We found our house!!!!!!

After searching for houses for all of an hour, we found our house this past Saturday! It was the 3rd house our awesome realtor Carol showed us. As soon as I walked in I said to her, “Cancel the other showings – this is my house.”

It is beautiful. And not just because it is mine (ya know, like how parents think their kid is the best even if they’re a little slow or stupid or a general pain in the ass). It’s a flip house which means a few months ago it was a decrepit heap in the middle of suburbia, but a couple bought the house and renovated the whole thing – new flooring, drywall, bathrooms, entire new kitchen, everything. The wood floors are so shiny. The carpeting is the plushest ever. And the appliances have never been turned on! Brand spanking new, the whole house.

It’s 3 bedrooms and 1.5 baths of pure beauty. And it will be mine on Oct 22nd, which also happens to be my 25th birthday. Happy birthday to me!

Chicken My Foot

So I’m watching season 3 of Prison Break last night, which Netflix so kindly delivered to me. I don’t watch many shows on TV because I always forget to watch an episode, then I fall behind, and it gets me all messed up. So I tend to rent my TV shows from Netflix.

Anyhow, this one scene comes up and one character says to another, “You want me to chicken-foot Sammy?” …… And I immediately burst out laughing.

(Chicken-foot: In the prison, if a prisoner throws a chicken foot down in front of another inmate, the two will have a gladiator-style fight to the death).

Anyhow, I’m laughing because I realize that Chicken Foot Sammy would be an awesome name for a band.

And now my goal in life is to find a nameless rock band, and dub them Chicken Foot Sammy.

Sweet.

Of fences and skittles

So we met with Carol, our realtor last night. She was a super sweet lady and listened to exactly what we are looking for a house, on our very small budget. And she couldn't have been more accomodating. She is lining up some houses we found online for Eric to view on Tuesday. The bummer thing is, I am out of vacation days and can't take Tuesday off to view the homes with him, so I have to fully trust his judgement that he A) doesn't bid on a terrible house and B) doesn't pass up a great house. I'm a little nervous about that one. I'm hoping I can trust him enough to make a decision if he has to.

The realtor is looking for a quick 30-day closing after we find a house we like. So quick! I always though closing took 2-4 months, which would give us plenty of time to pack at our leisure and save up the down payment and moving costs. Nope! 30 days to get our shit in gear. Which makes it all the more exciting.

One bad note: I looked into the cost of fencing in our yard once we find a house and yowza! Fencing companies sure make a lot of money off of a little wood and concrete. Lets hope Eric finds us a house that already has a fenced in yard. Can't have my skittle-head chihuahua boy slipping out of the yard. I've done the searching-for-dog-with-flashlight-in-middle-of-night dance a few too many times.

i make a mean pot of tea / i say yes when I mean no / i pick my nose / i fart in bed / i smile sweetly at strangers / i kiss my dogs on the lips / i punch you when i’m mad / i kick you when i’m sad / i fall asleep listening to cartoons / i snooze away my afternoons

i’m yours baby / all yours

Maserati say what?

As I pulled into work today, one of these was pulling out. As it drive past me it growled like an angry tiger. So, so hot.

Yippie!



















I can't contain my excitement any longer! I haven't wanted to say anything for fear that if I speak about it it will disappear. But after talking to the mortgage lady again, it's for real! Eric and I have been approved for a mortgage. Finally! After being turned down last year due to debt and bad credit, we have worked so hard this year to pay down bad debt and to make wiser choices financially.

After moving to Columbus, Eric was out of work for a while, and we charged everything - and I mean EVERYTHING, down to my chihuahua - to credit cards. Pizza? Put it on the card. Shampoo? Put it on the card. Even groceries and gas went on the cards "just until Eric finds a job out here." Well, before long we were so badly in debt I thought we'd be stuck in a crappy apartment forever. But we've been GOOD this year! Paying things off left and right, making smart decisions with every paycheck. And with our fingers crossed last Thursday, we applied for a mortgage one more time. And we were approved!

So now I don't even know where to go from here. I don't know how to look for a realtor. I don't know how to look at houses. I don't know what to look for in a home inspection. I don't even understand how property taxes and home owner's insurance works. So now I'm in research mode trying to become a very imformed first time homebuyer. Because I do not want to mess this up. This is too important. This is our first home, the first big thing we will be doing that solidifies us being adults. Which makes me proud of the people we are turning into. Responsible adults, who knew!

I'm sure I'll be talking about the homebuying process a lot in the coming months. So stay tuned! I can't wait for the fun to begin, looking at houses. So exciting!

Please take a moment to read Chai's Story. Chai is a sweet dog who had to have his tongue amputated due to this very dangerous toy.

Reading all day about Sarah Palin on CNN has made my blood boil (for real, it hurts). So instead of ranting about said gutter slut, I wanted to post something beautiful.

Here are a few pics I took while on my wedding-honeymoon in St. Lucia this past May.

Room for two: nineteen years

Today was Jury Duty Day # 2. I'll save you the boring details of hours spent sitting on hard benches reading The Mists of Avalon, a book I've read a dozen times, while waiting to be called into the courtroom. Which took up most of Friday and today. Other than that, nothing much has happened. But today we finally got to meet the 3 accused men and their defense lawyers.

I say "men" but really mean 3 scared little tattooed boys wearing grownup clothes and practically choking back yelps of terror, as us jurors are ushered into the room and take our spots in the juror's box. I'm not an actual juror yet - I just get to sit in the fancy box as the prosecution and defense layers ask us question after question - such as "What does 'beyond a resonable doubt' mean to you?" This process of Jury Selection is called some fancy name, but I can't remember it, and Wikipedia (which is usually so kind to me) can't seem to help me remember.

Anyhow. The day (and trial) ended abruptly today when the defense attorney asked the judge for a recess to talk in the judge's quarters. After an hour and a half of waiting (and reading my book, and noticing the poor lady next to me is going bald), we are brought back into the courtroom. The 3 accused men decided to take a plea bargain (at the cost of 19 years in prison each) rather than face a jury.

Holy. Tamale. Batgirl.

With the thought of signing one's life away for 19 years (still can't make it fit in my head), I leave the courthouse, drop off my Juror's badge, and attempt to drive out of the city. Which includes me driving the wrong way down a 1-way street, and idling behind a parked car and wondering why they wouldn't move with traffic.

The conclusion? I'm glad I was picked by random out of the voter's pool. It was definitely an experience I am glad for. Oh, and robbing a liquor store, then a convenience store, than robbing and beating up a lady, then stealing a car, robbing a walmart, stealing another car, and getting into a high-speed case, evidently gets you a plea bargain for 19 years in prision. Which, yeesh, I still can't comprehend.