A White Christmas

Well, I can't believe it, but I actually saw a white Christmas yesterday.

It decided to start snowing pretty heavy here in Virginia Beach last night. I was pretty shocked, because I can't remember the last time it snowed on Christmas. The only "bad" thing about it is that it snowed at night as opposed to during the day. It's fine, though. I stayed inside all day yesterday.

Today, I was supposed to drive to Portsmouth, VA. My mom has two foster kids and they were going to their new foster home. Then we were going to drive to Georgia so that my mom and sister could see the new house. The only thing is, it was snowing so bad when we got on the highway. We could only drive one exit on the highway and then had to get back off. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to risk my life or my family's life just so my mom and sister can see the house. The house will be there. We'll plan another trip down.

Now, however, I need to decide what to do with my time while I'm still here in Virginia Beach. I was planning on doing a few things while I was down in Georgia. Now, I have to make better use of my time.

Either way, I'm happy we don't have to sit for (at least) 10 hours in the car. With the snow, we would have probably been traveling longer than that. The most important thing is that I'm able to spend time with my family.

Ok. Why Am I Feeling Down Today?

WTH? It's Christmas Eve. Why in the world am I feeling down right now? I have a family who loves me, a new house. What is going on?

I think it's the events of the past few days that has me a little down. For starters, my mom (who's a foster parent) has two foster kids who are now being taken out of her home. The state has decided to transfer them to a different foster agency. It's a little sad to see children who have already been removed from their regular home now being moved to a different home. The kids said they wanted to stay with my mom too (they're 12 and 14), but what are you going to do?

Then I'm disappointed in the fact that my sister (my real one) is/was supposed to be doing something for me. Now it seems like she wants to back out of it. It's not a BIG deal, but it still puts a bit of a strain on some plans that I had.

Top that off with I haven't done any Christmas shopping. Truth be told, I'm actually pretty broke after shelling out more money than expected for the closing, moving and then paying new (and old) bills. I can't go out to shop yet because I'm here watching the foster kids for my mom while she goes out and does last minute shopping.

I dunno. I guess it's just all of the changes in the past few weeks that has me kind of blah. Believe it or not, I always get pretty anxious AFTER Christmas. I'm basically ready for the new year to start so that I can get started on new things in my life. This year, however, I am not waiting until the new year. As soon as Christmas is over I am changing my ways for some things. What's the sense in waiting? Might as well get started.

Now to just get past these last few hours. UGH!!!

Random Thoughts

I really wish I could say that this post is about something specific, but it isn't. There are times when I feel like I just need to make a post just to make one. It's not really going through the motions, but the only way to keep with a "habit" is to keep doing it. I guess that's what I'm doing with this post. LOL.

In any case, I've really been thinking more and more about what I want for the new year. One of the things I would really like to manifest are a few men to date. When I say "date," I don't mean FWB. I mean just truly dating. I've never been the type to date more than one man at a time. I actually go through long periods of time where I don't date anyone. Then, someone comes along, and I start seeing only them.

This is one year that I don't want to do that. I am determined to get out more and start meeting more people - especially men. I want to be more outgoing and let it be known that I'm available. I think that I put men off a lot of the time by being standoff-ish. I'm not going to do that in 2011. I know that I eventually would like to get married. However, I want to get married to a quality man...not just "Mr. There At The Time." Things have got to change.

I've joined a few more Meetup groups today, and now that I actually live in Atlanta, it's much easier for me to attend some of these events. I'm really excited to get back home and get started on the new year.

I'll be back.

Home For The Holidays

I drove home to see my mom for the holidays. It was a long 10 hour drive, but I finally made it here. I'm glad to be here, but I would be lying if I didn't say I miss my house a little.

My mom is coming back down with me next week to see the house. I think my sister is coming down as well. I can't wait for them to see it. Hopefully my mom can give some insight on some decorating ideas for the house.

In the meantime, it's nice being back home. My mom, in typical fashion, is so happy to see me so she's spoiling me. I've been laying in bed all day and she's been wanting to feed me in bed. It's funny because she did that sometimes when I was a kid, but not a lot. Now she does it every time I come home.

She's also taking care of two foster children this year. We'll be spending the holidays with them as well. Seeing them makes me very grateful for the things my mom did for me over the years. I may have not had everything that I wanted, but I can truly say that I never wanted for anything. The amount of love my mom showed me over the years can never be repaid, but I sure am going to try.

There really is no place like home for the holidays!

It's Time For A Change

I feel it. I don't know what it is, but something is pulling at me to do better. I'm sure a part of it has to do with the new year coming in. We always feel like the next year is going to be better than the last.

However, something has been really nagging at me the past few days...like HORRIBLY nagging at me. I'm realizing that I'm feeling my soul start to pull me in a different direction. It's weird because it's only truly happened AFTER I moved into the new house.

Perhaps God is trying to tell me that it's okay for me to want more in my life. He may be telling me that I deserve every good thing that I desire. It could just be that new surroundings bring new things. Whatever it is, it's something that I can't ignore.

I was working on my vision board again last night. I am still working on the Power Point one (tweaking it). I also started working on my affirmations last night. I've decided, though, that I also want to have a physical vision board to look at each and every morning when I wake up. I think I'm just going to print off the slides from the Power Point slide and put them on the vision board. I think I'm also going to see how I can get it laminated. I would like to make sure I'm looking at something really pretty.

I think (I'm not promising yet) that I may actually come up here and make a post every day about what's going on in my life. I'm going to try and make it positive, but I'm going to share my struggles as well. That way I can come back and see how far I've gone. I don't want to stick to it just yet, but I may actually do that to hold me accountable.

We'll see.

2011 Personal Goals

In a few days a new year will be upon us. I've gotten some things accomplished this year, the main thing being buying a house. However, I don't think (no, I KNOW) I haven't really accomplished the major goals I set in place for 2010.

I always feel like each year is going to be better than the last, but for some reason I knew 2010 wasn't going to be that great. It wasn't a bad year, and I'm truly grateful for all of my blessings...but I could feel that something was holding me back.

I'm in the process of revamping a few things for 2011. One of the things I'm DEFINITELY going to be doing is working on my vision board. I made a slideshow, vision board the other day. I really like it too, because it allows me to take my goals on the road with me. I can actually watch it on my iphone/ipod which I love. I also have some inspirational songs on there as well.

But, before I can really finish my vision board, I need to make a list of what I want. It can't just be something like, "I want a new job." It has to be more in detailed. I'm finding that God will give you what you want most of the times, but if you're not specific you won't get what you really want.

So, for the next few days I'm going to work on my 2011 goals. I'm going to reach DEEP down and decide on everything that I want to manifest. Then I'm going to work on putting those things in action.

Stay tuned!!!

Owning A Home Is NOT Easy

Not that I expected it to be. I just didn't expect for so many things to happen at once.

So, when I was getting my house inspected back in (I believe) October, "L" and I just so happened to meet my soon to be neighbor. He lives in the house directly behind mine. He told us a little bit about himself and the neighborhood. I truly didn't think I would see him that often.

Well, these past few days I've been going back and forth between the house and my apartment having the cable/phone turned on, house/carpet cleaned, etc. I was sitting in the house yesterday afternoon getting ready to go back to my apartment when the doorbell rings. It's my neighbor.

Him (rather excitedly) "We got a problem."
Me: "What?" (While thinking to myself, "You better not start
Him: "Your tree is about to fall on my house!"
Me: "WHAT???!!!"

We go to the back of the house and sure enough, my tree is leaning over. Ugh.
I told him I would see about taking care of it and get back to him. I called 4 tree removal services yesterday. Now, granted it was Sunday afternoon, so most of them were closed. Don't you know that only ONE called me back today...and that was AFTER 4pm!!!
I went back to the house today and did find a different man who can cut the tree down tomorrow. Luckily he picked up the phone and came out right away. He's ONLY charging me $350 but after shelling out close to $10k this past week on closing, cleaning, etc that $350 feels like a million. However, it's something that needs to be done.

I'm still very happy that I was able to purchase this house. I'm not complaining at all, but I'm definitely getting a more realistic view of home ownership. There's no landlord to call. I am the landlord now. Time to start saving up some money again.

Stay tuned.

I CLOSED!!!!

I am so excited. I finally closed on my house yesterday. I can't believe it. I waited so long for the time to come, and now it's over. I'm NOT complaining at all. It's just that it seems like I waited forever.

Let me tell you, HGTV definitely gives you a false sense of what to expect at closing. I mean, I know the majority of it is fake, but sheesh. My closing was at 2:00. I got there very early. It was raining horribly and I didn't want anything to delay the closing any longer. I walked in at 1:45. I believe we started at around 1:55 and I was finished signing all of the papers at 2:15. I couldn't believe it.

The only bad thing is, MY KEYS WEREN'T AT THE CLOSING!!! My realtor, L, said that the selling agent couldn't make it to the closing so he had to go and get the keys from her. Then he had to drive in the rain to the closing. By the time he got to the closing office I was finished and had been standing outside in the lobby for about 20 minutes (the weather was really that bad).

Then because of the horrible weather, L and I went to grab some lunch. It was nice just talking and chatting with him. I finally made it to the house at around 7:30. It took so long to get there because of all of the accidents.

When I got there, it was so surreal. I had been there numerous times for several different things. I went to the house the first time to see it. Then I drove past it again to decide if I wanted to make an offer on it.Then I went back into the house with my realtor after we made an offer on it to decide if I wanted to accept their counter offer. Then I had to go back for the inspection. Then I tried to go back when I got back in town to do the final walk through. It was so weird because when I finally had the keys and was in the house, I kept feeling like I had to rush out because someone was coming. I finally had to realize that someone I was waiting for was me, and I was finally home.

I cried so hard when I got there. I couldn't even stop myself. I was so happy and it was so surreal. Luckily....L remembered I liked Kettle One vodka and Sprite (that's my drink). So, when I got to the house, I saw he had purchased a bottle of Kettle One, a bottle of Sprite and two glasses. He put them in a small basket and there was a congratulations card. I was crying again. I finally had to take a drink because I couldn't calm down.

All in all, it was definitely worth it. I can't wait until I move in.

The best part of all was that a) I found out my interest rate was WAY lower than I was locked in for and b) because of the low interest rate, my mortgage payment is about the same I'm paying in rent (or would be paying if I signed another lease).

I can honestly say I have truly been blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so grateful to have another year with my family. With my dad dying a few months ago, it makes me appreciate my mother that much more.

I am also very grateful that I will be closing on my house on Tuesday. It's been such a long journey it almost feels like a dream.

It's just a great time in my life right now. I'm grateful for all of my blessings, both big and small.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Yay!

I'm so excited. As I was driving to my mom's yesterday I finally....FINALLY got word that I am clear to close on Tuesday, November 30th. When I got the news I literally cried...hard.

This has been such a hard journey. I can't remember if I wrote about this earlier, but I tried to buy a home back in the spring of this year and the deal fell through. I was pretty bummed about it because it wasn't my fault that the deal fell through. It was because of the HORRIBLE mortgage broker I was dealing with. He was a nightmare. The only thing that got me through was the fact that I kept remembering that everything happens for a reason. When God is ready for me to have a house HE will make sure it happens. That's exactly what happened too.

I loved the house I looked at earlier, but I realized shortly after the deal fell through that if I had purchased that house I would have been unhappy shortly afterwards. I don't want to stay in the city I'm living in now (which is where the first house was located). Now, I'm moving to a bigger house, which is closer to everything in a city that I love.

I've never been an overly religious person, but God really does give you what you're looking for in his time..which is really the right time.

I can't wait to get back to town to sign on the dotted line.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving! I definitely know one of the things I'm giving thanks for this year.

Ugh

Ok. I knew I wasn't going to close today, but I thought there might be some chance that the bank would have gotten back to me by now. They pretty much assured me that the final paperwork would be looked at today. It is now 5:36 p.m., and I have heard nothing from them.

I'm not worried. They've already looked at everything else. They just need to look at the new sales price since the home appraised for lower that the sales price. I mean, but damn. How many people are buying houses in this economy? I'm being sarcastic of course, but this is ridiculous. They've had the paperwork since Thursday morning and (supposedly) a rush was put on it. We're now going on Tuesday. Sheesh.

It's not like it matters. I'm leaving in the morning to go home for the holidays. L said if I could stay until Wednesday morning then I could probably close by then. Are you serious? If I leave here on Wednesday afternoon/evening to go home for Thanksgiving then I might as well just stay here. It's not like it's a 3 hour drive. It's almost 10 hours (that's WITHOUT stopping for gas). No thanks. I can wait until I get back. Besides, it's not like I would be able to be in the house until I came back from Thanksgiving anyway...even if I DID close today.

However, it sure would have been nice to have the keys in my hand right about now.

The good news is, I got the appraisal back in the mail today. I was pleasantly surprised. The house was listed as having almost 2800 square feet. Well, I found out today (per the appraisal) that it has almost 3200 square feet. That doesn't include the unfinished basement. When I get around the finishing that (which WON'T be any time soon), the house will have over 4500 finished square feet. I'm really excited.

...but who the hell is going to clean all of that?

Really Bummed

I'm not going to lie. I'm really disappointed by not being able to close this past Friday. I thought for sure that I would be in my house by now. I wasn't planning on moving in this weekend, but I was going to have the house cleaned and start getting the feel of being a homeowner. Now I have to wait another week or so. Sigh.

I should have at least been trying to pack this weekend, but I couldn't even get motivated to do that. I don't know. I actually wanted to go out this weekend. This would have been my last time to go out here in Atlanta before the end of the year. I'll be out of town for the holidays, work and trying to move in the next few weeks. I don't know why I was so pressed about it. The bad thing is, I (still) don't know a lot of people, so the people I DO know already had things to do.

One thing I'm going to make sure I do at the start of the year is get out more. I know I said that before, but I mean it. It seems as if all of the people I meet through Meetup all live in Atlanta or other areas that are further away from where I'm at now, but closer to where I'll be moving to. I have to make sure that I take advantage of that and get out to meet new people. I may even have a cookout or two this upcoming year. We shall see.

Let's just get the damn keys first!

So Aggravated

So, I was supposed to go to closing yesterday (November 19th). Because the house I'm buying appraised for lower than the purchase price, we had to go back to the sellers to see if they would sell the home for the lower price (only $6k). They agreed, and I needed to sign an amendment they sent over which basically said that they were going to sell the home for a lower price and that they were changing the amount of closing costs they would pay (that's ANOTHER story). Anyway, I faxed the paperwork back to L's broker immediately, and they faxed the paperwork back to the seller a few moments later. However, the sellers took all day to send the paperwork back, and didn't fax it back until after 5pm!!! Grrr.

This in turn caused a delay in my file going back to underwriting for the final approval. Everything else has been approved, but they needed the amendment to provide approval for the new loan amount. Since there was a delay in the appraisal being done (yet ANOTHER story) and now the new price of the home, my closing has been delayed. The new closing date was supposed to be this coming Monday (November 22nd). BUT...the loan processor at the bank said that there is a 48 hour turn around for underwriting to look at the file for final approval. So, underwriting would look at the file yesterday or this coming Monday. Additionally, the attorney must have the paperwork in their office 72 hours ahead of time. So, in order for me to close on the 22nd, the attorney would have needed to have the paperwork in their office by this past Wednesday!

The problem is, I'm going out of town on November 23rd for vacation. So this means that I now won't be able to close until the day after I return - November 30th! Aaaggghhh!

I swear, I could pull my hair out right now. I so want to close on this house, but I'm realizing that everything happens for a reason. I don't know what the reasoning is for the delay in closing, but I'm certain there is a reason. This just pushes everything back for me. I thought I would have a few weeks to get the house cleaned, move in that house, move out of my apartment, etc. Now, it basically only gives me one weekend to have the house cleaned and to move in because, guess what, I'm going out of town AGAIN for work! This is crazy!

I can't wait for this whole thing to be over!

Stay tuned!

On The Home Front

Well, things seem to be going as planned with the house I'm trying to buy. Everything looks good, and the only thing I'm waiting on is for the appraisal to be completed. It was done this past Friday, so I'm just waiting to see what it appraises for.

I don't really have any worries at this point, but I'm still nervous about the closing. When the appraisal is reviewed by the underwriters for the last time, they will give the okay to close. Right now, I'm supposed to be closing this coming Friday. I keep wondering how I will react when I finally have the keys to my first home in my hand. I can't wait.

Just wanted to give a quick update. I'll be back with (hopefully) more news.

The House Search So Far

Hey guys! I know it's been a while since I wrote last. Things have been crazy. However, I do have some great news!

I FOUND A HOUSE!!!

I'm so excited. I found a house about a month ago. It's at a price I can afford, and it has everything I want. The only thing is, it's NOT in the area that I was originally looking for. I decided (while looking) that I really didn't want to live in the city that I live in now. I mainly was looking in my current area because it was the closest city (in Metro Atlanta) that I liked and was closest to my job.

Every time I looked in this area, though, there was this nagging feeling in the back of my head that I shouldn't be living here. Especially since I know I'm not going to be at my current job forever. So, my best friend, and "L" asked me to consider homes actually in the city of Atlanta. Against my better judgement I did that and in the process found the home of my dreams!

It has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a two story family room, formal living room, formal dining room, huge master bathroom and a basement (not finished - but a basement nonetheless).

I'm in the final process of getting my loan approved. I don't foresee any problems, so I should be closing on November 19th.

Please keep your fingers crossed and pray for me.

Until next time! :-)

My House Search So far (Part 2)

As I was saying in Part 1, there have been a few snags in obtaining the house of my dreams.

First, the house needs some work. When “L” and I actually drove to the home to look at it, there was a man and a woman already in the garage of the house! We were able to determine later on that the garage door is broken which allows people to roam freely through the house. There was also no lock box on the door as is common with homes that are for sale. Basically, anyone could throw a party in there.

The home is being sold as is. With that being said: There are also no appliances in the home. Now, I don't know if they were stolen or if the previous owners just took them with them. Either way, I would need to buy appliances. The backyard needs some work. Basically a lot of shrubbery needs to be cut and maybe even a few trees since the view to the lake is blocked. Also, there are some things still in the house from the owners (some old mattresses, hair products, etc). It needs a little TLC, but not that much. The home is only 4 years old, so it's still considered a new house. I would probably pull up some of the carpets and redo a few things. All in all, those are all things I can live with, but that's not where the biggest challenge has been. It's a great deal considering the price of the home.

When we finally finished looking at the house, after the people who WERE NOT supposed to be there left (SMDH), “L” tried to call the listing agent for the home while we were still on the property. He called him THREE TIMES and he never picked up the phone. The calls went straight to voicemail. We figured maybe they were on vacation due to the Labor Day holiday. “L” left a message and said he would call me when he heard something.

After the Labor day weekend passed, we were expecting to hear something. I went to look at the house on September 4th.

Fast forward two weeks later. After numerous calls by “L”, my sister and my best friend to the listing agent (Yeah. Calling the listing agent when you already have a realtor is against the rules, but I wanted that house), we still had heard nothing. When I got back to GA after the funeral, I decided I was going to keep looking for homes. “L” thought maybe the home was already under contract since no one had called back, and that the listing agent was just really unprofessional in calling back to let us know.

So, the the weekend of September 17th “L” and I go back out to look at houses. We saw a few nice homes, but nothing that really stood out to me. I decided that I wanted to go out and look at the home I loved again. It was still listed online as being available for sale. When I go back in, I fall in love with the home all over again, but even more so this time. When we looked the first time, those people were in the home looking at it as well, so it caused a lot of confusion and I couldn't really get a good look at things. When I looked this second time, it confirmed that I really would like a chance at this house

"L" decided that we should just fax and offer in to the listing agent to see what they say. "L" said that by law, if you fax an offer in, the Realtor must show the offer to the bank. So, "L" wrote up an offer, I signed it and then he faxed it over to them that Monday (which was September 20th). The next day, "L" sends me a text message saying he's received my fax (the offer with my signature on it), and says that he has a meeting near the office of the listing agent for the house. He said he would just drive by there to see what happens. So, "L" goes by and there is an actual office, but no one is there. He leaves his name on the door and keeps it moving. The next day, "L" is sending me a text message about something else, and says that he will call me later. However, about 20 minutes later he calls me and says that the realty company for the home I love has actually called him back!

Apparently, the listing agent for THAT particular house is out of town and can't be reached. I was wondering if maybe he was in jail, but whatever! The realty company DID confirm that the home was still available, they had my offer and that there were no other offers on the home. I'm assuming that's because no one could get in contact with them. They said the listing agent should be back this weekend (that just passed) and would let "L" know.

I was beyond happy. I can't really see why they would reject the offer, but you never know. I offered full listing price and just asked that the closing costs be paid. I can pay the closing costs myself, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask since I'm not trying to give them a low ball offer.

So, I have my fingers crossed right now that things go well and they accept my offer. I went through this earlier this year with another home. I know how things can change, so I'm just making sure that whatever happens with this house is going to be for the best.

I'll keep you posted. Wish me luck!

My House Search So far (Part 1)

In one of my previous posts, I mentioned that I was blessed to possibly have two Realtors to choose from. I ended up choosing the realtor that my best friend recommended. We'll refer to him as "L." We spoke on the phone a few times and decided that we would go look at houses over the Labor Day weekend. I thought those plans would have been sidetracked, however, since I found out a few days later that my dada had died. However, I had a few days before I actually made the long drive from GA to VA (to pick up my mom) and then to NY, so I decided to still go look at houses.

A few days before I went to go physically look at houses, I saw a listing for a home on Realtor.com. The listing agent posted no pictures. So, I decided (as always) to drive past the house to see if it was easily accessible from my job.This house is about 4 miles away from me, in the same city and in a subdivision that looked really nice. The house looked really nice (from what I could tell), so I decided to make sure and look at physically look at the house with “L”.

I had a feeling (just from driving past on my own) that I was going to love the house, but I didn't want to affect any feelings I may have had on other houses that I looked at. So, I made sure that “L” and I went to look at that home last. I'm so glad that we did.

The house is BEAUTIFUL. It has a 3 car garage, sits on about an acre of land and has a full, finished basement which has a full bathroom and a kitchen. It also has a formal living room, formal dining room, family room, large kitchen with island and built in desk, a huge deck off the breakfast/kitchen area, 4 bedrooms on the second floor, a HUGE master suite with two walk in closets and 2 1/2 bathrooms.

Long story short: It is a 5 bedroom 3 1/2 bath house with a full basement and has (with the basement) close to (or over) 4,000 square feet! Oh....did I mention the backyard goes directly to a lake????!!!

Needless to say I am in love!!! But.....

...there have been a few snags on the way. To make sure that this post doesn't get too long, I will post the second part of this in another post.

Stay tuned

Where I've Been

I know it's been a few weeks since I last blogged. I know it's nothing new for there to be a gap in time between my posts, but this time I have a reason.

My father died over Labor Day weekend, so I haven't really had the desire to blog anything for the past few weeks. I'm finally starting to get back in the swing of things, so I figured I needed to start blogging again as well.

So, I will start blogging again about my life and my home buying journey. At least I will try to . It's been kind of hard to get motivated lately (not just with blogging, but with other things too), but I will do my best.

Coincidence...Or Not?

It's funny how things work out some times.

In my previous post I was talking about finding a realtor and how I was going to call a realtor that I met a few months ago. I was all prepared to call her today. Last night, though, one of my good friends (one of my closest friends) who lives in the area called me. We talk about maybe once or twice a week. She started off by telling me a funny story (as we always do with each other), and then she starts to tell me about a friend of hers and her husband's who's a realtor. She told me about this guy before, but this time it seemed a little different. I was actually paying attention to the details about this guy. She and her husband also used this realtor to buy their current house.

She told me that he's not pushy at all and he also has a very good mortgage broker that he works with. I had such a bad experience the last time I tried to buy a house, needless to say I'm a little gun shy. She also told him about my previous home buying experience, and it seems as if he's really willing to help me. Then she said he asked if I was single, but that's another story. LOL.

Anyway, I just wonder if this whole thing is coincidence. In the past two and a half weeks, I've been lucky to link up with three Realtors. I didn't mention the fact that one of my friends has a cousin who lives here...who is also a realtor.

It just makes me wonder if any of these things are a coincidence or the Law of Attraction going into play bringing me the things I want in order to buy a house.

We shall see.

Until next time.

Choosing A Realtor

When I was looking for houses a few months ago, I used a realtor who was pretty nice, until my horrible mortgage broker did me wrong. After that point, when it seemed like she might not make a sale, she went missing in the night. She wouldn't return my phone calls and intentionally didn't respond to my emails, when she had done so previously.

When I told her that I was going to wait a little while before I started looking again (because the entire situation just left a bad taste in my mouth), she told me to call her again for help in the future. What a joke.

One day a few months ago, I needed to go to the Office Depot down the street from my house to fax some information to my realtor. There was a woman who worked at the store who was faxing the paperwork for me. She asked me if I was buying a house (based on the papers I handed her), and I told her yes. Well, she wasn't getting in my business, but she was familiar with how home buying paperwork looked because, she told me, she was actually a realtor. She said because of the housing crisis she had to take a job at Office Depot to help supplement her income, as many people have had to do. She told me if I knew anyone in the future who might need a realtor to let her know. I promised her I would (even though I didn't know anyone other than myself who wanted to buy a home).

It's funny how things work out. Normally I would have thrown her phone number away because I didn't need it, but for some strange reason I held onto her number. I was trying to decide a few days ago on what realtor I would use this time around. I'm thinking it's probably going to be her. It's mainly because of how nice she was. We talked for a few moments in the store that day about things other than home ownership. She was just really nice, and I liked her demeanor. I'm planning on calling her this week.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Getting Ready To Buy A House - Again!

Earlier this year, I attempted to buy a house, but was unable to. Luckily, the reason was due to no fault of my own. I had a horrible mortgage broker who didn't do what he was supposed to do, and he ended up ruining the deal for me. Luckily, I was not (too) upset by it because I know that all things happen for a reason.

About 4 or 5 months have passed, and I've decided to go back in and start again. Now that I've been through the process before, I pretty much know what to expect and already have all the paperwork I need.

I would be lying, though, if I didn't say that I wasn't a little apprehensive about being rejected. Even though I was not denied for a loan previously, in this market you don't really know what to expect. I am blessed that I have been on my job for almost 9 years, my credit is good and I'll be able to make a decent down payment.

The two main things that scare me are 1) even with everything I have going for me, that has proven NOT to help some people in buying a house. They've actually been denied! I am praying that doesn't happen to me, but it is a possibility. Then 2) housing prices have decreased dramatically! I know that's not news, but there are houses that I looked at back in Feb/March that are STILL on the market and have come down so much. I'm scared of the neighborhood(s) turning into a ghetto. I was born and raised in a ghetto, and refuse to go back. Now that housing prices are dirt cheap due to foreclosures and then other houses in the area going down (because of the foreclosed properties), there's a possibility that any neighborhood could turn into an undesirable one. I just have to pray that all goes well.

Luckily, there are many houses to choose from so I can truly pick one that I love.

Later.

As Humans, We're In A Bad Place

I don't know what prompted me to write this post, but I just had to.

I'm surfing the web and reading online about what people consider fat, what they consider pretty and just a lot of other stuff. Then I'm watching all of these "pseudo" celebrities online who think they're bigger than what they are. They're talking about people like dog, not caring about the lies and damage they're causing because they're trying to stay relevant.

Now, that's not to say that we don't all talk about folks from time to time or have our opinion about the way someone may look. But, there's a difference in voicing your personal opinion and moving on and making it your life's mission to bad mouth people and making others' lives a living hell.

Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age, but I don't really think so. I've always tried to be considerate of others (even then they didn't deserve it and/or I mistakenly treated them wrong). It just seems to be the way of the world these days, and I'm wondering if things will ever change back.

It makes me scared as I grow older because the people who are doing this are raising children. What are these children going to grow up to be like? What will the world be like if we have nothing but a bunch of people talking about other people and being shallow?

Just "talking out loud" I suppose.

I'm Ready For A New Day

It's 4:55 a.m. on a Monday morning. I was checking my emails and such before I get ready for work, and got this urge to write a blog post.

I am ready for a new day....not just a new "day", per se (hey that rhymes...lol), but a new start. I found a picture of this chick on the web, and decided that she falls in line with what I want to do.

I am going to work out today if it kills me. If I just so happen to be up half the night because I am too riled up to go to bed, then so be it. I have to do something. I'm not really sleeping that well at night and I know it's because I'm out of shape. I had started working out faithfully earlier this year, and I was sleeping like a baby at night. All of that changed when I had to move to a different building for my job (long story). My routine got thrown off and I haven't been able to get back since.

However, today's a new day, and I'm tired of the excuses. If I really wanted to do it then I would have done it. I am going to start off small this time. I'm going to work out at least 3 days a week for now. As long as I'm doing SOMETHING that's what matters. Hopefully by doing this, this will spill over into other areas of my life too.

Here we go!!

I'm So Tired

Yawn.

I have been beat these past few days. I was supposed to go to a party yesterday, but I was so tired I never made it out the house. I was actually in bed around 10:30 last night...on a Saturday!!!!

I have to do something. Now, I know waking up at 4:30 every weekday for work is not helping, but there must be something I can do. Don't get me wrong. I do have energy at work (for now). I started taking this vitamin combo that really does work. However, I would like to still have energy without the vitamins. I think I'm going to start working out again. I've been thinking about doing it for the past few weeks. The only problem is, I really don't have the time to do it.

Now, I know most people would think, "If you really wanted to do it, you could find the time." That is somewhat true. The problem is, I get up at 4:30 to leave my house (for work) around 5:35. Then I have to drive an hour to work. I can't really work out at work because....well...we'll just leave it at that. Then I have to drive an hour back home. God forbid I have to go to the store or take care of some business after work. By the time I do get home it's around 6:30. I need to then cook dinner, do other things (actual productive things), and then it's time to go to bed. I'm not really good on working out after I get home because it keeps me energized. Then I can't get to sleep.

Hmm. I gotta think of something.

...to be continued

Lemon Pepper Wings (Review)

I'm not really sure if you can do a review on your own cooking, but I'm doing it anyway.

So, I didn't get a chance to make the wings until a little while ago. I had planned on making them last night, but got tied up doing things around the house. The problem was, I had already defrosted the wings so I didn't feel comfortable just throwing them back in the fridge.

Lo and behold, I forgot that I had a bottle of Goya Marinade. Now, I grew up on Goya products, but had never used one of their marinades before. The bottle said that it's good for beef, chicken and pork. I used it as a marinade for some pork I had made a few weeks ago, and it turned out okay. I figured by marinating the wings overnight they would taste even better.

So, I marinated them overnight and then made the wings. MMM MMM MMM! They were so good. I tried one of the wings alone (without the lemon pepper seasoning), and they were delish, so the lemon pepper made it even better.

I think I'm going to take them for lunch tomorrow (even though I'm not crazy about eating chicken wings at work. LMAO!).

Lemon Pepper Wings

The first time I had these WONDERFUL things were about 10 years ago. I had come down to the Metro Atlanta area for the very first time. I was staying with a friend of mine and he lived across the street from this...shack...that made these wings. At first, I had never heard anything as weird as lemon pepper wings. The only kind of wings I had eaten up to that point were the regular fried kind and Buffalo wings.

I tried to make them as soon as I had gotten back home, but they just never tasted the same. I pretty much gave up on them.

Well, a few weeks ago a co-worker of mine brought some in (from some restaurant) and I fell in love with them all over again. I have searched online for some recipes. Believe it or not, there are not that many recipes on the Internet for them. However, I did find one or two that I'm planning on trying tonight or tomorrow (depending on how fast they defrost).

We shall see what happens.

I Just Want To Be Happy

I was on Facebook today looking at pictures of a girl I knew some years back when I was in college. There was nothing really outstanding about the pictures except the fact that she looked happy. Now, I know people would say, "Well...don't most people look happy in pictures?"

Yes, they do, but I didn't get the impression that she was just smiling for the cameras. She appeared to be truly happy on the inside. Now, I'm not saying she doesn't have problems because everyone in life has their issues. However, it just seems like she's making the best of life. She was kind of like that when I knew her a long time ago.

I want to be happy like that. It's not that I'm depressed or anything, because I'm not. I just think that I can be way more happy that I have been. I'm going to work on that.

I'm Getting Tired of the Negativity

I don't know if it's just because I'm getting older or if it's because I'm trying to go in another direction with my life, but I'm tired of negativity from people. I'm tired of people complaining all the time and not doing anything about it.

Don't get me wrong. That's not to say that I don't complain, because I do (I'm not perfect. LOL), but I don't have tolerance for people to keep going on and on about it. Complain about it a little bit. Complain about it for that conversation, but when it's two weeks later and you're still complaining about the same thing I have to tune you out.

I think it's because I'm realizing (finally) that complaining for long periods of time doesn't do anything...not that complaining for short periods does. However, it's more productive (to me) to complain about it once and get it out of your system than to keep bringing it up to other people. Nothing's going to change about it. The only thing that happens is you keep getting upset about it over and over again. Why keep bringing up the same bad emotion? Why keep living in the past? Why not just learn from it and move on?

I don't know. Maybe I'm finally growing up.


Took me long enough.

Where Do I Want To Live?

A few months ago, I was looking to buy a house. However, things fell through (not due to me). I wasn't upset when it happened because right before things started to go downhill, I decided that I wanted to look for a house in a totally different area than where I was looking originally.

Now, I'm trying to figure out where I want to live. There are so many areas in the Metro Atlanta area. Initially I was thinking about living on the South side, but now I'm not so sure. I like the Cobb county area, and I'm thinking there's a good chance I will move to one of the cities there. There are so many things that I have to do (again) before I start looking (again).

I thought that after the $8k tax credit thingamajig was over that it would be harder to find a house. Hmph. It seems like there are more houses now than ever before. Don't ask me why I thought that. I just did.

Anyway, I have to start looking on websites, asking people what they think, etc. I have to do all of this while working full time and trying to do other things in life.

I need two of me. Whew!

Something's Gotta Give

It's official. Something has to change in my life. I feel as if I'm going down a road that is leading to a different path than where I want to go. It's not that I don't love my life, because I do...but I'm not in love with it.

I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to make some SERIOUS life changes. I want to buy a house, I want to be settled down (eventually) and I want to own my own business. Pretty big, I know, but I feel that I deserve more out of life than what it's giving me now.

My biggest problem, though, has always been procrastination. I procrastinate so much on things that I want to do it's ridiculous. Even down to something as simple as this blog. I said I wanted to be really active on this blog, and I've even procrastinated on doing that. So, here's a little exercise for myself.

For the next month I am going to try and see if I can write one blog post a day. Even if it's about something totally ridiculous, I want to get in the habit of writing something on here. That should inspire me to create a habit of doing other things - like being proactive.

Let's see how it goes. I'm wishing myself luck!

My 4th of July Weekend

I didn't really do too much this weekend. I stayed in all day on Saturday. I wanted to organize some things around the house, and I accomplished more than I thought I would. I'm really happy I took some time out to do that.

Yesterday I went to a cookout. I was not going to go, but I decided at the last minute to go. It was through my Meetup group. I'm so glad I did go. I had a ball. I always have a blast with this group of people, though. I am seriously considering leaving some of these other Meetup groups and just hanging with them. They are a group of funny, down to earth professional black men and women...just the kind of folks I like to be around.

Other than that, I'm sitting in the house today. I was lucky and had the Monday after the holiday weekend off (like most people), but some people did have to go to work today. I'm essentially just sitting on my couch, being lazy. This is a good thing, because this is going to be a very hectic week. I'm getting ready to get started on a pretty big project this week, and I'm not looking forward to it. I'm going to do my best to try and stay positive though. Listen, I'm just glad I have a job.

What's been going on with me

I keep saying that I want to keep blogging. I start up blogs with every intention of blogging on a regular basis. Then I start blogging steadily for about a month or two, and then fall off big time. I have got to get it together.

Anyway, what's been going on with me lately? Well, I've been going out more often. I'm really happy about it, too. I've been (somewhat) active in my Meetup groups, and I've been meeting more people. I am still looking for a really close female friend, but those seem to be hard to find. I think so many women are apprehensive about starting up new friendships, but I could be wrong. I've had a few women try to "befriend" me through Meetup, but I discovered later on that they were trying to date me. I'm all for living your lifestyle, but I'm not gay. I've even said it, but some try anyway. SMDH.

Then there are the men of Meetup. Sheesh. Some of them are ridiculous. One guy joined the group and 30 minutes later he was sending me an email saying that he wanted to "talk" to me. WTF? Needless to say I didn't respond. It's apparent that many of these men down here are used to women jumping all over them if/when they're approached. Luckily for me (and unluckily for them), I'm not one of those women.

In other news, I'm trying to make a big move right now. I really don't want to talk about it online because you never know who may be reading. However, if it pans out I will definitely share it here.

Stay tuned!

A New Church Home

I've been wanting to find a new church, but I must be honest. I haven't really gone out of my way to find a church. That's not good. However, my friend told me about a church she has been going to for years, and I said I would go by to visit. I never made it there and have been saying for weeks that I want to go, but I always had some "reason" why I could never make it there.

Well, I decided to finally bite the bullet this morning and just get up and do it. It was a last minute decision, but I felt this weird "pull," and made it my duty to get there.

Let me just say, I'm sorry that I waited so long. I had a great time. It was a great church, and the sermon was awesome! I even got a chance to meet the preacher (who just so happens to know my friend's husband - who was at church).

I think I may actually make this my church home, and I'm so excited about that. I will go a few more times just to be sure, but it looks very promising!

Feeling Under The Weather and Random Talk

I took the day off from work today (something I RARELY ever do), because I was feeling really sick today. I apparently have caught a summer cold, and it beat me up pretty bad. I'm glad I stayed home because it gave me some time to recuperate.

I went to the supermarket today to get out of the house for a little bit. I felt like death, but sometimes getting out into the sun helps a little. Not this time, I came back and was beat. I came back home and fell back asleep on the couch. Sheesh!

I'm hoping to feel better this weekend in the event that I want to go out. I don't really have anything planned, but that really hasn't seemed to matter these past few days. I caught up with a really good friend of mine down here (she lives here now), and she's been inviting me to do things with her and her family. I truly enjoy being over there. She calls at the last minute, though, so I have to be ready for anything. :-) I don't mind. It's nice being able to get out and do things.

If I don't go out, I may just take it easy this weekend. I need to catch up on a few things, so that will give me the opportunity to do so.

We'll see.

It's Mother's Day!!!

I'm not a mom (yet) but I am happy that it's Mother's day. I am extremely blessed to have my mother here with me for another year. I really miss her (she's still back home), and can't wait until she moves here later this year. Yes, I am one of those people who have a wonderful relationship with their mother. Now it wasn't always like that, but we've both grown to a place where we like being in each other's company a lot. I call my mother numerous times a day.

In any case, I hope all the mother's have a wonderful and blessed day!

Monday Morning Blues

Yawn.

That's really what I'm doing right now...yawning. I had a pretty good weekend. One of my old friends who lives in the area called me on Friday night and asked if I wanted to go to Atlantic Station. So, we went there and I had a ball catching up with her.

On Saturday I went to do some shopping and then went out with my same friend and her husband to a fight party. I had a great time there as well. However, I was sick all day yesterday and spent the majority of my time asleep.

I feel better now (of course) on Monday morning when I have to go back to work. I wish I could have called out, but I try not to call out until I really need to. So, needless to say I have the Monday blahs. Not only is it Monday, but we're expecting very heavy rain today. Oh what fun.

Sigh. In spite of it all, though, I'm just very happy to have a job to come in to. I just have to keep reminding myself of that today.

Thank God It's Friday!!!!

I am so happy that it's almost the weekend. I am sitting here at work, and I'm ready to bolt out of here. This has been a fairly long week. The week wasn't difficult, per se. It was just long.

I thought I was going to do a little relaxing this weekend, but apparently not. One of my friends who I've known for almost 15 years has invited me over to her house. She's invited me over to celebrate her son getting his black belt in Karate, but she also wants me to meet a few of her male friends. Honestly, I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, I do want to meet new people, and no one is saying that I have to go out with any of these guys or if they'll even like me. I think I'm a little apprehensive about getting back out there on the "dating" scene.

This time around, though, I would like to actually date different people. I've never really been one to date more than one person at a time. It's just never worked out like that. This time I want to see how it might work out. I'll keep y'all posted (maybe).

It's funny. I've always heard about how there's a shortage of good, black men in the Atlanta area. So far, it seems like they are out there.

We shall see.

I'm Loving Georgia Right Now

I don't really have a lot to say right now, but I just wanted to come in and talk quickly about how much I'm loving Georgia right now.

I can't believe that it took me so long to move here (almost 12 years), but God knows what he's doing. I went out to Wal-Mart and Lowe's this morning (for the patio garden. lol), and was just very thankful for the things I'm experiencing here so far. I must say, though, I really do like this side of Georgia than the area where I work. I work about an hour away from where I live and it's further down south. I don't really like that area too much. I'm not sure why either. Most people love it, but I've just never been a fan.

In any case, I am happy to be here in the state. I needed a new start a few years ago, and I've gotten it. Now, I just need to meet some more friends. I think I am going to start a Meetup group of my own, but I would like to close on my house first.

Anyway, I feel very blessed this morning for this experience.

The Start Of My New Vegetable Container Garden

I'm so excited. I've started another container garden this year. What you see in the picture are some of the vegetables I'm growing this year.

About two years ago, I decided I want to try to grow some veggies. I started with a simple tomato plant, and it did well.

Last year I wanted to plant a little more, so I grew a variety of different vegetables. This year, I wanted to grow a little more.

In the picture above, you see a few tomato plants, Japanese Eggplant (VERY VERY good), regular eggplant, some kind of white eggplant, lettuce, spinach, corn (YES! Corn!), green peppers, red peppers, yellow peppers, Jalapeño peppers, cayenne peppers, Serrano peppers....and some other stuff.

In the empty container that's what I'm going to grow my onions in. I'm hoping to be able to complete these in the backyard of my new house (when I close).

You may not believe it, but container gardening is very relaxing. I like the fact that I don't have to dig into the ground to actually produce vegetables. Last year I grew a lot of vegetables, and I plan to grow even more. The price of produce these days is ridiculous. I had to figure out a way to cut costs, and this is the perfect way.

I'll keep you posted!

I Don't Want To Be At Work Today

Let me preface this by saying I am VERY grateful to have a job in these trying times. However, this is one of those days when I wish I wasn't here. It's not really that I don't want to do work today. I just don't feel like being confined inside a building today.

I really would like to hit up Home Depot and buy some pots, potting soil and some seeds and start my container garden. I had one for the first time last year, and I LOVED it. I planted so many things on my deck. I had so much fun (I'll do a post on that later).

Anyway, I just want to be outside today, but if I want to pay for this house...I'll be keeping my behind here. Sigh. Oh well. Hopefully the day will go by quickly.

Why Did I Get Married Too

I'm a little late doing a review of this movie,but better late than never. Right?

Anyway, I went to see this movie exactly one week ago with one of my Meetup groups. I really wasn't that pressed on seeing the movie since I didn't see the first one in the movie theaters. However, as I stated before, I'm trying to get out more.

I must say that the movie had me a little...blah. It's not that it wasn't a good movie. It was, but it wasn't a great movie. I think what makes me frustrated is the fact that it had the potential to be a great movie, but missed the mark. I am not sure what it was missing, other than some under-developed storylines. I felt that Tyler Perry could have gone into more detail with some of the characters...actually all of them. I'm not going to give a synopsis of the movie, because you can find that online. I will say,though, that I think this should have been given a little more thought.

In any case, it was good to get out of the house and meet some more people. I didn't really get a chance to "bond" with anyone because I didn't know them, but also because I just didn't get that warm and fuzzy feeling with these people. I've been to events with this Meetup group before, but the folks there just wasn't...I don't know. I can't really put my finger on it. It may have something to do with the fact that we were at the movies. Kind of hard to talk to people there, but even when we did have time to talk some women just seemed a little standoffish. Maybe they were shy. I don't know. Oh well. There's always next time!

Lazy Easter Sunday

Happy Easter, everyone!

I didn't go to church today because I still haven't found a church that I would truly like to attend. I still haven't been to the one I was looking at a few months ago. Eventually I MAY go there, but that's another story.

Today, I haven't done much of anything. I woke up pretty early (for a weekend) and worked out a little bit. Then, for whatever reason, I have been tired for the rest of the day. I'm not sure why, but I'm EXHAUSTED. I am in the process of trying to wash clothes and clean up the house a little bit, but it's a very slow process. I still need to get up and make dinner/lunch for tomorrow.

It appears to be a very beautiful day outside. I'm not going out there, even though I should. I'm just thankful it has finally warmed up. Tomorrow it's going to be in the 90's, so I will need to find my sandals tonight and make sure the polish on my toes look good.

I just hope I have the energy.

If I haven't mentioned it before, I am in the process of trying to buy a house. I had a home inspection done yesterday, and everything turned out well.

Prior to the inspection, I got an email from my mortgage officer asking about the status of the loan paperwork. The "paperwork" he's referring to is the 85 page document that he emailed me this past Friday night. Why he felt that was the way I wanted to kick my weekend off is beyond me, but it is what it is.

The thing is, I have a 14 day contingency period - essentially 14 days (including weekends) to change my mind on this entire deal and just walk away. That time period doesn't end until next week. I figured I would let that time period pass BEFORE I start signing anything.

One of the main expenses you must pay for when buying a house is a home appraisal. There's no way around it. The catch is, you must pay for it BEFORE you actually go to closing. My mortage broker was asking me about paying for the appraisal. I told him (essentially) to slow his roll. The contingency period isn't over and I haven't gotten my inspection yet. Additionally, the loan hasn't even been approved. I have no doubts that the loan will go through, but still.

I'm under the impression that he thought by him asking me again would put a fire under me. He mentioned it in the email he sent me with the documents (did I mention it was 85 pages), and it's in the actual list of documents itself - a credit card authorization form that is. I told him I'm reading every page of that document and I have concerns about paying for the appraisal so soon.

Lo and behold he said we can hold off on the appraisal until we get the loan approval. Yeah...that's right. That's what I thought.

So, when you looking at buying anything or obtaining services from a company (or even a person) make sure you read everything CAREFULLY and ask questions. Even if you think it will make you sound stupid. Why not? Like my mom said, Warren Buffett would ask, so why shouldn't you?

Me and My Hair

If you happen to follow my other blog, you know that I have a slight obsession with hair. It's not really an obsession, but just something I've been interested in from a very young age. My mother used to be a professional hair dresser, so I became interested in the things she would do.

I cut all of the relaxer out of my hair about 6 months ago. I normally wear my hair in braids or wear wigs (even before the 'big chop.' For the past 5 months I've worn weaves. I didn't wear them for years because they would always make my head itch. I discovered later on it was the weaving thread that was causing it, but that's another story.

I'm taking a break from the weaves for a few weeks because, honestly, I just want to be able to feel my own hair. I do wear a wig ever day because my hair is in cornrows. However, I've been wanting to actually wear my hair out every day. The only thing is, my hair takes a lot of work. When I was younger, I used to think that having natural hair meant that you wouldn't have to do anything to it. Boy was I wrong. I'm more careful with my natural hair than I used to be when it was relaxed.

I'm going to have to think for a while whether or not I want to wear my hair out. I work in a professional environment (for the most part). Even though I'm not overly concerned with what the people at my job think, it would be asinine to think that my appearance and the constant changes in my hair would not be questioned by a few people. I also work out daily at work, and taking a shower without having my own hair revert to some weird state (even while natural) will be a task.

We shall see.

Home Buying Fears

I am so nervous. Tomorrow I have the inspection on the house I want to buy. I'm so scared and excited. I am excited to actually be able to walk in and around the house again. I want to take some more pictures and see what it would feel like coming home to that place. I didn't really get a chance to do that when I was looking around the place with my realtor.

I'm hoping that everything goes well with the place. My mortgage broker emailed me my loan documents on Friday night. It was 85 pages. I was very overwhelmed, but I decided that I'm not going to think about filling them out until my contingency period is over (a week from now). I don't think I'm going to change my mind, but I don't want any pulls on my credit if the inspection comes back horribly tomorrow. I don't close until May 14th, so I do have some time.

There really shouldn't be too much to do. I think the thing that may take the longest will be the mortgage company getting the tax transcripts from the IRS. Other than that, they can do mostly everything else fairly quickly.

I'm just going to take it day by day and see what happens. I hope I can sleep tonight.

I'm not feeling you like that

As I mentioned a few posts back, I belong to a website called Meetup.com. Through this website, I belong to several different meetup groups. I've been pretty active in one of these groups in particular and a few months ago, I met this guy.

I have no interest in this guy what-so-ever. I do think he's attractive, but I've never been attracted to him. We had started talking out as friends, and I NEVER gave him any indication that anything other than friendship would be going on between us.

For whatever reason, this guy just doesn't seem to get it. This guy, who we'll call "D" started out friendly enough and even said that he wasn't interested in me. Over time, he's hinted at how he may want something more. Even though he knows I'm not interested in him, that doesn't seem to stop him from flirting endlessly. Some women may be flattered by that kind of attention, but I am not. If I say I don't like something and I ask you to stop it, you should stop it.

The bad thing is, this dude doesn't even mean it like that. He's not a threat to me or anything. He just has really low self esteem and feels like this is the way to "get" a woman. I've seen him do it to other women too. It's just not cute. He's also one of those guys who want to make you think that every woman wants to talk to him. So, at this party last night he's going on and on about how this woman at the party was trying to talk to him. I saw this woman, and she wasn't thinking anything about him. Pretty sad.

It's just aggravating because he could have been a really good friend if he had just chilled out. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. So,I'm going to do the same thing with him that I've been doing for the past several weeks - AVOID HIM. If we see each other at a meetup, then so be it. But, we won't be hanging out, talking on the phone, nothing. It's apparent that this dude just cannot get the point. Ugh.

Buying a house...ugh

I made the decision a few months ago that I'm going to bite the bullet and buy a house. For several years I was apprehensive about owning a house because that meant that my "freedom" would be gone. Since moving to GA, however, I've "grown up" and decided that I can't run from myself forever.

With that being said, I have started the process of buying a house. I put an offer in on a house last week that I really love. It's weird because it has the exact floor plan (except for a few minor things) that I have been looking for. When putting in the offer, I prayed but kind of knew that the house would be mine. I "claimed" it, so to speak. Well, that must have worked because they accepted the first offer that I gave them. That's wonderful.

Now, I have to wait for the inspection, which will be done in a few days. It's an "as is" home, but it was built only three years ago. I am hoping that nothing major will be wrong with the house. My realtor did tell me, though, that she confirmed with the agent for the home that if FHA requires that something must be fixed in order for the loan to be approved then they will make those repairs. That's very good to know.

Now, I just have to wade through the pile of paperwork that my mortgage broker emailed to me yesterday. Things are so advanced now. I can actually sign the papers electronically. The document is 85 pages!!!! Needless to say I was VERY overwhelmed when I saw them. I'm going to wait until tomorrow (Sunday) morning...have a big breakfast and a big pot of coffee and then go to work.

Wish me luck!

It's been a minute.

Wow. It's been quite some time since my last post. Here's what's been happening with me since the last time I posted.

I have been getting out more these past few weeks. I belong to quite a few Meetup groups and have gone out about 3 or 4 times with these groups. I belong to a card playing group, and I have a lot of fun when I go out with them. As a matter of fact, I went to a Meetup last night with this card group and had a ball. I'm really starting to meet some pretty great people here.

I also decided that I want to buy a house, so I've been actively doing that for the past few weeks. I put an offer in on a house a few weeks ago. However, that fell through (thank God). A few days after I put the offer in, I decided that I really didn't want to live there. My realtor (who I LOVE) told me to make sure that I keep looking for houses. So I did, I found other houses that I liked much better than the one I put an offer on. So, I decided when they came back with a counter offer that I would just say no. The thing that pissed me off, though, was when they came back with the offer they said the home was sold 'as-as.' That's fine, but that's not how they advertised it! If I had known that, I wouldn't have even put an offer in on the house. The part that's most aggravating about it is the fact that I had to get pre-qualified with this bank in order to have them pay for the closing costs if/when we agreed on a purchase price. I did pre-qualify with them, but if I had known they were selling it as is, I wouldn't have had them pull my credit. Now, that's an extra pull on my credit which didn't need to be there!!! Now, I will need to explain that to the next bank that I come across.

Work...is work. I am EXTREMELY happy that I have a job in these tough economic times. I have been with my company for almost nine years, and they're not really in the habit of laying people off. However, in this day and age you don't know what may happen. I go to work faithfully.

I've also been working out for the past two months. I work out at the job for at least 4 days a week. I don't really work out on the weekends, but I might ramp that up a bit in the future. I'm getting slightly frustrated because I saw some weight loss, but not really a lot more. I'm starting to think that the foods I "thought" were healthy really are not. So, I'm really just maintaining my current weight. I'm going to work on that this week.

Other than that, I don't really have a lot more going on. I think that's enough for now. I'll try to update this blog a lot more. I think I will try to do it from my phone since I'm always using that thing.

I'm looking forward to a great week!

I want to have a life

After I wake up in the morning, while getting ready, I do a lot of reflection about my life. I'm not sure why these thoughts come to me in the morning as opposed to the evening, but that's besides the point. One of the thoughts I had this morning was that I wanted to date more in 2010. Not necessarily have a man, because that would be wonderful too. I want to date more than one person. I don't want to be a slut, but I would like to have a few different men to date at different times.

Now, I don't want to sleep with these men. In this day and age of STD's running around, I can't take that chance (not that I would have done that anyway). I just would like to know how it feels to have different men to spend time with. I've always been one of those women who never date men. I don't go straight from relationship to relationship, but when I date someone they're always the one guy I'm dating at the time.

I don't want to do that anymore. I want to go out on dates with different men, different personalities. I don't want an entire black book of men, but 2 or 3 should suffice. With all of these men (the straight ones) running around the ATL area (city and suburbs), I don't think I should have too much of a problem. Yeah, I know there are a lot of women in this place, but I'm going to think positively and not let that stop me. The women who are dating down here are not letting that stop them, and I shouldn't be any different.

Crime in Atlanta

WTF? The crime in this area is unreal. Let me take that back. The crime in the actual city of Atlanta is unreal. I live in Metro Atlanta (a suburb of Atlanta). Everyone refers to all of the areas just as Atlanta, but that's another story.

Most mornings, I listen to the news while getting ready for work. I generally want to hear what the weather is going to be, but just leave it on to hear the rest. BIG mistake. This morning I actually turned it off because it was getting too depressing. I known the news is generally known for having depressing stories, but the city of Atlanta is a mess. Not all parts, but sheesh.

I DVR'd my soaps for today and while I was watching one of them, they interrupted the show twice because of a quadruple homicide that happened right in the middle of the day at a Penske rental location. Very scary. I'm wondering what their crime rate is. Seriously. I believe even the crime rate in NY has gone down!

It makes me apprehensive about traveling into Atlanta because that's where the majority of my meeups are.

I don't know about this one.

Sigh

This is just a random post.

I go back home the day after tomorrow. I can't believe it feels like I just got here, and now it's almost over. I think I'm saddest about leaving my mom. I have to do something to make sure she gets down there with me.

In other news, I am really starting to wonder about people. I frequent a forum which has a lot of different topics. In one of the forums, someone made a joke about Rhianna being beat up. Now, I like a good joke like the next and I'm sure that I've laughed at some off color things myself. However, a girl getting beat up is not one of them. That's not really the thing that 'bothered' me. The thing that got me most was that the people who were laughing (and commenting) the most were the people who frequent the Christian forum. The are quick to quote the bible and talk about the Lord, but then turn around and start laughing (hard) at a joke about this girl being beat up.

Seriously? How funny do you think it would be if it was you getting beat up, or a family member? I know it shouldn't baffle me because as someone who's lived for a little bit, I should realize that there are just some nasty people. The thing that's so funny is, it's like they forgot that they're supposed to be (hard core) Christians. I'm not going to front. I'm not a hard core Christian (even though I am trying to improve my relationship with God), but I'm not going to front one minute like I'm holier than thou and then go somewhere else and try to fit in with the popular crowd.

It's just ridiculous. I'm madder at myself because I shouldn't even be writing about this. It's a waste of my time, but I'm only human. I will write this here as my release and just leave it at that.

I just pray to never turn into one of those people.

Thinking about starting a Meetup group

One of my goals for 2010 is to be more social and make new friends. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not really a person who goes out a lot. However, I would really like to change that for the new year. It's not that I want to go out all the time and close down bars, but I would like to at least get out a few times a month. Some people go out every weekend. I'm not sure if I want to go that far just yet, but I won't say it's completely out of the question.

The majority of the meetups near me are in Atlanta. That's cool and all, but for someone who drives an hour one way to work (away from Atlanta) it can be a little difficult to travel into Atlanta, especially if it's a meetup that's after work. That would mean I need to drive 60 miles back towards my house and then (probably) another 25 or more miles past my house into Atlanta. I'm not sure if I want to do all of that driving.

Because of that, I'm seriously thinking about starting my own meetup group. If you don't know what meetup is, it's a social website which consists of clubs with varying interests. There are bowling meetups, dinner and a movie meetups, coffee meetups among other things. I think initially it started out as a dating social site, but it has gone way past that. They do, however, have groups still geared towards dating, and...for the BOLD, they have meetups for swingers. That's definitely NOT my cup of tea, but more power to anyone else who's into that.

I'm a little nervous about starting a meetup because even though I am a person who can (for the most part) get along with lots of different people, I am actually very shy. It's such a big task, and I'm wondering if I'm up to the challenge. Plus, I've never organized a group before, so I'm wondering if I can really do it. I think I can, but, as with anything I'm a little apprehensive with something new.

My main purpose for doing this is to meet for black women (and men). I have "friendships" (read: acquaintances) with several white people. I have a true friendship with one white male (who I love to death), but I want to truly meet down to earth, black females that I can hang out with and (eventually) have a true friendship with. I'm not going to find them by just staying home. Also, not too many people go out of their way to interact with me. I've tried, but sometimes it's hard. I found out years ago that many women (and some men) think that I'm stuck up, but when they get to know me it's cool. The thing is, as more time has gone past, more women don't want to take the chance to get to know me. I have tried to do all that I can to appear friendly, but it just doesn't work. I'll see what else I can do about that in 2010.

Now, I'm off to look at some meetup groups that I currently belong to and try to find out what all a meetup group entails. I just need to refrain from joining another meetup group (because I belong to A LOT).

A New Year

I woke up this morning with a renewed sense of optimism this morning. I know it's a new year, but I feel different this year as opposed to other new years. I'm not really sure what that's about. Maybe I'm entering into a new season. Maybe I'm finally growing up. Either way, I'm happy to feel this way.

I did go out and buy my planner yesterday, and I have already started using it. Just in these few short hours, I've realized how important it is to start planning...I mean REALLY planning things. It's much better to put things on pen and paper in an orgranized, designated space as opposed to just having random sheets of paper all over the place.

Last night, I went to New Year's Eve mass. I have NEVER done that before either. I am very happy that I went, even though the church services were like being at a rock concert. Regardless, it was nice going into the new year the right way.

I am ready to face whatever challenges 2010 has for me knowing that whatever happens is a learning experience and that I will be able to get through it as a stronger, better person. That's not to say that you won't catch me complaining on here (because I am still human, lol), but at least I know that whatever it is I'm complaining about won't last forever.

Let's go 2010!