I know, I know. I'm hopeless at blogging. Ironically I have been doing some posting, just not that much here. But don't be sad- you're always be my first.

Christmas was good aside from a miserable cold that hit Christmas Eve and would not let go. Wonderful to see the family and just hang out and relax. My brother and his wife have big plans to be pregnant again by next December (and keep telling everyone about it!) so that may be the last time we're all together for awhile.

Went to NYC for New Years. Had a great time with with my friends and got to see a lot while we were there. Times Square was... cold. I actually think I got frostbite because my feet have not properly recovered.

Jenny is SO grown up! She's standing now and oh so chatty and sweet (now that she's cut a few teeth). She'll be 9 months next week: crazy.

We discovered about a week and a half ago that the beloved family dog, Maggie, has a tumor. It's pressing against her lungs and heart and she has only a short time left. Her breathing is getting tougher and she has a hard time eating, though she's still in good spirits.

Maggie is a wonderful dog. She's undoubtedly one of the best behaved dogs I've ever seen and so sweet! She has a great temperament but she was also trained by my father, who did a great job working with her. She's his dog more than the rest of us and this has hit him hard. It's been very difficult to watch it all but I know Maggie's had a good life. I'll miss her; we all will.

So that's the "highlights" for now. I'll try not to let it go so long next time, or at least post my other stuff up here as well. Hope everyone is doing well, had a great holiday. Happy (quite belated) 2009!

The Cookie Affair

Every year I participate in a cookie exchange with some ladies from work. My mom does so much cooking that I like to try to help out by bringing home 6 or 7 dozen cookies to keep the troops occupied satiated with sugar.

In case you're not familiar with the concept of a cookie exchange, I have to make 6 dozen cookies and I trade them with a dozen cookies 6 other people have made. Of course I also like to make a dozen to take home for myself because I (unbiasedly) believe mine are usually the best anyway. With 7 dozen cookies to make, I like to try to find something simple (with 7 dozen cookies even easy recipes become a challenge) and this year after considering several options, I decided to go with a recipe my friend Garrison sent: Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies. Garrison assured me they were super-easy and, to his credit, informed me that the standard recipe went a long way- he got almost 5 dozen cookies out of the recipe for 2-3 dozen.

So I woke up this morning, pulled up the recipe and wrote up my shopping list (trip #1). I figured I'd make 6 dozen and the overage Garrison warned me about would cover the dozen for my family. Naturally, I did not bother to look in my cabinet before I left. I "knew" I had sugar and Vanilla extract but I needed everything else. An hour later I came home a realized I had just bought my third container of unsweetened cocoa (the second one had never been opened) and had less than a cup of sugar. So I hoofed it back to Harris Teeter (trip #2), returned my cocoa and grabbed a bag of sugar.

Back at the house I was ready to go. I melted my margarine and mixed my cocoa etc. It was going well and smelling good but when I got to the point where I had to add the oatmeal I quickly learned the entire container I had bought was only 5 cups of the 9 cups I needed. I actually went through the thought processes of "do I *really* needed another 4 cups?", and "who do I know that wants to run out and get me oatmeal?" but in the end I knew what I had to do. So, with the stove on very low I ran back to Harris Teeter (trip #3) and bought another container of oatmeal. At this point the manager and the cashier both knew me and asked me how the cookies were going. I admitted to my inability to do math as I dashed out the door.

Got home, again, and I dumped the rest of the oatmeal in and stirred. Cookies done = yeah! Next step: lay-out the cookies. They're no-bake but they have to cool and harden so they need to be laid out on wax paper (btw, I bought that too and already had a roll at home...). So I started putting cookies out, and kept going and going and going. Ran out of counter space and put several trays in the fridge. Garrison was not exaggerating. The recipe was for 72 cookies and I have about 120.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Enjoy the season and may you all have too many cookies!

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (Monty Python)

My crazy cousin has a great blog where she spends lots of time talking about her sweet little baby (http://jellybeanmama.blogspot.com/). Her post yesterday ("It Could Always Be Worse") resonated because I, and I suspect many of you, have been feeling the chill of recession and tension of questionable job security lately.

So here is my contribution to positive thinking. The 5 things I am grateful for today:

1. Friends who have you over for a fantastic (and free) home-cooked meal. Comes with great conversation.
2. A home that has a mortgage I can afford.
3. Having a skill and a job (with awesome perks like health insurance and coworkers I like) where I am able to help people do the stuff they want to do.
4. That the interweb will let me buy all my presents and will send them to me so I can avoid the mall and save a little money.
5. My family and the technology that let's me stay in touch with them (Welcome to Facebook, Lisa!)
   

Thanksgiving: The Horror

Yes, all right, it's been a month since I've posted. I am going to add a "Post to blog" task on my "Remember the Milk" list and monitor it via my iPhone. I know, it's hard to believe I don't have time to post since I obviously don't have a life.

So I am one of those people that, when asked by friends and neighbors "how was your Thanksgiving?", feel compelled to really answer. A simple "fine" is not in my vocabulary. And when I stopped to recall this Thanksgiving, it was really quite chilling.

First there was the conversation at Thanksgiving dinner. Somehow I ended up sitting between my dad and my uncle and their conversation was nothing short of macabre. Seriously, all of the following came up:

• Who they know that's dying and of what
• My uncle's friend, the coroner, and a review of "what not to do when contemplating suicide" (including a review of blood splatter clean-up)
• Hunting/ cleaning animals (and I don't mean a bath)
  
• And to round it up, great moments from the movie "Deliverance"

Then on the Friday, I did something I have never, ever done before: I went shopping the day after Thanksgiving. To be clear, I don't like to step in a store after Thanksgiving. Anything that hasn't been bought before t-day gets bought online. But my aunt and cousin (and cute baby!) were there and there were some good deals (seriously, a crock pot for $10?!) so off we went. On the bright side, I didn't trampled by ravenous shoppers, though I did hurt my back holding that crock pot while waiting in line for 35 minutes.

Finally, the real horror: my mom burned the turkey. I can't say enough about how out of character this is (and Lisa, if you mention this to her I will cut you!) and it's not like this made the turkey bad. It's still turkey. It was just... different. And it was done early, so I wasn't that hungry yet. But I still ate too much. It just threw off my whole Thanksgiving experience. For the record, I am aware that I am a big whiny baby.

So please respond and share your turkey stories. Hope everyone had a great holiday! And I'm going to download the iPhone app that let's you post to your blog so keep an eye out for more posts!

Giddy with Technology

Not all of you starved-for-entertainment readers know me that well, but I'm a little high-strung. I stay busy anyway and if you've been reading you know the last 10-11 months or so have been extra crazy. So the vacation was a blissful break and I honestly didn't realize how stressed I'd been until I got back.
The last week or two post-vacation has also been somewhat dreamy. Sure, it's been busy but it also feels like time has slowed down. I can't believe, for example, that I have only been back for two weeks. It feels like a month!
So for the first week and a half or so I was able to stay mostly detached and not let stuff bother me so much. Slowly things have started to get to me again but I'm trying to remind myself not to over-react and that things don't need to be a crisis. I'm trying to enjoy things away from work more and remember to smile, even when I don't feel like it.

One thing that has really helped with this goal is that my roommate moves out this weekend. I do like my roommate as a person, but not as much as a roommate. The other piece of awesomeness about her moving out is that now I get to buy a new TV. I take the TV very seriously so I've decided to invest/splurge. I'll be picking up a 37' flat-screen LCD HD TV (Samsung, in case you're curious) later this afternoon. I can't wait to watch some HD Olympics and play some hi-res Wii and I'm thinking out hooking up a computer too. Sweet, sweet technology. I enclose a picture here as further proof that I am a geek.

Really Bag Blogger

I think 4 or 5 people have told me that I accidentally entitled my last post "Bag Blogger", which was exciting since I had no idea that many people were reading! Hi people! I am a really bad blogger.

In my defense, things have been very busy and I have been thinking about blogging. I actually have 3 or 4 things in mind to write about, starting with the story of baby. But I want to give that story it's full weight so I'll save it for next time. And by "next time" I don't mean 3 months from now.

I don't really have any great updates; work is still busy, I'm still stressed. On the plus side I'm 21 days away from my vacation: 2-weeks in a beautiful Bob Ross-wilderness of Canada. I've also been working on my nice back yard with help from my cute little brother, who probably wouldn't like to be called "cute" or "little". More soon.

Random Updates

Progress Energy
Apparently I wasn't the only one with power problems in my area. Progress Energy came out and tore up the cables for everyone in my row of townhouses and then kindly put down grass seed in the area where I'd just finished killing the grass. On the plus side, my power hasn't flickered in the slightest since then so (knock on wood) I think things might be fixed!

Bedroom Set
It's GORGEOUS! The biggest problem now is that I don't want to get up in the morning because it's so pretty and comfy! Yeah!

Valentine's Day & Weight Watchers
It took me a couple days to get over it this year. My ability to ignore it was tested by several obstacles. My roommate got flowers and enjoyed her time with the boyfriend; I went to a Valentine's Day party with six couples (including an ex) and... me- lucky number 13; and my Weight Watchers meeting cheered me right up with the news I lost a whopping - wait for it - .6lbs.
In fact, I've lost in total only about 8lbs in the 6 weeks I've been doing WW. I think in part that's because I've been going to the gym so much; I know some of this is muscle. But WW doesn't account for that and it certainly didn't cheer me up on the 14th. Hence the very mopey post. The only defense I can offer is, as sad and bitter as that post sounded, I was WAY more sad and bitter in real life.

But we're past it. Another year until V-Day comes again. I wonder if I'll still be single... ;)

More for Me!

I have been mocked pretty mercilessly for the whole "year of Jen" thing (can you believe my co-workers actually read this thing? Joke's on you!) but I'm stickin' to it. I realized today after a completely meaningless interaction with a waitress that I have gotten better and stating my point-of-view, even when I don't want the confrontation. I'd like to think I've also gotten better at knowing when to say nothing, but that may just be an excuse for all the times I say nothing.

My latest year-of-jen extravagance is that I've bought myself a new bedroom set (check out the picture)! My brother put up crown molding, I painted accent walls and trim (not done with the trim) and bought new sheets and a duvet cover. I still have to buy new blinds and finish a few other things but I'm so excited! I haven't had new bedroom furniture since we had a house fire in high school twelve years ago. Every bedroom I've had since I've lived on my own has been cobbled together furniture and mis-matched decorations, if any. It seems silly to put this much effort into a room that's really only for me, but I'm gonna!

Anyway, the bedroom set comes tomorrow -- I can't wait! I'm hoping I like it as much as the picture... Gotta get back to painting and cleaning.

Episode III - The Evil Empire

All right- to finish this off, let me start by providing you with a list of known items that were damaged or destroyed. To date. Because I'm still finding things.

1. TV
2. DVR/ cable box
3. stereo
4. microwave
5. computer
6. VCR
7. refrigerator (still runs but can't stay cold anymore)

The Progress Energy Claims guy who has been assigned to me has told me that they will pay only for what the items would have been worth when destroyed. So essentially, what would I get for my two-year-old TV on Craigslist (pre-smoking and sparking). Unfortunately, I still have to pay full price for the items I have to replace. Like the $64.99 (plus tax) I paid to replace my microwave this morning. Grrrrr.

The other things I'm trying to get Progress Energy to cover are the food in the fridge that went bad (they already told me to pretty much give that up) and the $300 I paid Richard, the electrician to come and tell me what was wrong.

Now here's the kicker-- apparently I should NOT have called an electrician. Progress Energy argues that I should have just called them and they would have been able to figure out was wrong and fix it, hence, no electrician costs. As I pointed out to the claims guy, my power was working when this happened. My power never went out, until I turned off the house breaker. None of my neighbors lost power. Why would I think it was a problem with the power company? So heads up people- Call Progress Energy first. They can't go in the house to find the problem, so I think ultimatly they would have told me to call an electrician anyway. I guess you just need their blessing first...

Hopefully this story is basically over and the only addendum will be regarding the speedy and happy cutting of a fair check. If anyone is interested in betting on that I'll give you good odds; I need to pull in a little extra cash this month...

By the way. Great big shout out to some people who helped me through this. Couldn't have survived without you.

• Mom- came into town. BIG help. So wonderful to see her and at such a critical time.
• Roommate- very patient while the house blew up around her (and ultimately destroyed her computer.
• Brother (3)- was here when the mess started and helped clear up the wreckage.
• Boss- so understanding and offered to help several times.

The Hunt for the Red-Hot Neutral

Ok, yeah I didn't post last night. Sheesh. Apparently all you have to do to get people interested is end with a cliffhanger...

When last we saw our heroine she was making her way through her now-darkened, smoked-filled family room. Obviously I needed to call an electrician (this should not actually be considered "obvious"; more on that later) but my first thought was "How can I find an electrician without the interweb?". Fortunately I had a phone book holding open a door somewhere so I used that and, on my eighth call I finally found someone who would come out (they all say "24 Hour Service" but no one was available at 4:30 on a Monday afternoon).

Richard and son (Ryan) showed up on my doorstep 30 minutes later and spent the next hour or so trying to work out the cause of my blow up. There is nothing so frustrating as waiting when there is nothing you can do and you don't know anything. Of course I was distracted by calculating a second mortgage and selling my new car and prostituting myself to pay for my new electrical system.

Eventually they came to the suspicion that the problem was caused by what's called an "open neutral". They tested my neutral (from outdoor box to indoor breaker box) and that was fine so they called our local power monopoly, Progress Energy. Eric, the Progress Energy dude showed up around 7:00pm and he and Richard conversed and agreed that the problem was the neutral line that runs between the transformer and my outdoor box (code name = not-my-fault).

Now once they knew what it was, both Richard and Eric wasted no time in regaling me with stories about the terrors of the open neutral:

"Yep, you're lucky you were home. People all the time come home after an open neutral fire and there's nuthin' left."

- Richard, the electrician

"We're gonna fix this tonight because if we try to bypass it and this breaker goes you might wake up surrounded by flames."

- Eric, the Progress Energy dude

They honestly said that! I went out that very night about bought fire extinguishers and fire ladders for each bedroom but I'm still not sleeping great.

Progress Energy finished fixing the neutral and packed it up at around 10:30pm. Fortunately, before they left I did think to ask how I could get the things that had been destroyed replaced. Eric grudgingly told me to call customer service and that the whole process will take at least 2-4 weeks.

Sadly, the story is not done- and no, I'm not just trying to do another cliffhanger. Check back for a full list of destroyed and damaged items and an explanation of why you shouldn't call an electrician first if your TV blows up... and I promise, it is a good one!

Pop, pop, fizz, fizz

You know, when it rains, it pours. I've had so much fun over the past few days and have oh, so many stories to share with you! I'll have to split everything into multiple posts but I know both of you will be on the edge of your seats.

Monday afternoon I came home from work early to do some cleaning (Mom was coming into town that night). I turned on the washer and tried to start the dryer but it wouldn't quite start and then the laundry room light flickered and dimmed. I was just starting to get annoyed and a little teeny tiny bit worried when I heard the yells and a few pops coming from the family room. My roommate and brother were entranced by sparks and smoke coming from my TV. Then the washing machine starting making an un-godly noise so I opened the lid to make it stop spinning. Meanwhile the TV popped a few more times so I unplugged the surge protector (yeah, I had a surge protector) and roommate and brother managed to lug it near an open window away from the wooden tinder box typically referred to as an entertainment unit.

While throwing open windows and trying to work out what happened I heard a terrible noise from upstairs-- loud and very fast clicking. That turned out to be the chain of my fan as it whipped back and forth and hit the fan blades which were going mach-2. The fan was actually smoking and shaking like it was about to fall out of the ceiling. Cool, right? So I went (went = simple verb representing "ran in blind panic") back downstairs and turned off the power to the whole house.

Curious about what happened next?!? You should be! Stay tuned for a new episode featuring Richard, the electrician, Eric, the Progress Energy guy and the always-popular statement: "you're lucky your house didn't burn down"!

The Question that Follows

Some life events have questions that naturally follow those events. Though it's really quite rude, people always seem to ask the newly married couple when they'll be getting married. Even worse (and probably much less welcome) people who have kids always seem to be asked when they're going to have their next one. These are very personal questions but they seem to be tolerated in our nosy society, and I've just found a new circumstance for them: the single girl who owns a house.

Since I've moved in three weeks ago I have had several friends and coworkers - people who know me and know I'm not dating anyone - ask me when I'm getting married, or why I'm not. At first I didn't notice much (I get mocked pretty frequently so this wasn't really new) but over the past few days it's gotten worse.

I got my hair cut last night and the woman asked me no less than three times if I was married, or dating anyone or if my roommate was "a girl or a guy" (a girl: my friend, Emily. And I am not a lesbian). And this morning, the Orkin man asked me if I was married and then, after I mentioned my brothers' new bundle of joy, said "don't worry, you'll be next!"

Has it really become socially acceptable to comment on people's lives in this way? Orkin man spent five minutes looking at the ants in my kitchen before proclaiming me to be not only ready, but eager to procreate. Why is owning a home a cue for me to get married and/or have kids? I am not any more prepared to have a baby than I was 4 weeks ago. Actually much less prepared! And the guy situation seems to be getting gloomier, not brighter.

Suggestions on what to say to these people? They're so clearly waiting for me to say "Oh yes, thank you! I didn't think of that but now I realize I should get married and punch out some kids". The denial is depressing. I need some witty, sarcastic comeback that clearly says "fuck off". Ideas?

Cold Feet

I really hope that some day I look back through my posts, read this, and laugh. Actually, I doubt I'd ever laugh, but maybe at least breathe a sigh of relief.

I close on my townhouse in three days and I am terrified.

I am not excited. I am not relieved. I am stressed and tired and I think I have at least the beginnings of an ulcer.

I know I'm prone to worry, and I'm sure that's part of this. Plus work has been seriously high stress lately so the house stuff has almost taken a backseat; perhaps I feel I haven't been paying enough attention to the details.

But despite these excuses, a number of things that I know are legitimate are causing me great pause. There were a number of problems with the house (inspection turned up aluminum wiring, leaks and a number of other issues). The things that can be fixed have, but the wiring remains aluminum and, having had a house fire in the past, this is keeping me up nights.
I have a huge list of uncompleted tasks (packing, selling stuff, getting a moving van, doing pre-move work on the house, mortgage and insurance details) which only make me feel like I'm not qualified to own my own home. That feeling is reinforced every time a friend asks me if I've done x and I realize I never even thought about x.
Worst of all, I have a general feeling that I'm not as in-love with the house as I should be. I wonder if I rushed into this too quickly- despite the months I searched, I only looked at the house once and only for a short time before I made the offer.

Yes, I could "get out of this". But it would cost me $1500 and I haven't seen anything I like better. I'm not seriously considering getting out of it but I keep thinking that I really want this to be over and then I remember it won't be over until I sell the place. I'm so tired and so uninspired and I'm worried that come Monday I'll just be tired, uninspired and broke.
I don't know if all this stress is normal but I do find myself wishing (and this is rare for me though I know I whine about it on here enough...) that I had someone else, a significant other, to help me through this. Someone to tell me that it will be ok, to help pay the mortgage in case I become unemployed (or quit after this week) and someone who I know has to help paint and strip wallpaper.

Make an Offer

Now here's an opportunity to show what I know! I do now finally have a place under contract but it was a case of third times a charm. I made offers on two other places before I got this one. So I've been through the offer process a few times.

A lot of what's important may be in the negotiation, which is our next section. However, to begin you must make a first offer so:
1.) make sure you want this house before you make an offer. When you make an offer you are signing half of a contract and if they sign the other half, it's going to take some serious problems with the house or a lot of money to get out of it. This sounds obvious but apparently people get cold feet and decide they want out. You better know before you go in.
2.) "earnest money" is a sort of mini-down payment securing your interest in the house and your commitment to the contract. This is typically around $1000 or up to 1% of the offer. The more money, the more interest it may signify; more earnest money may give you a leg up in a multiple offer situation. You should get this money back at closing.
3.) there are several aspects of the contract you will have to fill-in. When do you want to close? How much damage (during inspection) is "too much" (negates the contract)? Do you have to have an inspection? What pieces or parts of the home do you want as part of your purchase? All these things must be clearly stated and each can be a point of negotiation.
4.) take a good look at everything before you make that offer. Be aware of the flaws and make sure (with your agent) that you're clear on what needs fixing before you take ownership. These details must be in the contract.
5.) this is the point where other things may come up. Known issues with the place (make sure you see a disclosure statement on the property) such as the existence of lead based paint. But don't let all this freak you out. Some problems are to be expected. All home built before 1978 have lead-based paint concerns. Don't panic; read the information, make an informed decision based on all the factors.

That's the high points of the offer. I'll only add that, to me, this was the most excruciating part of the process. The offer means you're interested, really interested, and waiting in agony for a day or more to hear the outcome. Just try to find something to distract you.

Home Search

I'm starting to fall behind and I'm literally in the middle of a session at a conference on how to blog right now so... call me inspired.

Searching for a home is typically everyone's favorite part of this process. This is where you wander around and look for "your" home. You'll learn a lot about what you can afford during this phase. All the photos of places you may have looked at up to this point will be very different in person.
You may realize you need to spend a little more money to get what you want (people rarely decide they want less...) but as with my previous post, I encourage you to consider alternative locations, types of homes etc. Sometime things that you never thought of end up working out better than you ever could have imagined.

I honestly think that 1.) most people don't need much help with this step and 2.) that any help you do need should come from a qualified real estate agent. And if you're shopping without an agent let me just say one final thing:
I'm finally under contract (yeah! more on this later) for a townhome that hadn't even appeard on my MLS site when I went to see it. If it hadn't been for my agent discovering it, emailing me, and setting up a time to see it that day, I would not have seen it (or even known about it) in time to put in an offer on a very popular place (it turned into a multiple offers battle). Real Estate agents are really a huge asset.

Pre-Approval vs. Pre-Qualification

Pre-Qualification: Answer some questions online or over the phone about what you make, what you spend, what your credit is like, what you think you can afford/want to spend. You answer as you decide. However you decide.
The amount you are "pre-qualified" for depends on what you tell the lender. This will not get you a mortgage, just get you an idea, again, based on what you tell the lender, of what you'll be able to afford.

Pre-Qualification: Fill out lots of forms, give personal and financial details that allow the lender to SEE (vs. hear it from you, you big liar) what you make, what your debts are like, and what your credit report says. This will allow the lender actually decide how much they will lend you and at what rate.
These days they'll give you whatever you ask for (to some extent) but the numbers will of course keep getting bigger depending on what you want to spend. They won't stop you when your monthly payments become 60% of your take-home paycheck. You get to hang yourself!
My suggestion would be to get a "Good Faith Estimate" from a lender. This will break down all the costs in the mortgage, the closing, the inspections etc. Some of this may be a surprise. You should also look for points on your interest rate- which allows it to fluctuate (sort of) even if you're looking at a fixed rate.

Complicated, huh? I can't figure out why there isn't a class on this in college... :P

The 10-step Program

Ha. I know what you're thinking... I'm missing two steps. Nope. This is the 10 Step Program to Home Ownership, which might drive me to drink and subsequently into the 12 steps but for now I'm just looking at the 10.

I've decided to document these steps here, and probably some of the in-between steps that they don't tell you about. I've already discovered a great deal of confusion and stress associated with the home ownership path, and the place hasn't even flooded yet.

Quickly, to clarify, I don't have a home in mind as yet. I actually have been through the first few steps of the 10, but I'm not to the point that I actually have ownership of a bathroom to flood. Yet. But I do want to tell you what these steps are so you have something to look forward to. Ok- "look forward to".

1. Define Needs for Your New Home
2. Pre-Approval vs Pre-Qualification
3. Neighborhood Information
4. Home Search
5. Make an Offer
6. Negotiating to Buy
7. Service Provider Coordination
8. Before You Close
9. Closing on a Home
10. Post-Closing
    

Please feel free to post comments about this process (the two of you reading my blog) because I'd love the feedback. The fact that I am writing about this should in NO WAY be used to infer that I know what's going on or have some valuable insight. I'm just hoping my inevitable mistakes prove a warning to others.

Enjoy.