Why hello, long time no see
Aug. 8th, 2012 02:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rkold*waves*
So let's see a few fast update while the toddler sleeps:
I've gained back 10 lbs from last summer via operation get teh toddler to gain weight. (except she hasn't gained weight, just me. ~.~) This would not be so bad, except ideally I would want to weigh 30lbs less than I do, vs before it was only 20 lbs less. *sighs*
We've still not found a house. Every so often I see a house with potential, but I'm still looking for "the one" I'm so ready to move though. This place is so cramped when it rains. I've done my best to maximize space... I really ought to share some pictures, at least of the downstairs, but I want more room, and the ability to leave crap outside without getting into trouble.
We have gotten a new car. About 2 weeks ago, following the Saturn making lots of wonky noises, the catalytic converter went. The car was worth maybe $600-900 tops. We'd just spent $1100 on it literally the week before. Paying another $600 to fix it just seemed ridiculous since the car is 15 years old. Fortunately, this is a good time of year to buy a car. I've not bought a car in 15 years, and this time, the car was really going to be more my car then Hubby's. And os of course I debated and hemmed and hawed and attempted to figure out which car would be best. We started with quite a long list: The Honda Fit, The Honda Civic, The Toyota Corolla, The Subaru Impreza, The Ford Focus, and the Chevy Genesis. If you're wonder why no hybrids, those were out of our price range. We really wanted to keep the car as close to 20k as possible. Slowly the list got whittled down to the Impreza vs the Civic. And in the end, we went with the Civic. So far, I'm loving my new car. It's so shiny and we averaged 37 miles per gallon on our first tank of gas.
I have a toddler. She loves climbing and playing with her toys. She now actually plays with toys. It's fascinating to watch her.
So let's see a few fast update while the toddler sleeps:
I've gained back 10 lbs from last summer via operation get teh toddler to gain weight. (except she hasn't gained weight, just me. ~.~) This would not be so bad, except ideally I would want to weigh 30lbs less than I do, vs before it was only 20 lbs less. *sighs*
We've still not found a house. Every so often I see a house with potential, but I'm still looking for "the one" I'm so ready to move though. This place is so cramped when it rains. I've done my best to maximize space... I really ought to share some pictures, at least of the downstairs, but I want more room, and the ability to leave crap outside without getting into trouble.
We have gotten a new car. About 2 weeks ago, following the Saturn making lots of wonky noises, the catalytic converter went. The car was worth maybe $600-900 tops. We'd just spent $1100 on it literally the week before. Paying another $600 to fix it just seemed ridiculous since the car is 15 years old. Fortunately, this is a good time of year to buy a car. I've not bought a car in 15 years, and this time, the car was really going to be more my car then Hubby's. And os of course I debated and hemmed and hawed and attempted to figure out which car would be best. We started with quite a long list: The Honda Fit, The Honda Civic, The Toyota Corolla, The Subaru Impreza, The Ford Focus, and the Chevy Genesis. If you're wonder why no hybrids, those were out of our price range. We really wanted to keep the car as close to 20k as possible. Slowly the list got whittled down to the Impreza vs the Civic. And in the end, we went with the Civic. So far, I'm loving my new car. It's so shiny and we averaged 37 miles per gallon on our first tank of gas.
I have a toddler. She loves climbing and playing with her toys. She now actually plays with toys. It's fascinating to watch her.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-08 07:10 pm (UTC)I think the Focus is better than it was, but it got rejected for lack of back seat. I really want a car with a decent back seat. The new Civic seems so fancy compared to the Saturn, it has digital display of speed (and miles per gallon), automatic locks, automatic windows, windows with some UV protection, and it's nice and comfy! I think I made the right choice, the gas mileage is just so good!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-08 07:40 pm (UTC)Wishing you luck with the house hunt and the weight loss... I can only imagine how difficult it must be to balance weight loss on your part with weight gain on Adina's part. *hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-09 02:18 am (UTC)Good luck on the house hunt. Definitely do not compromise on that, or at least not much!
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-09 03:33 am (UTC)Weight loss is so so so so hard. I'm trying to watch what I eat and I'm trying to exercise more. It's hard, we can't even hope to fit exercise equipment here in the townhome but maybe in a house... though I feel like just working on the house will give me some exercise. We're checking one out tomorrow, so hopefully...Cross your fingers for me!!!!! *hugs*
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-09 03:42 am (UTC)I know realistically we are going to have to compromise some, but I'm trying to pick the battles that are harder to change. So far I've seen around 12 homes of which 1 has sold and 3 are now under contract. The sold house was gorgeous inside, but the property didn't work for us. The other 3 were more mixed bags. In a way, I'd like something that needs some updating so I can update to my choices. If you buy a house with granite, no way would you rip it out, but if I have a chance to update, I'd prefer silestone or an eco alternative because granite is porous which is a problem for Passover. :/
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-10 11:56 pm (UTC)House-hunting can be tough, with lots of second-guessing. When we were looking for our new place, we made a list of "dealbreakers" like a lack of access to an elevator, and that helped a lot to narrow down options quickly.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-11 03:36 am (UTC)We do have a list of deal breakers, it's just that there are so many houses on the market right now. (#1 on our list is too little land, #2 is no garage :/ ) None of the 12 houses we saw were deal breakers, they just weren't right. House #1 was gorgeous inside, like so amazingly well updated, but the land was not what we wanted (now sold), #2 was on a busier street than I thought and had tiny tiny rooms, #3 I didn't like the 2nd floor walkway between rooms (the slats were too wide) and the property was weird, #4 looked like it had an amazing kitchen but the countertops were really formica, I'd still be thinking about it if it didn't have an offer, it was a decent house but I thought priced too high, #5 had weird land and I didn't like the layout, #6 had a weird layout and no upper cabinets in the kitchen, #7 had a stupendous kitchen, but crappy stone steps up from the driveway and the yard needed much clearing, (It now has an offer) #8 had a long windy driveway that would suck in Winter and weird land, (it too now has an offer) #9 had the most beautiful yard ever, but was this tiny tiny house with a wonky layout and super expensive for what it was, #10 was beautifully updated but the land was super wooded so no gardening, #11 looked like whoever had updated it did a half-assed job (we called it the house updated by teen-age boys) its crowning moment of fail, was it did not have a washer/dryer or laundry hook ups. #12 is the house we've now looked at 2x. It has a good layout and a possibly good yard for gardening (we need to find out more about the septic field) I love the location, but it is woefully overpriced. The kitchen is ugly, the bathrooms are nightmareishly ugly and one of the bedrooms has shag carpeting. ;;_;; It is like the sellers do not get this is a buyers market and you need to price accordingly. :/ At the right price, we would buy the house in a second, but I'm not sure we can get the right price.
(no subject)
Date: 2012-08-11 10:10 am (UTC)Happy house hunting!