Closing Time

Closing time, you don’t have to go home
But you can’t stay here

Closing time, time for you to go out
To the places you will be from
Closing time, this room won’t be open
Till your brothers or your sisters come
So gather up your jackets, move it to the exits
I hope you have found a friend
Closing time, every new beginning
Comes from some other beginning’s end

- Semisonic, 1998

In 1998 I was a sophomore in college, and I never could have dreamed I would meet such a wonderful man, have two beautiful children, and be successful enough in my career to be able to go sit in a little room at a little table, sign my name a million times, and buy this:

I'm wearing my lucky underwear, a green shirt, and my shamrock necklace.  Please let everything go smoothly today.  Jim and Cindy - it's time to get out.  Finally.

I'm baaaaaack

After a whirlwind and exhausting 2 day business trip I am back in business and a mere 4.75 HOURS from getting inside Dream House again! 

Today is the walk through, tomorrow is the closing.  So far, so good.  We got the receipt for the repairs we asked them to get done.  The loan is all approved and good to go.  And we approved a form that the realtors needed to exchange so that we can talk directly to Jim and Cindy about possession. 

It all seems too good to be true, doesn't it? 

3 funny things....
1) Cindy asked us (through the realtors) if we wanted an entertainment center they are using in the garage for storage.  I can not for the life of me remember what this entertainment center looks like but we said "free furniture, sure!"
2) Subsequently Cindy asked us if we wanted to buy the turtle and his tank that they have in the breakfast nook in the kitchen:

that's it there in the corner. 

She said it was worth $400 but she was willing to give it to us for $75.  We said "No, thanks."

3) Remember the TV lamp I bought Mr. Molly for Father's Day? Well I went over to BFF's house to see if I could install the lamp and get the TV to work.  Much to BFF's hubby's dismay, that $38 lamp made it work like a charm and now he's in even deeper doo-doo for rushing out to buy a brand new TV.  Great news for me, bad news for him.  Can't wait to pick up our new 61 incher next Thurs.

Molly's parents are set to arrive on Independance Day to see the inside of Dream House for the first time and help with the move.  The following weekend we rented a UHaul to pick up some furniture from Molly's Grandma's house.  We will be getting:

• Dining Room Table
• 2 twin beds
• Dining room server thing
• Amazing desk that I LOVE b/c it has a lot of sentimental meaning
• And whatever else strikes our fancy... maybe some dressers/mirrors

All of that for the cost of the UHaul ($350).  That will be a good start but there will still be lots of empty space in Dream House for a while and that is perfectly fine.  This is seriously going to be one of the best week of my life, starting... NOW.

Artwork

We went to the Art Fair today.  The point was to get ideas for a couple of spaces in Dream House that are going to require art.  Namely, above the fireplace and some nooks that have spotlights on them.  We had no intention of buying at all, just trying to see what we liked and if Mr. Molly and I agreed.  We have never really bought artwork together before.

We took the kids with us because the mall that housed the art fair has a splash pad and train set that we thought they would appreciate.  It was a very pleasant day. 

We didn't buy anything but we did take cards from a couple of artists.  The first one was Rich Backer.  What we liked in particular were pieces like this

that would be all metal and could be mounted in the bar area in the basement.

The second one was Helen & Cydney who make Hand Fused Kiln-Fired Glass.  We liked their pieces and thought they would look nice under the spotlights in the nooks.  Unfortunately they don't appear to have a website so I can't share it with you.  Through some Internet stalking I did find another artist named Barbara Schulman-Kirwin who does something similar. Here are some examples of her work

Finally we pulled the card of an artist from Saginaw, MI named John Galbo.  He is pretty traditional but had some big beautiful pieces that could look good above the fireplace.  Hard to pick out a particular one to show you... I have to see my stuff in the room first to know what will look good. 

So that was the art fair.  Tomorrow we rest and try to calm the nerves in our stomachs that stem from the week that lies ahead. 

Parade

Mr. Molly and I got a sitter and went to the Parade of Homes on Friday night.  My goal was to get some ideas for Dream House as far as decorating and furniture placement.  Mostly I wanted to get ideas for the kids "big boy rooms", the basement, and the staging of the family room.

The houses in the Parade were just ok.  Lower price points than last year and several non-custom homes.  The best thing about the Parade was that it made us appreciate Dream House even more, mostly the neighborhood.  With these new homes you just don't get neighborhoods with established trees.  There was not a single yard that came even close to comparing to Dream House. 

I tried to take pics of the stuff I liked. 

This was a cool kids room.  I especially LOVE that nightstand and I thought it was need how they had those bars to hold books above the bed.  I like the metal shelf as well for trophies and such.

On the wall opposite of the bed were these cool metal baskets mounted to hold toys, papers, etc. 

In general, the basements were not that impressive.  They were either over the top, or basically a big empty room.  One thing that did catch my eye was this cool chalkboard on one whole wall. 

Mr. Molly wasn't too impressed so I don't know if we'll actually do it in our basement. 

That was pretty much it as far as ideas for Dream House.  I told you it was slim pickings.  The two coolest things I saw were a wall in a study that looked like a bookshelf but opened up into a closet, and this awesome wall in a great room:

Up above those are all spots for wine bottles and on the left is a sliding ladder that you can use to get to them. 

Sorry for the low quality of the camera phone pics.  The place was packed so it was really hard to get pics. 
I'm glad we went.  It was nice to have a date night and to give ourselves even more reason to appreciate the Dream House.

Close

This morning Mr. Molly took the liberty of adjusting the countdown on our AH refrigerator.  I came downstairs and noticed it was adjusted and was shocked.  I think the countdown started at 46 days and every single day I have been the one to change it. 

Today it went form 13 to 12 (days till we get the keys) and all of the sudden Mr. Molly took an interest.  I asked him why and he said "well, I'm excited."  I said, "you ARE?!?" because a conservative Texan doesn't show excitement the same way a liberal Italian does.  And he said "Yes, because it's getting close now."  Apparently to him 12 days is officially "close."

We can also tell it's getting "close" because all of the sudden RL and MG have started emailing and calling us after a month of silent waiting.  RL has the walk through and the closing all scheduled.  MG has a couple of last minute documentation items he needs (of course).  The point is, we are back on their radar screens.

I need to find out what time on July 4th we get possession.  According to the contract it is 3pm.  But I know that's just a time and not the real time.  If I can get in earlier, I might see if I can get the carpets cleaned.  Jim and Cindy have a big dog and I'm not sure what the state of the carpets is as a result of that.  It can't be too bad b/c we didn't even notice they had a dog until we did the inspection.  Jim and Cindy are smart.

This weekend we are doing two Dream House related things.  Tonight we are going to the Parade of Homes to check out what cool ideas the designers have come up with that we may want to copy.  If I see anything cool I will take a pic and share it here.  Either Sat. or Sun. we are going to an Art Festival at a local mall.  We have a lot of spots in the Dream House that will require artwork and at this point we are just going to get ideas and maybe find a local artist that we like.  Either way, it's fun to dream.

5 lbs

Well, somehow I have gained 5lbs since May 3rd.  I really shouldn't say "somehow."  As someone who has been on WW (on and off) for the past 9 years I know exactly how I gained 5lbs.  Knowing is only half the battle. 

I guess in the grand scheme of things, 5lbs in 7 weeks isn't THAT bad.  Unless you extrapolate it out to an entire year... then it would be 37 lbs a year.  That's singleton pregnancy weight right there.  Not acceptable.

What to do, what to do?  How to switch from Movin' on Up to Movin' on Down?  The first thing is to write a letter to the people in charge of the AH and tell them that a "furnished" apartment should be furnished with a scale.  I don't know why I expected there to be one, but I did.  They gave us an iron and a vacuum, 2 things that I NEVER use, so why not a scale?

Part of it is not having a scale for the past month.  Part of it is not writing down any points or tracking any food.  Part of it is my birthday/mother's day/BFF visit.  Part of it is exercising less. 

Whatever.  The point is, it's time to get back on the wagon.  Things are about to get busy up in here.... no more sitting around from 8-10pm watching TV every night.  Next week I've got a business trip, the walk through, and the closing.  The week after that is the move.  Movin' and shakin', and hopefully movin' on DOWN in the weight department.  Unfortunately, hoping is not enough.  I'm going to actually have to DO something.  Sigh.

Little Twinges

I haven't been inside Dream House for a long time now.  The last time was May 9th, almost 6 weeks ago.  I can still look at pictures online and drive by of course, but it's the feel of the house that I miss.

Honestly, I try not to think about the actual house b/c I can drive myself crazy.  I'm not one to plan out rooms or dream about paint colors... I leave that to Molly's Mom.  I definitely did not get that gene.  However, every once in a while I get a little twinge.

This morning I am driving to work and look down and see my pants are dirty.  It is very possible that they became dirty during the wrangling of the little ones from the AH to the car to the school.  However I think it's more likely that the lighting in the bedroom and closet make it so I can't really see if my pants are clean or dirty.  As I'm thinking about this I get what I call a little twinge.  It's just a quick mental vision of my master closet in the Dream House.  All white, built in rods and drawers and shelves, high ceiling, plenty of space and light.  And I just think, I want to be in that closet.  When I get in that closet, I will not wear dirty pants anymore.

9 more days till I can get inside Dream House again.

When I open the freezer door in AH there is inevitably an avalanche of boxes and bags that fall on my head.  The freezer is tiny and for this microwave-cook, frozen food is my lifeline.  When I open the AH freezer and a bag of frozen fajitas hits me followed by a box of frozen lasagna and some mini-pancakes I get a little twinge.  Quick mental vision of Dream House's huge freezer the size of a full refrigerator in all its stainless steel glory.  When my frozen foods are in that fridge, I will never have corn dogs falling on my head again.

10 more days until I own Dream House.

So many little twinges all the time.  The shower with 5 sprayers and room for two.  The private water closet part of the master bath.  The awesome tile work in all the baths but especially the half bath downstairs and the Jack and Jill.  I can just envision our new 61in TV perfectly in the basement and myself grabbing a coke zero from the fridge down there and settling in to watch Big Bang Theory (latest obsession).  Molly's Mom making ribs in Dream House's double oven.  My kids running around in the backyard while we sit on outdoor living furniture on the brick patio.  These little twinges come and go, but I try not to let myself dwell on them. 

15 days until we move to the Dream House.

Pretty Great Week

This week ended up being pretty great.  This is despite the fact that I forgot to take my happy pills 2 days in a row resulting in horrible nightmares last night.

Monday I got a massage at the chiropractor and figured out the cause of my back problem. 
Tuesday I got to go to a baseball game during work.
Wednesday we got our escrow check in the mail, FINALLY.  With this we are pretty financially set to pay our 20% down payment and have pretty decent savings still left which is a huge win in my mind.
Thursday I lost 0.6 lbs at Weight Watchers and the boys did not throw a fit at being separated for their music class.  My son won over all the teachers at the music school by serenading the entire waiting room with a pretty excellent rendition of Rainbow Connection, wearing a Kermit shirt and strumming a banjo guitar.  Moments like that make me tear up with pride.

Friday is today and only 2 FREAKING WEEKS until our closing.  Tonight the boys get much needed haircuts and we kick off our fabulous Father's Day Weekend.

On the docket for Father's Day Weekend:  bounce house, pool, jazz fest, and brunch.  Along with gorgeous weather.

Also this week, I got to watch a lot of Storage Wars and Big Bang Theory on the AH's DVR.  The best thing about the DVR at the AH is that one person can watch a taped show downstairs while another person watches a taped show upstairs.  AT&T u-verse is really da bomb.

I forgot to tell you that my dearest friend decided to sell me her freakin' awesome 61in TV to go in the Dream House basement.  It needs a new lamp, which arrived in the mail today.  So this weekend we will attempt to repair it.  I owe her a shout out for storing the TV in her dining room for us for a month until we get to move.  Mr. Molly's Father's Day gift is this $38 lamp that will ultimately give him a great TV for his new man cave.

Let's Try This Again

I erased the last post because it was too depressing.  I know, it's probably a party foul to delete a post you wrote but you know what? it's my blog and I'll delete if I want to.

One part I will repeat is that my 4yr old son has taken to packing up his things and telling me "I'm going to load up your car so we can take this to the new house."  I think he is done with the AH.  However, I'm pretty happy that he's so excited about the new house.  Both boys like to look at the pictures online and talk about their favorite parts.  I keep telling them how much they are going to love the backyard. 

Mr. Molly threatened to take down my countdown on the fridge last night.  I think I convinced him that I am just hormonal and that the countdown is not the cause of my mood swings.  Poor guy.  He makes a good point though, right now we are all healthy and happy and we should enjoy this time together.  I need to figure out how to "be here now."  (Ironic since I'm writing this at work and absolutely not being here now)

I keep expecting to hear from Mortgage Guy (MG) with a list of ridiculous demands.  I know the closing is not for 19 days (in the teens, baby!!) so he probably has more pressing issues.  I'm just wondering when the ball will drop. 

For now I'm going to focus on this weekend - FATHER'S DAY!!  And this guy:

who is amazing.

It's all a Numbers Game

If you know me, you know I am and have always been obsessed with numbers.  I am a numbers person.

When I was little, I was the first person in my class (can't remember what grade) to be able to count forwards to and backwards from 100 and count to 100 by 2s, 3s, 4s, and 5s.

A little older and I was the first person in my class to memorize all my multiplication tables.

In 5th grade I moved to a new state and was so advanced in math that I couldn't take it with the other kids and the teacher had to give me one-on-one lessons.

In high school I took AP Calculus and took the harder AP test and got a score that allowed me to skip straight to Calc 3 in college.

In college I was one of 4 people in my class that graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics.

My first job out of college was as an actuary and I proceeded to pass 5 exams for the Casualty Actuarial Society in 5 years.

In my head, I am always always counting.  When my boys are coughing at night and I'm trying to figure out if they will fall back asleep, I count the seconds between coughs on the monitor.  I know if I can count to 120 between coughs then they will be able to fall asleep.  When I can't fall asleep or if I want to see if I can take a short nap I count to 300 twice which equals 10 minutes.  If I can't fall asleep in 10 minutes I move on to something else. 

My kids could count to 30 when they were 2.5yrs old.  Now they can count to 100 and they can count to 30 in Spanish. 

I'm telling you all this so you understand why I'm always giving countdowns and why I'm so obsessed with how many days are left till this that and the other thing.  Numbers are my thing.  It's what I do. 

So without further ado... here are the numbers:

• 20 days until our final walk through
• 21 days until our closing
• 26 days until we take possession (get the keys)
• 27 days until we move out of temporary housing, get all our stuff out of storage, and start getting settled into our new life. 

Appreciate

Here is a list of 20 things that I have been reminded to appreciate over the past 3 weeks (in no particular order):

• Good pillows, sheets, and blankets
• Front loading washing machines
• Having a job
• Comfortable couches
• Girlfriends
• Double sinks in bathrooms
• Attached garages
• Glass shower doors
• Large freezers
• Dual control heated mattress pads
• Metro Parks
• Mr. Molly
• Online shopping
• The way my parents raised me
• The library
• Target
• Nice sunglasses
• Fabulous shoes
• Thick hair
• Diamond rings

FOUND: Sunglasses and Pillow

You may remember from this post that I lost my sunglasses.  They had been missing for a month and I was sick of squinting so I declared them goners and bought an el cheapo pair at Target on Sunday.  Monday, I found my beautiful D&G's. 

I  know you're thinking the irony is that I found them right after I bought new ones.  Au contraire mon frere.  The irony is that I found them in my gym bag.  Yep, that pretty much means I haven't worked out for a month.  There is a minor exception because when I go to my Advanced Double Step class on Sundays I don't bring my workout bag.  But that was 2 times in the past month.  If I was better about exercising then I would have found my sunglasses and saved myself some squinting and $16. 

However, the most glorious find of the day was my PILLOW.  One month ago when BFF was visiting she gave me some wise advise and suggested I get a huge plastic bin and put bedding, pillows, towels, paper plates, etc in it for the first night in the new house so I don't have to search in boxes.  I followed her advice and packed my bin as I was packing up my house.  I brought the bin to AH and promptly stored it in the coat closet under the stairs thinking I would not need it until the move to the Dream House.  I am so stupid.  My PILLOWS were in that bin.  It dawned on me last night at 10:30pm and I ran downstairs and ripped apart the coat closet.  Ran back upstairs and woke up poor Mr. Molly and forced him to choose a pillow.  Then I had the first good nights sleep in 2 weeks.

Oh happy day!!!

Surprised Myself

I drove by the old house today.  I really thought I'd drive by all the time, but I have not been there since the day after we turned over the keys, 11 days ago.  There were a couple reasons for this (going out of town, not wanting to bring the kids anywhere near there, etc) but I still surprised myself by staying away so long.

It wasn't all that exciting and I don't think I'll go back.  Jack and Jill haven't taken care of the yard at all and they put some random stuff on the front porch.  The back yard is full of kids toys, just like ours was.  They are going to be just as annoyed as we were at the slope of the backyard.  There is not a lot of space for toys to be functional.

Tomorrow Jim and Cindy's daughter, Brenda, graduates high school.  They are probably having a raging party tonight.  Hopefully they don't trash the Dream House.  After that their "out of town guests" will leave and they can focus on packing up and moving out.  Hasta la Vista!

27 more days.  I went to the grocery store today and most of the things I bought expire after our closing.  But not the milk yet, the milk expires June 16th.  I did see this car while driving to work the other day:

His temp plates expire on our closing date.  Mr. Molly thinks I'm weird for taking this pic.  Probably true.

I took a "strengths finder" test at work yesterday as part of a team building exercise we are going to do.  Within the description of my #3 strength it said "You are very impatient."  Also true.