A busy week...

It really has been a crazy week... On Sunday/Monday, I had a little breakdown about one of my volunteer positions and if I'm truly in the "right chair", so to speak. I had a talk with our president who assured me that I am and all Hubby could say is "sucker" now that I've decided it's OK.

Also for my volunteer position, I had the chance to work here to drive a golf cart for this golfer. (sigh). He's my latest addition to my "list" ... too bad he's probably 10 years younger than me. Such a cutie and he's doing quite well in the tournament.

My parents have been here since Tuesday.. they have been a huge help, but the house is feeling a wee cramped. Hubby has been absent a little more than usual and I think I understand why. Not to sound ungrateful, but it is a little hard to manage.

The new house is going well - the sellers have verbally agreed to our inspection list, but we are still waiting for that in writing. Closing is in one month. We are hoping to have our house listed in the next two weeks.

Leaky pipes

The inspection was this morning, which is kind of crazy because you are just hanging out in someone else's house. It just feels kind of surreal. Waiting around, checking out the cabinets, measuring to see if furniture will fit where we want, watching TV, eating popcorn.. no, just kidding about the popcorn part! It was great to be there again and take another look... again, we are both still sold on the house and I can't wait to be living there and enjoying it.

At any rate, the inspection came back relatively clean, especially for a home of this age. There is one rather major issue - the downstairs bath has leaked and there is damage to the sub-flooring under the house. I'm thinking a new bathroom floor, perhaps? We are in the process of writing up what we would like to have fixed and submitting that to the sellers, so it's a little nerve wracking. I hope all goes well.

In other news, it is incredibly hot and humid here in NC, as it is almost everywhere else across the US. My car thermostat was always 100-106 all day. Last night at 8PM, it was 100 degrees. All I want to do is eat smoothies for lunch and ice cream for dinner!

Inspection Day

We head over to the new (should I say new just yet?) home this morning for the inspection. I've never done this before, so I have no idea what to expect. The home is older (built in '39), but there have been recent additions to the house with updates to the important stuff-- wiring, pipes, etc. Wish us luck! Will post later with details.

I have a little secret

And it involves inspections, a closing date, and a big move! Today, we sign the contract for the purchase of our new home! I feel like it's been a long time in the making, but I feel safe in announcing the news! I've been a little paranoid to even discuss it, for fear of jinxing it.

It's a great traditional-style, brick home in a wonderful neighborhood, with a secluded back yard. The current owner is a builder, so we are fortunate to be moving into a home full of updates and renovations, including the kitchen, master bath, den, patio, and office. I also love the fact that the charm and character of the house have remained, even with the new modern conveniences. We have a mail slot & a phone cubby, two quirky features that I love. Even the dogs will have their own area and will no longer have their kennels in our dining room. The move scares me a bit, as we have the contents of our current home, a storage unit, items at my old apartment, because my former landlord is a doll, and also a few items at another friend's house. Either we have too much stuff, or it was simply time for something bigger.

Of course, we still have the inspection to get through and a few more details, such as selling our house! Ack. Now, I'm sure that process will be good for a few more stories in the near future.

Round the house this weekend...

I'm loading pictures onto Shutterfly and it's taking forever, so I decided that I'd post. It was a relatively quiet weekend. On Friday, I stopped by a local consignment store to make an appointment to consign some of my clothes. I had some great things from Etcetera that I just don't wear anymore, so I figured it would be best to make a few dollars off of them. This is a great boutique - tons of designers like Lilly, Trina Turk, Etcetera, Kate Spade (Shoes mostly). They had several darling pairs of Kate Spade shoes, but only in 5.5 and 8! Boo. I did manage to find a cute Lilly skirt, a new Banana Republic top and another skirt by Tibi. Very cute. I probably spent more than I'll make, so it could have been a lost cause!

Hubby & I stopped by a downtown Friday night music shin-dig, grabbed some Thai food, said hello to a few friends at a martini bar, and ducked out and called it a night before it got too late.

Yesterday, after some housework, errand running & Hubby making a Starbucks run, we went to see "No Reservations". Very cute & such a feel-good movie. We had a quiet evening - I started reading Harry Potter 6, because I need to read it before HP7! Today, we finally made it back to church, went to lunch, met our realtor to see a house. I'm going now to review my cooking light magazine to see if I can find something tasty for dinner.

Getting back on the horse

Well, it's official to what we thought. We didn't get the house. I was very sad last night, I cried as soon as I left the office, but I am just trying to remember, when it's meant to be, it will happen. I've thought the same about jobs, boyfriends, cars, and of course, the perfect pair of shoes. We're a little frustrated - we feel like we were the pawn in a game to get the numbers high, and in essence, we really were. So be it - I'm glad we stood our ground and didn't fall into the hype.

Life could be a lot worse - we have a house that while, we may not love it, it covers our heads and keeps us safe, I have a wonderful hubby who loves me for who I am, two big dogs who show me unconditional love (especially when I feed them) and hey, we're doing OK on most fronts. We have an exciting future ahead of us and I'm sure this won't be the only bump in the road, but also, I guess it's the bumps that make life interesting.

Oh, and I promise not to drive by the house and throw rocks or stick out my tongue or flip a bird. Well, maybe to all but the last one, but only under my window, not stuck up in the air!

Woes of a house hunter

How can it go downhill so fast? Just last night, we thought we were on easy street. We had the counter offer from the seller of the home, but I needed to talk to hubby, who is at a conference. We finally talked this morning, he called the realtor to ask a question and then, just as we were ACCEPTING their offer, the seller received 2 additional offers and rejected the acceptance of the offer. So, now we just went through a memo to buyers, asking for our full and best offer, along with their stipulations to closing, etc. It just sucks. I am mentally exhausted and just feel like we were so close to coming to an agreement and now we will probably lose the house, because one of these buyers may come in at full asking price, or over what we have offered. Buyer's market, my ass. Excuse my overall grumpiness. Just frustrated, because I just don't have a good feeling about it and it just means that we'll have to start all over for this potentially to happen again.

Everyone keeps telling me, if it's meant to be, it's meant to be, but it's just hard to take at this point.

Making life bear-able

I just started Week 2 on Weight Watchers and I think the two things that have made it bearable are... fresh peaches in season (1 point) and these little 100 calorie lovelies (2 points). I guess starting a diet AND negotiating the hell out of a house were not the smartest things to do in a single week!

House update: We received their counter offer today and now Hubby and I have to talk. He's away on business, so I'm sure this will be a great conversation via mobile phone! I'm ready to just go for it & I think he is too. It would mean a few thousand over what we really hoped to pay, but really, what's a few thousand over the term of a mortgage. (Don't you love the way that sounds very haughty, like I'm just throwing around thousands of dollars every day). Plus, it is one of those homes that I can envision kids learning to ride their bicycles on the very long driveway, lazy autumn mornings to enjoy breakfast on the patio, the perfect Christmas tree location, and fun gatherings with our friends for cookouts or game nights. No, I'm not emotionally attached or anything!!

Negotiations, Day #2

We are currently in negotiations with the owners and are going back to see the house again tomorrow. They have agreed to give us all that we have requested, but haven't budged much from their initial price. I've never been through this before, so it's nerve wracking & exciting, all at the same time. Probably is the reason why I've had wine for dinner (not with) the past 2 nights!! Why is it that after going to see the home twice and staying for a long time, over-analyzing and taking pictures that I can't remember a damn thing!?! We just wish we knew the magic number that the home-owners want so we can cut to the chase & make the deal.

Holy crap

We put in an offer on "our" house this evening. No word yet from the realtor. Trying to rid ourselves of nervous energy by repeatedly crossing fingers and picking up telephone receiver every five minutes, to make sure it's working.

Tie it in a knot, tie it in a bow..

We loved the house. Really. The only "flaw" that I can think of is that there is no storage in the master bathroom. I'm really wondering where the current owners get ready. The guy, I can understand - all he really needs is a toothbrush and a razor, but for the lady of the house? I don't consider myself high maintenance, but I do have plenty of products, a blow dryer, a flat iron, etc. But, I am a self professed product junkie. I digress... so anyway, I've had knots in my stomach all day and can't concentrate on work. Uh, not good!

Bridges and signs...

Hubby and I are going back this evening to look at a house we saw last week. We both loved it, actually to the point, that once I saw the kitchen, I said "let's make an offer". It truly has everything we need - all brick, great neighborhood, 1 acre in the city (so rare), 4 bedrooms, so Hubby can have an office, a huge, renovated kitchen, hardwood floors, a great playroom that would be the perfect Man room for now, and perfect for kids later, a big fenced in yard for Zeus & Zoe, a 2 car garage (a rarity in this neighborhood). And for the clincher - it has a little stream in the front yard with a bridge. How cute is that?! Yes, I think mosquitoes could be bad, but whatever...It's cute, right? And, I think it has a laundry chute, which I also adore.

We both really love it and want it to work. It's a tad pricey - not totally out of our range, but more than we originally wanted to spend. But, on the plus side, we could literally move in and unpack and not have to really change anything or fix anything.

OK, and now for the weird thing that made us think, is this a sign? The family who lives there currently has 3 children and their names are all on the bedroom doors. Two of the names are ones that we have talked about as potential children's names and the 3rd name is that of one of Hubby's best friend. A sign??

House Hunting...

Hubby and I found a FSBO (for sale by owner) in the neighborhood that we love. We went last night to check it out. We walk in and realize that it has a pool. A beautiful backyard - the house is on 2 lots and actually has a 2 car garage. This is an older neighborhood and premiums like big yards and garages are a rarity. Actually has a walk in closet in the master. Kitchen has been redone - very tastefully, with granite and pretty cabinets. A lovely screened in porch.

So you ask, what's the problem? Well, even though currently we are a family of 2, we really anticipate children and Hubby is in outside sales, so an office for him would be nice. The house has 3 bedrooms, one very small and no other true dedicated office space. We've always said that we need 4 bedrooms, period. We really like the home - it's comfortable, has large rooms (with the exception of the one bedroom), hardwood floors,etc. Just not sure if it's the house for us, but we almost hate to walk away because we like it so much. Sigh. So, any deal breakers for you when house hunting?