Excuse the Boring, Part Three.

Yeah, you know the intro. Part One and Part Two in case you don't.

Why Arli Was Boring

Chapter 3: The House

(Or The Reason I Don't Hate Moving)

     So, I'm not going to lie, I really wasn't feeling the whole moving thing. I mean, yay for the job and the school and the salary and all that. But it was farther away. And while I love my university to the point that it may no longer be healthy, I don't so much love college towns. I generally don't so much love college kids. They are loud and messy and bad drivers. I know I say this like I'm all grown-up with all of my 22 years, and yes, my husband is in fact going BACK to college, but to be fair, I didn't love college kids when I was IN college for pretty much the same reasons. Also, there isn't always a lot to do in college towns. I mean, it's pretty much a small town that happens to have 50,000 people in it (90,000 on football weekends). It's fun for about 2 years, and then it gets old.

      Now, in addition to all these things, there is also the rental market. Rental properties is college towns, or at least this one, anyway, are... interesting. It's not like anywhere else in the world where the market is competitive and designed for long-term residents with families. Oh no. You get the absolute bare minimum for the most amount they can possibly charge you. And everyone is okay with this because you're probably only there for a year. So you either get a furnished apartment, a duplex with all same size, tiny bedrooms, or a house that hasn't built updated since the 70's (complete with carpet, wallpaper, and avocado colored appliances). Not that I'm in any way against the 70's, but the $600 electric bill for an old house wasn't sitting well with me. 

     So, for about a month, I spent every weekend away looking at rentals, hoping something would turn up that I didn't hate. We found some stuff that was okay, but nothing great. Nothing really even good, really. Either the bedrooms were closets, our furniture wouldn't fit, no washing machines, weird kitchen with no panty, only one bathroom, etc etc etc. (You really can't go back to one bathroom after you've had two. Trust me). So, in short, I was not a happy camper.

      Enter my awesome realtor and mother in law to the rescue. Together, the four of us figured out that we could actually afford to buy a house. Which is both super exciting and terrifying at the same time. My mother-in-law backed us on the loan, so that we got a fantastic 3.75% interest rate, and my relator found us some really awesome houses that we could afford with no problem. Of course, at this point, we had to start over, and we were running out of time. We needed 30 days to close and had to be in town by December first so that hubby can start the new job. We also had absolutely no idea what we were doing. At all. Thankfully, my realtor is amazing and super helpful. And we found an awesome house. 

       The house was at the top of our price range, but as it turns out, for every $1000 dollars you go up in price, your monthly payment changes less than $5. And when making a GIGANTIC purchase like a house, you might as well get what you want, since you're stuck with it for awhile. And, generally, you get what you pay for. The resale value in the area that we bought in is a lot better than some of the others that we looked at. The construction of the house is also noticeably better.  Also, we got to keep all of the appliances. When you buy a house, it usually doesn't come with a refrigerator or washer or dryer. Which can add up pretty fast, considering you're probably spending most of your money on a down payment and closing costs.It also helps that they're awesome appliances :)

 

      So, that's the floor plan. We liked that it had a split floor plan, for possible future children purposes. There's about 1575 square feet, and it was one of the larger places that we looked it. It's also built in 2004 and energy rated, so it should be super efficient. Also, can we talk about the size of the master bathroom for a second? I mean, seriously. I could live in there. It's amazing. The bathtub has a freaking SEAT. Also, I have about 400 closets. AND a vented attic. I don't know what to do with so much storage. Well, I do. I buy more stuff. :) I will have a post later explaining (as best I can) the home buying process. But mostly, right now I'm just really excited. We close next week, so my fingers are crossed that everything goes smoothly. We're going to be poor for a minute, but it's totally worth it. And, of course, here are some pictures of all the awesomeness. It was staged with furniture, but it'll give you an idea of kinda where everything is going to go. I can't wait to DECORATE!!!

     

 

Oh Dear.

So, for the first time since I started in February, something happened.

I called in sick to work. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm no stranger to the whole sick thing. I actually get made fun of a lot by the Mr. who likes to say that I have no immune system. I spent a fair portion of my school years at home sick (although, some of that was really because I didn't feel like going to school. Don't judge). 

But this is the first time in a long time that I have been legitimately, stay home from work, don't change out of my pajamas sick. 

I don't actually know what I have, either. I guess a cold? I usually get a cold every year, but... differently? I don't know. Maybe it's the flu. I've never had the flu before. Or gotten a flu shot. I've have strep throat 11 times, but never the flu. Go figure.

Anyway, so because I've been out of commission all weekend, I've had to figure out things to do that didn't involve speaking (I have no voice) or staying awake for long periods of time (I'm on Nyquil). So, I exhausted my Netflix supply of TV shows I wanted to watch, and made a very unfortunate discovery. 

Yeah. I've been saying I wasn't going to get sucked into that. I didn't get it. I really didn't. So... you just click on crap you like? 

I can be the bigger person here. I can admit it... I was wrong.

This pretty much sums it all up: 

 So, until I can function again (which doesn't appear to be in the near future), this is how I will occupy myself. My facebook-stalking skills are sure to suffer. 

You can follow me if you want, though. I'm _arli. Do it.

 

Excuse the Boring, Part Two

So, back to the whole "I've been so boring" thing. Not sure what I'm talking about? You can read the first part of my schpeel here.

Anyway. So, hey Arli, why are you so boring?

Why Arli Was Boring

Chapter Two: The Job

     I don't have a corny intro to this part. My bad (it's late and I just got off work, don't hate. And that also totally rhymed). I digress. So, both me and the hubs graduated from college last year (from the best college in the WORLD). The original plan was for me to work while the Mr. worked on his graduate degree. So we were all excited when I got my degree in December. Until the state cut 6 billion dollars from the education budget a couple days later. And the teaching market went to you-know-where. So, the whole I-teach-to-put-you-through-school thing wasn't looking so good. While I explored other possible employment options, my wonderful husband got offered a surprise job super early in the semester. We could have stayed in our college town, budgeted like crazy, and stuck with the original plan. Or, we could take the super awesome job in a really neat part of town, move back home really close to our families, and live comfortably for awhile without having to worry too much about money. One of those choices, obviously, sounded a lot more fun than the other. Especially after two semesters of being super poor married-while-still-in-college students.

      So, we moved back to Houston. Hi Houston! (which, incidentally, is definitely not that green) We (mostly me) LOVE living in Houston. We got an AMAZING apartment (although, to be fair, we didn't have much to compare to. Student housing in a college town is sad and scary). Being close to family is really, really important to me. So being 45 minutes away from any given family member was awesome. I got a job here that, while temporary, lets me work with super awesome people that I love to little tiny pieces. The heat and humidity and 4000 pound air are not my favorite, but that's okay. The Mr. loves Houston too, and liked his job, but it wasn't doing exactly what he wanted to be doing. You know?

      Don't you love it when you think you have everything all planned out and God has another plan entirely? I find that this happens to me a lot, lately. I feel like he just rolls his eyes at me and laughs  when I plan things.

      So, mid-October, Phillip (the hubs) gets a call from one of his former professors. A position with the university has opened up. The job is a full-time, state-funded job will full benefits that pays for your graduate degree. And with a little negotiation, the salary is almost exactly what he earns at his present job (before you factor in the tuition and fees and all the other stuff it pays for).  So, obviously, it's an opportunity that we kind of have to take. Down side: the chances of me getting a job in this town are slim to none. There are about 10 times more teachers looking to 80% less jobs. But, I don't mind putting my career on hold for awhile. It's not like its exactly going anywhere right now anyway. And who knows? Maybe I'll figure out something that is exactly what I wanted to do all along. You never know.

  

(It's the closet thing we have to a skyline. Yeah, it's not a big town.)

      So, December first, we will be moving back to Aggieland. Yes, December first. Which, in case you don't have a calendar handy, is in about two weeks. Crap, I just looked at my calendar. Exactly two weeks. Have I packed a single box? No. Did I unpack everything I own when we moved 6ish months ago because I thought we would be here a long time? Yes. Sigh.

     When we started looking for places to live up there, seeing all the rentals made me a little sick. Well... a lot sick. It broke my heart a lot knowing that I would have to leave my apartment. The apartment that I love as much as a person can ever love a building. With the crown molding and garden tubs and resort-style pool. The rentals in Aggieland are desgined for college students, which means they are small and old and lame. But, I guess that's a story for another time. (Hint hint: chapter three).

Shop Update!

So despite all the general chaos that is my life right now, I have filled up my etsy shop with new, nifty things! You should definitely go check it out.