Nov 30th.

The last few days have been a fun, refreshing, busy, tiring whirlwind. Friday we popped into town to pick up some gifts for people, then hung out with Ryan and Renee for awhile. We went over to their house and watched the Jeff Dunham Christmas special and hung out until midnight or so.

Yesterday, we met my parents for some awesome BBQ at this little hole-in-the-wall joint that we love, and then went to see Transporter 3. Later Bev and Kait stopped by so Bev could see the house, and then headed over to Jon and Bev's house to watch Hancock (at like 10pm). I worked on knitting a scarf. Overall, it was a blast. Unfortunately, I've been feeling a little gurpy lately, so the last few days weren't quite as fun as they could have been.

Today, I feel like I got hit by a bus. Again. And I also kind of feel like I could puke. Church was not fun. I felt like I was going to either pass out or throw up the whole time. Yay. I think my day will be devoted to sleeping, knitting, and watching TV. Which is unfortunate because we have a LOT of work to do, and today is the last day we have power at the apartment. Maybe my hubby will decide to be amazing and tackle it all himself. Who wants to take bets?

Money. Moolah. Green.

So, with us not having a TV or all that many investments to worry about, I'm probably more out of the money loop than most people. But I do know the obvious--the economy isn't so hot right now. And as I mentioned before, with work the way it is right now, every once in awhile I wonder whether or not buying a house was the right thing to do or not. I KNOW that we're perfectly capable, and we've done budget after budget that demonstrates that it is. But because our first mortgage payment isn't until January, we don't feel like we're in the swing of things yet. Additionally, there have been a lot of one-time expenses that will settle down after this month, but will also make things tight this month. December and January are undoubtedly going to be tight (though yesterday we did purchase 7 Christmas presents for a a total of about $40!), but I'm hoping that things will slow down in February along with tax time. I don't think I've EVER been this excited for tax time!

Although I'm trying not to count our chickens before they hatch, we are expecting a fairly large tax refund for several reasons--first, my husband is silly and never changed his withholdings once we got married, so they're still withholding like he's a single guy. Second, we're eligible for and plan to take advantage of the $7500 tax "credit" available to first-time buyers. So we're thinking that our total return will probably be around $10,000. Now, I know financially saavy people recommend having withholdings changed to as little as possible, and putting that money into a savings account so that while you owe taxes come tax-time, you've made interest on it. I can obviously see the benefit, but practically, that probably wouldn't work for us. Plus, this lump sum is going to be such a blessing on our lives. We've tentatively outlined how we'd use it all when and IF it happens:

Approx $2000- Laminate wood flooring in living room, carpet remnants in bedrooms.
Approx $253- Extra car payment.
Approx $800- Lump credit card payment
Approx $600- DIGITAL SLR CAMERA!!!
Remainder (hopefully at least $4000) to be put into a high-interest savings account. I'm sure we may purchase some other goodies in there too though.

Our rationale is simple for the above items--we've always known the house would need new carpet. They're really gross, and really bad for my allergies. As for the extra car payment, our bank sent us a "skip a car payment" voucher, which we elected to do this month to give us a little more discretionary income for Christmas. However, we don't want to extend the life of our loan, so this is a great compromise, and will allow us to switch payments over to the 1st of the month instead of the last day of the month. As for the cc, our cc's both have a max of less than $2000--this was at our request, though we could have qualified for more. So, although our debt is small, I'd still like to bring our balances due down a little bit. As for the DSLR, it's just something that I've wanted for a really long time, and my darling husband suggested this might be one of my few opportunities to get it. It would also allow me to think about doing some photography on the side--mostly just for fun and stress relief.

Plus, Justin and I both believe that when the economy is down, it's important to stimulate your local economy--that's why most of our purchases will probably be made through locally-owned businesses, even if we have to pay slightly more to do so. That said, we also want to start re-building our savings, since buying a house seriously depleted it!

Turkey Day

Well, it's over. It's amazing how much time and energy goes into planning Thanksgiving, and then it's done in like an hour. For the most part, I think it went well. I was mostly too busy to notice. Here's some pictures though:

Making the brine--which was basically the bane of my existence. On Wednesday evening I ended up having to transfer the turkey to a cooler to brine thanks to the leakage all over my fridge.

Makeshift table setup with person I don't know and Justin's dad in the background. Yeah, talk to me later about person I don't know.

I really don't like bare walls, so I threw up the EW ceiling tiles in the dining room for now. I'm not sure they'll stay, but it's all good.

Today, I kind of feel like I got hit by a bus--I didn't have much to drink, so I'm thinking that it's probably because of my allergies. I took my prescription this morning, so I'm hoping to feel better later. They're always really bad after I get a shot, and nothing helps.

Other than that, we have to venture into town to pick up Justin's paycheck--I'm scared for how small it will probably be. Then, as much as I try to AVOID the Black Friday mess, we may hit it up because we need to get going on Christmas presents, and sales certainly help with that. We have 20 people to buy presents for, plus 4 birthdays in December this year, so December is a busy month for us, and sales certainly help.

Turkey in My Eye.

So, I woke up early this morning to battle cleaning the massive 24 pound turkey and preparing it for brining today. This turkey was a different brand than my tester turkey, so I was surprised to see that the legs and everything in the cavity were zip tied together, and secured to the inside of the cavity somehow. Um, weird. And of course, there are no scissors in the new house yet. So, I'm sawing at this zip tie business with a knife and trying to yank the thing out of the stinking turkey. Somehow, some way, the whole innards of the turkey came flying out and splattered all over my face. And turkey blood and guts went into my eye.

Now, Renee, Kait, and Lisa can probably already tell where this story is going, but for those of you who can't, let me clue you in. I have an EXTREME eye phobia. So extreme that it took me years of surviving practically blindly before going to the eye doctor, and when I DID finally go, I cried the whole time and eventually had to be sedated. This was like last year. Seriously, I hate looking at eyeballs, I hate touching my eye, I hate putting eye drops in my eye, and I threw up when I watched Requiem For A Dream. SERIOUS. EYE. PHOBIA.

So now that we're all caught up, you can imagine the trauma I experienced this morning. My hands are covered with turkey guts, turkey guts are in my eye, I'm trying to fumble around for soap to wash my hands and then flush out my eye. All the while swearing like a sailor and wondering if turkeys can contract AIDS, and if so, if it could now be passed along to me.

Finally, I get washed off and try to wash out my eye. This is a feat in and of itself because I almost throw up any time the water comes close to my eye. I then leave a message for my eye doctor explaining that I got turkey blood and guts in my eye, and I'm not sure if washing it out is sufficient, or if I need to do anything else. They tell me that I should be fine, but that if I suddenly stop being able to see out of that eye, I should come in. You think?

So then, eyeball is flushed, turkey is washed, it's time to get that sucker into the brine that I cooked up last night so that it can soak for 24 hours. I've read that the best way to brine is in the extra oven bag. Great. I get the turkey all situated in the oven bag, and start pouring in the brine. I get to the last half gallon of brine, and somehow, my turkey roasting bag of brine turns into a brine fountain and starts spurting brine all over the kitchen and counters. I still couldn't tell you exactly what happened other than I lost about a half gallon of brine. So then I got to clean that sticky mess up.

This all happened before 8am this morning. I'm dreading opening the fridge when I get home for fear that the bag decided it was time for another brine fountain, and fountain-ed all over my nice new fridge. That would figure!

It's just been one of those days. But I guess at this point, all you can do is laugh.

Stressed.

I am still trying to rest, and discard the burdens that I wasn't meant to bear, but there are several things that are seriously stressing me out right now.

1. I cannot find my SLR camera. Anywhere. No, it isn't a digital, but it's the only SLR that I have. I can't find it anywhere at the house and scoured the apartment as well. The last time I remember having it was for Kelsey's senior pictures. A major bummer because I was hoping to have it for Thanksgiving. Plus, I hate that it might still be at the apartment while the rental agency is showing the apartment. Suck.

2. Money. The economy is really starting to stress me out. Justin was off work by 3pm today because there just wasn't any more work for him to do. My dad stopped by my work today and told me that he's applying for some jobs with the school district. He owns his own contracting business with VERY wealthy clients, and he said that while he's still doing jobs that he already has booked, he hasn't had any new calls for painting, decking, stonework, or remodels. Basically, people aren't doing ANY cosmetic construction, and are even electing not to do some needed structural work unless it's an emergency. And we're just at the BEGINNING of the financial recession. This worries me because a) we just bought a house, and b) most of my family is in construction, with several family members being in cosmetic construction.

3. Thanksgiving. There is still so freaking much to do, and I'm tired and all I want to do is watch Fringe.

Rest

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
-Matthew 11:28

I've mentioned that I've been feeling weary the last few days. I'm trying to make this verse my motto, because right now, it is only through God that I'm finding rest at all. I think it's about time that I cracked open "Travel Light" again--if only I could find it. I only have time for a quick update now, but I'll attempt to post more in depth later this evening. Blessings on your day!

Edit: Picture changed because the last one was apparently way too big.

Sleep.

Today at church, I got to put Logan to sleep. Renee told me that he hadn't slept much the night before, and he and I typically have a sleep understanding at church. We went outside, sang Teddy Bear Picnic and You are My Sunshine for awhile, but he was just fighting sleep like no other. Finally, I took him inside to the bathroom ('cause with the lights off it's really dark), and he plonked out within the first You are My Sunshine. He stayed asleep most of the rest of the service, and was just cuddly, and I loved every minute of it. At one point, Renee came over and asked if I wanted to keep holding him or if I wanted her to take him. I definitely wanted to keep holding him. I have baby fever like crazy right now, and there just isn't anything better in this world than having a sleeping kid snuggle up in your arms. It was absolutely the best part of my day.

Afterwords, Justin's parents and my parents stopped by the house. Later, Ryan, Renee, Karla, and James stopped by with the kids. It was great to be surrounded by family and friends--though it did make me realize how small the house is going to feel on Thanksgiving!

We got a $47 dollar check back from the title company after closing on the house, which was great. Money is definitely a little tight this month with all of the added expenses that accumulate when you're moving into a house. Plus, I am kind of a perfectionist when it comes to hosting things--I want everything to be PERFECT when people come over for Thanksgiving--fully furnished, decorated, with gorgeous place settings, etc. Even though people are making food to bring over, I want to make all kinds of appetizers, drinks, and desserts--I really feel compelled to go all out. Which is not exactly something that's within our budget right now.

It's amazing how empty our fridge looks right now. In the apartment with the smaller fridge, it was always jam packed. With the big fridge in the house, it feels like it's always empty. And consequently, I often feel like there isn't any food, even though there clearly is. Isn't it interesting how our minds work that way sometimes?

Allergies.

Most people are surprised when they learn all the many things that I'll allergic to. My allergies are particularly bad this morning, so I thought I'd do a little pictoral of some of my MAJOR allergies. There are countless more that just aren't worth mentioning at this time.

First up, hay.
Also, Christmas trees.
The buttons on jeans
Gold jewelry
As well as silver
Grass
Tomatoes (but I eat these suckers anyway for sure)
Eggs
Again, these are Evergreens, but I'm basically allergic to all trees.
Annnnnd dust mites.

Turkey and Vodka.

Today's been a busy day. Ryan and Renee stopped by on their way into town, and we just chatted for a bit. Mostly about nothing. It was good to see them, and their kids. Ryan helped Justin move in the infamous china hutch, which I still despise and Justin loves. How did I end up with a husband that feels so strongly about bedskirts, stemmed wine glasses, and all things wooden? Needless to say, despite my hatred for the hutch, it does make a nice spot for all my alcohol related glasses, and consequently I've basically turned it into a bar.

Later in the day, my parents stopped by. They helped us move a box of stuff over, and then brought Kev over to see the apartment. I think we got a lot accomplished, though it doesn't particularly feel like it. There is just still so much to do. And so much shit still in our apartment--but it feels like the house is already full. I have half a mind just to throw everything else that's left in the apartment away.

I have a tester turkey in the oven right now. I will probably use an oven bag on actual Thanksgiving day, but right now I'm testing without one. I basically followed PW's recipe, but without brining, and adding some spices under the skin. I really hope that I turns out--and I'm so glad that I'm not doing my first one ever on Thanksgiving!

Edit: I just realized that I never explained the vodka--while cooking the turkey, I enjoyed a lovely strawberry, pineapple, banana and vodka drink...mmmmm good! Unfortunately, the combo of turkey and vodka is making me VERY sleepy!

Twilight; The Movie

So, we went to see the Twilight movie last night at 10pm. When we arrived at 9, there was already a huge line. The theater employee accidentally directed us to the incorrect "back" of the line (it wound around like an amusement park line), and he actually put us almost at the front of the line. Haha, suckers.

Overall, the movie was pretty decent. It was totally campy, but I was expecting that. It stayed fairly true to the books, which I liked. The audience was filled with teenagers, and they yelled things out en mass through the movie--it almost felt a little like Rocky Horror.

The thing that really cracked me up/irritated me is that I ALWAYS get stuck behind the people that want to talk through the whole movie. The couple sitting behind us last night obviously hadn't read the books, and were just talking the whole time.But the most bizarre was a 15 minute discussion of timber during the baseball scene. It went something like this:

(Panoramic view of Washington woods)
Guy: Ohhhh that's some nice timber right there!
Wife: Sure is. Lots of timber too.
Guy: I bet they can actually cut down that timber.
Wife: And rightfully so. It's beautiful timber. What kind do you think it is?
Guy: Well, I'd guess Douglas Fir. The leaves look pretty pointy.
Wife: I don't know, I'm leaning toward Evergreen.
Guy: Nope, not Evergreen.
Wife: Well it ain't Douglas Fir.
Guy: It's beautiful Douglas Fir timber.
Wife: Nah, maybe it's some special Washington timber.

Seriously. I always get stuck by the people who talk. I don't know why people seem to think it's okay to talk through the whole movie. Especially loudly. And especially about freaking timber!

Oh what wicked webs we weave...

Work today, made me completely irate. I wish that I could give specifics of what happened just to make you all completely understand the situation, because it is a serious ethical issue going on here, and I am now in the midst of it, essentially in a whistle-blower position.

Basically, an employee for another agency was instructed by his supervisor to recommend something in court that he felt was unethical. He told his supervisor that he couldn't truthfully make that recommendation, and that as the only person from his agency that actually had contact with the child, he would not make that recommendation. His supervisor told him that if he didn't, she would consider it to be insubordination, and that he would be fired. He was IRATE today in court, and basically put up no fight. Of course, we won (though I have to say that I think we would have anyway). He pulled me aside after, explained what was going on, and swore me to secrecy, but I had to report it to MY supervisor, because his advocating for what he felt was unethical significantly impacted the agency that I work for. Keep in mind, we're not talking private law firms. We're talking public agencies and human services non-profits here.

I have a feeling that this minor recap without the SIGNIFICANT associate details probably won't seem like that big of a deal. But let me tell you, this is a serious ethical issue at hand. You can't instruct someone to LIE in court, and tell them that if they don't they'll be fired!!

Okay, I'm done ranting. I think I'll go watch Top Chef and then take a nap before Twilight at 10pm tonight. Can you believe the theater is recommending that people arrive 1-2 hours early?!

Genuis!

So, I hate updating my iTunes to the newest version. I avoid it as long as possible--usually until I can't buy anything new from the store before making purchases. Which is exactly what happened last night when I attempted to purchase Top Chef (LOVE!). So I reluctantly upgraded to iTunes 8.something. And Justin proceeded to snatch the computer away from me for the next hour and a half to play with the newest addition to iTunes, which is called Genius.

I have a feeling we're was behind on the times here, but it really is pretty cool. Basically, you click on a song in your library, and Genius creates a playlist for you of songs that go well together. I'm pretty much the master playlist maker, and I have to say, it does a pretty good job. A playlist created from "The General" by Dispatch yields songs by State Radio (which is basically Dispatch), Steve Miller Band, Weezer, Incubus, OAR, Rusted Root, etc. Definitely all music that would flow together well.

When making the playlist, it also pops up with recommendations for songs that you might like as well. I'm finding this aspect doesn't work so well with really obscure bands, or things that weren't purchased from iTunes, but is pretty awesome for more mainstream stuff.

For once in my life, I'm telling y'all to update your shit!

Oh, Turkey.

So, the thing I'm most stressed about in terms of Thanksgiving is NOT that we've just moved into the house. It's NOT that we don't really have seating for 14 people. It's the dang turkey. I've never cooked a turkey before, and there are just so many questions. I'm thinking about following PW's recipe for a turkey, but she doesn't really specify time frames. And I NEED timeframes. Plus, I'm hearing contradicting info regarding whether or not to brine pre-injected turkeys, like Butterball.

Another one that has great reviews is here. Again though, there seems to be controversy about how long to cook the damn bird for. Not to mention that I'll probably need a 24lb. turkey rather than the 12 pounder she used!

Normally, I can take a recipe and roll with it--adjust it as needed. However, I have never cooked a dang turkey before, and have never even really LIKED turkey, so I don't really know what to do here.

Faithful blog readers, how do YOU do your Thanksgiving turkey?

If I had a crush on a fictional character...

It would definitely be on Jacob Black. I know, everyone is team Edward. But I am NOT. For the same reason that I hate movies like My Best Friends Wedding. I am always rooting for the good, perfect guy that doesn't get the girl--the one that supports her through her crappy relationship with someone else, just because he loves her that much. The one that doesn't leave. The one that loves unconditionally.


I HATED HATED HATED the story line in the 4th book. I think I'm going to pretend that it didn't happen.

Thoughts from the Cafe.

So, I don't have time to go back to work between court this morning and court this afternoon, so I'm taking my lunch in a little wireless cafe. Lucky for me, I had my laptop in the car. Here's what I'm thinking:

• Ugh...I tapped one of the DHS state-owned cars with my bumper when I was backing up this morning. I got out to look, and there wasn't even a scratch, so I just left. But I always feel bad not leaving a note...especially when it happened right in front of the courthouse. I never know what you're supposed to do in that situation? Leave a note anyway? In the cities, people constantly tap each other's bumpers when they're getting out of parallel parking, but here, people don't, and I don't know what the expectation is.
  
• I'm still getting over my cold. I've been taking my prescription-strength Sudafed courtesy of my allergist. It's only available by prescription here in Oregon, because we're the meth capital of the world, and Sudafed makes great meth, apparently. I've gotta say that I can see why! I'm totally jittery, and even though I took it at 1pm yesterday, I couldn't sleep last night. My thoughts were just racing and racing. The pharmacist also told me to be prepared to not be hungry at all. Is it terrible that I was completely excited to hear her say that? I'm ashamed to say that my first thought was "Oh good...it's basically a legal form of meth! Maybe I'll end up a skinny minnie like the meth moms!"
  
• I have definitely gained weight since we've been married. They warn you about the Freshman 15--why don't you ever hear about the Married 20?! Much to Justin's happiness, most of it is going right to my boobs. When we got married, I was barely a 34B. Last week, I bought a 36C bra, and this week, even THAT feels a little small this week. But my hips and booty have definitely taken a hit too, and that's caused me to be totally self conscious lately. Even though I have FIVE GARBAGE BAGS OF LAUNDRY (just my clothes), I feel like I have nothing to wear. And yes, I know that's way too many clothes.
  
• Speaking of gaining weight, it apparently shows even in my fingers. My wedding ring doesn't fit anymore. We need to get it resized, but in the meantime I've been wearing a fake cubic zirconium ring that I had when I was working in college. People have been complementing me on it non-stop today. I chuckle to myself every time. I still love my ring more though, even though it doesn't look like a typical wedding/engagement ring at all.
  
• There's a couple next to me in the cafe that's practically intertwined. They are like an inch away from each other, and are having a VERY intense conversation. There are flowers on the table. I keep trying to eavesdrop, but they are just too far away for me to hear what they're saying! I wish I were a fly on the wall next to their table.
  

More Pics

So, here are some more pics from the house--again, still nowhere near done, but this gives a little bit better idea of colors and what not.

In some of the pictures, our walls look white. This one of the door is just to show that they're not actually white walls.

Kait and I were the bookshelf QUEENS

The stupid floating shelves STILL aren't up. I'm not sure I'm ever going to convince Justin to finish! He got so irritated when he missed the stud!

Improvisation

Like our table? Gotta love the improv that comes along with moving. It was definitely a great night hanging with Kait and Stump--though I think Kait and I got each other sick. I am starting to feel really crappy, which is only bad because there's so much that needs to be done.

Photos!

Aren't these vases cute? And they totally go with my turquoise obsession. Can you believe that I found them at the dollar store?

Justin and I at the end of a long, long painting day looking like dweebs. A million thanks go out to my parents and Ryan & Renee for helping us out with the painting!


Okay, so here's the living room. Keep in mind several things: 1. It's night time and we only have one light. 2. This is obviously not the final arrangement. You can kind of see the look we're going for here--cool colored walls balanced out with the dark dark furniture. The wall behind the couch will eventually hold three floating shelves (right now they are the bane of Justin's existence), which will house pictures and such. The couch will obviously be centered. We do have some tables we could use as side tables, but they are totally not my style, and I'll probably veto them unless we restain them. The wall to the left of the couch will be a wall of short book shelves. I was actually going to do the floating shelves above the bookshelves, but the bookshelves were higher than expected. I'm tempted to do another wall of pictures above the bookshelves, but may end up doing two large mirrors instead.

Hi dad! Looking down the hallway

Kitchen here. Obviously. None of these colors photograph particularly well, but it's all good. This color is actually supposed to be more green than than gray, and it is sometimes. Both of our paint choice so far (I've yet to see Cumberland Fog) change colors through the day like crazy.

Almost Home.

Well, things are really almost starting to feel like home here. Almost all the rooms are painted, and pretty much all the big stuff is moved in. And I've gotta say, I'm really liking how things are coming together. There are just a few things that need to be purchased, put together, and hung. I'm hopeful that by the end of the week, at least the living room will feel like HOME. I also plan to have some pictures in the next few days, but blogger is slow today.

Kait came over this evening, which was such a blessing. I needed a friend tonight--I've been in a really sad mood all day. I'm having a difficult time not shutting down completely. This weather doesn't help--I always tend to be depressed in the winter, and the news from yesterday has kicked it into high gear. It's weird though, because Justin and I are so excited about the house and moving in...but also just sad, upset, and have a little bit of hurt feelings. We UNDERSTAND the situation, and why the choice was made, and we will support our friends in whatever they decide, but it's also hard not to be sad. I'm sorry that this is so cryptic, but the news hasn't been fully announced publicly, and I'm not entirely sure who reads this blog. I do know that one of the people I'm referring to does read the blog, and I hope she doesn't take offense to this. It's just hard to imagine life without them here. And it's hard to think that we might not see them again for a very long time. And Justin and I are just really sad. I don't know of any other word to use to describe the feeling.

Tomorrow is supposed to be my day off, but it won't be. It's actually going to be quite a crazy day. I am anticipating that there's going to be some drama. I'm hoping there won't be. But I think there probably will be. I just hope that it doesn't come from my husband.

Quick Update.

Today, we got most of the new house painted. Living room, hallways, dining room, and kitchen are all done. Master bed is the only thing left to be done (we aren't painting spare bedrooms or baths for now). None of the paint is exactly what I had hoped for, but it's growing on me. Hopefully, we'll be able to move some of the big furniture in tomorrow.

I got some sad news today. Some friends will moving across the US. I was left pretty speechless, and my heart is definitely heavy. I understand the decision, but I'm still praying for another way right now. I know that's selfish of me, and I really should be praying that God's will be done in all this, and not my own. But right now, I'm just sad and want things to end differently.

Also, the situation feeds into a psychological complex that I have. When I was in high school, about 4 friends of mine died over the span of a year. When I think back on high school, grief is the first word I think of. After that, I made a few new friends, we became close, and then most of them moved away. We didn't keep in touch. It felt like grief all over again. Since then, I've found myself putting up walls--not letting myself become to attached or too close to others, for fear that they too will die or end up moving away. I know it's irrational, but for the longest time, I honestly thought that it was ME who caused the situations to occur. And for a long time, I didn't really let anyone all the way in. Even if we were close, they were still at an emotional distance. With the aforementioned friend, I made a conscious decision NOT to put up a wall. To work hard at jumping into the friendship with both feet. I am praying that I will be able to continue to keep my guard down until this person leaves--I know I will be battling with myself not to be putting those walls back up now that I know they are leaving. I have a tendency to do that--to almost sever ties preemptively so that it doesn't hurt as much when that person is gone. I am trying hard not to do that here.

I know this probably doesn't make much sense to most of you. Friends and family members of yours probably move all the time, and it's no biggie. I KNOW. But to me, it just feels much closer to the cold grief than anything else. I understand, but I'm also sad.

Undone.

The things left undone are weighing on me. Came home yesterday sore and tired from painting. Justin said, "Babe, you rest tonight. I'll pack." I said okay. Laid down with a heating pad. And Motorcycle Diaries. Justin read Twilight for several hours. Started packing at 9pm. Maybe two or three boxes. I tried to tell him that I would feel better and be able to rest if I packed a few more boxes first. It's hard to relax when things need to be done. 

Jeff Dunham-A Night to Remember

So last night, Ryan, Renee, Justin, and myself made the 2 hour trek up to the casino to see Jeff Dunham. I know what you're thinking--a guy with puppets? That's exactly what I thought. Before going, Ryan, Renee, and Justin loved the guy. Me, not so much. But I think he may have converted me. For those interested, he has a new show on Comedy Central Nov. 16th. Be forewarned, it's funny, but pretty crude.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about the night. I seriously thought that with all the effort it took to get out of town, the universe was telling us DON'T GO! Here's what happened:

1- On the way out to the car, I stepped in dog crap that one of our neighbors neglected to clean up. It was just a crappy day for me in general (HA!). Didn't realize it until we got to the car. By then, I got it every where. Purse, floor, top of other shoe, etc. Stopped at Justin's shop to hose me off .

2- Went to BK for dinner. In the line, Renee realized she didn't have her ID. Since we were going to a casino, we had to have it. She thought it was in their car, parked at our apartment. In his excitement about getting Renee's ID, Justin drove off with only half of our order (they chased him down).

3- Got back to the apartment, and Renee's ID was not in the car. That meant it was at home, about 35 minutes away. We were already pushing the time to get up there, but headed over to their house.

4- Once we started going, Justin slammed on the gas, thus throwing Ryan's drink onto the floor. Renee responds, "Mere! Ryan's drink landed in your purse!" I responded that my purse was up by my feet, so it had to be her purse--haha ;)

5- In the process of cleaning up the drink, we realized there was another odd substance on the floor. Turns out, when Justin hammered on the gas, a bbq sauce container also exploded on the floor.

By this point, we were in hysterics laughing so hard. The night continued to have some damn funny parts, including Ryan and Renee breaking into their own house, and Renee talking about liking the word "wang" because "it feels nice on her mouth". We all have dirty senses of humor and LOST IT.

Despite our best efforts, Renee and I did NOT get tipsy. Our best efforts included running to the bar for vodka shots 3 minutes before the show, a Chambord Royale, a Lemon Drop, and Captains and Coke. Weirdly enough, we skipped the tipsy and went right to almost hungover. Guess it was the cheap alcohol at the casino. After the show, we played some penny slots, then headed home around midnight (two hour drive) since the boys had to work this morning. Sorry boys. Overall, it was a lot of fun :)

Update on Today

So, after I updated this morning, things went from bad to worse. I really want to lay out all the bullshit drama on the table here on my blog, but my gut instinct is that it probably wouldn't be a good idea since it's mostly work related. Basically, the situation is that there are two people in the office who don't get along. They both essentially try to start arguments and get each other in trouble--one does it FAR more often than the other does, and when it comes to the one who doesn't usually start the drama, when she DOES, it's far more often reactionary than anything else. And to tell you the truth, sometimes I don't blame her for as much crap as she puts up with. I don't have a problem with either one (I am finding myself in the peacekeeping role a LOT), but sometimes it feels like they both want others in the office to take "their" side. They want dirt about the other person. So anyway, a miscommunication that happened about a photo shoot this morning turned into way more drama than necessary. Whatever.

One of the good parts about the day was that I came into work and vented about the whole situation--the deck, the miscommunication, some family frustrations, etc. to another co-worker. She has a background in mental health, and is a VERY strong Christian, and just a great source of encouragement. She and I talk often about the Love Dare, and so she gave me some great ideas and words of encouragement. After talking with her, I felt like such a jerk for being so snappy with my husband when he called that morning. For example, she suggested that rather than snap ( or just stew) at Justin the next time he pops on a movie instead of helping me pack, that I could say something to the effect of, "Babe, I can see you've had a rough week at work and need some time to relax. I'm happy to handle the packing now--but do you think that you might be able to do most of the loading/unloading on and from the moving truck?" Doh. She's totally right. He HAS had a rough week at work. And he WILL be doing most of the loading/unloading. And I probably wouldn't like how he packs things anyway (thrown into a box rather than wrapped, sorted, etc).

So, I got home from the allergy appointment, and the front porch is already 90% cleaned off. I immediately called Justin to thank him profusely. Remember how I said that I had been snappy at Justin on the phone? When he called, he was on his break from work and headed back to clean off the porch. Normally, he would have made it back before I left for the day, so I wouldn't have even been upset when I went to leave from work. But little did he know, I left early today to go help with a photo shoot (that I didn't end up needing to be at anyway). So he was mad at me for being snappy about something that he was already on his way to do, and I was mad at him because I had left early, and as far as I was concerned, it still hadn't been done (nor did I know he intended to do it).

I am now at home, slowly getting ready to go see that comedian tonight, and drinking my diet pepsi. I am now a much happier camper. Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement!

Not happy.

I am having a serious difficulty loving my husband right now. Why? Because our front porch is covered with a combo of mud and human shit. And it has been for about a week. And I cannot TELL you how many times I have asked for it to be cleaned up. And it hasn't effing happened. Justin has had time to watch Anaconda. And The Rookie. And read two Twilight books. He hasn't been helping me pack, so that certainly hasn't been taking up his time (and another thing that is seriously pissing me off. He apologizes profusely that he hasn't helped, and then sits down on the couch and watches a movie instead of helping). He just simply doesn't seem to care. And I am beyond pissed.

So we are not going to be in town tonight, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, people are going to be helping us move. Which means two things:

1-Mud and human shit is going to get dragged all through the house.
2- They are all going to have to step in mud and human shit, as I have had to do all week because there is no way to leave the house without stepping in it.

I am REALLY pissed that it's even there to begin with. This is the precise reason that the shop has both a shower and a washer and dryer. But will my husband use either one, even when I explicitly ask him to? Noooooooooooooooo. And then he sees my look of disgust and promises that he'll clean it up himself. But does he? Nooooooooooooooooooooo.

Gooood Day.

Many good things happened today. We got the keys to the house (but can't actually go inside until tomorrow). I lead a training today, and heard from two different people that my training flew by faster than any other that they've attended this year--they said it was a testament to my ability to make even difficult subject matter interesting and entertaining. Awww

After that, I met up with MIL, SIL, Renee (who is also a SIL and so much more), Payton, Logan, and Stump for lunch (see below post).

After lunch, I headed over to see Kait, her momma, and her sister. Kait was chatting via webcam with her hubby (one of Justin's best friends), who is over in Iraq right now. It was great to see her hubby, AND I loved seeing Kait's adorable new haircut.

I accomplished a lot of box packing. DH is totally not into the packing. Honestly, I'm not either, but somebody has to do it!

Hippo and Giraffe

In college, I had the most fantastic roommate, Lisa. Well, I suppose that I actually had two roommates, but that's another story for another time.

In some moment of craziness, we decided to assign animals or Disney characters to all the members of our eclectic co-ed hall. It was immediately decided that I was a giraffe--I'm freakishly tall, and incredibly clumsy like a baby giraffe.

My roommate Lisa assigned herself a hippo. I have no idea why she's a hippo because she's neither fat nor ugly, but I suppose she does smile as big as a hippo does. Nevertheless, our room was promptly named "The Jungle", and ever since I've had a soft spot in my heart for hippos and giraffes.

Now, back to the present. Both Saturday and today, I ended up eating at McDonalds. Let me be clear: I HATE McDonalds. There is nothing there that I like at all, not even salads, because half the salads are covered in cilantro. Nevertheless, I was not the one choosing, so I went along. At McDonalds, when I'm forced to go, I order a chicken nugget happy meal with apples and milk--I figure it's a small portion and not all that bad for you. Without further adieu, here are the toys that I received Saturday and today:

A Few Things

1. Our real estate agent is going out of town. Of course. I think he's arranged to give us the keys tomorrow, but we are not allowed to actually go inside until Wed. or Thurs. when the title posts in our name. How tough is THAT going to be?!

2. Justin and I are reading the Twilight books. My sister gave the first one to me on the 2nd, and I'm now almost 3/4 of the way through the last book. Justin is on the third book. He is vehemently team Edward and I am absolutely team Jacob. I also have to say that I am SO pissed about the plot line that has developed in this last book. I have half a mind not to even finish the damn thi ng.

3. I am burnt out. I taught a university class tonight (how sociological theory interacts with child welfare). It was supposed to be my day off, but I worked all day and just got home. Tomorrow is also supposed to be a holiday, but I have to go in to finish training some of our new workers. I'm the one that's going to supervise almost all of them, so it makes sense, but I'm still a little bitter. At least I get to go in jeans and a sweatshirt.

4. Our apartment is in SERIOUS disarray. It's dirty, but I'm trying to hold off cleaning until we're all packed. No sense in putting stuff away only to then pack it all up again. But we're in the awkward half packed stage where we haven't packed enough to have any room for all the boxes, but have also packed enough that the boxes are now just in the way.

Paint Picked

So, after another trip to Home Depot today, I think we may have paint colors picked out. It's interesting because the swatches on the screen (i.e. online) NEVER look anything like the paint chips--I just hope that the paint looks like the paint chips!

Here goes. For the Living Room, we're going with Behr Silver Screen (cropped like this, it's the 1st column from the right, second down). We wanted a gray with some blue undertones. The paint chip is much more gray than the online chip, but when I googled the name of the paint, the rooms were pretty reflective of this swatch here. I can dig either the darker gray OR the paint as it looks here.
Next up is the dining room and kitchen, which are adjacent to the living room, so we wanted something that would flow, but would also be distinct. AND would match our green-ish blue plates. We decided on Behr Sparkling Spring (2nd column from the left, second down). In real life, the swatch has both green and blue undertones, but definitely more green than is shown here.

Lastly, the master bedroom. We decided not to paint the bathrooms or spare bedrooms for now, though we will be doing those eventually. Currently, we have a lot of light blue bedding, but I'm trying to transition from that to mostly chocolate brown bedding because my husband is always dirty. The man can step out of the shower after scrubbing for half an hour, lay down, and still sweat dirt. Gross, I know. Anyway, we're going with Behr Cumberland Fog (First column, second row down).

Isn't it Ironic?

I find it incredibly ironic that the people who have negative things to say about us buying a house are the ones who:

a) Don't really know much about our actual situation or ability to purchase a house.

OR

b) Think they have a good idea about what the real estate market SHOULD look like, but don't have any actual information on the real estate market HERE.

I've been hearing a lot of, "You should NEVER pay more than the list price on a house." OR "You should NEVER be the one to replace the carpet in the house--the seller should ALWAYS do that." OR "Aren't you a little young to be buying a house? Don't you want to make sure that you actually stay married first?" People, generalizations are the devil. Don't tell me that I shouldn't do something because your cousin's best friend's boyfriend's sister ended up getting foreclosed on for doing the same thing we're doing--first, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that maybe you might not know the whole situation with your cousin's best friend's boyfriend's sister. And I'm also going to go out on a limb and say that you PROBABLY aren't really familiar with our personal finances either. Therefore, you PROBABLY don't have any reason to give your opinion on this matter.

Isn't it ironic, dontcha think?

Houston, We Have a Fridge

Yes, we have a fridge. I bit the bullet, and finally decided to go to Sears after seeing they were having a 10% off plus 15% off if you use your Sears card plus no interest, no payments for 12 months sale that ended today. We need a fridge, and it would be much easier to pay off a fridge come tax time than to pay it off right now. Plus, we already had a Sears card, so we wouldn't have to apply for anything new.

I know that you're not technically supposed to make any big purchases while you're buying a house, but I'm thinking that since we already signed the paperwork (i.e. underwriting is already done), we're probably okay. AND, it was only $767 for a side-by-side with water and ice in the door. Not too shabby, even if it IS white and will clash with the other appliances. Oh well.

So, I really doubt that we'll lose the house because we bought a $700 fridge. The bank didn't seem to care that I had a $2000 balance with 76 that wasn't mine to begin with on my credit report, so it should be all good. See, I've always had AWESOME credit, and never really knew why. When we bought our house, I figured it out--it said that I had an account that had been in good standing since 1988. Keep in mind, I would have been 2 when I opened that account. At first, I was VERY confused as to what it could be. After doing some research, I remembered that when we were growing up, my parents had given us all a gas card from 76 to pay for gas as long as we were in school and playing sports. When I turned 18, we cut up my card, but my dad forgot to actually take me off the account. So, when I turned 18, I became considered a "co-owner" of the account. Consequently receiving all the benefits of my lovely parents that have paid their bill on time since 1988. Yaya.

Lastly, I have discovered that I LOVE "Berried Treasure" sorbet from Ben & Jerry's. LOVE. Seriously.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered.

Can you guess what we did this afternoon? I'll give you a hint, it involved lots, and lots of signing! Yep, we signed our portion of the closing documents today, and we should have keys by Wednesday of next week (would have been Tuesday if it weren't for Veteran's Day! Stupid bank holidays!).

So, if you're a friend or family member, we'll most certainly be putting you to work next weekend!

Up next....PACKING. And we now need a fridge.

Crack Dip and Yay for Old Navy!

I ordered a pea coat from ON online yesterday, and I'm so excited to order from the tall section and have a coat that actually will be long enough! I LOVE the blue one above, but I ended up going with black, because I already have a few colored ones, and always wish that I had a black one. Anyway, today I happened to log on to Old Navy to check my order and noticed that they had all gone to 50% off today. Of course. I order at full price and it goes to 50% off the next day. Figures. Anyway, I called ON, and they will honor the sale price! So yay! I wasn't sure about the sizing, so I erred bigger rather than smaller--I really hope that it fits!


Remember how I said that the best tasting things in life usually don't LOOK good? This is true here as well. I know, crack dip doesn't look particularly appetizing, but it is SO good. Hence the name...it's so good, it's like crack. Seriously. My version of crack dip is different than most people's so here it is:

Crack Dip:
1 box low fat cream cheese
1 16 oz container low fat sour cream
1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 bottle bacon pieces (try Hormel's 2.8 oz version)
pinch of minced garlic.

Mix all ingredients together, and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Serve over sourdough bread, crackers, or pretzels.

Accident.

I was not kidding you guys about feeling like I'm loosing my mind. I really am, and it actually kind of terrifies me. You all KNOW I'm a hypochondriac of the worst kind, so it won't surprise you to learn that in Marie Claire or Glamour a few months ago, there was this story about this woman who had Mad Cow Disease. They didn't catch it because she had been a vegetarian for like 20 years. Anyway, she slowly started to lose her mind--it started with not remembering people and appointments. She was diagnosed with schizophrenia, early onset Alzheimer's, etc. Later, right before she died, they tested her for Mad Cow Disease, and it was positive. The article mentioned that a very high percentage of people who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's test positive for Mad Cow Disease postmortem.

I have ALWAYS been terrified of losing my mind. Growing up, I watched my grandmother battle Alzheimer's, and it was the most awful, tragic, heart-wrenching thing I've ever seen. And as a selfish young person, I decided that I just couldn't visit her anymore, because I didn't want to remember her like that. But one day, she asked for me by name. She couldn't remember my mom, my aunt, or anyone else, but she asked why I hadn't come to see her lately, and point blank mentioned the last time I've been there. I don't think I've ever completely gotten over that guilt. Alzheimer's was terrible for both me and my mom. To this day, she tells me (quite seriously), that if she ever gets Alzheimer's, to just take her out to the woods and leave her there. So. I think we're all caught up. Terrified of loosing my mind, and currently feeling like I am, which was compounded this morning.

This morning I got up early to go to Safeway to pick up stuff to make Crack Dip for our work potluck. I'm in the store when I hear, "Will the owner of the Blue Kia please come to the front counter?" over the intercom. Shit. I run up to the front, and there's a lady standing there who starts screaming at me and pointing at some other lady saying, "You hit her car!" I already knew exactly what had happened because, unfortunately, this is not the first time this has happened to me. Non-screaming lady and I walk out to the parking lot (I almost took my full cart along with me...thank goodness I didn't!), and sure enough, I hadn't pulled the e-brake on my car which is now a STICK, and the car had rolled forward into another car. No damage was done, but I insisted that she take my info anyway, since it was early and kinda dark still.

I went back inside, paid for my crap, went out to the car and just started crying. I called Justin and started with, "Please don't me mad at me...I did something really dumb." And then started crying again. Justin was a doll--he wasn't mad at all. He said that this is exactly why we have insurance, and that he's not mad, just sorry I'm having a bad morning. Even though he wasn't mad, I was still mad at myself. 'Cause I've been having a LOT of these moments lately, and not only does it make me mad, I really do get paranoid that I'm losing my mind.

House

So, it sounds like we may be able to sign the closing documents for the house as early as tomorrow afternoon. Then, they'll fax the paperwork to the bank in Texas, and hopefully we'll be in by the end of next week.

Oh my God, I can't believe this is all happening. Wow. My "to-do" list just got a LOT longer! But definitely in a good way.

I slept through my alarm again this morning. I wasn't late for work, but I definitely had to do a very speedy get ready. I don't know what's going on with me lately. I feel like I'm in a haze lately. And Leah, can I just tell you how excited Justin was to hear your comment about pregnancy brain? Now any time I forget anything, he yells "pregnancy brain!" as loud as possible. Which is only going to be awkward when he does it in front of some family member who will end up thinking that I'm preggo!

Mood Board

So, this is my first mood board--both my first mood board ever, and my first mood board for the house. I've been hesitating to do one until closing is final, because it almost feels too good to be true. I am NOT one to count my chickens before they hatch. However, this is pretty much my scheme for any living room anywhere. It will also likely spread over into the kitchen/dining room because all my dishes are the same blue as the curtains. I just went with the basics on my mood board--I have lots of accessories that I just didn't add in, but will be included in the real thing. The other good news is that there are only three things on the mood board that I don't already own! Here's the breakdown:

1. Paint: I think we're going with a gray/greige paint color similar to Olympic's Silver Spoon. Though, contractor dad is very much against Olympic paint, so we'll probably get it color matched somewhere else. Ideally, I want a light neutral gray, possibly with some blue undertones, but nothing overt.

2. Furniture: We're mostly using our existing furniture--our brown leather couch seen on the mood board, and our brown micro suede "circle chair" as seen below. The throw pillows will stay for awhile as well. I also have countless blue, and blue green throws that we'll also be incorporating. I would eventually LOVE a quilt rack to put by the couch, but we'll see. As I mentioned earlier, we'll also have multiple bookcases. I like to color code them, so they will be a pop of color in the room too. We already have the brown leather storage ottoman as well.


3. Wall Decor/ Accessories: I'll be looking for an oversize mirror to hang either above the bookshelves or above the couch. I might get a cheapo Ross/Wal-Mart one for awhile until we can afford something that I love. Mirrors are expensive! The other usable wall will hopefully have floating shelves as well. I can't decide if I want espresso brown or white for those. Along with the bookshelves, they'll be the home to many picture frames, candles, and the Van Gogh Iris print. Those of you that know me already know of my affinity for purple irises.

4. Lighting. Okay, so lighting is going to be the bane of my existence. The living room has NO overhead lighting, so we'll need floor lamps/table lamps. I have been looking online all night, and have only seen one floor lamp that I kinda sorta like:

I don't even love the dang lamp. I might like it a lot more if it were a more white linen. Anyway, it's from Target and it's out anyway because according to the online reviews, there are some serious wiring issues that have almost resulted in a few fires. Yikes.

So, that's that. I'm hoping to maybe do a mood board or have a solid inspiration picture for every room in the house (save the man cave) within the next week. I don't know if that will happen, or if I'll even use them, but it's a good goal, I think. See, I'm probably going to be devoting most, if not all of my time and money to the main living spaces first. I'll move on to beds/baths later on as time and money allow (HELLO $7500 tax credit!). First on my agendas as far as those things go are a backsplash, and hardwood floors!!!

Today

Overall, today was a fairly good day. Here are a few of the things that happened:

1. JUSTIN IS NOT GOING TO WASHINGTON THIS MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is possible that he will go eventually, but not this month. Which means that we WILL be going to see Dun-HAM, and there should be no house closing issues. I also don't have to stay alone in this dreadful complex.

2. I picked up TWO bookshelves, and some curtains for less than $60 today. Granted, they were your cheapo no assembly required bookshelves from Target, but they were in espresso finish, and we have a TON of books. For as many books as we have, there's no need to be picky. I'm actually thinking about going back and getting a few more of the bookshelves. There's this one wall leading out to the garage that's sort of un-used space because it's in the line of traffic of the room. I'm thinking about lining that wall with 3-shelf bookshelves. It would also give some nice shelf space to display a few pictures/candle holders/etc. My other option would be to do the two bookshelves on either side of the couch, almost like high end tables. We'll see. I also got some cheapo curtains. They probably aren't the curtains that I'll end up with, but considering the house has NO window coverings, I'm sure they'll be used somewhere. I'm gonna try and make up a mood board of the living room. We'll see.
3. We voted! However, I'm much more tempted to go read some more of the next Twilight book than watch the election coverage. In high school, I was VERY political. I participated in campaigns, protests, the whole bit. Even in college, I was pretty damn informed. However, politics get me very worked up. It's like a car accident--I just can't look away! This year, without TV, I feel so much less devoted to the election. Don't get me wrong--I'm not uninformed--I'm just able to go find out about candidates on my own terms without hearing all the mud-slinging that ticks me off so much.

4. My bro got honorable mention for first team in football! I am so proud of him--from what I hear he's been a pretty damn hard worker for football this year, and it's paying off. It's been so fun to watch him play!

In The Dark

So, band practice the other night started out like any other practice...goofing around, me experimenting with the video camera on my digital camera and recording snippets of songs. However, the power suddenly went out. My darling hubby kept singing away like there was nothing wrong, thinking we'd just blown a fuse. In actuality, the power to the whole city was out.

For God Alone Snippet (Live, and complete with power outage):




So, we decided to light some candles, and carry on with an acoustic practice. And I decided to try some photography in the dark. Even though they're a bit grainy, I love how some of these turned out!

Missed Appointments

So for the first time, I missed a work appointment yesterday. Gah! I hate when things like that happen, and I always feel terrible. This one was especially bad because it was one of my advisers from college--I'm speaking at her class next Monday, and she wanted to meet yesterday to chat. So I feel badly that I missed a work appointment, AND I feel badly that I missed an appointment with one of my favorite college professors. I wrote her an email early this morning to tell her that I had been battling with a migraine all weekend, laid down to take a nap on Monday, and slept through my alarm.

And actually, I missed TWO appointments yesterday. I was also supposed to drop something off to Kaitlin to include in her care package to Jesse. I feel really bad about that as well.

I know that these things happen sometimes and that people miss appointments, but it doesn't happen to ME. It's a HUGE anomaly. I pride myself on the fact that if I say I'll be somewhere, I'll be there. And I hate that I wasn't.

Twilight and Houses

So, the weekend was a pretty darn good one. My Aunt Karen and Uncle Steve came down for the weekend, and we had a great time--caught a football game, went to see Eagle Eye, and ate at some great restaurants that Justin and I would never be able to afford on our own. It was such a blessing to be able to spend a whole weekend with MY family. Don't get me wrong, I love Justin's family too...we just end up seeing a lot more of them than we do of my family due to the band. The only downfall to the weekend was that I had my migraine ALL weekend. In fact, I had it all the way up until 4am this morning. I was seriously contemplating having Justin take me to the hospital because NOTHING was helping at all. Even my migraine meds weren't even taking an edge off. But I got up at 4am, took some Bayer, and miraculously the migraine was gone this morning. Thank GOD.

Over the weekend, my sister gave me the first two books in the Twilight series to read. I am usually not into sci-fi stuff at all, but they were rather enjoyable, and a quick read. I read the first book and half of the second yesterday. Justin's started to read the first book as well. I just MIGHT be hooked.

We went in and talked with our lender this morning. Can you believe that interest rates have gone up? Oregon Bond loan is up to 6.25%, and regular rates are like 6.37%. To give some reference, when we originally went in to get a good faith estimate, which was BEFORE the financial crisis, the regular rate was 5.75%. Anyway, we asked her to run a good faith estimate with the regular rate instead of the Oregon Bond, and I am a VERY happy camper. Instead of paying $2500 toward closing, we'll actually likely be getting some $ back! With the estimate as is, it looks like we'll be getting $100 back, and that's with the estimate showing that we haven't already paid for the inspection. Since we have, we SHOULD be getting back even more. With the difference in the interest rates only being .17, it's definitely more beneficial for us to be going with the slightly higher interest rate.

We talked with her about our concern about having a mortgage that's more than the cost of the house. It turns out that the $3200 is a fee that applies to basically any loan if you're not putting 20% down. We'd have that fee if we used FHA or any other type of loan as well. The only way to get around it would be to pay that $3200 up front. So, although I'm not extraordinarily happy about that, it looks like we're just going to have to do it no matter what. I'm hoping that with the money we'll be getting back at closing as well as our tax return, that we'll be able to make a lump sum payment by Feb. that will bring us back to the appraisal price anyway.

So that's that!