So, I posted previously about the terrible experience I was having with Sherwin Williams and my carpet... Today the manager, Rodrick, of the Auburn, WA store came out to look at things. I showed him where the floor did not get sealed, even after it was removed in the littles room. I showed him the rust damage and discoloration around the edges of the carpet in my bedroom. Which has never been occupied... He thought for a few minutes and told me they would replace the pad, and the carpet, and the carpet strips. YAY!!! He said they would put down a double moisture barrier pad to ensure all the bases were covered. He visited a little more, then said they have a new carpet called "magic fresh" that actually eliminates odors, it's supposed to be as good as a pet seal. They will still apply a pet seal, to completely block the odors from the previous owners. He even asked what color I wanted. I told him mud. So when the kids and dog track stuff in I won't see it. Talked about VOC seal, and tinting the sealant. I seem to be developing a sensitivity to killz original... woo talk about huffing paint... even with a respirator on it leaves me very lightheaded. I think I will be making a trip to silverdale to buy my paint from Sherwin Williams from now on. I am very very impressed with this level of customer service. I just wanna cry I'm so happy.
I am so ecstatic!!! It will take a few weeks to get it ordered in. But what a relief. This has been causing me sooooo much stress. I have lost sleep. I was honestly worried my dad would never come visit my home. He seriously hates pet smells. lol.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Chillin
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Trunk or treat.. if you dare..
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Monday, October 25, 2010
My 3 worlds.... part 1
I'm a navy wife, more, I'm a submariner's wife. That means my husband has 3 basic schedules. The least complicated is "gone."
Gone happens between four and six months a year in two to three month periods. When he is gone that's about it. There are randomly occurring emails, but those can be non-existent for weeks on end. And when they do show up its like email vomit... everything that's been hanging out there waiting shows up all at once. He may answer emails I sent weeks before. 1/2 the time by the time he answers a question I've a)figured it out for myself or b)forgotten the question.
But I am allegedly learning to depend on myself. I eat too much, read too much, sleep to much. I get the kids to the things I have to. I try to get them in bed in a timely manner. I try to keep the dishes and laundry done.
I'm tired of surviving I want to soar!!!!
Gone happens between four and six months a year in two to three month periods. When he is gone that's about it. There are randomly occurring emails, but those can be non-existent for weeks on end. And when they do show up its like email vomit... everything that's been hanging out there waiting shows up all at once. He may answer emails I sent weeks before. 1/2 the time by the time he answers a question I've a)figured it out for myself or b)forgotten the question.
But I am allegedly learning to depend on myself. I eat too much, read too much, sleep to much. I get the kids to the things I have to. I try to get them in bed in a timely manner. I try to keep the dishes and laundry done.
I'm tired of surviving I want to soar!!!!
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Tuesday, October 12, 2010
My letter to Sherwin Williams
Dear sirs;
In June of 2010 your Auburn floor covering store was contracted by Reid Real Estate to replace the carpet in a home at *******. In late August my family and I moved into the home. We were shown a paid contract with your company showing not only new carpet, but 1800 square feet of "Pet Seal". After we moved in we noticed a strong odor coming from a bedroom. I think the kids spilled some water? When it started smelling I attempted to clean the carpet. All of my attempts made it worse. After being in the house about a month, I finally used a blacklight and could find nothing on the surface of the carpet. I pulled the carpet back and found urine stained bare wood under the carpet. I then pulled up the carpet in the other rooms and found the same thing. I did find some sealer applied in the small hall closet downstairs. I contacted the Auburn store. They assured me they would send someone out to take care of the pet seal. When I mentioned how bad the one room smelled they told me that carpet would be replaced.
The young man who came to do the work was very charming. He said he had in fact seen pictures of how badly damaged the floor in this home had been, and it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen in his time installing carpet. He then proceeded to apply an oil based sealant to the areas of the floor where I had pulled the carpet back. Not once did he pull up any significant area of additional carpet. In fact, after sealing 1/2 of a room he informed me he was ready to re-stretch the carpet. After he moved into another room I pulled as much more of the carpet back in the first room as I could. After the first couple of rooms he started laying the pad and carpet back down before it was dry. I pulled as much carpet back as I could, but there was only so much I could do, I'm not that strong, and where the rooms joined or the carpet went through a doorway...
The doorways presented a challenge. I have a long hallway with 5 rooms and a set of stairs off of it. When I asked him how he would deal with the hallway he told me his only option was to either pull the carpet away from the wall and spray what he could get to (a few inches), or leave me with an "ugly seam". He was very adamant that he did not want to do that to my carpet. He only brought one can of spray sealant, which was exhausted quickly. He then borrowed a paint brush and applied some sealant that way. The areas around the doorways are the areas with the worst pet damage. Eventually I took the brush while he was rolling sealant in other rooms and got areas I could get to that he had not addressed.
He tried to convince me that the carpet in the bedroom that had been most damaged did not need to be replaced. He swore he could not smell any pet odor coming from it. It stunk. I managed to insist he replace it.
The original carpet strips, which I assure you had pet damage, including rusted tack strips, were randomly replaced.. or not. I am concerned about the carpet that lay on damaged urine soaked tack strips. Some of the odor was absorbed by the carpet and there are rust stains along the edges. When I asked the young man how he was going to deal with that his solution was to apply sealer over the top of the tack strips. He assured me this would deal with the issue.
I realize the home had pet damage, I have applied 2 coats of an oil based sealant not only to the walls but the ceiling as well. I have removed the baseboards, wood trim, some ducting, and vent covers. I have also had the 1100 square feet of hardwood floor sanded down and resealed. I should not have had to worry about the carpet. I was confident when I saw who had done the work that it was done well. Instead, I am just grateful I have the hardwood floor downstairs, so I did not have to move entirely out of my home so that some of the pet seal could actually be applied.
All of these stopgap measures, which may or may not be effective, (I'm still waiting for the chemical/paint/sealant smell to dissipate) would not have been needed had the gentlemen hired to seal the house initially actually done the job they were paid to do.
In June of 2010 your Auburn floor covering store was contracted by Reid Real Estate to replace the carpet in a home at *******. In late August my family and I moved into the home. We were shown a paid contract with your company showing not only new carpet, but 1800 square feet of "Pet Seal". After we moved in we noticed a strong odor coming from a bedroom. I think the kids spilled some water? When it started smelling I attempted to clean the carpet. All of my attempts made it worse. After being in the house about a month, I finally used a blacklight and could find nothing on the surface of the carpet. I pulled the carpet back and found urine stained bare wood under the carpet. I then pulled up the carpet in the other rooms and found the same thing. I did find some sealer applied in the small hall closet downstairs. I contacted the Auburn store. They assured me they would send someone out to take care of the pet seal. When I mentioned how bad the one room smelled they told me that carpet would be replaced.
The young man who came to do the work was very charming. He said he had in fact seen pictures of how badly damaged the floor in this home had been, and it was the most disgusting thing he had ever seen in his time installing carpet. He then proceeded to apply an oil based sealant to the areas of the floor where I had pulled the carpet back. Not once did he pull up any significant area of additional carpet. In fact, after sealing 1/2 of a room he informed me he was ready to re-stretch the carpet. After he moved into another room I pulled as much more of the carpet back in the first room as I could. After the first couple of rooms he started laying the pad and carpet back down before it was dry. I pulled as much carpet back as I could, but there was only so much I could do, I'm not that strong, and where the rooms joined or the carpet went through a doorway...
The doorways presented a challenge. I have a long hallway with 5 rooms and a set of stairs off of it. When I asked him how he would deal with the hallway he told me his only option was to either pull the carpet away from the wall and spray what he could get to (a few inches), or leave me with an "ugly seam". He was very adamant that he did not want to do that to my carpet. He only brought one can of spray sealant, which was exhausted quickly. He then borrowed a paint brush and applied some sealant that way. The areas around the doorways are the areas with the worst pet damage. Eventually I took the brush while he was rolling sealant in other rooms and got areas I could get to that he had not addressed.
He tried to convince me that the carpet in the bedroom that had been most damaged did not need to be replaced. He swore he could not smell any pet odor coming from it. It stunk. I managed to insist he replace it.
The original carpet strips, which I assure you had pet damage, including rusted tack strips, were randomly replaced.. or not. I am concerned about the carpet that lay on damaged urine soaked tack strips. Some of the odor was absorbed by the carpet and there are rust stains along the edges. When I asked the young man how he was going to deal with that his solution was to apply sealer over the top of the tack strips. He assured me this would deal with the issue.
I realize the home had pet damage, I have applied 2 coats of an oil based sealant not only to the walls but the ceiling as well. I have removed the baseboards, wood trim, some ducting, and vent covers. I have also had the 1100 square feet of hardwood floor sanded down and resealed. I should not have had to worry about the carpet. I was confident when I saw who had done the work that it was done well. Instead, I am just grateful I have the hardwood floor downstairs, so I did not have to move entirely out of my home so that some of the pet seal could actually be applied.
All of these stopgap measures, which may or may not be effective, (I'm still waiting for the chemical/paint/sealant smell to dissipate) would not have been needed had the gentlemen hired to seal the house initially actually done the job they were paid to do.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Never ever for granted
Last Thursday night my friend Olivia ran her son to an activity. Her husband, Craig, had been sick all day and was resting. When she got home he was dead. Friday my friend Annalia's sister lost her battle with breast cancer. Saturday my friend Gene's friends died in a plane crash. Today is Sunday. No one I know of who is within 2 degrees of me has died today ... but Jen's dad is in the ICU with complications from surgery.
the lesson in church was on faith moving mountains. there have been mountains my faith didn't move. while I know that's not my fault....I still wish some of them had moved.
Is it terrible to be glad my prayers for my x to be the man I needed didn't move mountains? cause I sure love this man of mine. and if those had been answered I wouldn't have my 3 youngest treasures. but it would've been ok if when I prayed with every fiber of my being for Theron to not be dead, for the u/s tech to really have just been incompetent ... that mountain could have moved. but it didn't and my heart aches for him.
the lesson in church was on faith moving mountains. there have been mountains my faith didn't move. while I know that's not my fault....I still wish some of them had moved.
Is it terrible to be glad my prayers for my x to be the man I needed didn't move mountains? cause I sure love this man of mine. and if those had been answered I wouldn't have my 3 youngest treasures. but it would've been ok if when I prayed with every fiber of my being for Theron to not be dead, for the u/s tech to really have just been incompetent ... that mountain could have moved. but it didn't and my heart aches for him.
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Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Babies babies everywhere but not a one for me.
they say to have a child is to forever have your heart walking around outside. so how do you get past losing one. every summer for 8 years now I've had to let my older boys go to NM and it hurt. every year I cried for a few days ate some ice cream and pouted till they got back. but Theron's return flight hasn't been scheduled cause "No man knows the day" and I hate waiting. I WANT MY BABY BACK NOW! Yup, we can schedule the 2nd coming for this weekend, heck tomorrow's ok too. I wonder if he'd be walking by now? is he a serious soul? or a happy giggly spaz? what will his laugh be like? 9 months to gestate a baby was hard enough but this total lack of deadline is very frustrating. I work better with a deadline.
everywhere I go lately there are babies.... and they make me sad or something... angry? hurt? am I broken? I accept that this is my new reality. but dangitall I feel crippled. must heal.
everywhere I go lately there are babies.... and they make me sad or something... angry? hurt? am I broken? I accept that this is my new reality. but dangitall I feel crippled. must heal.
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Sunday, September 19, 2010
Baby stepping
so... I'm giving flylady another go... in the health and fitness venue as well. It's all just "body clutter" and i can baby step it away. this sounds like fun. my goals... fuel: salad for lunch. movement: go for a walk at 6 am ... i really want this. but is that too high of a goal? attitude: spend time listening/reading gospel literature... i discovered my general conference application gives me the option to listen to or read conference. if i do this while I'm walking... sounds great! my own early morning seminary. i want to believe in me. it takes 9 months to make a new person. i will give myself those nine months.
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Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Normality?
the kids well, 4 of them, are back in school. the rental house is taken care of. this is it now. time to live in the moment, time to live my dreams, time to go grocery shopping and unpack and organize and get ready to go camping this weekend and oh my Tanner forgot his cleats.do I drive them to his school or do I teach him a lessons? yes the chaos never leaves. but this is MY LIFE and MY SPACE and I will leave my mark! ..
small incremental goals are more readily achieved. today I will get food and birthday presents. :-)
small incremental goals are more readily achieved. today I will get food and birthday presents. :-)
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Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Blogging from my phone...
and you were afraid before.... in 2 days time it will be a year since my youngest son wiggled his little body on this earth. Which events cause the most emotions? remembering the last kicks? the moment I saw him on the ultrasound and didn't comprehend there was no beating heart, no spirit? the phone call from the Dr? the phone calls to my husband or my dad. lying in bed with his body still inside me praying for a miracle. my family rushing to my side. my husband never failing to show his love and devotion. finally laboring and delivering his body knowing he was long gone. delivering him on mom's birthday. holding his tiny fragile body in my arms. so tiny so perfect. Wishing so much that just once he could have seen my face. that I could have looked into his eyes. seen him smile watched him grow.
my little Theron I hope you know how much you are loved and missed.
my little Theron I hope you know how much you are loved and missed.
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Saturday, July 31, 2010
Still waiting...
We are anxiously waiting for our house to close. In case you missed it, here's the link http://www.redfin.com/WA/Suquamish/17712-Suquamish-Way-NE-98392/home/2237399
We have work to do on it prior to moving in. There is a cat odor to the home. The carpet has been replaced already. We are going to put down a thick layer of Killz paint, and then sand down and reseal the hardwood floor. We think that will solve the problem. Hence, the anxiousness. Tom is on stand down at the moment, which means he goes in to work on tuesday, says, "I'm alive" then goes back to work on friday and says the same thing. This schedule continues until Aug 9. It's kind of the Navy's way of saying "sorry you couldn't see or talk to your family for months at a time". Anyway, his help is very useful in getting all of this done in a timely manner. ie: before the older boys get home, before school starts, etc. and so on.
However.. the underwriter has had all sorts of strange requests... Apparently in New Mexico it is normal to not state in the divorce decree, or child support modifications when child support ends. Everyone "knows" that it ends at 18... But the underwriter wanted specific documentation.... I told her that would take several thousand dollars and probably 18 months to get her. My WA case worker was able to pull up interstate documentation on the default setting for New Mexico, and that seems to have appeased her. That only took 2 weeks to sort out...
Then the lovely VA inspection... The inspector had concerns about the paint on the house (Cedar siding that is stained) I got a contractor to verify that the siding is "acceptable" Cedar siding has to be re-stained every 5-7 years according to the internet. They also had concerns about some water seepage into the crawlspace. Personally, I had been just tickled at how dry the crawlspace is. cause it is. lol. I got a contractor to come out and verify that the house is not about to slide down the hill... The letter he wrote wasn't adequate... So he wrote another letter. hopefully this one is good enough. sigh, so, if she had accepted the verbiage in the first letter we'd be closing Monday. As it stands I'm crossing my fingers, hoping and praying.
Well, that's where it is. :) fun stuff.
We have work to do on it prior to moving in. There is a cat odor to the home. The carpet has been replaced already. We are going to put down a thick layer of Killz paint, and then sand down and reseal the hardwood floor. We think that will solve the problem. Hence, the anxiousness. Tom is on stand down at the moment, which means he goes in to work on tuesday, says, "I'm alive" then goes back to work on friday and says the same thing. This schedule continues until Aug 9. It's kind of the Navy's way of saying "sorry you couldn't see or talk to your family for months at a time". Anyway, his help is very useful in getting all of this done in a timely manner. ie: before the older boys get home, before school starts, etc. and so on.
However.. the underwriter has had all sorts of strange requests... Apparently in New Mexico it is normal to not state in the divorce decree, or child support modifications when child support ends. Everyone "knows" that it ends at 18... But the underwriter wanted specific documentation.... I told her that would take several thousand dollars and probably 18 months to get her. My WA case worker was able to pull up interstate documentation on the default setting for New Mexico, and that seems to have appeased her. That only took 2 weeks to sort out...
Then the lovely VA inspection... The inspector had concerns about the paint on the house (Cedar siding that is stained) I got a contractor to verify that the siding is "acceptable" Cedar siding has to be re-stained every 5-7 years according to the internet. They also had concerns about some water seepage into the crawlspace. Personally, I had been just tickled at how dry the crawlspace is. cause it is. lol. I got a contractor to come out and verify that the house is not about to slide down the hill... The letter he wrote wasn't adequate... So he wrote another letter. hopefully this one is good enough. sigh, so, if she had accepted the verbiage in the first letter we'd be closing Monday. As it stands I'm crossing my fingers, hoping and praying.
Well, that's where it is. :) fun stuff.
Friday, June 25, 2010
All's Quiet On The Western Front...
Sometimes it does feel like a war on two fronts, with half my kids here, and half my kids there. Just getting the older boys to answer texts, or phone calls is a big part of the battle. I get to hope I taught them the right things and they will be true to themselves, when I am so far away. And that they won't kill each other... I'm sure they'll be fine, but man, it's lonely around here without them. I hadn't realized how much they keep me company. I enjoy conversations with them, they have interesting insight and unique perspectives. They are also a ton of help with the little ones.
Next Battle: I am struggling with eating. ok, truthfully, I'm struggling with not eating. You would think it would be simple... don't eat as much, and exercise more... but I'm weak and I enjoy food. It doesn't even have to be good food... I find a piece of good bread with butter and real strawberry jelly on it as irresistible as anything. I'm using music to battle the exercise thing. If there's music playing I wiggle and jiggle and sometimes break down and dance. Every little bit helps right? I love Pandora for this very reason. I hate buying a cd and finding out I only like 3 songs on it. So, my personal channel is Glee/Mamma mia. which ends up with all kinds of fun music.
Battling on: Housing... yeah... gonna leave it at that. sigh. hopefully soon I will have real answers and options. The house we are currently looking at is http://shannanlaudet.reidrealestate.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&startrow=1&cfid=527256&cftoken=57668586 We are going out there with our agent saturday. It has plenty of room and the kitchen/family room match my china.. creepy weird. There were two deer in the yard when we drove by. the parking situation would require a little bit of work. It's a closer commute for Tom, but means the boys have to change schools, and we would change wards and stakes. I hate change.... I want so badly to make things simple for the boys. I wish I could find the perfect house that meant we didn't have to change wards or schools, but so far it's not happening and I am getting tired of not being unpacked.
I am letting myself down on so many fronts. There are things I want to do better. I want to be more than I am. I was reminded this afternoon of a book I have found very helpful. http://deseretbook.com/item/2701037/Willpower_Is_Not_Enough_Why_We_Don_t_Succeed_at_Change
Of course, it was more helpful when I was actively reading it... so back to page one I got. That and scripture study, journaling, and just being the woman I want to be!!! I can do so much more. I believe in me. :) Positive energy is the key.
Another cool thing http://scriptures4kids.com/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=6&Itemid=73 yup, lots to do to keep busy.
Suffering from social phobia the last few days. It sucks. I'm hoping to make it to church on sunday. I have a dare on with the older boys.. If I go to church with the littles they will go to church too. lol. so I have major incentive. I'm hoping maybe Tom will come with to help with the littles. They are a handful.
Next Battle: I am struggling with eating. ok, truthfully, I'm struggling with not eating. You would think it would be simple... don't eat as much, and exercise more... but I'm weak and I enjoy food. It doesn't even have to be good food... I find a piece of good bread with butter and real strawberry jelly on it as irresistible as anything. I'm using music to battle the exercise thing. If there's music playing I wiggle and jiggle and sometimes break down and dance. Every little bit helps right? I love Pandora for this very reason. I hate buying a cd and finding out I only like 3 songs on it. So, my personal channel is Glee/Mamma mia. which ends up with all kinds of fun music.
Battling on: Housing... yeah... gonna leave it at that. sigh. hopefully soon I will have real answers and options. The house we are currently looking at is http://shannanlaudet.reidrealestate.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=detail&startrow=1&cfid=527256&cftoken=57668586 We are going out there with our agent saturday. It has plenty of room and the kitchen/family room match my china.. creepy weird. There were two deer in the yard when we drove by. the parking situation would require a little bit of work. It's a closer commute for Tom, but means the boys have to change schools, and we would change wards and stakes. I hate change.... I want so badly to make things simple for the boys. I wish I could find the perfect house that meant we didn't have to change wards or schools, but so far it's not happening and I am getting tired of not being unpacked.
I am letting myself down on so many fronts. There are things I want to do better. I want to be more than I am. I was reminded this afternoon of a book I have found very helpful. http://deseretbook.com/item/2701037/Willpower_Is_Not_Enough_Why_We_Don_t_Succeed_at_Change
Of course, it was more helpful when I was actively reading it... so back to page one I got. That and scripture study, journaling, and just being the woman I want to be!!! I can do so much more. I believe in me. :) Positive energy is the key.
Another cool thing http://scriptures4kids.com/index.php?option=com_phocadownload&view=category&id=6&Itemid=73 yup, lots to do to keep busy.
Suffering from social phobia the last few days. It sucks. I'm hoping to make it to church on sunday. I have a dare on with the older boys.. If I go to church with the littles they will go to church too. lol. so I have major incentive. I'm hoping maybe Tom will come with to help with the littles. They are a handful.
Monday, June 14, 2010
One big happy family...
well, for a grand total of 13 days, everyone will be here. Tom got home on the 9th. yay! And the boys are off to New Mexico on the 22nd.. We will miss them. The will have fun.
I put an offer in on a house, they countered, we countered, they countered, we walked away. :) Our agent is out of town until the 25th and I don't have the heart to replace him, so we look online and wait till he get's back. We have a few we are going to go look at when he does get back. I'm grateful to have Tom home so he can offer opinions as well. But at this rate, the older boys will hopefully come home to a new house that they didn't get to see. :( Wish we could have everyone's input on this, but you do what you have to do. And maybe we'll buy one they've already seen, who knows.
Taylor and Tanner are growing like weeds... They are both officially taller than me now. Tanner is 5' 6-3/4" tall. Taylor is 5' 6" I'm just shy of 5'6". I'm very very proud of them. The other 4 are also growing well, but not taller than their mother yet.
There are 4 days of school left. Taylor will be 15 this weekend. I find it amazing that my son is that old. wow huh? He has NO suggestions for a birthday present... What kind of teenager doesn't want ANYTHING???? a spoiled one, that's what. Cause no, I'm not buying him a PS3 for his birthday. lol. I suppose I should say, he doesn't want anything he would be willing to actually ask for. Cause he'd love Driver's ed, or a PS3. lol.
The older boys are going to get to go to scout camp down in new mexico this year. I'm very excited for them. It should be a lot of fun.
I put an offer in on a house, they countered, we countered, they countered, we walked away. :) Our agent is out of town until the 25th and I don't have the heart to replace him, so we look online and wait till he get's back. We have a few we are going to go look at when he does get back. I'm grateful to have Tom home so he can offer opinions as well. But at this rate, the older boys will hopefully come home to a new house that they didn't get to see. :( Wish we could have everyone's input on this, but you do what you have to do. And maybe we'll buy one they've already seen, who knows.
Taylor and Tanner are growing like weeds... They are both officially taller than me now. Tanner is 5' 6-3/4" tall. Taylor is 5' 6" I'm just shy of 5'6". I'm very very proud of them. The other 4 are also growing well, but not taller than their mother yet.
There are 4 days of school left. Taylor will be 15 this weekend. I find it amazing that my son is that old. wow huh? He has NO suggestions for a birthday present... What kind of teenager doesn't want ANYTHING???? a spoiled one, that's what. Cause no, I'm not buying him a PS3 for his birthday. lol. I suppose I should say, he doesn't want anything he would be willing to actually ask for. Cause he'd love Driver's ed, or a PS3. lol.
The older boys are going to get to go to scout camp down in new mexico this year. I'm very excited for them. It should be a lot of fun.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Oh give me a home...
Well, I'd rather NOT have buffalo roaming my home... but I would like to have a home. I guess I just want more home than I can afford. The latest one I found that I want needs work, and I'm told i can't buy a home that needs work on a VA loan. It doesn't need more than cosmetics... gutters, carpet, a window replaced and trash cleaned up. I would also bulldoze a circular driveway if I bought it, but that's between me and the trees. My real estate agent says since it's a short sale there is no way the VA will lend on this house. It's a good deal, 2300 sf, 2 acres.... He won't even put an offer in for me. I'm a little frustrated. It's within spitting distance of wildcat lake. The floor plan is good for my family, there's a separate shop for Tom.
I haven't heard from Tom in 2 weeks, so I don't have anything to go on from him. Here's the complete list of houses I've been eyeballing....
Shady hollow.. needs carpet, 1 window, gutters and driveway modification. listed at $255k. pros, closer to bangor, close to wildcat lake, close to trails, 2.5 acres, good curb appeal, detached shop, detached barn, craft room for me, klahowya high school, seperate living/family room. cons master bath small, all bedrooms close to each other, all bedrooms upstairs, laundry room in garage. needs fridge.
Alpenwald 260k (taylor's current favorite) has parking, nice private deck, covered area for kids to play in, small yard, adequate parking, although is visible from street, near jackson and lund. split entry, kitchen painted grey, dining room big enough. living room upstairs, rec room dnstrs, additional large bedroom dnstrs, his and hers baths off of master bedroom.
Olsen, 265k near costco, corian counters, real hardwood floors. 4 bedrooms upstairs, my plot is to turn rec room dnstrs with bath off of it into master suite, current master bedroom has no bath off of it, one of 4 bedrooms is tiny. turn shop area dnstrs into rec room. has additional attached 2 car garage, and detached 1 car shop with electric and heat. good size covered back deck. .4 acre, 1/2 in front was once nicely landscaped has fallen into disrepair, back yard fenced lawn.
Phillips, Ollalla, 2.5 acres, property looks ideal. house is 2500 sf, but two kitchens.. I haven't been inside yet. Additional 4 car detached shop. just off of mullenix, not quite olalla. 350k... finding out how low they could go... they owe 260k
Conifer $250k .5 acres, yard is awesome. front looks like normal subdivision blah, but back yard is brush cleared woods. quad trails throughout, garden area in, fruit trees. paved parking for boat, trlrs etc. car gates on both sides of house. house is similar to lilly's, 1.5 baths, think shower could be put back in... looks like it was removed some time ago. 3 bedrooms upstairs, 1 down. corian counters, bamboo flooring. bedrooms painted manly colors. closets small. large deck.
North $220 .5 acres, backs onto banner forest, standard split level home, has parking. Owner willing to negotiate on price if we take over some of the cosmetic repairs. Just off of mullenix.
meanwhile, my head attempts to explode from trying to make this decision on my own. How do I weight commute, price, yard size, house space, floorplan, parking, etc. etc. too many options and nothing perfect. very very frustrating.
I haven't heard from Tom in 2 weeks, so I don't have anything to go on from him. Here's the complete list of houses I've been eyeballing....
Shady hollow.. needs carpet, 1 window, gutters and driveway modification. listed at $255k. pros, closer to bangor, close to wildcat lake, close to trails, 2.5 acres, good curb appeal, detached shop, detached barn, craft room for me, klahowya high school, seperate living/family room. cons master bath small, all bedrooms close to each other, all bedrooms upstairs, laundry room in garage. needs fridge.
Alpenwald 260k (taylor's current favorite) has parking, nice private deck, covered area for kids to play in, small yard, adequate parking, although is visible from street, near jackson and lund. split entry, kitchen painted grey, dining room big enough. living room upstairs, rec room dnstrs, additional large bedroom dnstrs, his and hers baths off of master bedroom.
Olsen, 265k near costco, corian counters, real hardwood floors. 4 bedrooms upstairs, my plot is to turn rec room dnstrs with bath off of it into master suite, current master bedroom has no bath off of it, one of 4 bedrooms is tiny. turn shop area dnstrs into rec room. has additional attached 2 car garage, and detached 1 car shop with electric and heat. good size covered back deck. .4 acre, 1/2 in front was once nicely landscaped has fallen into disrepair, back yard fenced lawn.
Phillips, Ollalla, 2.5 acres, property looks ideal. house is 2500 sf, but two kitchens.. I haven't been inside yet. Additional 4 car detached shop. just off of mullenix, not quite olalla. 350k... finding out how low they could go... they owe 260k
Conifer $250k .5 acres, yard is awesome. front looks like normal subdivision blah, but back yard is brush cleared woods. quad trails throughout, garden area in, fruit trees. paved parking for boat, trlrs etc. car gates on both sides of house. house is similar to lilly's, 1.5 baths, think shower could be put back in... looks like it was removed some time ago. 3 bedrooms upstairs, 1 down. corian counters, bamboo flooring. bedrooms painted manly colors. closets small. large deck.
North $220 .5 acres, backs onto banner forest, standard split level home, has parking. Owner willing to negotiate on price if we take over some of the cosmetic repairs. Just off of mullenix.
meanwhile, my head attempts to explode from trying to make this decision on my own. How do I weight commute, price, yard size, house space, floorplan, parking, etc. etc. too many options and nothing perfect. very very frustrating.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
It seemed like a good idea at the time....
..... In an effort to maintain continuity for the boys I enrolled them and have been driving them to the school they would have attended had the purchase of the home we had a signed contract on for the last two months... that's right, I said HAD... The sellers of the home we wanted to buy found a way to save their home. Oh, how I love short sales. So they get to keep their house after not making payments for a year and a half and I'm looking for a new home. I put an offer in on another house, but we are the backup offer, and only if the financing of the first buyer falls through (which they do suspect it will) do we get to buy the home. I say I put the offer in, because Tom is out to sea, and has never been inside this house. I wanted to put an offer in on it before he left, I really really like this house, but they want too much money. So I was advised to let the house sit for a bit before making an offer.... well, I'm still offering the same amount of money I was willing to pay in the first place, and the seller told my agent that they like us the best, but I'm second in line. sigh.
Meanwhile, I'm driving between 100-125 miles a day to take the kids to and fro from school, track, scouts and church. I'm spending 4-6 hours a day in the car. It is taking its toll on my mental state. But the kids seem happy.
Meanwhile, I'm driving between 100-125 miles a day to take the kids to and fro from school, track, scouts and church. I'm spending 4-6 hours a day in the car. It is taking its toll on my mental state. But the kids seem happy.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Fish or Fowl?
I sometimes feel like there are two distinctly different personalities living inside my head. One loves all things outdoors and wants to spend her time catching fish, hunting and being in the great outdoors. The other longs to be a domestic diva, sewing, and cleaning and crafting her home into a heaven on earth. I long to have beautiful music in my home, and to create that music. I want order and structure, tidiness and contentment. Yet I get spun around in my head and end up spending the day watching 15 episodes of bones on netflix... or taking a 2.5 hour nap. How do I get myself to stay on task?
As a fish, I try to leap into the air and fly, I succeed for a few brief shining moments, only to fall back into the water struggling to breath, left with only the memory of the few moments I was flying....
As a fowl I dip over the waves, and plunge in, only to find I am not a fish... my wings are ill suited for swimming, and I am left paddling around on the surface like a lame duck, never truly experiencing the freedom of diving into the water and freely swimming.
Maybe there is a way to transform myself into a diving bird? so I can experience the aspects of all the things I love. This is what I must search fro.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Back to being homeless...
Well, not really, we still have the rental house, but our seller has officially decided to not sell their house... They have not made a payment in a year and a half... but hey whatever. So now I have children in schools, and am making this massive sacrifice to try to keep their lives from being to chaotic and I have no idea where we will end up living. Granted, most of the homes we can afford are in this school district.
But because of where we are living I'm afraid to even let people know the house has fallen through, becuae we are living outside of the school district and I don't want to have to go through all the enrollment stuff and the kids are comfy where they are and I don't mind so much driving them the rest of the school year, and then having them start wherever next fall. grrr so annoyed. I have school staff on my friends list.. so I'm afraid to even post on facebook. sigh. what to do what to do.
Jerks. They've known for a while they were not going to sell. they should have been more honest. I'm angry with them. and worried about stressing my kids and..... just frustrated. I want to be able to unpack!!!!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
To unpack... or not to unpack..
The joys of interim living. I feel borderline homeless... I don't want to unpack and get too cozy, cause I know at any moment I could be packing it all up and moving again. But at the same time there are things in those boxes and the storage that would make life easier... like the couches... and the beds... sigh, I guess it seemed like a good idea to put all of that at the back of the storage... lol.
Then there's the fact that I am sleeping better on my camping pad than I do on my big cushy king size pillowtop. It's amazing how much stuff I have that I don't need. That's the other challenge, I am trying to go through each box and eliminate stuff we really don't use or need. It's time consuming and I really don't have the time... The drive time each day is a minimum of 4 hours. I am so grateful for the public school busing system. lol.
Our short sale currently is waiting on the seller to provide financials to the bank... they have been waiting for a week.... a bit frustrated that they are not doing their job. i guess this isn't the most important thing in their lives like it is in mine. I am grateful that i am able to find out exactly what is going on with my short sale via the lovely website, no information would be even more frustrating.
I've gotten 3 e-mails from tom. lol, for a total of about 12 sentences. He got my email, he misses me, and he's underway, which apparently is more restful than the last few weeks of refit. There will eventually be a mail drop and I have to figure out something cute and adorable to send him that will fit in a gallon size ziplock bag....I don't think Talon will fit.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Hmmm, me and a blog... take 2
I decided I needed a better name for the blog I never use, so I'm trying again. I am not as clever or as witty as some of my talented friends with really cute names, and I wanted my blog title to personify me. Life throws all of us curve balls, some big, some little, and the only way to stay sane is to hold on, hold your head up and have faith that it will all sort out eventually. :) see how clever I am, please please, don't hold your applause, I need all the external validation I can get.
I can never decide how open I want a blog to be, or if I'd prefer it to be a private place to be alone with my thoughts, such as they are. but at the same time, don't we all want our 15 minutes of fame? no, actually, I want 15 minutes of acclaim from people I know, trust and respect. yeah, that would do it for me.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Packing pressure
The countdown has begun... I have attended church with my ward for the last time. I am trying to pack... not sure what I'm supposed to pack now and pack later... we'll be staying with friends for a short period of time... There is so much that needs to be done, and the kids need so much. I try to clean so I can pack more easily, but when I'm done cleaning I'm so tired. lol. it's a vicious cycle.
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