatever way he needs. He is going to make a decision today.

In other news, I am finishing up the first class of my MBA program. I have been really struggling to keep up with the work required. I had gotten out of the school work habits and gotten into having a life again. I never see Smug-Sister, finding time to walk with my mom is very hard and I hardly ever see my friends! I want to go house hunting every weekend, I need a hair cut, I have got to finish Christmas shopping, Smug-Hub wants to get a tree - which means digging through the storage unit to find that stuff (which I am going to have to do anyway, as it appears that all the winter coats, hats, gloves, etc. are there). The weekend is only 2 days long, and besides all the stuff listed above, each weekend there is housework, laundry, food shopping and the like to accomplish. When exactly do I have time to read 4 chapters on human resources, read the wall street journal each day to find articles to turn in with the homework, several case studies to report on, AND work on the final team project??

I seem to have made it through this first class OK, an 85 was the lowest grade I have gotten on a paper, so I will live. The next class starts next Thursday (which I will miss if I go with Smug-Hub to the funeral) we have to read 3 chapters, have about 100 terms defined, and do a presentation on an article. WTF!! This program was supposed to be designed for working people!!

I am going to have to work hard this week and weekend to get everything finished up for the HR class and everything done for the Marketing class, just in case I have to leave town. We are supposed to look at 5 houses on Saturday (was supposed to be 6, but one of them sold). I need to go check on my dad and make sure that he is not going out of his mind. My family is trying to nail down Christmas, New Years, and Superbowl (yes, Superbowl, this fucking early!!) plans. I want to tell everyone to bugger off and leave me the hell alone! Boy, arn't I just glowing with the Christmas spirit???