September 2006 Archives

Most mornings, even though I shouldn't, I lounge leisurely in bed until about 9, then throw on whatever hits my fancy and head to the office. It's not responsible, I know, but it is luxurious, indulgent, and a habit I know I need to change.

Today, though, there should be no leisurely lounging. The movers are coming at 9 am, bringing a tractor trailer. I asked the guy on the phone yesterday if that meant a semi. Sure enough. A semi trailer for my little 1200 square foot, three bedroom home. In a few hours, it will all be loaded, with the exception of a few books and my clothes, and that trailer will be sitting outside my house, waiting for Friday afternoon when they will hopefully come and unload.

There have already been a several hitches in progress. On the mortgage, to get the rate I was originally quoted, and wanted, I have to buy it down a half a point. Expensive, ick. And last night, after I got home late from a meeting, my parents were here, still packing, and I jumped in to help. I should have known better. After an entire day in four inch heels (probably one of my most hectic days ever), I pulled a muscle in my back. It hurt all night, and I tossed and turned, hoping the pain would subside this morning, but it hasn't.

So I sit, doing my leisurely lounging thing, with a heat warmer on my back, telling myself that it's time to get a move on it. This is the start of something new.

"Ability gets you to the top. Character keeps you there."

The contractor met us at the house yesterday. My mom walked him through, grandious schemes erupting from her imagination. I came through behind, toning down the plan into something digestable.

In the kitchen, we are going to use the existing cabinetry, and replace the counter tops, appliances and flooring. We are going to remove part of a wall between the kitchen and family room. In the master bathroom, we are going to gut everything, and go in with new tub/shower, sinks, toilet, tile--the works. The rest of the house is going to be skim coated in plaster, and I'm going to attempt to paint everything but the woodwork--my painting lady is going to do that. The duct work has to be replaced as well, and is going to prove a challenge for my dad.

At the end of the walk through, I looked at the contractor and asked him were we should start. When my boyfriend bought his condo in Dallas, there wasn't really a plan, and things were drug out much longer than necessary. The contractor said we should: 1) remove the wall first, 2) do all necessary tear-out (I'm assuming this means kitchen and bathroom), 3) order appliances, fixtures, tile 4) paint for about three weeks and then finally, 5) install new appliances, fixtures, etc. I want to have it done by Christmas, and the contractor says he can start mid-October.

We are set to close on the 15th of September. The mortgage is in the works, termites have to be treated, appraisal has to be done. I'm getting the house for a steal of a deal at around $85 per square foot, and most houses in the area are selling for $112-$115. The hardest part about moving from a finished house to another fixer-upper is the overwhelming sense of a giant to-do list, combined with self-imposed deadlines, that now hang over me. Again. And it's a little bit terrifying to make the necessary cash-flow leap that fixing up a house of this caliber requires. To be honest, if I think about it, I'm terrified. Cold feet set in. I think I may be wise to close my eyes and blindly jump, one more time, in perhaps a more organized fashion, off the house-deep-end once more.

Theory No. 4 is "Life is what you make of it", and I find it almost necessary to have it preceed Theory No. 3 because it lays the groundwork.

Theory No. 3 - Junk Drawer, is all about creating a beautiful life. The rationale works like so:

Things are required to be organized if they are to be beautiful. There is no beauty in chaos. However, there are some things that don't fall into a category with anything else. (These things are odd randoms, like a stray clothespin, rubberband, kitchen twine, etc.) Therefore, even every organized house needs one drawer, The Junk Drawer, in which these odd randoms can fall. The Junk Drawer rule is that once the drawer is full, it has to be cleaned out. You are not allowed to start a new Junk Drawer, or keep old things in the Junk Drawer. The result is organization, and therefore, a beautiful life.