Mood

I'm in a mood! Not sure what it is; melancholy, irritable, reflective, combination thereof? Who knows... Here are my symptoms (cause I know your dying to know):

• Little things are irritating me royally! I mean little things like Jack chewing too loud, telling me where to go inside the EQII game and well generally everything.
• I want to stay home and not go anywhere while at the same time I want to be out having a nice dinner and dancing...
• I am reflective - Find myself reading old blogs, thinking on my life and how I got here, etc...
  

Anyone have a diagnosis? I'm thinking I'm just crazy... yep that sums it up; Mylerna the crazy.

On another note I was reading a comment from my blog in 2007 from a friend from high school and my response. She works for a non-profit relief organization now and is spreading the Word of Christ around the world. I can't say how proud I am of her for making a difference and how honored I am of any minute impact I may have made. I need to start living my life in such a way that I can once again say I stand for something! So that I am not just meandering thru this existence with no real purpose in life. What will the world remember about me when I am gone? What will I have done to make an impact? Is what I am doing pleasing to the one that created me? These are the big questions and while I don't know the answers I'm closer to wanting to figure it out.

Knowing

We just got back from the movie "Knowing" and while I can't say it's my favorite movie of all time it did cause me to think. To think about what will happen when the "end" comes. Where will I be? What will I be doing? Will I be right with my maker? You know the big questions...

The movie itself was suspenseful, scary at times and well done. It's not one of those movies you watch more than once and it's not a movie you watch when you want to be in a happy mood but it was good.

Recommend it on a reflective night!

Have a good weekend everyone!

Hooked on Idol

Ok, yes I'm hooked on Idol - sad, I know but still.. I'm hooked.

Here's my ranking thus far :)

1) ADAM - OMG. He is beyond original. Last week... I agreed with the new judge. It left me "confused but happy". This week it was just stunningly great! Dear Lord, boy got some vocals. As good as Melinda Doolittle's "Funny Valentine"

2) ALLISON - Girl got some serious chops! I love her gravel. Just love her sound; girl has some serious chops.

3) DANNY - Man is all heart and it shows... His voice is incredible and his presence is infectious.

4) LIL - She has one of the most powerful voices. Not her strongest performance, but she will be around a while. Love her personality.

5) KRIS - Has a good voice and is interesting. He's not my favorite but he has career no doubt.

6) ANOOP - Has really grown on me. His voice is pure... the man has some serious vocals.

7) MATT - He sounds good... has a bluesy sound but not my favorite. Just don't like his stage presence very much.

8) MICHAEL - Forgettable, but good. Love his comebacks to Simon. Want him to stay around if for nothing more than that.

9) SCOTT - Yes, he is blind and yes he is sweet. I think he has some talent, but he isn't the next Idol.

10) MEGAN - Please go home... I wanted her gone weeks ago! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE GO AWAY.

House Projects Suck

Yep, we had our list. Lord knows I hate home projects... read about the horror below. I'm telling you I don't think the #1 cause of most marital fights is money - I think it's home projects....

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This Weekend - Get Ready For Inspector (we are refinancing our home, interest rate almost a full point lower)!

Mama's Apartment

1. Rug/Tile Join - Fix (Jack) - Jack did this but hated it. Screws wouldn't go into concrete; he finally got it done but he was pissed before it was over.
   
2. Shampoo Carpet (Jack) - No Clue if he's done this or not... Afraid to ask.
   
3. Trim in Kitchen (Jack) - He's working on it now...
   

Main Floor

1. Fill in nail holes from previous owners (Mylerna) - DONE
   
2. Touch up paint (Mylerna) - Not done, can't find matches... Yep the paint in the garage has broken down and is no longer the same color so I have white patches everywhere and no paint to cover it up with. Took a piece off of wall to Lowe's but nooo it wasn't big enough to match so we came home and got a bigger piece. Haven't taken it up there yet... Very irritating. Furthermore, when I was stirring one of the cans of paint a hole was punched in bottom so our garage floor has paint all over.
   
3. Kilz Ceiling & Paint (Mylerna) - Don't have heart to try this yet. I could Kilz it but then what if the paint doesn't match... how do a I cut a hole in the ceiling to get a paint sample? grr.
   

Upstairs

1. Clean, Clean, Clean -Yea, right...
   
2. Finish Decor in Master Bedroom (Mylerna) - Was I joking?
   
3. Clean Some More - Seriously what was I thinking?
   
4. Change Lightbulb in Bathroom - Let it stay blowed, who gives a crap?
   
5. Put Media Center Back together (Jack) - Yea... he might beat it with a hammer at this rate.
   

Shopping

Lowes - DONE

• Foot Sliders for Barstools - DONE
• Door Stop for Back Door - DONE
• Trim For Mama's Kitchen - ADDED - DONE
  
• Joiner for Mama's Carpet ADDED - DONE
  

Grocery Shopping - We will just have to starve

General Items around House

1. Stand up Smoker Stand -LOL, yea it will be there in 2015
   
2. Fix Outside Bricks - They are find laying on ground, who cares?
   

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Later Items - will probably never happen... I just don't care anymore.

1. Paint Around Front Door Handle/Fix Front Door Handle (Jack)
2. Clean up Garage
   
3. Finish Red Room
4. Finish Yellow Room
5. Wash Base Boards - Before May is my goal
6. Wash Windows - Before May is my goal
7. Mop - Soon
8. Buy Stand Up Freezer - DONE
   
9. Go Shopping at Meat Market
10. Talk Mama in to growing some veggies
11. Finish Budget / Spend Less

List Progress

It's Saturday.. I'm supposed to be working on my list... yep supposed to be chugging away. Progress is slow, see below for details (I know it's sad).
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This Weekend - Get Ready For Inspector (we are refinancing our home, interest rate almost a full point lower)!

Mama's Apartment

1. Rug/Tile Join - Fix (Jack)
2. Shampoo Carpet (Jack)
3. Trim in Kitchen (Jack)

Main Floor

1. Fill in nail holes from previous owners (Mylerna)
   
2. Touch up paint (Mylerna)
3. Kilz Ceiling & Paint (Mylerna)

Upstairs

1. Clean, Clean, Clean
2. Finish Decor in Master Bedroom (Mylerna)
   
3. Clean Some More
4. Change Lightbulb in Bathroom
5. Put Media Center Back together (Jack)

Shopping

Lowes - DONE

• Foot Sliders for Barstools - DONE
• Door Stop for Back Door - DONE
• Trim For Mama's Kitchen - ADDED - DONE
  
• Joiner for Mama's Carpet ADDED - DONE
  

Grocery Shopping

General Items around House

1. Stand up Smoker Stand
2. Fix Outside Bricks

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Later Items:

1. Paint Around Front Door Handle/Fix Front Door Handle (Jack)
2. Clean up Garage
   
3. Finish Red Room
4. Finish Yellow Room
5. Wash Base Boards - Before May is my goal
6. Wash Windows - Before May is my goal
7. Mop - Soon
8. Buy Stand Up Freezer - DONE
   
9. Go Shopping at Meat Market
10. Talk Mama in to growing some veggies
11. Finish Budget / Spend Less

Tax Return

Ok, so when is the last time you read something good about the IRS? Well here goes... We filed our taxes less than a week ago and our return is sitting in our account! I mean... do you remember the days of 8 to 10 weeks and you get your may get your check in the mail??? Not anymore... less than a week!

Yea I know technology has come along way, but geesh! Go IRS! Love you for about 10 seconds... or until I see the next deduction in my paycheck.

List / Lots of List

I sit here tonight with list on my mind, list of what I need to do, what I need to buy, what I need to budget for... etc... Maybe it is the new weather, the birds singing or the fact that the sun is up past 5 pm, but I'm in the mood to make my list and get them done. So here is what I have so far.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This Weekend - Get Ready For Inspector (we are refinancing our home, interest rate almost a full point lower)!

Mama's Apartment

1. Rug/Tile Join - Fix (Jack)
2. Shampoo Carpet (Jack)
3. Trim in Kitchen (Jack)

Main Floor

1. Fill in nail holes from previous owners (Mylerna)
   
2. Touch up paint (Mylerna)
3. Kilz Ceiling & Paint (Mylerna)

Upstairs

1. Clean, Clean, Clean
2. Finish Decor in Master Bedroom (Mylerna)
   
3. Clean Some More
4. Change Lightbulb in Bathroom
5. Put Media Center Back together (Jack)

Shopping

Lowes

• Foot Sliders for Barstools
• Door Stop for Back Door

Grocery Shopping

General Items around House

1. Stand up Smoker Stand
2. Fix Outside Bricks

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Later Items:

1. Paint Around Front Door Handle/Fix Front Door Handle (Jack)
2. Clean up Garage
   
3. Finish Red Room
4. Finish Yellow Room
5. Wash Base Boards - Before May is my goal
6. Wash Windows - Before May is my goal
7. Mop - Soon
8. Buy Stand Up Freezer
9. Go Shopping at Meat Market
10. Talk Mama in to growing some veggies
11. Finish Budget / Spend Less

So that is my list to date... Feels good to have a list. What I do with it is another question :)

Pensacola - Continued 2-13-09

Ok, so now to finish giving a summary of our Vacation day in Pensacola - 2/13/09

We woke up in our cheap, Ramada, hotel room and were happy. I slept like a brick... we then ate the free breakfast which was nothing to write home about, but hey it was free! Then we set off to explore more of Pensacola.

First we went onto the Navy Base and set about to explore the several tourist items available. First was the Aviation Museum. Planes, planes and more planes. We took a trolley ride back behind the building and saw all the large planes and several retired blue angel planes. There were planes taking off and boy were they loud! It was quite fun; our tour guide was an overly opinionated retired man who used to drive the Goodyear blimp. After our trolley ride we began to walk thru the museum; it was pretty interesting. I watched a Bob Hope USO video which was funny and Jack took a ride in a flight simulator. He seemed to really enjoy it.

We then ate a cheap lunch at the museum and left to see the light house. It is an active light house that was neat to look at; I of course took lots of pictures. We then proceeded to Fort Barrancas, which is also on the base. It was neat to explore; of course when you've seen one fort you've seen them all but it was a fun outing. One thing I noticed that was pretty neat were the arches in the fort along the wall. It was pretty cool. The fort also had a fairly interesting history with several flags flying over it through the course of history. I made a crappy joke about wondering if the fort had figured out it's nationality yet... The guy at the gift shop of the fort was really nice and we talked about photography and the sunlight on the base.

Once we left the fort we went to the Historic Pensacola Village which was ok. It was neat to see the old buildings and the church was beautiful! We only went into a few of the buildings; the commerce museum was the coolest. The inside of the commerce museum was an old street scene with stores set up like they would be in the late 1800's thru the 1920's. It was pretty cool. We then went to the Museum of Industry which archived the history of Pensacola's industry with brick making, lumber yards and fishing. It was pretty cool what they have done and the houses in the area were beautiful.

We then headed back to the hotel. We stopped at Krispy Cream for a relaxing desert and coffee. The doughnuts were good; the coffee not so great, but I'm fairly picky about my coffee. After we ate are doughnuts we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the evening. We chilled for a bit and then got dressed. We went to eat at Skopelos it was really really good! The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxing while still being romantic. I had the crab cake and lobster tail. The crab cake was great though I have had better and the lobster was good. It was my first time having lobster so I have nothing to compare it to but it was good. The steak Jack had was OMG good! I can't even begin to describe it to you; lets just say that I wish I would have gone for the beef. We then had fudge brownie pie and ice cream; which was great.

After eating dinner we headed back to the hotel for a romantic evening. Tomorrow we head home.

Pensacola - Our Journey 2-11-09 Thru 2-13-09

Attendees: Jack & Lisa

General:

We took this trip to get away; to escape our everyday life if only for a few days. It was as much an escape as it was a celebration of Valentine's Day and our Anniversary (4 Years Aug 2009).

2/11/09
We left home and traveled down. It was an uneventful trip with only a few spurts of conversation here and their. We arrived at the Crown Plaza around 1 am. The hotel was exceptionally nice, but expensive $145 a night. When booking it I expected a view; we found it to be between 2 interstates w/ a brief glimpse of the bay. The bed however was heaven; like laying in a cloud... OMG it felt so good after the long drive. We slept like a dream; well except for the trains that came thru on multiple occasions. Apparently part of the hotel used to be an old train depot and trains still run. A tidbit I did not notice when booking the room.

2/12/09
We woke up after a fairly decent night sleep and laid around a bit. I got a nice hot bath while Jack surfed the net and generally relaxed. We looked at other hotels in the area and decided to move to the Ramada which was only $70 a night and also did not have a view. So we packed up and check out. Good bye luxury. We ate breakfast at the Waffle House where everyone was really nice and seemed to know each other. Then we headed out to explore.

We drove a bit and got a sense of the place and then we stopped at the Visitors Center. It was right on the water with a trail for bird watching. Several pelicans were hanging out and we enjoyed watching them dive bomb for food. The day could not have been prettier with it's blue skies! We then drove down to the Pensacola beach and the National Seashore. The sand was so white it looked like snow. We saw crabs of various sizes in the wild, fishes jumping out of the water to grab the insects on tip and of course birds. There was one stork in particular that was enjoying standing and looking out over the water. We laid on the sand beach on the bay side (the ocean side was within walking distance and we did walk it a bit as well) and enjoyed the sun on our face and the quietly lapping water hitting the shore. I almost fell asleep it was so peaceful. We then ate lunch at Hemingway's. A very nice restaurant with a great view. It was expensive but luckily they had a lunch menu; Jack had ribs which were apparently good and and I had shrimp Alfredo dish that was great! We then shared a key lime pie; me not a big fan of key lime pie but Jack seemed to think it was heavenly.

We then took the scenic drive up to the Ramada Hotel and checked in. It certainly isn't the luxury of the Crown, but the room seemed clean and he staff were only semi incompetent. We checked in and I took a much needed nap. Well 1/2 of a nap - couldn't really get to sleep. Jack watched tv and surfed the net. We then decided to go grab some dinner to end our day. We decided to go to Flounders, but on our way out the door Jack checked and email from work that caused a little bit of stress; well alot. So the real world invaded our cocoon and the evening seemed to have a shadow on it for the rest of it....

On the way out to dinner we stopped at a park that has a board walk down to the beach. It was dusky and generally a relaxing walk... or would have been otherwise. We then drove to Flounders for dinner... The food was ok, the service ok - the food expensive. We spent roughly $50 and I didn't eat 2/3 of my plate; it just wasn't that great... Live and learn. We then came back to the hotel and called it a good day!

2/13/09 - Will update this later as I've got to get ready for my V-Day Dinner; Here comes Sexy Lisa :) HEE

25 Random Things

From Facebook - 25 Random Facts about me.

1) I love tv/movies /etc... any good story and I can escape my life for a short period of time. Love IT

2) I get easily addicted to games like EQII - I'm playing again now, but I'm guarding my life from EQ II addiction though by limiting our playing time.

3) I'm not a primpy person...I hate spending time on my apperance, but love looking good -Go figure

4) I'm not dedicated to any hobby. Several things I enjoy but there is no passion to learn/expand/etc..

5) Photography is one of my biggest hobbies. I don't research how do to it better and have no desire to learn how to do the light tricks etc... but enjoy finding the perfect shot and taking it. I take tons of pictures,800 in one day while I was in Scotland. Over 80 GB of pictures on my hard drive.

6) I love to travel, but hate to read about where I'm going,etc... I just want to go see and explore.

7) I can't multi task very well...

8) I have an MBA and am generally a smart person, but I don't care to learn... I am thinking about going back for my law degree, but I'm not sure I have the dedication for 3 more years. I'd be going for the degree / money it would bring only, not the knowledge - is that the right reason to go?

9) I plan everything - My vacations are generally mapped out 2 years in advance. May is Alaska, Grand Canyon is October, Washington DC and maybe Niagara Falls are 2010, Europe in 2011.

10) My husband is 100 times smarter than me - I do my best to keep up and seem intelligent but... most the time I fail and he has to teach me and/or do it for me. It frustrates him I don't get it as quickly, though he won't admit it.

11) If I had to do over again I would have explored my career options more.

12) I have no real favorite food - I like strawberry shortcake (especially from Maggianos), I like cabbage (cooked), fried okra and Olive Garden's shrimp dish, but I have no OMG that's just my favorite.

13) I generally am not passionate about everything but put off the illusion of being passionate about lots of things, how I don't know... I guess my opinions come out in a passionate nature.

14) I love my kittes and wouldn't trade them for anything.

15) I'm very silly when it's just Jack and Me. I'm really 3 people: Lisa at work, Lisa around friends/family and Lisa at home with Jack. I don't know why but they are distinctly different - just ask Jack.

16) My husband and my Ex husband were once friends.

17) I want to have a child and home school my children - I don't want to work for a living, but I'm not sure we will ever be financially stable enough for me to do that.

18) I'm generally lonely - I wish I was one of those people surrounded by friends, but well I'm not. I can't generate the BS conversation required to get to know people so developing friendships is hard. Plus I'm not one of those people that draw people to me... Neither is my hubby. We have a few good solid friends and are appreciative of them...

19) I am generally pessimistic...

20) Save the Last Dance is my favorite Move

21) Nora Roberts is my favorite author.

22) My mother is my best friend.

23) I like to play board/card games.. wish I had some more people to play with

24) I take alot of things personally I shouldn't. I get defensive quick.... I hate that about myself.

25) I am competitive in nature.

Good Bye 2008 - Hello 2009

2009 is officially here! It is 2:32 am and I sit here looking at pictures and reflecting on past years. What we did, why and etc... So how did 08 go?

2008 – What can I say! It was a year challenge and a year of great change.

First of all we can’t ignore the fact that the country spiraled into a recession the likes of which I have never seen. A mortgage crisis has hit the nation like a tidal wave with hundreds of thousands losing their jobs and home. And gas prices soared to over $4 a gallon.

On a more personal level Jack and I had a good year in our marriage, but it was a challenging year. One where we fought and made up, where we compromised and learned, one where I believe ultimately we grew as a couple. It was also the year we bought a house with a basement apartment for my mother and moved to Mableton. Having her live with us is something I'm glad we did and I love it - however, it has been an adjustment. One we will continue to make in 2009 I'm sure.

Professional it has been tough. The company I work for was on the verge of bankruptcy and was eventually acquired by another larger company. Staffing has been difficult and management has been worse. It may be time for a change - only time can tell.

2008 - Overall a good year, but challenging to say the least. Here's hoping 2009 is better.

Christmas Eve 2008

Its Christmas Eve 2008. Another year is almost over and its time to begin reflecting. Jack and I have family plans with his family tomorrow and my family and I are on ... well we still speaking to a degree. By family I do not include my mother who I have a great relationship with, but rather my brothers who are... my brothers.

What does that say? That on Christmas I can't set aside the anger and be with family? What does it say that Jack and I decided not to exchange gifts and on Christmas eve we sit here and mess around on computers while not acknowledging that it's a special night and we should be celebrating it.

I don't know what it says but I'm going to reflect and figure it out. In the meantime I wish you and yours a great holiday! Merry Christmas, may God bless you in the upcoming year.

Time Flies

Wow, time flies whether you want it to or not. Just yesterday I feel like I graduated High School and began this roll-a-coaster called 'adult life'. Now my 10 year reunion is coming up and I'm wondering where it all went.

I signed up for Facebook the other day. A cool site I recommend to anyone, but I digress... I signed up and was reminded that I haven't blogged in oh, forever! Do you miss me? Probably not, but that's ok. I miss you... I miss my random thoughts going out into the cyber void to be archived for the world to see. I miss the sharing of my life. So why not blog you ask??? Well, the truth is I have no life. I come home, I go to work, I eat with Mama/Jack, I go dancing, I come home, I have dinner with Hapaw, etc... Nothing exciting, no earth shattering discoveries, no moments of clarity - Just the mundane task that make up my life. Pleasant for me, yes - but entertaining for blogland - probably not.

Thus, I will write occasionally as thoughts pop into my head but for the most part I will exist and try to be happy that I do .

More Pictures to come to www.mylerna.com soon.

Love you - I'll be in touch - Eventually.

Where Have I Been

I changed my reading of blogs and now have "google reader" or my homepage. However, I realize now that by doing that I no longer go to my own blog to see my fav blogs and therefore haven't updated my own. I would think about it occasionally but never did it. Go figure - have you missed me?

Probably not... But that's ok. I still love you.

What is going on here??? Let me see

1. Work
2. Work
3. Work
4. Jack - Love of my Life
5. Ballroom Dancing
6. Still Boxes to be unpacked- they mock me daily... I just turn the other cheek
7. Tons of household projects.
8. Work

Yep that about sums it up. More to follow later... will try to post more and will log on soon to give a more in depth review of Mylerna's world.

Hickory, NC

We are on our way back from Hickory NC. We drove up there with Steve and Leo to purchase some furniture. The word on the street is that the furniture is extremely affordable.

Here is what my thoughts are on the subject:

- We got everything we wanted and just went a little over our budget. The prices were lower than some retailers, but not as low as I thought they would be given the reputation the place has.

- We bought all of our furniture at the Catawba Mall vs. the Furniture Mart. The Furniture Mart was very overpriced! I take that back, we did buy one piece in the clearance store of Boyles, but it has scratches which was the only reason it was affordable.

- The people in the stores appear to be paid an hourly salary vs. commission. Which is normally a good thing because you don't get high pressure salesmen. However, in this instance we found that we got mediocre service... There were some exceptions, and we bought our furniture from those exceptions, but I didn't get the feeling that the malls really wanted or needed our business. Let me give you some examples:

• The Catawba Mall is owned all by one company, except for Ashley Furniture. Steve and Leo purchased a bedroom suite from one lady at Flexsteel, and she was very sweet. She told them that if they bought any other piece in the mall they could just add it to the account they had set up. The went to the Kathy Ireland Store, owned by the same company, and wanted a mirror. The store manager called the lady at Flexsteel (I was sitting at Flexsteel making a purchase) and had a fit because the mirror wasn't enough money and she was mad because she had to write up a ticket on it. The mirror cost over $250... I mean come on, it's 1/2 a sheet of paper.
  
• I had a problem with the same lady at Kathy Ireland. Yesterday she was super sweet because I was looking at several pieces. However, I found some more I liked better. Thus, today when I went to make the purchase I only purchased the entertainment center and the dining room set. A purchase of over $2,000. The minute she found out I wasn't buying all the pieces she showed me, which only included 2 additional items, she got pissy. Then when I informed her we would let Ashley Furniture's 3rd party handle the shipping she really go bitchy. Keep in mind that this is a 3rd party shipper, they all use 3rd party shippers, and nothing off her bottom line. Instead of saying thank you for your business I was almost upset I gave her my money.
• Yesterday we went to Ashley Furniture and Jack was taking a picture of a chair. We took pictures in all the stores because we were seeing so much that it is hard to remember from one to the next. Some little shitty salesman came over and got on to him and we left. We came very close to not coming back. The only reason we did is because they were open earlier than the other stores today and because we reasoned that it was just him. Granted today we got excellent service in that store... better than the other stores combined. I made sure to tell the manager about my service yesterday and to tell her what a good job the lady did today. But it's just one more issue that we had...
• We went to the Furniture Mart yesterday and walked thru the entire thing. I went upstairs and was looking at a trundle bed and asked the price. At these malls you can haggle a bit and get the pricing down. I told her that JC Penny had a bed very similar that was less and asked her if she could meet the price. JC Penny did have a bed we really liked - she got bitchy with me for telling her that her pricing wasn't low enough. COME ON its your job. WTF!

Overall though we are very happy with our purchases and the cost. I got most of my stuff at the Ashley Store and I believe we are going to love it. Glad we went back in.

We stayed at The Jamison hotel and the price was reasonable and it was clean. However, we booked it thru Expedia. When we first got there the stupid woman, who was apparently the assistant manager, and she couldn't figure out why we only had two reservations vs. three. It was extremely annoying. Glad Leo handled it vs. me = Super Bitch would have emerged.

Then this morning, check out was at 11. We get a call at 10:15 wanting to know if we had checked out yet. It was almost like we wer getting chased out of the room... I felt it to be very rude and I won't go back. So if you go to Hickory don't go to the Jamison

Just wanted to give you guys a review in case you want to go get some furniture. Have a good night guy!

Boxes Boxes Everywhere

Well we are in and love the new house. The boxes are everywhere and moving around is difficult but we will get it done - little bit at a time.

Just wanted to give you an update when I have more time.

New Home Owner

Closings complete - Moving Begins Woot!!!

**thanks to those who commented and continue to read. love you***

Still Rolling

Well, I'm still rolling here. We had a couple minor glitches but everything is back on track. Mama is out of her house and living with us. I don't think I could even fit a piece of paper in the storage building holding her stuff.... Our house is set to close next Thursday and we will be moving into our new home. I can't wait.... I can't wait for the stress of real estate deals to be gone, I can't wait to wake up in my big new spacious house, I can't wait to only drive 10 miles to work, I can't wait to get to decorate a new house :) I just can't wait....

Other than that things around here are trucking along. Working, Working, and working...

Sorry I don't have more to share. Hope you are all doing well!.

Hey, btw does anyone ever read this thing anymore? If so give me a shout out so I know I'm not talking into the void.

Whirlwind

Well, my life has turned into a whirlwind. A tornado of excitement and blessings.

• Mama's house is closing on Monday and at this point only a stick of dynamite could stop it. The people purchasing her house are extremely excited about it... We are truly blessed.
• My house is set to close 4/9. There have been some glitches along the way - Appraisal, Her Loan, My sanity, but its all coming together. We dropped the price slightly and I'm keeping my appliances. Everyone is happy... Next hurdle is the inspection, pray its not too bad. I don't think it could be given our home, but I've heard nightmare stories.
  
• We have found the PERFECT house. I would link it but since it's under contract they have taken the pictures off the web. It is absolutely perfect - I can't think of one thing we are compromising on it. The basement is finished, with the perfect spot for a kitchen. So that will be easy to add, the upstairs is spacious and beautiful. Rooms galore and the Master is well - to die for. My closet is big enough for a small bedroom. I LOVE IT! It is also set to close on 4/9.
• We have a great set of friends - Steve and Leo. Leo used to design kitchens and has agreed to design Mama's! WOOT! Jack and I would have spent a great amount of time, figuring it out. To have someone volunteer their expertise is just amazing - Hopefully we can repay him someday.
• Mark, a friend of Jacks, knows how to lay flooring. Thus, replacing the basement carpet with something mopable - per my mother's request, will be easy! Just one more blessing! If you are wondering why we are doing that - she has a small dog that well gets excited and oops bladder... He's cute though!
• Rusty, Jack's uncle, is a plumber and has agreed to run the plumbing for us to the new Kitchen. Between him and Leo we have all the expertise we need - Jack and I just get to play manual laborers. Hey I can do grunt work when I need to!
• And Steve said he would help Jack run the network cable thru the house!
  

Moving is going to be fun. Rolls Eyes. We are moving Mama next weekend. All of her stuff will go into storage and she will stay with us. I am out of town attending a conference so I will get out of most the heavy lifting. I feel bad about that, but this thing has been on my calender and paid for since late January. Steve, Leo, my nephew Aaron and Jack will be handling that move. There will be others there helping, but those 4 are the big strong men there to do the heavy lifting!

We are moving the following weekend. If everything goes as planned we will be moving directly into the new house. WOOT. Nate, Melanie, Jack, Billy and hopefully Brian and Tripp will be here for that day. We are trying to move boxes out and into the storage building as we go to hopefully minimize the move. We have a lot more furniture than Mama who has been purging like there is no tomorrow.

All I can say is that we are super super blessed to be haven given such great friends and family! Without them this process would be much more expensive and therefore much more daunting!

Given the fact that all these deals have flowed together so flawlessly all I can say is that God had it in his master plan. Thus, I have faith they are going to work out. Faith is the only thing keeping my sanity otherwise I would be even more worried than I am and you all would be calling the men in white coats to come pick me up.

Welp, I'm off to home depot to get minor house repair items. Trying to fix anything the inspector may think of finding before he gets here. Hey, its a game - anyone want to play? Yea, me neither but hey we do what we have to.

Have a great Saturday!

Looking At Houses

We shopped for houses from 1 pm today to 8 pm! Let me just say I'm exhausted, but we saw alot. Only problem is most of them have the basements unfinished; which means we can add $50K to the price of the house because we are going to have to finish it...

Here are the top 4 so far - please share your thoughts:

Huntcrest
Brookmere
Vinings Lake
Wandering Lane

Off to bed now. Will go see more Saturday

Lisa