settling in

Well we moved into our new house August 24, almost a month ago, and we are finally feeling pretty settled! Although we unpacked everything and got rid of boxes very quickly (hello, have you met me?), it was still a few weeks before I didn't constantly feel like I always needed to be doing something: hanging something on a wall, ordering something for a window, hiring someone to do something, whatever. On Sunday we had a pretty low-key, rainy day, and other than going to church, we didn't do anything all day. And I noticed at the end of the day that I didn't even once really think about doing "house stuff." I just enjoyed the day: playing, cooking, doing normal amounts of maintenance cleaning/organizing, reading, etc. Maybe it's because everything is actually DONE...or maybe it's just because I'm tired of it and it's just fine, whatever. Hahaha. 

(Judging by the fact that we have exactly ONE set of window blinds actually installed, I guess I have to admit that I'm not actually done, I'm just over it.)

So here ya go: our new BLUE house!

Subtle, isn't it? Ha. There are a few other blue houses in the neighborhood, but ours is the only BLUE house. (Sherwin Williams Naval, if you'd like to know the exact color so that you too can have a BLUE house/wall/chair/whatever.) And as you can see- that large front double window is not the lucky window that actually has blinds yet, so enjoy the tacky view of our curtains instead. Sorry, neighbors. 

Here's a shot of the living room from a few weeks ago- we have since had the lighting redone in the kitchen/dining room, so the tacky chandelier you see here is thankfully gone now. But otherwise the room more or less looks like this. Plenty of room for dance parties!

And here's the kitchen area WITH new lights! The pendant lights and chandelier are from AllModern and I am thrilled with how it turned out! Why a builder would put florescent kitchen lighting in a brand new house is truly beyond my comprehension, but I am glad to be done with it, haha. We still have a few holes in the ceiling that we need to get fixed from where the electricians removed the old lights, but I'm sure we'll get around to that eventually...probably...maybe? Haha.

I LOVE love love the layout of the kitchen and living room. Unlike our old house, it's very open and I love that we can all be 'together' even when we're doing three different things- cooking, working on an art project, and doing yoga, for example. It's perfect!

And this little nugget is so, so, so happy to be home. I am SO thankful that her little mind and body are finally at rest and peace again and most of the behavior problems and physical issues we were dealing with over the summer have resolved. I hate that she was experiencing so much stress, and mostly due to things Matt and I willingly chose (you know, we didn't HAVE to move (twice) or change her schools (twice), etc.)...and it broke our hearts to see that stress playing out in her body (horrible sleep, grinding her teeth all night, LOTS of potty problems, difficulty regulating her emotions) and behavior (don't even get me started, but my deepest apologies to the many who were victimized by my raging child this summer). We hoped and prayed that once we settled in and returned to our predictable routine, she would return to her previous normal- and thankfully that has been the case. She has finally stopped anxiously asking multiple times a day where we are going, where she will sleep that night (KILL ME, GUYS- I mean, we weren't couch surfing all summer!! We moved from our old house to my in-laws' house!! We slept in the same place every night!! But for whatever reason, she asked ALL THE TIME, and NEVER slept well, and was always SO uncertain about where we were going and where she would sleep and it just KILLED me- and made me so, so sad for children and families that truly are not sure where they will sleep that night), who will pick her up at school, which school she will go to...it was through all of these constant questions (that she'd never had before) that I really saw how stressed our situation made her this summer. And now that has mostly stopped. And she sleeps, and she can reason again, and she isn't grinding her teeth, and she is SO ADORABLY HAPPY to be reunited with all of her toys that were in storage. And sometimes she just wanders around the house and says adorable things like "I LOVE our new house, Mommy! It is SO pretty! I'm glad we live in our new house!" and it's great.

Hands down, Millie's favorite thing about our new house is that we walk to school now. It's probably on my Top Five list, too. LOVE IT. Well, I walk- she rides in the stroller (God bless Erika of 2013 who thought investing in a good stroller (City Mini GT) was important- now she's 4 years old and I am using it every single day and that thing is a CHAMP!). She loves her new school, but she REALLY LOVES walking to school. It's about a 10-12 minute walk for us (one way) and she just talks and makes genius observations and tells me things and it is maybe the best 10-12 minutes of my day. And then once I drop her off, I have a lovely, quiet 10-minute walk back (with an empty stroller- slightly weird but I'm over it) home, and I listen to music and drink my coffee and I can't lie...that's pretty great too. All in all, it is just the most wonderful start to my weekdays and I am thankful that we can do this now. And in theory, we can do this for the next nine years, because the middle school is also right by our house, maybe a 5-7 minute walk, so we can just keep going even once she's out of elementary school...unless that's too uncool for middle schoolers?? Ha.

(Although she no longer wakes up hysterical in the middle of the night, or asks constantly where she is going to sleep- I must say that she HAS woken up a few times in the middle of the night and asked "is it time to walk to school yet, Mama?? Do we get to walk to school today?! We don't want to be late!!"...it's 3 a.m., I think we can wait a little before we leave, go back to sleeeeeep.)

But seriously, the ability to walk around downtown is one of the main reasons we wanted to move to this neighborhood, and I'm so glad we're actually taking advantage of it. In addition to our daily walks to school (we don't walk home because I pick her up on my way home from work and I have the car...MUCH TO MILLIE'S DEEP DISMAY EVERY SINGLE DAY), we are regularly walking to playgrounds, the library, the bakery/cafe where we eat brunch, lunch, dinner, cupcakes, and ice cream FAR too often, several restaurants, festivals, and random sporting events at the aforementioned middle school. And we go on family runs, taking advantage of downtown's flat roads and abundant shady sidewalks! So far, moving has been very good for meeting my daily step goals, ha!

Family run!

Rewarding ourselves for a successful run with a trip to the playground.

Okay okay, and maaaaaybe we went to brunch after the playground. We earned it!

Walking to the annual fall festival.

This is why she NEEDED the hat and boots. Duh.

So overall, life in the BLUE house is fantastic! Now we are focusing on the next thing: Halloween! This is apparently a Very Big Deal when you're four, so if you need me, I'll be working on costume plans and contingency plans with a four-year-old who changes her mind 12x per day, so wish me luck!

life lately

Ohhh man. It's been a minute, but let's just jump right in, shall we??

I'm still here (as in, in life...not so much in the blog world, haha) and life is good! Let's start off with our Millie girl, because that's who we all really care about, right?

Millie is 3.5, closing in on 4, and basically the greatest human in the history of the world. Also, she is 3.5 and totally normal, so that means she has a gift for being infuriating, obnoxious, and terrible, but I prefer to not think about those moments (...hours...). We'll focus on the positive for this rare blog update. ;)

She loves unicorns, mermaids ("I love mermaids, but I love unicorns the MOST, Mommy! And I love lions and dinosaurs and bad guys, but I still love unicorns the MOST."), and anything magical. 

She lives for going to the grocery store to visit this inflatable unicorn. And yes, I'm probably going to buy it for her for her birthday, because a) I am a sucker, and b) it will really complete my home decor.

She 100% believes she can do magic (with one of her many wands, of course), and most mornings, after Daddy leaves for work, she points her wand out the window and does a spell to make Daddy's hair turn purple/green/sparkly/whatever so that it "surpwises him in the mirror." It's her favorite thing. But then we always do another spell to turn it back brown later, so it's all fine. She loves doing ballet and yoga, and more than that, pretending she's the ballet and/or yoga teacher. (Hot Tip: if your kids enjoy storytelling at all, you need to check out Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube or Amazon Prime...it's SUCH fun story-based yoga, Millie is obsessed!!)

She is playing on a little soccer team this spring. It's the most precious thing ever. Matt is the coach. Again- precious. My gal has not the foggiest idea what she's supposed to be doing out there, but she generally runs around and has a good time, and she sure looks cute, so I consider the season a success. She will be quick to inform you that she prefers yoga, though.

(Also-  I have no idea where the obsession with yoga came from. I go to yoga or do it at home on rare occasion and hardly ever talk about it. I only started letting her watch Cosmic Kids Yoga after she'd been 'playing yoga' for several weeks and it occurred to me to turn that on, haha.)

She is 100% a mama's girl right now (annnnd maybe for the last year, who knows) and generally ONLY wants to do anything with/for me. It's wonderful and exhausting, as I'm sure many of you can relate to, haha. She transitions easily and does just fine at school, in the church nursery, with her grandparents, etc., but if I'm around, I'm the only one she wants anything to do with, generally. In her words, "you my BEST FRIEND, Mama. I ONLY LOVE YOU THE MOST. You my best friend FOREVER and even if I not listening, you STILL LOVE ME, and even if I REALLY REALLY BAD, you STILL LOVE ME!!!!!"...she's got that down right. But she frequently brings up the part about how "even when I ______ (insert naughty thing she's currently doing), you STILL LOVE ME!" which is definitely true BUT ALSO PLEASE STOP DOING OBNOXIOUS THINGS THANKS.

We went skating last weekend and she spent the whole time grinning up at us, screaming "this is the best day of my whole life!!!! This is the most fun EVERRRR!!!!" and I had to agree. It might have been the best day ever. Slash I might need to buy a skating rink or something. 

She has been at the same daycare with the same little group of buddies since she was a little over a year old, but changes are on the horizon. She got a spot in our neighborhood elementary school pre-k program for next school year (those are lottery spots in Georgia- pre-k isn't required and there are far fewer spots than kids, so you enter an open lottery for the spaces) which we are thrilled about. We found another daycare near the school where she can go for after-school (and the millions of no-school days that public schools seem to take...fall break, fall break 2, a month of Christmas break, twelve additional winter/early spring/mid spring breaks, spring break, late spring break, SUMMER BREAK, oh and teacher workdays every other Tuesday, etc....just kidding, but seriously, it is a lot compared to daycare, hahaha). I am so thankful for how things seem to be working out, but in order to secure a spot at the daycare for after-school (I'm not really interested in having her at the school's after-school program with such a huge number/variety of ages of kids), I had to enroll her for their summer program...so she will be starting there in just a few weeks. I know it will be good, and it'll be nice for her to meet some kids that she will actually see at her big school (she's always gone to daycare in Athens, where Matt and I work, but no other kids there will go to elem school out where we live)...but man, it's gonna be tough to leave the school we've loved so much. She can't really comprehend not seeing her buds every day, even though she tells me she will make NEW BEST FRIENDS, and I know she will. So that's a good but maybe-tough change for the near future.

Our biggest Life Update (if you don't happen to follow me elsewhere on social media, haha) is that we are moving! We're "building" a house VERY near our current house and right across from Millie's future elementary school, so no great distances are being traversed, but it's still an exciting adventure! "Building" warrants quotation marks because we aren't custom building...we just bought a lot in a neighborhood under development before they had started building on that particular lot. We got to pick the house plan (out of like three) and some basic finishes and colors, etc, but no BIG decisions about where the windows should be or how the kitchen should be oriented. So..."building." Ha. So far in the 2.5 months we've been under contract on the house all they've managed to do is build a frame for the foundation. And dig the utilities. Not even a foundation yet. It's very slow and boring and disappointing, to be honest, haha. I eagerly await the day there are boards or walls or basically anything that remotely resembles a house. In theory we will be moving there in mid-July, but given the current pace of work...that may be July of 2023 or something.

Our "new house." Very exciting. 

Our current house went under contract very quickly (we had our first offer about 8 hours after it went on the market!!) and has been mostly a smooth process, but still a giant headache, haha. We will close on our current house in mid-June and move into my in-laws' basement until our new house is ready. Good times ahead!

I guess that's about it. I spend my spare time reading and thinking about packing (not ACTUALLY packing too much), so who has time for blogging with all that going on? Ha. As always, catch me on Instagram for Millie in Real Time...she is a mess and well worth seeing more than once every 4 months when I get around to blogging, haha! 

awesome WHAT potential?!

A few minutes ago I found myself distracted from my book (currently reading: Perks of Being a Wallflower) by Matt loudly laughing at the computer.

"What's so funny?" I innocently inquired.

He had been browsing the MLS on a local real estate page-- a normal and regular pastime for him. We're not planning to move...he just likes seeing what's out there. 

Well, here's what's out there today. Don'tcha wanna move to Athens? Orange underlining is my contribution, of course.

I mean, how many realtors brag about the incest (ment) potential of their properties? Not many, I'd have to say. Bold move, Mr. Realtor. Way to think outside the box. 

Or maybe you should-- I dunno-- think about PROOFREADING something before you post it on the internet for all the world to see? Heck, forget proofreading. Probably a simple RE-read would have served you well, Agen. Is that your name? Agen? Or did you actually just mean "agent" but...oops?

Right, so. 

I'm going to get back to my book. And mourn the fact that my own house has no such awesome potential. Or not.

And I'm going to re-read this post 40 times before I post it, lest I commit any of the same errors I'm busy snarking on right now. HA.

april: 2009 vs. 2012

I was looking back through pictures, seeing if anything would inspire a Way Back When-sday post today. That's when I happened upon April 2009 (because I organize my photos by year/month). The pictures started dredging up some old memories, so I cross-referenced with my blogs from April 2009. And then I very quickly realized-- even though so far this April is pretty lame (hemorrhagic cyst and a week of bedrest, anyone? Fourth consecutive April of wanting and not having a baby? Pick your reason that this April is lame)...it definitely kicks April '09's ass.

Because in April '09, we were buying a house. This house, actually. And it was terrible. And it reminds me of why I'm SO GLAD I BLOG HONESTLY: so that I don't remember things incorrectly and make stupid mistakes, like thinking about ever moving and buying another house. I had almost forgotten how awful homebuying was. My memory has started to gloss over the stress and the agony of it all, and I just have a vague remembrance of signing lots of forms and then owning a house that needed a LOT of work to become habitable. I had almost forgotten the misery of it all.  

And misery it was. In April 2009, I was stressed. I was over it. And I was being stalked by people in San Antonio.

And so even though April 2012 hasn't really been anything worth writing home about so far, I am now simply content to know that it could be way worse. It could still be April 2009. Or something like it. And it's also nice sitting here knowing that it worked out. The stresses of April '09? They resolved. We got the house. It all got figured out. And so what seemed like a hot and never-ending mess in 2009 has now faded to a dim memory a mere 3 years later, as I lay in the house I fought for and stressed over. And somehow this gives me hope that one day I will be able to look back at all of this-- the struggles of this day/era-- and maybe the pain will have faded, the struggles will all be counted as 'worth it', and I'll be thankful for old pictures and blogs to remind me of what I've come through. Because right now I can't really imagine a time where the sadness and hurt of infertility won't permeate every minute of every day. But back then, I felt the same way about buying a house. And even though it's not the same thing...it still gives me hope. 

And now I'm about to go REALLY cheesy on you and drop a QUOTE out-- but seriously, I don't even have to look this one up. It's a quote my friend James (husband of Kristina) used to say/write all the time, and he wrote it on the mat of our engagement photo that people signed at our rehearsal dinner, which is hanging on the wall of my room...so I read it frequently. The quote comes from The Shawshank Redemption, and I'm not bothering to go look it up, so if I'm slightly off then you'll just have to forgive me.

Hope is a good thing, maybe one of the best things. And no good thing ever dies.

a year later (and a few mysteries)

One year ago yesterday, Matt and I closed on our first home and became official homeowners and residents of The Boonies. I would like to report that June 3, 2010 was MUCH less stressful and overwhelming than June 3, 2009. Oh man. When I think back to how stressful June and July of last year were...whew. I am so glad to not be a brand-new homeowner/home renovator anymore. I remember how long the days were when all we did was work all day, then drive out here and work on the house until 9 or 10pm, then drive home, crash, and repeat...repeat...repeat. I thought the work would NEVER be done. In case you were not aware-- buying foreclosures is NOT for the weak of heart (or body...unless you're going to be hiring someone to do all the work for you)!

Anyway, it's hard to believe we've owned this house for a year (although we didn't actually LIVE here until mid-July). I absolutely love it and am so thankful the to-do list is much shorter and more manageable these days. And also that nothing on the to-do list is actually NECESSARY or urgent...it's stuff like "dig weeds out of the lawn so that the grass will grow better" (could definitely survive even if this never gets done) and less "fix the hot water heater" and "lay floors" (pretty much need those things).

So that's my tribute to one year of home ownership. One down, a zillion to go...I never plan on moving again because a) I hate moving, and b) I hate buying houses, and c) I am never ever moving my piano again-- FOR REALZ.

Today was the first week of my extended-year summer program at school and it was great to see all my kids again. It was also the first week of our district-wide "summer schedule" of 4 10-hour days (versus 5 8-hour...in case that wasn't clear...) which means I have today (and every other Friday this summer) off!! I'm not going to lie-- 7 to 5 was pretty brutal all week, especially since I have to drive 30 minutes to get there, but I think it will be worth it in the end!

Tomorrow we leave to go on VACAAAAATION!!! Matt and I are going with my parents to the beach and I can't WAIT! So today I am using my day off to grocery/drugstore shop, do laundry, start packing, and clean the house. We have a friend staying here for the week to watch Lola, water the plants, and what not, so that means I am on a cleaning FRENZY. I mean, it's one thing if you have some friends coming over for dinner or a shower...you don't have to clean everything because, you know, what are the odds they'll really be checking the closet in the guest room or looking inside all the bathroom and kitchen cabinets. But for a week-long housesitter? I can't be disgracing myself with disorganized cabinets or dustbunnies in the guest room (where she'll be staying)! I've BEEN a housesitter before. Even if you're not nosey (which, let's face it, I am)...you still end up digging through every cabinet because you can't find a can opener or something.

True life story: I used to housesit at this house where they had 5 dogs and they live in this SUPER ritzy neighborhood in Athens...anyway, it was loads of fun because there were like 12 bedrooms (so all my friends could "help" me housesit too!) and they left tons of awesome food for me...it was basically the life. I probably housesat for them 3 or 4 different times, for usually a week at a time. Anyway, they have 5 dogs, right? So inevitably the floors would be covered in leaves/grass/random stuff dogs walk in after about 2 days or so. For the LIFE of me I couldn't find a vacuum in this place. I searched EVERYWHERE, even the attic. I mean, their house was very nice and clean (except for what the dogs dragged in). CLEARLY they owned a vacuum...what, were they taking it with them on vacation? One time I found something that looked like a vacuum head/handle, but the hose wasn't attached to anything...so it was useless.(Note: I don't remember why I never thought to ask them about it after or before their next trip...I guess I forgot about it until I needed it again) So I'd end up picking up bits of leaves off the rugs with my fingers and/or lint rollers (awesome trick, but very un-green).

So a couple months ago, some of my friends were talking about... some thing that I can't remember the name of, hang on let me Google it....okay, thanks for waiting. So my friends were discussing something called Central Vacuum which is some amazing rich-people thing wherein your whole HOUSE is on this vacuum system...and there's no WAY I'm going to be able to explain it, you just need to go click on that link. Anyway, while the friends were discussing this amazing phenomenon, Alyssa mentioned that the family I used to housesit for had Central Vacuum and it all came rushing back-- so THAT is why I could never find a stupid vacuum!! They're way too space-age for a regular old Dyson or something! Anyway, it felt good to get some reassurance that I wasn't just blind...even if it was a few years too late.

So, that was a long story with no real point other than to say: If you have a housesitter coming and you like to keep your stuff hidden and/or you have freaky space-age technology that the average citizen will have no IDEA about...please let them know in advance.

Also, if anyone would like to purchase a Central Vacuum for MY house, that would be great.

Before I leave, I wanted to post a Mystery of the Day (or actually yesterday). Last evening we went out into the backyard to show Jessica (housesitter) the plants/garden/hose/etc and we noticed that the back half of our backyard had been mowed. Just the back half. I didn't do it. Matt didn't do it. And there's not a chance that either of us is lying/playing dumb about it because I can completely account for every minute of each of our days and none of those minutes involved cutting the back half of our backyard.

The front yard is still 6 inches high. The front half of the backyard is still 6 inches high. The back half of the backyard is very nicely cut, even around all the trees.

I don't know whether to be freaked out or thankful. Our yard isn't fenced, so it's not like someone was sneaking around to do this...but still, it's kind of weird, right?? The two neighbors who I would immediately suspect would do something like this (as a random act of kindness thing)...well, neither of their lawns appear to have been recently cut...so I mean, I could see dropping by to help us with ours if they'd already had their tractors out cutting their own grass...but to just randomly get the mower out to JUST come cut 1/4 of OUR lawn?? Seems weird. Now one OTHER neighbor DOES appear to have freshly cut grass-- but we don't really know those neighbors!

Anyway...if you have any ideas, let me know. And if you want to buy me a Central Vacuum, let me know. And if you are super jealous that I'm going to the beach tomorrow and you want me to bring you back a souvenir and take lots of pictures that I'll post on the blog all week long to remind you that you're stuck in an office/at home...let me know. :) Farewell!

the new ride

You had to see this one coming. I mean, Matt and I are moving up in the world. We're going places. We bought the house, have our dog, workin on getting a kid...we've got jobs, going on a sweet vacay next month...we're livin the good life. All we need is white picket fence and we'll be set.

A white picket fence. For our YARD. Our beast of a yard. Our larger-than-life yard. Our yard that seems to need entirely too much mowing. It's like as soon as you finish mowing, it's time to start again. That's how long it takes to mow the whole thing. I am hardly even exaggerating.

And as fun as mowing is (I really do enjoy it...when I'm in the mood), it's just been too much. It takes HOURS. And it's HOT outside. And for some unknown reason it's been RAINING all the time, which makes the FRICKIN GRASS GROW. I hate to sound ungrateful for the rain, but seriously. One of us needs to quit our jobs and be a stay-at-home-mower. If I could get benefits with that, I'd do it.

Or.....

Or maybe it's time to take [yet another] family 'heirloom' off Matt's parents' hands. Us buying a house has been like winning the jackpot for basically Matt's whole extended family: Look!! People to take all our old stuff!! Now we can buy newer stuff!! And hey-- we take it, cause we need it!! That's how we got our mower in the first place-- hand me down!!

But look what rolled in to Statham today.

Oh yeah. If you're wondering is that a top-of-the-line Snapper Model X5somethingortheother?? then I would have to say no, probably not. Maybe it was in like year 245 B.C. or something, but not now. But if you, like me, are wondering is that a lawmower that someone put tricycle handles on? then I would have to say...that's where all the signs are pointing. Go figure.

Giggle as you may (or maybe you're turning green with envy! You should be!), that puppy is one sweet ride and it got the job done. We got off to a bit of a rough start (naturally I didn't even give Mattie a try...this was all me tonight) and my deepest apologies go out to about 15 feet of our front yard that are now completely barren of life (who knew that putting the blade on the lowest setting would actually not make it look like a golf course?)...I hope that some day grass will grow there again...but please no one come visit us anytime soon because you might laugh.

Maybe Matt had a point when he suggested I do my "learning" in the back yard. Whatever, I thrive under pressure. After that minor detail got adjusted, it was smooth sailing. And by "smooth", I actually mean incredibly bouncy. The seat, if you can call it that, is not exactly what I'd call cushy. Or stable. Or well-balanced. And our yard isn't exactly level. The combination of these things did, however, make for a very exciting thrill ride-- it was pretty much like being at Six Flags on one of the old wooden roller coasters. Pretty much.

So that's the new ride. And if there was ever any chance of Matt's car getting a spot in the garage, I'm pretty sure it's gone now. Although we did purchase a garage shelf today!! I can't wait to get it set up and organized. Here's Matt putting it together...ladies, please wipe the drool off your keyboards. I know...the sight of a man reading directions while putting something together is a bit overwhelming for me, too.

So in theory I should have a lot more time on my hands now, since mowing won't take up every waking hour of my weekends. But don't worry-- I have a way to fill that time. It's another blog for another day (mainly because we keep forgetting to take pictures), but I can whet your appetite with one word:

Rollerblades.

first day

The first day of school has come and gone and I seem to have survived. A new crop of barely-four year olds (some still 3, actually) crawled off the busses and cars and out of mama's arms (some were forcibly removed) and sent to us, and I'm once again faced with the daunting task of turning them into geniuses. Or at least slightly more knowledgeable. But I like to set the bar high, personally. Anyway, this year, due to district rezoning, I have mostly non-English speakers. In one class I have 14/20 speaking Spanish, and I think it's 12/20 or so in the other class. So although I can only claim to hablo espanol un poquito, my oral language today was probably 50/50 English-Spanish. Intense. But I guess I'm excited about the year, about new chances and opportunities, about working in a new school with new people, about moving from being the "new girl" in my department to being one of the most experienced "vets".

But I sure am tired.

After work I drove out to the DMV (far far away in Athens) to get the address changed on my driver's license. Since I'd already used up my one free address change I just had to do a renewal. Whatev. So they took a picture and my hair is sticking up. I mean, seriously. Could the girl who seemed to be really busy eating candy and reading a magazine not have let me re-take the picture? Really? Okay, whatev. I'll be happy with this one. Then I had a 10 minute argument with this other girl about what county I live in. "So what county do you live in?" "Barrow." {she types some things in the computer} "....hmmm....not seeing you listed in Barrow. [double checks that I told her the right address. I did.] Well, yeah, Statham isn't listed in Barrow County." "Umm...well, sorry, but that's where I live. I promise it's Barrow County." "Well...it's not listed. What counties are you near?" I mean, really? I can pick? Let's see...Orange County....and whatever county Chicago is in. "Umm...Oconee, Jackson, and Gwinnett?" {types some more} "Oh! Here you are. Oconee County." "Well, I don't live in Oconee County, sorry. I promise. I just bought the house and the land and I saw the words Barrow County printed five thousand times on every piece of paper. My tags say Barrow County. I pay property taxes to Barrow County. A Barrow County School District bus stops in front of my driveway every morning. I live in Barrow County." {she looks at me like I'm an idiot or possibly lying...as though there's millions of people out there trying to illegally sneak into Barrow} "Well...I guess I can override it in the system, if you really want me to." "I do, thanks."

Where do they find people like this to hire? Isn't there a recession? Don't qualified people need jobs? I'm just sayin'...

I followed up that great experience with a final trip to my landlord's office to drop off our keys. It was then that she told me we were going to have to pay for a bunch of crap we didn't do. Awesome, love ya, see ya. I am so over anything housing related. After this house, we are probably going to live in a tent.

In Oconee County.

august already?

Since when did life start flying by so fast? How is it possible that's it's August already? I did not give Time permission to zoom by so quickly. I mean, I can't even believe it's been a week since I last blogged! Oh wait, yes I can. :)

We had a wonderful long weekend (Sat through Tues) camping with my parents. My brother and his girlfriend were with us most of the time and we had a really fun time. Luckily, after Jake and Emily left (Sunday evening), my parents had pity on Matt and I and let us sleep in the (air conditioned) camper with them. As fun as it was sleeping in a tent through the 80-degree night...I was very happy for the AC and real bed! Other than that we did a lot of swimming, boating, skiing, and eating. The sad event of the weekend was Matt losing his wedding ring. Somewhere in Clark's Hill Lake, a fish is very happy now. We went straight to the jewelry store when we got back to Athens and ordered a new one, so his bachelor days are numbered once again.

We also spent some time trying to convince Lola that swimming is fun. We achieved moderate success. In the process, I acquired about 40 scratches/bruises on my arms and thighs from her freaking out and flailing as I attempted to hold her in the water. Therefore I've spent the last 4 days trying to explain my odd bruise/scratches away.

We really enjoyed just having a few days to relax. Those days have been few and far between for the past 6 months or so. Buying, renovating, and moving houses is not actually as relaxing as you may have been led to believe by HDTV. It's actually pretty darn stressful. Combined with all the regular stresses of life and add to it our 7 month trying-and-failing-to-get-pregnant endeavors...we're worn down. We need a real break. With that in mind, within hours of arriving back in Statham, we did what we've been talking about doing for months: booked a vacation! A real vacation...the kind where you don't have to do anything except show up and relax and be entertained. Where you don't have to do any dishes and people bring you food 24/7. Where there are tropical breezes anytime you care to step outdoors and no shortage of lounge chairs and sunshine. We booked a cruise! Yippee! We are going to be hitting up the Western Caribbean and a couple ports in Mexico September 7-12. We got a great rate (probably because it's the height of hurrican season, haha) and creatively rearranged a few funds to bankroll our very first we're-paying-for-it vacation. We've been on a cruise before, for our honeymoon, and despite constant seasickness, I still thought it was the best vacation ever. I enjoy not having to plan anything and yet being able to do and eat lots of things!

Now that we have something tangible to look forward to in the not-so-far-off-future, we have a little more pep in our step, so to speak. Our constant busy-ness doesn't seem so bad when we know that very soon we'll have 4 whole days of doing absolutely nothing we don't want to. All we have to do is arrange childcare for the Lola...and figure out how to emotionally deal with being away from her for 5 days!! And yes, we've already brainstormed ways to sneak her onto the cruise with us, but she's just not the kind of girl who can keep herself on the down-low. So it looks like she'll be sitting this one out.

Well, I'm off to clean/arrange for our soon-to-arrive weekend houseguests: the Boothes! I feel like I'm running a real tourist attraction here...we've had more people over for dinner/to hang out in the last 3 weeks of living here than in probably the whole first 2 years of our marriage! Then again, maybe it's me: people want to see the house, but then I feel bad making them drive alllll the way out here without at least putting a decent meal in their tummies...so it's at least partially my own fault. :) But I love having people over. I just get tired of sweeping and vacuuming up doghair tumbleweeds all the time. If Lola would just go bald, I think I'd be okay with that.

love it

A little while ago Matt's younger brother called. Apparently there's some social event downtown tonight that requires his attendance. Ever the mindful citizen, he recognized that it would not be in anyone's best interest for him to drive himself home after the festivities end (2 a.m.), so he calls on his older brother. Could Matt possibly pick him up after the party? Oh, and also could he maybe crash at our place, too?

While this will interfere hardcore with our current plans for 2 a.m. (sleep), Matt loves his brother a lot...and he's a quick-thinking opportunist, to boot. In exchange for the late-night taxi service and bed, little bro will be contributing 4 hours of manual labor to Operation: Fix Our House tomorrow. LOVE IT.

Not only is he a hottie, he's also kind-hearted and quick-thinking! Can a girl get any luckier??

homeowners at last

Well my friends, it has been a long and bumpy road, but Mattie and I are finally homeowners. As of June 3, 2009, we own a 3 bed/2 bath home on 1.34 acres in Statham, Georgia. Yay!

However, it's not quite what you'd call a move in ready home. Actually, it's not even in the same ballpark. There is quite a lot to be done, and as the owners, it's up to us to do it. Eeek. So after we closed yesterday, our next stop was Ikea (the closing was in Atlanta, so it was convenient). Time to purchase those laminate floors...and about a million other "necessary" things. It was quite a shopping trip...so much so that MINUTES after checking out (and I'm not exaggerating...we were seriously still standing in the "loading" area waiting for Matt's mom to pull around with the van) I got a call from the Wachovia fraud alert system detecting unusual activity on my debit card. How insulting...they think I don't spend thousands of dollars at furniture stores every day? Ha. Just kidding, but way to go Wachovia. Unfortunately, that purchase was valid. We made the long drive back to Statham and then spent a few frustrating hours sitting and waiting on a locksmith to come and change all the locks and deadbolts in the house. We finally made it back to our home and puppy around 10:30pm. I got pretty much NO sleep last night (mixture of nervous/excited...and then I started feeling sick).

So today I felt/feel like crap (sinus infection maybe?) but it was back to work for me, and I sleepwalked through the day. We did go over to the house tonight, though...to check on it and get a few things done. Our to-do list for the house is ENDLESS at this point, so we can't waste time checking things off.

On Mattie's to-do list: Fixing a toilet problem in the guest bath. He tackled it with a venegeance and 2 hours later, emerged successful. Go Mattie!

Lola handled the sitting, staring out windows/doors, and whining. She does her job with great dedication. (Note: that's this little patch of laminate floors that the previous owners left...the rest of the living room must have had carpet, which they tore up, but they left this little patch of laminate. Thanks a lot, now we have to tear it up.)

The dining room and our only current interior furniture. Swanky, huh?How I feel about the amount of work required (by me) to make this house live-able. Eeek. Overwhelmed.

What I accomplished today: taping off all the baseboards, windows, and doorframes in the living room. Still have to do the (really high) ceilings. But it's a start...and for a girl that feels like crap, it was a solid start.

We made it back home at a much more decent hour tonight, stopping by the Bojo (Bojangles) on our way back in for dinner. In case you've never met me...I have a burning passion for the Bojo and their chicken and biscuits (and everything else they serve). Moving out closer to the Bojo will NOT make me sad. It won't make me skinny, either. Oh well.

That's all I can update for now. My mug of hot chocolate is empty and my bed is calling my name. But if you happen to be in the Athens area (or you want to be) and you have a hankerin' for home improvement this weekend...just give me a call. I maybe could even sweeten the deal with a little Bojo run...no one can resist that!

The Great Sofa Debate

Welcome to Athens, Ga, where the husband and I are currently involved in the Great Sofa Debate of 2009.

That may be overstating it a bit. It just sounded more exciting that way. Also, it sounds even more exciting if you pronounce the word 'sofa' like this: 'sofer.' I love mispronouncing words that end in -a and making it an -er. It's so much fun. That's why you'll hear Matt and I call our daughter 'Loler' instead of her given name, Lola. I wonder if there's a part of the country where people really do pronounce words that way? I should move there...I'd be constantly entertained. Anyway, I'm off on a tangent. Let's get back to the topic at hand here: The Sofa.

We have a couch. (Note: I use the words 'sofa' and 'couch' interchangeably. In my opinion they are the same thing. You can correct me if I'm wrong.) We got it off Craigslist right before we got married. Actually, we got it off Facebook Marketplace, which is highly underrated. We also found our Civic there. Kudos to Facebook. At any rate, our sofa was several years old and used when we got it (and the previous owner had a dog), but in pretty good shape. I like the color (lightish green) and style, and it's served us well. However, we're not overly finicky about it...since we only invested $100 in it, we don't exactly treat it like a priceless antique or something. It's well-loved and well-used. Lola (Loler) particularly enjoys leaping onto it immediately after coming inside from the mudhole backyard. It's seen a looottttt of spot-cleaning this year. Anyway, it seats 3 (4 if you're close) and is our only sit-able furniture in the living room. If we have more than 4 people over, folks get to sit on the floor or on a dining room chair (not comfy). So we tend to not have many people over, which makes me sad. But our living room now just isn't big enough for more furniture.

However, we are buying a house (have I mentioned that before?). The future homestead has a much much larger living room. Actually, it looks like this:

Not that you can actually see anything in this picture except the fireplace (and my purse on top)...I was standing probably 2/3 of the way into the room (that's the back of the living room you're seeing) with my back to the front door and front of the house. It's a big ol' empty room with white walls and no floors. And big windows. Anyway, in a few weeks it will have lovely laminate floors and nicely painted walls and be all ready for...furniture. Which brings us back to the topic at hand: the sofa. We like our sofa, but it's seen better days. And we would really like a bit more furniture to a) fill up the space in the new living room and b) sit on (crazy, right?). So purchasing a new sofa, or sofa and loveseat or chair seems like a good move. However, we have a lot of things to be spending our money on...things that are really necessary, like flooring, a water heater, and a stove. Replacing stuff that works isn't really at the top of my list of priorities. With this in mind, I spent Saturday morning doing a thorough sofa-cleaning...I took off all the cushion covers and machine washed them, and while they were washing/ air drying I scrubbed down the rest of the sofa (the fabric that wouldn't come off) with a mixture of hot water and upholstry cleaner...and a lot of elbow grease. It look like a tornado hit my house:

That top picture has one of the cushions tastefully draped over the vacuum cleaner as the fan blows it dry...classy, right? Then I got the brilliant idea to move them all to the front porch for some sunlight and wind (between rainstorms). It worked for awhile but then I noticed like a million flies landing on them...sick. So they came back in. Anyway, it took all day for them to dry (and the final product is actually pretty great)...but in the meantime, we had nowhere to SIT, so Matt and I had to get out of the house for the day. We passed the time by doing a little shopping...and we stopped by our local Big Lots.

Big Lots is pretty amazing. I never actually went to one until well into my college years, and I'm sad about all the quality shopping I missed out on in my first 20 years. Oh, what could have been. Anyway, our BL here in Athens has a sizeable furniture section, and as fate would have it, they had quite a few living room sets for some pretty decent prices. They had one set, though, for a freakin steal. Check it out, comrades:

Nice, right? Nice dark brown color (the better to hide Lola's dirty pawprints), comfy corderoy-ish fabric, cushions that aren't all squished down and lumpy (I appreciate the small things)...and better yet, we can get both the sofa and the loveseat (6 people could sit!!!!) for around $550!!! The sofa is normally $400 and the loveseat $350, but through May 30 if you buy both of them they take $200 off! So the questions is...should we get them?

Interesting, potentially significant fact: Because our closing got moved to June (which was very depressing initially), we will not have to make our first mortgage payment until August. Previously we had planned on making our first payment in July, along with our last rent payment in July...so we knew we'd have overlapping payments that month. So we budgeted accordingly and have that money saved up. But now we won't have overlapping payments that month...so I'm thinkin...sofa?? Or should we save the money and be content with what we have? Or buy Lola a brother or sister? Or buy something else? Have a huge party? Go on vacation?

So many choices, so little time. We must decide before the sale ends May 30...so leave a comment with your opinion!

PS. Just now when I was looking for a picture of the set online, I found the same sofa for sale (just the sofa, not the set) at some online store for a little over $1000!!! Are you KIDDING me??!! I really don't think this is an issue so much of it being that great of a deal at Big Lots...I think this other store is just realllllly overpriced! But still!

weekend away

We had such a fun weekend in Greenville! In honor of Liz and Scott's impending parenthood and Brooke and Patrick's upcoming cross-country move, we had a weekend of festivities in G-vegas (as the natives call it). There was lots of food (including some mind-blowing desserts), laughing, catching up, and picture-taking. There was also an unplanned flat tire on our Civic, which led to a multi-hour new-tire-buying experience. Surprisingly, that was not the high point of the weekend. But back to the good stuff-- let's review the weekend with photos, shall we?

The couple of honor (Scott and Liz) and the lovely hostess, Katy (and her dog Eva)

Jessica! It had been way too long since I've seen this girl. Apparently not much has changed-- she either has to make a silly face for the camera, or her eyes are closed.We played a fun baby trivia game which I sadly did not win (I like winning). But I still learned some things, and we all had fun. The "art" you may notice is my rendition of an octopus. It was in honor of the Octo-mom (the question was something like "how many is the most surviving children from a single birth?")

The strawberries-n-cream cake from Strossners. This was worth the drive to Greenville all by itself.

Liz and the guys. Or, as someone said that day, "The results of the paternity test are almost in. The daddy is........" :)

Me with the mama-to-be (and hostess to me, Matt, and Lola for the weekend)

The ladies! Katy, Liz, me, Brooke, and Jess

Matt is serious about that fruit, and Dustin is seriously cracking up about something.

Matt and I downtown at the Blue Ridge Brewery-- yum!

On Sunday, we went to Chris & Katy's (HUGE!) church and enjoyed time with them and the Boxes. Afterwards, we had a poolside cookout to celebrate/mourn Patrick and Brooke's upcoming move to Iowa. Lots of jokes about corn were made...I didn't even know there could be so many corn-themed jokes! I forgot to take pictures then, so I'm just planning on stealing the ones on Katy's blog. After that (and some amazing key lime pie) we made the trek back to Athens. Or rather, Matt did. I fell asleep before we got on I-85 in Greenville and woke up just as we turned into our neighborhood in Athens. It was pretty much the best road trip ever!

Only 2 more days of seeing my all-grown-up pre-k-ers at school, and only maybe 4 days til we're homeowners! We're supposed to close on Friday, but (there's always a 'but', isn't there) due to some oversight on behalf of the mortgage people, it may be delayed. Boo hiss on them. Maybe it will all work out, or we may have to file an extension until next week. Either way, the end is near!