I bought a house!

Griff found the house on the internet and sent me the link.  So I drove by it and liked the outside.  I checked it out on the internet again and saw that it was scheduled for an open house that week.  So, I went to the open house on Thursday.  On Friday morning I made an offer.  It took all day Friday to come to an agreement but by the end of the day I had an agreement to buy a house!!

Griff is excited because he found it and there is NOTHING that needs to be done before or after we move in except decorate.  Unlike our current house that I found and needed lots of work. 

The view from the driveway.

I love this house, it is over 150 years old.  Lots of character.  It is 4 bedroom so there is room for a guest bedroom, an office for Griff and a craft room for me!  I am so excited!  See all the pictures below. 

The fireplace in the formal living room. 

I foresee many hours on this porch reading and drinking coffee.

Formal Living room.  The floors are the original hardwood restored and beautiful!

This is the dining room and the outside door goes to the porch pictured above.

The kitchen has granite tile countertops, custom built oak cabinets, all new stainless steel appliances, tile floor, and one exposed brick wall. 

Lawn Decoration

I love this beach town I am staying in.  Only in a beach town is it acceptable to decorate your lawn with armed flamingos and targets for them to practice their skills on.  I drove by this house on Thursday evening and cracked up when I saw this. 

The decorations are even better because they are on the street that probably has the most expensive houses in town.  It is the beach front street in town.  And right in the middle of it are these birds.  Too priceless!!

Don't mess with the birds in this town!  I guess this will be added to my list of weird encounters with birds since I moved here.  They are fake but they are fake birds so I rule that they get included. 

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday!!

Today is my sister's birthday.  Happy Birthday Beth!!  I have big plans in honor of your day, you know... laundry, grocery shopping, all those really fun things.

I worked all day yesterday.  5:15 AM - 1:15 PM.  Early mornings are not my favorite.  I came back to the hotel when I got off, took a shower and slept for 2 hours.  We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for 400 people.  It was good to do but exhausting.  Our employees like it, enjoyed the food. 

I hope this coming week is better than last week.  Last week was a very challenging one for me.  And people kept telling me that I talked to them about things that I absolutely did not remember talking about.  Maybe stress or I am losing my mind!  Or the stress is causing me to lose my mind.

Exhausted

The last 2 days have been exhausting.  I hate drama with those I love.  I hate arguing.  I hate crying.  I hate feeling as if I can't talk to loved ones. 

Tonight I plan to go to bed early.  Tomorrow has got to be better than the last two days.  Please!!

Families are Hard

So, this morning I got mad enough at a member of my family that I hung up on them.  If you are a member of my family and are picking up the phone to call me and see what I am talking about, DON'T, I'm not going to tell you about it.  What happened to make me mad is not important.  What happened next is the important part.  I took some time to calm down, calmed down, called the person back and talked through the issue. 

Families, whether by birth, marriage or choice, are hard.  Families are messy. Families are all in your business, whether you want them there or not.  One thing families are not is optional!  It is not an option to give up on a family member - at least not in my world.  They make you mad, you get over it and call them back. 

I've known a lot of people that aren't close to their family and I have never understood it.  My siblings have been a constant in every stage of my life.  I speak to them and see them as often as I can.  Families are our shared history.  When we talk about having a weinie roast and seeing if Beth will sing 'Neighbors', my siblings and I laugh because we have that shared history.  When my friends from high school post, 'It's 11:11" on Facebook, we all laugh because we understand, 30 years later, what it means. 

I am not always the best wife, daughter, mother, sister, or friend that I can be.  But I never stop trying to do better.  Do you?

Don't you hate it when....

Yesterday driving home I thought of a great topic to blog about but I cannot remember what it was today.  I hate that.  I had it all worked out in my head but it is gone today.

I find that happening to me more and more.  I am no longer the young cute one in the room.  My hair is turning gray faster than you can imagine, my face is more and more wrinkled, my skin is drier now.  And I think I may have passed the point when I can say that I only need glasses for reading.  It is funny how aging affects your body.

But I am more confident in myself now.  I am less concerned about what people think of me.  I am more assured in the decisions I make and more confident in the outcomes of those decisions.  I take more pleasure in the little things and don't wait for the "grand gesture".  I tell people what I think more and take every opportunity to tell those I love how much they mean to me. 

So my body is showing the negative effects of aging but my mind and personality are showing the positive effects of aging.  Kind of ironic, don't you think.   Now if I can just remember all the wisdom I have gained growing up, life will be perfect.

Less than 24 hours!!

We are in countdown to my arrival in Tulsa to see the hubby, pups and friends!  I can't wait!!