Heh

Can I Get A Big Fat Ahhhhhhh?

It's been consistently over a hundred degrees for so many days now I can't keep track. At 11pm at night it's been 95 degrees. This morning greeted me with a wonderful 71 degrees and I quickly opened all my windows to let in some fresh air and to hopefully air out this house that has been closed up for the last two months straight. It's nothing short of wonderful after so many hot days.

This cool front that came through is a reminder that the seasons will soon be changing again and I'm not so sure I'm ready for the cold, cold, cold, and that's almost hard for me to say after being so hot, hot, hot. I am, though, looking forward to the cheaper electric bills that cooler weather always brings.

Wow... I've been home for about an hour now and I've yet to break a sweat. It's almost like Fall is already here!

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Link: http://vimeo.com/14190306

Not So Ho Lee Crap

Well I was not blown away by the house as I expected. It was just okay. I didn't get the "I'm home" feeling at all. Not sure if that was because I was nervous about this huge step I was taking or maybe my mind was distracted by pink when I first entered the home through the converted garage doors. What I did get was a lot of "this will need to be replaced", "this could be patched", "hey look, they have old house cracks just like I do". The best way I know how to put it into words is this: For a house that had been "completely remodeled", I would never hire whoever did it. It's not that it was a bad remodel, it just didn't look like it was professionally done. The pictures did their job, though. They got me there.

The central heat and air appear to be under 5 years old. The water heater looked very new as well. The converted garage in the picture appeared to have laminate flooring but in reality was painted concrete, which can be cool, unless someone decides to paint it the ugliest color pink I have ever seen. In addition, they matched the back covered patio area, that is also concrete, the same ugly pink. There are no air conditioning vents in the converted garage either so utilizing that room for anything other than a very large laundry room, which is where the washer and dryer hookups are located, would be difficult.

The kitchen floor laminate was not done well at all. I'm not against fake wood floors, but I would want the entire floor to look good. There were areas where it was much more worn than it should have been and it kind of looked as if each piece was slightly bowed. Could have been the lighting, though. The cabinetry was decent looking but I found it hard to look anywhere except that area on the floor that was messed up. I can't for the life of me remember what the counters looked like.

In the 2nd bathroom it looks as if they ran out of one kind of tile and got the closest thing to match. It doesn't. But I was impressed that it was almost the size of the bathroom I have now. (My bathroom is MUCH larger than what they put in most modest homes these days) The master bath was SMALL. But all the tile that was there was in very good condition in both bathrooms.

The carpet was laid poorly. There were places in the middle of the living area that were bunched up pretty good. It was very new looking, though.

The master bedroom is about the size of what I have now. I'm okay with that. I don't do much in my bedroom except dress and sleep anyway and I like the size of my room now. The second bedroom is a little smaller and then the 3rd bedroom was really small. Good for an office, though. The only closet I can remember is the hall closet. But that's because I opened it and instantly felt guilty like I was looking through someone's stuff. The owner still lives there.

The house has been on the market for 286 days. The listing price at this time has gone down from the original listing price by 10,000 dollars. If I HAD to have a place to live as soon as possible, I MIGHT offer 20,000 less than the asking price now, and that's after about a 10 minute walk through and just glancing at stuff quickly. If I had walked in and been blown away I probably would have looked a little more closely at things, but I wasn't, so I didn't.

I guess the strangest thing I saw, aside from the pink cement, was the two chain locks on the master bedroom door. You know... those things you put on your front and/or back doors with the chain clasp that you have to get in the hole just right or you're standing there for 5 minutes wondering why the chain isn't longer or the hole bigger so the darn thing would work? Not one, but two of them. And every door inside that house had keys sticking out of knobs.

For it being a buyer's market right now, that house is probably priced about 30,000 more than it should be, which I know is the thing to do, but through my limited research there is usually not THAT big of a difference between the asking and what's it worth. From what I've seen so far, it ranges about 10,000 dollars.

I guess in a very small way I'm disappointed, but in the last couple of weeks I've learned more about buying a house than I did before these last couple of weeks. Plus I can now use in conversation the words, "my real estate agent said...". Also, she's going to get me in touch with some lenders and I can go forward there and at least get a price range on what someone will lend me... if I don't get laughed out of the room, that is.

So all in all, it wasn't a bad house. It's old and I didn't expect it to be new. I wouldn't even mind buying a house that I had to fix up, but I would expect the price to reflect the repairs needed... pink cement aside. And that's BEFORE I hire the inspector to check the wiring and the plumbing and the roof.

What I need to do next is talk to some lenders and then find some other houses to look at which will give me an idea of what's out there in my price range. I've taken the first step... and it kind of makes me feel like a grown up.

Ho Lee Crap 3

The appointment has been made. I should be walking inside the house around 9:30am Wednesday morning. That's about 13 hours away from right now.

Hair-a???

As I celebrated my accumulation of gray hair in yesterday's post, never did I suspect that I would be posting a picture like this so soon. I was thinking maybe in another 20 years at best, 10 years at the earliest.

 My kids will be SO proud.

Hair-a

I've discovered this summer why little old ladies put their hair up in a bun. It gets the hair up off the neck and is much cooler, for one. Gets the hair out of the friggin way. Doesn't pull like a pony tail and there isn't an annoying braid swinging over the shoulder and getting into everything... coffee... food... toothpaste... soap.

They are impossible to sleep in, though. Unless you like sleeping on tennis balls, that is. I don't know why I just don't cut this mess off.

Now that the gray areas are more solid, my graying pattern is thus: The top and sides are about 85 percent gray. The very front around my face is solid gray. When my hair is bunned up, the underneath part has only a few strands of gray mixed in to very dark brown. I guess the back half of my head hasn't been as stressed out as the front half.

The House

The house was completely remodeled in 2005. They took the two car garage and turned it into what they are calling a second living area. The property detail sheet says there is a storage shed on the property, but none of the pictures listed show this. I'm hoping there is because I'd like a place to store my nasty lawn equipment, if nothing else.

The converted garage would make a wonderful game room, yet I have no pool table or any other type of game table that would go so well in there. The kitchen is huge compared to what I have now. Three bedrooms... one of which will turn into an office, the other I would like to have a real guest room for future grandchildren to come and stay with me. There is a built in wine rack so I guess I will have to start drinking wine. Fenced in backyard... perfect place for a new puppy. Covered back patio. Lots of trees. The house backs up to a school yard.

Here are the listed photos:

Filling Up Spaces

I remember when they brought the Lottery to Texas. I remember sitting back and daydreaming what it would be like to win the Lottery. Oh, the things I would have bought! I'm finding myself daydreaming about my own house that way now.

For many, many years while my children and I lived with my mother and father, I lived out of one room. When they moved out and my boyfriend moved in, there were four people still living together. My two kids and me and him. Everyone had their own stuff. Then everyone moved away and in my smaller 2bdr 1bth home I found it difficult to fill all my rooms with stuff. My second bedroom here, where part of the ceiling looks like it could fall in with not a lot of effort, has become the junk room, along with the garage. All the crap I need to get rid of or throw away has made it to these spaces. I keep wondering what in the heck I'm going to do with a house that has three bedrooms, two living areas and two bathrooms... and no garage to store all my crap that I'm too lazy to throw away.

My RE agent and I have narrowed down our times and I'm now awaiting word on an actual appointment time to see this one house. And I guess that's the kicker... one house. I've looked a lot online at houses and out of the thousand or so houses I have looked at, this is the only one that made me seriously think about moving forward and moving on. Which, I am fully aware, sets me up for some major disappointment. I'm okay with that, though, because if anything, it will be a huge learning experience for me, regardless of the outcome.

In the meantime, though, I'm enjoying the daydreaming.

Just Another Sunny Day On The Beach

Or not...

Link

Ho Lee Crap 2

The real estate person has made initial contact via email. Next step will be making an appointment to see the house.

I'm also planning on having a sit down with my parents and asking them a million and a half questions.

Fears

In my head there are pros and cons for not only moving, but for WHERE I'm thinking about moving. There are very few cons, none of which I can even think of now, and the pro side is full.

Making a life changing decision brings to front a whole new set of emotions. Top of the list is always uncertainty, "Am I making the right decision?". I've also come to realize a deep underlying fear of making future plans. Last time I looked towards the future, life turned around and shat on me.

But then there is the excitement. The butterflies of something new. The wanting of calling a place my own coming to fruition. It's terrifying and wondrous all at the same time. Surreal-ish.

Surprisingly, I'm not afraid of disappointment. I'm not sure if this is because I'm expecting it, or that I've grown old and wise and have become comfortable with life's little kicks in the ass.

I drove by the house I'm wanting to look at. Took a peek at the neighborhood and saw three older ladies out in their yards doing yard work. This went into the pro side.

Ever Wonder What It Must Be Like To Work In A Music Store?

Ho Lee Crap

I think I might be talking to a real estate agent soon. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement, fear and maybe what I had for lunch earlier. I'm terrified and ready to get on with things all at the same time.

I will keep you posted with any news that comes my way.

Augustus

Didn't I JUST put up the July banner??

August is here and it's only supposed to get up to 106 here today. Probably tomorrow as well... and the day after that, and the day after that.

Did you know that the window unit that cools my house was put in around 1970. That's what year it was born, at least. I'm only two years older than my air conditioner. I can only say, as any old person would... they sure don't make things like they used to.

Kitties got a brand new fancy bed that I impulsively bought the other day. It's SO soft and squishy inside. Only the girls have tried it out so far and they like it just fine.

And here are some old photos that were left on the camera when the battery died:

I'm sure Spazz was keeping my feet warm up there.