Monday, February 28, 2005
What a Pair
We didn't have a very good weekend. I knew it wasn't going to be fabulous, because Steve has walking pneumonia. We had the inspection for the house on Saturday and discovered that they have live termites all along the fascia board. We are going to ask them to pay the $600+ to have it tented, but aren't very hopeful. They want to sell the house as-is and in this market, the sellers have all the say. On top of that, I contacted five different companies to get quotes on home-owners insurance. All of the quotes came back at $4,000 a year, which is $2000 more that our good faith estimate predicted. Since we have to pay the first year up front, that is a big chunk of additional money to come up within 3 weeks. Plus once we close, we'll have to pay to get the house tented. I wanted to use our little bit of extra money that was going to be leftover for other things like paint, a lawnmower, a new vacuum, minor fix-ups, etc. I even dreamed about hiring a cleaning company to give it one good run through before I clean it. Things very rarely work out the way we dream...
I almost forgot to mention why I called this entry "What a Pair." As you know, Steve has walking pneumonia so he was pretty much a sleeping couch potato for the entire weekend. Saturday afternoon, while I was pacing around the house trying to figure out how I can get the house thing to work the way I want, I stubbed my toe on the ottoman. I guess you’d call it the ring toe (the one next to the pinky). Anyway, I think it is broken. It is purple & HUGE. So, I limped around the house trying to clean a little & take care of him. Today, I had to wear flip flops to work. I have an important meeting with potential clients at 2pm. I brought some slip-on mule type shoes for that. To continue with the complaining, I forgot to mention that once again I didn't sleep. Since I rarely have insomnia that means these house issues are driving me insane. Can't we just get this all over with quickly????
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Travel or Be Practical?
My assistant just asked me if she should buy a laptop or go to Europe. What kind of question is that? You can experience great things and provide fond memories for the rest of your life or own a laptop for a few years? I realize that I am the last person she should ask advice about that. During the last episodes of Sex in the City, she and I argued whether or not Carrie should go to France. I thought it was a once in a life time opportunity. Who cares about her job? I didn't even think it mattered that the Russian was too busy to spend time with her. LIVE IT UP!
I have been dreaming about going to Morocco for years. Besides the interesting cultural mix they have, I love their furniture, tiles, etc. I am dieing to spend a couple of days in the markets buying things to ship back. I know that I could sell a bunch of it on e-bay and pay for the trip. The only problem is coming up with the money to fund the whole thing. Now that we are trying to buy a house with some Mediterranean influences, my obsession has started building again. I have even played around with trip itineraries on Expedia.com. We can each get a round trip ticket to Madrid for about $500. It is cheaper and we can enjoy Spain as we make our way down to Morocco. Dreaming, dreaming, dreaming... For now, I'll continue to look for over-priced imported decor on the internet.
Monday, February 21, 2005
House Progress & Fun
Saturday, we got up fairly early and went over to the house to meet the appraiser guy. Even though I was anxious to go, Steve was dragging his feet. He claimed that we didn't have to rush because Cubans are always late. When we were about 10 blocks away (and 15 minutes late), the guy called to tell me he was done. We rushed over there and he decided to go in with us again. We talked with him a little while and he said that the house looked really good. He just had to prove the price on paper. Hopefully, it is right on the money. If it is less, they can cancel our contract and hope someone pays cash for the difference. We talked to him for a little while and then he left. We continued to tour around the house several times getting more & more excited about the changes we would like to make. Later on that day, we went to our mortgage broker's house to sign MORE papers. We were told that there is always a glitch in these things and we should expect something. BAD NEWS! I want to be optimistic. Anyway, if the lender decides to deny us the loan, we have to find another lender. Unfortunately, our closing date is in a month. Let's hope that there will not be any glitches for us. Either way, we'll still feel the stress.
Sunday, we took a break from the madness. We started off by going to Coconut Grove for brunch. It was such a beautiful day. I bet the temperature was about 75 degrees. After breakfast, the Grove was hosting a huge Arts Festival, so we got tickets and toured the many booths. I bought six pictures of Europe for my office. It is nice having a company credit card. My office is going to look fabulous. We had lunch at a little out-door tiki type restaurant on the water. If I think about this too much, I'll have a hard time working this week.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Panic Mode Over
I thought I should add a quick update to the last entry. The panic attack was in vain. Everything was fine and so far the process seems to be running smoothly. We have a contract on the house and are working on the mortgage. The closing date is set for March 18th. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed. If I can remember/figure out how to post a picture, I'll put one on soon. If you don't want to wait, you can either e-mail me or leave a request in the comments section.
-Just a note- If it is so much trouble buying a house together, why do people get divorced? I can only imagine what it is like to figure out who gets it. What a pain that must be! I guess we can look at this as divorce insurance...Right?
Monday, February 14, 2005
Huge Mistake - No Sleep It is 3:50 am and I am wide awake. This should be a great evening, but instead I am worried to death. Steve & I found a wonderful house. It is a Mediterranean style 3/2 that was built in 1973. It is only about a 5 minute drive south of where we are currently living. Unfortunately, all of the excitement has gotten us into trouble. We went over to the realtors house today to discuss an offer/contract. Being that we are first time home buyers & totally naive about the whole process, we had decided to have a real estate attorney read over the contract before we sign it. Good idea right? Well we got there & there were offers piling up for the house. In the excitement of trying to get the house, we stupidly signed a contract. Not only did we sign it, but we agreed to pay the entire closing cost and only finance the mortgage - which we absolutely can't afford. There is no way we can come up with the money.
Why did this happen? We had our mortgage broker on the phone talking to us, faxes of other offers coming in, and a very excited realtor - not to mention his kids playing around us & his wife making dinner. Too many distractions for people who don't know what they are doing. Plus, I admit that I know NOTHING about buying a home. I seriously thought (until talking to parents later) that the seller always pays for 50% of the closing costs & the buyer pays 50%. That makes total sense to me because each is paying for their interests to be looked after. I didn't know that it only happens if that is in the contract. So, when we agreed to pay the closing costs, I thought we were agreeing to 50%. We do have enough money for that. I realize that we also have to get home owners insurance, which is VERY expensive in Florida. Plus, there are probably other fees like the title company and whatever that will hit us too. I forgot to mention that we agreed to put $1000 in escrow now and another $3000 after the inspections. We can't afford to lose that money.
See why I can't sleep??? Tomorrow morning, I am going to call the realtor & BEG to be let out of the contract. Of course, he'll have to call the seller. I am totally sick about the whole thing. Hopefully, they'll want us to do a new offer/contract. If not, I am praying they'll at least let us out of it. When I call in the morning, it will only be 14 hours later. I know that didn't hurt their chance of a sell. Our only saving grace is that I didn't give him a check. We weren't planning on signing the contract, so I didn't even bring the check book with me.
I hate having insomnia - a few more hours & I have to start getting ready for work. -What a crappy Valentines day for us.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Horoscope Warning
I don't believe in horoscopes, but I read mine almost everyday because it is on my search engine. Mine was interesting today (very creative writer): It seems that the heavens have decided to pass out coupons, redeemable toward a veritable arsenal of verbal weapons. Interestingly enough, the offer is only good for your sign. Needless to say, you should be very careful if you decide to accept the offer -- and even more careful when deciding where and when to put them into use. Basically, you'll have the verbal ability to decimate anyone who even mildly disagrees with you. It's up to you to draw the line where it should be drawn.
Good to know - I am going to try to avoid the guy whose office is next to mine. There are many things I respect about the guy, but his political & world views tend to anger me beyond belief. I don't let many things get to me, but his narrow minded backward ways can get me extremely ticked off. It is not only me either - the other two females in the office argue with him a lot more than I do. Plus, every man in the office has had at least one big argument with him. Some days I really wonder how his wife & 3 daughters manage.
The last time I was truly angry was at him. He had the nerve to tell me that anyone in the world who isn't 100% pro-American is a waste of a life and they should all be killed. He was talking about people in the Middle East, but let me ask you - Who is 100% pro-American? Everyone can find something about this country that needs improvement. We all have a certain amount of patriotism & criticism in us. I realize that he is a very backwards person who has never been anywhere. He lives in his own very small world & doesn’t affect anything, so I should just ignore him.
Anyway, in light of the horoscope (right or wrong) - I will go out of my way to avoid him today. This little blog entry has given me an idea though. Do you think it would be cruel to bring some of my Middle Eastern photos & decorations to the office? My office is extremely plain & I have been planning to spruce it up. Perhaps a prayer rug & a few photos of Qatar would be enough to agitate him a little.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Key West Weekend
Before I give you an update, I have to admit - I am guilty of neglecting my blog. I realize that it is extremely plain and that I am only updating my little narratives about once a week. I think I need to set some time aside to work on the blog. I have to figure out how the whole thing works (I'm lazy). Plus, it is definitely time to re-evaluate my News Years Resolutions and take another stab at them. For the past 3 weeks, I have failed greatly.
On a lighter note, Key West was fabulous. We stayed at a little B&B called the Blue Parrot Inn. It is about 2 blocks away from the main drag (Duvall Street). We parked our car in front of the B&B and walked all over that little island. I think we walked about 7 hours on Saturday and another 4 on Sunday. Does that make up for eating too much of the wrong kinds of food?
Besides spending lots of wonderful quality time with Steve, my favorite part was watching the sunset. It is one of the big attractions of Key West. Every evening, lots of people gather in Mallory Square and wait. There are plenty of little bars, street vendors, and performers to liven the atmosphere. As soon as the sun falls behind the horizon, everyone starts clapping. Where else on earth do people clap for something they take for granted? The second best thing there is that all of your worries magically melt away. I think it is the ultra laid back attitudes. The locals (a.k.a. conchs) are basically surfer bums who make enough money to barely survive.
Speaking of Key West - I have a confession to make. I think having 3 brothers & a weirdo father has warped my sense of humor. I find things funny that only an 8 - 13 year old boy or an immature frat guy would like. Fortunately, Steve is silly too. Anyway, walking down the streets of Duvall, there are lots of tourist t-shirt shops. Added with the fact that Key West is a fairly alternative type of place, there are quite a few that are either shocking or not PC - for example: the HOMO Depot, my wee wee is bigger than yours, tell your boobs to stop staring at my eyes, etc. Why do I snicker at these? Who knows? I can tell you that I wouldn't like to see someone actually wearing them. That person would creep me out!
By the way, I must mention that my brothers & father probably wouldn't find those particular things that funny. They may laugh a little, but they are MUCH more religious than I have ever dreamed of being. - One day I'll have to talk about how I am the black sheep of the family, which isn't hard in a family like mine.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Another Year Older, But Not Wiser
Yes, my birthday has come & gone again. Work was so hectic last week that I didn't even get to enjoy it. I had two different overnight trips to Orlando. My work had a yummy yogurt cake for me. That evening, Steve took me out to a Middle Eastern restaurant. It was all nice, but this weekend we are going to live it up. Steve booked a room in a bed & breakfast down in Key West! It is only a four hour drive, but it is like going to a different country. I'm not much of a wild person, but I like to be shocked by others sometimes & Key West is definitely a good place to go for that.
Now, it is time to forget that I am getting older & focus on my family gossip. Soon everyone will hate talking to me, but for now I'll share:
First, my brother, Clayton, and his wife just found out that they will be having their fourth child. I'm probably more excited than they are. I just adore the other three. Of course, they'll love the baby, but when this one is born they'll have 4 all under the age of 6. Good luck to them!!!
One of my other brothers, Alma, has recently been hurt quite badly. While helping his wife train a horse, he grabbed the rope/bridle as the horse was running off. Regrettably, his hand was ripped apart. Apparently, there are even missing chunks. The doctors told him that he would be able to use it again. I wonder if they meant for useful things.
My youngest brother, Chris, is also experiencing drama in his life. He is about to embark on a divorce. I hope that it goes as smoothly as possible, but I am pretty sure it won't. I know that divorce is never ideal, but I really believe that it is a great way to fix a mistake. This life is about fixing mistakes & moving on right? I'm not trying to say my brother or his wife are horrible people (they aren't), just that marriage is wonderful when you are with the right person. I do believe that two horrible people can get married & be very happy together. It is all about finding the right match.
I guess while I am on the family gossip topic, my little sis got a job!!! Paige will be one of the new faces at Cinnabon. She isn't excited about the food industry (what teenager is?), but she is on a work release program at school & had to get something quickly. Next year, she'll be headed off to college & will have a great excuse to quit. --I guess that about wraps up the gossip for my family. If any of the details are not accurate, blame my sister. I got most of it from her...
my name
Husband:
Steve
Baby: Lexi (born Jan 26th)
This blog is like a journal for me. It is also a way for my friends to keep tabs on me.
For people who don't know me, I come from a big family (3 brothers & 1 sister). We moved around a LOT, so I am not really from one particular place. I like to call Katy, Texas my home though.
Recent news, my Dad & Mother-in-Law were diagnosed with Terminal Cancer in April/May of 2005. My dad passed away 5-Dec-05 .
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