february 28

@ 11p | 2 cents...

Amidst all of this home buying (part deux!) stuff we managed to take a relaxing side trip to the Duke Botanical Gardens on Sunday. I could have sat and watched the ducks all day, it was so peaceful... Photos!

Our home inspection is set for Wednesday and hopefully, we'll close on March 24th. We are using the same guy for the inspection since he did such a thorough job the first time (heh). And all the loan stuff is set up so once the home passes inspection, everything else should slide into place over the next few weeks. (fingers crossed)

february 27

@ 11p | 2 cents...

Remember that house that didn't completely "wow" us last week? Well, we liked the one across the street (for sale by owner) and our offer was accepted today! We don't have any photos yet, but after the inspection we'll be able to give you all a full report.

Back to the Oscars...

february 20

@ 9a | 2 cents...

We liked one of the houses we saw on Friday, but it still didn't completely wow us. The location is pretty nice but there's no garage. We put together a list of questions about the place for our realtor to ask the seller's agent on Monday.

The Neko Case concert was a lot of fun and so was brunch with our friends visiting from DC. This afternoon we also stopped by the mall to pick out a birthday gift for Courtney (my cousin in South Africa). It was rather dreary out so I'm glad we got a nice walk in yesterday.

I am signing up for a 5K in April, so now I have to get off my butt and go to the gym. :)

I also met a fellow pastel artist at the meeting on Saturday and she seems very interested in having me set up a website for her. Very cool. I still don't know about the pastel society site, they should make a decision on that in the next couple of weeks.

february 18

@ 9a | 2 cents...

It's Friday, yahooey!

It's been a long week and we plan to have a full weekend as well. Tonight I am heading to the famous Cat's Cradle to see Neko Case in concert. She played numerous times in Athens while we lived there, but I never made it to one of her shows.

Tomorrow I have my pastel society meeting and hopefully I'll find out if they are going to hand the website over to me or stay with the other lady. I'll be pleasantly surprised if I get it. Which reminds me that I really need to get painting again, network television has zapped my motivation to get off the couch.

On Sunday we have friends coming to town from DC, so we're having brunch with them and her sister, brother-in-law and nephew.

We are looking at a few more houses tonight; I am cautiously optimistic.

february 16

@ 12p | 2 cents...

Is it Friday yet?

I brought my truck in this morning for what I thought was going to be a quick look-see because I've been hearing some weird vibrating noise near the front passenger side since I replaced the two front tires (backstory omitted to protect the eeediot - me). Once I got there, I was informed they wanted to do a "campaign" (aka ANOTHER recall repair) to my vehicle that would take several hours. So, they got me a crappy rental car (Dodge Neon with 50K miles, automatic nothing) and I'm now sitting at work. The bad part is that I have to drive all the way BACK to Durham to get my truck sometime later today, like I have nothing better to do. I am soooo glad I got up at 6am, so I could get to the dealership early for this crap.

Can you believe the rental guy tried to convince me to buy one of their used cars, "since I only have the one now." Oh, sure cause people really take better care of rentals than they do their own vehicles. Especially Neons that don't have enough juice to even get out of the rental agency parking lot. I wonder if they apply that 109 point inspection to the cars they ACTUALLY RENT.

february 14

@ 10p | 2 cents...

Happy Valentines Day!

More NC license plates:

MEIOSIS
LOSTYANK
GODSVUE (a Saturn truck like mine)

We watched Garden State over the weekend and we both really liked it. I've been a Scrubs fan for years, so I really enjoyed seeing Zach Braff be something other than JD on my TV. Plus, Natalie Portman's character was so charming and I could relate to the feeling of going home again and running into people you went to high school with who are still in the same town. Anyone our age should see it.

Mmmm, my cookies just arrived.

february 12

@ 10p | 2 cents...

No house hunting this weekend as nothing new has posted that meets our ultra picky requirements. It shouldn't be this hard to find a place with an open kitchen and large living room that doesn't have the fireplace as the main focus. I mean really, does anyone else have a big screen TV besides us? Phooey.

february 7

@ 8a | 2 cents...

Summary of our weekend: the Patriots won the Superbowl and we aren't getting that house we wanted. The homeowner refused to repair almost all the major things wrong with the house that our inspector found (siding, electrical panel, water heater, hole in foundation with unsupported joists). Anyway, the layout and location were nice, but by the end of the inspection we probably should have just called it quits, we know better for next time.

Our Superbowl party went well... we had several friends over, drank beer and soda, ate tons of snacks and watched a decent game of football. I was, frankly, surprised the game was as close as it was but while I love football, I'm not a huge fan of either team, so the outcome was neutral for me.

Recipe for chili cheese dip (huge hit at the party):

1 can Hormel chili with beans
1 can diced tomatoes (italian spices flavor)
1 small can chopped green chilis
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried basil
2 oz cheddar and monterey jack cheese, grated

Combine first 5 ingredients in a oven safe bowl and top with grated cheese. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and dip is heated through. Yum.

After work today we are going to look at a few more houses in Durham.

february 4

@ 11p | 2 cents...

It turns out that to lose 14 lbs in one day, I would have to eat 49,000 fewer calories per day than my body burned. Hmmm, I may have to set a more realistic goal in my Palm Diet software.

We just dropped off our laundry list of repairs with the homeowner this evening. (crossing fingers)

february 3

@ 9a | 2 cents...

Recently seen license plates wandering the streets of Chapel Hill...

MOLECULE
MITOSIS
TARHEALR
HGHMAINT

The home inspection was about a 5/10 in terms of relief/disappointment. While (thankfully) the house lacks any serious structural issues, there has to be some repairs done to the siding, water heater, chimney, etc. and a termite treatment before we will consider following through with our purchase of the place. Throw in the fact that the 'motivated' seller's new job (that she was moving for) fell through. So she may not be as motivated to make all of our requested (needed) repairs as she was even last week. We'll keep everyone posted.

february 1

@ 9p | 2 cents...

Our home inspection is tomorrow, wish us luck! And here's a recent photo of our friend's baby... possibly the cutest baby in the world. Oh yeah, and their dog is pretty cute too...