Christmas has come and gone...

Despite not having a job, my grandfather passing away, and not having any real money for gifts this year, Christmas actually went really well, and I'm very grateful for that. This year we spent Christmas with three parts of our families. It's been a long week this past week, because given the lack of funds for gifts, I decided that I would try to make gifts for my family like I used to do as a child. I hoped that everyone would like them, because I know that as a kid, you don't really grasp the 'thought that counts' aspect at Christmas time. Thankfully they all liked them, or at least pretended too. I made all of the kids Christmas ornaments that were animals, with their names on them, and then made glittery decorative balls for my aunts, my cousin Rachel, and my mom. My big give to my mom though was a "love" box that I had everyone fill out letters to her, and put them in the box that I decorated.

It's been a very long, rough month for all of us, but for my mom especially. When my grandfather passed away last month it really shifted the family a lot. My grandmother needs constant help, so in order to better do that, my family made the decision to move in with her. The moving process has been a long, hard one. My mom however, somehow through all the hardship has managed to put on a happy face and take care of everyone from making the move, to helping grandma get from one part of the house to the other, to making meals everyday for the whole family. She really is a superwoman. I wanted her to know we all love her and are grateful for all that she's done. Several people thought it was stupid and didn't take it seriously, but when I saw her cry as she read them, I knew she appreciated it. I'm happy for that.

So we got up early and headed to my Grandma's around 9:30am, where mom made us all eggs and toast and hot tea for breakfast. Then once Aunt Kate and Uncle Drew got there we began opening presents. At around 11:30am we headed out from Grandma's and headed to David's parents' house for lunch with his family. Unfortunately Larry and Bob and Duane and Birgit (I know, I butchered the spelling, sorry) weren't there, but we spent it with David's mom and dad, Elizabeth (whom it was great to see again), Meredith & Mike and the kids, and David's brother Robert. We opened presents and sat down for a nice lunch together. Then at around 1:30pm we headed out, stopped back at our house to pick up the cookies and lemon chiffon pie that I made and the slideshow and headed back to my Grandma's for an early Christmas dinner. There was soooo much food. More and more family came. I believe we had like 17 people there for dinner. Then we opened presents again and watched a slideshow I made. At like 6pm we headed out once again for Christmas at Aunt Bobbie's house, where we opened MORE presents, and hung out for a little while, which was nice. Finally we headed back to my Grandma's AGAIN where we met my uncle's new girlfriend and her daughter. Eventually we were able to finally head home for the night, and Douglas came over and we watched 'Drillbit Taylor' which was a very cute movie. It was a very long very filled day, but it turned out just right. :)

Today I spent the day applying for more jobs again and making sure all the paperwork for school is ready.

I'm looking at how much I just wrote and realize I don't write in this journal enough, but I guess there's just not that many exciting or important things going on, but I wanted to share with everyone our Christmas, and I hope that everyone else had a great one! :)

AHHHH!!

I got into grad school! I start in spring! I could not be happier! Now I just need a new job and I'll be set!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving you guys!

Doctors...and butts...

Went to the colon doctor today. I've been bleeding each time and two weeks ago, an emense amount. They did an exam, and found a fissure and an enflamed internal hemroid (which, I always thought were things you get, but apparently are things your body already has, it's just a matter of if they get aggitated or not) which was causing bleeding. However, because of my sister's resectioning, my dad's issues, and my great grandmother dying of colon cancer, they want me to have a colonoscopy. So one of these Mondays coming up, that's what I'll be doing. :(

So. Wow. I guess I'm doing something right. In the past year and two months, I've essentially been promoted 3 times. I started as a file clerk in October of last year. Two weeks later I became a receptionist. Two months ago I became a legal secretary. And as of monday I will be an accountant. This is exciting. Shit, before long I'll be able to do everyones job. And the best part is that everyone said that you couldn't move up here. And in a years time I've done it three times. Yay!

R.I.P. Papa

This morning my grandfather passed away. We are all devestated. You will be missed more than you know!

GRE time.

So today is the GRE and I'm still pretty scared about it. I hate tests. Especially these kind. I've gotta leave here in about 30 minutes. Bleh. Wish me luck, I need it.

Ah!

Totally won $400 in Visa giftcards! So exciting!

School Update:

I just applied to grad school at FSU and spent about $80-$100 in the process between the application fee and the transcripts costs and such. Agh. I also am registered to take the GRE on the 28th of this month, which was $140 and I'm horribly terrified. I've also got my application ready for UCF as a backup, which will be another $30-$35 for the application fee, so I'm waiting to pay for that one at least a little bit anyway until I have too.

Yay!

My degree/certificate finally got here! It's about time!

Update:

We went to court on Wednesday morning to fight the fact that WE were ticketed when some idiot 18 year old slammed into us on I-95 and rear-ended us, in the rental car, an hour after we picked it up, exactly a week after we were t-boned. Fantastic. So anyway, the kid showed up and lied his ass off, and since the supposed witness never showed up, the judge said he needed to sleep on it. Today we got the verdict. We were found NOT GUILTY! about freaking time. So hopefully now they insurance will realize this and hold the kid liable, and make him pay enterprise and our deductible.

Well, it's been 6.5 weeks, and my degree still isn't here yet. This is somewhat concerning, since David's came last week, so I may need to starting calling the school soon. In other news though...

You are now looking at Rissman's newest secretary! Hells yeah! Today I got my cubicle with my desk and my computer and my phone, with my very own extension. :) Super happy! Had a meeting with my attorney today and he was MUCH more friendly than last time. Everyone is being very supportive and offering help if I ever need it. And it went from 7.5 hours a week that I'll be doing it, to 20 hours a week, which means more money. Yay! Super excited! In 90 days I'll have a review to get a better raise.

And Happy Birthday to my mom yesterday, and to my baby nephew, Micah on the 10th!

David's degree!

Yay! So I forgot to mention it, but David's degree finally arrived in the mail two days ago! Yay! He's officially officially a graduate! Mine hasn't come yet, but it should be soon. Oh, and I'm in the process of applying to grad school. Today I've got to write my little essay stating what my career goals are and why I think and MS will help to achieve them, and I need to go to the library and get a few study books for the GRE, which I need to take sometime either this month or next month so that I can have my application completed and turned in by Dec. 1st, which is the deadline for Spring admission. I'm pretty excited tho! Yay!

So we're back...

from Jacksonville and Tampa and had a great trip. It was much needed and there was a lot of excitement. There is so much to do now though. We've got so much cleaning to do in this house. Two rooms are clean, but we've got clothes everywhere from the trips, dishes need to be done (but we can't because of shortage on water because of the stupid Fay). We've been out of work the past two days due to this crap storm, but my mood has been all off with the storm. I really need to clean tho. I did however get to catch up on all my shows from the past two weeks. I've got to do an assignment for class tonight before midnight, but that won't take any time at all. I've been thinking a lot and watching stupid shows and being around pregnant people, and am really wanting to start trying sometime in the next year or so. We'll see. We've just gotta get everything under control first. We're on a good path though. We're 23 years old, own our own house, a beautiful 3/2/2 on .38 acres in Sherwood Estates. We have two dogs, 5 vehicles, full-time jobs, and are finally college graduates with our BS degrees, which should arrive in the mail any day now. :) I'm starting modeling again, which should bring in a little bit more money. I'm just so excited even thinking about starting a family, and thinking about Christmas coming up and just what that would be like in the future. Agh. Just so much going through my head recently.

And we're off...

Got to Jacksonville at 3am this morning, and much to our surprise (we were expecting to not even be able to line up until 5am, let alone even get a wristband) we were allowed to go right in, and got registered. We were in and out in 5 minutes. In about 2 hours, we're heading back to get in line for the actual auditions. It outta be pretty crazy with people and I'm not really looking forward to that part, and I'm still struggling with songs. It's definitely going to be 'Lean on Me' and I think 'Against All Odds' by Mariah Carey. Not sure about the third. We'll see. I also need to learn 'Get Ready' and 'Walking on Sunshine'. Agh. Just did my makeup, and am getting ready to do my hair. Kind of thinking I'm not actually going to end up going to bed at all, which sucks. I'm going to be dead tomorrow.

Fixed

Apparently a theme-upgrade I recently did made the comments and such stop working. Not leaving comments here myself much, I wasn't aware of it too immediately. Finally took the time to look into it, and it should be all fixed now.

We Finished!

Yay! We both officially graduated, and yes, I mean BOTH! He got a C and I got a B. I think we're still planning to take down the teacher though, but we'll see. Either way, we BOTH graduated!!! Yay! I couldn't be happier!

Lastnight:

Lastnight was nice. David bathed Cleo so she was all sparkling clean and smelly good when I got home from work, so I got to play with her for a little bit, before we headed to Village Inn to have graduation dinner with Bruce, Marj, and David's Aunt Jean. It was nice. :) Dinner was delicious and the conversation was good. I ended up passing out pretty early, then we remembered we had to run to the bank and get gas in my car, so we headed out, and came back and passed out again. :) Lastnight was a good night, but also the last good one for the next 3. Tonight and tomorrow night will be spent at UCF's library, doing research and writing a 7-10 page paper that is due Friday night. We also each have a test to take before then as well, but that part will be easy. Then at 9am, Saturday morning, David and I walk. It's about time. I need to double check when classes at BCC start up though, and when payment is due, and get the the books. I'm a lot less stressed about my BCC classes though. I think I'll look em up here shortly. Oh, and tomorrow will be 3 years for David and I, and in exactly 2 weeks, I'll be in Jacksonville auditioning for American Idol! Yay!

The week

Yesterday Naner and I went to the Pocock's house for a cookout. Most everyone was there. It was really nice, and we got to play with the babies! :) I love those kids! I can't wait till we have some. Micah especially makes me want one more and more.

Saturday David and I graduate! About time!

In other news. Please, please, please pray for Emma, my adorable niece who will undergo heart surgery on the 4th. She is a 5 year old little princess with DS that is about the size and function of a one year old. We pray she pulls through, the strong little girl that she is. Please also pray for my dad, who will be having surgery the day after Emma.

Update:

I've finally gotten my car back, and a big thank you to David, my parents, Douglas and Marge for helping to get me to and from work for the past two weeks. :) It's greatly appreciated. School is almost over. I've got a week and a half until I graduate and until David is supposed to. I'm so excited. Then I get to start my paralegal degree, which I can't wait for. Today I've gotta go pick up David from work, and we've gotta get our caps/gowns/tickets, and research for our paper that's due next Friday. Next week is that last week. Yay! Oh and in other news, so...I'm auditioning for American Idol next month. lol. Exciting, right?

So the rental company never did give me another car. So all of last week, David brought me to and from work, except 2 times. Friday Douglas, Renee, Ken and I went to River Lanes to play pool and did three hours of extreme bowling which was pretty fun. My car was supposed to be available for pickup on Friday and supposed was, but when David went to pick it up, my stereo system wouldn't turn on, and my airbag lights came on. Apparently the front and right airbags were having problems, which is interesting since it was the LEFT side of my car that was being worked on. So needless to say, my car is once again back in the shop until at least Wednesday. :(

Yesterday we got to sleep in a bit, and got up and headed to Rosemarie to weedwack since we'd mowed a few days ago in the rain. From there we headed to his parents' how to mow and weedwack, stopped at the bank, picked up Arby's, and headed to Meredith's with cut down some bushes/trees. It was a long and VERY tiring day, but I got to play with the babies for a while, which I absolutely loved. :)

Today we're mowing here and then heading to my parents' to put in a wireless card to Renee's computer.

Oh and in other news. Guess who's trying out for American Idol? Yep, it's me! :) August 13th in Jacksonville. I'm definitely excited, although a little concerned as well. I'm just hoping to get a wristband at registration. That's the scariest part, I think, is wondering if you'll even be able to get in to audition.

Oh, and just two weeks left until school is out. I can't wait!

Are you serious!?

Okay, so as if today wasn't a long enough day as it is...We finally (a full week later) for the other insurance company to take claim to the wreck last week. So I left like an hour and a half early to bring my car to the shop. I ended up getting into it really bad when we got to Enterprise to find that to replace my civic for a week they wanted to give me a "metro". Um, no. So after 20 minutes of me yelling at the guy, we ended up eating $4 a day to do two level upgrade to a freaking Chevy Cobalt that has manual everything except transmission. It's ridiculous and not even close to the civic. So when I finally get home, David, Renee and I decide to go to Melbourne Square Mall. So we get in the car, and are less than 2 miles from the exit, when a idiot 18 year old in a wannabe riced out car comes flying up at 100mph and almost takes off our rear. David in order to avoid being killed moved to the right lane, at which point apparently the crack head kid decided he wanted to swerve around us, ended up rear-ending us anyway, and yet somehow, David gets the ticket for 'Failing to move for traffic' and the kid gets off free. I've never been so pissed in my life. So now we have a ruined rental. So they finally left (we'll be seeing them in court) and Enterprise sent AAA to pick up the car, and Meredith came out the pick us up (Thank you so much Meredith). Seriously, now I'm just giving up. What did I do to deserve this? Really?

Happy 4th of July:

So the guy from the other guy's insurance came out yesterday and estimated the cost of damage, which he guessed to be like $1100 assuming they just want to bondo it, however, he thinks that they'll want to actually cut off part of my car and replace it, which will cost a LOT more. Unfortunately though, we won't be able to get anything done until at least Monday (which they will give me a rental which is good) however, we still haven't heard back from the adjuster yet, so we can't do anything anyway.

The plan for today is to make a cake for the neighbor's annual 4th of July party at 2pm and go meet the rest of the clan, and then at 3pm head to my grandparents' for Aunt Kate's birthday.

Happy 4th of July everyone!

So...

My life sucks. After a long bad day, and a long bad week, to top it all off, we just got t-boned in the Sonic parking-lot. Needless to say, we're finally home now, but tomorrow is going to be another long day. Both of us are fine, but the driver's side of my car is nice and bent in, luckily he missed me and got a little bit further back, although he did catch part of the door. Tomorrow at 10am I've gotta be in Melbourne again to get repacked again, and then we've gotta take my car to State Farm. I just need to remember to bring the police report with us. Let's just hope that we get it in in time before the long weekend, and that'll I'll have a car and be able to go back to work on Monday as planned.

Teeth Update:

I woke up at 6am again for the third day in a row in immense pain. I called the office again after speaking to the doctor on Sunday and am set to be there at 1pm. She thinks it's a dry socket as well. I don't really care what it is, I just want the pain gone. I've already missed too much work, and it just hurts.

So....

It's continuing to get worse with the pain, and it's been 4 days, so I think I'm going to go back to the Dr.'s tomorrow, because we're beginning to think that I DO in fact have a dry socket. I've got a lot of pain/pressure where my jaw meets my ear on my left side, and I'm really over the pain. Bleh.

Woke up feeling far worse this morning at like 6:30am, which is WAY too early to be waking up on a Sunday morning. My mouth was super sore, and I had a splitting headache. I got up, closed over the bathroom door from letting light into the room, went to the bathroom, ate some apple sauce, popped 4 pills and went back to bed, but my mouth was almost throbbing, or maybe it was my head, so I got back up at 7:30am to go get some ice to rest on my cheeks. I finally fell back asleep, then the alarm went off at 10am and again at 10:30am. David got up for a bit and I slept for another hour. Now we're at my parents' and David is making lunch before having to go to work. I'm still not feeling the greatest, but I just took 3 more pills, so hopefully they'll kick in shortly.

Another update:

So I'm a little bit sore today. I just got up like 20 minutes ago, and everyone else is still passed out. We moved Cleo into the garage with Punkin lastnight because I was tired and pissy and sore at 2am and didn't feel like dealing with it. I got up and attempted to eat a bowl of cereal so i could take my pills. I only took two this time, but I'm thinking about taking another, and I need to put ice on my right side again. It's the only one that really hurts. The bottom right, it's also the only one that'd been bleeding, but the paper said some bleeding (since it wasn't much) would be common for the first 24 hours. It's not bleeding now, but still a little bit sore.

Surgery update:

So, needless to say I was scared, and cried. I know, I'm a wimp. I ended up getting in over an hour later because his surgery before me ran late. They gave me the gas for like 5 minutes which didn't do crap, then gave me the IV (terribly afraid of) which knocked me flat on my butt in a matter of seconds. I don't remember passing out, I don't remember waking up or walking out to David. I sat with David for 15 minutes, then they took out the gauze. We left and picked up mashed potatoes and mac n' cheese from KFC, and I took 4 Advil and passed out for a few hours when we got home, and about every 20 minutes, David would check on me for my ice that I held against my cheeks while I slept. At 6pm, he woke me up to eat and take 3 more Advil's, and then we went to pick up Renee and made me some ramen noodle soup and took my pills. Then we came back home and took a test, then picked up Miranda, then David took another test, and Miranda, Renee and I have been watching tv while I ice my face. It doesn't hurt terribly, but it's a little sore, but I've been taking my meds, and icing myself, although the bottom right one is bleeding just a little bit.

:(

So in an hour David and I will be on our way to Melbourne for me to have surgery to remove my wisdom teeth, and I'm pretty dang scared. I've never had an IV or been put under before, and I'm NOT looking forward to it. I spent most of the night cleaning lastnight before I finally just passed out. Bleh.

Vacation:

So Wednesday night we got back from our 4 day vacation in Ft. Lauderdale. The trip was great, and it was a nice getaway. I've only got a few pictures unfortunately, but I believe my mom has others that I can hopefully scan and post later.



Naner on the way there


David on the way there


Naner actually awake finally


Naner dancing


Lazing at the beach


Dad


Kira


Me


Mom and Nick


Me and David


Mommy


Naner


Me and Naner


Nick


David making me an anklet


"This is my happy face"


Naner


Mom and Nick


Mom, Nick and Naner

It's official!

We are now the proud owners of a 3 bed 2 bath 2 car, 2200 square foot house with a fireplace on .27 acres in Lantern Park! It's really pretty and after only about 4 hours of moving yesterday, it is already beginning to feel a lot like home. Our plan is to move some more once we get off work and are home. We're hoping to be able to sleep in there tonight, but we'll see as there's a lot of cleaning to still be done. I need to finish vacuuming everything, and clean up the bathroom, both the counter and sink and such. I also need to find out if the toilet seats I bought actually fit David's butt, or if I need to return the one for the master. Once everything is good and clean and running, we're hoping to have a mini house warming party. :) Yay! Although it may be a few weeks away given the little amount of time we have to get everything done. Pictures will hopefully be up in the next few days.

The plan of the week:

Friday morning I had an interview at a firm in Titusville, and tomorrow I go back for my second interview with the actual attorney at 4:30pm, so everyone pray for me, because I really need and want this job. *fingers crossed* Tomorrow at 6pm, we have our final walk-through of the house, and Wednesday at 6pm is officially our closing. Yay!

c'est la vie

So, a million minutes of phonecalls later (no, really, whoever thought that I would start hitting into my >2,000 rollover minutes), we're not closing tomorrow. This is half surprise, and half non surprise, making it turn into just a tad bit of frustration. My current understanding is that we're golden based on a letter between our mortgage company and the underwriter for the bank and that if we do not close Tuesday then it will be Wednesday. I guess the words "Okay, then that makes it impossible to do, see ya." are slightly stronger than my initial intentions.


So, we're set back only three days, which I guess can be a gift in more packing time, but is somewhat of a PITA as well. Moving will be slightly more interesting, and we won't have Greg and Kira to the new home yet, but I guess that's just life.

Graduation:

Tonight Douglas graduated. I am so old.

The stress of it all:

I'm beyond stressed out over this whole situation. We're four days away from our closing, and they keep telling us we're good, and then changing their minds and wanting things that are physically impossible to get. It just seems like there's a LOT of shadiness going on. I'm beyond furious with both Patrice, Sandy and Ellen at this point. This is ridiculous, and it's really putting a strain on our relationship right now as well. We're in the process of still packing, but there's so much that needs to be done still, and unfortunately there's several things at the new house that are going to cost us money as well: french doors, flooring, lighting, fans, a dryer, new bathtubs and/or fixtures, a new bathroom sink/cabinets. There's just so much. I'm so tired, and so overwhelmed by everything. It's becoming too much. What I'd really like to do is get this picnic table that's been sitting outside of Lowe's, because we can't really get the 6 piece dining set we'd like to have from Kmart, but would like to have a place for family to sit and eat when we have dinner, especially because I'd really like to have a house warming party. Bleh.

Closing:

So closing is officially set up for Friday, May 30th at 3pm. So exciting! :) On top of all that, Douglas graduates a week from today, and his party is the 31st. So Uncle Mark and Greg and Kira are coming up for the party and are going to help us move, which I'm really excited about because it's been a few months since we've seen each other, and we've been trying to get them up here since New Years. I'm happy though, and on top of that, we'll get to see them again next month when we're down in Ft. Lauderdale on our mini vacation. :) Yay!

House stuffs:

Well, we finally heard back from the mortgage company today, and what they pretty much said was that the lenders basically said we could get the loan, on the condition that we turn in a few papers they needed to verify other things. So we got all that together, and David dropped off the things he had, and I faxed the things that I could find. Needless to say within about 2 hours (which is amazing considering I did most of it, and was at work in Orlando) we got everything turned in and good to go. So now we're waiting again. On a good or bad note, depending how you look at it, the closing however will not be on the 27th but more likely the 30th. Which, on one hand, is longer that we have to wait, but on the other hand, it means that I can work Tuesday and still get holiday pay for Monday, and it means we have the weekend to get everything in order, and hopefully fix the few things that need to be fixed so that we can move in. :) I'm hoping to still start moving at least the bedroom and kitchen stuff in a.s.a.p., however the living room will have to wait until we get the floor changed out, which hopefully that and the french doors can be done that weekend, if we have help.

Also, I am super grateful to David's parents for their help, with not only this house that we've lived in for the past 2 years but for loaning us help with the closing, and offering to help cover grad school. I can't explain how thankful I am.

Financing...

We should be hearing back from the finance agent today as to whether this house is a go or not.

Cleo is fine

Erin took her to see the local vet today and they checked her up and said she was just not fully healed from her modification surgery yet and that she stressed a lot during her recent grooming. Some vitamans and away she goes!

I'm getting ready to take Cleo to the vet, because we came home yesterday afternoon to find she had blood in her stool. Also, we dealt with the mortgage drama today, and I should hear back from her later today to see if we need anything else, and whatnot.

Cleo:

Cleo had her first grooming today, and she's pretty much been throwing up ever since. I'm very concerned. My poor baby looks so pitiful. I just want to make her feel better.

Monday morning we have an appointment with the mortgage company. Keep your fingers crossed. We've been experience a lot of problems along this journey, however, David and I are trying to keep a positive mind, and are looking forward to moving into our new home in 2 and a half weeks.

Inspection:

So we passed inspection, and now it's just a matter of finance stuff which we hope to deal with come Monday, as well as insurance. So we hope to have the house be ours in two weeks or so, since the closing is supposed to be by the 27th.

Home Inspection:

So we finally got the home inspection set up for Saturday at 10:30am which is kind of exciting. I'm having a few mixed feelings because of the current owners, but we'll see where it takes us. If the inspection passes, than I'll change my attitude for the better, and if it fails, then we'll continue our search and find one that is newer and better. :) Also, next week I'm planning to meet with the Graduate school at UCF to see about entry into the Graduate program for fall. I also need to sign up and begin studying for the GRE.

Yay!

Just finished signing the contract on a house! :) Super exciting!

Homes, homes, and more homes:

We looked at 4 more houses today, and took my family to check out the two we liked best that we viewed this weekend. The first one was on an obscenely huge lot, with a large pretty house, but it needed WAY too much work, and had structural issues. The second is a lot closer to my parents, really nice neighborhood, still really nice yard, and very little to fix. We need to replace two rooms or flooring, the sink in the master bath, and hopefully the tubs in both bathrooms, get a dryer and a few light fixtures, and it's pretty much done. We put in an offer on it earlier today, and hope to hear back by Tuesday. :) My family likes it, and we like it. We want to knock out a wall separating the "dining room" and hallway, but it's not mandatory. We're figuring around $2500 to $3000 to do everything we want with it. We need to buy a dining set too.

Houses

We looked at three today, and only like one. Tomorrow we will look at 2 more, possibly 3. We'll keep you posted.

On the lookout again:

So tomorrow David and I will be continuing our search for our perfect home. Sadly we've already missed out on two, but we're still on the lookout. Tomorrow we'll be looking at two in Sherwood Estates, and hopefully two in Royal Oak, but we're not positive if we can get into the Royal Oak ones tomorrow or not. We'll keep you posted, but keep your fingers crossed. I'm really hoping for the one on Longbow.

On the Prowl Again

The house we offered on isn't happening. After our offer/their counter-offer, we re-offered with nearly 5% more, and in that time their offer came down a whopping 0.2%. Something about how they still owe on the mortgage. Oh well, not our job to pay extra tens of thousands of dollars just because someone else was dumb enough to get tied up in two mortgages they can't afford.

...maybe we'll buy it next month for 20K less.

Cameraland.

So yesterday Erin and I went to look at our three competitors to the original Trailwood home we'd been considering. Yesterday we did receive the nail-in-coffin call about Trailwood, citing that the bank now wants us to get into a bidding war with at least two other contendors (sic: for the home which they'd already verbally accepted 135,000 from us for).

The homes we visited yesterday were all somewhat similar, each with their own strong-point. One had nice architectural designs that got us interested (but the highest price, some $20K more than the lowest-home); The next was less architectural "nicety", but a .27 acre lot (a far cry from the .18 acres of the other two), and fell in at ~$5K less than the most expensive; The last was $15-20K cheaper from the other two - and well, that was about the only thing going for it.

All three homes:

• Were built 2001-2003


• Are in neighborhoods of surrounding 150-220K homes


• Are within a 5 mile 'by bird' radius of our current area


• 1400-1550sq/ft


• 2 car garages


• 3 (1-4), bedroom


• Split floorplan


• 2 bathroom

The second home we visited was a small lot. Supposedly the same .18 acres we currently live on, but with the surrounding homes as well as shape of the property, it felt ridiculously small. With the amount of half-running trucks on the street, as well as what I am safe in saying is the worst floor-plan of a home that I have ever seen in my life, we walked in and out of this home faster than I could've set fire to it to salvage all that is holy. The floorplan was terrible, the home was filthy and in disrepair (despite being only six years old), and was useless to even consider.

The third home was truly nice. It felt like someplace that should be stayed in for a weekend in a foreign city rather than lived in. The architecture and layout fit the still-residing-owner's furniture and taste extremely well; however, for our lifestyle we would have needed to exchange all of our furniture just to be able to live there without it looking ridiculous. The home next to it had a second story that looked like it was about to topple off, and a rather small yard area and an awkward kitchen design (coupled with the need to purchase furniture, etc, to live there - plus the highest purchase cost) got us out of there.

Now to the first home we visited; which we also visited last (again). We actually ended up submitting a bid for this propertly as of late last night; however it's not owned by a bank so hopefully this time we'll hear back slightly more quickly. The last home is situation on .27 acres, with a long-skinny lot style. With the back porch within 6' of the back-yard's fence there is a gate, which separates two large side-yards so that they may be divided easily. The floorplan is simple, very square and no real foyer, dining area, or family room; just the large kitchen (which could be eat-in with a smaller table) and the living room. The property is on a cul-de-sac with two empty properties next to it owned by the city for utilities access, and backs up to a reserve. The only downsides of the entire home were that the three bedrooms all needed new flooring (the carpetting was a mess)

We visited BJ's Flooring and spoke to them about doing a wood laminate in the three bedrooms to replace the carpet, and with the size of the rooms we believe (self-installed) that it would run us just under $800 to cover all of them. The interior would need some paint, and the 4x4 posts for the privacy fence could use a bag of quik-crete here-and-there to stabilize them. Add some trees and such to the yard and the place would be just fine for our lifestyle/how we use a home/the rooms. Now it's just another episode of the waiting game.

Other options?

Well, it's been a few days, and we haven't heard back from the bank on the Trailwood house, and not sure if they'll even come back and say GREAT! or if they'll want us to play games and pay a bunch more because of another offer. If they come back and say yes, than great, we'll still take it, but if they come back and say how much are you willing to pay, we're pretty much going to move on. We looked online today and found 3 more that we are interested. One is right down the road from the Trailwood house, and two are right off War Eagle. We have an appointment tomorrow with the realtor, so we'll see how it goes. :) We'll definitely have to do some comparing.

:(

Today I learned that my great-grandfather passed away lastnight.

R.I.P. Pappap.

Good and bad news:

So I've got good news and bad news...bad news first..

Marker (David's family's cat) had to be put to sleep this morning. He recently suffered from colon cancer that was removed but recently again stopped eating and began having breathing/liver/heart problems. He will be missed.

*moment of silence for reflection*

And the good news, or rather the fantastic news is...the realtor called me earlier and said that the bank came back and said the price we offered (20k below asking) is fine, the only thing they changed is that we have to have the inspection done in 9 days instead of 15 which isn't a big deal at all. I'm so happy and so excited. The only flaw in this is that there is another offer, so we'll have to get the papers signed like asap so the other person doesn't take it from us. Keep your fingers crossed!!!!!

House offer:

So David dealt with all the paperwork and contract stuff this morning/afternoon, and it looks like we have officially submitted our offer, and should hope to hear back in about a week from the bank to see if they take the bait or counteroffer. Hopefully they just take the deal, which saves us money and time and gets us in there faster, which would be fantastic. Unfortunately though, even if we get the house, it'll be a little while before we can actually move in, because we have to fix the walls and repaint, but I'm hoping that we will have people that are willing to help us get it finished so we can get in there quicker. We wouldn't really be able to pay anyone for their help, but I would be more than happy to make a large meal for everyone that helps. :)

So exciting!

So we met back at the house again today, and both my family and his dad both agree that it is definitely worth getting the house should it pass inspection. So as of today, we are putting in our first offer! I'm so excited! It's such a beautiful house!

House hunting:

So today was our meeting with the realtor, and we checked out the two houses. We went to the Trailwood one first. I instantly fell in love. It's huge and beautiful. The kitchen is gorgeous, and don't even get me started on the master bath and walk-in closet. I'm in love. The house is absolutely perfect. The only flaw in the entire house is that there are a few cracks in the walls, so we're going back tomorrow and bringing David's dad, and my family to re-look at it, to hopefully find that it is simply issues with the drywall and not actually a structural concern. Should it be just the drywall, we will hopefully be putting in a bid a.s.a.p. We are definitely keeping our fingers crossed. :) We will hopefully add some good pictures tomorrow. :) Yay!

Yay! House hunting!

Yay! I'm so excited! Saturday morning David and I are meeting with our realtor to go check out two houses. I'm pretty set on one of them already. They both cost the same, but one is 400 sq ft larger, and has a slightly bigger lot with a privacy fence already up, and in a super super nice neighborhood. We've already talked with the finance lady once, and she said we should have absolutely no problem getting the loan for it. We need to call her back tomorrow though, so she can send the letter to the realtor, so that if all goes well Saturday as anticipated, we can put in a bid on the house. If we do decide on one this weekend, I'll be sure to post pictures. :) Wish us luck though! It'll be so great to have our own home that we can do whatever with, and allow growth in our family anyway we want! :) Can't wait!

Wet 'N Wild

Tuesday, this being the Brevard County spring break, Erin and I got to use the passes the McDaniels picked up last year for weekdays at Wet 'N Wild and go with Nick, Renee, and Katie. The weather rolled through somewhat ominously, but ultimately stayed decent (despite mistaking the water-gun blast at one ride for thunder more than once). Great times were had, including new patented moves like the "sneak up and pance-&-flip-tube" as well as favourite quotes such as Nick's gem to a group he thought was Erin/Renee/Katie whilst floating down the lazy river of: "If you swam under me right now... it feels like you may see some crack." Lastly, none will forget the look of tourist faces when they were told the rafts were empty because everyone fell out and went sliding down without it... necks askew. Ah, these things will haunt forever.

...somewhere deep in the back seat of the F-150 sat the waterproof camera from last summer's outings to Wet 'N Wild, but alas, there it stayed.

New pics!

Here's a couple of the promised pictures of our new little girl. :)

Home again, home again...

Our little angel is home already! What a pleasant surprise! She is the sweetest thing in the whole world. She had her surgery yesterday so she's a little sore, but she's super sweet and quiet, and has been just laying next to me all day. Tomorrow she's heading to the groomers. :) I'll definitely post pix asap after dinner.

New Family Member

We're hoping to have the newest edition to our family sometime early next week. We adopted a beautiful 4 year old girl. :) So precious, so perfect. We should hear back sometime around Friday and should hope to pick her up around Tuesday or so. :)

Disney

So on Saturday, David, Renee and I headed over to the four Disney parks. It was a long, but mostly fun day. Needless to say, I'm ridiculously sore now though from all the walking. Renee finally got to see Animal Kingdom, and ride Space Mountain. I've got a few pictures (very few) that I'll try to put up later. Sorry if they aren't too perfect since they were on my phone, and it doesn't have a flash.

Next week is the kids' Spring Break. Tuesday David and I are taking Renee and Nick to Wet N' Wild.

Hello!

Hello everyone! I decided to start this blog so that our family - both Pococks, McDaniels - et cetera could keep up with the family if they wanted too. David and my family and I have been hanging out a lot and doing a lot of things and trips together recently, and we often take a lot of pictures and videos of everything. Also, hopefully in the next year or so, David and I will be starting some life changing events, and would like to be able to keep everyone updated as things go. :) Hope you enjoy it! Also, you will be able to leave comments if you'd like. Much love, and Happy Easter!

Erin