I really wish I had the ability to magically blog about things as soon as they come to me, or happen to me........because when I actually sit down to write ANYthing, everything I was GOING to write about.....flits away. Seems so much less significant than it did when it happened, or when I thought about it.
Random thoughts 'o the day:
1. "How do you make God laugh? Tell Him your plans." Isn't that the truth...not that we're even technically "trying" yet....not that my body even seems to want to cooperate since I took my friend Ashley's advice and bought some ovulation tests "just because" last month - and from days 10 to 20 not one teeny tiny little sign of having anything even there TO fertilize....but whatever.....here I woke up this morning, day 36, later than I've ever been in my life....didn't even allow myself to hope for anything, and it's a good thing, because Mother Nature had another great laugh at my expense this afternoon. Stupid bitch.
2. My job......stresses me out. The people, the work, the industry, the day-to-day business of it, the constant drama that seems to surround my job anymore - exhausts me. I hesitate to go into it any further but I truly wonder somedays how much longer I can last before I literally lose my mind. I used to love my job and I truly do love what I do - just not the "who" of my job. I thankfully got another raise recently, although it's hard to call something that will net you about $30 extra per month a raise, but whatever. I know, I know. Better than 0. But 0 is at least honest. Sometimes raises like the one I got feel like more of a slap in the face than they do a "adda girl." There are indeed some 9-5, straight 40-hour-workweeks out there, but my job sure as hell isn't one of them. I come in early, I'm there late, I'm there weekends. I've brought work home and I do work from home when I'm sick and on vacation. What I wouldn't give for a summer vacation.......!
3. Speaking of that, I heard on the radio the other day that people who have desk jobs are at an exponentially higher risk for heart attacks/ heart disease than those who are up moving around (ie factory work, teachers, nurses, doctors, movers and landscapers, what have you) in their jobs. At first I was alarmed because I thought to myself, 'Yeah, most days I come and sure feel like collapsing instead of running or anything else' - but then someone called in and said, "I think that it has to do less with those desk job people moving around less and more with the stress that those with desk jobs have to deal with." Amen.
4. Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, I will have a new (to me) car. The Malibu is just under 150,000 miles and we have just poured money into it as of late. New tires, new brake work, hub bearing replacement, more brake work. I've had it since January of 2005 when it had about 60,000 miles on it, and I have driven that car EVERYwhere. Countless trips between Muncie & Terre Haute, Muncie & Columbus, Terre Haute & Columbus, plus the cross-town commutes the first year we lived here and now. I'm sad to give up a no-car-payment life, but it's time.
5. It is August 16. Holy hell. Does anyone else realize that Christmas is only 18 weeks away (sorry, Ashley!)?! Before we can even worry about that, though, we have to figure out this "we have to move out of these apartments before I go nuts and now is just not the time to buy a house" situation. Our lease doesn't end until October 31, so we have some time, but we need to get moving, and quick. I'm hoping we can rent a house......there aren't many 3 bedroom apartments anywhere, and plus........I'm tired of apartments.
6. That's about it. Hope you are all doing well in the world!!!
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Walk Softly & Carry a Big Stick
My new motto.
I'm tired of people, I'm tired of people causing drama, and I'm really just TIRED.
Work is insane.
I said today, and really quietly so no one could really hear me, but I said:
"I finally feel like I can breathe."
The last 3 months since I've moved branches has been HELL. They have literally been the fastest 3 months of my life. I'm finally getting to the bottom of some hellacious piles of CRAP and getting to do things MY way now.
My replacement at my old branch got canned which is probably for the best, but still makes me a little sad b/c I felt such ownership of that place. I knew all the customers, I knew the jobs, I knew all the guys, from Operations Managers down to crewmembers. Here I walk into a branch that's about 30% bigger and the branch is set up so I still don't even know all the supervisors' names. It hadn't a steady admin since about last February, so needless to say - lots of work to be done. My Branch Manager is just coming up on his 1st anniversary and the most "veteran" OM came in at the same time as me. We'll get there.....but it sure feels like everytime I get my arms around something, something else falls apart.
Houses........I think we found our number one favorite on Saturday. It's amazing and cute and in a good location...........and we've not done anything about it. Haven't called the lender, haven't called our realtor, haven't started pulling together documents. I may just be speaking for myself, but I'm scared shitless. It's so much less scary to just rent.........!!!
The summer is going by so so fast although it sure does seem like this heat wave is never going to break. Tomorrow's forecast: high of 98, heat index of 109. You don't shovel sunshine (haha, courtesy of one of my AOII sisters), but I don't really want to be out in this either.
Found out this week that yet another cousin is pregnant. Babies are everywere, that's for sure. The other girls in Columbus and I had a little lunch/ presents for Angie (one of my old OMs), who's due on August 16. She seriously looks like she's about halfway there......she's so little! She was really active before she got pregnant which helps I guess, but her job requires her to be running around all the time so that's helping too - she's adorable! Chris asked how the shower went and I said, "Good - makes me want babies!"
What else was I supposed to say? :)
Time for bed.....2 days til the weekend, then a 4-day workweek next week......then I'm going home for a 3-day weekend and my parents' 30th anniversary! ((Cue "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters here)) Can't WAIT!
I'm tired of people, I'm tired of people causing drama, and I'm really just TIRED.
Work is insane.
I said today, and really quietly so no one could really hear me, but I said:
"I finally feel like I can breathe."
The last 3 months since I've moved branches has been HELL. They have literally been the fastest 3 months of my life. I'm finally getting to the bottom of some hellacious piles of CRAP and getting to do things MY way now.
My replacement at my old branch got canned which is probably for the best, but still makes me a little sad b/c I felt such ownership of that place. I knew all the customers, I knew the jobs, I knew all the guys, from Operations Managers down to crewmembers. Here I walk into a branch that's about 30% bigger and the branch is set up so I still don't even know all the supervisors' names. It hadn't a steady admin since about last February, so needless to say - lots of work to be done. My Branch Manager is just coming up on his 1st anniversary and the most "veteran" OM came in at the same time as me. We'll get there.....but it sure feels like everytime I get my arms around something, something else falls apart.
Houses........I think we found our number one favorite on Saturday. It's amazing and cute and in a good location...........and we've not done anything about it. Haven't called the lender, haven't called our realtor, haven't started pulling together documents. I may just be speaking for myself, but I'm scared shitless. It's so much less scary to just rent.........!!!
The summer is going by so so fast although it sure does seem like this heat wave is never going to break. Tomorrow's forecast: high of 98, heat index of 109. You don't shovel sunshine (haha, courtesy of one of my AOII sisters), but I don't really want to be out in this either.
Found out this week that yet another cousin is pregnant. Babies are everywere, that's for sure. The other girls in Columbus and I had a little lunch/ presents for Angie (one of my old OMs), who's due on August 16. She seriously looks like she's about halfway there......she's so little! She was really active before she got pregnant which helps I guess, but her job requires her to be running around all the time so that's helping too - she's adorable! Chris asked how the shower went and I said, "Good - makes me want babies!"
What else was I supposed to say? :)
Time for bed.....2 days til the weekend, then a 4-day workweek next week......then I'm going home for a 3-day weekend and my parents' 30th anniversary! ((Cue "We've Only Just Begun" by The Carpenters here)) Can't WAIT!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Ducks
No, not the cute little "quack quack" ducks that you see at the park and feed bread to.
The ducks I speak of are all of the little things that have to be in some kind of order to make any kind of freaking decision or life changing move.
For instance - buying a house. Not only do we need to time it right with the end of our lease (God knows we don't need to be paying to live in 2 places at once), but we have to, oh yeah, FIND the place. Is it in a good neighborhood? Good schools (we're staying out of Columbus schools)? Taxes ok? Does it have a 2 car garage or only 1? Is it bigger than 1200 square feet? B/c we have a LOT of stuff. Basement? Basements are okay if the walls aren't bowing in. How old's the water heater? AC? Roof? So we find the place. Great. Make an offer. Get it inspected. Get it appraised. Do the paperwork. And oh yeah, even if we're lucky enough to find a house with sellers willing to help with closing costs, we need to show a lot of money in the el banco.
Having a baby. For something so little, they sure require a lot of prior thinking (or should require prior thinking....half of what's wrong with the world if you ask me, but that's a whole other conversation). If we got pregnant now, when would my maternity leave kick in? (April, by the way, in case you were wondering - right at the end of snow and beginning of mulch season. Yes please!! :)) Daycare expenses......baby STUFF.......would our parents be able to make it over here in time? We (I) say we're ready now, but are we really? Am I really ready to give up sleeping in on weekends? Going out to eat as often as we do (which isn't often to begin with)? Being able to grocery shop on a whim at 11pm on Saturdays so that our Sundays are free to sit by the pool? What about us? Are we ok? We've been through a lot in the last 34 months and some-weeks of marriage, but we seem to have made it out on the other side tested by fire and stronger because of it.
What if we get a house, have a baby, and all of a sudden Chris or I's job moves? Or we have to/ need to move closer to our parents (God forbid)?
I wish there was something I could do to keep my head from spinning with all of this. A day doesn't go by that I'm not thinking of babies in SOME way.....either a friend is having one (2 friends in the last week, probably a dozen already this year if I counted!), another friend is finding out they're having one (or a cousin - found out my cousin Kristi is pregnant with Baby #2! Ava, who will be 2 this September, is going to be a big sister!), I'm organizing showers for someone, stupid pregnancy tests come on TV EVERY OTHER COMMERCIAL, books and clothes and toys and magazines are all but screaming: "HAVE A BABY!" - Mind you, though, it's not all of these things pressuring me into thinking we're ready. I really and truly do feel like this is it....this is our time to create a little person and be parents. But sheesh - talk about information overload.
Houses - we've been in someway searching or looking at houses for about a month now, and there is just so MUCH. So much to think about and ask about and talk about. Pros and cons. Good points & bad points. What can't we live without, and what can we live with?
Can I just move back home with my parents? Is it too late for that?
If so, time to go curl up in fetal position somewhere......
The ducks I speak of are all of the little things that have to be in some kind of order to make any kind of freaking decision or life changing move.
For instance - buying a house. Not only do we need to time it right with the end of our lease (God knows we don't need to be paying to live in 2 places at once), but we have to, oh yeah, FIND the place. Is it in a good neighborhood? Good schools (we're staying out of Columbus schools)? Taxes ok? Does it have a 2 car garage or only 1? Is it bigger than 1200 square feet? B/c we have a LOT of stuff. Basement? Basements are okay if the walls aren't bowing in. How old's the water heater? AC? Roof? So we find the place. Great. Make an offer. Get it inspected. Get it appraised. Do the paperwork. And oh yeah, even if we're lucky enough to find a house with sellers willing to help with closing costs, we need to show a lot of money in the el banco.
Having a baby. For something so little, they sure require a lot of prior thinking (or should require prior thinking....half of what's wrong with the world if you ask me, but that's a whole other conversation). If we got pregnant now, when would my maternity leave kick in? (April, by the way, in case you were wondering - right at the end of snow and beginning of mulch season. Yes please!! :)) Daycare expenses......baby STUFF.......would our parents be able to make it over here in time? We (I) say we're ready now, but are we really? Am I really ready to give up sleeping in on weekends? Going out to eat as often as we do (which isn't often to begin with)? Being able to grocery shop on a whim at 11pm on Saturdays so that our Sundays are free to sit by the pool? What about us? Are we ok? We've been through a lot in the last 34 months and some-weeks of marriage, but we seem to have made it out on the other side tested by fire and stronger because of it.
What if we get a house, have a baby, and all of a sudden Chris or I's job moves? Or we have to/ need to move closer to our parents (God forbid)?
I wish there was something I could do to keep my head from spinning with all of this. A day doesn't go by that I'm not thinking of babies in SOME way.....either a friend is having one (2 friends in the last week, probably a dozen already this year if I counted!), another friend is finding out they're having one (or a cousin - found out my cousin Kristi is pregnant with Baby #2! Ava, who will be 2 this September, is going to be a big sister!), I'm organizing showers for someone, stupid pregnancy tests come on TV EVERY OTHER COMMERCIAL, books and clothes and toys and magazines are all but screaming: "HAVE A BABY!" - Mind you, though, it's not all of these things pressuring me into thinking we're ready. I really and truly do feel like this is it....this is our time to create a little person and be parents. But sheesh - talk about information overload.
Houses - we've been in someway searching or looking at houses for about a month now, and there is just so MUCH. So much to think about and ask about and talk about. Pros and cons. Good points & bad points. What can't we live without, and what can we live with?
Can I just move back home with my parents? Is it too late for that?
If so, time to go curl up in fetal position somewhere......
Monday, June 27, 2011
Weekend 'O Fun
What a great weekend! It was one of those weekends that was so fun and busy and productive that my alarm went off this morning and I rolled over thinking, "You idiot...way to turn your alarm off last night for a SATURDAY morning"........I just want to relive it!
But I DID actually set my alarm on Saturday morning........for about the first time since college, when I worked Saturday mornings at the bank. Except this time was to be at Old Navy when they opened since all of their tank tops were on sale for $2. (Yes, I'm realizing as I type this how pitiful that sounds.....). Well, I got there and they had actually opened at SEVEN and clearly all of the normal sized people were up around then......since all that was left was EVERY SINGLE COLOR YOU COULD EVER WANT in XS and S.....in real people sizes, I had a great selection of brown, black, white and gray. Oh, and navy. At least there's nothing wrong with basic colors! I then trapsied over to Kohl's where I found the very last 2 chairs that I've had my eye on for awhile....had been $130/ each and marked down to $55, THEN I had a 30% off coupon! WHOO!
The rest of the day was spent lying by the pool (ahhhhhh), getting ready, seeing Billy Gardell (HILARIOUS), 2 for $20 at Applebee's (delish), and going to a strip club.
Yup. You read that right. Let the judging begin.....after 8.5 years of being together, Chris finally convinced me. Very interesting experience, felt a little weird, but not as bad as I'd thought. Check that one off my bucket list ;-) Two observations. One, if you're a girl, you might as well be gold in there. They treat you like a princess in those places! Two. Forget happy hour, their drink prices were awesome! $3 jello shots, $2 Skyy vodka drinks. Yum! Frankly, it was about the fastest 2 hours I remember in recent times!
Yesterday, we slept late and then headed to the east side of town to go to an open house of a 4-level split we saw online and really liked. We had actually grabbed a paper and stopped by another open house of a bi-level house that we really liked.....then we spent 2 hours driving around the neighborhoods we'd like to be in, and wrote down addresses. I talked to a realtor today and we're good to start looking whenever - WHOO!! Fortunately for us, this is a FANTASTIC buyers' market, so if there's one thing we don't like in a house, we just move on. We're not completely 100% sure that we'll buy a house, but we're leaning that way. I'm never going to convince Chris to move any closer to Terre Haute besides St. Louis, so why move all the way over there just to be an hour closer to home? So we'll see. I don't see that we'd need to move in the forseeable future (5 years at least)............so, we're going to take our time, look around, learn everything we can, and make the best decision. There are definitely lots of good things out there!
Last night my cook of hubby grilled out THE best cheeseburgers EVER on the grill and we just enjoyed winding down the weekend.
I do heart summer.
But I DID actually set my alarm on Saturday morning........for about the first time since college, when I worked Saturday mornings at the bank. Except this time was to be at Old Navy when they opened since all of their tank tops were on sale for $2. (Yes, I'm realizing as I type this how pitiful that sounds.....). Well, I got there and they had actually opened at SEVEN and clearly all of the normal sized people were up around then......since all that was left was EVERY SINGLE COLOR YOU COULD EVER WANT in XS and S.....in real people sizes, I had a great selection of brown, black, white and gray. Oh, and navy. At least there's nothing wrong with basic colors! I then trapsied over to Kohl's where I found the very last 2 chairs that I've had my eye on for awhile....had been $130/ each and marked down to $55, THEN I had a 30% off coupon! WHOO!
The rest of the day was spent lying by the pool (ahhhhhh), getting ready, seeing Billy Gardell (HILARIOUS), 2 for $20 at Applebee's (delish), and going to a strip club.
Yup. You read that right. Let the judging begin.....after 8.5 years of being together, Chris finally convinced me. Very interesting experience, felt a little weird, but not as bad as I'd thought. Check that one off my bucket list ;-) Two observations. One, if you're a girl, you might as well be gold in there. They treat you like a princess in those places! Two. Forget happy hour, their drink prices were awesome! $3 jello shots, $2 Skyy vodka drinks. Yum! Frankly, it was about the fastest 2 hours I remember in recent times!
Yesterday, we slept late and then headed to the east side of town to go to an open house of a 4-level split we saw online and really liked. We had actually grabbed a paper and stopped by another open house of a bi-level house that we really liked.....then we spent 2 hours driving around the neighborhoods we'd like to be in, and wrote down addresses. I talked to a realtor today and we're good to start looking whenever - WHOO!! Fortunately for us, this is a FANTASTIC buyers' market, so if there's one thing we don't like in a house, we just move on. We're not completely 100% sure that we'll buy a house, but we're leaning that way. I'm never going to convince Chris to move any closer to Terre Haute besides St. Louis, so why move all the way over there just to be an hour closer to home? So we'll see. I don't see that we'd need to move in the forseeable future (5 years at least)............so, we're going to take our time, look around, learn everything we can, and make the best decision. There are definitely lots of good things out there!
Last night my cook of hubby grilled out THE best cheeseburgers EVER on the grill and we just enjoyed winding down the weekend.
I do heart summer.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Random Randoms
Its been awhile since I updated last. My apologies. I have no idea what I accomplished in the time since I've written last. How is it already June 24? Does anyone realize that on the other side of 6 months from now, it'll be Christmas EVE!?!?!
Work is insane and tedious and exciting and busy and slow all at the same time. I can't believe I've been at my new branch for almost 2 months now. I guess time flies when you're still trying to figure out what happened at your branch for the prior 8 months since your predecessor did NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING. Seriously - still paying salt and snow invoices. Fortunately, I ADORE my boss and (98% of) my new co-workers. There's always that ONE PERSON.....
Lots of things are being discussed and decided and figured out and planned in the King household right now. Our apartment, which we've lived in since October of 2009, 's lease ends 10/31 of this year and we won't be renewing our lease. Not that we don't like our apartment.....we don't LOVE it, but it just doesn't have enough space. Whether we rent another apartment, rent a house, build a house (although I think that's now the bottom possibility) or buy a house, we'll definitely be moving later this fall. I actually lined up an appointment for us to talk to a mortgage lender the week of 4th of July to see what our options are. Surprisingly enough (ha), we don't just have 5% of house sitting around, so we'll have to get creative with a down payment. And from my brief discussion with the lender on Wednesday night, we probably make too much money (insert rolling laughter here) to get any help from the government. We'll see.
Our 3rd anniversary (?!??!??) is coming up in a few short months, and with that, EVERYbody (and I mean EVERYbody) is interested in our baby plans. Trust me, folks, it is almost a daily discussion, and it doesn't seem like we really know when a little King will make its way into the world. We are in that mode of talking about it but then taking a step back and panicking at everything that would change, at everything that would be different. I know everyone says that you just adapt and your life only changes for the better, but I admit that I know Chris is scared, and so am I. I feel like I should still be in college. How did I get to be almost 28?!?!??? At any rate, plans are in the works. I don't know how concrete they are, but we're already thinking ahead. I'll leave it at that.
Thank God it's Friday!!! We get to go see Billy Gardell (Mike off of Mike & Molly) tomorrow night in downtown Columbus, and I'm stoked. Not only is he HILARIOUS (we've seen him live before), but Chris and I have been working such long and hard hours it'll be nice to do something a little different than dinner out and then in bed by 10 on Saturday night.
Oh the exciting life we lead..................
Work is insane and tedious and exciting and busy and slow all at the same time. I can't believe I've been at my new branch for almost 2 months now. I guess time flies when you're still trying to figure out what happened at your branch for the prior 8 months since your predecessor did NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING. Seriously - still paying salt and snow invoices. Fortunately, I ADORE my boss and (98% of) my new co-workers. There's always that ONE PERSON.....
Lots of things are being discussed and decided and figured out and planned in the King household right now. Our apartment, which we've lived in since October of 2009, 's lease ends 10/31 of this year and we won't be renewing our lease. Not that we don't like our apartment.....we don't LOVE it, but it just doesn't have enough space. Whether we rent another apartment, rent a house, build a house (although I think that's now the bottom possibility) or buy a house, we'll definitely be moving later this fall. I actually lined up an appointment for us to talk to a mortgage lender the week of 4th of July to see what our options are. Surprisingly enough (ha), we don't just have 5% of house sitting around, so we'll have to get creative with a down payment. And from my brief discussion with the lender on Wednesday night, we probably make too much money (insert rolling laughter here) to get any help from the government. We'll see.
Our 3rd anniversary (?!??!??) is coming up in a few short months, and with that, EVERYbody (and I mean EVERYbody) is interested in our baby plans. Trust me, folks, it is almost a daily discussion, and it doesn't seem like we really know when a little King will make its way into the world. We are in that mode of talking about it but then taking a step back and panicking at everything that would change, at everything that would be different. I know everyone says that you just adapt and your life only changes for the better, but I admit that I know Chris is scared, and so am I. I feel like I should still be in college. How did I get to be almost 28?!?!??? At any rate, plans are in the works. I don't know how concrete they are, but we're already thinking ahead. I'll leave it at that.
Thank God it's Friday!!! We get to go see Billy Gardell (Mike off of Mike & Molly) tomorrow night in downtown Columbus, and I'm stoked. Not only is he HILARIOUS (we've seen him live before), but Chris and I have been working such long and hard hours it'll be nice to do something a little different than dinner out and then in bed by 10 on Saturday night.
Oh the exciting life we lead..................
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Whoa, Nelly
I'm frustrated.
I'm frustrated that I may very well be married to the most financially-responsible man on the planet. I'm frustrated that he makes a lot of sense. I'm frustrated that he is probably right in saying we should maybe put off this house and get some of our ducks in a row first.
If you look up the phrase "opposites attract" in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of us. Me: fly by the seat of my pants, emotionally involved quickly, I see something I want, I must. have it. now. Chris: responsible. thinker. planner. looker-into-the-future to check out all the "what if's."
I'm frustrated that in the last couple of months, we added up what we spent in eating out (just on weekends, we cook during the week!!) and that amount about knocked us off our chairs. Our bills get paid and we have money in savings, so we thought we were doing alright. Little did we know. I take a lot of the blame, b/c Chris would usually be okay with eating in 7 nights a week - it's me that is pretty much done with cooking come Friday.
I'm frustrated that I just keep watching people I know - family, acquaintances, friends from high school and what have you - just pop out kids. And still live with their parents. Or grandparents. Oh, can't afford the ones you have? Why not have a couple more, after all, it's not like you're actually paying to live anywhere and it's not as if you're actually paying for insurance.
I'm frustrated that it really does seem that some people can lack complete responsibility and it doesn't seem to bother or affect them. I may not be the most financially responsible person on the face of the earth, but my bills get paid and by God they are with our own money.
I know it's not a bad thing to want all our ducks (or a good part of our ducks :)) in a row before moving onto big things like buying a house and having a baby. I also know that if we wait for ALL our ducks to get lined up, we'll be 95 years old and I'm pretty sure by that time I'll be sterile.
I am trying to do a better job of not living for tomorrow, the weekend, next month, what have you. Today is truly a blessing, and I need to learn to cherish it b/c I know all too well how fast time travels. Before I know it, it'll be late fall, and God providing, we'll have paid off some things and will be ready to say "let's do this!" to our Dominion lady. Before I know it, we'll have had 1 baby or 2 and they'll be growing faster than I can blink.
But right now - I'm frustrated.
Oh. Lent starts tomorrow. No fast food for me until April 24! :)
I'm frustrated that I may very well be married to the most financially-responsible man on the planet. I'm frustrated that he makes a lot of sense. I'm frustrated that he is probably right in saying we should maybe put off this house and get some of our ducks in a row first.
If you look up the phrase "opposites attract" in the dictionary, you'd find a picture of us. Me: fly by the seat of my pants, emotionally involved quickly, I see something I want, I must. have it. now. Chris: responsible. thinker. planner. looker-into-the-future to check out all the "what if's."
I'm frustrated that in the last couple of months, we added up what we spent in eating out (just on weekends, we cook during the week!!) and that amount about knocked us off our chairs. Our bills get paid and we have money in savings, so we thought we were doing alright. Little did we know. I take a lot of the blame, b/c Chris would usually be okay with eating in 7 nights a week - it's me that is pretty much done with cooking come Friday.
I'm frustrated that I just keep watching people I know - family, acquaintances, friends from high school and what have you - just pop out kids. And still live with their parents. Or grandparents. Oh, can't afford the ones you have? Why not have a couple more, after all, it's not like you're actually paying to live anywhere and it's not as if you're actually paying for insurance.
I'm frustrated that it really does seem that some people can lack complete responsibility and it doesn't seem to bother or affect them. I may not be the most financially responsible person on the face of the earth, but my bills get paid and by God they are with our own money.
I know it's not a bad thing to want all our ducks (or a good part of our ducks :)) in a row before moving onto big things like buying a house and having a baby. I also know that if we wait for ALL our ducks to get lined up, we'll be 95 years old and I'm pretty sure by that time I'll be sterile.
I am trying to do a better job of not living for tomorrow, the weekend, next month, what have you. Today is truly a blessing, and I need to learn to cherish it b/c I know all too well how fast time travels. Before I know it, it'll be late fall, and God providing, we'll have paid off some things and will be ready to say "let's do this!" to our Dominion lady. Before I know it, we'll have had 1 baby or 2 and they'll be growing faster than I can blink.
But right now - I'm frustrated.
Oh. Lent starts tomorrow. No fast food for me until April 24! :)
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
New Winner!
Leave it to us. We're THAT couple. Can't make up our minds.
But like my Mom said, this is a huge decision. We have to live with it for a long time to come so we have a right to be picky!
So, anyway, we were talking about the 2 options last night, and got online to get some more info. And then we came across another floorplan that we hadn't noticed before. And really liked it. So, today, we went and saw the model (in Hilliard, where we can't afford to live).
L-O-V-E-D it. No basement in this one, but a bonus room is already IN the price, as WELL AS a home office downstairs, as WELL AS a dining area right off the kitchen. The half bath wasn't off the kitchen, it had a nice little foyer, and it had an actual laundry room instead of being a closet off the garage. 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are bigger, the master is huge (with 2 sinks in the bathroom - yeah!) - and there is a huge storage area underneath the stairs - whoo! Garage is in the back on this one, BUT - this community has a pool, playground and running/ bike path.
So. We are crunching numbers on Thursday to see what options we want and which ones we don't. I think we're really doing this!
But like my Mom said, this is a huge decision. We have to live with it for a long time to come so we have a right to be picky!
So, anyway, we were talking about the 2 options last night, and got online to get some more info. And then we came across another floorplan that we hadn't noticed before. And really liked it. So, today, we went and saw the model (in Hilliard, where we can't afford to live).
L-O-V-E-D it. No basement in this one, but a bonus room is already IN the price, as WELL AS a home office downstairs, as WELL AS a dining area right off the kitchen. The half bath wasn't off the kitchen, it had a nice little foyer, and it had an actual laundry room instead of being a closet off the garage. 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are bigger, the master is huge (with 2 sinks in the bathroom - yeah!) - and there is a huge storage area underneath the stairs - whoo! Garage is in the back on this one, BUT - this community has a pool, playground and running/ bike path.
So. We are crunching numbers on Thursday to see what options we want and which ones we don't. I think we're really doing this!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Decisions
Basement or no basement? Bonus room or just stick with 3 bedrooms? Separate dining area or eat in kitchen? Where should the half bath go? Mess with cathedral ceilings, or no?
Those are the "minor" decisions Chris & I are faced with. We met with our realtor yesterday and looked at two of the homes which models she had originially mentioned. We weren't in love with either one - mostly because of the lack of yard. So many homes now are putting garages in the backs of homes to be able to put more homes on a block - which equals ZERO yard space. I just kept thinking about the yards I played in as a kid, and I just couldn't imagine having kids in a yard about 20' by 6'.
So we left that community just outside downtown, and we immediately decided the area was NOT for us. Definitely a rougher part of town, and while the short commute was attractive, being afraid for my life in the middle of the night - not so much.
So we drove out to a community east of Columbus and immediately fell in love with the first model she showed us. It was more of a traditional style home, with the garage in front, and has the option of both a partial/ full basement and a 4th bonus room. BUT - the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are tiny, it's an eat in kitchen (not sure that our table will fit) with a half wall into the main room downstairs, AND the half bath is off the kitchen. I know my mom has never liked that about our house in Terre Haute.
We then went to a different model and loved the floorplan even more. Hard to explain, but basically the "great room", half bath, laundry and foyer (with cathedral ceilings) is on the first floor....the kitchen and dining room (or what they call a flex room) is half a flight of stairs up (and looks over the downstairs) - and then another half flight of stairs up is a "catwalk" that looks over the entire kitchen and great room that leads into 3 bedrooms. It's 200 square feet bigger right off the bat, but also starts out at $5,000 higher price-point wise than the other. So, probably wouldn't be able to do a basement. BUT - it's not your "cookie cutter" type home so the resale potential is probably a little higher.
None of these are life-altering decisions, but I feel like we need to make decisions that we'll be able to live with for the next 5 years at least.......b/c barring anything major, I want to stay in this house at least 5 years, to build up equity. And 5 years is a lot of life. 1 child, maybe 2....changes in jobs? Etc, etc.
I feel like I need to sit down with an Excel spreadsheet and put down pros and cons and look at things from a black and white perspective. Obviously cost and mortgage payment is going to the overriding factor, but within that, what can we live with, what do we have to have, what don't we have to have?
We look at lots on Thursday and potentially sign a purchase agreement to lock in rates as early as the middle of March. I just want us to make the right decision(s)....it's a big step! An exciting step, though :)
Those are the "minor" decisions Chris & I are faced with. We met with our realtor yesterday and looked at two of the homes which models she had originially mentioned. We weren't in love with either one - mostly because of the lack of yard. So many homes now are putting garages in the backs of homes to be able to put more homes on a block - which equals ZERO yard space. I just kept thinking about the yards I played in as a kid, and I just couldn't imagine having kids in a yard about 20' by 6'.
So we left that community just outside downtown, and we immediately decided the area was NOT for us. Definitely a rougher part of town, and while the short commute was attractive, being afraid for my life in the middle of the night - not so much.
So we drove out to a community east of Columbus and immediately fell in love with the first model she showed us. It was more of a traditional style home, with the garage in front, and has the option of both a partial/ full basement and a 4th bonus room. BUT - the 2nd and 3rd bedrooms are tiny, it's an eat in kitchen (not sure that our table will fit) with a half wall into the main room downstairs, AND the half bath is off the kitchen. I know my mom has never liked that about our house in Terre Haute.
We then went to a different model and loved the floorplan even more. Hard to explain, but basically the "great room", half bath, laundry and foyer (with cathedral ceilings) is on the first floor....the kitchen and dining room (or what they call a flex room) is half a flight of stairs up (and looks over the downstairs) - and then another half flight of stairs up is a "catwalk" that looks over the entire kitchen and great room that leads into 3 bedrooms. It's 200 square feet bigger right off the bat, but also starts out at $5,000 higher price-point wise than the other. So, probably wouldn't be able to do a basement. BUT - it's not your "cookie cutter" type home so the resale potential is probably a little higher.
None of these are life-altering decisions, but I feel like we need to make decisions that we'll be able to live with for the next 5 years at least.......b/c barring anything major, I want to stay in this house at least 5 years, to build up equity. And 5 years is a lot of life. 1 child, maybe 2....changes in jobs? Etc, etc.
I feel like I need to sit down with an Excel spreadsheet and put down pros and cons and look at things from a black and white perspective. Obviously cost and mortgage payment is going to the overriding factor, but within that, what can we live with, what do we have to have, what don't we have to have?
We look at lots on Thursday and potentially sign a purchase agreement to lock in rates as early as the middle of March. I just want us to make the right decision(s)....it's a big step! An exciting step, though :)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
New Adventure
Oh, milestones.
Sweet 16. Getting your first car. Prom. Graduating high school. Getting into college. Turning 21.
Graduating college. Getting married. Getting your first "grown up" job. Having babies. Doing grown up things, like buying a car that isn't 10 years old. Taking vacations without your parents. Etc, etc.
Also....buying a house. Eek!
I have a lot of friends that have bought houses. Coworkers buying houses. Seems so grown up! Paying a (duh duh duhhhhh) mortgage....it is something that we have resisted since we've been married....at first because we just wanted to get settled into married life......then there was so much uncertainty in our marriage last year.......but this year.......well, nothing major happened to change our minds, except for a teeny little flyer we got in the mail last week.
Turns out, our apartments are owned by (partnered with?) Dominion Homes. Also turns out, 20% of the rent we've been paying here since October of 2009 can go towards the purchase of a new house (wow). That is a big perk. Also a big perk is that we have very little saved towards a down payment (seeing as how we just started thinking about this, oh, 2 weeks ago) - they have programs that would basically get us out of a down payment (a program called Helping Hands).
The perks are huge - Dominion only deals with new builds and new property. They don't sell "used" homes. This is good for us because say the roof gets damaged or the water heater blows or the air conditioner goes out - all of it is brand new, so it's all warrantable, which means no money out of pocket for us. The money we've earned through our apartments would more than cover our closing costs, and the Helping Hands program is really nice. Basically, it means that they build our house. But instead of hiring a painting crew to come in and paint the inside of the house, they supply all the paint and brushes, and we do it ourselves. Instead of hiring a landscape company to install mulch and shrubs, we do it (pretty sure I could bribe a guy or 2 to come do that for me). Neat, huh?
Downfalls - really the biggest and only one I can think of is resale opportunity. We basically would pick a model and they would build it. But, there would be a lot of houses just like ours around the city. And buying a house together - what a huge step. HUGE. And a little scary.
Sounds like everything is a "go" for the financial side of it, so we're taking a big step this weekend and going and looking at a couple houses. With a realtor. TO BUY A HOUSE.
Hard to wrap my mind around. Holy crap.
Wish us luck!
Sweet 16. Getting your first car. Prom. Graduating high school. Getting into college. Turning 21.
Graduating college. Getting married. Getting your first "grown up" job. Having babies. Doing grown up things, like buying a car that isn't 10 years old. Taking vacations without your parents. Etc, etc.
Also....buying a house. Eek!
I have a lot of friends that have bought houses. Coworkers buying houses. Seems so grown up! Paying a (duh duh duhhhhh) mortgage....it is something that we have resisted since we've been married....at first because we just wanted to get settled into married life......then there was so much uncertainty in our marriage last year.......but this year.......well, nothing major happened to change our minds, except for a teeny little flyer we got in the mail last week.
Turns out, our apartments are owned by (partnered with?) Dominion Homes. Also turns out, 20% of the rent we've been paying here since October of 2009 can go towards the purchase of a new house (wow). That is a big perk. Also a big perk is that we have very little saved towards a down payment (seeing as how we just started thinking about this, oh, 2 weeks ago) - they have programs that would basically get us out of a down payment (a program called Helping Hands).
The perks are huge - Dominion only deals with new builds and new property. They don't sell "used" homes. This is good for us because say the roof gets damaged or the water heater blows or the air conditioner goes out - all of it is brand new, so it's all warrantable, which means no money out of pocket for us. The money we've earned through our apartments would more than cover our closing costs, and the Helping Hands program is really nice. Basically, it means that they build our house. But instead of hiring a painting crew to come in and paint the inside of the house, they supply all the paint and brushes, and we do it ourselves. Instead of hiring a landscape company to install mulch and shrubs, we do it (pretty sure I could bribe a guy or 2 to come do that for me). Neat, huh?
Downfalls - really the biggest and only one I can think of is resale opportunity. We basically would pick a model and they would build it. But, there would be a lot of houses just like ours around the city. And buying a house together - what a huge step. HUGE. And a little scary.
Sounds like everything is a "go" for the financial side of it, so we're taking a big step this weekend and going and looking at a couple houses. With a realtor. TO BUY A HOUSE.
Hard to wrap my mind around. Holy crap.
Wish us luck!
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