07May
Can’t post. Â No time. Â Graduating Sunday. Â Thesis killing me. Â Bought a house. Â Work sucks. Â Chris found a job. Â Family coming to town Friday.
Will post next week if I’m alive.
Well, Dear Readers, here it is. Our house. Our cute, little, cape cod house in Connecticut. Isn’t it just the most adorable thing in the world? It’s like a little piece of heaven in Stratford, CT. Its a great house, but I had no idea how much you had to go through before buying a house.
Have you ever had that dream where you’re standing naked in front of a crowd of people? That’s pretty much what a mortgage approval feels like. You basically go to a bank, meet with the mortgage rep, and then proceed to pour your financial guts onto the table for God and everyone to see. They want salary amounts, debt amounts, loan amounts, credit reports, social security numbers, your grandmother’s birth date – everything. And then they take 48 hours to judge how much that says you are worth. I’d rather poke my eyeballs out with bamboo skewers than go through that again.
But through some miraculous twist of fate, they approved us. When our mortgage originator called us to tell us the good news, I couldn’t believe it. I almost said to her, “Did you see that Chris is in THEATER and I am in EDUCATION?” I mean, you know the real estate market is bad when the primary breadwinner is in EDUCATION and they can afford to buy!
We don’t officially own the house yet. We are still under contract, but our closing date is June 27. Mark your calendars because I will be posting one heck of a celebration post on June 27. Then I will most likely disappear for two weeks while we take care of important things like finding the right place for the tupperware and connecting the cable.
In addition to buying the house, I did manage to graduate this past weekend. My incredible and crazy family made it up to celebrate with us, which was so above and beyond because they will all fly up here in two weeks for Chris’ graduation, too.
My Dad, Chris, Me, My Mom, and My Sister, Ginny
Can you see the relief in my face?
My favorite study-buddy.
All in all, its been a pretty good month so far. We’ll celebrate Chris’ graduation and his getting a fantastic job in two weeks when everyone and their mother (literally) will be in town as he graduates from Yale Drama. But for now, I’m trying to allow myself to stay in the moment. To be excited about what I have accomplished with my masters degree, and to relish the fact that Chris and I are on the road to homeownership.
I am also allowing myself to think of all the hardwood floors that Molly will now be able to chew and scratch. It’s a beautiful house, but what were we thinking? We just bought a house made of wood for our giant, fat headed lab to destroy. What are you gonna do though? Home is where the dogs live.
15May
Maybe its because we’re so close to owning our own home. Maybe its because I’m home dying from a cold. Maybe its because I don’t want to clean my house. For whatever reason, I have decided today, actually about 5 minutes ago, that I do not like my landlords. Sure, they’re nice enough. But they just barge into our house at any given time. And lately they have been bringing their entire families – including a month old infant, a 2 year old, a grandmother, and their dog.
They sometimes give us warnings like, “We might stop by on Tuesday.” And then they just show up in enormous groups and come trampsing through our house. I mean, I understand that it is technically their house, but we pay rent here. Don’t we deserve the courtesy of, say, a doorbell?
Now, as much as I don’t like them being here, my dogs go crazy. But its not their fault (says their adoring mother). I put them in their crates when the landlords come around because they bring so many kids and family that I can’t concentrate on standing on the hole in the carpet, listening to what they are saying, AND wrestling two dogs. So I crate the dogs and they go insane. They bark, they whine, they moan. And what do the landlords do? They complain.
This morning our landlord barged in around 11:00, followed by her mother-in-law, her toddler, and her newborn. I heard the key turning in the door, and immediately the dogs go crazy. I raise myself out of my sickness-induced haze and tackle the dogs before they can tackle the landlord’s small children. As I’m scooping Lucy up and trying to pull Molly by her collar, I hear the landlord say to her mother-in-law, “Lets wait so their crazy dogs don’t maul us.” Â WHAT?!?! Â I almost felt like letting the dogs go and just pretending I didn’t notice they were getting licked to death and wacked by Molly’s beaver-like tail.
I did manage to yell out through the door just as they were barging in, “Can you give me a minute to crate the dogs? Thanks!” But inside I was yelling out, “Ever heard of a doorbell, honey?” So I wrangle the dogs into their crates and throw some apple slices at them to keep them quiet (which doesn’t work and instead becomes applesauce as the dogs jump around inside their crates). By the time I turn around, there they all are, standing in my bedroom.
Granted, they are coming around more often because they are showing the apartment since we are moving out soon (not soon enough for me…), but how about a little respect for our home? Â Could they give us a call before time? Â Ring a doorbell? Â Knock? Â Am I asking too much? Has my Benedryl gone to my head? Is my cough making me cranky? I don’t think so.
42 days till we move…
16May
Last weekend we had a huge BBQ at our house to celebrate the end of the year with Chris’ classmates. Lots of people. Lots of beer. Lots of meat. Lots of fun.
And apparently, lots of cheese.
Tonight as I was going through our fridge trying to find something for dinner, I came across a 5 lb. bag of shredded cheese that someone left. Let me say that again, a 5 LB. BAG OF SHREDDED CHEESE. Who buys a 5 LB. BAG OF SHREDDED CHEESE?!? And how do you forget about a 5 LB. BAG OF SHREDDED CHEESE???
It is such an obscene amount of cheese that I can’t bring myself to just throw it away, but – honestly – what am I going to do with a 5 LB. BAG OF SHREDDED CHEESE???
