Inspection Over

Our home inspection was a success!


Well, mostly.

After waiting for the utility guys to get to the house, turn on the water, electricity, and gas, I spent a little time visiting a couple of friends that live out in the area. I had a little time to kill and wanted to make the most of it - even though I swore to myself I would finally spend more time on the book I've been slowly reading. I love reading and I just haven't had the time to do it lately. Obviously.

After that, I drove around the surrounding towns and tried to get acquainted with the local shopping and restaurants. There seemed to be just about everything I needed, except a Target. I am devastated. I love that store and even though there is one in the town where I currently live and will be working, I really hoped to have one near my new house. Oh well, can't have everything.

I arrived at the house right at 4pm and the Inspector and my agent were already raring to go. So off we went!

The inspection turned out to be about 3 hours and it was very informative. I kept a list of the things that would need to be done as soon as the purchase goes through (only 3 things) and a secondary list of the things that would need some work or would need to be purchased sooner than later.

Overall, the inspection went great. We'll need to throw a few hundred dollars into the place right away, but there were no real issues or major repairs. Our list was do-able.

After handing over a whopping $400 I was ready to call up my lender and tell him to proceed with the loan.

Now all I need to fret about is getting my down payment into my account this coming week. The money has been requested and I am hoping they will be able to process the request by mid-next week. After that...I guess I have to rely on my lender and the escrow company to get things done before our vacation next month.

I HATE relying on or waiting for other people. It stresses me out.

There are loads more details, but that's the short version.

I just need to keep my head straight for 3 more weeks. Then, off to Mexico I go - whether the house is settled or not.

Here's what I need!

Spark Arrestor - Chimney



Kitchen faucet replacement

Washer and dryer

cover to fix a cracked pipe

Those are the essentials. There is a long list of not-so-urgent needs, but that will come in time.

Let's Play Tag!

Hey ya'll! I was tagged to play a question and answer game, so here I am playing along. I'll be tagging a few peeps at the end so pay attention in case your name is called!

Here we go!

Food: Is this asking if I like food or if I have a favorite? I'll answer both. Yes, I LOVE food. And if someone were to put a gun to my head and asked what I wanted to eat most...I would say Thai food. It's delish! I guess the food item I like best is bread. All kinds - croissant, chibatta, french, sour dough, bagels, focaccia....(okay, I am getting a craving now).


Color: Hmmm...I like red, turquoise, and black. But not really together.

Animal: Dog.

Dessert: Foul Temptress! You know I have a wicked sweet tooth! I suppose that would be any kind of baked good. Cake, cookies, brownies...that kind of thing.

Artist: Honestly I don't really have a favorite. I am really random with what I like.


Pair of Shoes: I like flip flops and wedge sandals.
Outfit: I don't have a specific outfit, but I like brightly colored shirts and jeans. I have also taken to wearing scarves to accessorize.

Skinny Jeans: Not with this body type yo! The hips don't lie.

Brand: I guess Coach?

Perfume: Princess by Vera Wang, but I am silly and don't own it.


Accessory: My wedding ring.

City: New Orleans.

Hobby: Photography, blogging, movies, & reading.

Beauty Product: mascara/eye make-up.
Holiday: Christmas. Is that even fair really?

Snack: pretzels or trail mix


Movie: Wow, you really went there! I suppose that would be Moulin Rouge.

Song: This question is just wrong on so many levels. I'm just throwing a song out there that makes my butt shake....Right Round - Flo Rida.


Guilty Pleasure: Pedicures, Nerd candy, & competition reality shows.

Next up to be tagged is...drum roll please!
 
Nikki
 
Ashley
 
Leah
 
Maranda
 
Happy weekend everyone!

12 Years

April 8th marks 12 years of happiness with the same man.

Michael and I will have been together 12 years - yes your math is correct - we were 16 & 18!

It's been one hell of a ride and one that makes me smile from ear to ear.

For our anniversary, we packed up our singing voices and headed out to the Snoqualmie Casino for a flash back to the 90's.

It was a time of young love, summer drives, and country music.

Yes people, country at it's best. Circa 1996-1999.

We've seen Diamond Rio a couple of other times and just love their style and harmonies. So, since they just might have been our first concert together (back in the day at the King County Fair) we decided it would be perfect to top off year number 12.

We had a blast, as did the largely inebriated casino crowd, and sang our little hearts out.

The video I am going to post is of their last song. My favorite song. And one that totally defined our love at the time. This video is in true early 90's form with overalls and mullets. It's classic and SO much fun.

Give it a listen and bop your head. Come on....I know you want to!



You were a good boyfriend my love. Thanks for 12 fun-filled years!

New Adventure

It happened quickly.

We got a call on Friday night that a house we'd looked at dropped in price by about 60,000!

We had to decide THAT DAY if we wanted to place a bid on it. There was no negotiating or counters, only a single bid and we had no idea how many other offers there would be.

I was freaked out, but I knew the deal was too good to pass-up. This house would be gone fast!

We put in our bid and waited.

Saturday morning our agent called and said "Congratulations! Your bid was accepted!"

Holy crap! What?!

We got the house people.

If all goes as it's supposed to and the inspection passes, we'll be home owners in May!

For those of you who know the Seattle/Eastside area, we'd be moving to Maple Valley - Four Corners to be exact. It's about 25 minutes from where we live now and will be out a little farther than we envisioned, but it's perfectly acceptable.

I'm a little sad to be moving from my lovely Issaquah and my sister and nephew, but I know that this house will be worth it. It's got a hot tub for god's sake! Yeah, you heard me right...a hot tub.

The property needs some fixing up and the house could use some updating in the kitchen and bathrooms, but ya know, it's not a big thing right now. All in good time. Right now, we need to get us a washer and dryer! And a dining table. And living room furniture. And new locks. And paint.

That's really it though. Craig's List - here we come.

So without further adieu, here is what will most likely be our new residence -

Whoop Whoop!

Wish us luck!

What Does Your Map Look Like?

I found this neat site where you can click off all the states you have been to and visualize it all in map form!

What I saw was a little surprising! I am missing a large number of states!

I feel like I have traveled all over the U.S., but apparently I have neglected a bunch in the middle and much of the east coast!

I did not count states where I might have had an airplane layover of some kind while traveling and there was no room for other parts of the globe.

If there were, I could proudly proclaim that I have been to multiple spots in Mexico, Belize, Canada, and the Caribbean.

I have always wanted a huge wall map of the world that I could post up over cork board. I think it would be interesting art to have a large map where I could pin point (with thumb tacks or pins) all the places that Mike and I have traveled. Maybe it would give us more motivation to see new places, instead of revisiting somewhere we have already been!

Someday this map will be displayed and when it is - I'll post a photo of it for you to check out.

Has anyone been to ALL of the states? That would be quite a feat!

If you want to post YOUR map or just see what it would look like you can visit this site!

This Is What Happens When I Don't Pay Attention

Today I ate a big brownie!

Let me set the stage -


I was at work. I was juggling 8 different things and very distracted. My coworker pops her head into my office and asks if I want a brownie. I nod my head in what I hope seems like I am listening, but I'm not.

She holds the plate out and I grab one, eyes still on the computer screen. I mumble 'thank you' and without even stopping to think about what I am doing (it was close to lunch and I was already starving), I ate it.

I ate it in huge bites. That is until I realize that I am eating a large chocolate brownie. Then I exclaim "damn it!" and my other coworker looks at me like I am crazy.

It was too late. I had one bite left and had already consumed the majority of the calories, so I sighed and stuffed the last bite in my mouth.

(This was me, but staring at the computer)

I think I need to learn to do one thing at a time. I have always been a multi-tasker, but this time, my diet suffered because I couldn't take a second to think about what I was stuffing into my face.


Good job Alissa. Jeez!

Anyhow, I swapped my traditional lunch of a sandwich and fruit for a salad and made sure to add 30 minutes more to my gym time this evening. I did what I could.

As disappointed as I am that I mindlessly ate what was probably 300-500 calories, that brownie was DELICIOUS. Well at least the last bite was. I didn't really appreciate the first 6.

I'll update you as soon as I reach my next goal. I am hoping to lose another 2 lbs this week if I can keep the gym time strong and quit eating brownies.


But it's so hard! I love chocolate! Damn you sweet tooth!



Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's Sunday and I am out of ideas at the moment for a post, so I am getting back on the Scavenger Hunt band wagon. It's getting to be Spring and it was a decent day today...so...I broke out my dust-covered SLR camera!

I haven't been inspired at all this Winter and have had a lot on my plate. But I don't want to forget my trusty Canon as the weather turns and the flowers make their early appearance.

So today I hung out with my photographing family and went to the park to play with my nephew and the dogs!

Without further adieu, here is my entry for the scavenger hunt this week put on by Ramblings and Photos.

1. Camera Phone

Nothing Fancy here, just me with my messaging phone and my favorite Chihuahua Chupes! You can't really tell in the picture, but he looks very skeptical of me.


2. Camera

This is my momma using her new lens! I thought it was fitting that she be included in this scavenger hunt.
 3. Shoes

Not my best work, but I use what I've got and my sister had the cutest shoes between us! Plus little Jeffie-pie is posing so that's a plus!

4. Chair

Bennett is checking out the hobby horse so why not use that for the chair?

5. Imperfection

This is the fence to the side of our house. It's falling apart and looking mighty sad, BUT it's got character. And we rent, so I am not replacing it. :)

*Want to join in? The rules are simple:


1. Anyone can participate.

2. You're encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge.

3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I'm not too strict about it - I do my best to take fresh shots).

4. Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) - you can use the button above.

5. Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (we have so many new participants each week, this is the only way I know to be inclusive).

Have fun!



 
Here are a couple other photos I took of my sweet nephew Bennett. It's been months since I have attempted to get some shots of him. They are not the best pictures I've taken, but they sure are cute!
 
 

( I may have a case of the Monday's tomorrow...)