Day one - the hunt is on!

Went out with Kevin (the realtor dude) and saw the very first two houses today.

The first one was painful. Before we even walked in the door Mom and I could spot about 5 major things that were wrong. We get into the place and it smells like a giant ashtray. There was one room painted this awful mustardy color with the window boarded up... I couldn't even walk all the way into the room! It was not just ugly and dank, it felt wrong - like I think something awful and yucky happened in there! Soooo... that place was a big giant NO!
So then we drove out to the other place. And we drove. And we drove. And we drove. It was in this teency little town West of Galt called Thornton. Mom doesn't like that it's so far away but I've got to say there's something appealing about a small town like this.
Maybe it's the fact that people were riding around town on horses (and a pony)?

Unfortunately, the house had been vandalized badly. Holes in the walls and graffitti everywhere. Mom thought the little punks had drawn something obscene on the walls. I let her know it wasn't obscene at all, just a little crack pipe. (Niice...)

 

  

Along with the nice small town feel, there were a few other things that I found appealing. The kitchen is cute. And the yard is pretty huge. 

So it had a lot of problems, but I'm not taking it off the list of possibilities. It had lots of potential. :)

Elementary my dear...

This semester I am taking my very first Art class! Elementary Drawing. I love art, and I often feel like an artist with no medium. So I thought this would be a fun class. I know I don't exactly have any "God given" drawing abilities, but I thought it would be cool to move beyond stick figures!

I'm only two weeks in, and I sorta feel like someone who has accidentally walked into the second act of a play without seeing the first act! But I'm hangin' in there, and I just finished my first ever REAL drawing - ya know, aside from all the stick figures!

House Hunting - Part 2 (edited)

Well I am coming to find out that the process of buying a home can sometimes be tedious, sometimes be frustrating, and can sometimes it can make me cry!

The good news is that (sometimes after a brief but cathartic pity party) I usually land on my feet! There have been some speed bumps (some might call them road blocks, but not me!) but once again we are on track and now the fun part begins! Actually going out and LOOKING at the homes we can afford with a realtor!

I've got a few on my list already and I am HOPING that my realtor guy will make some time for me this weekend! I will (of course) be bringing my camera to anything and everything we look at, so I will post it all; the good the bad and the ugly! :)

Edit: So we can't actually go look at houses until we have our entire down payment - and it will take us a little over two months to save the rest of what we need. So the hunting and the pictures will have to be postponed until then. 

Accountability List

I figure if I post my intentions on a public forum it will force me to be a little more accountable for them.

Here are the things I intend to do this year;

1) Buy a house
2) Enroll in a school that will help me get my BA (quicklier) :)
3) Get Hurley a sister/friend
4) Start planning our wedding
5) Exercise enough so that the prospect of a backless wedding dress only gives me HAPPY butterflies.
6) Have Alycia finish my tattoo, and have the other one prettified
7) Be a good friend to the people who reciprocate my friendship
8) Be a good girlfriend/fiance to Bobby (ugh...that probably means less nagging, huh?)
9) Be a good daughter to my Mom (This probably means more cleaning while we're here, huh?) :-)
10) Be good to ME as often as humanly possible (Yep, this means cutting myself a little slack)

Swing your partner, dosey doe!

Yesterday I subbed for one of our tutors at a school. Our client has P.E. on Mondays so I got to participate in that awesomeness. First they ran laps out on the blacktop, and to get the client to participate I ran laps with him. In my slacks, high heels and wool coat. That was awesome.

Then they went into the multi-purpose room to learn SQUARE DANCE! The P.E. teacher was having a rough time getting a class of first graders to pay attention (let alone actually follow instructions!) so he asked for my help. First he asked me just to help with the group of kids that my client was with. THEN he turned on the square dance record and asked me to demonstrate with him. So I got to square dance with the Marlboro man in front of a class of first graders. Whoo hoo, my life is so glamerous! :)

Sports Illustrated - Here I come!

I got a pair of those Reebok Easy Tones.

First I have to say, they are not the most attractive shoes that I have ever owned.

That being said... After I ate a quick dinner I put them on and Hurley and I headed out into the world. Since it was just me and the dog I walked a pretty decent distance at a pretty quick pace (to Hurley's extreme pleasure!). It did not feel like any extra work while we were walking, but I definitely felt a difference when we got home. My legs had that pleasant wobbly feeling you usually get after a good run or maybe a hike. Hopefully I'll be nice and sore tomorrow!

So I don't think my legs and booty are quite ready for the cover of Sports Illustrated - but they're definitely a little closer than they were before the walk!

House hunting - Part 1

House hunting on the kind of budget we've got is a teency bit discouraging. I am keeping my chin up and being very positive - but it's definitely going to be challenging!

Realtors can be a little snooty when they find out that you are "small potatoes". And while I am not very picky about the house itself (Bobby can work miracles when it comes to that sort of thing, so the only hard and fast rule I've got is that it must have a yard!), I am going to be pretty picky about the neighborhood. So I am basically asking my realtor to turn water into wine at a discount price!

As for the other stuff...

I bought a book about home buying and mortgages and everything so I am well armed with knowledge before I begin this journey. Our down payment savings is coming along slowly but steadily. I will probably be asking for "donations" to the house fund for my birthday, instead of ANY presents!

I have started gathering all of the documents I'm going to need (basically my entire filing cabinet) for the lender. My lender is very busy but kind of fabulous, so I feel like she's worth playing phone tag with! 

And the fun stuff: Bobby works at Ace so we can get the paint and other odds and ends we are going to need at a discount. My friend April is a design major and has agreed to help me with the basic aesthetics (like what color to pain each room, based on our tastes and the stuff we've already got!)

We don't have a washer dryer, a fridge, a couch, or a tv so I've sort of been haunting craigslist to get a feel for what we will be able to find for what price. I think that I will just go to K-mart and put a decent sized (not HUGE, hello! we're on a budget...sorry Bobby!) TV on layaway soon. The rest of the stuff we'll probably just get used off of craigslist.

Poo!

I am not supposed to have to deal with poo first thing in the morning until I am a mom (of an actual human baby). Right? Uuuugh!

This morning I was lounging in my bed, pretending to be asleep while the entire house woke up around me (bird squawking, dog click-clacking, mom flip-flopping, and fiance grumbling). I heard Hurley come in from out side and get his paws wiped off, and then he ran into our room where Bobby promptly invited him up onto the bed for a morning snuggle. He snuggles up with me and I begin to let myself drift off again...

I vaguely notice that Bobby is up and wandering in and out of the room, but pay very little attention until I hear, "What is that? Were his feet muddy?" I heaved a big sigh and sat up "What!?... Oh." There's a big brown smudge on my down comforter - which is bare because I washed the duvet last night and did not put it back on before I went to bed. I touch each one of the dog's paws to check for mud - and there is none.

So like a genius I touch the brown spot and then sniff it. EEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeew!!!!!! "THAT'S POO!!" I squealed and ran for the bathroom! I washed my hands several times and then went into the bedroom and stripped my comforter, the sheets, and the pillow cases off the bed. Then I washed my hands again.

Well the sheets and pillow cases are in the washer with TWO capfulls of  detergent and hot water. And I get to go to a laundry mat later to wash the comforter WITH BLEACH. Miz took Hurley in the shower with her and gave him a thorough scrubbing. And he has an appointment with a groomer tomorrow to be bathed and have the fluffly, poo-catching fur cut off of him. I've washed my hands several more times.

A new blog for a new year...

Okay so I have been saying I should start a blog for awhile. I am not sure who will read it, and I am halfway worried that it is going to turn into some sort of internet shrine to Hurley (my puppy) ... But anyway, here goes!

We had a very cozy, uneventful NYE. At about 5:30 Bobby texted me to ask about our plans, and I told him that my plan involved NO driving, lots of pizza, and Dexter! So I came home with a Take N Bake, there was a fire waiting and we chowed down! Miz went to bed early and Bobby passed out on the fuzzy rug in front of the fire at about 10:30. I played video games for awhile, and when midnight rolled around I roused my log-sawing fiance to give him a new year's kiss, I kissed my puppy on the nose - and then we all went to bed!

I am very excited to have a full (but inexpensive) weekend ahead of me. Today jeans shopping with the sister in law (I just love calling her that!) Tomorrow house hunting in Elk Grove and Galt, and maybe a little playing Call of Duty in Stockton? :-) And Sunday I am being taken to the movies by a pretty girl!