Brave little toaster.

When I announced that I was looking at houses, the reactions I got from friends and family were positive and supportive. But what I didn't expect was that people would comment on me buying a house "alone." None of the comments were negative or discouraging... but I was kind of surprised that people would even mention it. I heard things like, "I'm sure it's not easy to do this by yourself," or "I'm always amazed when a woman buys her own house." Is it really that brave of me to do this alone? Then again, most of my homeowner friends are married... and most of the single homeowners I know are men. 
   
Well, I will say this: it's certainly not easy. I mean, home buying itself isn't an easy process. But doing it alone just plain sucks. Not just financially (because, OH BOY does it suck financially), but also emotionally. Aside from my realtor, I don't have anyone to offer an opinion about any of the houses. No one is walking around an empty home with me imagining where furniture will be and how the rooms will be used. I know that some people would consider that a huge plus - sometimes too many opinions make the decision more difficult. And there is definitely something empowering about knowing that this will be MY HOUSE and I did this with no help from anyone else. But sometimes it also feels a little lonely. It's definitely not how I pictured myself doing it... but if there's one thing I learned, it's that life usually doesn't go the way my 10 year old self thought it would go. If that was the case, I would have been married at 25, and live in a beautiful suburban development with a gazebo in the backyard (who actually uses those things?), with my handsome successful husband, a big fluffy golden retriever, and 2 adorable children (one boy and one girl, naturally). 

     
But I digress.
  

So now I'm at the point where I found a house that I like. The rest is a waiting game. Put in an offer and wait to see if it's accepted. If it is, then I wait to get the house inspected and hope that nothing major is wrong with it. If the offer isn't accepted, I look at more houses. Or wait for more houses to go on the market. And then it starts all over again.
   
Well... maybe I'll get lucky. Never know.

House Hunter

So if you don't know, I have officially started house hunting. When I met with the realtor for the first time, I informed him that he needed to give me the "House Buying for Dummies" version of Real Estate. Anything I know about house buying came from watching HGTV. After only 2 days of looking, I am already overwhelmed and confused. 
  
A few observations about the process:
   
I have now walked through 10 houses. People are still living in 9 of them. It feels extremely awkward to walk around someone's home when they're not there... opening their kitchen cabinets, peeking into their closets, criticizing their taste in carpet color, wallpaper, or bathroom tile. And every house has its own smell. One house smelled like moth balls... another one REEKED of stale smoke. One house had 3 cats just rolling around the living room when we walked in. (This is why cats make for terrible home protection. They barely batted an eyelash when 2 complete strangers walked in. One even purred. Useless animals...) 
   
I've been doing a lot of thinking about what's important to me in a house. I know that some things are purely cosmetic and can be easily changed. Do I want to buy something at the top of my price range just because everything is freshly painted and newly updated? It would be "move-in ready" and I wouldn't have to spend any extra time or money fixing an outdated bathroom with hideous pink tile or ripping off peeling, faded 1980s wallpaper. Or do I want to get a house that's a little cheaper, and then pay to have an older kitchen remodeled the way I like it? In the case of the smoker's house, I thought (and the realtor agreed) that they were asking too much for a house that needed a lot of updating... not to mention the carpet and wallpaper would have to go in order to get rid of the smoke. However, the location of the house is amazing. The neighborhood is quiet and well maintained, the back yard is lovely. Decisions, decisions.
   
What I need to do now is create a list of pros and cons and really decide where to draw the line. I hope this gets easier soon.

Livin' it up.

I have 26 days of vacation left before I have to go back to the office. 
   
Since I worked summer school for 5 weeks, August is the only time I have off. I spent the first two days of August being lazy. I slept late, I didn't shower until the afternoon, I watched way too much HGTV and spent way too much time on Facebook. I was starting to feel like one of those perpetually sad people in the depression meds commercials. You know... the ones who stay in bed til noon and wear sweatpants all day? Yeah.
   
I finally decided that I need to nip this in the bud. I can't spend my last 26 days of vacation moping around the apartment. And really, if you've seen one episode of House Hunters, you've seen them all. So I sat down and made some lists. (You know how much I love my lists!) One is a list of things I NEED to do. One is a list of things I WANT to do. And the last one is a list of things I already have planned. My goal is to fill my days with things to do. 
   
I'll spare you the list of needs... but I will post my list of wants. And it comes with an invitation. If you know me, you know that I hate doing things by myself. I need to get better at doing that... and I'm sure I will... but for now, I wouldn't mind the company. So if there's anything on this list that you want to do with me, let me know. Call, text, email, comment, facebook, smoke signal, Morse code... whatever. Just get in touch with me and we'll make plans. 

•  Find new Zumba class. (FYI, I LOVE my current Zumba class, but once the fall comes, I'll be teaching CCD on Tuesday nights. I need to find another class that I like on another night. I already have a list of places nearby, so I can start this anytime.)
• Go to a farmers market. I'm not picky about which one. 
• Go to Peddler's Village. I've been there in the fall and winter, but never in the summer. I just like to walk around there.
• Go to New Hope. I haven't been there in ages.
• Go to my secret beach again. That's a day trip. It's an hour away and completely worth it. 
• Go to Wildwood. Even if it's just for the boardwalk. I need some butterfly chips and Mack's pizza.
• Host a game night. 
• Get a mani-pedi.
• Drive to Centralia (yes, really), with a pit stop in Pottsville (home of the Yuengling brewery). 
• Go to Longwood Gardens. I've been there in the spring, but they change flowers with the seasons, so I'd love to see it in the summer. (Bonus... there's a "Fireworks and Fountains" show on 8/13!)
• Go to Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. I have ALWAYS wanted to go there, and it's right on South Street! (This outing should also include cheesesteaks at Jim's.)
• Take my own walking tour of Historic Old City.
• Do the walking tour offered by the Mural Arts Program.

   

I know I'm not going to get to do ALL of these things, but I'd like to hit a good percentage of them. Many of these are free or cost very little, and they're all day trips. Very easy to manage.

  

Join me on my quest to make the most of my summer vacation! Get in touch with me if you're interested in any of the above... or if you have other suggestions for me! :)