Frugal Freedom

Another Week Closer

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 02:11:00 +0000

How did it get to be Sunday already? Only 2 1/2 weeks until I get my new house and then the real craziness begins. I've been going to adoption events every Saturday trying to get my dogs adopted before I move but it has been pretty slow (pretty slow for my dogs, our groups got 8 adoptions on Saturday which is an outrageously good day). I did get one little puppy adopted on Saturday. He will go to his new home on Wednesday after he gets his rabies shot. My old cocker spaniel is back. He was having some bowel issues and he got returned. The other foster home that was keeping him said he wasn't doing well at their house so I took him back. He is sweet. He sleeps a lot. I suppose he will just be mine until he dies.

The window in the house is fixed and I hope that is the last issue until closing. My co-worker who sold her house in 6 days, put in an offer on a house that she only saw on the internet and it was accepted. That was fast. She is using a mortgage broker and they say they can do the mortgage fast so that the closing on the 2 houses are on the same day. I think I should have used a mortgage broker. Of course, she is only at the beginning of the process so I will wait and see if she has any problems. I didn't even consider a mortgage broker since I really didn't know what they could do for me and they have had bad press with the whole real estate collapse.

The weather here has been great and in the 70's. Today it was windy and I had a sinus headache but I didn't have anything I had to get done so I could clean, take a nap and watch my kitchen remodel show. I'm out of shows to watch so now I will have to pick something else. Maybe bathroom remodel? The gold fixtures in the master bath are pretty awful. I think I will try painting them and see what happens.

Today's Drama

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:22:00 +0000

Today's drama started with an email from my mortgage agent. It said that I am pretty much approved for my mortgage, they just need my property tax records for 2011 and the appraiser to sign off on his report that the window is fixed. THE WINDOW IS FIXED??? Gee, it would have been nice if someone had mentioned that the window needed to be fixed for my mortgage to be approved. My realtor says it is a scam for the appraiser to get more money. The appraiser writes that the value of the home is dependent on the window being fixed and then the appraiser gets $100 more for updating the report when the window gets fixed. Why couldn't they just take $100 off the value of the house for the window?

A note was sent off to the appraiser asking if the wording could be changed but I don't expect it to be changed. So, I called Speedy Glass and got a quote for $108 to replace the glass tomorrow morning. It seems weird to be fixing someone else's house but since I am buying the house "as-is" the seller isn't going to do any repairs and I don't want $108 + $100 for appraisal update (grumble grumble) to keep me from getting this house after all I have been through.

Also, the appraisal came in at $92k. Back in September Zillow said the house was worth $105k. Now Zillow says $95k but Zillow doesn't know that the furnace doesn't work. Housing prices are still dropping but I think they are near the bottom. It is still worth slightly more than what I am paying so thankfully that won't interfere with getting my mortgage.

Now I know a lot of people have told me that buying a house is nerve-wracking and confusing but I didn't really understand until now. One good thing though, the second bank for the house finally sent us their approval letter with the February 15th closing date on it so I think I can mark that date on my calendar now.

Moving To Civilization

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:10:00 +0000

A while back, one of my commenters asked about the difference between where I live now and where I am moving to. Well, here is a little visual aid.

This is where I live now. Most people have 3 acres and a manufactured home. There is a lot of desert between the houses. Plenty of room for dogs but also plenty of room for rattlesnakes!

This is where I am moving to. The suburbs. Shared walls, paved streets, swimming pools, and plenty of neighbors to annoy when my dogs bark.

I hope I can adjust to living close to people again. I certainly don't want to spend the next few years feuding with my neighbors.

New Mortgage And House Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 03:13:00 +0000

3 weeks from tomorrow and I should be the owner of a new home. I hope. A new Chase representative called me today and said that my file is now with the underwriters and I should know if I am approved by the end of the week. At least that is progress. We got a revised letter from the first bank for the house that said the closing date of February 15th is ok with them. We are STILL waiting for the second bank to send their revised letter. I am nervous because things can still go wrong.

I have researched chimney sweeps and tree removers and I am prepared to have some work done, assuming the house will be mine. The tree removal quotes have come in lower than I expected so that is good. For removal of both Chinaberry trees and stump grinding it will be $900. Removal of the dying pepper tree and the giant pine tree that is too close to the house will be another $1500 but I will do that later. Maybe next year. I am thinking about just replacing the broken window glass with plexiglass for now because I would like to upgrade to double pane windows in the future. It will depend on how much they will charge but I can't imagine it will be cheap since they have to come out to the house to replace the glass.

I found my new favorite show. It is called I Hate My Kitchen and it is on the DIY network. I found many episodes that I can watch from their website. I like it better than Kitchen Impossible because they talk about their budget, usually around $10,000-$15,000, and compare the prices of different materials such as recycled glass counter tops, poured concrete kits, and modular granite tiles. I am learning a lot about the costs of remodeling. I bet I could create a nice kitchen with items from the Habitat Store. That is if I wanted to put money in to the house. I must not forget that I am supposed to be saving up for a new furnace.

Anyway, it is fun to imagine the possibilities. I am excited to move in a get a closer look.

Typical Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 01:38:00 +0000

I managed to get 3 dogs loaded in the truck and meet my realtor at the new house by 11:30 this morning. Half way there I realized that I forgot my wallet. Oops. Well, I couldn't buy any dog treats this time but that's ok. My dogs will survive.

My realtor and I put plastic over the broken window so that no water will get in if it rains. It isn't completely broken out but there are some holes and lots of cracks. I measured the living room and breakfast nook because that is where I am going to put the dog fencing. I ordered one puppy pen on Amazon that was 50% off. It will stretch out to 16 feet in length and the living room is only 13 feet long so that will work fine. I want to buy a second pen but I am waiting for my Amazon gift card to show up that I bought with my credit card rewards. I hope the pens are still on sale by the time I get my card. If not, I will just have to continue to hunt for them on craig's list. One of the pet store employees said that he has one that he will donate next weekend but I won't count on that until I see it plus it might be one of the short ones. I already have one of the short 2 foot pens and now I am thinking that it is not tall enough.

No luck with adoptions today but one of my dogs went to her new foster home so everything seems a little less stressful around here. I was hoping that my puppies could get fixed on Friday so they could be adopted but only the 2 boys are getting fixed. The girls have to wait another week and a half. I still hope to have the puppies adopted before I move. It will be at least 4 weeks and then probably a bit longer to get things ready at the house.

Now I think I will go look for a movie to rent on Amazon with my Christmas gift card that I got and pop some popcorn. Yay!

Space Heaters For A Little Longer

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Guess what? The HVAC guy went out to my soon-to-be house in the rain and explored the furnace. His diagnosis? Burned up transformer. He asked if I wanted to go ahead and replace it. I said yes because I really wanted the furnace to work. A couple hours went by and I called my realtor. Bad news. The transformer did not help because there were too many other things wrong with it and the repairman said he couldn't get parts for a 35 year old furnace. He wrote up a quote for a $1,500 furnace replacement and moved on the the cooler.

Good news for the cooler. He said that it only needs a $50 replacement valve and it should be fine. Total bill today was $105. Not bad but not what I wanted to hear. I was hoping that he would get the furnace going and then I would buy a home warranty and if the furnace quit then the warranty would pay for it. Oh well. I knew it was a long shot.

Luckily I own 4 space heaters and am accustomed to using them. The listing agent said that he has a verbal agreement from the other 2 banks to make the closing date February 15th. After that I want to get someone to cut down the 2 chinaberry trees before I move in with the dogs since chinaberrys are toxic. By the time I actually move in, there will only be a few more weeks of winter here in AZ. I don't think I will have a problem staying warm. There is also a fireplace although I need to have a chimney sweep come out and clean the chimney. I wonder if that branch that fell in the backyard is dry enough to burn. With all of this tree chopping I have planned I will have plenty of firewood for next year that's for sure.

Another Week Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 02:30:00 +0000

I suppose the banks have tomorrow off so I won't hear any updates on my mortgage progress. I don't have tomorrow off so I will be staring at my computer all day. The HVAC guy will be out to the house to try and diagnose the furnace and cooler. Hopefully it is nothing serious.

None of my dogs got adopted this weekend. I did find out that my foster terrier does not like hats that look like animals. A little girl was wearing a hat that had panda ears and a face and my dog growled. Later when I was delivering donated pet food, one of the people's daughters was wearing a similar hat so she went up to the truck and my dog barked and growled again. Silly dog.

I am dog sitting a small batch of 4 puppies and I wanted to get them a better quality puppy food so someone suggested that I stop by the pet store where others have picked up donations before. It was on my way to the vet so I stopped and asked and expected to get one or two bags. They filled up the back of my pickup with dog and cat food as well as cat litter and dog treats. I was amazed. All of the items were either damaged or out of date food. I kept a few bags and gave the rest to the other foster people in our group. The food is high quality grain-free varieties so I mixed it with my current puppy food so that the change wouldn't be too sudden and cause digestive problems.

This week is starting off with a light rain, just enough to make my dogs have muddy paws. By the end of the week it should be very nice in the 60's. I love this weather. Too bad I am stuck in the office most of the week.

Moving Around

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 02:01:00 +0000

My coworker stopped by my office today and told me she had just had a full price offer on her house. I didn't even know she had listed it yet. Last week she was fretting over repainting the trim and staging it to look pretty. I tried to tell her that her house was very pretty already especially compared to what I have seen out there but she didn't believe me. She priced her house comparable to other short sales in her neighborhood but she plans to pay off the difference at closing from the proceeds of some investments. She said that she didn't want to do a short sale since she was able to pay and felt that it was unethical to not pay. That is very admirable.

Anyway, she listed it on Monday and now she has a full price offer and she has no house to move to so she is freaking out a little. She thought that she would be waiting months for a buyer. The good homes really do go quickly. I hope she finds a home to move to or at least to rent. Sounds like they will be moving soon. I mentioned that they could stay in the boss's house since he is out of town most of the time but turns out he is going to sell his house too. There must be something in the water. Three of us in the office are either selling or buying or both.

I still don't know when my closing date is. My realtor was going to ask for Feb. 15th. That is later than I hoped for but if that is what it takes to get my mortgage paperwork together then I guess it will have to be. We have to see if the buyer and other banks will agree to that. I hope they do because I am tired of worrying about it.

Reality Time

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:29:00 +0000

I went to the house for the home inspection and was greeted by a broken window and a downed tree limb in the yard. The window was on the side of the house that faces the neighbor. We all assumed the rocks came from them. I hope that doesn't happen often. I would like to be on friendly terms with my neighbors.

The yard will require some clean up before it is ready for dogs. I would also like to take out the 2 China Berry trees. I have read that they are poisonous to dogs and they sure are messy. It will be expensive though.

The house didn't have any major issues except that the inspector couldn't get the heater and cooler to come on. I will have to call an HVAC company to send someone out as soon as possible. Hopefully it is nothing too complicated to get them working. The inspector did say that the furnace is very old and won't last much longer. I might be back to space heaters sooner than I expected. I do plan to upgrade to a combination heat/AC heat pump but I hear they cost $4k-$5k and I don't have that yet.

Other than that, the other items were minor ranging from an oven light that didn't turn on (probably the bulb) to a recommendation that I upgrade the breaker panel which would cost around $800. The inspector did a great job and I can use the list to fix things as I get the money. I'm just a little disappointed that remodeling the kitchen is going to have to take a back seat for a long time and I will have to prioritize my goals. Do I want to save money to build a house on my property or do I want to remodel the kitchen? I think that will depend on how well I like living there. If I don't like it there I certainly won't care about the kitchen.

I did find more storage spaces than I thought so that was fun.

I found a small pantry in the nook area, two closets in the hall, and a little workshop outside with a bench and shelves. I'm still excited about the house but the reality of the cost of home ownership is sinking in. I mean, my last house was brand new so it didn't need anything. This house was built in 1975 and there have been a few unprofessional alterations, nothing major, just additional lights and things that aren't quite up to code.

Next step...more inspections and the appraisal. Things are finally moving forward.

Inspection Time

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:25:00 +0000

Tomorrow is the home inspection. I am taking my new Rottweiler to work with me and then leaving at noon to drop her off at the vet and then off to meet the home inspector at 1. I'm having the termite inspector out at the same time. Hopefully my block house won't have termites.

The roof and the fireplace are two things that could be problems. They looked fine when I was there but that was 3 1/2 months ago. Also, water leaks are a big issue. I saw lots of houses with water damage. I'm hoping all goes well. I'm sure the inspector will find something, I mean, he won't be doing his job right if he can't find anything wrong with a house built in 1975. It certainly isn't in pristine condition. I will settle for functional and livable.

Yay! House News!

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 03:28:00 +0000

Guess what??? The second bank finally signed off on the short sale so the house is mine! I heard the news at lunch today and I immediately scheduled my home inspection and termite inspection for Wednesday. I'm taking half a day off, the first of many half days, I am thinking.

So, this is the timeline for my short sale. House is listed with no pictures. I see the listing and go see it along with others with no expectations because no pictures often means it is trashed inside. I see house and oh my gosh, it is clean and not a fixer-upper. I wonder if the listing price is correct since it is so pretty and it has 1700 sqft. compared to the usual houses in this price range which have 1100 sqft. I quickly make an offer but have to wait the customary 5 days for other people to get a chance. My offer is submitted and the sellers accept.

Then the waiting begins as the offer goes to the banks who hold the first and second mortgages. This house sold for $200,000 in 2006. I offered $90,000. After 3 months of waiting the first bank says YES and the second bank loses some paperwork. More waiting and finally the second bank says YES!

Now it's 30 days of more waiting and hopefully the home inspection and appraisal go through without a hitch. I am really looking forward to long hot showers, lots of water, indoor laundry, dog baths, doggy splash pool in the Summer, central heating, a real kitchen with a real oven, sidewalks, pavement, a secure block wall yard with NO snakes! I could go on and on. Yay!

No House News

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:48:00 +0000

No news on my house today. I was really hoping I would hear this week. My realtor says the plan is to just wait for an answer from the second bank and then ask the first bank for another extension. I wish I could be as calm as she is being. I want my house!

Back To Work

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 03:16:00 +0000

I was expecting yesterday to be busy at work but I forgot that our other office was not back yet so I had another lovely slow day. Today, though, reminded me why I long for the weekends. The phone calls, emails, requests from people in the office, all started piling up. I didn't get enough done because I had to sit in on a meeting and get assigned more duties. At least I'm not bored!

I send my realtor an email to check on the house status but she said that she wanted to wait until Friday before asking about it again. She doesn't seem concerned. I hope she is right. I really wish I knew the bank's answer. It is less than 30 days until closing. We are going to have to scramble once we hear the answer or ask for another extension. It just has to work out!

Last Day Of Vacation

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:37:00 +0000

After a relaxing morning I went out to the pound to collect some more foster dogs. 4 hours later I returned with 3 dogs. I was planning to get two but a friend really wanted to get a skinny one out and she promised that she would take the dog just as soon as she gets one of hers adopted. We will see how well that works. The dog doesn't seem to be any trouble yet but when they are fed and feeling better they can turn in to a whole different dog.

I am sad that my time off of work is over. I am really not looking forward to getting up at 6:30 every day and not being able to go back to bed or take a nap. The dogs actually let me sleep in until almost 8 today. That was great. At least there are only 4 days until the weekend!

Goals For 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 03:03:00 +0000

Ok...goals. Hmm...

1. Buy that house I want. That is in the hands of the bank at the moment but I will do everything I can to get that house.

2. Clean out my RV and mobile home. Sell, give away and throw away as appropriate. When I get the house I can move my stuff there and this is my chance to get rid of everything I don't need.

3. Sell the RV. That's a big goal. I don't know if I will do it but if I don't do something the pack rats are going to move in and ruin it.

4. Work harder at my job. I haven't started working on the goals my boss gave me last year. One is to scan a large amount of records. The other is to learn some new software. I need to spend a little time each week on those tasks or else I will never get them done.

5. Save money for my next housing goal which is to build on my property. I think $15k a year should be reasonable. If I live at my (hopefully) soon to be mine house for 2-3 years I should have $30k-$45k saved and if I am lucky banks will be offering construction loans once again.

6. Take my dogs for more walks and reduce their food. My dog needs to lose 15 pounds. That's a lot of weight for a dog. I am hoping that having sidewalks to walk on will encourage me to take them out more. Also, living closer to town means we can go to the dog park more often.

7. Cook more! When I get that house I will have a full size kitchen again and I am excited to cook again.

That's it. I think those are realistic. Most of them center around buying that house in town so I sure hope I hear something good from the bank this week.

Happy New Year's Eve

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:02:00 +0000

Yay! Another Saturday spent trying to get dogs adopted and this time it paid off because the dog I was supposed to dog-sit for the next 11 days got adopted! I sure hope he stays adopted. I was not looking forward to having him here. My foster dog did not get adopted. Some people came to meet him but they ended up adopting a smaller dog. Maybe next time...

Tonight I am staying in with my dogs and watching a movie from Amazon rentals. I got a gift card for Christmas. It was just what I wanted for my exceedingly rare long weekends. My next holiday isn't until April. If I get my house though I will surely want to take a vacation day or 2 before that. April seems like forever from now.

End Of The Year Slow Down

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 02:17:00 +0000

I felt better today so I went to work and tried to accomplish everything that I had planned to do this week. That means all of the end of the year filing, cleaning, shredding, etc.... Well, I got a lot more done than I expected. My desk is half clean. I got half of my filing done. I dumped all my emails in to a 2011 folder and I even started to organize one of the customer folders that I just haven't had time to do. I wish I had another day but on Tuesday everyone comes back to work and we will hit the ground running for another year.

I got an email from the people that adopted my poodle a few months back (she's the white one). She looks like she has settled in to her new home nicely and she has a friend to play with. I'm so glad it worked out. Tomorrow is another adoption day. I am bringing my foster and my friend's foster dog. I'm hoping one of our dogs gets adopted because they don't get along and I am supposed to dog-sit for the next 11 days.

Another Non-Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 01:16:00 +0000

My realtor sent me an email saying that there was no news from the second bank but that the house was "fast tracked". I hope that means we will hear something soon. It will still be ok if we hear next week. After next week and we will have to ask for another extension. I can't help trying to re-decorate the house in my head. Surprisingly, I am a terrible re-decorator in my head. I need to see a picture that I like or have a theme. In my last house I used the theme of grapes to decorate my kitchen and it worked well. With this soon-to-be-mine house, I get all confused by the last owner's color schemes and it just doesn't work with my ideas. I'm sure I will be able to figure something out. That's part of the fun of playing house.

I bought my first item for the new house, a puppy pen. It is something that I can use whether I get the house or not. I plan to stretch it out and use it as a fence to separate a dog area in the living room. I would like 2 more of the pens and a couple of baby gates for the doorways to keep foster dogs corralled while I am at work. Above is a picture of a friend's house who keeps her small dogs in the office area with a puppy pen fence. And it is also hard to see but she made some of those off the ground dog beds out of PVC and fabric. I hope to make some of those too.

I took a sick day today because yesterday I was just miserable at work and I needed another day to recuperate. I feel a little better. I hope I feel a lot better tomorrow.

Home For The Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:32:00 +0000

I stayed home for the holidays this year and had many things that I was going to get done around this place. On Saturday I relaxed a bit and did some cleaning. Sunday I came down with a cold. Ugh. Monday and Tuesday I have cleaned and napped and been miserable. At least I got a little bit done.

I swept and mopped the floors, dusted the curtains and lampshades, pruned a tree, did 4 loads of laundry, cleaned the shower, got a dog adopted, and see that clean corner of the couch? I sorted the pile of mail that has been stacking up there for the last 6 months. That's right. After I paid off my mortgage I let some things slide. One of those things was writing all of my expenses down in a notebook. Another one of those things was sorting my mail. It was a huge pile and it glared at me every time I went in to the RV. Now it is all sorted and that leads me to my next chore...shredding my old documents. I'll put that on next year's to-do list.

Even though I have been inconvenienced by this sore throat and runny nose, I am still happy with the amount of work I got done around here. I didn't get any major projects done but I accomplished many small things that I have been putting off and that nag at me every day as I walk past them.

Tomorrow I will go back to work and try not to spread my cold although I am pretty sure that is where my cold came from. Only 3 days of work until a 3 day weekend. I wish I had more weekends like this. My next holiday after New Years isn't until April. I will try not to think about that.

House Update 12/23/11

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 02:06:00 +0000

My realtor told me that the first bank has granted an extension on the closing date until Jan. 30th. I thought we were supposed to wait for bank #2 and then ask for an extension but whatever. I don't know how this stuff works. It just seems that if bank #2 drags their feet then we will have to go back and beg for another extension and they might say no. Hopefully not though.

I told the people at work that I was looking for a fridge, table and chairs, dresser, TV stand, coffee table, and computer desk. So far I think I have located a fridge and maybe a table and chairs. I bet by the time I move in I will have everything that I need.

Still Five

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 02:07:00 +0000

I brought my foster dog to work and drove him to meet some people at lunch. Unfortunately, their dog does not like other dogs and my dog was no exception. It was a mini Australian Shepherd and it kept trying to lunge and bite my dog. Oh well. Five dogs is a easy number for me. Four would have been even easier though but that probably would have made me want to get another.

I found out from my mortgage guy that I qualify for a closing cost assistance program from the bank. It should cover half of my closing costs. That's great but I don't want to get excited about it until I actually get the house and everything is done and paid for. I just going to pretend that I need $3k for closing and if I have any money left over then I can buy a fridge and some furniture...or perhaps, use some money to turn on the utilities?

Here are the rest of the pictures of the house:

I'll be removing some cactus. I really don't like the prickly stuff.

There's a nice covered porch for the dogs to hang out on. Maybe next Summer I can have a kiddie pool for them to play in.

I like this bathroom.

I don't like this bathroom but if it is functional then I think I can live with it for now.

Ahhhh!!! Orange wall! That will need to go away.

See the big dog door? I knew I wanted the house as soon as I saw it.

The blue master bedroom.

And one of the best parts...an inside laundry room with magic water faucets that fill the machine automatically! No buckets necessary. No waiting for it to rain. Oh, I can't wait! :)

Making A List

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:31:00 +0000

It was a very quiet day at work today. I went to the grocery store at lunch and tried to buy enough to last me for the next 6 weeks without over-buying. I think I should make an effort to eat the food in my pantry since if I get the house I will just have to move it. I bet there are some things in my pantry that should be thrown out too. I have a tendency to hang on to things too long. The last example that I remember was a jar of mayonnaise that had last year's date. Some things last longer than their shelf date but mayo is not one of those that I want to take a chance on.

My loan officer is checking to see if the house I am buying qualifies for a closing cost grant. I guess certain zip codes get closing cost assistance. I hope so but I'm not counting on it.

I looked closely at the pictures that I took back in September. I've only been in the house one time so I don't remember it that well. There are a few things that I would need to live there. The big one would be a fridge. Then a table and chairs would be nice. A dresser and computer desk would be handy. There are already light curtains on the windows and a stove and microwave in the kitchen. I don't think I will need very much to start. The funny thing is that I sold my table and chairs last year at this time. Who new I would need them again so soon. That's ok though. I'm sure I will find a good deal on craig's list again. That is where I got the table and chairs last time.

House News

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 02:27:00 +0000

I was getting a dog adopted at lunch today when my realtor called. I had to call her back after I left there. She said that the first bank had accepted my offer for the short sale house. The problem was that the second bank had lost some paperwork and they hadn't given an answer yet. The first bank set a closing date of Jan. 25th. That means that I can wait for the second bank which would mess up my financing because the lender needs 30 days to process the paperwork, or I can go ahead with the process of inspection and appraisal but lose that money if the second bank says no for some reason.

I think I will go ahead with it. I'll have to find out how much I would lose. If it is less than $1,000 then it would be better than losing the whole house because I couldn't get my loan straightened out in time.

I was starting to think that I wouldn't hear anything for a long time. Now I have switched my thinking back to the house and it is exciting. I guess I won't need to get started on my snake fence. That was going to be my project for the long weekend. Right now I don't want to spend any money at all. I should just have enough to cover the down payment and closing costs and Christmas presents. I think I went a little overboard on the gifts because I didn't think I was going to get the house. Only the necessities from now on! Like, uh, toilet paper because I am about to run out.

Grumble Grumble

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:45:00 +0000

I know I am supposed to be happy when people are interested in adopting my dogs BUT the reason I spend almost every Saturday at adoption events is so that I don't have to try to coordinate meetings during the week. Wouldn't you know it, I have 2 people that want to meet dogs this week and when people fall in love with a dog they want them NOW!

I work the entire week and after work it is dark so that doesn't leave much time to drive dogs around town. Still, I do want to get dogs adopted so tomorrow I am bringing one to work with me and at lunch we are going to meet a chihuahua to see how they get along. My boss decided that I should join in on a conference call at 1pm so I won't have much time before I have to hurry back to work. Hopefully they will like the dog and want to adopted her.

Then there are some other people who are interested in my newest foster. They did meet him at the adoption event on Saturday but they want to make sure he gets along with their Australian Shepherd, which I am sure he will. The only problem is they are on the wrong side of town to be able to get there at lunch. I am hoping a friend can take him for me. If not, maybe I can get out early on Friday. It would be great to get him adopted. He's a bed hog.

A Piece Of Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Daizy) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:26:00 +0000

I survived the baby shower. It was a bit awkward since I didn't know many of the guests but the time went fairly quickly and the expectant mother seemed to enjoy herself. I was the only one who bought diapers. I thought they were a very practical gift.

The cake actually tasted quite good. It was covered in printed frosting sheets instead of fondant (which often tastes nasty). There were chocolate cupcakes around it too. It makes me want to decorate a cake again...although seeing it cut up and eaten after all that work is kind of disheartening.

I returned the dog that I was trying out in my house to see if I could watch him next week. Sadly, no. One of my dogs did not like him and they fought a couple of times. The last fight was pretty vicious so I had to say I couldn't watch him. I told her I could be a back-up but I would have to rotate that dog and my mean dog from crate to dog run so that they were never together. I still have to work most of next week so I will be gone for 10 hours a day which makes it harder. I don't want one dog to be stuck in a crate for 10 hours. I don't think there is much chance that she will need a back-up though.

I'm cooking chicken now for all of my lunches this week. I need to go grocery shopping but I know I can make it with what I have for this week. I think it will be nachos and spaghetti on the lunch menu.