I have a condo!

I was getting pretty upset and depressed about not finding the right thing for me to move yet my sale date on my house was looming closer and closer.  Early last week, I decided to search the MLS again from scratch to see if I had missed anything.  Low and behold, a condo came up down the street from me.  It has been on the market off and on since 2013!  It had been under contract twice but fell out just the week before. So I called my realtor Bob and asked him to take me to see it that afternoon!

It is on Parleys way in Sugarhouse.  When I worked at Blue Cross, the building was on that  street so I know it very well.  They were built in 2007 and are considered luxury condos in the Country Club neighborhood.  I remember when they were built and over the years, I had thought how cool it would be to live there.  But they were expensive.  And I always had a place to live already when one would come on the  market.

Much to my luck, this one is on the first floor with 2 patios.  It had 9 foot ceilings, 2 bedrooms and a den.  3 bathrooms too.  Underground parking with 2 spaces and an elevator from the parking.  Sounds perfect and indeed, it was pretty close.  The only thing I was concerned about is there wasn't a coat closet in the entryway.  It appears they made the coat closet a 1/2 bath.  Being right on Parley's way, there is some traffic noise but Parley's way does quiet down at night and it isn't horrible.  Close access to the freeway is a bonus and it is still in the area so my patterns don't need to change much.  The hardest adjustment will be learning to live in 1/2 the house.  But that would have been the deal no matter where I went.  I've been trying to figure out what is going with me and what is going away.  I am also going to have to figure out how to lay out the furniture in the living area as it is smaller than I am used too.

Here is a link to the listing.  I'm not sure how long it will be listed but peek if you can.  I am closing 4/21 and moving that weekend!  EEEEEKKKKK!

http://www.utahrealestate.com/1318501

Looking at the first photo, it is the unit on the right corner 1st level.

A way behind update

I've been so busy with the house thing, I've neglected the blog!  I do apologize!  There has been tons of stuff going on.  Here is a brief update.

Philip came home from ASU for his Spring break the second week of March.  That is the same week I put the house on the market so we really couldn't relax or cook together but we did have some great time talking and went out to eat a few times.  We really had fun.  It is never enough time for me though.  Before I knew it, he was headed back to Arizona.  He is out of school in early May so I will see him again when he comes home.

As far as the house, the first buyer has been really good about hitting deadlines and making things happen.  We passed inspection without any questions or requests.  The appraisal was today.  We will know more from that in the coming week hopefully.  Then we are just about golden.  The people who put the back up offer in are still very interested.  I've been looking at houses/condos like a mad woman but so far, I haven't found the perfect thing yet.  It is very discouraging and I am getting pretty nervous.  If I don't find something soon, I am going to have to consider moving to an apartment.  I've found a few things I could make work but they were not perfect.  I'm looking at the MLS every day and hope the right thing hits me just in time.

Nola came into town last week.  We've been busy doing Utah stuff with her.  My cousin Ryan got married on Saturday.  That was so fun to see him happy and in love.  We went to St. George for a quick trip over the weekend and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  It was very relaxing, great to see family, and nice and warm.  I am going to write more about this and share photos soon so I won't give much detail here.

All is good here.  I'm starting to feel stronger again.  My nose is doing okay.  I do have a follow up appointment later this week to check in.  I still have to be pretty careful with it for a bit longer but I think the worst is behind me.

Kitten season is just starting.  Since I am not headed to Idaho this Spring, I'm planning to volunteer again.  They don't have enough to have volunteers yet but it is just a matter of time and before I know it, I will be overwhelmed with kitten cuteness on a regular basis.

Thank you for your patience waiting for a blog update.  I'm pokey but hanging in there.  More to come soon.

Love you guys.

Bird in the hand and one in the bush!

The house showings were crazy this weekend. We got on the market about 11:00 Friday.  Through the weekend, we had about 17 showings!!  That is crazy!  Sunday morning, I learned we had an offer but we still had 2 more showings.  In the late afternoon, I met with my realtor to respond to the offer.  It was full price but they wanted some help with closing costs.  I countered the offer on the closing costs.  We were pretty sure they would counter back.

During that time, the couple that came through at 4:30 made an offer!  Their offer was a better offer...but the first offer accepted my counter offer literally at the same time the second offer came in. I am stuck with the first offer unless she decides to pull out (which does happen).  She is coming back to look inside the garage this evening.  The second offer is in back up position for now.

So now I need to find a place to live!  One of the advantages of listing now is there isn't much on the market.  But one of the disadvantages of looking now is there isn't much on the market.  The offer provided me 45 days before we close and another 30 days I can rent the house back.  So I have a little time.  If the right thing doesn't come along, I will look into renting.  It is important for me to find the right place.

I am pretty sad about selling the house.  I love my house.  But I have to trust I will find a new place I love too and it will all work out.  I admit a new place can be exciting!  So many new things coming my way!

Laughing all the way...hahahaha

If you know me,  you know I like selfies.  Not that I am vane but I like photos with people I am with and love.  While visiting Nola, I tried to take a selfie.  It is rare to get it right on the first try.  I get it. So snap...snap.  Then we look.  Nope that was bad.  Snap...oh gosh look at my chin....snap....my head is bigger than yours...snap.  It was so funny we started to laugh.  Then the tears came from laughing so hard.  Then people around us were laughing.  It is really hard to get a good selfie after the makeup starts running and our faces are red.

Nola didn't smile

Both pulled faces.  Let's get serious

My face is bigger than yours

Where do I look and what is with those eyebrows?  I hate this side, lets switch sides.

Better but now your head is bigger than mine

STOP LAUGHING

Why lean forward.  I have to cough.

Oh Em Gee!  Why are you leaning forward?  My face is too red.

Blurry...why is it blurry

There.  That works.  Love this woman!

So when you see a selfie, know it probably took some effort.  Nola always makes me laugh.  She is absolutely in my pea pod.

Back on the market

Since I came home from Nola's house, I've been busy trying to get my house on the market.  I simply couldn't believe my to do list I created to be ready.  Some were big things, some were easier.  But I made it.  I put the house on the market again this morning.  I had 1 showing before it was even on the MLS.  I've had another showing this afternoon.  So that is pretty good.  I promised to have the house ready to go every morning for the first two weeks.  Then I might be a little more lazy.  If you haven't sold a house before, it is a ton of work having it show ready.  It also means I can't really cook and I have to shower and wipe down the entire bathroom early in the day.  Can't have a smelly steamy bathroom.

I decided to list it at the same price I ended last year.  While I am thinking the house is worth more, I don't want to linger on the market all summer so we cut to the chase at my lowest price.  It could be that we get a bidding war going on and I end up higher anyway.  It is certainly competitive pricing at $399,900.

Here is a link to the listing.  I hope you can see it without problem.

Home listing

I don't think the photos are as nice as the ones the agent did last year but I changed agents and this one seems more casual.  The thought is to tease someone to come see.  Hopefully we will sell lickity split!  Then I can find a new home!

As far as being "Back on the Market" myself with dating, personally I'm not ready yet.  I'm still trying to get my heart and head straight.

Carolina Beach life

Ah what a wonderful escape to the beach!  Nola and I found ourselves with an open schedule and an opportunity to go to the February Scrapbook retreat.  Just like the cartoon animals, Chip and Dale, we indubitably decided to go.

I flew into Raleigh on Wednesday.  It was the most wacky travel day.  First off, we started out to the runway in Salt Lake when they had to pull over for some mechanical issue.  We were parked while they fixed it which luckily happened fairly quickly.  But we were an hour late leaving Salt Lake....and I only had an hour to connect in Atlanta.  During the flight, I was able to use the plane wifi to change my flight in Atlanta.  Problem solved...or so you would think.

When I got to Atlanta, it was an absolutely zoo!  I was able to finagle a wheelchair ride to my gate. The gentleman never asked me anything (no potty breaks or anything) and dumped  me at my gate in a big rush.  I checked my phone and found the original flight was delayed and was in the same terminal. So I walked with the wheelchair to that gate and found I could get on as one of the last seats!  Perfect.  I would be in Raleigh in an hour!!  We boarded the plane and sat...and sat...and sat.  They came on and said the toilet was leaking so the plane could not be used.  We all got off.  At this point, I ran (figuratively of course) to the other gate and found out my seat was still assigned to me so I got on that plane.  Thank goodness because who knows what they are doing with the broken plane!!

They said there were storms in the area so the flight was going to be quite bumpy.  They weren't kidding!  But there was about 10 minutes after we left Atlanta that we were above the clouds and the sun was shining!  I am fascinated by clouds so I took photos!!

As we came closer to Raleigh, the clouds were tall and spikey.  And then as we flew lower it got very gray.  And things got bumpy!

We landed and I turned on  my phone.  Immediately, a severe weather warning came up that tornadoes are in the area and to take cover immediately.  Ummm...I am in a plane!!  Well I was able to get into the terminal and decided it was probably a pretty safe place to wait.  I went downstairs to get my luggage and waited.  Nola wasn't able to pick me up because it wasn't safe but Gregg swept on over to get me on his way home from work.  It was raining so hard and the wind was crazy.  It was raining sideways!  Luckily we made it safe, had some yummy dinner, and woke to sunshine.

Nola and I packed up and headed to Carolina Beach.  We stopped for lunch at this delicious place with the best brisket I've had.  We chatted the entire 2 hour drive and before we knew it, we were at the beach!  We got all set up and got to work being crafty.

Hello Ocean and beach.  I've missed you!

We brought lots to work on.  My big goal was to catch up my scrapbooking and get Washington DC done.  We also wanted to have seafood!  There is a place I love just a few blocks from the hotel called "The Shuckin' Shack".  Nola didn't care too much for it but I practically begged her to go and so we did.  We shared a pot of steamed shrimp, coleslaw, hushpuppies, and fried mushrooms.  Oh em gee.  It was so good.  We also got margaritas which were so strong, we needed some additional mix to get it in.  Needless to say, we were happy and giggling when we left...and my scrapbook pages are....creative!

Funny hole in the wall that is very popular by tourists or locals

We loved it so much, we went back the second night!

We were treated to a beautiful sunrise and sunsets although it was cold.  We never did get on the beach and didn't spend much time outside.  It was windy.

Pre Sunrise over the ocean

This is what a scrap retreat looks like.  We are thinking
there were between 80-100 ladies there.

Nola getting scrappy!

This is the summary of my scrapbooking.  Lots of goodies,
caffeine, and Ricola because I caught a nasty cold/cough.

Before we knew it, it was Sunday and time to pack up and head back to Raleigh.  It is always bittersweet but I was very happy with what I got done and Nola and I had a great time.  The flight to Atlanta was uneventful and efficient.  I caught another gorgeous sunset while sitting on the plane in Atlanta.

That flight home from Atlanta is long.  Over 4 hours.  And I got a bitch off a woman sitting in front of me that reclined her seat the entire flight so my knees were jammed into the seat and my tray would not lay down flat so I couldn't use it well.  She even complained to the other flight attendants about me and they came to talk to me.  I ran into her in the terminal in Salt Lake. She pointed and was talking about  me as I walked past.  What the shocker is?  She was a flight attendant for United.  I expect more friendliness from a flight attendant regardless if she is working or not.  May she break a heel on every flight and run her pantyhose.  There is no reason to be so unpleasant.

I am home now nursing my cold/cough and trying to get the house on the market.  It is a busy week!!

P.S.  I got to meet Nola's new cat, Heidi.  She is such a sweetheart.  She is a....pudgy girl.  But what a sweetheart.  At one point, I came back to the guestroom from the shower and she was laying on the bed.  I took full advantage.

She loves to lay on her side.

She has the most delicious white tummy.

She is really a big sweetheart.  Love her!