Snagged

I was supposed to settle on Tuesday. It looks like that won't happen.

The short of it is that the seller didn't actually purchase the property; he purchased a contract for deed (which just isn't done anymore). A contract for deed is, well confusing. Basically, whoever he purchased that from still holds the title to the property until the installments are paid (unlike a traditional mortgage where I would get the title but my mortgage company will hold a lien, if that makes any sense). FHA needs him to prove that he has equity in the property and the right to sell it, if he doesn't have the title, he may not have the right. They need two attorneys to weigh in on this. One opinion is in ("it's all good") and we're hoping the second opinion gets to FHA today. The problem is compounded because it's a holiday weekend. Lawyer #2 may not get to it today and, if he does, FHA may not review it today. Meaning we won't get the go ahead in time for Tuesday.

It's completely out of my hands. There is nothing that I did and nothing I can do. I'll have no choice but to live with my parents until this is worked out.

The vast majority of my stuff is already at the house. We've filed a contract addendum to push back settlement until Thursday (because, if we don't and Tuesday gets here and we don't settle, the contract is void and I'm back to square one with no tax credit). I have to find something to do with my second car, because I don't want to have to shuttle it all the way to MD. I've got the additional day off of work that I needed. I need to cancel set up with Comcast on Wednesday, and I have no idea when I'll be able to get them back out to set me up.

Frustrated is not an adequate word for what I'm feeling.

Stuff

A scene from The Incredibles keeps playing over and over in my mind:

Helen: "We are now officially moved in!"
Bob: "That's great, honey. And the last three years don't count because?"
Helen: "Because I just unpacked the last box. Now, it's official. Ha ha ha!
Why do we have so much junk?"

Seriously, you never know how much crap you really have until you have to pack it up and move it.

I got my books done. Most of them will probably end up donated to a library, since I have my Kindle and don't read dead trees anymore. But, it's just as easy to box the lot and go through them later. I am on a time table after all. I also have more DVDs than I thought. I need to get another disk organizer (or two). I finished the bathroom too.

I still have the trinkets in the living and dining rooms, all my stuff in the kitchen, all my craft stuff, all my desk stuff, and other things. Lots and lots of things. Oh, and hats and coats. We might be making several trips back and forth from the condo! Some things will probably have to be packed on Saturday too.

I suddenly feel very unprepared!

Two Weeks and Counting

I CLOSE ON THE HOUSE IN TWO WEEKS!! AHHH!!!

But, I only have one week to pack because I move my stuff in this weekend. I've got all my clothes boxed up (except winter coats). I have too many clothes. I'm going to finish the books today, and pack up the bathroom (what I don't need for the next two weeks, that is). Then, I'll pack up the DVDs, which shouldn't be too bad. Depending on what time does to me today, I'll get started on the myriad of craft things.

I want to have all the things packed by tomorrow, or just a few things left over on Thursday, so all I have to do is take apart the IKEA furniture on Thursday (and there will be time to do some of that on Saturday, I think, too). I'm heading home with my dad Friday night so we can start as early as possible from there on Saturday.

Miss Luna is safely out of the way at my parents' house. I miss her. I know it's temporary while I pack and move, but I miss having her around. I think she'll be very happy in a house with no other animals. I found two bites on her when I took her home this weekend. I can't be angry, because none of us can control what cats do and there's no telling that she didn't bite any of the other cats, but it still upsets me. At least they didn't abscess. I'll be glad to give her the run of the place.

I finally got my grandmother's car titled in my name and registered in Virginia. It's now my car! Her name is Alice (the light pinkish lavender color makes me think of Wonderland). Now, if only LDS would get a move on buying Hedwig from me, if she is even still interested in doing so. Robin said we shouldn't have a problem selling it locally if it comes to that. At the very least, I might just need to buy a couple tires to get it sell-worthy. Well, we'll see where LDS is about that some time today.

I think that's everything. Holy smokes! I settle in two weeks!!

The Next Step is Waiting

I spoke with my Realtor yesterday. She says everything is moving along just as it should be. All we really have to do is wait for my "move stuff in" day on the 22nd and settlement on the 1st. I've got my truck reserved, Comcast scheduled to come out on the 2nd and hook me up, and the power ready to be switched over to my name.

The plan is that my Etsy store will be in vacation mode at the end of the week. I'll take my computers and Miss Luna home to my folks this weekend, then it's pack pack pack and more pack! I'm renting the truck from near my folks' place so we can swing by my grandmother's and pick up all the stuff she has for me. Sound like a plan? That's the plan!

Blessings of the Day

May the Fourth be with you!

The Process

I've been trying to write this post all day!

Work is busy. WAM crossed the line this morning. She came over to ask my opinion on something work-related that she was doing, and I told her I thought it was unnecessary. She went on and on (the way she does) about how she has to "cover all [her] bases." And when I didn't change my mind about it, she said "you have to cover all your bases when you're buying a house." That's when I told her to shut up, and then explained what happened to Adolf, who wasn't in the office yet at the time. Adolf gave her a talking to, and apparently she's been spoken to about how she spends her mornings before. I know that she was crying or close to it when she went in to her meeting. Then she left. There are still things on her desk, so I don't know what that means.

I feel bad that it turned into a bad morning for her, but honestly, whatever she thinks she has to do for her job is completely unrelated to what is going on in my private life. I'm going to share my news with people, that's the way of people, but there was no reason for her to bring that up at all - to imply that I didn't know what I was doing or wasn't doing something right when she has no idea about how I'm doing on that front. I know I shouldn't have used the words "shut up" but I just couldn't help it. What is going on in my life had nothing to do with what she was talking about and she had no place to mention it as a means of getting the last word.

And, about that.

My contract was accepted, but at a little more than what I had offered (but still less than the listing price). He wants to close on June 1st, which means I'll have one night of no where to live. Since he understands that, he's letting me move my possessions in the weekend before so I'll have time to get the condo cleaned and all of that. Miss Luna and I will just stay with my folks for a few nights. We had the home inspection on Tuesday and found some little things and a few large things that needed to be fixed. As far as I can tell, the owner did not argue with my Realtor about any of it, so it looks like he's going to do them. Thank you, dude!

My official loan application is being processed. My insurance company has been called to set up a homeowner policy. Everything is going right where it needs to be going. I had the mother of all migraines a couple nights ago because of the stress of everything, but it's better now. Better, because everything is coming together as it should be.

My grandmother's car is also in my possession and needs some work to get back up to where it needs to be. Still, my mechanic thinks it's going to be great once we get all the work done. The money from the sale of Hedwig to LDS will just cover it. I was hoping to use that for something else, but I'll make do.

So, really, everything is great! A friend of mine said there is a special kind of hell that is home-buying and I'm in the middle of it, and she's right. But, at the same time, I'm where I should be.

And it's grand.

Fingers and Toes Crossed

I made an offer on a house today!!

It's small (but how much space does one person need? Don't answer that, Fox!), but I just love it. It has two bedrooms and one bathroom, is on its own septic system and has a private well. It's on less than a quarter acre of land, but surrounded by trees and a lake (and neighbors) is not far away. It's a mere 14.6 miles from my office!

I should hear sometime this evening if my offer was accepted.

I'm STARVING!! I only had breakfast today, met with the Realtor at 10:00, and got done with everything around 16:00. Thankfully, my aunt is visiting and she always wants Ledo's Pizza. I'll be heading that way for dinner very soon.

Gone Again

With last week's update, I was hoping to get back to my regular posting. Then the weekend happened. And then something that I couldn't plan and couldn't pass up happened. I was finally given the shove that I needed to start earnestly looking for a home again.

And what a shove it was! My loan has been pre-approved. I have a list of homes (mostly town houses) that I'm going to look at tomorrow. My Realtor is confident I can get under contract by the end of the month, which is the deadline to qualify for the first time home buyer tax credit. With all of this, I only need to find a home I love.

It's all happening so fast, but IT'S HAPPENING! Those of you who have been reading for a while know what this means to me.

So, despite my best efforts to post with the frequency that you, gentle readers, are used to, my life and my goals just took off without warning (to me or anyone else!). Expect my presence to be erratic for a time while this new path of my life sorts itself out.

Where Have I Been

Well, here. Extremely and annoyingly busy. Thanks, those of you who have sent e-mails asking if I'm ok. I am. Mostly.

I've been getting a lot of overtime at work. This is most often a good thing, but it is very tiring. This seems to be at an end, but will likely start up again in May.

Robin and I had a fight, and have come out better together for it. A little time, a little patience, a little understanding. It's all good.

For the past couple weeks, I've been having a recurring nightmare. We're fighting for our lives against a zombie infestation. The zombies are winning. It's been every night since the end of March except for three. The same thing, with all the blood and gore of a B-rate horror flick. I've tried to program my dream-self with lots of guns. I've tried to think of other things hoping the nightly visions would change. I've tried to write it down to appease the nightmare gods. I even tried to fight zombies with zombies by watching zombie movies. So far, nothing is successful except for staying up too late and being so exhausted that I don't dream at all.

So, I decided to add Zombie Gnomes to my shop as a regular item! They're not up yet, but you can check out a sneak peek on my craft blog.

I've missed two weeks of Weight Watcher updates. Monday's meeting had me at 4.2 lbs down in those two weeks, making my total loss 18 lbs since I started! Yay! I'd still like to keep going, but it looks like they don't have enough people signed up at the office for another session. I will continue with this plan on my own, though. I've seen results and I like them.

I think that's everything! Tomorrow, I'm meeting Robin's mother at a mini birthday party. I've promised to bring cheesecake.

How To Train Your Dragon

SEE THIS MOVIE!

It was fabulous. The animation was great, the score was wonderful, the story was adorable and endearing.

It was just great. Go see it. Don't forget to blink. Of course, even when I realized I wasn't blinking, I didn't want to. Just go see it.