112 - A return to reality

I got two awards this week! Thank you Sarah for the From Me to You award, and to Kato for the Best Blogger award. I'm scatterbrained, so I didn't load the pictures until after I wrote the rest of the blog... you'll just have to read to the end for me to perform my awardly duties. ;)

I was online looking at the house next door, curious to see if they dropped their price yet. The whole thing intrigues me... would someone actually pay their asking price? I admit, part of me was hopeful, because it bodes well for the value of my home, but I'm a realist. It appears that they dropped the price by $6k. I think it's got to drop a little more before anyone's going to make an offer, but I did see someone stop to pick up a flyer the other day.

...Unfortunately my first impression was that this flyer snatcher didn't seem all that bright, so I kinda hope they don't buy it... There's a four-lane road that runs through the neighborhood, two lanes on each side of a median... and it's fairly busy... these dumbshits (there's your answer, Ian... I speak fluent french, lol) put their flashers on as they crossed the intersection ... and the car sat idling in the right hand lane, where people had to go around them, instead of them pulling alongside the curb in front of the house, on a far less busy street where they wouldn't obstruct traffic. (I don't know if that makes sense or not... I feel kind of feverish so my brain is scrambled right now... happened all of a sudden...)

So then I took a gander at other homes on the market. I don't know why I do this to myself. I imagine it's much the same feeling a guy gets when he goes to a strip club and sees all the strippers, then goes home alone... I found a house and I fell in love with it. I could actually afford it... with the difference in the tax basis, my estimate is that it would only cost me $30/month, even though it was about $20k more than my current mortgage. It was about 200 square feet smaller than my current home. It had two bedrooms instead of four. It had a gas stove. All these are negatives (gas makes me asthmatic), but I didn't care because I got caught up in the moment: it had wood floors, it was open and modern. The 4-car garage (wtf?) was on the bottom floor, the living area was on the second, and the (two) bedrooms on the third. Flooding? Not a frickin' problem! Four car garage? Ridiculous! But I'll take it! If nothing else, I could take half the garage and turn it into another bedroom someday... who needs a garage that size when you only have two bedrooms?

It also appeared to have a nice-sized yard with trees, and it had a balcony, and a bitchin' kitchen... it just called to me. I was getting caught up in the momentum of the moment, so I was an inch away from calling the realtor to set up an appointment before I decided I would rather drive by first. I couldn't tell what the neighborhood looked like, and I thought I saw a chain link fence in the background (which, for the area, doesn't bode well).

Screw driving. I am a child of the internet... I went to Google Maps, input the address, drug the little man to the street, and decided to pass on the house. There was a decent looking house next door. The one next to that was a little less spectacular. The one next to that had about 6 large trashcans in the yard. The one next to that was a dilapidated trailer. Across the street it looked kind of junky, and I think it was right next to the bayou... which could be good, or it could mean flooding. Did I scoff at the flooding earlier? Well that was before I realized that Trixie (car) wouldn't be on the second floor with me... and she can't swim (and still no pontoons). I also don't know about the resale value in a neighborhood as esoteric as all that... further down there was some nicer houses; it was random.

So it turned out for the best. I really shouldn't think about buying another house right now. The one I have is fine... I still love most aspects of it, and there's not much left to fix at this point. So I should wait until I can save up a nice downpayment, and take my time until I find the perfect house that has everything I want... including the location.

Oooookay. Back to the awards. =))) For the Best Blogger Award... remember it? Waaaaaaay up there at the top of the blog because I can't figure out how to put the pictures where I want them unless I load them first... which I failed to do... and I can't seem to cut and paste and I don't feel like retyping everything?... GAH!!! So... first I have to list 5 blogs I enjoy reading on a regular basis. As you can see by my sidebar, I subscribe to quite a few, but the ones I enjoy the most are written by the people I connect with personally... so pretty much for this award it's gonna be a mutual admiration society of you guys (in no particular order because I like them all). I'm going to list seven, because then I also honor the second award where I link to seven more blogs (I'm a multi-tasker... I'm also watching tv):

-- Kato, who gave me this particular award. She had me at "I'm a lady who enjoys burping and farting..." I like honesty in a person. =) I am still chuckling over her Is It Friday Yet? post.

-- Sarah, whose blog I ran across after flagging the words 'query shark' on Google. She's also a writer, and we're in about the same place in the process, so it's nice to have that in common with someone. She blogs nearly every day, and I always look forward to seeing what she has to say.

-- Nanny Goats in Panties, the very name of the blog was so absurd that it made me laugh, so I was pleased to see that the blog was also entertaining. And she does talk about goats! (goats are adorable)

-- Bendigo, I think I found his blog when I was scanning a long list of blogs people had submitted. I like it when a blog is genuine and not gimmicky, his is a slice of life, and an interesting one at that.

-- Kate, I admire her bravery for blogging about her office... I intentionally steer clear of it because everyone knows I blog and I don't want to lose my job... but aside from that, what an interesting office! It's like a soap opera and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next!

-- Plenty More Fish Out of Water provides me with perspective as to why I'm still single, lol... I didn't take the dating 101 courses I guess.

-- Andy (yes, ANDY... not that other name I once accidentally called you), I never would have thought a blog about a bakery in Mozambique would be my cup of tea, but it's fascinating because it's a slice of life I don't normally get to see and I like reading about things outside of my realm of experience.

And, Sarah gave me a From Me to You award. The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave the award to you. (thank you Sarah!)

2. Copy award. (check)

3. Post it in your blog. (done, if rather ineptly)

4. Tell us 7 things that your readers don't know. (that might be hard as I'm pretty much an open book, but I'll try...)

5. Link 7 new bloggers as receipients. (covered)

6. Notify winners of award with comment on their blog. (bossy little award aren't you???)

7. Keep being awesome! (I'll try my best, lol)

Seven things you don't know about me:

1. Oddly, I too like doing dishes. It's a mindless task that keeps my mind occupied, and if you can't tell from my blogs, my mind is a pretty busy place (also an absurd one), so it's nice to have a little silence from time to time.

2. I wrap my bacon slices individually, because I never use a whole package at one time and don't want to waste it.

3. I get chills when I hear a mosquito sprayer truck go by. I sometimes even mute the tv, like the truck driver is stalking me and can tell that I'm home by the sound of my television... I'm not always rational...

4. I eat my fingers. I don't just bite my nails, I bite my fingers. But it's especially odd since I have a major phobia when it comes to anything happening to my fingers.

5. I don't like coffee, tea or beer. It can be a social handicap sometimes, because what do they always serve at buffets and picnics? I'm also not particularly fond of wine, but I drink it sometimes.

6. Instead of a birthday cake, I ask my mom to make lemon icebox pie. It's basically like a lemon version of key-lime pie. Drool...

7. I didn't actually have the hang of driving a stick shift when I bought my first car. I'd practiced on my ex-husband's truck but always killed it in first gear, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that my Saturn was far more forgiving... I didn't stall it once on the way home! Phew!

So there you have it. I'm about to crash, so I'll leave the award comment on your blogs tomorrow, but if you drop by here before I get the chance -- congrats, and thank you for allowing me to peek into your lives, thanks for giving me something to think about, and/or thanks for keeping me entertained!