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So, the house hunting…..
There isn’t much to tell. We looked at six properties last week, and one this week. We loved the very first one we visited on Friday! It’s in a great location, is large enough, and has a very good sized yard. It is located on a main road, but it’s only a two lane road, and not nearly as busy as most. The lot is very wooded, so you can’t even see the road. It doesn’t have a basement, but I’ve come to accept that. But, it’s all about the price. The entire inside has been remodeled, and is in great condition.
So, that being our first one for the evening, we were crushed when we saw the rest of them. They were all more expensive than the first, and needed way too much work. I won’t even bother going into detail about the others, they honestly can’t compare.
We thought about it over the weekend, and then went back and I visited the one we liked again last night. My parents came along, and they really liked it as well. So, today we submitted an offer on it. I had a feeling this house would go fast, and it’s only been on the market a week. Our agent told us there was another offer coming in today for it, so not to get our hopes up. Well, she got our offer faxed over first, so hopefully they will submit it first.
We are neutral about it right now. We are excited, but won’t be crushed if we don’t get it. So, I will leave it at that, and if it happens, I will tell you all about it! Cross your fingers.
Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend! As you know, we went house hunting on Friday. I will tell you all about it….later.
I had a great weekend. Sunday, my sister and I went to the farm as usual. Then we went out to a friends house, on a lake, and spent the afternoon on the boat. Monday, a few of us went trail riding, and it was so much fun!
We spent about 3 hours riding, and then let the horses play in the water a bit. Echo didn’t want to go in at first, but eventually she got in. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and was also very hot, so I imagine it felt very good to stand in the water.
I spent about half the day trying to figure out why I would keep sliding to one side in the saddle. It was very strange, because when I felt like I was sitting straight, I wasn’t. When I was sitting straight, it felt like I wasn’t. I guess I am a little crooked. So, that’s something I have to start working on. I always carry my purse and bookbag on my right shoulder, and that’s the lower of the two. Hopefully, with a little work, it will straighten back out!
Things have been moving along lately. After talking to some people and researching the market a little, it turns out we can’t sell our house. No possible way. Unless we want to come up with a sum of money that is a little out of our ability. That’s not happening. So, we are renting it out, and still buying another one.
It was a little scary at first for me. I mean, renting? That means a multitude of bad things can happen. Just more crap to deal with. Again, after talking to some people about it, I’m not really worried anymore. We just have to go about it properly. That and the fact that TONS of people are doing it right now. Obviously, there is no guarantee, and there is a risk. But, the way I look at it, the good outweigh the bad here. First, we are getting a house in a prime area for WAY under market value (normal market conditions, that is), we are saving money in gas (not just a little, either), and we are saving money on tuition. I don’t know why we ever bought the house we did. Oh wait, we were supposed to have MADE money on it by now. Instead, we would have to come up with even more than we had ever planned on making from it, just in order to sell the stupid thing. Maybe it’s better this way. I’m not one to risk anything, but I am also not one to let an opportunity like this go down the drain.
We are going to look at five houses tomorrow evening. Wish us luck! We’ve only looked at one so far. It was an adorable farmhouse style built in the early 1900’s. Being cute was about all it had going for it. The layout was nice, and it was huge, but it sits on a main road, had baseboard heating, and no air conditioning. The basement ceilings were only about 6′, which for most people is okay. But, for a couple that is 6′5″ and 6′0″, it’s not too desirable. So, we’re moving on.
Derek also sold his fish tank and it is being picked up this weekend. In case anyone was wondering, the octopus died a while ago. Well, something happened to him, because he just disappeared. With so much going on, and school, Derek just didn’t have time for it. Honestly, the main reason was that he did NOT want to move it. They are so hard to transfer to another place, it’s just not worth it!
Not sure where this went. I just wanted to update everyone a little. I will let you know how the house hunting is going!
I won some products from Rocky Mountain Soap Company from Kim over at Mommyknows.com. I’ve never won anything, so this was pretty exciting!
These products are 100% natural and are handmade in the Canadian Rockies. And let me just say, they smell absolutely wonderful! It’s one of those things that I don’t want to use, because I am afraid I will run out! It’s definitely something I will be purchasing again. Thanks Kim!
As some of you may already know, my husband is quite the joker. He is very good at tricking me, and most of the time, I STILL fall for it. Here is a recent example.
Saturday, I went out shopping and he went to his sister’s house to help her with some things. He calls me after we’ve both been gone for a couple of hours and tells me that he left the gate open in the kitchen, so the dogs were able to roam the whole house (we always barricade them in the kitchen, so they don’t get into any trouble). I was on my way home to get dinner together, my mother was with me. We arrived and the outdoor gate that encloses our yard was wide open.
We go into the house, and I call the dogs. Nothing. I run all over the house, checking every room, and still nothing. So, being me, I start to freak out. I call him back, and this is what happened.
“Did you take the dogs with you?”
“No, why? What did they get into?”
“Nothing, they aren’t here!”
“What do you mean, they aren’t there?”
“You really didn’t take them with you??!?”
“No, why would I do that?!” (with a slight giggle in his voice)
“You better not be joking with me, tell me the truth right now”, I say, almost crying.
“Yes, honey, I took them with me. I can’t believe you actually believed me.”
Click.
He wonders why I thought this could have possibly been an accident. An hour later, we are all there, and he leaves the outside gate wide open and the dogs run off.
I don’t know that I will ever really know when to tell if he is kidding and when he is serious. Atleast he keeps me on my toes!
Three years ago today, Derek and I got married.
We were married at a quaint little bed and breakfast in Niagara Falls, with twenty people there to share it with us. I wore a dress straight from my mother’s skillful hands. We attended a nice dinner afterwards, and that’s it. It was perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Every day that passes, I am more and more thankful that he came into my life. He has changed it in so many ways. We have been through so much together and I always look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.
He is sweet, funny, caring and honest. We understand eachother, yet we bicker and argue about everything! An ongoing joke in my family leans on the fact that we are just like my dad’s parents, because they did the same thing. They had a long, wonderful marriage, and raised six wonderful children, so I don’t see anything wrong with a little bickering. You have to keep things interesting, right?
We met in 2002, after being set up by a mutual friend. I fell in love with him a few months later, and have been ever since. In January 2005, we went to San Diego and he proposed one evening, on a sidewalk overlooking the whole city. It was beautiful.
I couldn’t have asked for a better husband.
Happy Anniversary, honey! I am looking forward to many, many more.
I had this whole plan to take a bunch of pictures this weekend of the house and garden. That didn’t happen. Instead, I spent all Saturday morning cleaning and then went out to the farm for the rest of the day. The vet came out to give all of the horses their spring shots, and we did a little riding. I was pretty beat and didn’t get home until late, so spent the rest of the evening lounging on the couch with Derek. Today was spent out at my aunt’s house for a Mother’s Day celebration. While I still may have time right now, it’s been raining nonstop all day long and I don’t think it plans on stopping anytime soon.
Aside from all my excuses, I will begin with some pictures that were snapped by my mother last weekend. This little garden was my very first one. Being the daughter of a gardener extraordinaire, it was only a matter of time before I decided to try it out. I too, am addicted! So, this little garden started with a sprig of creeping jenny and a small bleeding heart that my aunt had given me for my wedding shower. I should probably mention that this garden addiction tends to run in the family.
The bleeding heart loves that corner there, the stella d’oro daylillies came from another aunt, the iris in the back and the violets came from yet another aunt.
Here is a closeup of the violets looking out toward the road. Those violets are so frustrating, because I always have to pull them out to keep them under control. But, I just love how they look against the rocks. That massive structure in the background is my cherished viburnum, which I will take pictures of as soon as it stops raining. It’s blooming right now, and it’s simply gorgeous.
After I had planted this garden and tended to it for a few months, I realized how much I enjoyed gardening, and have been doing it more and more each year since then. So, there you have it. My first real garden, and it’s still my favorite. The rest will follow soon.
Last night, I spent most of the evening cleaning out the storage room in our basement and reorganizing everything else down there. It was a trip down memory lane.
When we first moved into our house three years ago, we didn’t have much. It’s amazing what two people can accumulate in a matter of years. As new things began making way into our house, all the old things made their way down to the basement. And haven’t been touched since.
One of the things I found most entertaining was two bags of things I used to have in my bedroom when I lived with my parents. I had a slight obsession with cars, particularly Camaro’s, at that time. There were a number of collages I had made that featured hundreds of pictures of different cars. As well as a multitude of posters featuring probably every single car you can think of.
There were also some collages I made. Of course those featured dreamy guys from those days, pictures and sayings we found in magazines that we liked. I don’t know why I have kept them all these years, and I am not sure if I should keep them.
I also have kept everything from every single class I have taken in college. There are quite a few boxes down there containing books, notes, and papers from each and every class! Considering most of the things I studied before going on to Nursing had to do with computers, most of the books I’ve got have already become outdated. Then the computer parts themselves. In addition to the THREE computers we already have in our office, there is an additional one downstairs and a whole lot of extra parts that have built up over the years.
I spent a little while browsing through pictures from when I was growing up, when Derek and I were dating, our trip to California where he proposed, and when we first got Kirra. After that, we got a digital camera. I found yearbooks, things from graduation, and a box containing all things butterfly. I also had an obsession with those. So much that I also had one permanently adhered to my back. A Magic Bullet that had been given to me as a gift years ago. This thing has so many parts, it needs a cupboard all for itself. I’ve never used it, and unless I ever have a kitchen large enough that I can devote an entire cupboard to it, I probably never will. While I like complicated things, this is a little overkill for a blender.
I am somewhat of a pack rat. I like to see potential in everything, and usually make excuses not to get rid of it. Derek, on the other hand, loves to get new things. I like to use things until they can no longer be used or fixed. He buys something, and then when something bigger and better comes out, he wants that as well. Sometimes, this can be a problem, but most of the time we manage to agree on something. We’ve been really lazy when it came to cleaning out the basement. But, most of the stuff down there is useless. I didn’t get rid of anything, but I am wondering if I should now. What sort of things has everyone else kept from their previous years? Obviously I will keep anything that means something to me. I just can’t really see myself ever doing anything with a poster board covered in pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio and Camaro’s!
I know, I am falling behind. I’m working on it.
This weekend was really busy. Now that school is finished, the work that needs to be done to the house is in full force. Friday night, we actually went and looked at a house, but luckily it wasn’t the one for us. We are just going to wait until our house sells, and then figure out where we are actually going to live. Saturday, we attended a graduation for one of Derek’s good friends and then went out to dinner. Derek and I spent the rest of Saturday night working around the house. Sunday, a bunch of my family came over and we got most of the painting done around the house. We also went to Block’s, a favorite nursery of ours, and stocked up on flowers and plants for this spring and summer. I can’t wait to get to the planting.
I am officially done with classes for a while. I was planning on taking one this summer, but it isn’t one that is required for the Nursing program. There is only one class I am able to take before the program that is required. I may just take both of them in the fall. This summer seems to get busier each and every time I think about it. My cousin is getting married in August, which I am standing up in. My sister-in-law is due with her second child in the middle of July. She is the one that lives in Florida, so we have to plan a visit down there sometime. Sometime in June, my mom and I are going down to Florida for a few days to bring my grandparents back. So, it should be a busy summer. It’ll be fun!
So, that’s it for now. I promise to update more than I have been in the last few weeks!
