You like me! You really, really like me...or...

...they are just really hungry. I invited 10 people for Holiday dinner Friday, thinking only about half would come. Usually how it works. They all said yes. I don't have that many matching place settings lol! My table isn't that big! I'll have to pull out the card tables. I hope they like rustic!

Menu

Appetizers
Little Smokies in BBQ Sauce (why? I was hungry when I went shopping.)
Baked Brie with Chutney
Chips and Dip

Main
Horseradish Crusted 10 Pound Rib Roast
Yummy Potatoes (Thank you Sarah)
Yorkshire Pudding either plain or bacon and chives
Green Beans Sauteed with Bacon (and other herbs or something...still deciding)
Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Rolls

Dessert
Various Pies (like 3 or 4 - Thanks Timmy)
Homemade Cheesecake for Kate

I need staff...

Oh, and...
Dear Santa,
I need a few things for my new house.  One of them is a couch.  I'd like this one with all the accessories.  Thank you in advance for your anticipated generosity!

Nicbeast

SHE'S HOME!!

Eight is back!  Too happy for words!

"Eight" Missing

This is my cat "Eight".  Microchip number: 4A7F205A18

She is an 18 month old Calico (or Tortise) depending on who you ask.

She went missing Saturday night, November 28, 2009 from 9th Street in Gilroy, CA.

We just moved to the area and she is not familiar with the neighborhood.

This is Eight with her sister "Six".

(no we don't name all our animals after numbers ;-) )

Six is wandering around the house and back yard "calling" for her.  It's shattering my already broken heart.

If you see them please contact me.

408-835-0451 cell

nicbeast@gmail.com

Thank you for helping us find our kitty!

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/laf/1487250001.html

Fuck You!

If everyone is so hot to get away from me, then get the fuck out. Fuck. Them. All. Fuck everyone, dumb shit mother fuckers. And just so we are clear, I am NOT you fucking emotional punching bag, dumb fuck!

Delinquent Letter

I've been meaning to write this letter for months now. 

Mr. J. J. Abrams

c/o William Morris Endeavor Entertainment
(Talent and Literary Agency)
9601 Wilshire Blvd.
3rd Floor
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
USA

Dear Mr. Abrams,

I'ma need you to cease and desist all other entertainment endeavors and concentrate solely on making more Star Trek movies.

Thank you in advance for you anticipated cooperation.

Sincerely,

Nicbeast

HOME SWEET HOME

Ladies and gentlemen, 

the hunt is over!!

Our New Home!

Beds:  4

Baths:  2.5

Sq. Ft.: 2918

Lot Size:  7000 Sq. Ft.

Stories:  2

A LOT OF HOME, live in a home with room to spare. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, large game room separate living and dining room, family room and eat-in kitchen. tile flooring, indoor laundry and large backyard (with fruit trees!!!). All set in an established neighborhood with tree lined streets.

Cleaning, painting and moving start tomorrow! 

All are welcome to help!! *cheesy grin*

I had a dream...

The past couple of days, I've been in some pain.  It's like having a screaming headache, but all over your body, from head to toe.

I finally fell asleep last night and actually had a dream about how much pain I was in.

I drove to the dr's office and paced outside the door convincing myself to go in.  Feeling like it was silly for me to be there, I told myself I should just suck it up and go home.  Next thing I know I'm inside my dr's lobby and they are having some sort of clinic day.  I check in at the table and a guy that looks like Anthony Edwards asks about my stats.  I tell him this is my regular dr and I have insurance.  Smiling he sends me over to wait in a different line.  I'm standing there, trying to ignore the pain, when the world around me starts to go dark, from the outside in, like a pin hole.  I crumble to the floor, my world has gone black except for a flash of light here and there; some woman yelling instructions, people rushing around me then total darkness.

I wake on a gurney in a hospital.  A very kind nurse starts asking me questions about my memories.  I answer her and realize she is checking to see if I'm coherent or hit my head. 

Then I wake.

You think it's my body telling me I'm crazy not go to the dr?

...

...Wait for it....

Out!

We are out of the 2 bed 1.5 bath, 1200 sq.ft. town house and in the 1bed 1 bath, 800 sq.ft. apartment...I'm feelin' some kinda way about it...

 

Kill me now.

House hunting, Stress is thy name...

Sunday we rented a Uhaul truck again to move all the big stuff.  Nic-B.I.L. and Nic-friend came and helped us along with Nic-mom.  It went so fast with all of us!!  True family and friends help you move.  Period.  It's a shitty job and they do it for food!  I love them mucho!

We drove them by The Short Sale, tried to break in to show them around, no go.  LOL.  So then we went to The Other House and what do you know, they were having an open house!  I was like Oh...no...  If they are still having open houses they are still accepting offers.  We went in and looked around.  A couple couple of realtors were there along with a finance person.  Everyone in our group pretended like we haven't put an offer in already.  Everyone seems to like it.  Like I said most of the stuff is cosmetic, lipstick and rouge.  This whole house buying thing is a trip...

Oh for heaven's sake...

Lemme tell you 'bout my day.  Wake, shower, eat breakfast.  Nothing too exciting there.  The I go donate blood in honor of 9/11.  I also figure I'd want someone to donate if I needed it, plus good karma.  

Next, I pick up my chap labor (mom) and take her to Taco Bell becuase, well she wanted it.  Then we head back to the apartment, pick up some boxes and go back to the old address to pack up my clothes.  Four cardboard boxes full of my shoes and purses, a trip to Wally World to buy 30 Gallon plastic containers later we have every thing packed up.  Mind you, only the pile clothes marked "Take" could fit in my car.  All the shoes and purses and clothes going to storage are still there.  I have so much stuff...How is it I have nothing to wear????

Anywho, we load up the car, I race to Safeway to pick up stuff for dinner, (I made bbq chicken pizza, y'all it was goooooooooooood!) then back to the apartment.  Mom wants to unload the car, but having given blood today I was pooped.  So I started dinner and went to check my email.  I find this from our realtor...

"...I did get a email from XXX on The Short Sale and your offer has been accepted and is in position one...I am sure if we get The Other House you would probably drop The Short Sale?..."

SAY WHAT????????

So I call our realtor and discuss this turn of events.  He is correct.  If we get The Other House, we will drop The Short Sale.  As I have said, I'm not in love with that one.  I guess this explains why it went pending.  Good Lord.  So we should know by Monday I guess.  I'm so conflicted...

Another one bites the dust...

I think...

Well, when we went onto the listing site, it says the short sale we bid on went pending.  Nice of the bank to tell anyone...

So, now we wait...

Be vewwy, vewwy quiet...I'm hunting houses!

Well, we found another house we liked that is a short sale. I'm not crazy about the house its self. The layout is not quite so open and kinda strange and the rooms are small. They did usurp the room next to the master to make it bigger but it's...strange. The back yard however is fantastic!! Sorry I don't have pictures of the back, but here is the front. Since it's a short sale, I don't expect to hear back from the bank. LOL.

"Great curb appeal inside and out. Come and see for yourself. This home features 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms over 1700 SF of living space. Mature neighborhood, Quiet neighborhood, and a great centralized location. Make this your next home. A short sale waiting for your offer. Banks are willing to work with an offer today. Easy to show. Drive by, stop by, or call for a showing of this home. This is a FHA qualified home. Everything appears to be in working condition. This home is close to parks, close to schools and in the middle of all shopping centers. Walking distance to the Levy. 2 car garage and ready to move into."

Bed/Bath: 3 / 2
SqFt: 1,717

Today I went out and looked at another house.

"A LOT OF HOME, live in a home with room to spare. 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, large game room separate living and dining room, family room and eat-in kitchen. tile flooring, indoor laundry and large backyard. All set in an established neighborhood with tree lined streets."

Man, they aren't kidding! This place is huge! For us, anyway. The decor is...questionable, but mostly just paint and carpet. Everything looks good; roof, new windows. There is RV parking and the yard is manageable. There are fruit trees in the back yard, lemon, cherry, plumb and peach! YUM!

• Bed/Bath:4 / 2 1/2
• SqFt:2,918
• Lot:7,000 sq ft
• Yr Built / Age:1977 / 32 years

The bathrooms have been redone, do you SEE that mint paint and teal carpet? So odd... I mean, I love the 80's, but damn! But, that's just lipstick and rouge! We put in a bid. A BIG one! Huge! I'm not sure it will win but, dammit, we are in the hunt!!!

WE COULD BE HOME OWNERS BY THE WEEKEND Y'ALL!!!

Oh and since all my other business is concluded, (YAY!) My blog is back to being open!!! WOOT!!

And the winner is...

Not us.

Oh well. Well be heading out tomorrow afternoon for to look at some more houses...

NEXT!

Ugh!

There are seven bids on the house...no surprise.

We upped our offer...not by much but still...

The Captain and I look about the same right now....

Christ Almighty

We put an offer on Bam #2...

Me

Of course, we'll get out bid but holy crap! WE PUT AN OFFER ON A HOUSE!!!

Imma be a mess for a bit. Please excuse me in advance.

Still Hunting

Looking, looking, looking. Handfulls of houses, nothing exciting then bam! No wait more like BAM BAM!

#1

Bed/Bath:	4 / 3
SqFt:	2,117
Lot:	7,000 sq ft
Yr Built / Age:	1985 / 24 years

The first BAM is well with in our price range. Needs some work but nothing that would make it tough to live in while we refurbished. It also has a pool, which honestly for me, isn't a selling point. But it has good structure. I like it. Big kitchen! Even a bit excicted about it, though I was trying not to be. The realtor tried to get info on the place this weekend and all the websites and what not were being changed and by the time he did get in, it said there were no listings for our city. He's not convinced he thinks it may be a computer thing, transferring files and what not, so he's gonna call the agent on Monday. *Crosses Fingers*.

#2

Bed/Bath:	4 / 2
SqFt:	2,147
Lot:	7,040 sq ft
Yr Built / Age:	1981 / 28 years

The second BAM is a little high for us but absolutely beautiful. Move in ready. The price is a little high and we would kinda be stuck for a minute...a bit house poor, but no work needs to be done. GREAT KITCHEN! *sigh*. The price makes me nervous. I have a call into our finance person to check on what the payments would be so, we'll see. I don't have any pictures of the first house, they have disappeared which leads me to belive that the house is already pending, but here are the some of the second house.


So, keep your fingers crossed for us. If you would like to donate to our housing there is a paypal button on the side of the blog lololol!

Also, the packing starts in earnest tomorrow for the move next weekend. I hate packing. So, anyone who has nothing better to do than help me pack and move is more than welcome!

Home Sweet Heartbreak

Bed/Bath: 3 / 2
SqFt: 1,475
Lot: 9,500 sq ft
Yr Built / Age: 1955 / 54 years
List Price: More than we can realistically afford

Beautiful corner lot, with 3 car garage and wonderful BBQ area. Complete new kitchen in garage ready to be installed in home. Hardwood floors and newer windows with some updating in bathrooms. This home has so much potential. With a little TLC could be a show place! Close to down town and shopping. Walk to library.


This house is so wonderful. I mean you see that front window and those floors? That back yard! Perfect for entertaining. That covered shelter, has a SINK!! It also has a butcher block cutting board!!! AND LOTS OF STORAGE!! What really hurts, is...it is SO CLOSE to what we can afford!! And the houses in this neighborhood NEVER go on sale! I knew this would break my heart. It was one of those times when the voice in your head said, "Don't! Do! It! DON'T LOOK!" and I ignored it. We both did. We both loved the house. We immediately started scheming. How could we do some creative financing. Then I started getting this sort of feeling of dread as we were hatching our plan. When I quieted my self I knew it wasn't meant to be. I realized every thing we were saying was negative. "Well if we don't do this...or if we don't do that. We won't be able to do these things...." I don't think it's the right way to start off.

So bully for me for being the voice of reason and saying we should stick to our plan. I mean, things have been falling into place. There is no reason we should start trying to force puzzle pieces into place. I'm not saying we should not work for what we want, but this just feels strained and artificial. I mean we could go in and offer less but it seems silly and quite frankly it's insulting. :-) Besides, once people get wind of this gem, there will be multiple bids. We just can't afford it. We're doing the right thing. Right?

House Hunters

Today was our first going to open houses. Wasn't too bad, only three with our requirements. The first one was nice. Big kitchen, laminate floors through out, nice yard. They already had three offers on it and if we wanted it we'd have to make one by 2:00 tomorrow. Well, it was nice, but we didn't like it that much and we really aren't in the position to be making an offer that soon anyway.

The second one was priced really low! Like $100k less...and we saw why. I mean with that extra $100k we could make a really bitchen house! LOL. But, to do that would be A LOT of work. I'm not too keen on it. It is also a foreclosure so that makes me twitchy. When we got there the realtor wasn't even there. I found a way in! LOL! By the time he showed we were done looking. He'd never even been through the whole place. We talked to him for a minute and found out about it being a foreclosure. That's why, I guess.



Third house was lovely! Nicely redone. Kitchen was tiny, though...and you all know how I feel about that. BUT the rest of the house was nicely redone. Hardwood floors through out, which honestly, after having them AND 4 cats, it's really a pain chasing fur balls all around the house with a broom. The back yard was perfect. Sigh...I think if we were able to, we would have seriously considered making an offer. First weekend out though...



Tomorrow, I'm meeting with our realtor to go look at a bunch of houses, then we will go back out that evening with the man so he can see too.

I also have an apt with my allergist. I think I will fess up this time to my allergies being worse now since the last time I saw him. *cough2extracatscough*

Well that's it for now. I'll keep you posted on what happens tomorrow!

I can see clearly now...

MY GLASSES ARE IN!!
MY GLASSES ARE IN!!

and

I'm picking them up tomorrow! I'm so McCited!!

Five Rules to Game Over!

There are rules some professionals haven't seemed to have learned. Let me refresh your memory, or maybe in some cases enlighten you...

1. Do not call people before 8:00 A.M. or after 8:00 P.M. (my preference being before 9:00 AM)

2. When you do call, make sure you know who you are calling. Do not ask for the wrong person.

3. Do not make creepy statements.

4. Do not make insensitive statements.

5. Do not make bad racial jokes.

Game over!

I like to move it, move it! NOT!

This whole, moving, buying a house thing...one great big bundle of stress!! Again I have to say, this is WAY above my maturity level!

I have been talking with a mortgage broker, she is super nice, very knowledgeable and very helpful. If I get my way, we will go with her. We have pre-qualified and I have now started interviewing Realtors. I have no skill set for interviewing them. I mean, what do you ask? What do I need in a Realtor? Experience. Patience. Knowledge. The ability to calm my ass down when I start freaking out!

We got a local storage unit and I have started moving things from the garage over there. I got some boxes so I'll start packing up things in the house this week I hope. Things like books and maybe stuff from the bathroom we aren't using. I don't really have a clear plan on the order of things. Suggestions welcome!

We filled out an application for an apartment, so I'm taking that over tomorrow. There is no way we will be able to buy a house before we have to be out of this place. So now we have a cushion. We don't want to rush into anything.

On a personal note, I got my eyes checked and got new glasses and sun glasses. The sunglasses are ready to be picked up but I think I will wait for my regular glasses to be ready and make one trip. I am also gonna try ordering some glasses online becuase they are hella cheap! So if they work out I can get a bunch!! Fun!!

And so it begins...

We got word a while back the townhouse we are renting has been foreclosed on. Meaning? We have to move. The timing isn't bad, though. We are looking to buy our first house. We've had some help; we know an out of state real estate agent who pointed us in a direction to find someone here. Today, I spoke with said person and she has put me in contact with a mortgage broker in our city that is connected with her agency. We will probably also talk to our bank who we have been with FOREVER and seems to have ridden out this financial fiasco and has a good reputation with mortgages.

Am I nervous? Yep. Scared? You bet! Excited? Yes, when I'm not nervous or scared.

More immediately, I'm bummed. I. HATE. MOVING! I. HATE. PACKING! OMG! I don't know if I can express to you how much I hate those things. I wish I were one of those people who could go on vacation and come back to your house all moved. *sigh*

We have a local storage unit, so I am going to start moving stuff over there I think next week. It's a little tough trying to decide what you use and don't. I have an idea of a plan but am leaving my options open...so to speak.



In other news...

River of Death was good. We only had one scary incident. My advice to you, always wear your life vest. Period.





The kittens are evil. They have taken to waking up at 4 or 5 AM to play. When does the kitten thing end? Sheesh! Ok, As I sit here typing this, they are asleep and cute next to me, but Six sleeps with here eyes open...is that weird? Seems weird to me. And she's DREAMING! So she has the REM thing happening so it looks like she's looking around...so bizarre.



Any way, if you don't mind, I think I'll blog about my house hunting experiences with y'all.

See ya later!

Where there's fire, there's...fire...

Well, the the river we float down is on fire. Well not ON fire, but there are fires up there and the areas we drop in and load out are closed...Presents a problem. What to do, what to do...

I know!! I'll make T-Shirts!!!


What do you think? LOL!

I'm famous!

They wrote a book about me!

Kittens

At their cutest...sleeping!

Brand New Day

I know I've been absent mostly from my blog, but I've had to be. I'm happy to say, in a few weeks if all goes well, that will change. Things seem to finally be drifting in my favor for a change *knocks on wood*.

With that in mind, I think maybe I'll make some resolutions. Well not resolutions, but take some ideas I have and implement them. Make my life more of what I want it to be, or at least, do more of the things I want to do. I'm afraid this may upset some, but if they can't understand that it's time for me to take care my business, then I'll be sad but I'll move on.




What else is new? River of Death.



Yep it's that time again. We are leaving Sunday. We will be camping for the Whole. Damn. Week. Well, we'll break it up here and there with a motel or B&B. I mean how many times do I have to say it...IN-FREAKING-DOOR GIRL! Honestly, I don't even need that much. Shower, bathroom, power, Internet access...I can even do with out the latter if I have my iPhone to keep an eye on stuff.

The new Harry Potter comes out while we are up there. I made it known under no uncertain terms I WILL BE GOING TO SEE THAT. No questions, no discussions. I am NOT playin'.


In other news, I got my AA ...



and people made me walk. So embarrassing. I also discovered I'm 2 semesters away from my BA. So I think that will be coming up on the game plan. Maybe while up at the R.O.D. I can figure out what's what.

For now, I think that's it.

Oh, did I tell you I had a fabulous dream that I was making out with Wentworth? Yum.

LOST

One of my kittens, Eight, is missing...I'm out of town, and can't do anything about it which makes me feel so useless. Please send positive vibes she comes home soon, safe and sound. My heart is breaking for her. Thanks.


http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/laf/1133326082.html