6:50 PM
Posted In
Deck
,
house
,
staining
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We finally got a nice Saturday with zero percent chance of rain so Phil
and I finally stained our front deck! Phil has been working on
stripping and sanding the deck for the last few weeks. He finished
earlier this week and every single day it has rained. But today was
perfect for staining! I mean it was a little hot out but we dealt. We
stained the rails first because that's what would take the longest and
it took us about 5-6 hours to finish. After the railings my poor back
couldn't handle it anymore and I had to quit. I feel like I'm 100 years
old right now because I can barely walk without wincing in pain. But it was
totally worth it. Phil finished the rest which only took about 2 1/2
hours or so. Very long day but it's finally done and looks fantastic!!!
What the deck looked like after sanding and ready for stain:
Railings done!
All finished (still wet)!!
Only one more deck to go...
9:03 AM
Posted In
house
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Quick update for all you on the house. I think I already mentioned that the title company suit was settled but just in case I hadn’t, I’m mentioning it now. I also just got word today that the ex-wife suit has settled! Yay! She hasn’t actually gotten a check yet but I was told she will be getting one soon – so that means that it has settled. :-) So now we are a normal short sale! The realtor said that she has submitted all the docs to the bank and we are now playing the waiting game. Hopefully we can close by Christmas. That would be the best present ever!
11:07 AM
Posted In
house
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It has been 5 months since we put our offer in on the house. 5 months and we still don’t know if it is ours! Man, this short sale business is stressful! I haven’t talked about it in a while so I thought I’d bring it up. At least we are in the house and renting it for the time being. I talked to the realtor for the seller a few weeks ago and she said that the claim against the title company is no longer an issue. Apparently that was resolved and it has now been submitted to the bank. She also mentioned that someone will need to do a walk through at the house – I’m guessing to give it a value so the bank knows how much it is worth. So, hopefully I’ll have some good news within the month. Phil and I are slowly getting the house to the way we want it. We are going slowly just in case we end up losing the house and we don’t want to waste our time, energy and money. We have painted two rooms, one being our bedroom and I just put up the curtains last night! It looks sooo good. I’m so happy with the way it turned out. The curtains really pull it all together. All I need to do is hang up the pictures/art and the room is complete! One room down – all the rest to go. I’m hoping that the house is ours by Christmas. That’s only 3 months away! Holy crap, I didn’t realize how soon winter and the holidays are coming!! Hopefully within the coming weeks/months I will have good news. :)
8:21 AM
Posted In
30 day shred
,
baby shower
,
Birthdays
,
clothes
,
dad
,
Desperate Housewives
,
Dexter
,
house
,
MN State Fair
,
neighbors
,
painting
,
poker tournament
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I have a lot on my mind lately and I thought I would get some things off my chest. My dad has taken over the largest part of my thinking lately. I still miss him tremendously and it seems to be getting harder lately. Maybe because it is almost fall and this is when the harvesting/hunting season begins? Hunting was one of my dad’s favorite things to do. Every year he would have a new story to tell and every time he told it, it would get more dramatic and change just a bit! Haha. The last story I remember was about him driving a wild boar over with his pickup! I think I heard that story 6 or 7 times. Each time I would say, “Dad, you’ve already told me that story.” He would then laugh and keep telling me.
Things with Justen seem to be getting easier. He seems to be in good spirits lately and is excited for harvesting and hunting. Chris, however, is another story. He has been nothing but trouble lately. Threats, manipulation, guilt, anger… I was hoping that today was the day it would get easier on me but it sounds like it might be a few more weeks.
On to more positive news… I’m done with day 5 of the 30 day shred. It doesn’t sound like much, I know, but it is getting easier. When I first started I could barely finish some of the moves. Now I have more endurance and the moves that I struggled with are getting easier. I have noticed that I have more energy lately too so that’s a plus. I measured myself before I started and I will measure myself after the 30 days are up. Hopefully I will have lost a few inches! If not, then at least I got more in shape and have more energy. I just need to stick with it! Which I don’t think that will be too hard since it is kind of fun (kind of).
Last night I started and finished painting room number 2! I painted the small half bath and it is a very small room but a room none the less! I love it! It is a nice bright yellow! All I have to do to finish it is take the tape off the walls and hang the pictures and other crap back up. The house is starting to feel more like home. I’m trying not to worry about the renting/not closing part. I find that now that we are living in the house, I’m worrying about it less. I should probably worry more since we might lose it and need somewhere to live all of a sudden but I have high hopes that it will all work out in the end. Something needs to work out this year for me and dammit, I hope this is it!
After Phil’s grandparent’s 60th wedding anniversary/family reunion we met more of the neighbors. We were just sitting at home with Phil’s cousin and his girlfriend enjoying a beer and the neighbors came knocking on the door and told us to come on over because they were having a party. So we did! It was pretty fun and they seem like a fun group. It was easy to talk to everyone and get to know them since they were all pretty drunk. And I also must say that I’m proud of our friend Jimmy P. The neighbors were having karaoke and Jimmy P worked up the nerve to go up himself. He’s actually not too shabby! Johnny Cash suits him well. :-)
I hate what shirt I am wearing today. Hate, hate, hate! The only reason I keep it around is because I need variety in my wardrobe. But every stinkin time I wear it I wish I hadn’t. So I might as well give it away. It may look like I’ve got a lot of clothes but I really don’t. Most of them I don’t wear. Some are too big, some are too small and some are just worn out. Soon it will be getting colder out and I will need to pull out my fall/winter clothes. This to me is exciting since I get to go through my clothes and get rid of stuff!
Things to come in the next few months:
- This weekend we are going to the “great Minnesota get-together” (the MN State Fair). Hopefully it is not too hot out! I’m excited to eat all the yummy food! Let’s see, there will be foot long hotdogs, French fries, gyros, cheese curds, ice cream, cotton candy, etc… I better fast the day before so I can stuff all this food in my belly! Yum Yum! :)
- Next weekend is my office’s summer outing. Every summer/fall we do something fun. Last year we went on a train ride and had dinner on the train. This year we are going on a comedy cruise. I’m super excited! I’ve never been on a big boat like that and I’ve never seen a comedy show.
- Then the next weekend is a poker tournament for my pregnant friend Jewells and then a baby shower the next day for her as well. The poker tournament is for collecting diapers and you get money if you win.
- The next weekend is another baby shower for Jewells. My favorite shows also start that weekend!! (Dexter and Desperate Housewives) I miss Dexter sooo much! I can’t wait until it starts up again.
After those few busy weekends I will hopefully not have too much going on and then before I know it, it will be my birthday!! I know, I’ve got 2 more months but I’m really excited for this year’s birthday. I will be turning the big 25! Then a few weeks later Phil will be 30! :-)
That’s about all I’ve got for now. Sorry for blabbing on forever.
10:54 AM
Posted In
house
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Here is our house! I'm so stinkin excited about it! As you can see, the yard needs work. But at least they mowed it for us a few weeks ago. It was up to our waist in weeds.
6:30 AM
Posted In
house
,
rent
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So we have been getting nothing but bad news lately and life just keeps getting harder and more stressful. But finally we got some good news! It is not actually the really good news we had hoped for but it’s still good. I got an email from the realtor for the seller for our house we are trying to buy and she said that she had spoken with the attorney for the 1st mortgage. The attorney for the 1st mortgage said that she thinks this is going to take several months longer. So that is the bad news. The good news is that Brian, the seller, said he would like to rent the house to us so we aren’t homeless when our lease is up. I know, I know, we are taking a big risk by doing this because there is no 100% guarantee that we will be able to buy the house. But we have thought it through and want to rent until they can settle the claims. After a nice long chat with the seller’s realtor she basically said it is ours but they have to settle these claims before we can close. She said the bank was ready to accept our offer but then these mortgage and title issues came about. So anyways, basically we are going to rent the house until the claims are satisfied and then we can close. Yippy! The seller is going to give us the 1st month rent free since we have to purchase a refrigerator and I think Phil is going to ask his mom if we can borrow her lawn mower to mow the lawn until we can close. We aren’t sure what we will do about the washer and dryer yet though. Not sure if it is smart to buy them since there is a small chance we will lose the house in the end. We could probably go to a laundry mat for a little while or give some money to Phil’s mom and do our laundry there. Hmmm… Anyways, I’m quite happy with this decision and I’m super excited to move in towards the end of July! The only thing that will stop us from moving at the end of July is if the inspection comes up with something bad. We decided it would be smart to have the inspection before we move in since we would get it anyways before we close. Yay! I’m super excited! Anyone want to help us move? ;-)
1:18 PM
Posted In
house
,
stress
Edit This
I am a planner, we all know this. And when I get something in my head, I have to do it right now. I can’t do it a week later or even a day later. I have to do it right away. As of July 31st Phil and I don’t know where we are going to be living. Will we be in our new house? Will we be at Rita’s? Will we be in a different house or apartment? Who freakin knows?! I sure don’t. And if we do get our wish and get this house will we even have time to get everything we need before our lease is up? I’m guessing that if we get this house, they are going to close last minute and we won’t have a washer, dryer, lawn mower and fridge when we move in. But that is the last of my worries right now. First we need to get the house. That’s the most important thing.
So I’ve got all these “what ifs” and plans upon plans floating in my head. It is getting bad. All weekend I couldn’t sit down and relax until I was completely exhausted because I had to be doing something... something to help ease the anxiety. So I power cleaned the carpets and the couches with the steam cleaner and did some more unusual cleaning. This week I’m going to paint my two tables and lamps that will look so cute in the house. That might keep me busy enough for a few days.
I can’t fall asleep at night because my brain won’t shut off. One minute I’m excited about all the decorating I want to do, the next minute I’m terrified because I think this is all going to fall through and we will no longer have a home – just a place to crash. And if we don’t get the house then for how long will we be at Rita’s? And what will we do with all our stuff? We would definitely need to put the majority of our stuff in storage but where? The last few nights I have been completely exhausted but I can’t fall asleep! Then I wake up in the middle of the night and my brain decides to start its planning mode again and I can’t get back to sleep. So today I’m stressed and tired and have high anxiety. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m more like my mother than I thought. Not good. The anxiety is really starting to get bad. Anybody know any remedies to help anxiety go away? What seems to help is doing what I can now for our house (like painting my tables, cleaning the weird things in our apartment for when we leave, shopping for little things for the house, etc.) I can’t imagine how much worse this is going to be next month at this time if we still haven’t heard back from the bank. Agh!!!
1:57 PM
Posted In
bad dogs
,
Birthdays
,
cleaing
,
crabby
,
eating out
,
house
,
Ikea
,
MOA
,
Sex and the City 2
,
shopping
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Friday after work Jewells and I went shopping in Woodbury where I proceeded to spend a little too much money. Then we met Lynsie at Applebee’s and had some dinner before going to see Sex and the City 2! I was super excited to see this movie. I thought that it was good but not amazingly good. I thought it was kinda weird that most of the movie was based in Abu Dhabi, not NYC.
Saturday I spent the majority of the day cleaning. All I have to say is my dogs piss me off. Don’t get me wrong, I love them, but if I didn’t, I would send them packing! If I didn’t have dogs I wouldn’t have to mop all the dang time and wash the blankets as much. My soon to be golden retriever sure won’t pee in the house! He will be potty trained ASAP! Speaking of golden retrievers… I had a chance to purchase one now but Phil said no. :’( I understand that it would be stressful to get one now since we will be moving in 1-2 months and we are not sure where we will be at. BUT I want him now! I have been waiting to get him since I moved away from home 5 years ago! *sigh* Hopefully I will get him in a few months.
Sunday Phil and I went to Ikea and the MOA. It was nice to spend time with Phil and get out of the house. We took our time walking around the mall and went out to eat. By the time we got home I was exhausted.
Monday. Phil – if you are reading this I’m sorry. I was quite crabby. I should have been in a good mood since I didn’t have to go to work but no… I was crabby, all day.
Any who, that was my weekend. I have a few things to look forward to this week. Tomorrow night we are going out for dinner to celebrate Rachel’s 24th birthday! Then Thursday I’m going out to dinner with my Aunt Laura to catch up. This weekend is Good Neighbor Days so we will probably head down to Roberts on Friday or Saturday night. We should also find out more about our house this week. I talked to the realtor for the seller today and she said that the seller wants to rent the house out to us until we can get the bank to finalize everything and close. I’m not sure on the details yet but that is good news. Phil and I are willing to rent as long as we know 100% that we are getting the house in the long run. We don’t want to start renting it and then lose it in the long run. There is work that needs to start when we move in and I don’t want to waste my time and money. So hopefully by the end of the week we will know more. Until next time…
11:03 AM
Posted In
house
,
lease
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It’s official. We must move out of our duplex by July 31st. SCARY! Since we are not sure if we got the house or not yet this is a big gamble. We only had 2 options though. We either had to sign up for another lease with them or give them a 70 day notice. I’m not about to sign another lease! If for some reason this house falls through we will not be homeless, we do have somewhere to live. Phil’s mom was nice enough to offer her house to crash at (for a very short time – if necessary). We of course are hoping that we get this house and close sometime in June. A few days ago the bank asked me for another approval letter from my lender that states what loan amount we were going to get and that says that we were approved for that. So, that is another step in the right direction. Why would the bank ask for that information if they weren’t going to accept our offer? This is getting so frustrating! I just need to know if this is going to work out or not. I already feel like this place is our “home”. The place we are living now does not feel like home. Since the day we moved in 2 ½ years ago it felt like just a place we were crashing at – temporary. I can’t wait to move into a home! Please let this work out!!!
7:12 AM
Posted In
house
Edit This
So here is the update on the house. I talked to our realtor and she said that the other buyer has extended their date of offer with the bank and what this means is that they have the only offer that the bank will review. We can put in a second offer and have it waiting for the bank in case they don't go forward and close on this one. Our realtor also said that we should keep looking for others in the meantime. She said that the banks are so slow and they may not make a decision for quite some time on this offer. The other realtor who she has to go through about this house (since she is not the realtor for this one) wouldn't give her much info on a timeline-just said that it’s a short sale and could be awhile. Boo… :-( So I guess our plan is to look at other houses while we wait. If we find a different one we love – great! If not – then maybe this one will be available after a while. I’m pretty bummed out. Can’t anything go our way? I know I can’t have everything I want but come on! NOTHING has been going my way for quite some time. Life has been tough and I could really use this positive thing to help things turn around.
P.S. I will try to blog about Florida later if I find time. I want to show you some pictures but I’ll have to do that from home.
7:49 AM
Posted In
coffee
,
cutting hair
,
fruit
,
Golden Retriever
,
house
,
pedicure
,
tattoo
,
vacation
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There have been a lot of things boggling my mind lately. Lots of them are small things, some are very large things. Let’s start off with just the small things in life.
Should I start drinking coffee again in the morning? I quit drinking caffeine back in the beginning of January. I used to drink about 1 large coffee mug size coffee every morning and at least one pop per day. I gave it all up cold turkey because I wanted to be healthier. It was an exhausting 2 weeks but after that I felt better. Another reason I wanted to give up coffee and pop was because of what it is doing to my teeth. I put a lot of sugary creamer in my coffee and that is not good for teeth. It has been 6, going on 7 months without a cup of coffee and I still miss it very much. Maybe I could start drinking coffee again and just not drink pop still. That’s a good compromise right?
I read that if you eat fruit for three days and nothing but fruit it cleanses your body. I’ve been thinking about doing this. I’m guessing I’ll be spending extra time on the toilet because of this but who cares! I’ll probably loose some weight in the process too! Has anyone tried the 3 day fruit binge?
Should I spend a few bucks and get myself a nice pedicure? I think I deserve it! I’ve had a pretty rough month and a treat would be nice. Who would like to go with me?!
(By the way, I just took a small break while writing this to run over to Holiday gas station to grab a cup of cappuccino… oops! Just talking about it made my mouth water. I had to give in to the temptation.)
Do I cut my hair or leave it long and let it continue to grow? It has been annoying me like crazy lately! I want it cut and cut short. Shoulder length or less. I want to have my hair long when I get married but who knows when the hell that will be.
While we are on the topic of hair, should I continue to dye my hair a darker brunette or should I just let it grow out and go back to my natural color (whatever that is)? I think my natural color is a dirty blond/light brunette. I hate the hassle/money of dyeing my hair but I think it looks better darker.
Should I go and get my tattoo now? I know what I want and I just need a tattoo artist to draw it up. The only thing holding me back is the cost. I don’t know how much it will be but I’m guessing around $250. I was going to get it or my birthday but that isn’t until the end of October. By then it will be cold and I won’t be able to show it off since it will be on my ankle/foot. (PS- I just had a dream last night that I was getting a tattoo and I fell in love with my tattoo artist. Weird.)
Should Phil and I go on a small vacation or not? I would like to get away (obviously, who wouldn’t!) however, I’m trying to save every penny I can for a down payment on a house. So basically, if we went on vacation it would cost at least $300 each which is a lot of money I could be putting into my savings for the house. Technically I have the money to go on vacation and it wouldn’t put me that far back but it would put me back a little and we are looking to get a house by November which is coming up pretty soon here. Plus, if I get my tattoo that will cost as much as a small vacation! So I guess I need to pick between tattoo, small vacation or none.
Should I try to get Phil on board with getting our future Winston (Golden Retriever) within the next few months or do I wait until we get a house? I want this dog so badly! I should probably wait until I get a house since this is a big dog to have in a 1,000 sq ft duplex BUT we could, just maybe be moving in 4 months to a house. Then Winston would only live in our duplex while he is a puppy! But what if we don’t get a house and we end up signing on for one more year at the duplex? Plus Winston will cost roughly $250. Tough one… So I guess it’s between the tattoo, a small vacation, Winston or none! Jeezelaweeze!
Now for one of my big dilemmas and the only one I will share with you. Do I buy a house just to buy a house or do I wait for the right one to come along, even if it means loosing out on the $8,000 from the government? That is a hell of a lot of money to loose out on. I don’t want just any house. I want a unique house where I can see Phil and me in the future with babies and acres and privacy. Right now Phil and I are debating on just buying a house in town because we could find one for much much cheaper and only spend $100 or $200 more a month than our rent. This would obviously be just a “starter home” and we would move out in a couple years. We would do this hoping that the economy is better and hoping to gain a profit. So do we buy a home in town just because they are so much cheaper and save up some money for a house in the country and get that a few years down the road? Or do we just wait until the right one comes along in the country and hope that it doesn’t cost too much? It sure is stressing me out not knowing where I will be in 4 months.
Anyways, I just felt the need to get my random thoughts out there. If you have any opinions, please tell.
11:21 AM
Posted In
Christmas
,
college
,
dogs
,
house
,
New Years
,
work
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It has been a long time since I wrote my last real blog and I decided to start the New Year off with a good one. Well, at least a long one. Let’s just start by telling you all what I’ve been up to lately. Ever since I got back from vacation/wedding things have calmed down quite a bit, even with Christmas going on. My weekends are now mostly open and I have time to do things around the house and relax. Work has been great since we’ve been closed so much due to Christmas and New Years. I haven’t had a full work week since… well, the last week in November! After New Years is over, it is back to reality!
Christmas was pretty good this year. I managed to fit all of my family and some of Phil’s family in. On Christmas Eve, Phil and I went over to my Dad’s house and had a nice dinner with my two brothers, Dad, and skank (Dolly). After dinner we opened presents. My Dad got me a whole bunch of meat! I got tons of hamburger, roasts, pork chops, and bacon. Yum Yum! After my Dad’s house, Phil and I went home and opened presents with the pups. Phil got me a new stereo for my car and all the things that go with it. Now I can finally play my Zune!! I got him a Zune! He has been jealous of mine since he bought me one last year so he loved it. I also got him a bunch of little stuff for his stocking. Phil didn’t try very hard this year on my stocking. He didn’t really get anything for it. :( Oh well, there is always next year!
On Christmas Day, Phil and I went over to his Mom’s house and had some lunch with her. I left a little later to go over to my Uncle’s house to celebrate Christmas with my Dad’s side and Phil stayed at his Moms so she wouldn’t be alone on Christmas. This was the first year she didn’t have Christmas at her house and the first year that her daughters couldn’t come because they live in Portland, OR now.
The day after Christmas my brothers came and picked me up in the morning and we headed over to the Brainerd area where my Mom’s side of the family is. That was the best part of Christmas for me. I LOVE my Mom’s side of the family. I also got to spend a full day with Jackilynn, my little sister. She is going to be one year old in January! She is getting so big!
New Years Eve (which is today) I’m going over to my friend Jessie’s house and we will be cooking a lovely meal with all my friends. Afterwards we will be playing games and drinking beer! This year I have decided to make a New Years resolution. I don’t usually make one but I’ve been thinking lately that it would be nice to drop the caffeine and why not start now?! I know the next couple weeks are going to be pretty tough but after that I’m hoping to feel much better. I don’t drink much caffeine but it is enough to make me have a headache if I don’t have it.
After the New Year I will be starting college again. The first quarter I only have two classes. I wanted to take four but they only allowed me to take two since I have to take these two classes before I can start any of the rest. I should be done with my degree by December of 2009! Only a year! After I’m done with college I will either stay where I am and become a paralegal, or if they don’t have the position open I will look for a position at a different office. Part of me wants to stay where I am because I know and like everyone here. Either way, I will be making much more money than I am now. :) I will pay off some bills and then start saving for a house. I’m hoping that within a year after I get a new job as a paralegal, I’ll be able to afford a house. I’ve been looking forward to buying a house for many years now!!! My dogs love it when we go to other people’s house’s because they can run and play outside. They can’t at my tiny duplex since I have a tiny, tiny yard and the road is about 15 feet from my place. Poo on that. Lately I have also really, really wanted my golden retriever. I’m waiting to get one until I have a house. We don’t want a big dog in our duplex because it wouldn’t be fair to them. Same with our cat Isabelle. She is staying at her Grandma’s house because she likes to go outside. Someday though I will have my house, my kitty and my new dog! Someday….
Here is my future puppy. Aren't they cute!! I want one that is more red though. I'm not sure what I'll name him yet!
Jackilynn had more fun playing with ribbons and wrapping paper than her new toys.
Here is my brother, my mom, and Jackilynn.
Me and my little sister!! I adore her! Too bad I only see her once a month, if I'm lucky.
