Saturday, October 29, 2011

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Oh the stress of it all!

Buying and selling a house is a wee bit stressful. So stressful that I have had a flair up of shingles. Seriously? I thought I was handling it all fine, but apparently my body thought otherwise.

Our house sale is moving right along. That's nice. A lovely young couple is buying it. I actually knew him growing up, though not well. His parents are quite a bit older than Dave and I, and their kids (this young man and his older siblings) are younger than us, but not so young as to be the same ages as our children. Even though we all grew up in the same church, we've never run in the same circles.

He is military, and she seems like a sweet young lady. They have one toddler and another on the way (I think. No way am I asking though!)

All things related to the sale are progressing. The house we want to buy? Notsomuch. We got the inspection report yesterday. Seems the septic system is a mess. It's leaking, it's against code, and it even has unresolved violations on file with the city! EEEK! The chimney is also falling in internally, and will need extensive work to make it usable.

So we're re negotiation the contract. We're asking them to significantly lower the price of the house to cover the cost of repairing the fireplace and replacing the septic. There are other small issues; minor drainage issues, windows that have a leaking seal, etc. But we're not really worried about that. It's not a new house, we expected some minor repairs. But replacing a septic? That's major.

The price to fix/replace those two things is huge. If they don't agree to lower the price to cover it, we'll have to walk away. This makes me sad, but I don't want to buy a house and then have to drop huge money to fix it. NOt at the price they're asking.

So...our house could sell by the middle of Nov and we may have no place to live. We may end up staying in our RV until we find something. OH SWEET MERCY I hope that does not happen. But if it does, it does. What can you do?

Buying and selling a house is not for pansies, that's for sure.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Family Photos!

Last weekend my family and I had our photos taken. It was REALLY time for a family photo.

Misty Colvard Photography did our little photo session. This is a little sneek peek of her work. It was so much fun to have them done. She got some slightly grumpy, I-have-better-things-to-do-than-have-my-photo-taken teenagers to smile and look happy!

This was our last family photo. Holy cow, why do children grow so fast!?



This is one of the photos Misty took. She even got the dog to look alert and interested!



Um, yeah. I think it was time for a new family photo.


I can't wait to see the rest!


If you're anywhere near the Dallas area, give Misty a call! She did a great job! (and I've only seen a sneak peek of our photo session!)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

The Number 3 and the Letter H

Today’s post is brought to you by the number 3 and the letter H.

The number 3 is for how many contracts we’ve had on our house. The first 2 have fallen through due to the inability for the potential buyer to get financing.

We expect to be receiving the 3rd contract Monday or Tuesday.

The letter H is for the Hope we feel that this is the one. That the 3rd time’s the charm. Please, please let the 3rd time be the charm!

The reason we are Holding out such Hope is the other reason this post is being brought to you by the letter H.

House.

This House.



The House with this living room.



The House with this kitchen.



But mostly the House with this backyard.



With this pool in it.



I want this House.



Holding out High Hopes this 3rd contract will be the one so we can get this House.

This post was brought to you by the number 3 and the letter H.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

New Shows. What's Worth Your Time?



Last night Sir D and I watch Last Man Standing on ABC.

Frankly, my expectations were very low. I set the DVR to record most of the new shows that came out this fall. I didn’t even know what most of them were about, but I figured we’d watch the first episode and decide. Well, most of the shows didn’t make the cut. In fact, most of the shows didn’t make it past the first 15 minutes! Sheesh there is a lot of trash out there!

In the first few minutes of Last Man Standing, I was not sure if it was going to make the cut. There was an annoying laugh track in the back ground. I hate that. It’s distracting. But here’s the thing, after the first few minutes, either the laugh track went away or I was laughing so hard I didn’t notice it anymore. Seriously, this show was hilarious! And also it was a little refreshing. The man in this show is not stupid. The show is not all about making the man look stupid! I mean, yeah, there are stereotypes, and they exploit them to get a laugh, but they do it for all the characters, not just the man.

The whole premise is that there is a Mom and Dad and three daughters. One daughter is working as a waitress and has a toddler (a boy) and no husband. The other daughters are in high school, one is sporty and one is very girly. The Dad is a very manly dad who works in a sporting goods store. His daughters are dating girly men who get pedicures, can’t change a tire, etc. The Dad is wondering where all the real men have gone. He starts a Vlog for the sporting goods store (at his boss’s request) but instead of being about the things they sell, it usually ends up being about the girly men.

I hope this show lasts. It’s funny. The family really loves each other. The parents love each other. Yes, they poke fun at stereotypes, but somehow it’s different. I am so tired of watching shows that make strong men look stupid.

This show was just want Sir D and I needed last night. A good, hard laugh!