*** Homeowner! ***

Well, I’ve done it. I am now a homeowner and proud of myself for doing it all on my own! The closing was last Friday and went very smoothly. The previous owner brought me a ton of keys – multiples for every door! Wow...

For more info on my new home, click HERE.

After the closing, S asked: “Did you feel like you were gonna throw up at closing?” No, I felt nauseous on the way there. I was too involved in the paperwork and the attorney during closing to feel sick. S did say he wished he could be there for moral support. Awww, ain’t that sweet?


After closing, my Mom and I moved 5 truckloads of stuff. I was beat… she was still raring to go! Where does she get that energy? The back of my Dad’s truck was filthy dirty. I was the one who crawled back there and pushed/stacked boxes. Think Pigpen from Peanuts. That’s what I looked like by the end of the day. I told my Dad that my Mom said I needed a bath. He said: Why? What’s wrong with the way you look? LOL!

Saturday was another busy day of moving. My Dad/Mom moved 2-3 more truckloads before my brother and 2 of his friends showed up with more trucks and a big trailer to move the furniture. S also came with his truck and trailer. All of them had to work in the morning, then came to help me move. Troopers, they are! I’m very miffed at the fact that they were slamming/slinging furniture around (They were in a big hurry… not being careful) and my $800 oak roll top desk ended up not only scuffed (a lot!), but also needs the bracing underneath repaired.

I am very disappointed that a "good" friend of mine offered to help move did not show up, or even call. Every week for the past month she said she'd help me move. The day of closing, she said she'd help. I text messaged her to call when she got off work on Saturday and I'd let her know where we were. No call on Saturday -or- Sunday! Heck, here it is Tuesday and she hasn't even called. Yup. Very disappointed. Especially because whenever she's needed me, I was there for her. I even helped her move! :( *sigh*

I spent Sunday moving 4 more car loads (who’da thunk I had so much stuff!). I took my time...

During my lunch hour on Monday, I managed to move another car load. S came and we moved another truck/trailer and car load before going out to eat and then relaxing for a bit before he went home.

This morning before work, I loaded up another car load! LOL – I think I may have one or two car loads and a truck load left!

Boxes and furniture are stacked everywhere!!!

To Think I Was Worried...

My worries about the seller being at the walk-thru pale in comparison to what happened after that. Let me start at the beginning:

4:30pm *** I’m having a conversation with the administrative assistant who I share an office space with. I’m telling her about how unsettling it was that the seller was going to be at the walk thru, and how odd I thought that was. Maybe it’s a regional thing because she thought it was odd also. But some of my blog readers have informed me that it’s standard practice where they’re from. Anywho...

5:10pm *** I stop at home to let little Celeste out and to pick up S. He re-arranged visitation with his tot so that he could do the walk-thru with me.

5:30pm *** We arrive at the new house. The seller’s realtor and the seller was there. My realtor was not. Yikes. We start the walk-thru without her… actually S starts the walk-thru. He’s so thorough!! He checked everything inside and out, including the garage and basement. My realtor did show up… She was just a little late. The seller was very nice and helpful, and not at all what I expected.

6:40pm *** My realtor and I were chatting about personal stuff, and S walks by rubbing his belly in circles (LOL!) and softly says to me: “Me hungry” The realtor and I wrap it up so S and I could get something to eat. We went to a local Mexican restaurant.

7:00pm *** My phone rings. It’s my parents. I said to S: “That’s odd they’d call me on a Wed night.” I called my Dad back. In what I thought was a shaky voice, he tells me he needs a ride to the VA hospital, which is an hour and half from their house (almost 2 hours from me). He was having trouble with his leg and they wanted him to go to the ER and have it looked at, possibly be admitted. *Ack*

So S and I box up our food. I drop him off at my house so he can go home. I rush over to my parents’ house.

Internally, I was frantic... the unknown is a scary thing! When I got there, I relieved to see that Dad had changed into his “good” clothes (worn mostly for doctor visits, these days), and he seemed pretty “normal” (LOL, normal for him anyway). So, I felt relieved.

On the way over to my parent’s house, I called my sister and told her what was going on. She called the rest of the kids. Halfway to the hospital she calls, text messages, more text messages. She was worried.

Then I get a call from my brother who chews me out for not calling him, yet he already knew what was going on because 1) he’d talked to my Mom and 2) my sister called him. Dork.

9:00pm *** Arrive at hospital. He spent maybe... MAYBE... 30 minutes in the E.R. before they sent him to the pharmacy to antibiotics.

10:00pm *** We’re on the road home. Toward the end of the stretch, it was all I could do to stay awake. Plus, I don’t like driving at night because I can’t see very well.

12:00am *** I crawl into bed. By this time my arm is in so much pain I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fall asleep.


6:30am *** I wake up thankful that my arm isn’t hurting anymore.

8:00am *** Chiro appointment. Woo Hoo… for once it went well!

8:20am *** Traveling down the street, minding my own business when a car driving from the opposite direction barely slows down and tries to “whip” a turn into the gas station. Guess what? Hello?!? My car is *right* there. Talk about heart stopping!!! I swerved into the other lane (2 lanes there) and he slams on the brakes. I continued on to work, almost on the verge of tears. My heart was still all bundled up when I got to work and was explaining to the administrative assistant what had just happened. Yikes.


So my point to the title of this post... is that the walk-thru was a piece of cake compared to the events that followed. Glad I am that everything turned out OK, even though they were nerve racking.

How Many?

Donna's comment from yesterday's post prompted this little contest. She wants to know...




"How many of the boxes
are filled with stash?"

So here's the deal: Right now, I don't know how many boxes there are, but I do know all my stash is packed. You get to take a guess at how many boxes.

I will count the boxes as I unpack them. The person who guesses the correct amount (or closest without going over), will win a little sumthin-sumthin from my stash. If two people guess the same number, names will be put into a "hat" to determine the winner.

If you'd like to participate, leave a comment on my blog with your guess. If you sign in under Anonymous, be sure to leave your name and email address.

Contest ends September 30th. Winner will be announced sometime in October. Good luck!

If I Never See...

... another corrugated box again, it will be too soon! Here's what my house and garage look like now. The garage is half full of packed boxes. I still have more packing to do!

What Is This? 9/7/07 Answer

Anyone a fan of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? The wicked stepmother said, "Mirror Mirror on the wall..."


Yes, that was a pic of a mirror I had hanging near the entryway of my dining room. What's the story of the mirror? I found it in the clearance section of Hobby Lobby several years ago. It was a battered, rather unattractive looking pale yellow piece of work. The mail/calendar rack you see next to the mirror... It was a bright colbalt blue color.

I took a trot on down to the local Menards where I found a rainbow of spray paint cans in a menagerie of textures. I picked out a gray granite and set about creating my new works of art. The end result was two matching pieces that fit well into my decor. Years later, I still like what I did!


The winner of this episode of "What Is This?" is....

PATTY SMITH in Canada

Congratulations, Patty!


Past winners have been:
• Anita Sorrells in Illinois

Thank you all for reading my blog and participating!