Meet my Little Friend....

Do you see him?! Perched between the crevice of my cubicle wall and the countertop? Yup, that there is a stink bug. But since he is in the perfect spot where I am unable to get to him and kill him (or rather ask one of the guys to 'flush' him), I shall call him Harold. :)

I'm electing him as my cubicle mascot! Good ol' Harry just chillaxin' all day like it's his job. No worries. No chores. Just being all awesome up in my cubicle biz-nat.

And you wanna know why I named him Harry? B/c he is not hairy at all...ha... hA! But I like to call him Harold. Much more sophisticated. Dont'cha agree? And I call him a 'he' becuase he is ugly. And ugly girls do NOT exist... at least according to those Dove commericals. All girls are beautiful in their own way :) Therefore, I come to the conclusion that ALL stink bugs must be guys! ta ta til next time...

Out with the Red, In with the New

It's times like this that I wish I knew how to sew! I've been wanting to learn for years now, but have not made the time or space for a sewing machine. You see, my latest pet peeve is mine & Ross' red couch:

If only there were a way to cover the red nicely! Sure, I don't mind it so much in this picture with the white throw and white pillows, but you see, that was just my way of trying to get rid of the red.....8 months ago! Now that we're buying a new house, I give myself an excuse to redecorate, and I'm done with red. OUT. Nada. No More. BUT you see, we don't exactly have money for a new couch, so I have to make do with what we have. My solution was a sofa slipcover:

Awful, right?! Any suggestions? Of course, I think it would help if it weren't so wrinkled! I literally pulled it right out of the package in all my excitement and threw it on the couch. I'm tempted to wash and dry it to get rid of the wrinkles, and if I still hate it, I may still try to return it!

I want to bring greens, yellows & neutrals in the new house, so my other ideas are to buy a green-ish throw to drape over the couch, maybe 2 to break up the white, and some colorful pillows. Do you think that would help?! I'm really at a loss. I guess it's worth a shot to accessorize first and then return it if I still hate it. But sadly, I think I'm willing to work with this, as ugly as it may be, than live with red for any longer. Too bad I couldn't just sew myself a customized slipcover. Now that would be 'snazzy' :)

My suggestion to my future self? Always buy neutral-colored furniture and accessorize with colors. Much cheaper than buying brand new furniture after only a few years of wear & tear.

An Overdue Celebration

Last December, I told Ross I would take him out to dinner once he graduated from IUP with his Master's Degree to celebrate all of his hard work. Little did I know he would choose one of the most expensive restaurants in all of Pittsburgh... Monterey Bay on Mt. Washington! So I jokingly said, "We can't afford that! Why don't we go there once you get a job and we'll celebrate both!" So, 10 months later, he landed a job at NHS Human Services as an HR Generalist (even though it's only part time at the moment, it will turn into full time in a few months) so I finally took him up on my promise! I'm so happy for him and happy to have finally taken him out for a special celebration :) Even if it IS 10 months later!

This is before dinner, before the sun had completely set.

Ross striking a pose with the view of Pittsburgh.

Apparently I'm not nearly as "model-esque" as my hubby,
as this was the 5th photo taken before I got a decent shot! ha

We requested a table by the window so we had the breathtaking view of downtown Pittsburgh at night in all it's 'lit-up' glory :) It was beautiful. Dinner was great too! Ross took advantage of their specialty by ordering anything 'seafood' from the menu while I stuck with crab cakes for dinner (it was either that or a steak since I don't eat fish!). For dessert, we had a Neopolitan Cheesecake (or as I like to call it, "Napoleon" :) It was a great night out, and even though I really don't care to get all dressed up to go out....it was a nice change. But what can I say.... our 1-year Wedding Anniversary was celebrated with Pizza & a pitcher of Beer at one of our favorite pizza places, Sir Pizza :) Now THAT's my kind of celebration!! We are so "high-class"....

**HOUSE UPDATE**

In case anyone is curious, there always seems to be one more obstacle with the house, but it's all coming along. All utilities are turned on as of yesterday. The bank paid the water company the outstanding charges, so that's squared away. NOW we've found out that we need a plumber to come light the water heater and de-winterize the house (which we were all unaware that the house was winterized to begin with!!). Luckily for us I have a family of plumbers and have them coming out Thursday morning, before the home inspection at 3:00 :) Ross & I are anxious to hear how the inspection goes..... by this point I don't think that there's too much that can take us by surprise! Or I possibly just jinxed ourselves! Adios til next time....

Scaredy-Cat (And no, not our mailbox)

I hate confrontation. Really hate it. I'll do anything to not have to hear yelling, even if I'm not the one getting yelled at. I used to lock myself in my room as child when I heard people fighting. Still do. Although Ross & I NEVER fight...ever....never... Really. ........anywho!....

Here's what happens when people are mean to me on the phone:

"Richland Water, how can I help you?"
"Yes, I'm calling to see if I can get the water turned on, at a house my husband & I are in the process of buying."
"What's the address?"
"6100 ******** Lane"
"Well that house has delinquent charges and we are NOT turning the water on until they are paid."
*I'm all bug-eyed and shocked*
CLICK!

SHE YELLED AT ME! It may not sound mean, but she said that last sentence in a very rude tone. So the best way I can cope is to just hang up! HA.

So now we've found out that there is a Water Lien against our future home, and we're trying to square that away, before the Home Inspection. I guess its just one step at a time.

Here's to still hoping we survive and can reconcile anything that goes wrong along the way :) I REALLY want this house, so I don't want anything to stand in my way.

Home Sweet Ugly Home

Ross & I had an exciting weekend....we looked at our first house! It was the first house we saw with potential .... our first inside tour of a house ..... and now our first accepted offer! That's right, we loved the house, the yard, the inside, everything, and put an offer on it Monday night. Tuesday morning at 10:00 am, Stephanie called to tell us that our offer was accepted :) First time's a charm?!

Before I get ahead of myself, maybe I should brief you on the house a bit. Here's a picture of our future abode (if everything goes according to plan, I'll get to that later!):


Isn't it so Frank Lloyd Wright-ish?! It's so unique, so lovely, so much potential!

And here are a few more pics:

This is another view of the front. That big window to the left would be our "living room."

Kitchen. It's the only updated room in the whole house, very modern-ish, I guess. I like the almost new gas range :)


This room comes off of the entryway when you walk in the front door. I think we'll make this a 'den.' Straight ahead is the kitchen and to the left of this room is the sunk-in living room.



Here's a good view of the living room. You can ignore my weird face :) Again, we have so many projects in mind for this room! Stay tuned...

This is the other side of the living room. Straight ahead is the dining room (with misc. furniture that was left behind that I'll prob. rehab :)

Here is our back-yard. I like to call this the "floating deck!" Even though we have an acre of land, this is pretty much our backyard for the time being. And it's very swampy, so when spring comes, we'll have to figure out how to fix that. I'd love to get rid of the deck and add a brick patio, but we have to figure out the drainage issue first I guess! One project at a time.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST...... Our mailbox!!............

HAHHAHAHA. Yup, this is what the owner's left us to work with. After hours of laughter over the mailbox, I'm kind of growing partial to it. Perhaps we shall keep it?! HAHAHA...

*ahem*



But let's go back to how this all began, and the roller coaster it's been and going to be:

I first spotted the house and drove past it last week. After inquiring about it, Stephanie, our Realtor, pointed out that it was a Foreclosure, so then I had to check with our Mortgage Lender to see if we would still qualify. He said 'yes', I said 'yay' and we looked at it with Stephanie on Saturday. Once Ross & I had the walk-through and decided that we liked it, we called in the 'rents to look at it and see if they thought it was also a good investment (as much as want to be all "grown up" and do this on our own, who the wiser than our parents to give us some insight?!). They also loved it, so they were happy for us.

Monday night, we sat down with Stephanie and put our offer in. Since it's a foreclosure, there are a lot of loopholes to get through. Things that normally the seller would help you out with, won't happen, since there is no seller, just a bank, who doesn't care a rat's toot about us! A lot of things are falling on us to handle, BUT we got such a great DEAL from it being in foreclosure that we just couldn't say NO.

Now it's time to pay to turn all the Utilities back ON, and get the home inspection. This is where our real anxiety kicks in, b/c the house is being sold "as-is," anything that they find wrong with it, is up to us to fix or we can exit the contract completely. So keep your fingers crossed nothing major needs fixed. IF we get through all the necessary steps, our closing date will be Dec. 20th. Can anyone say "Merry Christmas to Us!!" :) Until then, I'll keep you posted....

Dakota + Acorn = A Weinerful Time

Perhaps you shouldn't give small objects to little dogs....they tend to try to eat things when they are finished playing with it, almost like children?! Probably better we learn this lesson now before we have kids.....

Dream House

I had a dream last night that Ross & I had found the perfect house for such a steal! It consisted of beautiful vaulted ceilings, nice woodwork & trim, and had so much potential I couldn't wait to get my hands on it! BUT it was filled with clutter left by former owners, and needed a TON of updating. Is it scary that even my subconcious has this need & want to purchase an UGLY home with lots of potential?! Perhaps I should also be careful about what I wish for!

Anyways, I'm trying not to lose my mind thinking about the house-hunt, but it's hard not to. At least I can reassure myself that every month we DON'T find a house, is another month of saved money. So, I know I just have to be patient & our time will come, and Ross & I will find a house we both feel lucky to buy :)

House Hunting = Blah

For those of you that don't know...Ross & I have officially started house hunting. If you ask me how long I've been house hunting...I can easily reply, "3 years!" HA! For years, I've dreamed about being a homeowner and making a home into my own! Instead, God thought it would be funny to make me have to rent for the past 3 years. ha-ha. Ross on the other hand is smart and realized we had no money to buy a house, and therefore had no option but to rent. THAT IS until we moved in next door to all the Pedicone's :) He quickly realized how CRAZY my family is, and that he wants out. tee-hee. I tried to tell him my family is NUTS! So now that we've been able to save money by living practically rent-free, we thought it wouldn't hurt to start looking.

We met with the same agent Stephen & Betsy used to buy their townhouse, and got the ball rolling (we also graduated with her, and thought it would be nice to use someone we knew).

Here are a few things we quickly realized:

1. We're poor & were pre-approved for VERY little
2. We cannot afford to live in Allegheny County
3. We grew up spoiled in dang ol' Pine-Richland....and for this I blame our parents!

So far, we've eliminated the 11 possibilities that matched our "criteria." On a side note, Ross & I ARE looking for a fixer-upper, so we are trying to keep an open mind. An ugly house will not scare us away :) Now we are quickly realizing how long of a process this may be. Even our lowest standards seem to be asking too much. Of course, we weren't expecting to buy a house tomorrow, but now that we've started, I am growing impatient! So let's take a look at a few of the 'options' we were handed!.....

This "beauty" has a ton of things missing that we want. First, it only has 2 bedrooms. Second, it has no garage or even space to build a detached garage. Third, the yard is small! I can keep going, but trust me on this one. It wouldn't even be worth anything for the money we would have to put into it to make it liveable. It's OUT!

Another option. This one literally sat right on 228, a busy highway. I can just picture Dakota running RIGHT into the street, even WITH an electric fence. And there was no backyard. I think finding a yard I like will be my greatest challenge! I can't help it when I grew up with TONS of privacy :)

Lastly, I have a HUGE pet peeve with realtor's who can't even update the listing pic when the seasons change....aka Snow vs. No-Snow. I'm not asking for much. And obviously if this has been on the market since last winter, there's something wrong with it. We did a drive-by just in case, and it's also right on a main highway, and the road is at the same level as the roof of the house! It was an awful drop-off.

So there you have it! A clear explanation of why house hunting can be more frustrating than fun. And how we've easily eliminated our few options thus far. I know we aren't looking for a beauty, but c'mon, we need something we can work with!