2009: What a Rollercoaster!

Where exactly did 2009 go? I can't believe we're about to ring in the New Year! And oh my, doesn't 2010 sound so...out there? I mean, remember watching those movies back in the day (e.g. the Back to the Future series) when they'd talk about the year 2000 or 2010 as "the future" - flying cars, futuristic gadgets, whole meals in pill form?

Wow. 2010. Weird. (And I'm not just saying that because it's the year I turn 30!)

Anywho, I thought I would take a minute to reflect on the past year. I filled out this silly thing a few days ago and it asked me to describe 2009 in 1-2 words. My 2 words: Roller. Coaster. Let's take a look back, shall we?

January: I started the New Year off with high hopes for a new job back in my home state of WI. I braved the cold, icy weather and traveled out for an interview early in the month. By the end of the month... a job offer!! Hooray! I would finally escape the ever-tightening clutches of my evil boss...thank goodness! I also started this little blog! Such meager beginnings... it's come a long way...

February: Dissertation defense! Finally! The month was full of celebrations, packing, and goodbyes. I left my job a little earlier than planned...again, thank goodness.

March: With the help of family and friends, the truck and car were packed tightly and off I went to Wisconsin. In torrential rain. Then snow. Good times. I dove right in to my new job. It felt like I knew my new coworkers forever. As if things weren't crazy enough, I also decided I was going to buy a house.

April/May/June/July: These months felt like such a blur to me. I was essentially homeless. Yes, my good friends were kind enough to let me stay in their guest room for a long time (thank you!), and yes, my parents lived just an hour and a half away, but I didn't have my own place. My furniture was in storage. I had limited clothing options. I didn't have my dogs. I didn't feel settled. At. All. Plus I was seriously hunting for a house during this time. I made not one, not two, but three offers on houses before one finally stuck. Woohoo!

August/September: Renovations. Home improvements. Still didn't feel very settled, but I got to see my family a lot! My friends Nacole and Jason visited in August, which was so awesome. I missed them so much, so it was great to be able to hang out for a couple days. Work kicked into high gear and left me feeling exhausted a lot, but I still had time for projects! :-)

October: New carpet. I finally started unpacking for real and settling into my new home. Took a trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul for a conference (which wasn't great) and got to hang out with my brother, which was the best part anyway.

November: Lots of projects here and there, more nesting, and many many trips to thrift shops. I have an addiction. Spent an afternoon at my alma mater to give a little talk to a couple of classes. Also got to reconnect with some faculty members, which was a lot of fun. My mom, sister, and I had our first annual Black Friday Craft-a-Thon when we made book wreaths. And I had a couple of helper elves come visit and magically decorated the house with snowflakes while I was gone to work.

December: Snow. Snow. Snow. Lots of work on projects, a little Christmas shopping, and some baking too! Quality time with family, too much food, and a week-and-a-half off from work! Woohoo! I need to take more vacation, more often.

So that's it. My year in review. It's really no wonder time flew by. And why I was exhausted. It was a year full of stress, excitement, goodbyes, tears, newness, and surprises. I'm hoping 2010 is a little calmer...though I've got some big ideas for the New Year. Check back later to see my 2010 To-Do list!

The First of Many Firsts

I just dropped off my earnest money at my Realtor's office. Writing that check made things feel a little more real to me today. It was the first of many, many checks I'll be writing to pay for this house. But it felt pretty good.

Everyone has been so excited for me. Thank you for all the wonderful comments, emails, and phone calls! My coworkers have been so supportive through this whole process and have been offering congratulations left and right. Honestly, I think a part of that is a sense of relief that I'm here to stay and won't be going elsewhere anytime soon. :-) My Director literally said something to the effect yesterday. Another coworker pointed out that I will be able to really celebrate Independence Day this year, in my very own home. How appropriate! And K-Dog bought me lunch today, to celebrate my not being homeless anymore. My family, as usual, has been endlessly supportive and is also very excited. I'm pretty sure my mom cried when I told her my offer was accepted. She also is happy I won't be going anywhere anytime soon.

Now I know that technically the house isn't mine until I have all the papers signed and keys in hand, but I definitely think of it as MY house already. I've been thinking about furniture and new bedding and paint colors. And my puppies! Soon my puppies will be home with me, in their new backyard. And, I'll be able to knock a couple of things off my list!!

Accepted!

I have an accepted offer! Hooray! They counter-offered this morning and I accepted!

Now I need to get through inspection and make sure financing goes through.

I feel nauseous. Happy, but nauseous.

3rd Time's the Charm?

I put a bid on house #3 yesterday. I'm supposed to hear something today...I really hope that whatever I hear is GOOD news. The house I'm bidding on has been on the market for quite some time. Initially, it was listed at a higher price and wasn't getting much activity. About 6 months ago, the price was reduced and the house has apparently had 3 accepted offers, which subsequently fell apart. I'm hoping all of this works in my favor!

I'll keep you posted...

Dear Diary,

Do you ever just stop and wonder about your life?

Sometimes I just stop and almost laugh because I'm not sure this is what I envisioned my life to be. In some ways, that's a good great thing, yet in other ways, I wonder how things ended up the way they are.

I was so excited to finish my dissertation and get this job and get my "real life" started. But I'm still in limbo. I'm waiting to get settled. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

I might've found a house... again... and all of a sudden I got really nervous about it. All these thoughts started running through my head:

"Holy crap, this is a lot of money."
"Do you really want all this responsibility?"
"What the heck are you going to fill this house with?"
"Is this the right neighborhood for me?"

I'm trying to figure out if I'm nervous because I just haven't had much luck with this house thing and I just don't want to get my hopes up. But I'm also trying to make a realistic, informed decision. I just feel like there's this nebulous blob of anxiety hovering over me.

"All at once
The world can overwhelm me
There's almost nothing that you could tell me
That could ease my mind.
Which way will you run?
When it's always all around you
And the feeling lost and found you again
A feeling that we have no control."
-All At Once, Jack Johnson

XOXO,
Heidi

More Adventures in House-Hunting

Ah yes, it's time for another installment of those wacky adventures and crazy mishaps I find myself in as I search for my new home.

Today I went out during my lunch hour with my Realtor to look at 3 houses that were recently listed. I should point out that these homes did not have any interior pictures (always a big concern for me!), one stated that it needed "TLC", one indicated that the owner was retired and ready to move into a condo, and I don't even remember what the other said. I forced myself to take a chance on these homes, since they were all nicely priced and in AWESOME neighborhoods.

As we drove to home #1, I noticed the cute neighborhood, mature trees, and great curb appeal. Hmm, maybe this house will be great after all! And then... we opened the door to a time capsule. A smelly time capsule. I'm not kidding. There was wallpaper everywhere, doilies, slightly creepy framed art prints of children holding kittens, flowery knick-knacks all over, and I think there may have been a plastic carpet runner or two. Did I mention the doilies? I have a sneaking suspicion about why there were no photos of the inside. The home wasn't so bad, but would need a lot of work (wallpaper removal and painting) and some big updates (kitchen). The yard had lots of landscaping,which was pretty, but made the yard seem very small. The coolest thing I saw, seriously, was the newspaper hung on a bulletin board in the basement dated December 7, 1941.

It was here that my Realtor had a slight mishap involving a laundry chute and a bra. It could've been much worse, don't get me wrong, he did manage to get the door closed before the little old lady's underwear came flying out. I was still laughing 20 minutes later.

House #2 was being sold to settle an estate... this was the "TLC" home. Boy, did it need it. I could easily sink $20,000 into the home for updates and probably still not be finished. The layout was odd too. Have I told you I'm developing a fear of basements? I've been in a LOT of creepy basements lately and I have started to hate going down to check them out. The doors always seem to stick, the light switches rarely work, and I usually manage to walk into cobwebs and spiderwebs. This one wasn't too bad, but it was dark, musty, and full of cobwebs, so I spent as little time there as I could. Blech, I still feel like I'm covered in cobwebs.

We literally spent 3-4 minutes in House #3. The people were still there (urgh) and scurried to the garage to hang out while we walked through. I feel bad that we only spent a few minutes because I bet it took a lot of effort for that little old woman to get out to the garage in the first place!

I guess I'll keep looking...

Rejected

I didn't get the house. I found out this morning at about 8:30. At least I didn't lose sleep over it last night- I was out cold by 9:30!

I'm supposed to go look again at one of the other houses from last weekend. It's a nice home, been on the market for a while, good neighborhood... but honestly... I'm kind of tired of all this.

Competition

Another offer is on the table. They meet this evening to discuss and decide what they're going to do, so I won't know anything until then.

No News...

It's 20 after 10 and I haven't heard anything yet. I'm tired and think I'm ready for bed. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully brings a counter-offer.

Thanks for all the good luck wishes, support, and interest!!

The Waiting Game

Well, I wrote an offer this morning on House #2 (see previous post). They need to accept or reject it today, though they can counteroffer tomorrow or after... obviously I'm hoping they just accept it.

I'd like to say that I have a very busy day to keep my mind occupied, but I don't. So I'll be anxiously awaiting word.

Adventures in House-Hunting

I went out on Saturday to see 5 houses. I was hopeful and even a little excited because I thought I had some very promising options.

I met up with my Realtor bright and early and we went to House #1- very cute in the pictures and a very nice price. I imagined myself hanging a swing on the front porch and some flowers. However, not so cute in real life... and not really worth the already-low price. Moving on...

House #2 was the house that gave me hope last week. Priced at the higher end of my range, but great neighborhood, very nice home, and lots of character. In reality... everything I was hoping for and more! I fell in love with the home. I can honestly say this home is better than the first home I put a bid on! And then... another freakish stroke of bad luck! We went to lock up to head to the next home and my Realtor couldn't find the house keys! He'd been holding them with the lockbox thingy and apparently they slipped out somewhere! Neither of us heard anything fall on the hardwood or tile, so they were either in a carpeted room or outside in the giant yard! We split up and started looking, to no avail. He was ready to leave and call the listing agent, but I was determined to find the darn things- this wasn't getting in my way of buying this house! We swapped areas and then both looked in the yard, twice. Finally, a saw a tiny glimpse of something yellow in the grass, then a glint of metal- the key!! Then nearby, the other key! Hooray! My Realtor tells me that these odd things don't typically happen to him, but for some reason, they tend to happen when I'm around!

House #3 was OK... nice yard and a good deal of living space, but compared to my beautiful dream house (see above), this house seemed pretty lackluster. House #4 was odd, poorly staged, and nothing I was interested in. House #5 was very nice, lots of space, great neighborhood, but again, seemed a little lackluster compared to House #2.

I think the winner is House #2. I'll keep you posted...

A Renewed Sense of Hope

I'm not sure exactly what happened, but this morning I had a renewed sense of hope that I will find a house soon! As you know, I've been pretty frustrated with this process and disappointed and not sure I was going to find something. This morning (bright and early) my Realtor sent me a few updated listings and one of them caught my eye. As I studied the other listings, I found a few more that have potential!

I picked up coffee and a breakfast sandwich at a new-to-me coffee place (it was delicious) and while I was waiting I checked out some cards they had for sale... the first pack I picked up were moving/new address cards! They were very cute and I made a mental note for later. Then I randomly picked up a second pack and those were also moving cards! Wow! Maybe the universe is sending me a new message!

Since I'm headed out of town for a conference for a couple of days, I won't be able to look at the houses until Saturday and I'm hoping I find my new home... would you keep your fingers crossed for me?

Whose Bright Idea Was This Anyway?

Who convinced me to buy a house? I have a bone to pick with you.

Blogging Blahs

I've got the blahs. I don't know what to blog about lately.

I feel like all I ever talk about these days is house-hunting, which is getting old. I may be looking for an apartment soon and taking a little break from house-hunting (obviously getting an apartment means a lot of up-front and on-going costs, which takes away from my ability to save money for my down payment and whatnot).

I'm still recovering from my various illnesses, so I'm tired out. Work has been steadily busy and I'm looking toward the end of the semester when we can have a little down time.

That's about it. I'm just blah. My life is pretty blah.

I Think the Universe Might Be Trying to Tell Me Something....

Saturday morning started with lovely thunderstorms... I seriously love thunderstorms, especially in the morning. What I don't love is when those storms wake a baby and scare her causing her to cry and wake everyone else up. Oh well, I got over it pretty quickly. I was looking forward to a giant Starbucks coffee, spending time with my brother, and finding the house of my dreams.

The day didn't go exactly like that though...

It was pouring rain, which isn't the best weather for house-hunting, but I brought my big umbrella and told myself to deal with the rain. My realtor was a bit late because the power went out at his house sometime overnight, which in and of itself isn't that big of a deal. When we got to the first house, there was a big U-Haul in the driveway and the garage was wide open. The people were still there! How uncomfortable! So we walked through the house anyway and it was trashed- bags of garbage all over, not cleaned up, yuck. And weird to bump into the people too! After checking out the basement, first floor, and garage, we went upstairs and checked out the bathroom... where we saw mold. Deal breaker for me. We left.

Or tried to leave... We got into my realtor's car and it wouldn't start. He'd apparently been having trouble with his starter, but now it was just dead. He was very apologetic and got out of the car to ask the guy across the street to help him jump the battery or something. Instead, the Good Samaritan offered to drive us all back to the office where we could pick up either my car or my brother's car. So we did that. Nice guy, eh? At one point on the drive though, I noticed Good Samaritan's gas gauge warning light on... I was worried that HIS car would die too!

When we finally got to the next house on the agenda, the occupant of that house was also there! She appeared to be a high school student living there alone... literally a high schooler, she told us her prom dress was laid out in one of the bedrooms, but that we could still go in to look around. She told us her listing agent didn't give her a specific time we'd be there. That's bullcrap.

Anyway, only 1 of the 4 houses I saw on Saturday was even remotely appealing... and it seemed small to me. I felt a little claustrophobic inside.

After that I hung out for a while with my brother and his friend, but I wasn't feeling all that well. Ever since I had that big Starbucks.... I stopped at Target and got some Pepto before going home, fully intending to sleep. Instead, I had a violent episode of projectile vomiting. I felt awful all night, puked a few more times, and only got short snippets of sleep. Yesterday I didn't go to the open house I was supposed to go to because I slept through it (and I felt crappy anyway).

Is this a sign? I mean, here's all the weird stuff that has happened since I stared house-hunting:
-the first house I loved sold before I could even see it,
-my realtor locked the keys in the house at one place,
-I sort of broke a cabinet while opening it during a showing,
-I put in an offer on a house and they took it off the market!!
-my realtor's car completely died while showing me homes,
-I have been sick almost the entire time I've been looking, including an awful flu-like virus/cough, AND projectile vomiting.

What gives?

T.G.I.F

I'm glad it's Friday. It seems like it's been quite a roller coaster of a week for me... and busy too. I've been pretty exhausted each night when I come home from work. Hopefully I can catch up on some rest this weekend...

Speaking of this weekend, I'm going house-hunting again. I was hoping to be done with all that, but I'm not. I'm still sad about losing my house, even though I know there are others out there and I'll find one and it'll be better, blah blah. Be that as it may, I'm still allowed to feel sad for a little while. I'm owning my feelings!

Other than that, I don't have much to say. Work is going well. We've been laughing a lot this week over some stupid little things, which has been fun and much-needed.

Well, I supposed that's really all I've got for today! Have a fantastic weekend!

Huh?

They took my house off the market. As in, it's no longer for sale. Something about potentially moving out of state and not wanting to buy another house here, but rather just waiting to sell when they're ready to move. Or something.

Awesome. Back to square 1.

Gonna Vomit

I put an offer in on a house today. Yikes. I'm nervous. I wasn't nervous until I actually started signing things and my Realtor kindly reminded me that this is a legally binding document. Then I was OK until I thought of a question and called him from the car. Then I got nervous all over again.

They have to respond tomorrow. Now I wait.

Confession

I think I've transferred one addiction to another... I'm no longer hoarding boxes... but I think I might be addicted to HGTV. Sigh.

I can't help myself. If I get the remote, it's usually pointed to HGTV these days. At work, we have a TV in the waiting area and if I'm the first one to work in the morning, I turn to HGTV. I used to turn on CNN so I could get some snippets of news, but now... HGTV. At my parents' house during the last 2 weekends I basically watched HGTV all day, especially when I was sick. Last night at Gina and Jason's I ended up with the remote while they were busy doing other things and I turned it right to the shows about selling homes, house hunting, and renovations.

I've had dreams that were kind of like the shows on HGTV remodeling and whatnot.

Yesterday I was on HGTV's website!

I don't remember how many times I said, "I saw a show about that recently" in reference to fixtures, paint, flooring, or some other thing, to my Realtor and others.

Is this addiction going to go away when I finally buy a house??

Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

What a beautiful day for house shopping! Clear and sunny and lovely- just the right weather to match my excited, hopeful mood...nervous too. I'm feeling pressure to find a house for me and the pups so we can really get settled into our new life here in Wisconsin. I have been reminding myself not to let that pressure push me into making an offer on a house I don't really really love.

Anyway, my Realtor had 5 houses lined up - most of which I asked to see, though he decided to throw one in that was just listed yesterday. House #1 was tiny... maybe "quaint" would be the term used in an ad... It had features that I liked, but I was worried that after getting me and the dogs in there... there wouldn't be much more room! I started to feel a little discouraged and wondered if I should really take some time to save more money so I could afford a larger, higher priced house. Houses 2 and 3... um, no thank you. House #3 or 4 (I don't remember anymore) was a big disappointment. Grrr.

Then there were the last 2 houses. Not bad. They were vacant and move-in ready, but both needed some work. My brother and I talked it out the whole way home and planned out what could be done to update a few things. They would both need to have fences put in... one kitchen definitely needs updated appliances... It was fun to start dreaming about new appliances and doing a tile backsplash and painting!

But I'm nervous. I could put in an offer on the house I like better but I'm nervous. Everyone says that you'll know when you walk in the house. You'll be able to picture yourself there. And Diary... I'm not sure I can picture myself in either house right now. I have that feeling that if I offer too soon, I'll be missing out on something better. I'm nervous that the house I like is priced at the higher end of my range AND needs a fence and appliances ... I mean, I could live with the appliances for a while, but I'm not sure I want to be without a fence for too long, especially with summer coming.

I think I will sleep on it...


XOXOXO
Heidi