We officially made it to September, when we said we were going to move in, and guess what? It happened! Everything is not done yet, but we got to a point where the things left can be finished once we are moved in, so last Saturday we packed up all our stuff and moved in!
It's so great to finally be in the place that everyone has been working on so hard. The first month to month and a half was spent tearing out old things and replacing things like the sub-flooring that you can't even see now. Finally though, we got to the point where we started putting things back together, so to speak. Actually making it look like a place that could be lived in, eventually. Bit by bit, it started to look more like a house, and less like a construction site. A fresh coat of paint in every room, new curtains, new wood laminate flooring throughout, new doors.....all of this stuff slowly made it look more like a house.
It wasn't until we actually moved in, though, that it really started to look like a home. I've been trying to picture how everything would work and what each room would look like once all the furniture was moved in. My mind could not do the place justice, though. Everything looks even better than I imagined it would.
I know you all want to see pictures and I promise, they will come soon. At the moment though, most of the ones I want to share are at my parents' house. Plus, we are still trying to finish getting settled in...once we do, I will be sure to take pictures and share them with you all!
I know most of you only have a limited idea of how much work went into getting this place ready. Many of you helped with different parts of it, some of you helped with all of it...or even DID all of it. I just want to thank everyone for their help with everything. Thank you for taking time out of your own lives to help me. I could not even imagine doing all that was done by myself, hiring contractors or other people to get things done. I am blessed by God to have a dad who was able to do so many different things...to have a mom who was willing to be here almost every night with my dad, helping him, supporting him....to have a younger brother who was willing to give up his nights off to work on his sister's house, when he could have been spending it with his girlfriend...to have a brother, sister-in-law, sister, and brother-in-law who were willing to give up their weekends to come help work. Thank you all so much; there is no way I could ever repay you all. I love you!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Monday, June 4, 2012
Woah, what just happened?!
It's official!
I am a homeowner!! (of sorts)
Today we went and got the title to the mobile home transferred into my name. I paid my uncle for it. And now it's mine.
I. OWN. IT.
Just a slightly weird feeling, haha.
I am a homeowner!! (of sorts)
Today we went and got the title to the mobile home transferred into my name. I paid my uncle for it. And now it's mine.
I. OWN. IT.
Just a slightly weird feeling, haha.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Moving!!
So I promised you I would update you all on what has been going on....a month later, I'm finally getting around to it!
As you all know, Kaleb and I have been living together in an apartment in Cedar Rapids. It has been great...but reallllly expensive. Our lease expires on the 31st, so a few months ago, we started thinking about other possibilities. I was not very optimistic about finding another apartment because it was so hard to find an apartment the first time around that accepted dogs and had washer/dryer hookups (as opposed to a common laundry room). However, God brought along an opportunity that I never saw coming. My uncle has been living in a mobile home that belonged to his parents (my grandparents) for several years now. This mobile home was "Grandma and Grandpa's house" for me when I was growing up (at least, when they were in Iowa; they spent time in Florida, too). My uncle has decided to move to Texas to be closer to his daughter and offered to sell the mobile home to me. At first, I wasn't sure. I never really pictured myself living in a mobile home, not that there is anything wrong with it, but it never crossed my mind as a possibility when looking for places to live. However, the more we talked about the benefits and the cost differences, the more I began to get excited.
Let me explain the cost differences first....rent alone is less than a third of what we are currently paying. Even with utilities, internet/cable, taxes, etc added on, we will still be paying less than what we are currently paying in rent alone. Other benefits include being able to paint walls (yay!), hang curtains/pictures, plant flowers, a screened-in porch, our own yard, no one living above/next to us, guaranteed parking spots (a driveway!), a shed (although, we have a garage currently, but again we pay extra for it...), oh, and a garbage disposal! (That may seem like a small thing but it's amazing how much of a difference it makes!)
As I mentioned earlier, this place was my grandparents when I was growing up. We would go over there just to visit; we would have sleepovers there. It has numerous memories for me. And, although we are going to change its looks, the memories will still be there, forever. That's the other part of this I need to explain. Our lease expires the 31st and my uncle isn't leaving until June 7th/8th. Plus, seeing as how the mobile home is about 30 years old, it needs some fixing up. So, on Monday, Kaleb and I will be moving back in with our parents while we fix up the mobile home. We are going to be doing stuff like tearing out and replacing the carpet and other flooring, possibly moving a wall, painting, installing new kitchen cabinet shelves, and adding a central air conditioner. It's going to be a whole lot easier to do all of this stuff while we are not living there, and our parents were gracious enough to let us move back in (rent free!) until the place is ready for us.
Because we decided this a couple of months ago, it hasn't really seemed real to me. Yes, I've talked about it with numerous people, but I haven't allowed myself to get too excited about it, because it was so far away and we aren't moving in right away. We have no idea how long it is going to take to do everything that needs done, so I didn't want to get excited about moving in there when we don't know when that is going to happen. However, now with our move being right around the corner, and June right around the next corner, I am starting to get excited again. I get to make all sorts of fun decisions (and, even though I'm kind of indecisive, it's exciting), like what color to paint, what color of carpet, what kind of flooring for the kitchen, etc. I feel like such a grown-up!! :)
As you all know, Kaleb and I have been living together in an apartment in Cedar Rapids. It has been great...but reallllly expensive. Our lease expires on the 31st, so a few months ago, we started thinking about other possibilities. I was not very optimistic about finding another apartment because it was so hard to find an apartment the first time around that accepted dogs and had washer/dryer hookups (as opposed to a common laundry room). However, God brought along an opportunity that I never saw coming. My uncle has been living in a mobile home that belonged to his parents (my grandparents) for several years now. This mobile home was "Grandma and Grandpa's house" for me when I was growing up (at least, when they were in Iowa; they spent time in Florida, too). My uncle has decided to move to Texas to be closer to his daughter and offered to sell the mobile home to me. At first, I wasn't sure. I never really pictured myself living in a mobile home, not that there is anything wrong with it, but it never crossed my mind as a possibility when looking for places to live. However, the more we talked about the benefits and the cost differences, the more I began to get excited.
Let me explain the cost differences first....rent alone is less than a third of what we are currently paying. Even with utilities, internet/cable, taxes, etc added on, we will still be paying less than what we are currently paying in rent alone. Other benefits include being able to paint walls (yay!), hang curtains/pictures, plant flowers, a screened-in porch, our own yard, no one living above/next to us, guaranteed parking spots (a driveway!), a shed (although, we have a garage currently, but again we pay extra for it...), oh, and a garbage disposal! (That may seem like a small thing but it's amazing how much of a difference it makes!)
As I mentioned earlier, this place was my grandparents when I was growing up. We would go over there just to visit; we would have sleepovers there. It has numerous memories for me. And, although we are going to change its looks, the memories will still be there, forever. That's the other part of this I need to explain. Our lease expires the 31st and my uncle isn't leaving until June 7th/8th. Plus, seeing as how the mobile home is about 30 years old, it needs some fixing up. So, on Monday, Kaleb and I will be moving back in with our parents while we fix up the mobile home. We are going to be doing stuff like tearing out and replacing the carpet and other flooring, possibly moving a wall, painting, installing new kitchen cabinet shelves, and adding a central air conditioner. It's going to be a whole lot easier to do all of this stuff while we are not living there, and our parents were gracious enough to let us move back in (rent free!) until the place is ready for us.
Because we decided this a couple of months ago, it hasn't really seemed real to me. Yes, I've talked about it with numerous people, but I haven't allowed myself to get too excited about it, because it was so far away and we aren't moving in right away. We have no idea how long it is going to take to do everything that needs done, so I didn't want to get excited about moving in there when we don't know when that is going to happen. However, now with our move being right around the corner, and June right around the next corner, I am starting to get excited again. I get to make all sorts of fun decisions (and, even though I'm kind of indecisive, it's exciting), like what color to paint, what color of carpet, what kind of flooring for the kitchen, etc. I feel like such a grown-up!! :)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Some old pics
I know it's been forever since I've posted anything....sorry about that! I will update you all on what's been going on in another post, but I found a few pictures on my camera that I wanted to share...
These are called S'more Cups. They are from the dessert cookbook that I got from Pampered Chef! They were so much fun to make and not as hard as they look! :) They were yummy, too! I took them to Community Group for dessert!
And this is a picture of my table, set for lunch one day with my family! It was so much fun to host them, not only using my cooking skills (haha) but also being able to have fun with my dishes! I love the color they add--makes me smile!! :)
Thursday, December 15, 2011
I will be Pampered, indeed...
I just recently hosted a Pampered Chef party. As a host, I received "X" amount of dollars in free, half-price, and discounted items based on guest sales. So, the higher the guest sales (a.k.a. the more people order), the greater amount of free/half-price/discounted money I get to spend on Pampered Chef items. This was the first show I have hosted and I have only been to one other show. But I LOVE Pampered Chef products. My mom has several items that I used while growing up, so I know EXACTLY how good they are. :)
Anyway, I invited practically everyone I knew...okay, not quite, but I did mail/email/hand-out about 70 invitations. I knew from experience with my sister's wedding and other such events, that only a small percentage of people you invite actually show up. And very few people R.S.V.P, too. So I was prepared to NOT hear from everyone and NOT have that many people show up. BUT, I was excited! With those invitations that I hand-delivered, I had soo many people get excited and tell me how much they LOVE Pampered Chef products.
...I should back up a bit. My mom encouraged me to host a Pampered Chef party as a good way to get some of the items I wanted without paying full price for them. Now that I am out on my own, I have been desperately missing all of her wonderful Pampered Chef items!...
So, I sent out my many invitations and sat back to wait and see how many people would show up to my party. The day before my party, I had 15 people say they were planning on coming. Even then, I knew that for some people, something would inevitably come up to prevent them from making it. The day of my party, I had 3 people call/text me letting me know they couldn't make it. But, I also had 2 people call that day and tell me they were planning on coming, even though they hadn't RSVP'd yet! And then, that night, I had 2 people show up that HADN'T RSVP'd at all! It was soo great!! :)
Before my party had even started that night, I had at least 8 outside orders already placed. Plus, my mom and grandma had told me they were planning on ordering stuff, too! I had already started making my wish list of items....
I had no idea how blessed I was going to be! All in all, there were about 22 orders placed. Total guest sales was over $1000. I was blown away. I was able to get over 30 items for less than $100!!! (That's how much I personally spent...some items were paid for by others as Christmas presents for me:) )
The order came in today: 5, rather large, boxes. I've got it all split out into the individual orders and after gathering the remaining items up (my items), I realized how "Pampered" I am going to be in the kitchen from now on! I also realized how truly blessed I am...to have so many amazing friends and family members who would come to my party (even if they didn't order anything) and order stuff, too.
Thank you so much to those who helped get ready for the party, those who came to the party, those who ordered from the party, and those who helped clean up afterwards! A special shout-out goes to my AWESOME brother who helped park cars and watched the dogs during the party and helped clean up afterwards! :)
Anyway, I invited practically everyone I knew...okay, not quite, but I did mail/email/hand-out about 70 invitations. I knew from experience with my sister's wedding and other such events, that only a small percentage of people you invite actually show up. And very few people R.S.V.P, too. So I was prepared to NOT hear from everyone and NOT have that many people show up. BUT, I was excited! With those invitations that I hand-delivered, I had soo many people get excited and tell me how much they LOVE Pampered Chef products.
...I should back up a bit. My mom encouraged me to host a Pampered Chef party as a good way to get some of the items I wanted without paying full price for them. Now that I am out on my own, I have been desperately missing all of her wonderful Pampered Chef items!...
So, I sent out my many invitations and sat back to wait and see how many people would show up to my party. The day before my party, I had 15 people say they were planning on coming. Even then, I knew that for some people, something would inevitably come up to prevent them from making it. The day of my party, I had 3 people call/text me letting me know they couldn't make it. But, I also had 2 people call that day and tell me they were planning on coming, even though they hadn't RSVP'd yet! And then, that night, I had 2 people show up that HADN'T RSVP'd at all! It was soo great!! :)
Before my party had even started that night, I had at least 8 outside orders already placed. Plus, my mom and grandma had told me they were planning on ordering stuff, too! I had already started making my wish list of items....
I had no idea how blessed I was going to be! All in all, there were about 22 orders placed. Total guest sales was over $1000. I was blown away. I was able to get over 30 items for less than $100!!! (That's how much I personally spent...some items were paid for by others as Christmas presents for me:) )
The order came in today: 5, rather large, boxes. I've got it all split out into the individual orders and after gathering the remaining items up (my items), I realized how "Pampered" I am going to be in the kitchen from now on! I also realized how truly blessed I am...to have so many amazing friends and family members who would come to my party (even if they didn't order anything) and order stuff, too.
Thank you so much to those who helped get ready for the party, those who came to the party, those who ordered from the party, and those who helped clean up afterwards! A special shout-out goes to my AWESOME brother who helped park cars and watched the dogs during the party and helped clean up afterwards! :)
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Let the countdown begin!
I feel like December sneaked up on me this year! One minute I'm realizing it's only 9 days til December... and the next minute I realize it's 9 days into December! (almost anyway...)
My sister has started a countdown with my niece at their house. They are using the paper chain method...where each chain link is numbered with the days til Christmas and each day they take one off and see how many days are left. Yesterday when I was there, there were only 18 days til Christmas, which means now there are 17! I can't believe Christmas is so close! :)
I love Christmas. It has to be my favorite holiday of the year. When I was younger, a lot of it was because of the presents. As I got older, it still had something to do with presents, but I was more excited to give presents rather than receive them. Also, as I got older, the family started splitting up, going their own directions. This year is the first year that all of the kids are out of the house. We are all coming back to my parents' house for Christmas this year. It's a weird thought. But that is one of the reasons I love Christmas. I love being able to be with my family again. Now that we are all in our own places, it's so hard to get together. Even Kaleb and I hardly see each other and we live together. I love the camaraderie that my siblings and I have. I love how our family grows with each year. I love being able to simply sit in my parents' living room and watch the lights blink on the Christmas tree. I love watching Kaleb hit the mistletoe every time he walks by simply because he is so tall, and watching my mom run over to him to give him a kiss. I love simply watching my family members interact with each other. I love realizing over and over again how truly blessed I am. And I love remembering the true Reason for the Season: how my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, humbled Himself to my level to save me from God's wrath because He loves me that much.
How I pray that I will remember this every day, not just Christmas Day; every month, not just December; and every year, not just when my family is able to get together to celebrate. 17 days til Christmas...
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
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