Moving Moving Moving

Well I thought by now we would be done by now... the keys are due to the management company on the first which is Sunday... gonna drop them in the box.

Have a feeling I will be doing this for a while, it was a nice fantasy to think I could move the house, the art stuff, and the garage of doom that is packed with tools and Nova parts...

I am amazed at the amount of stuff, cause when we moved last time, I threw away so much I was sure I was clear of the junk. Can it be that I really need this stuff, maybe I can take pictures of these things and hang them instead, of carting them around. Even as I move them out I keep tossing things! Well here is hoping that things fit at the new place, or at least that the trash can is big.

New home, new habits, new begginnings

WE HAVE KEYS! she yells with her keyboard

Wow! we actually have keys... they are in my hands. This journey has been a loooong disheartening, stressful, exciting, exhilarating, roller coaster ride. I am so glad we did it.

This is all thanks to Kim at Buy it Real Estate, she is the most re-assuring, kind, professional, who is all about getting the job done and getting the house you want. She is truly a real estate Genius! I think she needs a cape.

Jeremy & Kayla at Kings mortgage handled our loan and they are equally super-fab, putting up with our crazy docs, and my countless phone calls and questions.

All in all we are finished and I am walking around this home and thinking wow... not only is it beautiful, it is ours. I think I know now why some people paint their walls hot pink or poop orange... cause they can! I think it is ironic that it happened on the heels of the van breaking down. But the hubby fixed it cause he is awesome!

Bad Day for Vans

Its a bad day for vans! at the gas station I went to start it and it got stuck... not the accelerator but the starter, couldn't shift or turn it off, in fact even with the keys out of the ignition it was still in a constant state of starting....

After a call to my husband, I popped the hood and went to get my tool box... except when I made room for my art class supplies, I took it out so I was stuck. Amazingly no one offered to help or even look, some were even frustrated that I was blocking the pump. I asked around, no tools at all.

By this time I saw smoke, and even after I yelled out "hey there's smoke" no one budged or even paid attention. So I ran back over and looked under the hood (cause I do dumb things) to see where it was coming from. Basically everything was hot including the battery, and the cables, I grabbed the cable and pulled on it betting on the fact that things were melting, and to my surprise I was right. And she stopped. I actually got it pushed out of the way, thanks to a very nice man who helped out.

Finally after many phone calls, I got a tow company that was priced in my budget.... ie cheap. I had used Queen Bee Towing in the past whom I love, but I just couldn't find them listed even 411, of course I only had access to one kind of phone book (don't even get me started on that one). So I called Affordable Towing, cause I thought well they must be... and they were. The guy who came out was super nice and he even parked the van better than I do using cable off a flat bed ( which really isn't saying much if you look at my tires side-wall)

My poor dad whom I was giving a ride to, no thinks I am nuts, which is sad because I had him snowed of the fact for so long. The very best part of this whole thing is that the house finally closed and we get keys tomorrow!

So to sum it up, van broke down, moving tomorrow, yeah for me!

Biscuits & Gravy

Hey everyone, a friend got me thinking about biscuits and gravy, I will not tell you her name but her initials are Lori...

This is a quick recipe that has been used by my family for many many generations... straight from the hills of Kentucky. This is not the healthy, it is not good for your diet, and well too much too often will get your cardiologists a new kitchen, or ferrari; but mmm mmm good. Its fast so make it after the biscuits and have all ingredients next to the skillet.

fry up some bacon (you can also use ham or sausage, my fav is bacon)

milk

water

flour

salt

whisk

I use a cast iron skillet, I suggest you don't use a non-stick pan though, you can use a stainless or even a pot if you wish, I am not here to judge so carry on with the utensil of choice. Set up large glass of water, milk jug, and flour next to you.

I use a few tablespoons of the grease, while the pan is on and the grease is hot, add a few tablespoons of flour (a little less than the grease) to the grease and whisk a few times. Now let it sit for a little, you will smell it brown, then stir again for a few strokes. keep doing this till it is darker brown, don't be afraid of burning it, you will immediately know.

Once the color is dark, add some milk I am guessing maybe a cup or cup and a half, now this will steam up and make all kinds of noise and havoc, and will thicken up like crazy... stir this in it should be super thick. This is when I add in the water slowly whisking as I go, till you get to the consistency you like. Add salt to taste this will really bring out the flavor then add in your bacon.

mmmmmm!

Okay so now I will make some and post the video!

the trial

I originally wanted to write about stevia and all these different reports about it, but I was reading the newspaper about a local girl who has abandoned her babies, one had died all happening over the past couple of years, what a terrible situation.

As I was reading about her recount of abuse that occured by her father, and then by her boyfriend, all right in front of everyone, I couldn't help to think about how powerful abuse can be, so much so, that that they couldn't find courage to call the police. How when someone is overpowering you so much either physically, emotionally or both that you literally feel trapped like there is invisible bars all around you, tightening in until you feel you can no longer breath.

So powerful that she like many others in her place hid her pregnancy from all the people in her house and in an desperate last ditch effort made the worst possible decision. I am guessing because the other 2 were found, she had no reason to believe that this one would be too, still though. It is sad, that instead of advocating the benefits of adoption people are using this as an argument for abortion, something that still doesn't solve anything and would leave her in the same emotional place, but this time 2 other children that would never experience life, and 2 other families to never experience those children.

When I think about this situation, I think about the times in my past when I didn't do something or say something, when I witnessed it or even knew about it, what was else was going on that I didn't know about. What was lurking there under the cover.

What have I missed.

Getting back... housing woes

fwwwwwwwwwwwhhhh.... let me dust this thing off~ sorry everyone. I have been in a whirl wind lately, in escrow... again... on yet another house. Really its not even exciting anymore. I mean I love this house but some sellers are very crazy right now, at the last minute asking for more money, and I'm thinking that wasn't in the contract, but I would rather walk away than deal with that. However it also helps that the perfect house is around the corner, and so far this looks like it but I refuse to get excited anymore until we sign paperwork and get keys.

Also, more good news is we are on track to paying off our bills completely, thanks to a radio show called Dave Ramsey, officially in the very beginning of 2010 we will be debt free except for the house (maybe even sooner). We will be putting all the money we normally pay to our debt to the principal on the house, and maybe even more. There are those who live on the bare essentials, you know rice and bean people for a few short years and manage to pay off their mortgage in a handful of years. I would like to have that motivation, and who knows maybe I will after we are debt free in a couple of months.

Thanks for your support and encouraging emails!

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Last Night... Dinner fiasco

Well last night was hilarious. I say hilarious because I decided that I was not going to stress about it, my first little hurdle in my mission of not letting everything stress me out, especially little things... cause really there are much better things to stress about.

So, summer is coming to an end and I decided to call my sister and her family over to barbecue and hang out. I decided to slowly roast some pork, teriyaki chicken thighs, corn, baked beans, orzo and fresh tomato salad, and a cake. Thankfully I decided on slow roast, because I went out to the grill to turn it on, and no flame... shoot!

I convinced my sweet hubby to fill the tank, did some prep, when he returned, I hooked it up and still nothing. Oh boy, so I start fooling around with it, finally asked my hubby to come out, and he does the same, nothing! I start to panic a little thinking if this doesn't start soon, my roast is out the door and I will have to go get more chicken.

My husband points out the 800 number on the grill, and as a last digit effort I decide to call. The woman who answered seemed very nice, but her accent was so thick I had no idea what she was saying. I was grateful when she transferred me. The man who was also very nice walked me through a ton of troubleshooting, and in the end determined that it was the regulator.

So there is no time to do anything at all, so barbecue chicken turned to fried chicken, and slow roasted pork happened in the microwave with plastic wrap, now that might sound bad... but it was not at all, everyone loved it. So all in all the day ended well.

House Hunting... a continued journey

Well, house hunting is both fun, and extremely, hair pulling, scream from the roof top, white jacket frustrating! First of all in an attempt to be responsible we went with a loan amount that is less that what we budgeted for, you know pay extra, unexpected repair expenses... etc. So it seems that the price range is wildly competitive, with some families and investors.

I understand people wanting to invest in something safe, I do. But they keep coming in and swooping house out from under us. See we are veterans and apparently the inspections for VA loans are more choosy. So people would rather 1. go cash or 2. go conventional... did I mention AHHHH! I think that the inspection process should be the same for both fha and va you even out the playing field, but that is yet another humble opinion.

So I know that the right house is coming but I have 2 year old-itus and am kind of stomping my feet right now.

Where did all the time go!!!

Recently I have found myself wrapped up in work and family I find it increasingly difficult to find time. I mean really... how is it exactly that I lost such a thing. Did it fall out of my pocket, was there a hole in my purse and it slipped into the unknown abyss where pens, and quarters go to never be found again. I guess the key is too organize my schedule right... I find it ironic that even that has slipped to the way side of "I just don't have time". My lack of sitting down and making anything has also caused a lack of inspiration, so I have decided to do something about this. I will cram a small blank notepad or journal thingy in my purse I will probably pick some kind of bright obnoxious color so I will see it. Anytime I am sitting around at a waiting room, or any few seconds I can scrape, rather than picking up a magazine, I will draw something. Now I wish that I could say that this is my idea, but alas it is not. My awesome friend, for 30 some-odd years, gave it to me. My thought is this, when I sketch something fantastic, or incredibly inspiring... maybe, just maybe, I will head to the studio and grab some clay. So there you have it, enough is enough, make a small change and eventually it will be a habit... right!