I'm not a big fan of bad news, but I've been dealing with some lately. My grandma (dad's mom) has suffered from dementia for years. Other family members have additional diagnoses that they've come up with, such as depression, that who knows, maybe she also suffered from. Because of the dementia, I never grew up feeling really close to her. Over the last several years it's gotten progressively worse to the point where she not only lost her mental well-being, but it had affected her physically too to a point where she basically became immobile. She also suffered from osteoporosis which decreased her mobility. Cut to last Friday when she suffered a stroke and an infection. I went down to Davenport with the rest of the family to see her in the hospital. Her eyes were somewhat responsive but not much else. She was 111 lbs. Seriously, my grandma used to be almost 300 lbs just a few years ago. Got a call today and she apparently suffered a bout of tachycardia, has MRSA, and had another stroke. She's completely unresponsive now. The family has agreed to take her off of any life support and let life run its course. They don't think she has more than 24 hours in her once they remove the life support. I'm sad but not as sad as I would be if say my other grandma died. I know that sounds harsh but it's true. I'm more sad for my dad, and my grandpa who has been married to my grandma for almost 50 years, and my aunts and uncle. My grandma's 70th birthday is next month so she's relatively young for all of this to be happening. She was a very smart woman in her prime. An accountant who played a variety of musical instruments and taught her kids to speak their minds. Also a devout Catholic with a rich Czech background.

Anyhoo, don't be sad for me, I'll be fine. I just hope my Grandpa and dad and his siblings are able to find peace with all of this. I think I found peace quite a while ago.

What is with all of the creepy, kidnapper vans lately? Was there a sale at Stan's Creepy Van Land? I saw 3 just today! Dodge vans with no back windows, and no company logo painted on them. No ladder on top, nothing. Just a weird, old rusty van driving down the street.

I just ate Taco Bell and I think I wanna hurl. Every great once in a while I allow myself to have Taco Bell and as soon as I finish that last taco, I feel nauseas. Every time. Why does it even appeal to me anymore if I always feel like shit afterward? This, I do not understand. I need to install something in my car that prohibits me from going to Taco Bell. Like a satellite that can sense when I'm getting close and turns my car around.

I went and saw Mika in concert in Chicago with my friendo, E this past Tuesday. Yeah, it was fuckin' awesome you might say. Except for the $100 parking ticket we got. Where did that fire hydrant come from? 15 feet seems excessive.

Like my new icon? I like camels. I watched a special on them the other day.

I remember my first day of working at Hot Topic (well, once the store was open) I wore black, pleather pants, an olive green Deftones shirt, and black boots. Nothing wrong with pleather pants per se, they just never worked on me.

I remember during my junior year of high school, I ripped up a pair of black cargo pants and made them into a skirt. I sewed the front part and put about 20+ safety pins up the back to hold it closed. I wore it to school one day with red and white striped knee high socks, a curious george shirt, and white shell toe adidas shoes with rainbow shoelaces.

I remember in middle school when overalls were really popular. Most people had the cool name brand Calvin Klein overalls but my mom was definitely not going to buy me name brand overalls. So I wore black, courderoy Arizona brand (JC Penney) overalls, often paired with a green, velvet shirt in which the neck zipped up.

I remember in some technology class in high school (WTF was it called??) we got to make a design on the computer and transfer it onto a shirt. I brought in a 3/4 black sleeved baseball shirt and my design was a nun, with the anarchy symbol on her skirt. Over the top was printed "Nuns of Anarchy". I told everyone it was a band (it might be somewhere). On the bottom was printed "Sister Mary Freak." I had my sophomore year school photo taken in that shirt. Oh yeah, my hair was also dyed black.

I remember when I was 18 or 19 (out of high school), having an obsession with dew rags. I wore them a lot. My favorite was a black one. Not sure why I liked them so much, I was never hiding anything.

I remember my junior year of high school, experimenting with hair color. I had my hair stylist bleach out my bangs and chunks of my hair and dye them fire engine red. I had a wind symphony concert coming up and Mr. D (band director) asking me if there was any way I could tone the hair color down before the concert. I said I would try, but never did. Boy, my parents were sure able to pick me out of the band easily!

I remember having medium length hair all through high school until midway through my senior year. I NEVER wore it down, EVER. I'm pretty sure that I wore the same hairdo for 3 years straight. Oh and I had bangs too, but not cool bangs. Some friends and family had nicknamed me bunhead. I was never offended, I thought it was awesome at the time. One day during my senior year, I cut a lot of it off.

I'm finding it very hard to update this blog lately. Most of what I have on my mind goes into my other blog.

Craig's List is awesome. It truly is. I have yet to buy anything from there but I've sold several items. I haven't had any creepy buyers, but I've have had some scam/spam inquiries on items. One thing that makes me laugh on Craigs List while browsing the furniture section for end/coffee tables is the use of the word "retro." In most ads I've found, the word "retro" translates to junky and/or old & crappy. Nice effort though. You at least got me to look at your ad.

The Duggars are pregnant with their 19th child. REALLY?!?!?! Perhaps we need to separate Jim Bob and Michelle for a while. Seems they just can't keep their hands off of each other.

Dear Subway,
I don't need anymore letter "R"s for my scrabble game. If you could be so kind as to give me an I, U, or an S so I can win my Toyota Prius, that'd be great. I do, however, appreciate the free cookie I won tonight. I'll probably be back in to redeem it this week.
Your loyal customer,
Stephypoo

Something comes over me when Subway does their Scrabble game each year. All of a sudden I get a craving for a chicken breast and/or turkey sub 3 nights a week. I can't explain it.

I bruised my right arm pretty badly last week whilst trying to avoid a big, ugly spider in my garage. You may have won the battle, you demon spider, but I won the war. Shouldn't have settled behind the back tire of my car. SQUISH.

I don't know if I've ever mentioned how much it bothers me to hear people sneeze. I remember one time my dad getting upset with me because I told my brother (in a snotty way, pun intended) to stop sneezing after he sneezed 3 times in a row. There are certain sneezes that annoy me more than others. Really loud, bellowy sneezes are the worst. Multiple sneezes are the 2nd worst. There is no rational reason why one should be annoyed at another person for sneezing. It's a mystery to me too.

I can't figure out how to turn off the feature that updates my facebook account every time I blog here. I, at one point, figured out how to turn it on but now I'm stupid.

Anyhoo...

I haven't been writing down any blog topics lately so I don't have much. I had a dream recently that Andy Dick was stalking me. It was VERY realistic. It took place at my actual house. God, Andy Dick is such a douche!

I was also recently diagnosed with PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) but you'll have to read my other blog for details. This blog has strict guidelines that prohibit talking about my lady parts.

I really really really want Sims 3 but I'm afraid it will suck up every ounce of my motivation to do anything else so I've delayed buying it.

While talking to my dad on the phone today he informed me that my dog Chrisma ran away the other day. I almost died from hearing that but he told me they found her later that day...at the god damn CR Animal Shelter. The animal catcher people said they had to use one of those metal pole noose thingies to catch her. Ugh, that made me sad to think of her in one of those. They were bringing her in just as my dad arrived. Time to microchip the dog Dad!

I don't know why but I feel compelled to write this blog. There are quite a few people that know what is going on but not everyone and here and there I get the "when are you and Justin gonna have kids?" or "any news?" or "dude, it's been 8 years, when are you gonna get pregnant?" For the record, 7 of those 8 years were spent PREVENTING pregnancy. I don't think there's a standard timeline but a lot of people live in the box that you get married and then immediately have kids. Or have kids, then get married, whatever suits your lifestyle. I HAVE been pregnant, we lost it, and it's been a rollercoaster since. I have some reproductive issues that I have been working out and it looks like we may need to move on to the next phase which might include fertility drugs. Nothing serious, just may need a little boost. Nothing is for sure yet; I've had some tests done in the past, everything was normal, so we just have to put our thinkin' caps on and figure this crap out. Pregnancy is different for everyone and it's not always wham, bam, thank you ma'am. For those of you that aren't fluent in reproduction (I wasn't either until the last year or so), it's not always 1. have sex, 2. get pregnant, 3. have a baby. There is A LOT more than goes into it and if you're slightly defective in that area, there's even MORE that goes into it.

So for the record to recap:
*No I'm not currently pregnant
*Yes, we're working on it
*If it happens, I'll let you know when I feel like it

In the meantime, I have started a separate blog about my journey through reproduction. I'm not going to post a link quite yet but if you are interested in reading it, I can give you the web address. It's pretty light-hearted and good humored.

I really don't like a lot of celebrities. Sure, I might like their movies, music, or television shows, but when I see photos or hear stories about them, I get the stink-face. The whole Madonna adoption thing lately just makes me cringe. Yeah, you're adopting a child and giving it a better life, that's admirable. What's not admirable is the fact that you wave it around and make it into this huge media frenzy.

What I dislike more than these celebrities are what I call "pseudo-celebrities." Basically, anyone who is famous or notorious in some cases for being involved in a reality TV show or a big news story. People just let this shit go to their heads. Octo-mom, seriously, you're famous for being a freak of nature. But in her head though, she's 100% celebrity. John & Kate...ugh. I used to love that show but now it's all gone to their head and you can tell even without knowing a thing about them. Just watch the new season of the show. It's sooo obvious. Those kids are being exploited and John & Kate couldn't be happier counting the dollar bills that their little dog and pony show brings in each week.

But of course, we all tune in because who doesn't love to watch a train wreck? And I will watch it, and get pissed off, rant about it to Justin, swear that I will never watch it again, and then tune in next Monday again.

One more thing...WILL SOMEBODY PLEASE CUT THAT BLOB OF HAIR OFF THE SIDE OF KATE'S HEAD?

You missed me, I know. Long time no blog. I had this notepad with all of these funny things written down to blog about and I can't find it. I thought it might be lost in my purse somewhere but alas, it's not there. Did I mention the gum/purse fiasco? At some point, a piece of Extra Sweet Watermelon gum (plug plug, it's my favorite) made its way out of the wrapper and into the bottom of my purse. Now I have pink stains on everything in my purse, and pieces of gum stuck to everything! But I guess I don't care that much because my mom ordered me a new purse for my birthday (as seen here) and I'm just holding out cleaning my purse until I can transfer everything over to the new one.

I had to drop $165 to fix my car a few weeks ago. Yeah, it's a chunk of change but considering I never have to repair ANYTHING EVER on my car, I can deal with it. The headlight was not burnt out, but running super dim, since November. I never cared that much to fix it but then brought it in, thinking it wouldn't be a big deal. Something about a pigtail connector, and also they informed me that something had melted (mechanic speak) and I figure well, it's probably not good when stuff underneath the hood of your car melts. So be it.

A lot has been going on but the highlight of June so far has been my roadtrip to Springfield, Missouri. What the hell is in Springfield, Missouri you ask? Well, my cousin Amanda had a baby that was born about 10 weeks premature and since I hadn't seen her in forever, I got a hold of one of my other cousins, Michelle, and planned a visit. I also have another cousin, Forrest, who lives in Springfield so it was like a little mini-reunion. The trip down to Springfield (which is probably longer than you may have thought) was awesome. My cousin Michelle and I caught up on family stuff and personal stuff and got to experience Highway H, or as I like to call it, Highway Where the HELL Are We? Seriously, Deliverance. No sign of civilization and we only saw one other car. I was thinking it was in northern Missouri but I believe (after reviewing a map) that it's a little bit northwest of St. Louis.

Seeing Amanda and baby Coleridge was great. We laughed, we cried, we hurled. I have photos on facebook if you want to sneak a peak. The trip back was a hilarious string of events. We avoided a wavering trailer full of canoes, got a piece of dirty, platic tarp stuck to our van and peed our pants laughing about it, and picked up a 75 cent "love kit" at a truck stop in Kickapoo, IL.

I had a little, mini-breakdown earlier this week. It only lasted a day. For whatever reason, I was highly emotional (sad). There's some personal stuff I deal with and I keep a lot of it inside so every great once in a while it builds up so much that it has no place to go except out. But everytime things get to me, I just remember that I have a good life and there are people in this world that have a lot more on their plate to deal with than I do, and thus ends the pity party.

ANYHOO...the rest of this week has been great so far. Justin won a free haircut at Sports Clips from the roller derby and he used it. It definitely looked like a free haircut so I ended up shaving his head. Looks much better now!

In house news: I'm finally getting the rest of my dirt (I know dirt, how exciting, right?) from the builder Friday, so I can get some landscaping done in the front of my house. Our new shutters (the right color) should also be arriving soon.

So I'm 25 today. Well, actually, not until 11:55 pm today so I've still got a few hours of being 24 left. I've always been fashionably late, what can I say? On this day 25 years ago, my mom and dad were probably crappin' their pants, thinking about being parents for the first time. I know I would be.

Being 24 was definitely a year of learning. Learning how to deal with some pretty difficult things, learning real loss, learning patience, learning to be proud of myself, learning how to be an adult. I think I grew up a lot in the past 365 days. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a total goofy kid, but I took on a lot of "adult" challenges (both good and bad) being 24. Do I feel old? Nah. I feel like life is just getting started. People rave about turning 16, 18, and 21 and they were all indeed great birthdays (recall Toga party 2005) but I have no desire to go back and be those ages again. Maybe when I'm 40 (when I have a full head of gray hair, and I will because I'm already on my way), I'll wish I was 21 again.

So, here's to being 25! Here's to lower car insurance rates! Here's to a mortgage payment! Here's to being an even older goofy kid!

Can someone please help me find my iPod USB cord? I know I packed it... It's really bumming me out. I guess it isn't a complete move if you don't lose something, right? We thought for a moment that our can opener was a goner and bought a new one, only to find out from my mom that she did indeed unpack it...and it put it underneath a pile of tupperware lids. Right where you would think, right? Thanks mom.

The move went fairly smoothly. No one punched anyone, no one broke any bones. I did have to send Justin away for a while because he was getting frustrated toward the end of moving day. It took us a little over a week to "completely" move. There were a few trips back and forth to the old house (we only moved across town) to gather miscellaneous things and to do some cleaning. I'm glad to be settled finally. Well not completely settled. There are still tubs and boxes full of "stuff" everywhere, waiting to be unpacked. I know a good place for them...the basement. Then I don't have to see them and I can unpack them in my own sweet time.

We sold and/or got rid of most of our furniture (with the exception of our bedroom furniture) before we moved so for the last few weeks we've been hanging out on our futon. Our new couch finally arrived today and our new chair will be following shortly. Hopefully our damn dining room table will show up too. It was originally scheduled to arrive April 19th...so much for that. I can't wait to get the art/photos/decor out of the boxes so we can add a little more personality to our place.

It took a while for our house shutters to arrive and when they did, they were the wrong color! The second I drove up to the house after they were installed, I knew they weren't right. I mean, it had been a while since we placed the order for them but I did NOT order orangey-red colored shutters. Bordeaux people, Bordeaux! I keed, I keed. So in 4-6 weeks we will have the correct shutters...hopefully.

I'm looking forward to starting my front garden thought I'm not sure what I'm going to grow yet. And first, I have to learn how to garden. I'm a fast study so I'm sure I'll figure it out. Next year we can start our vegetable garden out back but this year, the sod is too new.

In other news...
Justin and I are driving to Des Moines tomorrow. He's got some work business to take care of (he's a mobster you know) and Clutch is in town. That ought to be a good time.

I'm turning 25 on Sunday so I hope you have all pitched in to get me the new red, Toyota Matrix S with all wheel drive that I want. I'll be checking the driveway on Sunday. No wrapping paper necessary, a nice bow will do.

So we are OFFICIALLY homeowners! Original closing date was May 1st, then was switched to April 17th, and then at the last minute (because the closing attourney wasn't available that day) was moved up again to April 16th. I was anxious all day yesterday but the actual closing process wasn't nearly as painful as I thought it would be. In fact, it really only took about 20 minutes. Weeks beforehand I had all of these horrible scenarious acting out in my head like I would be in the room signing all the papers and all of a sudden they say "oh yeah, we forgot to mention this or that fee so pay up!" Needless to say, that didn't happen, no surprises. It hasn't really sunk in yet and probably won't until June 1st when that first payment is due.

The house is great but empty. I'll post some photos up sometime this weekend. Oh wait, probably not because I won't have internet at the new house until Monday. It's going to look a little dorm-roomy for a few weeks until our new couch arrives and we order a new chair. Hey one thing at a time. The futon will have to suffice until then since I sold practically all of our current living room furniture.

Today is a great day to have off of work. It's beautiful outside! I get to go buy little things like hoses and sprinklers (new sod you know), shower curtains (dear Justin, please don't pick out an ugly one for your bathroom), and hardware for the cabinets. Unlike many women, spending money does not give me a high. It sort of makes me anxious. I'm quite frugal (except for that whole eating out thing).

If anyone would like our new address, just let me know, unless there's a possibility you might stalk me...well you can still have it. Who doesn't like a stalker?

No one will EVER convince me that THIS is a true phenomenom. SERIOUSLY.

There is no freaking way that you can go 10 months without knowing you're pregnant. A woman's body changes so much during that time, not to mention the hormone craziness. Wouldn't you think "hey, my period is wacky, maybe I should get that checked out or maybe I just MIGHT be pregnant." After all, birth control is not 100% effective. DUH. Or "hey, my belly is this odd, spherical shape, wonder what's up with that?" Everytime I see that this show is on, it drives me crazy because it ISN'T TRUE. Well ok, it might be true. But if that's the case, then those women are complete idiots.

Dear Birthday Fairy,
Please bring me lots of clothes for my birthday. I would also like a new pair of vans slip-ons or rocket dogs and a hot pair of heels to wear to the upcoming weddings I'm attending. Maybe some new music as well as it's been a long time since I've indulged (with the exception of the new Lily Allen CD a few weeks ago).

Thanks pal,
Steph

Seriously?!? Padma Lakshmi is in a new Hardee's commercial? I thought you had more class than that Padma. You're in a freaking thickburger ad. Gross! If you want to see the horror for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzwxmy1TWNM.

How come Tom Hanks doesn't do funny movies anymore? Who was I talking with about this a few weeks ago?

I got a new hurs cut. Not really new, it just keeps getting shorter with each visit. I'm going to be bald before the end of the year. That might be kind of neat.

Here's your top 5

I was thinking about this on the way home from picking up dinner tonight.

Top 5 of the worst, most god awful, cover songs: (though I could probably name 100)

1. "Dirty Laundry" by Lisa Marie Presley - not that the original was good either though (original by Don Henley)

2. "Kashmir" by Pee Diddy - 3 words for you, "uh huh yeah" (original by Led Zepplin)

3. "Hey Hey What Can I Do" by Hootie and the Blowfish - sorry Hootie but you blew this one (original by Led Zepplin)

4. "Word Up" by Korn - WTF? What a dumb choice to cover. (original by Cameo)

5. "You Shook Me All Night Long" by Celine Dion - Oh good god. You have to watch the video to get the full effect. And I hate Celine Dion. (Original by AC/DC)

Spring is here, yippee! My mood changes drastically (well you probably won't notice a different but I do) once spring arrives. I think it's the larger amounts of "daytime" or maybe not having to wear a winter coat, or maybe being able to roll the windows down in my car (other than because they're too frosted to see out of). It's the little things really. I also like a good thunderstorm, unless it wakes me up in the middle of the night and I think a tornado is going to eat me while I sleep.

Today I have been rather un-motivated, yesterday too really, other than doing laundry and dishes. I really need to get my butt in gear because me may be moving earlier than we originally anticipated. :::Side Note: there are updated photos of the house here. Our closing date still remains at May 1st but the builder anticipates the house being done by mid-April, unless the sod has to wait. Today Justin and I were going to start the moving process but lost the will about a half hour into it. We made a list of things we want to sell and give away and that was about it. Oh, we also sorted through our shoe collection, GO US! Ugh, moving is going to suck!

In "Give Myself A Pat On The Back" News, my car is finally paid off...and I did it over a year ahead of schedule. We really had to anyway in order to afford a house payment. It really felt good to call the bank and say "pay that bitch off!" Ok, I didn't really say THAT, I said "pay that bitch off, please." I should have my title in about 2 weeks.

Blog-wise, I'm working on two things. One is called "The Mother of All Music Memes" and the other is an idea I am borrowing from a friend who borrowed it from a fellow blogger. It's a list of 25 things to do before I turn 26. Since my 25th birthday is approaching, I figured I will wait until then to start this list. Speaking of which, what the hell am I going to do for my 25th birthday?

Here's my Top 5 list for the week (which I am striving to make a weekly blog):

Top 5 Sweet-ass CDs You Just Might Like That I'm Currently In Love With

* Alela Diane: "To Be Still" -- holy shit this album is incredible.
----Stand out track: "White as Diamonds"

* Mariee Sioux: "Faces In the Rocks" -- has a very Native American sound but cool folky
----Stand out track: "Buried In Teeth"

* Yeah Yeah Yeahs: "It's Blitz!" -- totally different from their last album but I love it the same
----Stand out track: "Dull Life"

* Adele: "19" -- I'm totally jealous that I can't sing
----Stand out track: "Chasing Pavements"

* Lemuria: "Get Better" -- saw these guys/gal live and they're lovely
----Stand out track: "Pants"

And an honorable mention that didn't quite make the list because the CD wasn't quite as good as I had anticipated but the songs that are good, are really good.

* The Gay Blades: "Ghosts" -- saw a music video a few weeks ago and had to look them up right away
----Stand out track: "Oh Shot"

Dude, long time no blog. Yes, yes I know. Truth is that I've been uber busy lately but I've been writing down lots of ideas and things I've observed over the last few weeks so I have plenty to blog about!

Have you seen the Mark & Olly show? More specifically, "Mark and Olly: Living with the Machigenga?" Awesome show. I can take or leave shows on the travel channel. This one, I'll take. Mark and Olly follow the Machigenga, who are a tribe located in the Amazon within Peru. The show focuses on Mark and Olly (2 English dudes) who struggle to adapt to the lifestyle of the Machigenga. I'm not sure when it's on because I always catch re-runs (I'm not cool enough to subscribe to DVR yet) but if you ever have a chance to watch it, you should.

I mentioned before that we bought a house but I haven't really written anything since then. The house is under construction but comely along very nicely. If you're not on facebook or haven't seem them yet, here's a link to some photos I took of the house about 2 weeks ago. Since then, a front stoop has been poured, they've insulated and I believe they've sheet-rocked as well. I'll have to get in a take some updated photos. There's still quite a bit of work to go but it will all be done in the next month and a half.

Speaking of new houses, do you know about the first-time home buyer tax credit for this year? Well, you won't get the credit until next year but it's a pretty sweet deal. I think we might take the money and finish our basement which is gonna cost a good chunk of change.

Here's some random for you. I have to talk about the Subway in Marion. I only like to go there if one particular guy is working. He's this Asian guy and I don't know his name but he's super fast and he does tricks while he's making your sandwich. It's super corny but he'll spin the bread loaf around in his hand and flip his mini-knife around. The best part is that he says "sweet" after everything you say.
Me: "I'll have a 6 inch turkey and ham on wheat" (my sandwich of choice btw)
Asian guy: "sweet. cheese?"
Me: "American please."
Asian guy: "sweet. One turkey/ham on wheat w/ american cheese. sweeet."

And while I was in Subway last time, I was behind a girl who almost made me die. She asked for the herb and cheese bread but she said "hhhhhhhhherb and cheese." That's right folks, she pronounced the "H". I was listening to her conversation in line and had already come to the conclusion that she was an idiot but it was nice to have some confirmation of my assumption. I'm not the queen of speech and grammar, but for cryin' out loud people. Have you never heard the word "herb" before?

I saw a commercial for Botox the other day that carried the slogan "Express Yourself." Ironic, don't you think? Perfect slogan if the only way you express yourself is through a deer-in-the-headlights look.

I love to bake and I usually like to make things from scratch. I get the basic ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, etc) and go from there. Occasionally I get a box mix when I'm feeling particularly lazy. One of my favorite brands of muffin mix is called "Krusteaz." Although the muffins turn out delicious, I find the brand name a bit off-putting...especially for a pastry/cake product. I'm sure it's derived from a different language that probably means "totally delicious muffins" but as a dumb American, I immediately think "crusty."

Life has been so busy lately!

Not only have I been "trying" to study for a class in which I test on March 13th for (good grief) but we've been in the process of purchasing a home. After months and months of scouring the MLS listings, we finally decided on one that we wanted to put an offer on. Well, we actually decided a few weeks ago on a house but it sold literally the next day. We had been considering a condo out in the Hunter's Ridge area (ooh fancy, I know) but we were sold once we checked out some new houses going up in a new development of Marion. Actually Justin was sold after looking at the online listing and I was pissed that we wanted to see them. I had my heart set on the condo but he just HAD to take me out to see these houses. The second I walked into one of them, I loved it. It was nice because we had a couple of models to choose from but ultimately decided on the one that would best fit our budget. No one around here is building brand new houses in our price range but this builder found a gap in the market and decided to run with it.

We put our offer in, they countered, we accepted the counter offer. Got our final approval from the bank, wrote out some checks (1% builders deposit since it's new construction, gulp) and it's pretty much a done deal. I stressed, because that's what I do when I have to commit to something. Last night we met with the builders to pick out the basics: color of siding, shingles, shutters, type of windows, type of handles and fixtures, any modifications, etc etc. Tuesday we meet with the kitchen, flooring, and appliance people to make those decisions. YIKES! This is all moving so fast! Closing date isn't until May 1st though, so we have some time to get rid of all the junk in our current house. I'm making a list of things to sell, donate, and trash. Packing and moving doesn't sound like fun. I mean, I've moved before, but never on this scale.

This blog inspires the next two Top 5 Lists:

Top 5 Things I’m Going to Miss About My Current House:
1. The spacious laundry room – however, when we finish the basement in our new house (won’t be for a while though), we will have a good size laundry room
2. The 3rd Bedroom – again, once we finish the basement, that won’t be an issue
3. The Hickory cabinets in the kitchen – they’re seriously beautiful and I have a lot of them
4. The deer that hang out in our backyard and on the street – we might see some wildlife around our new house, but probably not deer
5. How close it is to my job (7 miles) – but really, the new house is only an extra 5 miles away

Top 5 Things I’m NOT going to miss about my current house:
1. Not being able to use my garage – it’s used for storage right now and it makes me a little sad that it can fit 2 cars, but I’ve never been able to use it.
2. Menards in my backyard – literally, it’s about 30 feet away from my back door
3. The crappy sun exposure! – with the garage in front, only 1 front window (that being a spare bedroom window), and Northern exposure, we never get enough natural light in the house. Oh and our driveway NEVER melts.
4. The neighbors – with the exception of one next door neighbor (whom I buy fundraiser stuff from all the time and who made us pumpkin bread for Christmas), the rest around our street are very cold to us.
5. White appliances.

I have seen a lot of shitty driving this week and thus the inspiration for my Top 5. I know I have road rage, but this would be considered bad driving by anyone...anyone who's a good driver. I've seen 2 people run red lights (WHILST TURNING LEFT!) just this week. And I'm not talking the light is turning red, I'm talking the light has been red and the rest of traffic has been stopped. Today I saw a guy just driving down the middle turn lane with no intentions of turning or getting over. You can't even blame it on the weather or a full moon! Wow, it never ceases to amaze me.

Top 5 driving "things" that annoy me:
*The Highway 100 "bypass" from Cedar Rapids into Marion. -- Ever since Menards went up, people have forgotten that the speed limit is 55mph...not 35. Seriously.

*People who put their registration stickers in various places on their licenses plates. -- Um, there's a designated spot you know. Each year, you put the new sticker on top of the old one, not in one of the 4 other corners of your plate.

*The intersection of East Post Rd and Grand Ave. -- Most of the time, drivers forget that whoever is turning right has the right of way at a green light...not the driver turning left.

*Drivers who can't keep their foot off of the brake. -- This includes drivers who drive w/ both feet (wow, that's interesting that you're accelerating yet your brake lights are still on) and drivers who have a nervous foot.

*Drivers who race the construction signs. -- You know, when they can clearly see that the lane is closed ahead and yet they still race ahead and then put their signal on. So obnoxious.

I've really tried hard as of lately not to write another blog about drivers but I just couldn't help it.