North Carolina

Well, we survived packing up the family and shipping out about five or six hundred miles!  Whew, was that a lot of work.  We may never leave North Carolina simply because moving is getting to be too difficult. ;)  Although with our track record, not moving would be a lot less likely than dealing with all of this again.  (Pete and I have been married for almost seven and a half years and have moved from Jersey to South Dakota to Florida - first in St. Pete then to New Port Richey - and now to North Carolina, all of the moving starting after we had our first baby!!)

There were quite a few times I thought about sitting at the computer just to vent about the day or week I just dealt with, but times are different now…  I have some horrible things to deal with here.  DIAL-UP - I shudder to say it.  So, because of that I’ve been neglecting my online ‘diary’.  And I’ve kind of missed it.  So, today is a test.  I want to see how bad it is to upload my blog with dial-up, and I’m going to throw a picture into the mix to see if that is the worst mistake ever.

I have to admit, though, there is an upside to not having high speed internet or cable (we do have satellite, but it’s just not the same).  The time on the computer is actually reduced.  What we have to do on there takes an unbelievable amount of time, but there is no ‘recreation’ on the internet.  We get on, do what’s necessary, and get off.  It’s amazing how many hours could get whittled away just surfing the internet.  And the other night we had the fire going and no tv (not as many choices, couldn’t find anything good on), it was just the four of us hanging out in the living room talking and enjoying each other’s company.  Huh, go figure.

I do like it here.  Everyone is extremely nice and it feels more relaxed.  We really aren’t into any kind of routine yet, but once we do I think that will help to make it feel more like home.  It’s getting there, though, slowly but surely.  Most of the rooms are done, except for this area.  I think we’ve neglected the computer area because dial-up sucks and being here is just a reminder of that!!  But I digress… 

Pete and Peter Zachary dug out a fire pit in the yard, and we were out there the other night and it was so nice.  For some reason that is what being here feels like to me.  I can’t really explain it any better than that.  It’s like being out there in our sweats cuddled up by the firepit roasting some marshmallows is it.  Like that’s what we’re here for, that feel.  Something we haven’t had for a long time, and I really like it.

Just Perfect

It’s amazing the way things work out sometimes.  I was hoping to lose a little more weight and sell the house while on vacation (although not believing either was possible ;)), and so far so good.

First off, our house is officially under contract as of about 12:30 this afternoon.  The offer (full price, I might add) came in yesterday a few hours before I left New Jersey.  I’m still a little in shock.  For some reason I had started to worry that the house would never sell.  I must say, our realtor has been doing MUCH better in the advertising department with the house and I always knew it would just take that one person who belonged with the house to see it.  But still, somewhere in the back of my mind, the doubt persisted.  I think it was just a fear that we were running out of time.  Pete’s official last day of work here was going to be September 29th, and we weren’t really sure what we were going to do from there.  It was like, “okay, the house gets sold this week, or we do something drastic.”

…and it got sold this week…  sweet!

And to top that off, although it’s not weigh-in day, I weighed in today at almost a pound less than when I left!  Don’t ask me how that is even possible.  I missed my Jersey food, so I partook quite a bit. :)  Between Banzai (Japanese hibachi steak house in Denville) and M&S (the best pizza I’ve ever had) and Anthony’s (the second best pizza ever, but the absolute best chef salad) and Friendly’s sundaes (self explanatory, I think), I really felt I should have put on all the weight I lost, but whoo and hooo! 

What a relief, today is a good day. Better than good really - it’s just perfect.

The quick dollar

I have to vent… this is now the second set of people looking at our house this weekend, and we have not gotten a call from our realtor letting us know anyone was coming! Yesterday caught me completely unawares. I had made a pan of ziti for friends of ours who are new parents as of Tuesday (congrats Roger & Elizabeth), so there were dishes from that in the sink. My son’s bed wasn’t made, there were toys out and I hadn’t vacuumed yet. Not a huge deal, but in a buyer’s market you want your home to be perfect. It can’t look cluttered, it should be as open as possible and it definitely needs to be CLEAN!!! Today wasn’t as bad. There were no dishes in the sink and the beds were made, but there are always toys around (hard not to have them around with a four year old and a six month old), and I like to put away certain baby things so the house seems more open. Oh well, the couple liked it - I think - but said they couldn’t fit their huge sectional in our living room. I felt like saying “yeah, that’s one thing we hate about this house to”, but that probably wouldn’t help us sell the house. Jess was also sleeping in our room, and the master is one of the biggest sellers for most people, so that was a negative. The realtor told me that the house showed great even if we weren’t ready for them, so hopefully both couples will feel the same. Sell that sectional and buy something smaller!!!

In the meantime, I now feel like the house should be ready for a showing every moment of every day, seeing as we can’t depend on our realtor to give us a call and let us know. That is going to freak me out. And now, I’m more sure than ever that our realtor is just out for the quick dollar. He does nothing but call us to let us know that someone is coming to show the house, and now not even that! I suppose he figured coming over and sticking a sign in our yard was the only thing he should have to do in order to earn that inordinate amount of money realtor’s get.

The Next Chapter

I got a call from our realtor today telling me that someone wanted to come see the house in a half an hour. He wanted to know if there would be a problem… Of course 30 minutes is no time at all to make sure the house is ready, let alone enough time to get myself, Peter Zachary and Jess ready - BUT who would say no to a chance to sell a house you want out of?

Fortunately, the house is kept relatively ready at all times, perfect for those unexpected visitors - and all I had to do for us was throw on something acceptable for myself, change Jess' diaper and get Peter's shoes on. The rest is the hard part, if you ask me. As inconvienient as it may be to get 'kicked out' of your house, that's easy. Waiting for THE BUYER is what drives you nuts. You know who I'm talking about, THE BUYER - the person who will look at your house, make a full price offer, love every imperfection the house has and help your life move on to the next chapter (okay, so maybe that's not actually what the buyer will be like, but can't a girl hope).

We're in limbo, and I hate limbo. We make no plans past next week. We have no one coming to visit since we don't know where we'll be in two months (if we're here then no one can come because the house must look impecable and if we're not then a flight to Florida would be a waste, don't you think), and we just sit here and wait and wait and wait. Then there is the emotional roller coster you go through selling a house that you're going to miss. I initially get so excited when someone is coming to see the house. I think, let this be it - BUY MY HOUSE. Then Peter makes some comment about how he doesn't want us to sell the house (or he doesn't and I just think about it), and I get so sad thinking about leaving and never being in this house again. My son doesn't remember any other home and my daughter was born here, literally. Not here like as in Florida, here like as in right in the kid's playroom. This is my first home, and I'll miss everyone in Florida. But I know once it's over with I'll be busy getting ready to move. Packing up and then going north to see everyone for a few weeks will be so nice before we even get to North Carolina. Plus Pete is so miserable in this heat, I don't blame him for wanting out. And the unknown is so much more exciting then the mundane existence of everyday.

Yep, it's time for the next chapter. So, come on BUYER - find me.