Life as we know it...

Little one...

Young Lady...

I dropped my coat off this afternoon to be cleaned and then to grab lunch when I noticed a little boy asking his grandpa (I'm assuming here) what the rocks are on the sidewalk, it was the salt to melt the ice. That little boy got me to thinking...as the 'kids' in my family get older I'm realizing things change more quickly than we like. My cousins middle daughter is 18 and about to graduate boot camp at Fort Jackson (February 7th!!) that makes my daughter almost 17 (in March) and looking at colleges. It's scary for her because its something new and exciting but it's also scary for me as I realize I need to let go of the little girl I once had and embrace the young adult she is becoming.

She's making big life decisions while still struggling with the trials and tribulations of all high school girls. Who is dating who, what girl "stabbed" who in the back or what subjects are causing anxiety, this being her junior year it's a very important one. As I said earlier, checking out colleges, since this year is the one that is looked at for grades, community service, extra circular it is imperative that the decisions made are the right ones. But how do you or anyone know what is right without trying and failing first? Life changes at every turn however I think the biggest changes come from growing up, the biggest of them all...graduating from high school and realizing you are becoming and adult.

Projects, projects, projects...

People typically wait until warmer weather to begin projects that require some outdoor time, sanding / painting furniture. Not me! I've decided to start working on the spare room in my home to turn it into my craft / sewing room and a place where I can wrap presents without having to tear apart my dining room to wrap. Most of the items used for either crafts or sewing are in the basement, my sewing machine is still in the box, stored in my office closet and only pulled out when I need to sew something. The wrapping paper, tape, bows and all that are in the basement, makes it a pain when I need to quickly wrap a gift.

The room I'm redoing was the room I set up for my niece and nephew when they come over but since they don't really spend the night that often I've decided to take over the room. So I've listed some furniture on a popular website for sale, created a list of projects I need to complete and the supplies I will need. Today my daughter and I spent the day running around from one place to another completing errands. In the middle of all that we visited 3 thrift stores so I could search for the table I had pictured in my mind to use for my sewing machine. We found it at the third store, thankfully, because I was beat! 

Well the table needs some love but I'm sure after sanding and painting it white, it'll be just adorable. I'm thinking about painting the legs and one of the "wings" a different color to add some interest. I figure this can be used as my sewing table and if I want to paint or hot glue something I can open a "wing" and use it then drop it when not in use. This will work...

I found a couple of ideas on Pinterest that I plan on putting into place in this room. Great way to save space and limit the amount of furniture in the room, considering the space I need to conserve all the space I can by utilizing the walls for storage. I found this great piece that can store my threads and am going to modify it slightly so it will work for my paints as well.

This is the most adorable, effective way I've found to store thread. It also adds a great bit of color to the room as well by simply displaying this way. This is also the piece I'm going to modify to fit my paints & brushes. This will eliminate a cabinet from being brought upstairs from the basement. Simplicity is key in this room because there will be enough going on in it without adding a bunch of clutter. I'll post pics as I progress.

Wish me luck! 

Merry Christmas!!

Today is the day to enjoy time with your family and loved ones, people we choose as family. I hope everyone had a wonderful day filled with love and happy times.

I'll catch up again later in the week.

Merry Christmas to all!

Holiday stress with a moody teenager...

It's just me and my daughter at home (she's 16, three months shy of 17), you would think the house would stay clean or at the very least neat. Sometimes I just want to walk around with a giant vacuum and suck everything up so it's just gone.

Until last night my kitchen was the only clean part of my house, the living room is a mess and only made worse by my daughter  and her friend working on a physics project. Somewhere along the lines on Tuesday night they ate and left the dishes on a small table in there. I didn't notice because I had not stepped foot in the living room really since Monday. Yesterday all she had to do was clean up her mess including the water bottles (one shoved under the couch and another on top of the couch). Her laptop was tossed on one of the couches which drives me NUTS! That's no way to treat an expensive piece of equipment. 

She was told to do the dishes (left in the sink since Tuesday, today is now Thursday) last night. Her response, "I'll do them when I do them", oh boy did that cause a fight! Who did she think she was talking to me, her mother, like that?? I was so floored I told her she better come right home from school, "I'm not coming right home I'm staying after to work on my project so I don't screw up my junior year like you always tell me". Let's just say at this point I was ready to toss her out in the cold, I was not going to listen to this nor deal with the attitude. We both went to bed angry and I woke up that way this morning. All things piled up and now completely stressed, aggravated and done being the maid, alarm clock and personal bank. I wish as kids the one lesson they would learn (and wish I knew when I was a kid), just do what your told or asked right away, it saves a ton of grief in the long run.

All my rambling has a point...this time of year while normally the most wonderful time of year is also very stressful for all of us, kids included. They feed off their parents moods and often wind up being in a worse one than us. She had three projects due this week, her last week in school before Winter Break...that in itself is pure stress. I get it.

I'm stressed not because of work, the last two weeks before Christmas normally slow down for me, but because I'm trying to bake cookies for everyone (70 dozen or so), make sure I have the perfect Christmas presents for everyone in my family and of course keeping the house clean. Nothing worse than a messy house with a beautiful Christmas tree front and center. 

Step back, take a breath and remember this too shall pass.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all!

Life goes on...

It seems I'm back here in the same spot I was in last year questioning where to go and what to do. I promise myself I'd write more, go out more with friends just do more for me. As life gets busier and busier it seems I do less and less for me and just barely enough to keep my head above water. Life is busy, crazy and hectic this time of year. Not enough hours in the day, always tired...

Another draft but this one from earlier this month, seems like not much has changed in theme from one year to the next. Maybe it's time I start exploring what makes me happy in relation to my career. I recently watched a Christmas movie that was about the 2,000th take on Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol", this was a Hallmark movie called "It's Christmas, Carol". Great take on the classic actually, my point is, the one line that stuck with me the most is Work to Live, Don't Live to Work. I should enjoy what I'm doing not just going through the motions to make sure my bills are paid. Why can't I love what I do and pay my bills? I think that might be the question of the century and one I'll explore if the world doesn't end on Friday as the Mayan's seem to think it will. 

Crazy but wonderful time of year.

This has been one busy, crazy, hectic year. 2011 has definitely been better than 2010. I've had my challenges, storms in August still trying to get the house together in December but overall a good year. We've settled in a bit more into our home. My daughter is a Sophomore in HS, talking about colleges, what she wants to do with her life and what I want to do with mine. 

Yes, what to do with my life. My daughter will be off to college in a few years and I will still be young enough to do what I want and have a great time doing it. First things first though...

I have a job that I thought could be a career but it turns out that it is nothing more than a job. There is really no room for advancement - not really unless I want to be an outside salesperson, I've been there over 4 years and not one raise, not even a cost of living increase, really depressing. If I completely let it get to me then I would truly be depressed, confined to a bed, on medication and not living life. It might be time to move on and that might also depress me a bit. I've come to love most of the people I work with and have developed great relationships with them. But I come first! Relationships can be maintained.

Just found this old draft, it's a year later and sad new is I do still feel the same way in year 5 with this company. Not sure why I am always anxious and antsy after a few years with one company but it has been a constant in my working life. I think if I sit here & analyze too much I'll talk myself into moving on before it's really time. As with everything in my life, it all happens for a reason. When the time is right I will feel it.

Checking out some other drafts while I'm here. :)

New Year...New Me?!

Thanks to my daughter for today's post title.

It's something everyone thinks of every New Year...What can I change? How can I be better this year? Most people make resolutions however many don't voice them and the majority will not stick to them. Changing to be a better person is one I strive for every day, year after year. I thought I was a pretty decent person, nice, polite, good to those around me. I can be opinionated but my beliefs, ideas are my own and not forced onto others around me.

Random thoughts...

• Being part of a family is not a competition
• Life is meant to be lived and enjoyed
• My daughter is my world no matter what she thinks...she is a teenager after all :D
• My niece and nephew also have a HUGE part of my heart! I couldn't imagine my life without them.
• My life is wonderful (at least until Dec 28, 10 - more about that later; maybe)
• I have a job and enjoy spending the day with the people I work with
• I will admit it...I am a TV junkie. I love movies, TV shows, almost anything except Jersey Shore and commercials.

Okay...enough for now. Complete rambling.

Happy New Year! I hope it is the best one yet. Lord knows I need it to be.

It's been a long time...

Found the house...


I bought the house I mentioned in the last post, 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths on the main road. Love, Love, Love it!!!!


We've done a ton of work so far...painted the bedrooms, replaced the fixtures in two of the bathrooms, installed the new fridge & oven, took down the trees in the back yard, and all that was done before we moved in.


Since we've moved in more paint, living / dining room, new living room & dining room furniture. Lots & lots of color. Love it!

I know getting the house the way I want it takes time but I think that's more changing from era to era. It needs to change as you change. Pictures below...

Found another house I like BUT...

I've been poking around websites listing houses for sale since September and I keep seeing the this one house on a main street, large 4 bedroom 1 1/2 bathrooms, garage, partial basement & central air.

So I finally went and saw the house last Saturday afternoon, in the pouring rain which is actually how I would suggest looking at houses. This way you know if there are any leaks, major or otherwise.

We went to check out the back patio first, it's kinda pieced together, pretty funny considering the comment was made it looked like something Tom (my step-dad) built. You'd have to know Tom to know that it was really funny!!

Anyway the house is great & HUGE, surprisingly so! All bedrooms, two bathrooms lots of closets all on ONE FLOOR! Can't beat that. There is also a large basement with the 1/2 bath down there, a laundry area and a work area in separate sections.

Oh & don't forget the backyard, not huge but a good size - can have a BBQ with plenty of room.

The only thing getting me is the cost of the house, YES I know this house is priced WAY WAY below it's market value because of it being a REO property. But let's consider this, in April home foreclosures were up and home prices dropped again. Banks are holding more & more inventory as the markets worsens instead of getting better (at least for now ~ there's always a down turn before it comes back up).

There's a ton of stipulations with buying this house including the requirement to get pre-approved by their specified mortgage company. They can require that a buyer is pre-approved by any company they choose however by law they cannot require you use that company. So I went thru the motions and BOY does that mortgage company offer incentives to use them. I don't know why but this has me very nervous. If it looks to good to be true it probably is...but I'm sure they'd be open for a ton of law suits if they didn't live up to their agreements. So I'm seriously considering this house and this "new" mortgage company.

Just to be on the safe side I wanted to poke around a bit more. I came across a 3 bedroom 1 bath ranch house (means no basement) at $137,610 talk about a strange asking price. So I've asked my realtor to set up an appointment so I can check this house out just to compare.

I need to be sure before I put in another bid for ANY house.

Will I finally get to buy a house this year??

Bid...

Well the first realtor didn't call at all on Monday so I kept my originaly appointment with the second realtor to put in a bid on the second house I saw on Sunday.

I spent two hours with the realtor on Monday night placing a bid...the house was listed at $183,700 but you wouldn't believe the work it needed so I bid at $127,500 with the seller paying all closing costs and 48 hours to respond.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, Tabitha had an orthodontists appointment at 8am after we were finished there and I dropped her off at school I got a phone call from the second realtor. He said that they flat out declined my offer because the sellers received another offer of upwards of $160,000...that's more than $30,000 more than my offer.

I called my sister to let her know as we both loved the house for me she thought that might not be true about the offer. My feeling, if that's how the owner wants to play it that's their issue not mine. The sellers will need to sit with a house that will not sell if the offer was not real.

If it was menat to be then it would have been...

Found a house I like...

Today I checked out two houses. One I keep calling the "Mexican Church" because when you look at the front that is the impression I get. It has this great stone front with a peak in the middle. The second is a possible short sale house where the owner started to work on the house but did a half ass job at it. I will give him credit for the effort, redoing a house is a huge undertaking.

"Mexican Church" - like I said I love the front but I did know going in this house was priced WAY over my comfort zone for a mortgage (not that spending $100K is nothing to me but WOW!). It is listed as a 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath with full basement. I must say the realtor that listed this house was creative but I guess you need to be. We walked in expecting a dog by the name of "Pickles" (cute name for a dog - must remember that) but no dog. First impression - small living room & my God what is that smell?? We poke around more & see two bedrooms and a bathroom to the right. Straight back is the dining room then a decent size kitchen with a fireplace - very cute & unexpected. Bedrooms and bathroom needed some updating but the kitchen needed to be gutted!

We go to the basement and are immediately hit with an overwhelming smell of what I think is mildew. The so called half bath is nothing other than a toilet in a makeshift room. This is what my sister's boyfriend called the "men's bathroom"...I called it disgusting. I can only imagine that prisons have better bathrooms that's how bad this was.

Finally making our way up to the third bedroom, it is HUGE with a smell to match. I could barely get up the stairs because of the horrible smell. If you've ever been in a kennel or a pet store that is badly kept you konw the smell. I couldn't believe that someone lived like this, to say the house was dirty was an understatement! It was beyond filthy. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

I needed fresh air before passing out, while outside we contemplated pitching a tent in the very large back yard, tearing down the house and rebuilding from scratch. But I will admit I'm not a patient person there is no way I could wait for all that to happen. So let's move on...

The next house is listed as a 3 bedroom 1 bath with a partially finished basement, newer kitchen and bathroom, main floor laundry, a fireplace and a stand alone garage. The house is adorable from the outside so I checked out the backyard first and I was pleasantly surprised. It is a good size with plenty of space for the kids to play or have some people over for a gathering. After finally getting in the front door the space is open and flows well from the living room to dining room to kitchen. There is a bedroom just off the dining room, good size, then the one & only bathroom in the house is off the bedroom with an entrance from the bedroom & another towards the front of the house off this strange little hallway by the front door. The stairs are right by the front door so you could open the door & go right up...odd. There are another two rooms upstairs, one a bedroom the other technically cannot be considered one as there is no closet. The upstairs is a bit like an attic with the slanted ceilings and only 1 bedroom up there.

So the house is technically a 2 bedroom 1 bath with a den perhaps an office which can work especially since the basement can be finished out to form another room, playroom maybe for the kids.

After a complete look throughout the house (twice), taking pictures of everything and everything just in case, talking to my sister, mom & sister's boyfriend I've decided to put in an offer. While standing out by my truck we discuss what kind of an offer I want to put in and he's surprised even after I've told him several times my philosophy of being able to go up in an offer but that I can never go down.

Starting low, especially in this economy with a house in possible short sale, makes sense!

BUT the realtor that I've been using is having issues with what I want to put in as an offer. I thought the buyer's realtor job was to make sure the buyer got what they wanted which means putting in an offer where I want it. I'm the one that knows where I'm comfortable and I'm the one that is paying the bills!!!

Since I haven't signed any paperwork I can go to another realtor but I feel terrible but on the other hand he is there to help me find a house not help the seller move the house. So when we got back to my mom's my sister called another realtor that she knows and will put in any offer I request to put in on a house. This is what I believe a buyer's realtor should be doing not worrying about what the house is listed for vs what offer I want to put in.

Oh well...we'll see if the first realtor calls tomorrow if not I have an appointment set up to meet with the second realtor my sister called. He'll put in any offer I want which is what I need.

Which one will help me buy my first house?

My Day Today...Alex's Lemonade Stand

This weekend in June every year thousands of families across the country put together and host an Alex's Lemonade Stand to raise money to help fight childhood cancer.

Alex Scott started her lemonade stand to do the same thing, raise money to help fight the cancer that was taking over her life. Her parents kept the "stand" going in her honor. Now with the families around the country running stands, whether it is for their charitable spirit or to honor a family member fighting or having beat cancer, money is being raised along with awareness.

As for our case my nephew was born with Neuroblastoma and operated on at three months old. He is now two years old. I am grateful to be able to say that but also sad that it is being said about such a little person. He is a very vibrant, fun, lovable and loving child.

I am happy to say this year we raised more money than last, even in this tough economy. To learn more about this cause and of course Alex, check out this link & help fight cancer one cup at a time!

http://www.alexslemonade.org/home

First Night House Hunting Update

Buying a house is definitly a learning experience. The market is supposed to be a buyers market, a lot of inventory with not many takers. Interests rates at an all time low however mortgage rates have been going up the past few weeks BUT house prices have not been going down. Go figure!

I've looked a two house so far in the neighborhood I want, both are bank owned which I thought would be a great opportunity (more about that later).

The first house is on Arnold St about 2 blocks from my parents. Now I know what you're thinking, why that close? Well we may argue and pick on one another but we really are pretty close...so back to the house.

It was listed as a 3 bedroom 1 bath house, living room, dining room, full - unfinished basement, single house listed at $119,900.

At first site it is completely adorable. Front porch, stand alone garage with drive way, rear yard - a bit small but still a good size. We enter in the back door into the EIK however the only thing in the kitchen is cabinets and a sink. So it needs a little work no big deal. Two rooms on the ground floor, turns out one is not a bedroom (no closet), bathroom needs a total rehab, third (really second) bedroom is on the second floor.

After completely walking thru the house I've decided the house needs way to much work. The house needs to be lifted at the back door, new windows, doors, bathroom, paint, floors refinished, a bathroom added to the upstairs and the basement finished. Oh and the construction loan would be at a higher interest rate and all bids would need to be approved by the bank holding the escrow account.

The second house was 4 bedrooms 1 bath, living room, dining room, kitchen and too big for two people and a bit further from my parents house. Along with being too big the house also needed a lot of work to make it liveable. It is also too large for just two people and the cost to heat and cool would be astronomical. So this one is out.

So is the first one...with it being a bank owned house I would need to cover all closing costs for both sides which means needing around $20,000 at closing! HA!! No Way!!

So the plan is to hope for a house on short sale or owners willing to wiggle A LOT on the cost and cover closing costs.

Can this all happen? My philosophy...Everything happens for a reason so if it's meant to be it will be.

The search is still on...

Quick Update...

It's been a long time (2 years) since I've been on to update...so here is a quick update...

The interivew I talked about in the last post turned out to be the perfect position for me, so it is possible to find the one for you if you look hard enough and trust that everything happens for a reason. I started 9/11/07 as a temp however I was hired permanently 12/3/07 and have made nothing but progress since starting.

I am now on the hunt for my first home. We checked out two tonight; taking the foreclosed bank owned properties route right now so far not too bad considering what is out there. I'll start updating on the house hunt over the weekend.

Since I found the perfect position (for me) can I also find the perfect house (for me) where I want to live??

Are multiple interviews normal?

Last week I received a phone call from yet another placement agency. Now I only say that because I have talked to probably five in the last 4 months. I would just love to get somewhere with my search already.

At first I turned down the position that was offered, temp to perm means no health insurance for me while I'm on a temp basis and I really wanted a direct placement. Ten minutes later I called the recruiter back to get more details. Closer to home than my current company, complete plus - savings on gas, shorter commute, all major pluses.

The clincher was the salary, even as a temp I would be making more than what I currently make as a full time, permanent employee at the company I work for now. I gave in and set up the interview, while trying to make sure I was home before my daughter need to leave for soccer practice.

Yesterday afternoon I met three people, HR, Director of Sales and Senior VP of Sales. Wow! That's a lot of people to interview with. Turns out I'd be supporting two of them, so it makes sense that I met them all.

It went great, at least I felt it went well. First thing this morning (9:15am) I got a phone call from the recruiter. It gave her enough time to come in, call the HR Manager and then call me.

Talk about fast.

I had to wait it out until about 11:00 am because I was in a meeting. When I was able to finally call back, it was all good news. They were all impressed with me now I have to survive a second interview.

This is a first for me, I've never had more than one interview. Is this a normal occurrence for most companies? For a temp to perm position?