I'm a real grown-up!

I am officially a homeowner.  As such, I decided to be responsible and get life insurance, just in case.  We got a new bed for my daughter.  We're going to start moving things in tomorrow and hoping to be done by Sunday.  We're aiming for a Super Bowl party.  Everything has started coming into place.  I am a real live grown-up.

We can has house! Mostly..

This morning we did our walk-through.  Things looked okay, but perhaps a little worse for wear than the last time we saw them.  In addition to that, there was junk in the garage (not to mention all the dog poop in the front yard).  Maybe they stopped caring, but either way, it was a little disheartening.  I know that I will feel better when we are actually in the house and make it our home.

After the walk-through, we signed paperwork.  A lot of paperwork.  For over an hour.  After all of that, the paperwork couldn't be filed with the county because the seller "couldn't get there until 3:30".  Again, not sure if they stopped caring or what.  But since they couldn't sign paperwork until the late afternoon, the title won't be ours until tomorrow, hence the "mostly" part.  So yeah, we have a house....mostly.

Besides the house situation, my car has been broken down.  It all started with the flat tire.  That got changed (to the spare), but then I couldn't turn the key in the ignition.  Trust me, I'm not an idiot.  Neither my husband, nor my father-in-law, could get this thing fixed and believe me, my father-in-law knows what he's doing.  So the car got towed to an import place because the Honda dealership sucks.  It took about a week for the part I needed to come in.  It got fixed today...mostly.  The keys needed to be reprogrammed so we ghetto-fabbed the car to run (i.e. taped my original key in the open steering column with all the wires exposed while using a second key to turn the ignition).  We go to Honda to reprogram the keys.  They do, mostly.  I have one key to open the door and a second key to put in the ignition.  The original key is pretty much worthless, along with its remote.  Damn.  We drive over to Cole's Imports to get the steering column put completely back together.  After that's done, we drive over to Merchant's to get a new tire.  Well, they couldn't find the anti-theft lug nut key.  That's right, we cannot get the tire off because this tiny thing is missing.  It's either at Cole's or disappeared somewhere in between the many places we went.  The reason it wasn't in the trunk with the old tire and all the other parts was the spare apparently had a nail in it so Cole's patched it up.  Fantastic.  At this very moment, we're trying to figure out how I'm getting to work, how we're getting a replacement lug nut, and when all this magic is happening.

Today my life got better...mostly.

Snowday, but not really

Today it snowed.  Well, really it was more like yesterday when it snowed, but today we reap the benefits.  Sort of.  I got a delay, which was nice except that all I got out of was 35 minutes of a class that I had to take anyway.  I had a class after that one and a lab later today that will go from 1:40 until 4:35pm.  Conveniently enough, I left my wallet at home so I have no way to feed myself.  I don't have a car either so I can't go and get said wallet or even dig out any change that might be in said vehicle.  Yep, life sucks a little right now.

On a side note, my daughter got a snow day.  She likes going to preschool, but her grandmother is visiting today so I kept her home.  She also got to go play in the snow and make a snow angel.  She did, however, start crying after we got inside because her hands were so cold.  Good thing she had gloves on to begin with.

1+1= -1?

Today it was really cold.  Not like, "holy shit, I didn't realize I lived in Alaska", but more like, "damn, I didn't know Virginia got this cold".  I can't wait for it to be spring.

Regardless of the temperature, I still have to go to work.  At work, we get trades, offer pre-orders and rewards cards.  I have a customer come in who pre-ordered something months ago.  He's interested in picking it up.  Score, no cancellations.  Turns out he pre-ordered the wrong game.  He cancels and puts it towards the one he wants.  It's only my first transaction.  I can make it up.  Nope, apparently not.  A guy comes in with his trades and I tell him he'll get more by pre-ordering one of several specific titles.  He's totally fine with that, but wait, maybe he already has it reserved.  He doesn't, I checked.  He does, however, have two other games reserved that he's not interested in picking up.  I wouldn't mention it, but he specifically asked what he had on pre-order.  Dammit.  So somehow, the one pre-order I was getting to balance the cancellation resulted in more cancellations.  FML.

There's always another form

So we're supposed to close on the 29th.  I knew things were going too well.

Today I got an email that the release form for the IRS had the wrong address on it.  That's funny because that address should have been the correct one.  I don't have the tax return any more because my ex-husband needed it when he sold his house and I never got it back from him.  He claims he didn't have it, but we made a special trip over to deliver it to him so I'm pretty sure he's got it somewhere...or his lawyer does.

Whatever, whatever, right?  I sent an email asking to see a copy of the form I filled out and the person who emailed me is like "just check the return", and I'm thinking, "bitch, I don't have it".  I emailed my CPA so she should be able to solve this once and for all.

On a separate note, started school again the other day.  Going pretty well so far.  I'm taking Bio, Spanish, and a sociology class about race and ethnicity as a requirement.  A friend called it a "white guilt" class, but so far it's not.  I'm okay with it if it is...we messed up.  Right now, we're working on social constructs.  Do you think we could apply that to protists?  Apparently, they're having trouble classifying them too.

Snow White

First things first, my daughter wanted a haircut.  She already has almost shoulder length hair.  She used to have long hair, but I have short hair and naturally, she wanted "to look like Mommy" so now she has shorter hair.  She told Grandma that she wanted to look like Snow White.  When I heard that, I was thinking, "there's not much that can be done, your hair's already that length."

I was wrong.  She meant Ginnifer Goodwin's Snow White.  The one from Once Upon a Time, whose hair is about two inches long at best.

My son, Indiana Jones

My son found the Holy Grail while I was at work.  My husband described it to me.  Apparently our son was playing like usual.  He likes to stand up and walk holding onto things (slowly).  He doesn't play on the floor as much as he used to because standing is more fun (ie. he can reach more stuff).

Tangent: My son used to just stand, but not sit.  He could sit in his highchair, but apparently crawling really fast or standing was just more fun.  One day, we went to a get-together at a family friend's house and there was a baby there who was one month older than my son.  This baby sat like a champ, but instead of crawling, he rolled everywhere.  It was very cute, even when he round-housed my son.  He just had this laid-back way of rolling.  You wouldn't know what he was after until he got there.  My son, on the other hand, is a very determined little boy.  When he wants something, you know it.  He was crawling all over.  I was super proud that he was showing up this older baby, but he still wasn't sitting.  When my daughter was his age, she had been sitting for three months.  Ridiculous.  But you know what, the day after the party.  My son started sitting up all the time as though he always had been.

Back to the main story.  As previously laid out, my son sits, stands, and crawls.  He no longer plays on his tummy, but today, he was.  He starts putting his fingers under the sofa.  My husband figures he'll just take whatever my son finds under there away from him after he pulls it out.  He's thinking that it's probably just a dust bunny or a sock, at best.  So the fingers go under, then the whole hand, then the elbow, and he keeps going.  Finally, he's up to his shoulder in dust bunnies, or whatever.  He pulls out his arm, sits up, and waves his arm triumphantly.  He found the TV remote.  Yep.

Update-the saga continues

So, as I'm waiting for documentation that I need to fill out (two documents, actually), the phone line goes dead and the internet goes out.  Awesome.

The phone and the internet is fixed, which I find out when the guy from the phone company calls the house.  Great!

Apparently, after waiting all day for an email with an attachment for this house, "no further documentation is needed".  I email back because now I'm confused as shit.  Do they mean they don't need more than the two things they asked for, or is there just something coming from the bank but the agents don't have to draft anything?  No, apparently the short sale lender was "confused" and hopefully the approval will be released in "24-48 hours".  Yeah, we'll see about that.

Holding pattern continues

Short sales suck.  They suck real bad.

We started looking for a house in town (by which I mean, not Fairfax) around January or February when I was still pregnant.  We started looking at a gated community thirty minutes outside of town.  It's very safe and the houses are very affordable (even with the HOA).

We found a house that we loved.  We made an offer, but my husband was still waiting for a contract from his new employer.  We had enough money for the house and offered a lease-purchase.  They were okay with a lease-purchase, but not for us.  They let a woman who was in the process of getting a divorce move in because she was offering more for rent and more than the house was worth.  I kind of hope the divorce got kind of ugly and messed up some finances.  Very frustrating.

We couldn't find a house we liked as much as that one so we figured we'd start looking closer to town because what's the point of spending a little less to drive farther from a house we don't love (especially since the resale won't be as good anyway).  After lots of looking, we found two houses that had similar characteristics and prices.  One had a great lot with lots of space, but the inside of the house felt kinda small. The kitchen was nice, the shared bathroom was pretty, and the basement (which was in the process of being remodeled and was supposed to be done at close) would be nice when it was finished.  The master was tiny with enough room for a squished shower stall and a toilet almost behind the door (seriously, a full-grown man could barely fit in there).

The other house we loved was a split foyer like the other house, but it felt so big.  The upstairs had a huge master with a nice bathroom and was attached to a small office that could be accessed from the hallway.  The other two bedrooms were at the end of the hall.  Perfect for privacy after the kids got old enough to appreciate it.  The downstairs had two living rooms (one with a fireplace), another nice bathroom, sizable bedroom, and nice hallway leading to the garage.  That's right, garage, which is perfect for my motorcycle.  Did I mention that the house backs up to an elementary with good ratings and is in a great neighborhood?  Yep.  Probably sounds like a no-brainer for most people, but I really liked the first house with the yard (it also had a big barn with electricity that could eventually be fit for my bike).  It's just that the master was so small.  The only problem with the house in the neighborhood was that it was a short sale.  We never wanted to get involved in all that hassle, but this house was so perfect.  The other plus was that someone else had put an offer in that was below the asking price (which can be risky with short sales), and it was accepted.  They had dropped out because of financing.  We put an offer in during the summer.

Fast forward to now.  We still don't have a house.  The price has been accepted, but they are "haggling over a few fees".  We now have two forms to sign.  One is an addendum to an addendum.  Yep, you read that right.  The other fun part is that they haven't even sent these forms yet so after I got a phone call and email from my realtor, I can't even do anything about it.  It's awesome.  NOT.

It's just an accident

Three posts in one day?  Something must have happened.

Every Friday, I take the kids to see their dad at his work.  He works at a boarding school and has to be there late every Friday to basically babysit so we go have dinner with him.  Today was no exception, except that my right front tire deflated.  Nothing exciting like a blow-out, but slowly the car began to grind the ground.  I knew what that sound was so I pulled over in a big driveway near an old barn.  That property was recently purchased and a house was built there.  I coveted that land forever, and now I can covet that memory of trying to change my tire there.

Here's the story.  I've never changed a tire before.  I know where the spare is, but that's about it.  I went to get it and it was stuck.  Apparently they are locked in.  Didn't know that.  I call my husband to tell him the tire is flat and I don't really know what to do.  He doesn't answer.  I call my father-in-law since he's handy with everything.  He doesn't answer.  I call my mom who can at least call the right people if I need a tow.  She doesn't answer.  What the hell is going on?

My mom calls back.  I tell her I don't know how to get the spare out.  She says it's locked in.  So it's not just me.  Good to know.  She says she'll come over.  While she's on the phone with me, a guy pulls over and asks if I need help.  He's maybe the same age as me and smoking a cigarette.  I tell him my tire's flat, but I've got someone on the way.  Five minutes later, another guy who looks about twenty pulls over to check on me.  I tell him the same.  I appreciate them asking, but I've got my kids in the car and I don't know these guys.  I'm sure that they were just being nice, but I don't take chances with my kids.  Besides, by the time the second guy stopped, my husband was on the way.

For the record, I've gotten the lug nuts off and jacked up the car.  The problem is that the driveway I pulled over in is gravel.  The jack keeps breaking the rocks.  Not helping.  My mom gets there, feeds the baby, and amuses the five-year-old while I'm realizing that I'm never going to be able to get the spare on unless I find a way to get the car up higher.  I find some packed dirt and lower the car, put the nuts back on, and back up.  I get the jack back out, take the lug nuts off, jack up the car.  It's better.  I do a test on the tire.  It cuts me.  Do you know why?  Because it was down to the metal in the tire.  Yep, guess I should have gotten it changed when I had the chance.

Anyway, my husband gets there, he finishes raising the car and gets the tire off.  It's super flat, by the way.  He gets the spare on.  He goes back to work after I pull the car out onto the road.  I go home.

My mom follows me to make sure I get there okay.  I do.  I try to wash my hands (they're very filthy) and get hydrogen peroxide on my scrapes.  I get my daughter dinner and some chocolate milk.  I'm going to regret that in about ten minutes, but I don't know that yet.  My son is fine.  He got some bottle in the car so he's just crawling around, standing up, and chewing on stuff.  You know, baby stuff.  I'm in the kitchen trying to wash dishes and make the bottles up.  Suddenly I hear, "Grammy, I made a spill".  Oh, no.  She spilled a little earlier and I told her the next time it happened, she'd have to clean it herself.  My mom helps her get napkins and then goes to where the spill is.  I'm still in the kitchen when my mom comes in to tell me napkins aren't going to do it.  Great.  I get dishcloths and go look.  Jesus Christ, it's all over the floor.  She must have spilled the whole thing.  PS.  It's nowhere near the table where she was eating.  Apparently, she finished eating and went to play, and decided it was a good idea to bring her milk with her.  Not so much.  In any case, it got cleaned up, some of her toys got wet, and I made her cry.  I emphasize that next time she needs to listen when I tell her to leave her drink on the table.  Tearfully she says "yes".  Mission accomplished.

Please take my nickel, Lucy

Advice is totally welcome.  I had joined a community through Google+ for web developers, designers, and coders.  I'm not really any of those things, but I'd like to bed.  I've made two "websites" for school projects. I took an information technology course to fulfill that requirement for school and in that course, I had to do a research paper on anything in the field that's relatively current.  I did my project on the PS3 because I already had a lot of knowledge about it.  It went well.  In addition to the paper, we needed to make webpages for the different pages of our paper.  It was all HTML.  I loved it.

Besides that, I had done a webpage for an IT course in high school.  I figured it was a good way to circumvent the IT test that was required for graduation.  Again, that was HTML.  I loved it then too.

Today when I was looking on my homepage for G+, I saw a post with a comment about not posting links for personal promotion or other communities.  It was for the web dev community.  I finally looked over the community and found a post about starting out.  The post linked to a website with a post by a relatively newer web designer who wrote a page titled "Newcomers to web designers, don't be put off".  This article had links to websites that are good for new designers and advice on getting started.  Very helpful.  I totally plan to visit these sites.  HTML may be tedious, but it's fun.  I'd love to learn more.

"Me" time

Right now I'm enjoying a little "me" time.  It doesn't happen too often...in fact, apparently it just ended.  The baby woke up.

Learning about happiness

Many mornings I end up watching the Today Show.  I mentioned before that I have an infant son.  That infant son doesn't like to sleep too late.  This morning he got up around 4:30 am.  My husband took over since I got up with the baby during the night (he's teething).  He had to leave for work close to 8 so I came downstairs to hang out with BooBoo.  

The Today Show is already on the TV.  Today they have a segment on happiness.  The point of the story is that a professor in California found that people assign happiness to life events like getting married, getting a promotion, or having children.  This can make us happy, but not as long as we think.  What makes you happy is appreciating what you have (i.e. sending thank-you cards and saying you're grateful for things), being positive, warmly greeting people when they come in or when they are leaving, just being tender with people, and (this one's weird) making your bed.  Yep, making your bed.  Supposedly, it helps us feel better by giving us control over something first thing in the morning.

Part of why I wanted to write about this is that I feel I have issues with being happy and many times I don't know why.  I have a husband and kids that I love, great friends, and just finished a perfect semester.  The things that make me unhappy are my job and my living situation.  Don't get me wrong, even though I've had two consecutive semesters where I earned a 4.0, the school situation is not ideal either.  I don't have my bachelor's yet even though I should by now.  If I had continued school the first time, I would have graduated in 2010.  It doesn't sound so bad until you consider that I'm only one year and a half in.  I'm still a sophomore.  Just saying....

As far as work goes, I've worked in retail for...hold on, let me think...nine years.  Nearly a decade of selling people shit they don't need.  Almost eight years have been spent at the same retailer.  I've been a store manager, a regular shift supervisor, and the lowliest associate all at the same retailer.  I'm just ready to do something else, but without a degree, I'm not qualified for most things.  When I think about what I would do, I'm not sure.  I love numbers, my motorcycle, photography, painting, teaching, and speaking Spanish.  My dream job would be studying sea turtles in Costa Rica.  I know it's not impossible, but I've got two young kids and a working proficiency in Spanish (not to mention the degree issue).  I know I just need to be patient while I finish up school, but it's so hard.  I'm still brainstorming what else I could do to earn money besides the same retail job I've had forever.

Now, the living situation.  I haven't had a house since the first time I was married and even then, it wasn't my house.  It was my husband's that he inherited from his dad when he passed away from a skydiving accident.  I had my own apartment for a little bit and almost bought a house during the separation, but when I reunited with my husband, I backed out.  Fast forward two years to our divorce and I still don't have my own place.  I got remarried and my new husband and I moved to Fairfax so I could go back to George Mason (which was great).  We got pregnant like we hoped and started to spend a lot of time back in Charlottesville since my ob-gyn was there.  We decided to move back after our lease in Fairfax was over.  And now in the present, we are waiting for our house purchase to go through.  It's a short sale so it's taking forever.  On the bright side, we live with my in-laws who do not charge us rent.  I really need to remember that this is temporary and it's very cheap.

Overall, my life doesn't suck as much as I feel like it does sometimes.  It's not perfect, but no one's is.  When I take a step back, it's pretty good actually.

That's what she said!

"Oh, did some of that get in your pants?" and "You know, it's been a really great night even if you make me clean-up" are just two of the quotes from this years New Years Eve show.  Brilliant.

Happy New Year, indeed.