New House

Today I'm thankful because:
1. We got the house!
2. I got paid today (that makes #1 seem even better)
3. I'm busy changing our address on everything (I get a lot of magazines).
4. My boss is not at work today.
5. Maybe the late-night meetings and all-weekend house hunting is over for a few years!

I am very excited. After waiting through the weekend, the house builder finally settled on a price with us, and we all agreed. Last night after work, we went over to sign the official paperwork, since the last few prices were only verbal offers. We will work on getting a home inspection done in the next week (I know – it's a new construction – but we're scared of electrical fires, etc) and then closing is set for Halloween day.

After signing some paperwork last night, we went over to the house. This was the first time we'd been there knowing it would be ours. The other times we had to look at it through the same eyes that looked at other houses thinking, what if? So this time I took a bunch of pictures. It was getting dark by this time, so they didn't turn out great, but people wanted to see pictures, and you've got to keep the people happy.

House Update

OK, somehow a miracle occurred and both of our bosses let us leave work at lunchtime. This was especially incredible because, after my work function on Thursday night, she let me arrive at work on Friday at 10:00. So, I was only there for 2 hours, and you can believe I didn't do a bit of work, after receiving the news about the bar exam! So, anyway, we're both done at noon. We discuss the house a little, talk about money, go get lunch, then go to the realtor's office. We make an offer. Afterwards we go to the lake house. Sitting on the back porch, envisioning how wonderful it would be to live there, we all of sudden see about 30 huge Canadian geese come floating around the corner on the lake. We both just sit there and watch them all, in perfect formation, float down the lake until they're out of sight. It was incredible. And I, of course, took it as a sign.

So at dinner last night (we tried out an oyster bar we'd never been to before. It was smoky and loud - that's not for me) we get a call from the realtor. The builder has counter-offered. We'd expected that, so we were ready with another counter. That was last night around 7:30 or so, and we haven't heard back since. So there's your update.

Hurrah!

HE PASSED THE BAR EXAM!

Short and Sweet

Today I'm thankful because:

1. Spontaneity is fun! Last night, we decided to go to the first night of the county fair rather than the gym. We weren't even sure where it was, but we just drove around until we found it. The rides were pretty crappy, so we never bought any tickets, but we looked at the artwork and everything that had won prizes, then we watched various kids' groups (dance, karate) perform. We ate hot dogs and watched a karaoke contest. It got chilly (yay!) as the night went on. All in all, it was a pretty good time!

2. There are only two more days to wait for results.

3. Today is my best friend's birthday – happy birthday!

4. A work function that people have been stressing out over since I started working here will finally take place tomorrow night. I'm so glad, because I'm sick of hearing about it.

5. I had a nice lunch with my hubby today. We never have lunch together, so it was nice.


About tomorrow night – don't anybody tell me what happens on Grey's Anatomy. That's right, my work function will take place during the 2-hour season premiere, and I will miss it. And then the next day, well, you know, that's a pretty big day. So chances are good that I won't have a chance to watch it until Saturday.

Ramblings

Today I'm thankful because:
1. Today is Z's birthday!

2. I had a lovely conversation with my friend from my old job. It makes the morning go by so much faster when you take a personal call at work. I miss her.

3. It has been a beautiful day!

4. Yesterday when I left work, I drove to the lake house instead of straight home, to see just how long it would take me. Ten minutes flat. It usually takes me 20-25 minutes to get to the apartment, partly because I have to drive 6 miles more on the interstate, but also because after I exit the interstate, I sit in traffic and battle throngs of cars and multitudes of red lights. But going to the lake house, there's an exit created only for that highway, so you exit and have NO stops or turns or lights for about 5 miles. There is one large intersection, but that is the only red light. Other than that, it's a four-lane highway, and you can just GO HOME.

5. After almost 8 weeks, my hair is finally at the length it was before I got the haircut I didn't like. Now I'm officially growing it long again. Of course, it's barely chin-length now, so maybe in three years. I wish, wish, wish it could be as long and beautiful as my friend's that I spoke to this morning. Her hair is gorgeous.


It is 3:08 and I am just now beginning to write. That means I've been slightly busier than normal today, but not a great deal, and not busy doing work – I've been making lists about the lake house. I think I've mentioned before how I can't live without my lists. OK, so I admit I'm a little obsessive about them, but they honestly help me. If I have a good idea for something in the future, I might forget it unless I write it down. So far, I've made lists about all the things we'll have to buy that we never had to consider before (like a refrigerator), all the things I've never retrieved from home (including the antiques I got from my father's estate, and my wedding china which has been safe and sound instead of moving around with us), plants we've discussed putting in the yard, and decorating ideas we've had about the house (like which colors we like for each room and where I'd like to put which pictures). I'm a list freak.

As I mentioned above, it is Z's birthday. He doesn't really seem to care about his birthday, but especially this year. He told me the other day that he forgot his birthday was coming up because all he can do is think and worry and stew about the bar exam results, which we get in 3 days. I happen to love my birthday. Of course, getting too excited about things like that just lead to disappointment, like my birthday this year. It was the day we were driving home from the beach, a couple of days after Z's law school graduation and the day before I threw my friend a baby shower and resigned from work. It was two days before we moved. It was a stressful time, and then we wound up going to Z's parents' house to borrow their truck to help with the move. So there we sit, after a long drive, on my birthday, in his parents' living room listening to his dad yell (literally) about how we wants to sue the mayor of his city over lumber on his own property. It's a long story. But, anyway, I felt like my birthday was ruined. It was absolutely the very last way I wanted to celebrate my birthday. (Although later that night Z gave me my gifts. He'd gotten me some of our wedding china and a beautiful magazine rack/table I'd registered for.) Anyway, I guess Z's better off not expecting anything out of his day. That way it's just a regular day. We got up this morning, I gave him his gifts (a picture he wanted for his office and new sunglasses to replace the ones that got ruined at Six Flags), he went to work early to finish a project, we will go to the gym tonight, then we'll have beef tips and rice for dinner. Exciting, I know.

Sometimes I complain about the kids around here, but the cutest little boy (OK, not really. "My boys" I babysat for are totally cuter. See my wedding pictures on Facebook for proof.) just came up to ask me to buy cookie dough for his school. I'm a big believer in buying that stuff even if I don't necessarily want/need it. It's for a good cause, right? And sometimes it's free, because at my old office, some woman sold me popcorn from her son's boy scouts troop, and she must have lost my check, because it never cleared the bank. But the popcorn sure was good…

OK, I totally forgot to mention this yesterday, but how gross is this? I walked into the bathroom yesterday and sitting on top of the toilet paper dispenser was a small tube of something. I thought to myself: someone has accidentally left something sitting here. What is it? I looked closer (although thank God I didn't touch it). It was a tube of anti-fungal cream. Seriously. I turned around and practically ran to the desk of my friend where we proceeded to try to use deductive reasoning to find out who it belonged to. I'm pretty sure we guessed the culprit.

I have to vent for a second. Even though keeping this blog does help me to get some stress out and express some creativity, the purpose of me starting it was because I was moving away from some very good friends, and they all wanted me to "keep in touch." Everyone kept telling me that they wanted to hear from me, talk to me, see me, visit with me, etc. I knew that if we didn't try hard to keep in touch, we wouldn't be friends anymore. Everyone has had friendships that were great, but eventually life causes them to just fizzle. (How many of your "best friends" from college do you really talk to, not just keep up with through Facebook?) So I told them I was going to keep this blog and they could read it to know what's going on in my life. This way I wouldn't have to tell the same stories a hundred times, forget who I told them to, inadvertently leave people out of the loop, etc. I for one would love it if more of my friends kept blogs so I could know what was going on in their lives. So imagine my disappointment when, from some of my friends, I hear those vague questions like, "So what's new with you?" Uh, really? Or, "So, what ever happened with that house you liked a few weeks ago?" Or, my personal favorite, "Has Z taken the bar yet?" Seriously? I thought you wanted to keep in touch. (Sidebar: if you're reading this, I'm clearly not talking about you.) Anyway, it isn't that I didn't want my friends to call me and actually talk to me – I'm not being anti-social or trying to prevent conversations. I was trying to make it easier for you to not just forget about me once I moved away. I want all of my friends, old and new, to be in my life and know what is going on in my life. So, if you do read this entry, although you obviously haven't read any others in at least 2 months, don't stop calling me or emailing me. Just know that I am not keeping you out of the loop – it's all right here!

This is the Week

Today I'm thankful because:

1. This is the week! On Friday we should find out if Z passed the bar exam. If so, we will most likely make an offer on the lake house.

2. I had a great weekend full of nice weather, relaxation, and excitement about the house.

3. I have wonderful leftovers from Cracker Barrel for lunch (hey, it's the little things).

4. My mother and stepdad like the lake house as much as we do.

5. I didn't run out of gas driving home for lunch. Seriously, I felt like Kramer testing the car to see how much father he can go once the needle's on E.


This weekend was great. It was the perfect mixture of lazy and fun so that I don't feel exhausted, and I don't feel like there was no weekend. It started sort of early, which always helps, because on Friday my office went to tour the Hyundai plant. That means we essentially stopped work at lunchtime and never looked back. We ate pizza and then left for the plant, then we were able to go home when we returned to the office (around 3:45.) The tour itself was actually very interesting and fun. The drama leading up to it – not so much.

That morning, my office friend decided she had too much work to do, and she shouldn't go. Well, my take-it-personally boss got her feelings hurt and went on a rampage about "I didn't plan this for myself. It's for the people. You should participate and have fun." I sort of agreed, because we were all carpooling to the plant, and she was my ride. So here I was with a friend who was upset about being yelled at for being a diligent worker, and a furious boss, and no ride. It's not like I have other friends here – I pretty much don't. So, somehow, I wind up in the Mercedes with the 2 co-owners of the company and the son of one of them (who happens to be the man who recruited me.) I was upset at first, because I'd been left out to dry pretty much, and was now forced into an awkward ride with the big bosses, but then I quickly realized I had the best seat in the house, by far. They are old (one of them is 70) and funny, and most of all, not psycho like the other boss, who is not a co-owner. So I rode with them, and we talked about everything but work, which was delightful. They opened the car door for me, treated me nicely, etc. Everything was the exact opposite of my loud-mouth bossy other boss. Then we went on the tour, which was fun, and rode back to the office. Like I said, we were able to leave after that, so I got home around 4:30, which was great! I cleaned up the apartment a little, but I wound up falling asleep on the couch until Z got home from work.

Saturday was a nice day too. We looked at houses, watched way too much football (I can tolerate about 1.5 games a day, nothing more), and I was able to catch up on my magazines. I also did laundry (hooray) and cleaned up other things too. That always makes me feel better.

Sunday we were running a little late, so we didn't make it to Sunday School (it is at 8:30), but because of that we had time for breakfast before church. After church we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch and still made it home before noon (early services are nice in some respects.) I cleaned up some, because my mother and stepdad were coming over on their way home from the beach. They were stopping by so they could see the lake house with us, and also to give Z his birthday present (tomorrow is his birthday.) They came over around 2:30, and we drove over to the lake house. They really liked it! It was the first time Z and I had been inside of it, as I've explained before, but we're sold. In our price range, and after all the research we've done, we know this is the best house we'll find, probably. It's on 1/5 an acre, lake view, new construction, all brick, nice landscaping, sprinkler system, stainless steel appliances, fireplace (OK – we discovered it's actually electric, but it looks pretty nice), good closet space, etc. It's a lovely home, and it made me feel nice that my mother liked it too. Confirmation is always nice. We spent a long time in the house checking out everything, and I know that Z and I will feel comfortable making an offer on it on Friday.

After they left, Z and I went to Cracker Barrel for dinner, and it was so good – I love that place, and somehow (I guess because I had the "Sunday Dinner" special) it wound up costing us $2 less than our "cheap" lunch at the Mexican restaurant. Hooray.

We were so excited talking about all the new things we'll need for the house that we decided to go to Lowe's after dinner and start pricing things. Z studied the outdoor storage buildings in the parking lot (the lake house has no outdoor storage) to see what exactly was needed to duplicate one, then we went inside to price the materials. Thankfully, Z will be able to make one for about half price. (Double thankfully, I'm married to a man who can/will build things!) We looked at refrigerators that match the beautiful stainless steel appliances already in the house, blinds for the windows, paint colors, etc. It's so much fun to dream about all the possibilities. We're also focusing on upgrades – not just things that we would like, but things that would help us sell the house when we're ready for our next move. Z wants to put in a pretty tile backsplash in the kitchen, and things like that. We agreed that no matter what, if we get that house, all our Saturdays will be taken up for the next year! (And this with a completely move-in-ready house!) I really hope this one works out. I'm not sure if my little heart can handle another beautiful house being sold out from under us.

Windows

Today I am thankful because:

1. I am feeling quite calm about the bar results, my test results, the house, everything. It could be because I'm listening to a cd called "Calming Massage" right now, but I think it's also because sometimes you just have to let go. That's very difficult for me to do, but what's done is done, and we can't change it now. When all you can do is wait, you might as well let go. So, we'll either get positive bar results in 8 more days and make an offer on the "lake house" or get not-so-great news and probably make an offer anyway. We've run the numbers based on our current salaries, so we know we can do it either way. So I've let go.

2. Today feels sort of like Friday because tomorrow we're going on a "field trip," if you will. My company is going to tour the Hyundai plant, and we're leaving at lunchtime. Yes, I know that's pretty dorky, but it's better than sitting at my desk all day.

3. This weather calms my mind and makes me a lot less restless. Fall is my season.

4. Z's diplomas are ready to be picked up! I am hoping they look great, and I know he'll be excited to get them hung in his office. (And I'm excited about the prospect of skipping the gym to go get them.)

5. My mother is coming over this weekend to celebrate Z's birthday and see the lake house. (I'm going to quit putting quotations around the lake house, because it's a fitting name, and I'm officially using it to describe that house now.)


Where I grew up, you could be outside or leave all the windows open, and it would still be silent. My mother's house is isolated, on top of a mountain, surrounded by acres and acres of woods. Ever since moving out, opening the windows is a last attempt at comfort. First of all, in dorms and apartments, there is no cross breeze. There are only windows on one side, so what's the point of opening the windows? It doesn't let you breathe in fresh air, and it doesn't provide any relief in the fall and spring months. Instead, the dorm or apartment would just get really loud. One exception was our nice apartment in Tuscaloosa. We were on the 3rd floor, so we usually didn't hear too much noise with our windows open, but then again, that was just a quiet apartment complex. Currently, we live in an apartment with about a hundred kids, and our apartment also backs up to the backyards of a subdivision with kids. Now, I like kids, but I do not like someone else's kids shrieking while jumping on a trampoline about 10 feet from my window. Also, I think I mentioned once before my downstairs neighbors and how they don't realize how loud they are when they're on their porch. At our old apartment, the floors of the porches were concrete. Here, they're slats of wood like a real porch. That means that when those people are on their porch, they might as well be on mine. This is one reason I can't wait to be in a house of our own, and the lake house neighborhood was extremely quiet. We've gone there 3 times to look in the windows (relax – it's vacant – it's a new construction), walk the property lines, etc. Each time we've been there, you hear birds, and… nothing else. Z and I both grew up like that, and it's been a very long time since I've experienced quiet like that. (Remember my next-door hillbillies? I know you do.) I crave a quiet porch swing with a magazine and a gentle breeze. That sounds like heaven. (And if God wants a lake in the backyard, so be it.)

Today was much better

Today I'm thankful because:

1. Last night I was so upset after work (read yesterday's blog) that Z said we should get pizza and rent movies instead of going to the gym. Sounded like a good idea to me, so we just chilled at home, and it was wonderful.

2. This morning I had a conversation with my boss where I told she admitted she thanks God for me everyday and thoroughly appreciates my hard work. She said I was doing a fantastic job and my attitude and willingness to help is refreshing. Wow – who knew?

3. Because of that conversation, I mentioned that I'd been finding quite a few errors in our magazines, after they'd been printed. However, the head of editorial is very territorial, and I'd gotten in trouble before for catching mistakes before they printed. I pointed out that I have copy editing experience and would be more than willing to read all copy before it goes to the printer, and the two of them worked it out so that I can copy edit now. This is great because I will feel more useful, I won a battle, and they will see more of my skills.

4. The weather outside makes me happy, even though it's overcast, because it's cool.

5. I paid bills last night. I know: why would anyone be thankful for that? Well, first of all, I'm thankful that I can pay bills, but also I love the process of it. I don't pay bills online because I love sorting through the bills, writing checks, seeing tangible evidence of goods we've used and how much it all costs. I believe it helps keep me grounded with how blessed we are and how everything's turning around now that we've both had our jobs for a few months. We're getting back on our feet, and paying bills helps me stay grateful for it.

I really want a day to stay home to do laundry. For the past two days, I have started laundry in the morning before work, switched it to the dryer during the 25 minutes I'm at home for lunch, stopped the dryer, and began it again when I get off work (our dryer is broken and doesn't turn off automatically; you have to set a timer and physically stop it by opening the door.) I am a methodical person, in case you haven't picked up on that already (I am Methodist, after all), and I like to do things in a logical manner, but also as slowly as I want. I wake up early in the morning so that I have 20-30 minutes to read news, eat slowly, deliberate over my outfit, etc. I don't like to be rushed (hence all my posts about evenings spoiled by the gym). So I really don't like doing laundry like that. I would rather do 5 loads on one Saturday, but two days ago neither one of us had anything to wear to the gym because laundry hadn't been done in so long. The lesson here is that I like things to happen on my time table, but who doesn't, I suppose?

Ready to Go

Today I am thankful because:

1. Last night when we were over at the "lake house" looking around, a neighbor walked over to talk to us. She had all kinds of useful information (like property lines, neighbors, whose pier is whose) because she and her husband have lived there since 1980. She was very nice, telling us all about the builder, the home, the neighborhood, etc. Z asked her questions about the lake, the property, the pine trees that we want to cut down (hey, I love trees and will plant some others in their place, but pines are too dangerous next to your home), etc. She was very helpful.

2. Today my family started talking about Christmas plans, which makes me very excited. I love Christmas!

3. I might be in a new house with enough time to decorate for fall (for a month maybe). That would make me very happy to have pumpkins on our front steps, etc. (I really use "etc." too often.) But there is honestly no point in decorating the apartment. Last fall, all I did was change the centerpiece to a pretty bowl full of bright, tiny gourds. It was beautiful, but here, it would just get in my way. Frown.

4. I am listening to Billy Joel's greatest hits at work. And next is The Mamas and the Papas – also greatest hits. You can't beat that.

5. Last night I got my new Southern Living magazine in the mail. This is my favorite magazine, and not just because I did an internship there the summer before I graduated (although it is pretty cool to recognize all the names on the masthead of a giant publication like that). It's just the quintessential journal for all things Southern. Classic recipes, sound gardening advice, pretty and easy decorating tips: it is information I can actually use, not just read about and forget. I love magazines, and I subscribe to about a dozen, but that is by far my favorite. Now if I only had a hammock to go read it in.


Before we went to the gym last night, Z and I wanted to go check out a new house we'd seen online. Pictures of houses online are so misleading. The photographer is either so tight to the house that they crop out the bright pink monstrosity beside it, or they take the interior pictures while hanging out a window so the rooms look bigger. It's easy to like a house online, but we go visit each house before we make our agent take us there, because chances are we will hate it, and we start to feel like jerks for making him drive us to homes that we immediately don't like. I mean, talk about wasting someone's time. So, anyway, we were headed to go find a new house, but we accidentally turned onto the wrong road, which took us close by the "lake house." So we decided to swing by and walk the property again. That's when we met the neighbor. She was so kind. God bless the friendly people who walk across the street to greet potential new neighbors.

After talking with that nice lady for a while and thoroughly inspecting the lot, we drove to the other house, which looked very nice online: 2-car garage, lovely landscaping, etc. But, alas, it is very tight with the other houses in the neighborhood. It still looked very nice from the outside, though, so we probably will get our agent to make an appointment for us to tour it. But I think our plan now is to wait the 10 more days until bar results and make an offer on the "lake house."

Once we'd seen both houses, we drove to the gym. We didn't get there until 7:00, which means we didn't get home until almost 8:00. Thankfully I cooked chili two nights ago, so we had leftovers and I didn't have to start cooking that late.

I talked to my mother after dinner and asked her to drive to Prattvegas (well, the "lake house" isn't technically in Prattvegas, but you can bet we will still call it that…) to see the house. We don't want to be in the situation again where we have to make an offer on a house that no one in our family has looked at yet. I want my mother, stepfather, brother, and sister to come see it with level-headed eyes, if you will, and give their opinions. So, if we do that next weekend, we want to get our agent to take us to the house sometime this week, considering we haven't even been inside yet. (Of course, on a shady day with no glares on the windows, you can see almost the whole house by peering through windows. It's a new construction, so it's not like there are window treatments.)

I have just had another "encounter" with my boss. She might be the absolute rudest person I've ever met, and I cannot stand the way she shouts at people. Usually it's not me because I try my hardest to just stay away from her. But about 5 times now (in less than 2 months) I have been on the receiving end of one of her tirades. She gets in your face and yells and shouts and waves her arms. All over nothing. There is never anything to get upset about. This time, it was because I'd given a stack of papers to a lady down the hall, not her, even though I was specifically told to do so. (Oh yeah, she's 65 years old and slightly forgetful, you might say.) It wasn't a stack of confidential papers, and they weren't lost. They were just sitting on the wrong desk for 45 minutes. She also shouts in front of lots of people whenever she gets the chance. This time it was in front of just two people, but it's a small building and I'm not kidding when I say she's the loudest person I've ever heard, so chances are good that the whole damn company heard her. She threw her pen on the table and shouted, "Why did you do that!?" I just stared at her in disbelief and answered, "You told me to." Well, she didn't like that.

I can't wait to get my test results back. I just refuse to believe that a job has to equal torture, that you have no choice but to put up with a crappy job. I would like to hold on to the hope that there is a job for me out there where I can be respected and even valued, where I can breathe easily without worrying about pissing off an irrational hot-head (that's 2 jobs in a row now), where I can prosper (yes, it would be nice if you didn't pay me the bare minimum) and grow (please stop making me do your grunt work; I'm more qualified to do your job than you are.) I don't want to hate my job! I want to love my job! I want to be inspired to do great work, not feel like I hate to survive the day and nothing more. I need to go back to the top and read my list again.

(I write this throughout my work day. This should explain the difference in my tone. My outlook changes with each long hour.)

Nice Weekend

Today I am thankful because:

1. My test went very well! I was extremely nervous all morning, but out of 100 questions, I felt completely confident on the majority, and pretty sure of all the rest. I think there were only about 5 questions where I just took a guess.

2. We have expanded our house search to another county. We'd originally not looked there because we'd heard the Prattvegas school system was so much better, and although we don't plan on having kids in this first house, we don't want anything like that to damper our re-sell possibilities. We've noticed, however, that houses seem to be selling there just as well as in Prattvegas, and it's literally just across the interstate, so it's not a location problem.

3. I have someone at work with whom I can share my frustrations. I will miss her once I escape, and I hope she won't be far behind me.

4. Only 11 days until bar results (and approximately 5 weeks until my results)!

5. A new house we've found is closer to work and has a view of the lake… who knew we could afford a view of the lake? (I didn't say a water-front house.)


I had a pretty nice weekend. Friday, in order to cheer ourselves up about the house we lost, as well as discuss our other options, Z and I went out to dinner at Carrabba's. I love that place! We had a very nice meal talking over what was not perfect about the other house (there really were some things we weren't thrilled about, and it helped to point them out) and what our next move was going to be.

Like I listed above, we've decided to look in the neighboring county for houses. Prattvegas is pretty much in a bottom corner of its county, so there are two others very close by. It's not that we're looking farther away; we're just looking on the other side of the interstate. So, after dinner (and a quick trip to the pet store where I was horrified to watch 3 fish try to rip their brother to pieces) we went home and looked up a bunch of new houses to look at.

Saturday was exam day. I woke up with enough time to glance through my materials again, but mostly just time to get worked up. I obsess and get nerves on top of nerves in situations like that. But I arrived at the test site with plenty of time and waited in line to get in the door. It was held in a junior high's cafeteria, and it was packed. We had to sit on those stupid mushroom stools (as my mother calls them) which was ridiculously uncomfortable. We were allotted three hours, but I got finished in one. I left feeling very confident and generally good about myself and my new-found opportunities. Driving home, however, I looked over and there, in the next lane on the interstate, was my current boss. I started to laugh and had to fight myself back from rolling down the window to shout at her what I'd just done. Take that!

That evening Z went to a party for our friends. I'd already planned not to go because of the exam, and I was just happy to stay home for a while and read magazines that had been piling up. It was wonderful.

Sunday, Z and I took our list of homes and started the elimination process. Here's how we operate when searching for houses: run a search on our agent's site, save the best ones (maybe 20) to our "saved list," go through them again to delete any houses with too few square feet, too ugly kitchen, too small backyard, etc (now we're down to about 12). Then we get directions to each (that's the hard part – agents don't want you to have directions because they want to drive you there. So sometimes it's hard to find these places, since we haven't lived here that long, and we've never had anything to do with this new county) and drive there. This is the stage where we eliminate the most, because even if it has granite countertops and hardwood floors, we will hate living there if it's in a cookie-cutter neighborhood, or if all the houses are close enough to shake hands through the windows. Also, we eliminate it if there's a cliff in the backyard, or if the "deck" covers the entire yard. (Seriously, we've seen these – who wants a wooden yard?) S

o yesterday, for example, we started out with about 20 new listings on our saved list. We actually visited about 12. One of those is a possibility. One other was really nice, but it was in one of those brand new neighborhoods that looks like it was dropped out of the sky, and they're not done yet, meaning we'll have construction directly across the street. The house that's an actual possibility is pretty nice. It's a new construction, sits on about half an acre, and has a pretty decent view of a lake. It's not lake-front, but you can definitely see the water. And the back porch is covered, something the other house lacked. We have not been inside this particular home before, but in a different neighborhood we toured a home with the same floor plan. I liked that house a lot, but it had about 100 square feet less, and it was just too small. So, we sort of know what this one's like, even though we haven't been inside yet.

Regardless of where we decide to buy a house, the fact remains that we will be moving soon! I am more excited about this than I can begin to explain! This apartment has served its purpose nicely, but it is so much smaller than what we're used to. When we're at home at the same time (which is pretty much all the time) we are usually in the same room, simply because the kitchen, dining room, and living room are all the same room… If we want to watch different things on TV, whoever goes into the bedroom to watch TV has to shut the door. I hate "open floor plans."

Even though I hate moving, the only reason I hate it is because it's always been sort of sad. Think about it: I moved from home to college – that was sad; from college back home – well, home had changed; home to college and back a few dozen more times; to the good apartment in Tuscaloosa – not so sad, but still temporary; Tuscaloosa to Prattvegas – left good friends, left good job, left good apartment, yes, that was sad. This will be the first time I move into a place I'll stay in for more than a year. That's pretty exciting. I'm also glad that this move will be an in-town, not-in-one-day move. Hooray! That means we don't have to enlist a dozen family members to arrive at the crack of dawn and work non-stop all day while bickering and hurrying and dropping. And – the best part – we'll probably be there for at least three years!

Disappointment and Anger (unrelated)

Today I'm thankful because:
1. It's Friday! This week has been painfully slow, and I'm so glad it's almost over.
2. Tomorrow is my exam. I can't say I'm "prepared" because I don't know how to prepare. There's no study guide, and all I can do is read about the things I think might be on the test. So although I'm not prepared, I'm ready.
3. Exactly 2 weeks until the bar results
4. Did I mention it's Friday?
5. I know that there is a better house out there for us.

You read #5 correctly. We did not get the house. I guess the other offer was just better, but I don't know how much better it could have been if it took them 3 days to decide. Anyway, I guess the search is back on.

I would not expect you to believe me if I claimed to not be disappointed. I'm trying not to be, but I can't help it. We'll be starting back at square one because every other house we had on our list was pretty much removed when we saw that house. They didn't measure up at all. Our agent is going to hate us because I just got a lot pickier. I won't be able to stop myself from comparing every other house to that one.

I've been thinking a lot about how often I move. One thing I hate about moving is all the address changing you have to do. For those of you who haven't moved recently, you have completely forgotten what a hassle it can really be. I have moved (or moved Z) so many times that I know I've probably lost all kinds of important correspondence along the way. From what I can tell so far, the Prattvegas post office seems OK, but the Tuscaloosa post office is completely incompetent. Not only do they not forward our mail, but they do forward other people's mail to us. The whole time we lived at our nice apartment there, I received some other woman's bank statements. Her last name was my maiden name, but the mail was not even forwarded from Z's old address. She lived on a completely different side of town, and somehow they decided she and I must be the same person. I always marked it "Please Forward" and stuck it right back in the mail. One time, I even circled her name and wrote in big block letters: JANA IS NOT THE SAME NAME AS JENNIFER. STOP FORWARDING THIS TO ME. Still, every month, without fail, there would be this bank statement with a yellow sticker at the bottom accusing me of not informing my bank of my new address. It wasn't even my bank! Go figure. Anyway, that's just one example. But I am a magazine maniac. I've always been interested in them, and I've worked in the magazine industry since before I even graduated, with an internship, so I love magazines. I have about a dozen subscriptions, and it takes a long time for an address change to be processed with them. Sometimes you can miss 2 issues of each because they print address labels so far in advance. So, it's very helpful to know your future address so you can submit your change as soon as possible because, for those of you who don't know, the post office doesn't forward magazines. Now, what kind of sense does that make? They will forward the wrong person's mail and even junk mail. But a magazine that cost money – that they don't see fit to forward? I can just picture the letter carrier when they get magazines addressed to someone who has moved. That would be like Christmas to them, because they'd just kick back in their white part truck-part moon mobile and enjoy my Southern Living, or Traditional Home, or whatever. That makes me sad.

It's a good thing that my exam is this weekend because I don't know how much longer I can take it here. I just got yelled at for misspelling a word which is clearly spelled in our own style guide created specifically for our company. I had been asked to proofread one of our new media kits. When I was finished, I was informed I'd spelled a word incorrectly, and when I argued that I'd spelled it per the style guide, I got yelled at that she'd had someone else look it up in the dictionary and it was spelled differently. So I asked, doesn't our personal, created-by-us/for-us style guide come first? She narrowed her eyes and hissed at me, not when I say it doesn't. WTF? I honestly said it doesn't matter to me one way or the other and walked out. I cannot stand her attitude. She is rude, disrespectful, and full of herself. If I wouldn't starve, I would have quit a month ago. (I stopped blogging about it for the most part because I started to feel too negative. But sometimes you just have to let it out.)

Unfortunately, after taking the exam, I think it takes 4-6 weeks before I know the grade. Time can't move fast enough for me right now, in regards to this exam.

Patriot Day

Today I am thankful because:

1. I live in the best country in the world.

2. In this election, things are getting ugly, but today we're not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans.

3. In seven years, another attack hasn't occurred, thanks to our fearless leader and his serious and prompt response.

4. There are some heroes among us willing to step up and fight for all of us who enjoy our freedom.

5. I believe we will never have to feel that fear and panic that we felt seven years ago.


Still no word on the house yet. Our agent called around lunchtime to say he hadn't heard from the sellers' agent yet. I take that as a good sign, but not too good, because I don't want to get my hopes up. He says he should be able to tell us something by this evening.

I just found out that a friend of mine from my old job (who is in a new job himself now) has been extremely ill for many weeks now and has just received a frightening diagnosis. Please say a little prayer for him. He's been out of work for over a month now in and out of the hospital. I hope he is well taken care of, financially, physically, and emotionally. My exam is Saturday.

I'm slightly nervous, partly because lots of exciting things are going on right now, and partly because there's a lot riding on this. I can't mess this up, because I can't bear the thought of not escaping this job! I try not to talk about it b/c I'm trying to stay positive, but it still sucks as much as ever.

The Longest Day

Today I am thankful because:
1. We stayed true to our intentions last night making the offer. We didn't pay more than we would have if there were no other offers already on the table. We just offered what we thought was reasonable.

2. The job news in my latest entry! That would be incredible and unbelievably great if that worked out.

3. I had a fun and relaxing lunch with 2 people from work. (I used to lunch all the time with friends from my last job. Here I just want to escape, but sometimes it's nice to try to make better friends.)

4. All the support I've received during this exciting but stressful time has been so wonderful. I'm glad I have family and friends who care about me and are happy for me.

5. I know that whether we get this house or not (I didn't capitalize it that time) it is all going to be OK, and when it comes down to it, we will get the house we're supposed to get. I'm thankful I have that comfort.


Today has been some kind of stressful. I've just been on pins and needles waiting to hear from the Realtor. The latest we'll hear anything is Friday morning, I think, but I want to know! I've been trying to stay positive and tell myself that everything happens for a reason, etc., but the bottom line is that I am just plain hoping that this is the right house for us and that it works out. I've been trying to get my mind off of it today.

I went to lunch with two friends in "my department." (I don't really have a department. They're in advertising, although they're not sales. I'm marketing, but I just happen to sit in the same section of cubes with them, so they've become my friends.) One of them had a birthday last week, and we just now went out to lunch to celebrate. We drove to Prattvegas for Olive Garden. That is a brand new one so the servers don't hate their jobs yet, and it's downright pleasant. Lunch was wonderful, and it felt so nice to talk to them without whispering. Before we ever got our food though, one of them picked up her glass and it slipped right out of her hand and crashed down onto the bread plate. Those glasses are really thick and heavy, so of course the plate broke. Her drink spilled all over the place. She didn't get cut, and we were all laughing about it, but 4 managers started swarming. They moved us to another table while other people cleaned up. I think my friend was asked about 85 times if she was OK. (All this and they didn't even realize I am married to an almost-attorney [16 days until we find out] so I can't imagine how paranoid they would have been otherwise. How silly). Anyway, that was lovely, and I forgot about the house situation for about 45 minutes. I guarantee that was the only 45minutes of my waking hours today that I haven't been thinking about it!

Today was excruciatingly slow…

Slightly Overshadowed

I forgot! Last night Z also told me that he had been in the offices of the people who do for his department what I am taking a test for. He asked them if they had any advice for his wife who will be taking the test this weekend. They said it had been such a long time since they took it that they didn't really have any advice, but they asked questions about me. At the end of the conversation, they told Z that one of their people was about to retire and that as long as I did relatively well on the exam, I could work there. What's more, they want to hire someone they can groom to take the hiring person's position within about 3 years. So, it was slightly overshadowed by all the house drama last night, but still excellent news!

Crazy Night

OMG - Z got home from work last night and told me he'd just spoken with the Realtor and someone had put an offer in on the house. So we met our Realtor at the house again, did a much more serious walk-through including going in the attic, checking the floor for bad places hidden by furniture, etc. We ultimately decided to not let the other offer influence the money we were willing to spend, but to go ahead and offer what we would have anyway, just 20 days earlier than we wanted to. It was nerve-wracking for sure. We were at the Realtor's office until 10:00 last night. We offered what we felt comfortable with. Our Realtor really tried to make us offer full price, but we were just not willing to do that, even with another offer on the table. We have no idea what the other offer is (Z tends to think it's a friend or someone putting in an extremely low offer just to get us to act, since the seller's agent knew we existed and had asked to be alerted if another offer came in; then one came in the very next day...) but I'm hoping that the other people, if they were real and genuine, would have made a reasonable offer like ours. We, however, offered to pay a portion of closing costs, which, in case you're not currently buying or selling a house, is usually all paid for by the seller in this market. All we can do is hope that makes our offer slightly more attractive.

Our Realtor seemed to think there was practically no way in the world our offer would be accepted, and I hate that because this was supposed to be exciting. We never truly expected another buyer with this house, so we thought we could do the traditional offers and counter-offers, but that got all messed up, and I feel weird about it. I don't know if it's how I truly feel or if I'm just feeding off our Realtor's attitude, but I feel like we won't get it. Z feels like we probably will. We should find out today.

There's no way I'm getting any work done today...

Today I'm thankful because:

1. Traffic was not an issue at all this morning, and that puts me in a much better mood by the time I arrive at work.

2. Z was able to find out how much the sellers of The House paid for it four years ago. This will help us at the negotiation table quite a bit.

3. Nobody got hurt during the scuffle outside of my office today (read below.)

4. We didn't have to go to the gym last night since Z went for a haircut after work and it wound up taking an hour.

5. I had a lovely phone conversation with my friend I used to work with in Tuscaloosa.

So around 11:00 this morning, or slightly before, someone went into the pawn shop located a block or two away from my office, and they stole something – or tried to, I'm not sure. Employees of the pawn shop chased the man all the way to our office building which is on top of a hill. People from my office started hearing shouts outside and two of our guys went outside to help wrangle the bad guy. They were pretty much just trying to keep him contained until the police could arrive. Well, I was unaware of all this, of course. My cube has a window out to the side of our building where no one ever goes. There's a steep embankment, and then a very busy street leading to I-65. The window's not on the side of the building where the door is, or the parking lot, so there is never anyone at my window. But all of a sudden I heard someone shout, "I'm gonna f*** you up, n*****!" I spin around in my chair to see a man jump off the embankment into the street. This is a busy one-way street leading to the interstate, but thankfully there must have been a red light for the traffic coming from downtown because there was no traffic. He fell in the street (it's a wonder he didn't break an ankle – it was like John Wilkes Booth leaping ungracefully to the stage) but got up and kept running. My department was huddled around the windows watching as 5 or 6 men were chasing him. It was madness! Then my phone rang and I had to leave the excitement, but I found out later that he ran onto the overpass across the interstate and – I suppose to keep the police from recognizing him from the description given – he threw his shirt and hat off the overpass onto the interstate (which I understand is a felony.) Then the police showed up and arrested him. Crazy. Last week there was a homeless man sleeping in the lawn next to our parking lot. You gotta love working in the city.

Playing it Cool

Today I am thankful because:
1. We met with a loan officer and feel more convinced than ever that we should own The House.

2. I heard a very good and well-timed sermon yesterday titled Conquering Complaining. In short, change crappy situations if you can, but if you can't, get over yourself and be thankful for all the wonderful things in your life. I'm trying.

3. We went to a new Sunday School class and it was much more our speed with mature adults, a teacher who seems to be secure in his faith, and potential friends.

4. We had a good talk with our Realtor, who I think we can trust. He made me feel better about what we have in mind time-wise versus what people expect (and they jibe better than I thought they would).

5. Mostly I am thankful that Z and I are equally in love with this house. It's not that one of us loves it and the other is settling to make them happy. We are both genuinely excited about the prospect of this house being The House.

Yesterday we went to church and tried out a new Sunday School class. What a relief – it was so much better. That's a class I can see us enjoying and growing in. I think there are potential friends there, too. One couple invited us to sit with them in church, which was nice, considering the other classes we'd attended seem to be full of cliques.

The sermon was also very nice, as mentioned above. However, someone around me smelled horrendous and made it hard for me to concentrate (obviously I didn't Conquer Complaining while listening to the sermon – it takes longer than that). Also, some old woman kept shoving me farther and farther down the pew to make room for her tardy husband. (Yes, she literally shoved me. During a prayer.)

After church we had lunch and changed clothes to go house hunting again. We wound up seeing about 10 or 12 houses. Most of them were big fat "no"s. A few were kept on the list, pretty much out of my desire to be polite. But just The House remains on our real list. The others just do not compare – they aren't even close. The space, the price, the looks, the acreage, the location: it's all almost perfect. So we're feeling much more serious about it now. At first we were in love with it, but we had a dozen other houses on our list to go tour. Well most of those were really bad, some were OK-ish, but none were as great as The House.

In case you're not keeping up with the countdown (what's wrong with you?) it's still 18 days until bar results. So now it's just a tense wait…

We met with the loan officer today at lunch. We pretty much got the news we expected, except that starting Oct. 1st, the percentage required for down payment on our particular loan changes, and we'd be about 30 days late to take advantage of the lower price. But other than that, we were not surprised by anything, which is just the way I like it. Today was not an official pre-approval, but just a running of hypothetical numbers. She says the next step is to find a house. Of course, we have found a house, but – couldn't you tell – we're playing it cool.

House Hunt Continues

Tomorrow we're going to look at more houses with our Realtor. So far pretty much everything is a no.

I'm home at 4:59!

Today I'm thankful because:
1. This was a short week and – surprise – it's already Friday! I have never ever been so glad to reach the weekend as I am now. Especially after a day like yesterday when I was being completely disrespected. (And I left work at 4:15!)
2. We got in touch with a loan officer who has already pre-approved us for enough for any house we could want.
3. A woman at work let me know all the secrets to attending high school football games in Prattvegas, including just how early you have to show up in order to get a seat.
4. We don't go to the gym on Fridays!
5. Even though it took me about 5 minutes to thread a needle before I could sew two buttons on this morning at the last minute, I was still not late for work!

I meant to post this last night

Today I'm thankful because:

1. I was able to pay off my whole credit card balance after Z received his reimbursement check yesterday. Let me explain: Z and I are both "no-balance" folks. We have both always paid off every cent each month, and not paying was not an option. But when we moved here and were unemployed for so long, all of a sudden the only option was to pay the minimum (the thought makes me cringe.) Then it grew and grew for four months. Then he had to put the entire Colorado trip onto his credit card, and he didn't get reimbursed until after the bill was due. So this was a huge deal. And I'm incredibly grateful that we finally got that check. (Especially because we will be getting approved for a loan for the house soon and don't need a huge balance on our cards…)
2. That house is still on the market.This weekend we are looking at tons of houses with our Realtor. Hopefully we see some more that we really like, just in case the other one sells in the next 22 days.
3. The days are starting to get a little bit shorter – I love fall!
4. Yesterday I finally got official notification that I am scheduled to take an exam for a job with the state (Public Information Specialist.) It's a little PR, it's a little writing and editing, it's a little marketing. I'm all around suited! The test is in two Saturdays.

Kitchen Duty

Today I'm thankful for:
1. Z finally got his reimbursement check for his trip to Colorado (yes, it's been a month)! What a relief!
2. Today being hump day – almost the weekend again!
3. Making friends at work. I went to lunch with some women today, and I'm starting to feel more comfortable around them. It takes me longer than most.
4. Our ability to get Z's diplomas framed. Even though it was crazy expensive, they will improve the look of his vacant office and make him feel proud every time he sees them. I'm glad that as tight as things feel, we are still blessed.
5. The Prattvegas high school football team being pretty talented (they won some championship or other…) because this year we won't have the spare money to go to many, if any, Alabama games. This will hopefully make Z feel better, and it will let us become more involved with our new community.

I have volunteered for Kitchen Duty at work. Each month they ask for volunteers to be responsible for the kitchen ("break room" at normal workplaces) for the whole month. I figured this would let me leave my desk 10 minutes early each day, and earn brownie points too. So I'm in charge of turning off coffee pots, pouring out old coffee, wiping off counters, tables, stove, and microwave. I'm not saying this is a glamorous job, but, like I said, it's better than sitting at my desk. A weird twist to this situation is that nobody here uses daycare for their kids. The kids go to school and then miraculously show up here at work. Out of earshot from their parents. Running through the halls. Splashing water in the bathroom. And, you got it, watching cartoons and eating snacks in the kitchen. Around 3:30 or so each and every afternoon, at least 5 kids, sometimes many more, begin shouting and running and eliciting threats from their mothers. It's slightly less than professional. And it makes it more difficult to clean up the kitchen. Personally I think that they should clean up after themselves or, if they're too young, their parents should clean up after them. Wiping down the counters is one thing. Sweeping up crushed animal crackers at a workplace is another. This isn't daycare.

I got caught in the bathroom one day when one mother chose that particular room as time-out. I was standing at the sink washing my hands when I hear a loud shriek. I just rolled my eyes at the kids in the kitchen. Then the door banged open and an angry mother dragged her daughter AND SON into the ladies restroom to yell at them. She didn't care that I was there or that I desperately wanted out. Talk about awkward. Work something out with a family member if you can't afford daycare, or just work part time and quit at 3:00 each day, but in my opinion, bringing your kids to work really shouldn't be an option. It's too disruptive for other workers, and as the parent, you can't be focused on your job either if you're worried about the kids getting you fired.

Hillbillies Next Door

Overheard through my bathroom wall at 7:04 a.m.:

"Hey! Bring me somethin' to warsh my ass!"

Seriously.

House Update and Labor Day

Today I'm thankful for:
1. Gustav weakening slightly before hitting our coasts. Cuba bore the brunt, unfortunately, and broke it apart a little. It could have been much worse.
2. The next-door neighbor of the house we'd like to purchase. He offered to get his spare key and show us around when we went there without our realtor. He was kind.
3. Getting to spend Sunday afternoon with family and celebrate my mother's birthday
4. The price on that house we want dropping again. Who knows if we'll wind up getting it or not, but if we do, it will be an incredible price
5. Z's diploma finally arriving

am trying my darndest to not get too caught up in thinking about "that house." (It's already difficult to not say "our house." That's bad.) I am an intelligent person, and I know it's not wise to get emotionally attached to any particular house when house hunting, but it's hard not to get attached to this one. I haven't written about it yet, but it's perfect for us. We are so picky when we look at houses, and we've already denied 50 or more. So the fact that we think this one is perfect really means it's an amazing house. We have strict criteria, and this house meets it all. I won't go into the details because chances are good it will sell before we're ready to make an offer on it, but just know that it's beautiful, spacious, has amenities we never thought we could afford, and the price has been falling due to seller's desperation.

It's still 24 days until we get the Bar results back, and clearly we cannot make a move on any home until we know for sure that Z passed. If he passes, he gets a hefty raise (b/c then he will officially be an attorney of course). If he doesn't pass (I highly doubt that) we cannot afford a home right now and will have to wait until he re-takes the Bar in February. As long as the house is still on the market in 24 days, we'll just ask our Realtor to alert us if anyone makes an offer on it. Ideally we would like to be able to move Nov. 1. I'm hoping it will still be on the market because it's been there already for more than 2 months with no offers. I think most other people would have a problem with how far from the interstate/downtown it is, but that's perfect for us.

Believe it or not, there are other things going on besides the house hunt right now. This weekend (hooray for 3-day weekends) we celebrated my mother's birthday with the family. That was fun – we had tacos, cheesecake, and a four-layer chocolate dessert that I made. See Facebook for pictures. I love getting together with my family; they're the greatest. After that, we went to Z's parents' house. The stupid administration at his old school mailed his diploma there instead of to us (even after he called to confirm the correct address.) While there we picked up his undergraduate degree too, and we'll get both framed for his office soon.

Hope you all had a lovely Labor Day!