The house hunt begins

So after what seems of ages of nagging Mike, as he usually does, he surprise me by getting us preapproved for a mortgage one day while I'm at work. It seems like I have to work and work at Mike to get him to agree to do something and then WHAMMO he just does it, after I have given up and think that all hope is lost. Oy.

Timeline:
Monday : Hubby gets mortgage
Wednesday: Meet for the first time with our realtor (wow! OUR realtor!!)
Friday: go see houses for the first time.

Tomorrow/Wednesday: Look at second round of houses!

Can you believe it?? We don't fool around here I guess.. Well that and the fact we would like to take advantage of that good ol' tax credit. Thank you Mr Government. So after the first six houses, Hubby and I of course have picked two favorites.. Two DIFFERENT favorites. The rundown(with as little bias as possible, I will try)
My fave:
1910 red brick house with character out the hoohoo, loads of ugly wallpaper and MASSIVE POTETIONAL. (picture a dining room with chair rail, crown molding, great staircase with inlaid wood work) 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, attached two car garage. His complaint: too much work

His fave:
Traditional house with 3 TINY bedrooms, 1 bath, recent updates done poorly by the homeowner (seriously, no mudding over the drywall tape:() Nice living room and dining room but the second floor is TINY. (I think I mentioned that?)

So tomorrow we go to look at some new ones. Will a new favorite emerge? Will we find anything we can agree on? In my dream we are going to walk into one of these houses, give each other a look, and it's done; we've found the house. That's how we found our wedding venue, it was like we both knew right away that it was the perfect place for us. Here's hoping.

Quilting : A gateway drug

So, as my little projects come along here, the EXACT thing I predicted happened. I pasted some of my quilting projects on my facebook page, so that friends who have not seen my blog could check them out. So, as predicted in a previous post, people have COME OUT of the wood work trying to recruit me for other crafty things!! After the latest request, I said to Mike on the way home,"Seriously, they say marijuana is a getway drug, well let me tell you, QUILTING is the gateway drug of crafting!" I so so appreciate that people want to get together with me and be crafty and have some fun. Trust me, with all of this down and out stuff right now in the job department, I need some friend time. However, I DO NOT want to stamp, crop, scrapbook, knit, cross stich, etc. My sewing machine and I are fine together and will be fine nor do we need your drugs of choice. Thank you though.

That being said, please check out my latest pics of the quilt I am working on. We are two and a half strips of seven down. Also I made these coasters, which two were very successful, two were less so.

Spring Green

Well Gee Thanks Universe.. apparently you are listening to me. I hope that follows with a job. So Mike sat down with me this evening and ACTUALLY looked together at houses and found some really cute ones and some HORRIBLE ones and he said he is going to ask around tomorrow for a realtor in the area is good. This is a step forward! I am hoping that he gets some good recommendations because I feel like it's all about a recommendation when it comes to things like realtors. Would it be wrong to post the super cute house that we found? Maybe I should keep it a secret so no one swoops in and grabs it from me!! All I'm going to say is brick two story with old school charm and lots of ugly wallpaper that I would be happy to take down and do a little re-deco on. The front door is white and has such presence and I could just see it with like two little kids sitting on the front step with their first day of school outfits on.. Just a dream.. And maybe a few flower boxes... A girl can dream, can't she.

So.. Any thoughts out there in blog land on how to pick a good realtor? I want someone who will get my taste and Mike's and understand we need a good compromise and are first time home buyers who are green.. like spring green. (I didn't have a title for this post until I wrote that.. there was no set up, I promise) I want to pick someone who isn't like too pushy because if I can't find the right house at this moment, I am willing to wait. And of course there is the fact that Mike is SUPER NEW ENGLAND, meaning he is blunt, doesn't mince words and is not rude but if he doesn't like it, he will tell you. Not always how things work or how people act in Minnesota. So a good cultural experience, I guess.

So Tips? I'll take whatever you've got anyone who is reading this.

Dear Universe

I NEED A JOB... I'm starting this post by putting it out into the universe. I have found in a weird way this week that certain things I have been hoping for that I put out into the universe have come true and come around, thus, I'm putting what I REALLY need out into the biggest universe I can think of at the moment: the blogo-sphere.

See, here's the thing: Mike and I (but honestly, more so Mike) are very very practical, especially when it comes to money. Mike has been known to, when making a new purchase, searching the internet for hours scoping out reviews, reading recommendations and searching for the right "one". I figure, heck, he chose me so he must be a pretty good picker, right? (hardy-har-har) When he bought the Jeep, it took him a LONG time to find the right one. Some day I will have to tell the legend of the Jeep, including the spot of groomsman at our wedding. When he bought his first hunting rifle, he spent SIX months picking just the right one. Anyhow, so no major purchase in this house is made without a lot of perusal and thought.

Bringing this around to the universe, I am dying to get a house as I shared previously. And Mike and I both would like that to be AFTER I get a job so we can get not just a lot of house, but also so we can make it wonderful and not be that dreaded word.. HOUSEPOOR. As a result, we have been saving saving saving since we got married, especially after we moved here. Since we are saving, I have been saying "no" to a lot of things I would have loved to do; trips to Mexico and Vegas with friends, shopping excursions, new living room furniture, a new bed, more extravagent Christmas gifts to one another, the list goes on. (maybe that list was too long. but there is a lot I feel like I have passed on) I am happy to sacrafice these things so Mike and I can reach our goal but some days, and for some reason, especially today, it makes me crazy and I just want to say to hell with it, and go book a trip for Mike and I to somewhere fabulous. Alas.. as I said before we are planners and Mike is a mega planner so I will keep on for the betterment of our future.

So now, dear universe, hear me. I need a JOB.

Well, it's finished..

There are more than a few things that are finished, as this post will attest. First, I finished my first quilt. It's only a lap quilt, but I'm really proud of myself for finishing it and being pretty pleased with it, and even MORE SO, starting another! So maybe my "noncrafty" days are finished too. I am book hunting this weekend for project books to use and create with. I would like to make a wall hanging of some point to put in my kitchen and would like to finish (is this theme getting a little much?) putting some decoration to these plain white walls which belong to someone else. I hope that comes to an end someday soon as well..

I have started a small list of must haves for our house hunt, which I am hoping will start this spring. If you have any house hunting tips, I would be more than appreciative. Also! If you have tips for finding the right realtor for us, I would take that advice to. How do you know if you get the right person who will be a good fit? Can you "interview" realtors? How? Advice welcome!
So, My list, thus far..
1. At least three bedrooms, but I would rather have 4. I want this to be a house we live in for a while. I'm so not a moving lover.
2. Two bathrooms, at least. (can you have too many?)
3. Curb appeal. I have to drive up the drive way and be proud that this is my house.
4. Attached garage. I've never had one in all my places until this one and I LOVE IT. There is nothing better than to not go outside to hop in the car on a miserable MN day.
5. Some updating needed. Mike and I are not looking for an overhaul product. BUT we are interested in working on a house doing some updating in a kitchen, bathroom, some paint, fixtures, etc. I know Mike would love to put on a deck, but I am NOT interested in a complete renovation. I don't know if I could live through a complete remodel. Not quite what I have in mind for our first house.


Anyway, also I am FINISHED (last time, I promise) with this DARN TRASH CAN. I am extremely grateful that my husband helps around the house a lot. He is very good about things and I am appreciative. The trash is one of the things that he takes care of all the time, but sometimes I need to take it out, especially when I get into a baking frenzy. When we got married, one of the things we got was a new trash can because our old one was also scuzzy. So we get this expensive round trash can which is going to change our lives, right? WELL, it has caused more aggravation than anything else. It rips the bag when I take it out because it catches on the hinge. Argh.. So I'm hoping I can convince him to get a new one. However, he says, "I'll take it out, don't worry about it. It's not a big deal, Stace." So.. Does this deserve to be written about? Probably not. BUT it has been aggrevating me to no end so maybe by writing about it, I'll feel better about it.

Thanks for any advice out there for the few people who read this. Much love..

Dear Martha (not THAT Martha, the other one)

Okay, you know when girls get together and "scrap" or "crop" or whatever they call it? I'm sorry out there to all of ya'll, but I just shake my head. I don't get, I can't get into it, and despite the numerous efforts by many friends over the years I just don't do it. I have been GIVEN multiple sticker sets, pages, pens, cutters, etc, all with the hope that I would get into making cards or scrapbooks and such. People spend thousands of dollars for these things and they have just been handed to me yet I don't get into it. I'll be a good sport and go to their parties and create a card or two, but that is where it ends for me.
So.. this will come as a shock to those of you out there who have tried to make Stacey "crafty". I have begun a quilt, and I love it. ** I am going to pause to let that sink in..**

So since we have moved, I have been telling people the most difficult part of the move is the fact that I haven't invested myself in something yet here. I used to be invested in my job, but since I'm just subbing now, I can't invest in that. So recently my favorite/closest cousin told me she is expecting a baby, and it got me thinking about the quilts my Grandma Martha made whenever a new grand baby was born, and that got me thinking about my grandma's sewing machine which was sitting at my parent's old house. So, I picked it up and my husband took to getting her oiled and working, even then I wasn't sure if I could make it. I often in life will not try something out of fear of failure or stop before I MIGHT fail because I am afraid.
So that's when my hubby says, "Stacey, it is your first time. It isn't going to be like the ones your grandmother or godmother has made. It will be just yours." And that was what I needed. My husband gave me the support and encouragement to try without feeling like I had to make one that was INCREDIBLE.

So, in the tradition of the many quilters in my life, including Grandma Martha whose machine is inspiring me, I have completed the top of my first quilt. Now the extremely intimidating part of basting and binding my quilt is left but I am so excited. And may have found, dare I say it, a crafty hobby. If I can figure out how to upload pics, I'll include those. I guess you just never know what the future can hold, or what the support of a loving husband can do.

Why snow days make you a bad person

So the snow is falling in Minnesota and no work for me today. So what do I do? Indulge in BAD BAD habits..
Number one: I made homemade Chex Mix, and am chowing down on it for my lunch (!) and should really be leaving some for the hubby who loves it. (side note: I put it away to write this post however the bowl is calling me)
Number two: its almost one... not dressed/showered/etc
Number three: Facebook. I will confess I love to snoop. I am so interested in other peoples lives and sometimes think I should have been a sociologist because I find it so fascinating...... Or maybe I'm just nosey.. Feel free to judge. So heres what happens next: I get this message from this girl who wants to know how I know these two friends that we apparently have in common. She claims we grew up together and I have NOOO memory of her. But fine.. whatever I add her and begin snooping to see if I can remember who she is, see if anything jogs the ol' brain, etc.. Well, I see some guy who's post is " back after our wedding weekend, pictures posted." Now, I dont' know this guy from Adam but hell, I'm bored so I click on him because I love weddings (secretly, I would like to be a wedding planner.. its an addiction. People said it was just because I was getting married but I love them.. I LOVE them still) So this is, honest to goodness, the most tacky wedding.

So here are the details to this secretly spyed on wedding by me:
1. Fake flowers. thats right, straight from Michael's Craft section fake red roses and white carnations. And THEY LOOKED FAKE. Now I know some people say there are spendy ones that look real, (I for one have not seen them) but these WERE NOT THOSE!
2. The groom is in the military as were all his groomsman so they wore their dress blues. Awesome. So why then are the bridesmaids wearing tacky light green pastel dresses??
3. The bride wore a headpiece that looks like one of those child's play tiaras that you get at a Renaissance Fair with white fake flowers on it. Enough said
4. Flower girl-- in BRIGHT RED
5. The cake looked like they picked it up at the grocery store that morning. It was a sheet cake that said congrats Sean and Melissa **(names have been changed to protect the innocent)
6. I couldn't tell what the venue was but there were clown masks hanging on the wall and those creepy crying clown pictures??

Now, I should not judge. It is terrible. Who am I to say? I am not perfect nor am I claiming my wedding was the epitome of weddings. However I want to know.. What was the bride thinking? How did it come together as it did? To all of you in blog space, I'm sorry if I have offended but CLOWNS?? REALLY?