Thank goodness my husband loves me so much, because I have been a drama queen this week. No, not in a girly way complaining about how he is ditching me for two weeks for Kenya (which he is, but since he has to do emergency comms training in the middle of Africa, I’m not going to bewail too much), but about PIPES. Yeh, polybutylene piping, which is all over our prospective new house and I have worked myself into a tizzy over it.
Apparently, polybutylene was the “pipe of the future… future…. future” when they installed it in the house, but in the last 20 years they have discovered that it has a delightful habit of spontaneously combusting. And the plumbing in the house runs through the attic, which given said spontaneous behavior could mean a big mess in a big hurry. So naturally I want it replaced before it spontaneously combusts over my brand new dining hutch, and so far its not looking favorable. I’m usually pretty level-headed, but this has honest to the plumbing gods gotten me so stressed out that I am just plain pathetic, and I need it to be over- fixed or not- so that I can stop having heart palpitations every 10 minutes. Bottom line is today (while at work no less) we have to decide whether or not to spend the cash to fix or walk away from the whole thing. New arch enemy in life: polybutylene. Good news is John & Kate are now off the hook.
11.24.2009
11.13.2009
Headed for the burbs?
God is a comedian. A week ago, I was ready to throw in the proverbial real estate towel and hibernate for the winter in my cozy apartment. There were no houses out there. I checked Redfin incessantly and annoyingly often. Before our tour last weekend, I turned to Casey and said, “This could be a real stinker. I’m scratching the bottom of the barrel with these listings.”
A week later, pending paperwork and inspection, we’ve almost bought a house. And one I didn’t even see in all my real estate stalking and one that was just so inexplicably cute and homey that, even though it’s not the type of house I thought I wanted, it’s not in the area we started looking, I turned to Casey and said, “Done.” See? God definitely likes to throw curve balls.
That’s not to say I don’t have some trepidation about moving out of the area I’ve lived in (and loved) for the past 6 years, it will be weird. (Expect a few last minute posts on that as I bewail the loss of Caffe Ladro 2 minutes away and downtown a whopping 10. But we have a YARD people, and 2 FULL baths that I might actually feel are clean enough to soak in, so…) Getting to work will be tougher and when something breaks I can’t call the landlord and my gosh, we will have practically no fun money for a while. But more than that, I’m excited to start this phase of our lives, to have space to make our own and to continue to try and figure out what God has in store for us (Who I’m not convinced is finished with his punch line yet.) For now, just perhaps it’s a cute green house in Kent.
A week later, pending paperwork and inspection, we’ve almost bought a house. And one I didn’t even see in all my real estate stalking and one that was just so inexplicably cute and homey that, even though it’s not the type of house I thought I wanted, it’s not in the area we started looking, I turned to Casey and said, “Done.” See? God definitely likes to throw curve balls.
That’s not to say I don’t have some trepidation about moving out of the area I’ve lived in (and loved) for the past 6 years, it will be weird. (Expect a few last minute posts on that as I bewail the loss of Caffe Ladro 2 minutes away and downtown a whopping 10. But we have a YARD people, and 2 FULL baths that I might actually feel are clean enough to soak in, so…) Getting to work will be tougher and when something breaks I can’t call the landlord and my gosh, we will have practically no fun money for a while. But more than that, I’m excited to start this phase of our lives, to have space to make our own and to continue to try and figure out what God has in store for us (Who I’m not convinced is finished with his punch line yet.) For now, just perhaps it’s a cute green house in Kent.
10.20.2009
The Hunt
How do you know what house is the right house? Some people have told me they have walked into one and have just known, other say that no matter where you end up, you make it home. I'm beginning to be a big believer in the latter. I'm not sure there are many situations life where you just know, maybe you have a good feeling, you feel led by God, whatever, but I don't think I have ever been 100 percent sure about anything, not even my lunch burrito (pork or chicken?). At some point, you make a choice and you live with it, some times it turns out to be a terrific choice, a fine one, or a horrible one, but that is just part of living.
All this to say- I'm very torn with house hunting. There are two houses that have some wonderful features, a few things that bug us and are in completely different parts of town- Rainier Beach and then in Kent. Those of you who know Seattle, know the word Rainier is usually not a good connotation and while the house is in a really cute area, the areas that surround it are not the best. And the other is near a lake (big plus) and walking trails but is farther south and this Seattle-ite is having a slight panic attack at living outside my beloved city (in the suburbs! Will people still come see us?)
So I go back and through between the two, each new piece of info (New roof! Bad schools! Park! Drug deals in park?) swaying me a different direction. The thought still lingers that there may be something else out there, but that will always be true and I do think that wherever we are it will be home, it would just be so nice to love my home.
All this to say- I'm very torn with house hunting. There are two houses that have some wonderful features, a few things that bug us and are in completely different parts of town- Rainier Beach and then in Kent. Those of you who know Seattle, know the word Rainier is usually not a good connotation and while the house is in a really cute area, the areas that surround it are not the best. And the other is near a lake (big plus) and walking trails but is farther south and this Seattle-ite is having a slight panic attack at living outside my beloved city (in the suburbs! Will people still come see us?)
So I go back and through between the two, each new piece of info (New roof! Bad schools! Park! Drug deals in park?) swaying me a different direction. The thought still lingers that there may be something else out there, but that will always be true and I do think that wherever we are it will be home, it would just be so nice to love my home.
9.22.2009
Murky Waters
I need a guidebook. I do apologize for being so lax in my blogging (Honestly, it’s a blog called The Newlywed Game and I can’t even blog about my 1st anniversary??? One sentence version: this has been the most incredible year of my life. Done) but the real estate search has taken over all my spare time, some work time and sleeping time. I now stalk Redfin for a living.
It’s not as though we are in a big hurry to move or close on a house, I just have this need not to miss THE house because I didn’t look hard enough. Case in point: I recently hunted out a house on a Thursday when it came on the market, by the time we saw it on Saturday, it was gone. And it was the first place that felt like it could have been home and it was slightly heartbreaking. I’m learning that even after all the work to find THE house (yes it does have to be in caps, thank you very much), the journey is just beginning: offers, money, inspectors and it’s all very overwhelming and surreal. And guess what? Talking about money is fun. Oh wait, no it’s not. It’s really, really not.
And thinking about spending THAT much money, you had better hope you like the darn house. And then we’re back where we started, trying to find THE house. Back to my stalker tendencies, I do promise to be more cheery next time (when we GET THE house!)
It’s not as though we are in a big hurry to move or close on a house, I just have this need not to miss THE house because I didn’t look hard enough. Case in point: I recently hunted out a house on a Thursday when it came on the market, by the time we saw it on Saturday, it was gone. And it was the first place that felt like it could have been home and it was slightly heartbreaking. I’m learning that even after all the work to find THE house (yes it does have to be in caps, thank you very much), the journey is just beginning: offers, money, inspectors and it’s all very overwhelming and surreal. And guess what? Talking about money is fun. Oh wait, no it’s not. It’s really, really not.
And thinking about spending THAT much money, you had better hope you like the darn house. And then we’re back where we started, trying to find THE house. Back to my stalker tendencies, I do promise to be more cheery next time (when we GET THE house!)
9.15.2009
8.27.2009
This brain is full. Please try again later.
Wow, sorry to have been such an MIA blogger, but things have been busy because: we have re-entered the real estate world.
And home loans and finding a realtor and cruising listings (All.The.Time.) in addition to working is exhausting and most of the time it feels like my head is going to explode from all the information, consideration and advice I keep jamming into my brain.
But I'm excited about the possibility of having our own place (please come visit me even though we are looking in the south end! It's cool there, really) but also slightly petrified because I'm starting to realize that sometime in the last couple of years, I became a grown-up and I did not see that coming. Part of me wants to embrace it (remember as a kid when all you wanted was to grow-up? I got my wish) or do something rebellious like tattooing a tramp stamp on my lower back in order to try and recapture my youth. (Kidding of course. Except for maybe a "My man is better than your man" tatty. That would be classy.)
In all seriousness, prayer is much appreciated and kind thoughts as well as make a pretty big leap forward.
And home loans and finding a realtor and cruising listings (All.The.Time.) in addition to working is exhausting and most of the time it feels like my head is going to explode from all the information, consideration and advice I keep jamming into my brain.
But I'm excited about the possibility of having our own place (please come visit me even though we are looking in the south end! It's cool there, really) but also slightly petrified because I'm starting to realize that sometime in the last couple of years, I became a grown-up and I did not see that coming. Part of me wants to embrace it (remember as a kid when all you wanted was to grow-up? I got my wish) or do something rebellious like tattooing a tramp stamp on my lower back in order to try and recapture my youth. (Kidding of course. Except for maybe a "My man is better than your man" tatty. That would be classy.)
In all seriousness, prayer is much appreciated and kind thoughts as well as make a pretty big leap forward.
8.13.2009
Post-Vacation Haze
Coupled with pre-vacay ADD, I now have post-vacation fog brain in which my mind refuses to wrap itself back around work. Ninety-percent of the time, I’m pretty happy working full-time, it gives me some purpose, I like the people I work with and seriously what would I do with myself all day? (Although you might get a few more blogs out of me, that’s for sure). But all it takes is a vacation for me to decide that lying around on the couch all day sitting on my soon-to-be ginormous backside eating bon bons wouldn’t be the worst way to go in life. There are several distinct phases to get to such an outrageous statement:
Stage 1, morning after return: “Why is it so early? I’m going to go back to sleep and then by the time I get up Mom will have cinnamon rolls done and I crawl out and eat them in my sweatpants with Julie & Julia…. Mmmm. CRIKEY! I have to go back to work today and there are NO MORE CINNAMON ROLLS AND NONE OF MY WORK PANTS WILL FIT RIGHT NOW. Sigh.”
Stage 2, mid-morning after return: “He wants me to file all the what? What is he talking about? Did I miss something while I was gone? I don’t want to, can I say no? Oh right, no I can’t because this is my JOB. DRAT.”
Stage 3, noon after return: “All I have for lunch is a pimento loaf and mayonnaise sandwich I found in the back of the fridge. I miss buffets.”
Stage 4, mid-afternoon after return: “I miss mid-afternoon naps too.”
Stage 5, way too late to be at work still, day after return: “HOW MANY HOURS A DAY AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK? 10? Have I always done this? Why don’t I remember how long a day this is? Why am I still here? Maybe all that sun addled my brain a bit.”
Stage 6, evening day after return: “Have finally reached the comfortable recesses of the big green couch with Flight of the Conchords on DVD and my bon bons; am not going back.”
Stage 1, morning after return: “Why is it so early? I’m going to go back to sleep and then by the time I get up Mom will have cinnamon rolls done and I crawl out and eat them in my sweatpants with Julie & Julia…. Mmmm. CRIKEY! I have to go back to work today and there are NO MORE CINNAMON ROLLS AND NONE OF MY WORK PANTS WILL FIT RIGHT NOW. Sigh.”
Stage 2, mid-morning after return: “He wants me to file all the what? What is he talking about? Did I miss something while I was gone? I don’t want to, can I say no? Oh right, no I can’t because this is my JOB. DRAT.”
Stage 3, noon after return: “All I have for lunch is a pimento loaf and mayonnaise sandwich I found in the back of the fridge. I miss buffets.”
Stage 4, mid-afternoon after return: “I miss mid-afternoon naps too.”
Stage 5, way too late to be at work still, day after return: “HOW MANY HOURS A DAY AM I SUPPOSED TO WORK? 10? Have I always done this? Why don’t I remember how long a day this is? Why am I still here? Maybe all that sun addled my brain a bit.”
Stage 6, evening day after return: “Have finally reached the comfortable recesses of the big green couch with Flight of the Conchords on DVD and my bon bons; am not going back.”
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