It's okay if you don't believe me this time but...

...we bought a condo. Okay "bought" is a strong word. We made an offer on a condo and the seller accepted the offer which is a step further than the last time! After our disappointment with the liar liar pants on fire new home developers I saw a new listing for a condo that was listed at $112,000. Of course our first instinct was that it must be a dump for that price but I called anyway. The real estate agent (named Amy) gave the following details: 3 bed, 1 1/2 bath, 2 car garage(not functional, however, since the slope is too steep...our cars bottom out so it's basically glorified storage space), in okay condition, and most importantly "this condo is the last thing to go in my divorce and we just want to get it sold so we can be done with each other." So I said alright we'll come see it. I didn't think Brian would be interested but we went, we saw, we agreed the place has great potential, and he said "see what you can work out." Or something like that. Sooooooooooo we offered 108,000 asking for the seller to pay closing costs. He accepted the offer. Today we negotiated that the seller also pay for all new flooring of my choice and new paint which we will do. That part is not in writing yet but we sure hope it gets in writing because that will be AWESOME! Either way I am planning for all new carpet, possibly replace the kitchen floor with pergo(fake wood) floors, and some kind of new floors in the bathrooms. That's in addition to painting at least the entire downstairs before we move in. I have two VERY savvy friends (you know who you are;) who might as well be interior decorators. They are helping me pick out colors and have a never ending supply of ideas on how to decorate or reinvent a space to make it FABULOUS. That has never been my forte. So the pictures I am posting will serve as the BEFORE pictures. I know you will be amazed when I post the AFTER pictures in a month or two.

Above: We're the second condo in.
Below: Obviously the kitchen. All the stuff on the counter is the samples I picked up at Lowes of carpet, flooring and faux tile options not to mention paint color thingys.
Below: Living room.
Below: Upstairs bath. The washer and dryer hook up are in the downstairs bath. He left the washer and dryer so as long as they still work good we're just going to preserve our washer and dryer for when we buy a real house.
Below: Master bedroom. It's actually very large - hooray.
Below: Bedroom 2. I didn't show the pic of Bedroom 3 because it pretty much is the same thing.
Below: Back patio door. We have a great view into a family's back yard. We'll just pretend it is our yard so we don't feel sad about not having one of our own.
Below: Back view obviously....most of these descriptions are OBVIOUS. I'm hoping they're planning on refinishing the decks this spring but I'm not counting on it.
Playground and pool area - nice touch.


We will officially move into the condo on June 1st though we should own it by May 15th (as long as everything goes through...which we have learned is never guaranteed till the bank says it's a done deal). We'll have at least 2 weeks to finish touching up the condo and then move in as first time home owners. We feel good about this decision because we believe it will be relatively easy to rent out the condo once we're ready to buy a real home. It is located behind the site for the new USU campus...perfect for someday renting. Another selling point for us is that the mortgage will be around or less than what we are now paying for rent. Might as well make our money work for us!

You've heard the saying.....

IF IT SOUNDS TO GOOD TO BE TRUE IT PROBABLY IS.

We've waited a few days to share the NOT so fun news. We were the first family to sign up for the new subdivision with the AMAZING prices on beautiful new homes. It was a deal we just could not pass up even though it would have put us at the top of our budget. Well, the salesman had three families signed up like us. We signed all the dotted lines and the contract then needed to be signed by the "seller"/investors to be binding. He was supposed to fax it to us within 5 business days. He didn't. I left messages asking what the deal was and he responded saying he was working out some kinks but not to worry and he'd be in touch. We repeated this pattern for almost two weeks. Finally he was straight up a few days ago and said, "The investors reviewed the plans and decided the homes need to be marked up....$20,000 - $30,000." We were devastated. NO we can't work with the new pricing. NO we don't understand how this drastic of a change could happen. YES we understand what you're saying and we are no longer even remotely interested. To his credit the guy was practically in tears. He is embarrassed, angry, and humilated but the guys with the money have the last say.

Our final word on this matter is that this subdivision is likely doomed to fail now. This is a rural area and word of mouth is more powerful than any advertising they might do. Besides, Brian and I might not be financially powerful people but we are influential with our ties to the community. Between his job at the school district, my job at the newspaper, his job at the radio station we know and communicate with practically every city, county, and state official. That's not to mention that Brian is active on the chamber of commerce, I run a community program at the library, Brian works with a many area families whose children are students of his program.... the list goes on. So we will not hestitate to share our experience when it comes up.

We would have been really good people to know and to have live in their subdivision. Too bad for them!

Missing my Husband....Blogging is a great distraction!

Well I know some of you have been hoping for a Ryanna update and I have so much to share. Ryanna is really growing and becoming a curious, sweet(sometimes spicy;), and active/walking little girl. Brian is gone this week to a training conference in Salt Lake and I'm already bored and missing him...so what better thing to do than blog about my beautiful daughter!

I brush Ryanna's teeth before bed and after breakfast. This last week I started having her stick out her tongue so I can swipe it a few times with the brush. She now loves to stick her tongue out at me because she knows I'll stick mine out too.

There are two cupboards in the kitchen that Ryanna empties about 5 times a day. One has all the cookie sheets, pizza pans, cutting boards...that kind of stuff. She likes to jabber to herself as she pulls them out and bangs them around. She also loves to sit herself on the pizza pan and use her feet to spin in circles.

She's got a mouthful of teeth now. 12 to be exact and I think another molar is breaking.

Today we got home from visiting Brian at work and Ryanna wanted to watch the kitties while she drank her milk. So I busied myself in the living room and after a while realized I hadn't heard Ryanna banging anything or jabbering. I went in to find her asleep in her high chair - a first for her. Lately she just calms herself down and falls asleep when she's ready. It used to be she had to be lulled to sleep for naps and bedtime. Now though I just read her a certain story, give her a kiss and lay her down with her glow baby, then I leave the room. Life is good!

I was pouring some milk when Ryanna got her hand in the door of the fridge and wanted to explore this colorful world. She didn't pull anything out, just wanted to look I guess.

One of the biggest event of the year is X94's annual easter egg hunt. It was INSANE! There was something like 4,000 or 5,000 people there. I have never seen so much candy in my life. One downer was the weather - windy, rainy, and cold. That didn't stop the thousands of kids from having fun grabbing candy though Ryanna didn't really get the hype. I'm sure next year she'll be all about it.

Here are the oh so talked about dumpster kitties. On this day we hadn't seen them. By dinner time Ryanna was repeating "kitties, kitties" so I thought I'd do something to entice them...so we set some tuna out by the dumpster and the two bravest kitties were grateful for the free dinner.
I can no longer put my hair in a ponytail so on lazy days I have to wear headbands. Ryanna wants to have pretty hair too and steals the headband at her first opportunity. Isn't she pretty!

Let me tell you a little more about our "house" or the promise of a house to be built. I had been keeping a close eye on the market here which unlike many parts of the US has remained strong. It is expected to remain strong long term because of the growing industry in the oil and gas fields but there is no crystal ball to tell us for sure. Just like Brian said I saw a listing online for a new construction home for less than what 20-30 year old homes are listed. We were the first family to sign up and give earnest money for the subdivision. The prices are considerably low for these homes because they need to get the first handfull of families signed up before they can start construction...therefore the lower the price the more enticing to the buyer. Once the first group of homes are built and there are model homes for people to see, the prices will be jacked up for the rest of the subdivision. They are still working out all the details of the construction, etc. so we are just waiting to hear what comes next. We are patient and excited!
Wow - Starting to WALK! This was one of the first times I helped her walk behind her toy...she's pretty wobbly at first.

Little by little Ryanna gained balance and confidence though anytime she'd run into a wall or couch she'd squeal for help. Now she is a pro with her toy walkers. We take them to Daddy's work and she walks all over the big gym. She loves it! Several times I've let go of her and she stands by herself but the second she realizes she is unsupported she sits down and reaches for me. She's physically ready to walk. As soon as she's totally ready I know she'll just take off!

Glow Baby how I love thee - let me count the ways. If your toddler is having a hard time going to sleep by themself try buying a glow baby. This has been the key to Ryanna going to bed smoothly every night. I love whoever invented this toy.

So far Ryanna's vocabulary includes: Mama, Dada, Hi, Bye, Puppy, Kitty, Dough Baby(for glow baby)...that's all I can think of right now. She also uses signs for More, Milk, and All Done. This day she was telling stories about "puppy, puppy."