Tag Archives: home

Stress, Strain, and Success: Our Journey to Homeownership

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At first, one of the many catalysts that spurred me into PHP & IOP was the process of buying a house. I found it so stressful. You would find a house you loved, bid on it, and find out that another buyer offered cash or bid $30,000 more than you did. There were so many ups & downs, my fragile mind was exploding over the strain.

We offered on one house, we even offered after doing a virtual walk through with our realtor. We were taking a lot on faith. This was the house that the bidder put in an offer over $30K. So, we were clearly out of the running. We looked a few more houses and put down another bid that was declined. Meanwhile, the first bidder bowed out of the house purchase. Maybe they realized that they had overbid, but we were the next in line as far as bid price and flexibility. The next step was an inspector and an official bid/contract from our side. Done. Everything mostly looked good. No house is ever perfect. Then it was time to get an appraisal.

The first appraisal took about a week, and the appraisal came in about $30K less than what we offered. Obviously, we weren’t spending that much more for a house that wasn’t worth what we were paying. The other realtor pulled more comps and asked for a redo on the appraisal, came back the same. About this time my brain had fried, and I started PHP. At this point everyone was a little perplexed. How could an appraisal come back the same with new information to take into consideration? Our case was escalated in the bank branch and finally a third appraisal was done. By now I had moved on to IOP from PHP.

The Friday before Memorial Day, we got the appraisal back and it was for the exact amount we had bid!! We were back in business. By this time, it was nearly a three-day week. We knew they wanted to close on Wednesday, but we weren’t sure, and it would depend on how quickly everything was pulled together. Tuesday around 1, we finally got the go ahead that we were closing in less than 24 hours. Now there was scrambling to get wire transfers and other paperwork ready. It was a frenzy. I even cancelled a therapy appointment to make time to get everything squared away.

We drove to the closing Wednesday. There were still hiccups being ironed out and I was getting stressed. I knew I was dissociating and trying to not freak the eff out. Finally, it was time, and we went inside. The best part so far was that the agency offered me a diet coke and rice krispie treat. I hadn’t eaten or really drunk anything that morning.

The papers started getting passed around. I signed, didn’t pay a lot of attention to, well anything. I handed the papers to Justin, let him skim and sign and then I signed. We did this for an hour. And then, suddenly, a set of keys and garage door openers were passed across the table. We were homeowners! I was finally able to process the fact that we (and the bank) bought a house. We celebrated afterwards. I had a margarita and I got to go to my new house tipsy. It was a glorious feeling.

Thanksgiving

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This is a really late post about Thanksgiving. It was a fabulous day. First, I was off work. That was glorious in itself. Then for lunch, we went to Buca di Beppo. At Buca, there is an option for a traditional turkey dinner and Italian dishes. If you don’t know, Buca is a family style restaurant. So, we ordered a massive amount of food. We ordered the traditional dinner which mom and Justin ate, I ate a little of it, but then we also ordered spaghetti for Justin and a cheese manicotti for me. Oh, and Justin ordered an entire bottle of wine. IT WAS SO MUCH FOOD. We had so many leftovers, I think it fed us like four or five more meals!

After lunch, we went back home, and I took a nap because I was in a food coma. I curled up in my chair and fell asleep and ignored the world for a couple of hours.

Then, we went to my friend’s house. They are more like family, so I often call them my cousins when talking with other people. Just makes it easier than explaining that they are cousins to my cousins on the other side of their family. They were so gracious to invite us over. Since it was just the three of us, me, mom, and Justin, it was nice to get to spend the day with our extended family. BUT the absolute best part of the day was that I got to hold a wee infant. She was so sweet. I got to hold her, and she was fussy but would keep falling back asleep as long as I kept patting her bottom while holding her in my arms. My arm was so sore on Friday from constant bottom patting. I’m still smiling from that day and can’t wait till I can hold her again.

This Mulch is on Fire

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Come on, sing along.

Earlier this week our apartment was on fire.

I was sitting in the office around 1 in the afternoon when I started smelling a wood fire. The windows were open and I assumed someone was grilling out. Then the smell got stronger and I realized it was a weekday. Who in their right mind grills out for lunch in the middle of the week. With this latter realization I began sniffing around the apartment. I am quite positive I looked ridiculous.

I went into the bedroom and there was nothing. I checked the mess of cords around the modem and nothing. For a moment I thought it was the Keurig, but nothing. Finally, I looked down the stairs and saw smoke. About that time I also heard voices.

I was quite certain I was overreacting. There was no way the apartment was on fire and there was a perfectly logical explanation. I went downstairs, the smoke getting stronger and opened the door. As it opened I saw the perky blonde apartment manager and in what I’m sure was a joking, disbelieving voice, I said “Is my house on fire?” In a matter of fact voice she promptly replied “Not anymore.” I heard the swish of a fire extinguisher and I looked around the door.

The shrub that used to sit there was nothing but branches and it was completely gone in some places. Everything looked like it was covered in grey ash. The siding had melted. The mulch was smoking. On a cool, Monday afternoon the mulch in front of our apartment had caught fire. Not only was it odd because it was such a cool day, but it was the second fire in the complex that day.

The fire department came out. There were some handsome fellows on that truck. Maybe it’s just the uniform.

There were several hot spots still in the mulch and the fire had spread to an adjacent bush.

Soon their hoses were out and everything was soaked. I saw the men walking around the complex looking for more mulch that was near the fire point. They didn’t find any. The firemen packed up their truck and left.

Meanwhile, I had opened every window in the house and turned on all the fans. What started as a nice smelling wood fire, became a nasty chemical smelling fire as the siding caught and melted.

All in all, it was a little more excitement than I had wanted on a Monday afternoon. As if Mondays weren’t rough enough.

And like any nosy renter, I took pictures of the whole thing.

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I Slept in the Laundry Room

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This storm came through last Wednesday night. At 9:00 pm, Delaware County had its first tornado warning. I’m pretty terrified of storms. I think that they are a beautiful show of Mother Nature’s power but that doesn’t prevent me from turning into a quivering puddle of goo. During this first warning, I sat frozen on the couch watching the TV with bated breath and probably a few tears. (Husband says I was shaking and rocking too.)

Being the paranoid and ultra preparatory man that he is, Husband began gathering emergency supplies into our laundry room. It is a centrally located room, far from any windows or outside walls and it has the bonus of having a door. He carried in bottled water, a can opener, bowls & utensils (We store some canned goods in the laundry room as well as detergent. It’s a multipurpose room.) shoes, flashlight, candles, spare batteries, blankets, my Perry the Platypus Pillow Pet, his favorite pillow and last but not least, the twin mattress. There was exactly enough room to put the mattress on the floor between the wall and the washer/dryer. It went from one end of the room to the other with no space to spare. By the time all this was in place, the tornado warning was over. I felt so much better about being prepared that I was able to go to bed with no problems.

At about 1:45 a particularly nasty storm was rampaging outside. I listened for a bit until I thought it was getting out of hand. I checked my phone and sure enough, Delaware County had its second tornado warning. I got Husband up and we went to the laundry room. The tornado warning was over shortly but the severe thunderstorm warning would last at least another hour. Husband joined me on the little mattress and we fell asleep. He got up around 4:00 am to a silent world. The worst of the storms were over. He informed that he was going back to bed and asked if I wanted to join him. My response? “No. Because I’m sleeping.” After which I apparently snuggled deeper into my blankets, hugged Perry and began snoring.

I woke up at 6:30, having spent the majority of the evening in the laundry room. I couldn’t keep myself from giggling as we put the mattress back in its rightful place. While I’m thrilled that none of the storms or warnings amounted to anything more than minor damage in the county, I’m pleased to know that we have a safe place to go that is apparently so comfy that I spent the night in the laundry room.