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Yaaaawwwn!

Yawn. Tired. I am beat. I've been burning the candle at both ends and I'm starting to really pay for it, especially in my moods. Despite the fact that I got a full 8 hours last night, it feels like I got about three and after working out for the first time in a few weeks yesterday (other than running) my bod is soooore as hell. So anyhoo, I'm looking forward to a four-day weekend. Not that it's going to be incredibly restful or anything …

Friday is my parents annual New Year's party. There's a lot of prep work and then we party until late. The next morning, we'll get up, grab a few groceries and head up the hill to Vail. I'm not planning to ski that day (though Matt may have other plans) so that will be pretty restful/drunken I think.

Sunday and Monday are both supposed to be ski days, although I may not ski both days. I'm perfectly happy to sit in the condo and chill out and watch the fire and play Grand Theft Auto and take little cat naps. Mmmmm … cat naps.

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Christmas is Over

I can hardly believe it … Didn't it all go by in the blink of an eye?! I know there were a few moments when I really sat there and tried to let it sink all in. I just lurve Christmas.

Of course, I got many fun, pretty, useful things, but I had an even better time giving the gifts that I gave. I didn't give that many gifts that people knew they were getting and I made my mom cry (in a good way) which is always one of my Christmas directives. Kelly and I gave her and dad photo calendars from Ofoto that turned out beautifully. Another favorite gift I (we) gave was a necklace to Matt's sister, which had one of her favorite things … a shamrock with a little stone in her favorite color, green. We also got Matt's mom, a photographer, a brag-book style photo album. I put a graphic in the front with a sort-of logoey feel and then we thought she could put some of her professional photos in there and carry it with her to show off. One of my faves too was the photobook we got my sis. We got her an early xmas present and she also wanted some photos, so I had Snapfish print me up a bunch that she chose and then I put them in a little album for her. But I hated the idea that her entire gift would be expected, so I took a picture of Matt wearing jeans and a white t'shirt and I used Photoshop to impose “Sparky Loves You!” on the front of his t'shirt (Sparky is her pet-name for him) and I stuck that in the midst of all her photos. There were other good gifts too and in a lot of ways, I really would love to do nothing more than stay at home and relax and watch DVDs and read and play with some new toys. Continue reading “Christmas is Over”

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What a Day!

The incredibly observant (actually, not only observant, but also vigilant) among you may have noticed that littlet picture that popped up on my moblog at about 4:30 today. Those are the set of keys as given to us by the folks at Land Title after we turned over a big chunk of cash and signed about 3 million sheets of paper (give or take a few 100 thousand).

Ah, but that account of it makes it all sound so easy …. the day itself was nerve-racking as hell!! Acutally, the last few days have had us on pins and needles. On Tuesday we discovered (yes, we discovered, not anyone told us) that we'd need a verification of rent from our previous landlords. Sounds easy enough, especially cuz we were very good tenants. The kind that paid their rent on time … in full … always. Yea, well as of this morning, and six faxes later and a bitta mis-handling on Coldwell Banker Morgatge's part and a lot on our former landlord's part, the paperwork still wasn't through. In fact, at 3 PM when we showed up for closing , it still wasn't through. We watched our realtor (Cyndi Ralph – more about her later) head into the building on her cell phone looking pretty ticked-off. Then we go into the little room with the big chairs and the can full of pens and sit down and the nice lady from Land Title informs us that we probably won't be closing today since our loan hasn't gone through. I start to freak (just a little, I'm sure) and we decided to hold on and at least wait for Cyndi. So Cyndi comes in a few minutes later and tells us everything is AOK. Our loan has been approved and our papers and wire transfer will be there in about 15 minutes … and they were.

Cyndi had called the VP of CBM and screamed at him that this whole thing was ridiculous and that we were closing today and he was going to make it happen. And he did. Obviously, we Cyndi lots. Of course, we did even before this, but …. sheesh. Two first-time home buyers were impressed, and more than well taken-care-of. To state the obvious, if you or anyone you know is buying a home in CO , we heartily recommend her!!! Continue reading “What a Day!”

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More House Hunting

I'm sooooo sick of house hunting. It's been such a frustrating process. Yesterday, we found what is in many ways the perfect house. It's good sized, with good-sized rooms, great living space, a nice kitchen, and we would get to pick some of the finishes. It's in a new development called The Village of Five Parks. It's a Pleasantville-esque community with picture-perfect well, um … everything. It's got about 10 different styles of houses with their own floorplans and then levels of finishes. We could pick some of the finishes in one of the two of the style we like that aren't yet completed.

There are two problems though … The commute will be about double to what I would really like, basically on the upper-end of my personal allowable commute. Another problem is that they won't be ready 'til early January, which, of course, means that we can't get settled 'til then. It's not the end of the world, but it is a little annoying.

I'll definitely be thinking on it though.

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Real Estate Dealings

Well … it's been a bit of a roller coaster. Last night, our agent called us to tell us that they had gotten two offers yersterday. Ours, and another. We were first, so they gave us a counter offer. We accepted their counter offer. This morning, before the official paperwork could go through, though while we were still pretty happy over “getting the house,” they recinded their offer and took a second offer from the other people. We had the chance to counter, but we decided to walk instead.

I was kinda upset at first, but now I'm pretty much at peace with the whole decision. We'll find another house. Huge city. Lotsa houses. And, as my pep talk goes, it'll be better, cheaper, and in a better location. It will.

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Aaaaah!

Well … we put an offer on a house today. It's a little freaky, honestly. Sort of one of those things that I'm really excited and scared about all put together.

The house is a fairy new one (a little less than 10 years old) southwest of Denver. It's a pretty area, sort of in the foothills and it's got nice views. It's a two-story with three bedrooms and a finished basement. One of its best features is its kitchen which is quite large. It's easily workable for 5 or more people and it's got nice appliances.

Since it's empty already we got a pretty good price on it and we'll be able to move in (assuming they accept our offer) in about two weeks. I can't believe how fast it's happening!!

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Just Like Clockwork …

Since it's Halloween and all, it's snowing. In the Denver area, it's practically unheard of not to have snow on Halloween. I remember many more ventilated costumes being ruined by a parka, hat, boots, and mittens. Like the year I wanted to be a surfer. Or when I was in sixth grade and my friends and I dessed in sleeveless dresses to be sixties mod chicks. It's been pretty nice weather all fall and Halloween rolls along and all of a sudden … snow. I love it.

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Ever Seen House Hunters?

I love how on that show they make it seem like the realtor shows them three homes and they have this incredibly hard decision to pick between the three. It's hilaroius. Really.

Today alone we saw 10+ houses. The inside of them too … not just the outside. The good news, however, is that we may have found a house to make an offer on. I don't know if we will, but the prospect is looking good.

The house is about 2700 sq feet with three bedrooms on the second floor and another possible in the basement. It's got a very nice kitchen that we could easily get four people working in. It's also got a nice backyard with a great deck and a nice little plot of grass (fairly small yards are good in CO because here you have to water them!). And it's got a huuuge shower and bathtub in the master bedroom and a very nice basement.

Keep your fingers' crossed that we've found our house!