Sad Attempt

Wait.  What?  Oh my goodness!  Yes.  I'm back.  Not exactly a miracle, but if you wanna call it that, be my guest.  Honestly, this is just a short, sad attempt at reentering the blog world.  Baby steps.

Let's get real for a moment:  I haven't thought about this blog in, oh, 2 months.  At least.  But I've had other things to do, like live some life.  And build a house.  And hit some snags in the buying process.  And move in to said house.  And basically squat in said house for about a month.  And close on the house.  And then take light years to unpack.

So that's what we've been up to.  With a spot of work somewhere in there.

But enough of that!  Onward!  Sort of.

See, there are no photos of the house.  Yes, they've been promised for a while now, but seeing as we still have boxes in some of the rooms, I feel like it'd be best to show none.  It's all or nothing. 

But maybe as consolation, you would like photos of a certain Lou who just got a haircut?

He was quite tired from getting beautiful this afternoon.  I know how it feels.  It's a wonder I'm not always about to fall over from exhaustion due to getting pretty every morning.

Burp.

No updates in over a month and it's about to be a little longer.  Since we're moving very soon, I don't have a lot of creative downtime and there aren't too many updates one can't get from Facebook.

I will be back once everything is up and running at our new abode. 

Until that time comes, adios!  I have some other blogging ventures I am trying out in the mean time!

House

Hi hi hi hi!  I think I'm finally back from a long break of no blogging.  I've been moderately busy and my mind has been taken up with a lot of things I won't bore anyone with on here.

Before I go on, I want to give a shout out to my favorite coworker who I know is reading this!  Hi B!!  He's partly the reason why I felt like I needed to finally get back to writing already.  I needed a little bit of a push to stop being lazy.  

Anywho, Jarred and I have been really biding our time since early March when we got approved for a home loan.  I can't believe only a month has passed since we signed the papers to begin construction on our home.  I've posted some photos to Facebook, but I wanted to put them here as well. 

 This was the first day we went to go visit the site.  We were surprised the builders had already done this much work.  We didn't see them level the land or anything, it's almost as if the foundation *poof* appeared!

 Mom gave us a penny from 2010 (the year we got married) and Jarred threw it down into the foundation's corners. 

 We're both happy, but really, I'm not too excited yet.  We've wanted this house even before we got married, so it's been a dream for a few years now.  Now that we're in the process, I feel we're more focused on anything but the emotional aspect of the house.  We're going to be letting our landlord know we're moving soon and then we have to think about actually moving -- which I'm not looking forward to honestly.

 Okay, this was the second time we went out to see the site.  The builders had finished the foundation walls.  They had also moved in all the gravel to be poured in the foundation after they did a termite treatment. 

 That was the first time Lou saw his soon-to-be home.  I was a concerned mama about him walking all over the gravel, but as Jarred always reminds me, he was once an outside dog.  Lou even laid down on the gravel and got comfy real quick.

 This was what we found today!  The gravel has been poured and the plumbing has been installed.  I think the next step is to pour concrete over everything.  We were finally able to walk out to the eventual backyard.  It's all dirt of course, and Lou got some very dusty feet from it all!

I'm hoping to get a photo like this each time we visit the site.  It will be fun to see the house being built, almost like a virtual flip book. 

We have been going out twice a week to see the work.  We have not been out while the guys are working yet, but we have a scheduled framing visit at the end of the month.  I know we eventually won't be able to take photos like this because all the work on the outside will be done for the most part. 
I really can't wait to see the walls up!

Signing Away

Tomorrow is a big day for us!

Jarred and I are signing the papers tomorrow to make the building process an <almost> done deal. Once we sign off on the design and construction tomorrow, the builder will begin ordering supplies and begin obtaining permits. The next step for us personally is to get the loan officially approved.

I'm truly hoping that every step of this process is smooth sailing. I've heard too many horror stories about loan approvals that make me super nervous that something will go wrong and the bank will come back with a 'Never mind! We don't want to give you a loan after all!' As unfounded as that may be, I'm still going to be a wreck. So Mom and Dad, just let me worry -- it's my thing, you know.

This past week was a lot of fun, though I worked 8 days straight. It's only part-time though, so I don't have anything to complain about. Except my gas usage. 

Little Sis turned 21 and we celebrated with her by getting manicures and eating lunch at a favorite restaurant.

Seriously, wasn't this kid JUST born?  Time has flown and now she can do whatever it is that 21-year olds do....


We ended the weekend by taking Mom, Dad and Sis to view a model of our home.  I think they approved and Mom was definitely digging our kitchen!  I didn't feel right taking photos of the model home -- not sure whether that was allowed or not -- so we only got a few photos of the plot of land that is currently overgrown weeds and mud but will become a home in a few months time!



I'm going to come home tomorrow with a hand cramp from signing all those papers!

Selection Saturday

(via Instagram)

While the rest of the country is worried about Selection Sunday tomorrow, Jarred and I got to spend today doing much more important selections:  On our home.

This has been the longest and the shortest week ever.  Longest because I can't believe only a week ago we were having our first meeting with our builder.  It's been a short week because I worked everyday (which is unusual) and had a lot to do.  

Regardless, Jarred and I were so looking forward to today.  We had been told that selections take between 4-5 hours, but we only took about 2.5.  Jarred and I have poured over our options all week and went to the meeting today knowing with 90% certainty what we wanted.

Nothing is set in stone until we sign the papers in blood, but we're so excited to begin the process and to eventually show off our home!  As of now we're looking at sometime in June or July and these next 4 months can't go fast enough.

After our meeting, Jarred and I drove over to our little plot of land and walked around it.  I'm proud of us and our home coordinator.  She fought hard for us over that piece of land.  We're so happy to have it and look at our tree line!  With a wide open field behind that won't ever become houses, Jarred and I are truly the most blessed people.

It's hard to imagine that this piece of land will have a house sitting on top of it by the middle of the year.  This is a dream that Jarred and I thought we wouldn't be able to achieve for many many years.  How amazing it is when things fall into place, right?

Absence

Oh my word.  It's already March y'all!

I haven't completely forgotten about blogging but it's been hard to find anything remotely interesting to say because life is a blur right now.

Jarred and I have been doing some Spring Cleaning off and on this past week, but even so, our place seems to looked as trashed as it did before.  We've got quite a few bags to take to Goodwill soon.  I hate cleaning but ask me if I enjoy purging our home of things -- the answer is heck yeah.

I've also been working some good hours that keep me busy and make good money!  I've been picking up extra shifts where I can because we're going to need all the money we can get!

'Cause we're buying a house and all.

What was that?

Yeah!  We're buying a house!

Jarred and I are in the pre-approval stage right now but will begin the loan application soon.  We got the call this past Wednesday that we were in the clear to begin house hunting. 

Celebrations were to be had that night at Moe's.

 

(Instagram pic off my phone)

We began the search Friday.  We already had an area of town in mind and made an appointment with the builders.  We were there for about 3 hours.  I personally left super confused about what I wanted in a home.  I thought I knew before yesterday but then once I viewed some of the models, I felt totally different.  Jarred and I talked extensively about our options and decided to make another appointment with the builder for today.

We went in today with clear heads and asked to see another model we liked, as well as a model we had seen Friday.  Tonight confirmed which house we wanted.

I'm not sure exactly what it's supposed to feel like when you find 'the home'.  Maybe it's like the feeling women are supposed to get when they find 'the dress' for their wedding day.  I never had that, so I can't compare.  I only had 'the feeling' when Jarred and I went to pick out my engagement ring.  I saw it.  I cried.  I knew.  With my wedding dress, I liked the dress.  I thought it was beautiful.  So I wanted that one as my wedding gown.  Happily ever after.

I thought I would get that fuzzy feeling when I saw one of the model homes.  I thought there would be an overwhelming feeling of love for a particular space.  But I didn't get that.

As Jarred and I talked last night about the different homes we had toured, we kept coming back to the same one, saying the same thing:  "It felt like home."

Then we toured again today to make sure.

Yeah, it definitely felt like home.  Jarred and I both honestly want to move in now.  But alas, the home doesn't actually exist yet.

Anyway, we're still in the beginning stages of our loan and home selection, but as of right now, it's moving along at a nice pace already.  We'll be choosing our features on the house next week and we are so excited!

I know I won't be updating as frequently anymore because we'll be so busy, but I hope to check in at least once a week.  This is going to be a great (but stressful) few months!

Happy Birthday

Why the long face Schmoo?  It's your birthday today!

My awesome hubs -- I love you all the time... even when you pull a face like this. 

There Is Power in Pressed Powder

*Note:  I don't actually used pressed powder

*Double note:  I won't pretend to know anything of substance about fashion or makeup.  I use what products work and I use trial and error until I achieve a look I like.  However, it should also be noted that I'm a novice artist that really understands value or light and how it affects an object (ie: my face).  

 I've greatly enjoyed having an ULTA in our mall.  I could probably spend hours in the store and it wouldn't be difficult to spend tons of money.  Over the past few months, I've invested in good quality makeup that should last for a long while. 

Jarred and I have had a few funny discussions about what women who wear tons of makeup 'really' look like.  It may be a little cruel (maybe not), but I got a good laugh from the horrified look on my husband's face when I showed him a picture of Kim Kardashian sans makeup.  Here's a link to a Google search, just in case you were wondering.  Of course, that's one extreme, considering that she's a celebrity. 

I truly think that ordinary women like me have this notion that they don't look all that different with or without makeup.  And that is a load of bull.  Ladies, we look way different without makeup on, but our husbands continue to love us, thank goodness.

For the sake of proving these women wrong, I decided I'd be a makeup martyr.  So I snapped photos of myself without makeup and then with a finished face.  None of the photos have been altered accept for positioning them in a collage format in Picasa.

On the left we have 'before' and on the right we have 'after'.  Obviously.

Don't play - makeup is awesome.

Breaks

Sometimes breaks are necessary.

Trust me, I visit the blog and sit for a while in front of a blank post every single day.  Today is the 20th day of 2012 and this will only be my second post. 

So what have I been up to this month?  The usual.  Working, spending time trying to clean our home, and the occasional craft project.  There has been a little bit more sleeping involved than I would care to admit, but I have every reason to cut that bad habit out.

Tomorrow may be a little bittersweet.  If I had continued on the college path, I would be heading back to class on Monday.  In fact, it was about a week ago that I officially dropped my classes.  And I bawled like a baby to Jarred before I did it.  He told me I still had time to think about it, but I couldn't agonize over a decision any longer.  I dropped my classes online, exited out of my Internet browser, and didn't look back.

Though I would have enjoyed the classes this semester, it's for the best that I am skipping college at least for a while, working my little part-time job to earn us some saving money and focus on truly bettering myself.  Jarred deserves that in a wife and I should expect the best from myself.

I digress.

I'm taking a break from school, but hopefully this small break I've been taking from blogging won't be as long!

Currently, Jarred and I are sitting in the computer room.  He is playing Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii while I watch him. 

This afternoon my iPhone decided to take a bath.  So it's under a lamp in a bowl of rice drying out.  Hopefully it will still work so we don't have to shell out money for a new phone.  Because, let's be honest:  once you go iPhone, you don't go back.

At least I have a great hubs that cured my sniffles with a trip to Panera Bread and the mall. 

And without further ado, I finally have a couple of pictures with my beloved Hunter rainboots:

 Opening my gifts from Jarred on my birthday.  Turns out the 7s I asked for were too small, so we had to order 8s.

Got my 8s in the mail!

2012

Last photo of 2011.


We're 1 hour into the new year.  

2011, you were great.  But time only moves forward.

When I look back, I guess we did have a pretty busy year.  We celebrated my mother-in-law's marriage, Jarred turned into a mid-20-something, we vacationed in the mountains, moved across town, celebrated our 1 year anniversary, I got a job, and turned 24. 

Hopefully 2012 will be just as busy.  I've decided that this year there will be no plans.  If there were any, I'm throwing them out the window.

Let's live a little.

Let's have fun this year.

Let's go with the flow.

Welcome welcome Baby New Year! 


I wish a very happy beginning to 2012 to all bloggers and readers out there!

First photo of 2012