Finally Moved!

I'm finally moved! I turned my keys to the last house into my landlord this morning and it felt great!


These last few days have been a whirlwind. And I could be heard several times saying:


"Remind me to never to do this again."


Yeah, moving is quite a chore. Luckily, I hired movers. And though things turned out well, I was pretty unsure about that when they rolled in. Here's why:

• Only one of the three of them spoke English. And I only count his English as half. So half a mover spoke English.
• They rolled up in a rented Budget van. Not the company van. Another red flag.
• When we left my townhouse to get to the new house, they told me they had to take their break, so they'd meet us an hour later. Immediately, I thought they would be fleeing the state with all my crap. 
• And last, the "mover in charge" gave me a run down of all the reasons I should tip him (which I did, don't worry.)

But all told, they were fast, packed ALL my crap into one truck, didn't break anything, were on time, and did all their work in 6 hours. All for under $800. I'll take it. 

Now I'm nesting and unpacking. Which I hate just a little less than packing. Once I get my camera back from Nikon, I'll be taking and posting some photos! 

Random Wednesday

I'd like to share with you a random recap of my day.


First, I woke up and knew I had a UTI. Awesome. You know, that pressure you get? No idea how I got it, but I did. 


So after a failed attempt to get an appointment with my doc, I persuaded them to call in a script for me. They told me the doctor (not my normal one) would be calling me to talk about my symptoms. And he sure did. The first question out of his mouth was, "Do you have any new sexual partners?" Ha! I laughed. No, I'm not having an affair. There's no harem of lovers for me while hubs is gone.


But the next question was my favorite. 


"You know to wipe front to back, right?" Um, yes, Doc. My momma taught me good hygiene. 


I picked up my script and after one dose am feeling no relief. Le sigh. 


Then, I came home to start a frenzy of chores. Weedwhacking ::gag:: Taking out the trash ::heave:: Pulling weeds ::barf:: I'm trying to get this place in shape for the new tenant, because it's the right thing to do. 


And while I'm doing this, my dear, sweet Peanut decided to have playtime in the mud. Full on mudslides for this dog. So in the bath we went. And for good measure, I got Wiggles in on the action. Because, why not? 


Then I decided to try and trim his nails. Which I usually don't do because he literally requires a sedative before he gets them done. But I was feeling brave. Let's just say I got two nails and had to stop for fear the neighbors would call the cops. He sounds like a small child being beaten to death. Seriously. It's unbelievable.


And now, here I am. Blogging instead of packing. Because I'm only left with oddly shaped, random objects that don't fit right in my remaining boxes. 


But, hey...I'm almost done!

Getting Rid of Waste

The last time I moved, I happened to have the luxury of having a company pack for me. I thought it was fantastic. Especially because I hate to pack (have I mentioned that?)


Now, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd never have anyone pack for me again. Although packing makes me gag, there's something to be said about going through all your crap and throwing out/donating things that really have no use for you anymore. 


My packers last time wrapped EVERYTHING in paper (wasteful much?) and packed every single thing (including a small bag of trash from my bathroom...true story.) 


I might have bitched a few times about the fact that hubs isn't here to help me, but someones I think that's a blessing in disguise. He happens to be a bit of a hoarder (not TLC Hoarding Buried Alive-worthy, but you know what I mean.) I've thrown out bags of unwanted wires/empty CD cases and it's liberating. Because Lord knows I'm not moving that stuff into the new house. 


I've also been a bit obsessive compulsive in my packing documentation. I've recorded a box number for every room, writing it's contents in a notebook (I was going to make a spreadsheet, but I think that's overkill.) This time, I'm going to know where all my stuff is, instead of opening box after box just to find my corkscrew (because I need wine to help with unpacking...obviously.)


Today, it's marathon packing day because FRIDAY is the big move. I can't believe it's almost here! 

Nomad No More

Have I mentioned lately that I'm moving? No? Well, in case you didn't hear...I'm moving in T-minus 9 days. HOLYCRAPISTILLHAVETOPACK!


I also may have mentioned my absolute hatred for packing.But I do it out of need. You see, hubs and I like to torture ourselves and move almost every year of our lives since graduating college. True story. 


Here's a timeline:


June 2005: Moved into our first apartment together in NJ! A 960 square foot 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom with den. Fantastic.


July 2005: Moved into our second apartment. Why so soon you ask? Because our first apartment BURNED DOWN! Yes, it was the scene of a 5 alarm fire which began in the apartment below us (fertilizer caught on fire...I think I know what was going on down there. I think they were "farming greenery.") So, hubs and I ventured out in our ashen clothes and found a 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom cubicle. All of 600 square feet. Furniture you ask? Beach chairs, a couch and an air mattress. At least for the first month. Because our renter's insurance didn't kick in until Monday...the fire was on a Saturday. LIFE LESSON: Always get the renter's insurance BEFORE YOU MOVE IN!


July 2006: Moved into a lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom 1100 square foot rental condo. Because we had to get out of our apartment cubicle or we might have killed each other.


October 2007: Moved into our first house! Woohoo! A quaint 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom 1920's renovated bungalow. Our pride and joy.


August 2009: Moved into our 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse in Maryland. After hubs got laid off in April 2009, he was offered a job in here, so we put the house on the market and moved our way to this crab loving state. 


April 2011: Next Friday I'll move into our 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house (which you can see here) with 2 car garage (Ooooo!) All.by.myself. I mean, without hubs. I will have movers. And friends. But he gets to miss out on all the FUN. 


I'm not moving for at least 15 years. Period. Can you blame me??

Who Knew Moving Was Expensive?

I took a look at the photo challenge for the day, and it's starting to really trip me up. 


1. Post of a photo of something that's had a major impact on your life recently. 


Mmmkay. I'm not so sure what to post to go with this. I would post a photo of the sandbox that my hubby currently resides in because that certainly has made a huge impact on my life, but I don't want to give away his location. 


The house has impacted our life, but I've already posted a photo of that. 


So I'm at a loss.


On a side note, I got a quote from the movers today to move us about 16 miles. 

$1700

Holy meatballs! Yes, that's right. Onethousandsevenhundreddollars. Crap.


The online quotes I got earlier were anywhere from $400-$1000, so this one knocked me on my butt. However, they seem really reliable. Something I'm not sure about with the other companies. 


Good thing hubs doesn't read my blog religiously, or he probably just passed out. He doesn't think we need movers anyway. He thinks I can round up our friends and pay them in pizza and beer. That worked when we were 22. Not so much now. We have far more crap. Nicer crap. Also, dearest hubs, you left me to do this on my own. Thanks. Movers are essential. 


Love ya though! 

Don't Whiz On the Electric Fence (Remember that song?)

We had our home inspection on Sunday and, much to my surprise, the inspector only found minor issues! 


I usually plan for the worst, because that's usually what happens to us. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I thought maybe they'd find out that it was sinking into the ground, or the foundation was in shambles. 


But, we were lucky! We're only asking for minor repairs, which is good news. 


While we were there, we saw about 3 families of deer. Which pretty much solidifies the fact that Peanut is going to go out of her mind when we move in. 


There's no fence, and the HOA doesn't allow you to have one, so we're looking into the electric fence. You know, the one that gives the dogs a little shock when they pass the border? It sounds cruel, but I've gotta keep these dogs in the yard somehow. And with the amount of time it takes Wiggles to find the perfect spot to poop, I won't have the patience to walk with him after having a fence for the last year and a half. 


Needless to say, that will be one of our first major purchases, along with a riding mower. When did we get so adult? 

Our New House!

Well, after waiting, and waiting and waiting some more. 


We got our house!! Woohoo!


Here's a shot of the front of it in all it's glory:

Ahhhh, in all it's glory :)

There you have it! Home inspection is on Sunday...which stresses me out to the max. I'm always afraid they'll find something bad. Like, "Oh, yeah, sorry. This place is falling down. Literally sinking into the ground."


At least we can back out if that happens. But I REALLY love it.


It's going to be nice to be a homeowner again! (Remind me I said that when I'm bitching about something that broke and I have to fix it instead of calling the landlord.)

Waiting...and Waiting...and Waiting

I forgot how stressful buying a house can be. The stress of selling a house is still fresh in my mind from the disaster that was our sale in NJ (by the way, they charge you 3% of the sales price of your house, if you make a profit, just to sell it...that's ON TOP of all your other fees. Fun.)

While hubs has been home, we finally found a house that we love and can both see us raising a family in...plus it has a great yard and a 2 car garage. Something we thought we'd never have.

So, we put in a bid. Only to find out there were 2 other offers on the table! What the heck!? I thought we were in a recession, people? Why all of the sudden are people spending their money on real estate? This wasn't supposed to happen!.

Now, we're familiar with this feeling because in 2007 when we bought our first house, we bid on it and so did 4 other people. By the grace of God, we got the house. Not because we outbid them (they were all full price offers), but because the sellers like our story on paper (young newlyweds, first house, blah blah blah.)

Once again, we're in the real estate competition. And the worst part? The waiting. It's literally agony. We got a call today saying that one of the offers was rejected, so it's down to us and someone else. What did we do? Increased our offer. Here's hoping it gets us somewhere.

I've been staring at my phone all day. Every time I walk away, I come back hoping to find a missed call from my realtor. They're supposed to make a decision soon, but until then...we wait. And the possibility of a rejected offer haunts my dreams. Because not only does that mean we lost the house, it also means that the search is on hold for another 3 months because hubs goes back overseas next week.

But, if it's meant to be, it will be, right? I really hate that phrase right now.

House Hunting

Since Hubs has been home, we've been frantically searching for a house. We've looked at far too many for me to count and still haven't found "the one." 


I fully acknowledge that we're probably being pretty picky, however when you're dropping that kind of dough on a place to live, I think being picky is acceptable. Plus, I'm fully prepared to stay in this house for many years. Quite frankly, I'm really sick of moving. We've moved 5 times since 2005 and I'm over it!


There have been a few things I've observed during our house hunt (and I apologize in advance if I offend anyone.)


1. Why wallpaper? And why is obscenely ugly flower patterns? I'll never understand this. Even though I grew up with a half wallpapered house, I don't have a taste for it.


2. As a seller, why would you stay at the house while it's being shown? When we sold our first house, I would never dream of hanging out while a potential buyer is wondering around. We've encountered this a few times so far, and each time it's made us cross the house off the list. 


3. Pick up your crap. I don't really want to trip over your sneakers and dirty towels. 


4. Wooden toilet seats should never have been made.


5. Leaving your dog at home while I'm trying to walk around your house does nothing but distract and annoy me. Unless it's an adorable puppy. Not a yappy schnauzer. 


Those are just a few of the annoyances I can think of right now. We're going out this week to see more and we're really hoping we find one to buy. If we don't before hubs goes back to work, we'll have to wait 3 more months! 

In the Event of Zombies...

Hubs and I have been househunting since he got home last week. We're moving this search into super warp speed because I want to find something before he leaves again.

We saw 7 houses last Saturday, and here's an excerpt from a conversation we had at one of the houses:

Hubs: What's that thing?

Me: I think it's a wood stove.

Realtor: It's a pellet stove actually.

Hubs: Well, I think it's ugly. We'd have to have that removed.

Me: Why would we pay to have someone remove a piece of equipment that's perfectly funtional?

Hubs: Because it's an eyesore and takes up a bunch of valuable room where I could put my crap. Besides, we'd never use it.

Me: I disagree. In the event of a Zombie apacolypse, this pellet stove would come in handy.

Hubs: You actually make a very valid point.