Ramblings

One thing about being unemployed is you have too much time to ponder things. You think about things for no reason at all - stuff just pops in your head. Or you see something around the house that triggers memories. Sometimes it's just something you see outside (things you normally don't see if you have a 9-5 type job). Regardless, I have found myself pondering crazy things... and wanting to vent about stupid things. I've held off for awhile now, but I think I just need to get stuff out of my system at this point. So this may not be an exciting blog, but it's helping me. A little venting, and little pondering... but mostly rambling.

First off, I applaud all the stay-at-home moms out there. I don't know how you do it, but I'm impressed. I don't even have kids and I have problem prioritizing and getting everything done around the house. And so many things are so minuscule that they go unnoticed... which inturn causes your husband to question what goes on when he's at work. Now granted, I still have boxes being unpacked and with the holidays here, there's time being spent doing that, as well. But still... how do you do it??

I finally realize the point of all the stupid talk shows out there... to make you feel better about your life! You can be down in the dumps, but one episode of lie detector tests and/or DNA tests make you realize you don't have it so bad. I've just left the TV go after the news is done in the morning as I go on doing other things around the house and heard some of the 'conversations' that go on... where do they find these people?? There can't be that many stupid people out there that can't figure out who their baby's daddy is... and they test multiple guys! Sad. To tell the truth, just about all the daytime television thinks pretty lowly of people who watch TV during the day. I've found there really is no reason to have it on until primetime.

I am convinced we only have days of the week for the purpose of making schedules. I say this because if you have no schedules to make or meetings to keep, you lose track of what day it is pretty quickly. I find myself constantly questioning what day it is. Not just the date, but the actual day. And Eric doesn't help with the weird schedule he keeps.

There's still a lot of people out and about during the day. When you have a typical job, you kind of assume everyone is in an office like you and all the roads and stores are empty. No. They're not. Granted, it's not like rush hour, or the grocery store right after work... but there's a steady flow. Kind of nice to be in a non-lemming formation when driving and shopping. Perfect example... the Monday after Black Friday... NO problem with lines or crowds at ANY store that I could tell. May not have the doorbusters, but nowadays, they're not much better than a normal sale somewhere.

However, there may be less traffic, but I think the driving is worse! I hear more horns honking at one another than I ever did on the downtown connector in Atlanta. Or I-4 between Disney and downtown Orlando. And I know from personal experience that I've used my horn more in the past few months during daytime driving than I have in the entire 10 years of owning Bleu. There are idiots out there.

We, as a society, have the worst eating habits and I blame the restaurants out there with their advertising. It's getting to the point where I believe the better it tastes, the worse it is for you! I mean seriously... a chicken 'sandwich' with no bun, and instead to pieces of chicken with the condiments between them?? Triple cheese and bacon pizza?? Half price happy hour milkshakes?? Sadly, though, these places do this because this is what sells... this is how they up their sales. Because we eat it!!! I'm just as guilty as the next guy, but I got to admit, when I was getting into shape before the wedding, my trainer enlightened me to quite a bit. I've tried to change my habits significantly. If nothing else, we all need to learn portion control. Just because it's served on one plate does not mean that is one portion, people! And just because your kids want it doesn't mean you should give it to them, either!

I have more... but this is getting long and more pointless with each subject. Thank you for letting me ramble. Another disadvantage to be unemployed... you don't get to talk to too many other people. I need to get this out of my head somehow...

Officially Listed

Well, it's official... my house is fully on the market, waiting for that one person to want it. It took a lot of time and effort for Eric and I, but it's done. Now all we can do is wait.

For me, this is huge. If you've been reading along, you know how hard this has been for me. I got to thinking... I signed the papers with the realtor almost exactly at the 9 year mark from when I signed the papers with the builder to build the house. I signed with CP Morgan (my builder) on November 17, 2001. I signed the papers with Century 21 to sell my house November 18, 2010. One day over the 9 year mark. Almost erie.

Some days, I feel like I'm being over sentimental with my house. Am I? I think I just get attached to everything in my life. My car is older than my house... I'll probably be upset when I have to get rid of Baby Bleu, too... just balling at the Nissan car lot (I assume it'll be a Nissan).

So if you know anyone in the Indy area looking to buy, feel free to pass on the info! I just want it to be a good home to someone out there, just as it was for me. Just click here and forward the link! There's actually lots of sites out there that it's listed on, but the link goes to my agent's page. But, just in case that one has issues, here's another one to try. This one is the general Realtor.com link.

Black Friday 2010

Right after my last blog was finished, I started my Black Friday shopping online. My goal was to avoid as much as I could at the stores on Black Friday... the novelty of waking up for it has passed for me. Besides... just about every store offers those same deal online on Thanksgiving day, so why put yourself through the chaos??

Anyway... I did get a majority of it done online. I surfed for a few things that a knew I wanted, first. That was easy. This year, being unemployed and have two mortgages to pay, I (we) have a bit more of a budget to work with then I have in the past. I'm hating that. But it's a very workable budget. I just actually have to think about what I have and what I have left... leaves no room for the fun, spontaneous buys I usually make for people.

After the initial round online, I put on my PJ's and rummaged through the newspaper ads - sometimes it's just easier to find things in print. I found a few more things and jumped back online. Before I knew it, it was 2:30am... the time some people may have actually already been heading out to some of the sales. I, instead, went to bed with about 60% of my shopping done. There were a few items I wanted to pick up in person today, but I didn't have to do the early thing.

So around 9:30am, Eric and I headed out to hit some stores. We had a quick breakfast at Panera and then went into stores with a mission. No wandering this year. We hit Target, Macy's, JCPenny, Kohl's, and Dick's... and when all was said and done, we were up to about 75% complete. Not bad for less than 24 hours of shopping.

So what's left? Well... our main focus has been gifts that need to be shipped, so we've barely scratched the surface of gift buying for Eric's side of the family. But we have ideas, at least... so it won't take much to knock it all out. Just don't want to get stressed!

Thanksgiving 2010

Well, more proof this year is flying by... Thanksgiving has come and the turkey has been eaten. Can you believe it?

My Thanksgiving actually started yesterday. I was in the kitchen all day baking. I made an apple pie and a pumpkin pie, and then some pumpkin cookies. Both pies were from scratch... COMPLETELY from scratch. I used multiple types of apples and pumpkin from my garden. The cookies had a little cheating involved, but still used my fresh pumpkin. By the time I got to those, though, I was already beat from making pies!

Eric and I decided to keep Thanksgiving a little simple this year... stuck to the extreme basics. Just turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and fresh cranberry sauce. His mom brought some rolls and salad to start the meal... and that was it. And we STILL had a ton of leftovers. But that'll give us something to snack on through the weekend.

But the main point was to just spend time with family, which was nice. Though retailers may believe differently based on the store shelves, the holiday season officially begins today. It is only from Thanksgiving til the end of the year that you can really say "Happy Holidays" and not have someone look at you all crazy.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!! Now bring on Christmas!

It's Not My House

Eric and I have put a lot of time, money, and effort into my house for the past month, getting it ready to go on the market. We repainted all the rooms, changed out appliances, changed out light fixtures, hauled up furniture for staging...and this is just the 'major' stuff. There were lots of minor things, too, that I won't list out here. When I look at it now, one thing comes to mind, though... this isn't my house!

We have changed so much on it, that it looks nothing like it did when I actually lived there. It looks SO much better, actually... it's sad to think I never did any of this before. For me and my enjoyment. But if you need to detach yourself from you home, just change everything about it.

Don't get me wrong... it will always be my first home (on my own). And just like when my parents sold my childhood home, I will still cry when I sell this home.

I wish I had some 'before' pictures to share... but I didn't think to take any, and though I'm sure I could dig some up, it'll take too long. But for those who've been to my house, you'll see the difference. Below are just a handful of pictures of the house that used to be my home... *sigh*

The Living Room

The Living Room from the other end (note the open floorplan to dining/kitchen)

The front of the living room (note the new foyer flooring)

Fully Upgraded Kitchen

Dining Area

Master Bedroom

Fully Upgraded Master Bath

Bedroom 2

Bedroom 3

Hall Bath

Urban Living

So I've 'officially' been a downtown dweller for about 4 months now, and I've had time to take everything in and get a good comparison of urban living verses suburban living.

Living downtown definitely has its perks. Lots of close, unique dining experiences, all the downtown festivals and activities within walking distance, and always something going on. I do miss having the closeness of the Target and a 'real' grocery store (one that has a footprint larger that a quarter of a small city block). There is at least a mall in downtown Indy, so I don't lose out on that shopping, though it doesn't have all the stores that I'd like for it to. So, basically, I do miss the shopping of the suburbs - you may have to drive more to get to stuff, but it's a closer drive than driving from downtown.

But what I miss most is the silence. There's always some sort of background noise downtown, whether it be trucks driving by (or even loud cars), or the trains that regularly cruise through downtown. Then there's the sirens and helicopters that you very rarely get in the suburbs. During the day, the noises all blend together, but at night is when I especially miss the quietness of the suburbs. Trains still blow their horns, the sirens still blare on calls, and it seems as if those sounds get amplified at night.

I never realized how much I enjoyed the calm and quietness of being able to walk out my front door, look up at the stars and hear nothing. Looking up at that big sky and have the silence envelope you made you realize how big this world really is... and what a small role you really played in it. It was subduing, because it made all of your problems seem that small, too. Who knew walking outside could be so therapeutic? And on those particularly clear nights, it seemed like the stars went on forever.

You can't even see the stars downtown.

I even miss hearing the kids playing next door. They always would wave to me if they saw me outside or coming/going somewhere in my car. There aren't too many kids downtown, and they definitely aren't playing outside where I can hear them. But I will admit, the friendliness of the kids didn't always extend to the adults - I do know my neighbors downtown better than I did in Fishers. Though I think we have a special case, here - Eric and I are lucky to have such friendly neighbors who do come outside and socialize. I never see anyone come out of the houses across the street or anywhere else on the block.

Bottom line - if I'm going to live downtown, now is the time in my life to do it. Before kids, while I'm still young enough to enjoy all the amenities a downtown (any urban downtown) has. So for now, I'll miss my silence and big starry sky. But I know I'll get back there. Only when I'm back there in the suburbs, my mind will be full of memories downtown.

Halfway to Italian Fest Fest

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email stating I had been selected to host a House Party. This particular one was for Sabra Hummus - I love hummus! I approached Eric about the idea and we didn't just want to have people over for hummus - that just seemed silly.

So we thought about and decided to tied the Mediterranean flavor in with another Mediterranean country/theme... Italian Fest, which is hosted by a church right here in our neighborhood. It's the second weekend in June, traditionally, and though we're not quite at the halfway point, we're close enough. Finally, our thought process turned to having a dinner party - we've been wanting to do this for awhile and what better way to start off than to have a theme all set for you?

And we were off, with two weeks to get people interested and the house ready for guests. We sent plenty of invitations out in hopes of getting just enough to fill our table. Well, we got more than expected (12 guests plus the two of us), but we were still within what the house and our planned meal (my lasagna) could handle. Now if anyone showed up that didn't RSVP, we might have had a problem (at least for the sitting at one table part). So the detailed menu commenced around the lasagna, including Italian meatball soup, bruschetta, hummus chicken salad (had to tie in the hummus), plus a twist on the bruschetta using a layer of hummus (keeps the tomatoes on better and tastes awesome!). Oh, and off course, pita chips and hummus. To top it off, my friend, Jen, made a pan of tiramisu that was to die for - superb!

All in all, the dinner party was a hit! Everyone had a blast and the 14 of us went through 12 bottles of wine and some Peroni's (Italian beer). After all was said and done, Eric and I decided we must do this more often! We braved the first one, and now we want to do more - it's just nice to get together with people for more than just the reason of drinking. Not to say drinking doesn't happen, obviously, but it's not the main point.

For now, though, it's back to focusing on the sale of my house and the holidays, which have quickly come upon us! Where has the year gone??

So. Much. Painting!

I have spent a majority of this week up at my house painting. And more painting. Essentially, I'm repainting my whole house. All in three shades of beige. How exciting!

I'm actually taking today off. Not because I want to, but really because I have stuff to do around the house here - you know, the basic stuff. Plus, it's supposed to get nasty later - maybe even icy flurries! Yuck! Why drive it that if I don't have to? So I'm staying warm and cozy at home, doing chores and such here.

Here's a quick run-down of what was done, though, just so you can appreciate my physical exhaustion. Painted the LONG wall that spans the living room and kitchen, painted the rest of the living room, painted the hallway, repainted one of the master bedroom walls (it's giving me difficulties - paint doesn't want to stick to the primer)... oh, and had new appliances delivered. Hmmm... looking at the list, it doesn't seem like a did that much. But it's more than it sounds like.

Regardless, there's more to do. Tomorrow will be another busy day of both Eric and I at the house. He'll be playing with electricity while I play with paint. The goal is to have it to a point where we can talk to the realtor again and get some feedback from her. We shall see!