Home Ownership

Ahhh, the joys of home ownership.  No longer "throwing away" rent money, decorating any way you would like, pride in your yard, extra space to store all those amazing wedding gifts, creating memories and traditions... the list goes on and on.  Unfortunately, so do the repairs.

Let me quickly take you back to May 2012.  We had a decision to make when we moved back to Houston.  Buy a home and move in right away, rent an apartment month to month while taking time to look, or live with the husband's parents.  Many normal and logical people try to limit the amount of change happening at one time.  Not us.  We thought living seperately, working full time, job searching, preparing for a move, and buying a home all at once seemed like a good plan.

HAHAHAHAHA (that was us laughing at those normal/logical people).  

We went with option "buy a home and move in right away".  We thought moving one time from Waco to Houston was such the obvious way to go.  So we did it.  We found our dream home!  Those normal, logical people are boring and don't know what they're talking about.  It's better to get it all done at once.  

Now, I'm not going to go so far as to say our home isn't our dream home.  I love it.  Mainly for the memories and traditions that I know will take place here for years to come.  But I would like to share with you all the things that have happened to us thus far.  After all, this blog is called "It Happens" and boy, has it happened with this house.

Over the first year of owning our home, here are the rennovations we have done (most out of sheer necessities):

1.  New windows in half the house (it use to rain inside our home before the new windows)

2.  Scrapped all popcorn ceilings (popcorn should only be used as a snack, not wall treatment)

3.  Painted every room, hallway, bathroom, ceiling (with threat of only 4 divorces minimal fighting)

4.  New insullation (oops, someone forgot to put any in the house at all... in Texas)

5.  New pipes (if you ever need this, be prepared to part of your first born child to pay for this)

6.  Rod iron fence (this was a neccessity since Vedder attacked a pit bull, lost, and had to go the ER vet on a Sunday to get tubes, skin grafts, and stiches... let's just say the fence was a lot cheaper than having this happen 2 times)

7.  New furniture (some rooms remain empty to this day)

8.  Chimney updates (loooove our wood buring fire place, love the fire staying inside the fireplace even more)

9.  Landscaping (neighbors stopped for months to thank us for doing this, best money spent yet)

10.  Extermination (infestation of wasps who didn't realize we now possessed the title to this property)

11.  Dry wall/ceiling repair from leaking AC unit (this also lead to removing the carpet form our bathroom and yes you read that correctly, carpet in the bathroom...)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (that is the logical and normal people laughing at us)

Perhaps waiting a beat before jumping into new jobs, new home, new city could have been a good idea.  Maybe those normal/logical people are on to something...

Next on our renno list... total redo of our master bathroom.  Sounds exciting right?  Well, I'll save that story for another post...  

A Walk in the Park

I don't want to brag, but it was 70 and sunny all weekend.  Before you get all "you're so lucky" on me, we have a winter weather advisory today.  The high is only 29 degrees and the low is 13.  I'm so glad that we took full advantage of the beautiful weekend weather and went for a long walk in the park.
Our favorite path is one that winds through the woods along the banks of the Brazos River.  It truly is beautiful and peaceful.  And the pupps love it!  Plus there is limited contact with other humans and animals, therefore minimizing Vedder's freak outs.
We walked along this path and veered off onto a trail.  After walking a while, the trees parted and we noticed that we had hiked up pretty high ontop of a hill overlooking the river.

All in all, it was a beautiful walk on a beautiful day.  I think the dogs really enjoyed themselves.  If nothing else, it tired them out for the rest of the day!

Those who can't do...

I feel like I did everything "right".   I graduated from college with a degree in marketing and economics.  I earned an internship with Nestle while in college that parlayed into a career upon graduation.  Within a month of graduating from Pittsburgh, I moved home to Cincinnati, visited Houston to find an apartment, moved everything I owned to Houston, said good-bye to everyone I knew, and started working full-time at this mega-huge company.
Before I knew it, I was wrapped up in a career that I wasn't sure I even wanted.  Fast-forward to three and a half years later and you will find me unemployed and searching for a job.  I've shared my job search with y'all and have been opened in the fact that it's hard.  Interview after interview, I felt something was missing.  I was looking for a job to fill my time and not a passion to enrich my life.
Now, I know I complained about my old job, but there was one part of it that I truly loved.  Training new associates.  And not to brag, but I was good at it (at least that's what my trainees said after I told them I had the authority to fire them).  But I felt like I was making a difference.  That's when it dawned on me...
Recently, I enrolled in program to become a certified teacher.  I am so excited.  I'm also very nervous.  I had orientation last night and I can't wait to officially begin.  There's a saying, "those who can't do, teach."  And I'd have to say that in my case, the first part is fairly accurate.  I'm hoping the later is as well.  Nonetheless, I already feel better about this career decision than any other decision I've made in the past.  The problem is that I was 18 when I chose business as my career.  Actually, I was 17 when filling out my college applications and haphazardly checked the business school box.
So I am embarking on a new adventure and I will keep y'all updated as my progress continues on this endeavor.

On another note... Happy Friday!!!! It's 70 degrees here today.  Gabby won't come inside :)

Barbarian

Greetings to you this Monday morning.  I hope you and yours had a wonderful weekend.  This weekend was a fairly busy but fun one.  The fiance wasn't working so that in itself was wonderful.  We treated ourselves to a wonderfully tasty Chinese buffet Friday night, which we capped off by playing Wii at his brother's house.  Thanks to my parents not allowing me to have any video games as a child, I am horrible at Wii.
Saturday morning we slept in until 7:30!  It was a brisk morning, so we watched some TV and ate some breakfast and stayed warm with the pupps under the blankets.  The great thing about where we live is that a 25 degree morning warms up to a 55 degree afternoon.  And the sun actually shines.  So we ended up taking the dogs to the park with the fiance's brother's family.  Vedder loved barking at every person, dog, and leaf that crossed his path; while Gabby loved sniffing (she is a true hound dog).
But the real thrill of the weekend was a cultural event we attended Saturday night.  This event wasn't offered in Waco, so we had to journey about 50 miles south to the town of Belton, TX.  I'll give you a moment to check out a map to locate this town...  As we pulled into the parking lot, you could smell the excitement in the air.  Literally... you could smell the diesel fumes as soon as we got out of our car.  We had arrived at the Monster Truck show, live in Belton, TX.  It was a true cultural event where I learned all about this surprisingly popular world of Monster Trucks.  There were lines to take pictures with the trucks, get the drivers' autographs, and thousands of long-time fans all packed into this small arena to see their favorite truck destroy things.

Now I'm not knocking them or this event.  It was entertaining.  I mean, who hasn't wanted to smash into a car or drive recklessly fast while careening over a huge dirt ramp?  Plus, there's the element of danger with every rev of a 1500 horsepower engine.  And we were lucky enough to witness one of the most popular celebrities on the Monster Truck circuit.  As the event M.C. informed us, "this guy is so big, that you can go down to your local Wal-Mart and get yourself a Barbarian t-shirt".   Jealous?

Sunday was an excellent conclusion to the weekend, complete with the best Mexican breakfast I've had in a long time (another joy of living in Texas).  We also grilled some ribs, made homemade soft pretzels, and watched the football games.  All in all, it was a wonderfully full, fun, and educational weekend.

Weekend, a litte late...

What a great weekend!  I got to see so many friends and had a lot of fun.  Unfortunately, one of my dear friends relocated for a pormotion (CONRATS!!!) on Sunday.  The good thing is that I know she will be a life long friend, no matter where either of us lives.

I also go to see some of my best friends from Cincinnati!  It is always great to have a little piece of home down here in Texas.  I ate too much food, didn't get enough sleep, and played one of my favorite games (catch phrase).  All in all, it was a wonderful weekend.
To top it off, I came home to the best welcome ever.  When I walked in my front door, the house was cleaned, the clothes were washed, and breakfast was on the table.  Jealous much?  Yeah, I would agree, I have the best fiance in the world!
Today is an exciting day.  I have an interview!!!!!!!  This is the first interview I've been on in a while.  I had a few phone interviews, but no in-person interviews.  Well, today is the day.  "Where/what is this interview?" you might be asking.  Barnes and Noble.  A very nice lady called me the other day to schedule the interview and to make sure I was ok with a part-time job that paid under my stated salary of $10/hour.  Sure, no probem... I don't mind making minimum wage at a part-time job after college and working for 3 years.  And the kicker is, I don't even know if I'll get this job.  So wish me luck at my interview today!

Road Trip

Today I'm heading off to Houston for a girls weekend.  I'm excited to see my Houston friends and a few of my friends from Cincinnati are even coming into town for work!  Packing is always hard for me.  If you see the final product, you wouldn't think that it was an issue.  But it's actually a pretty anxious experience for me where I constantly feel like I'm forgetting something.
Anyways, I'll be road tripping with my iPod to Houston shortly.  I'll be sure to fill y'all in on my weekend Monday.  I hope y'all have a great weekend!

2010

Well, it's been a while.  And since it's about that time to start the resolutions, I figured I'd make my resolution to re-commit to my blog!  I'd like to recap 2010 and starting tomorrow, on to 2011!!!

2010 started off with me living in H-town,
Looking for the love that I'd never found.
Just when I thought I was good on my own,
Fate took over and let it's light shone.
I received a fortune that turned out to be true,
"One who admires you greatly is right before you".
Low and behold, Mike and I went on a date.
My friend for years and maybe my mate?
The year went by fast as all good things do,
And it didn't take long before we both knew.
When Mike got a chance to move to Waco,
I knew without a doubt that I just had to go.
We rented a house and adjusted to small town,
But something was missing so we adopted a hound.
Our family of 3 became a perfect 4,
But Mike had one more surprise in store.
As Christmas drew near we went to look at some lights,
Mike popped the question, much to my delight.
So as we move forward to 2011,
I say goodbye and a thank you to Heaven.
2010 had hardships and challenges too,
Above all else, it brought me my boo.
Happy new years to one and to all,
And may love and happiness greet y'all!

Love at first sight

Perhaps you have had the pleasure of reading about the light of my life, Vedder, in my post entitled "That Dog".  Vedder is a pretty good dog.  I joke about him because he is a little crazy, but that's probably not all his fault.  I mean, he has been an only child his entire life.  He moved from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati to Houston to Waco all within 3 years.  And while in Houston, he moved 4 times.  He is a trooper and he's been nothing but loyal and loving to me throughout all of life's challenges.
If you haven't realized by my perpetual moving or quitting my job in one of the worst economic times, I tend to shake up the status-quo and march to my own drum.  And luckily, my boyfriend is just as adventurous (that sounds so much better than crazy) as me.  It is in that spirit that I happily announce that we have a new baby girl in our family!!!

Scratch my belly please!

Gabby girl is our newest member and she is a 4 month old basset hound/beagle mix.  She is so sweet and so cute and so loving.  Gabby is playful and loves her new big brother.  Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual just yet.  And God love him, but Vedder can't seem to figure out what she is doing here, sitting on his mom's lap and playing with his rope and walking around his house.  On a positive note, no blood has been shed! 

Cutest little girl!

Gabby and her daddy.

We are so happy and excited to have Gabby in our family. I definitely think that after a few days, Vedder and Gabby will become buddies and eventually best friends.   Annnd, this is a good way for me to fill my free time and get over my recent sports blues.  I hope you think Gabby is as cute as we do, and if you don't, then we can no longer be friends... just kidding!

Gabby looooves to chew!

Texas State Fair

Who said unemployment couldn't be fun???  On Tuesday, my boyfriend and I went to the Texas State Fair in Dallas.  It is true... everything really is bigger in Texas.

The biggest Fairest Wheel I've ever seen.

If you live anywhere near Dallas, I highly recommend a visit to the state fair, especially on a weekday.  I like to refer to the state fair as Fried Food Paradise.  Here is a list of what we tried:

Fried peanut butter and jelly (my boyfriend's favorite)

Fried Oreos (as amazing as it sounds)

Fried Cookie Dough (one bite goes a long way)

Fried Beer (pictured below... not the best tasting, but if you ever get the chance, it's a must try)

Fried Beer with Cheese

Fried Grilled Cheese (a delicious oxymoron)

Fried alligator (did not taste like chicken)

Corn Dogs (my first time eating one!)

Caramel Apples (always a fair favorite)

Fried Frito Pie (my favorite & a texas specialty)

Fried Bacon (like it needs to be even more unhealthy)

Does your stomach hurt yet???  In our defense, we were there for over 8 hours and we shared everything.  Plus, we were out of our zip code, which means the vacation rule applies (calories don't count on vacation).

Besides eating, there were tons and tons of arts and crafts, and interesting vendors everywhere.  We even did a little early Christmas shopping for our moms!  All in all it was a wonderful day with my man and fried food.  Honestly, what else could a girl want?

Fruit basket that doubles as a hot pad

Cotton Candy and my new ring.