Happy Wednesday!

Christmas??

I just saw my first Christmas commercial of the year. What?? Let's get through Halloween first, please. Christmas makes me think of nearing the end of the semester, and that is just not true, so I hate getting my hopes up.

Soon, we have Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas.

Speaking of Halloween, I'm really excited to hang with my sister-in-law this week and carve pumpkins. I'm also excited because this time of year always reminds me of being little and walking around the neighborhood asking for candy. It's really nostalgic.

Justin loves Halloween, so he really helps me get into the spirit.

Enjoy the week!

Only For Cat Lovers: Allie

 It's an understatement to say that I love cats.

This love was born when I was in third grade; I got my first cat named Allie. I don't remember the details, but I know that my family discussed getting a cat. We decided to go for it, and we ended up adopted a beautiful black runt from a new litter of kittens. I still drive by the apartment complex where we got her. It's hard to imagine that I was living in a different county then, and now that I live and work in the county, it's hard to picture me as a child timidly walking through the door to find her. She was the smallest one of the bunch, but she was also quiet, and we fell in love with her. She was the softest black cat, and later we decided that black cats were definitely the softest, no questions asked.

When we took her home, we kept her in our large basement bathroom until she got used to the place. I remember, vividly, trying to wake up first, so that I could run to the basement and pet her. Luckily, mom kept us under control, and we usually had to go down together.

We named her Allie. She was perfect, she was soft, and she was my first cat ever.

Today I was told that she is now suddenly blind, and it basically happened overnight. We noticed she had been losing weight for a long time now, but sudden blindness just adds to the mix. Mom said she had trouble finding things, and she was, at first, afraid to jump onto anything. She's getting used to the situation, but it still hurts me to think of her in that condition.

It's not that I see this cat everyday, but I've "kept in touch" with her, for lack of a better way of putting it, and she has always been my cat. She was the first family cat, so she is important to all of us. She was the cat that first softened dad's heart for the feline bunch. She has been a part of our family for over sixteen years, and now she is seemingly nearing the end of her life. She used to have a tummy that would sway left and right as she walked -- we called it her pouch -- but now she is bone-thin and always hungry.

She's not gone yet, and I hope she sticks around with us for a long time. This is just me, writing down her little tiny legacy of a cat life, hoping that she'll be around forever. The house just won't feel the same without her. My other cat, Bud, has always been by her side, and I would hate to see him living life without her.

Here's to cats and their ability to soothe the soul and make us all laugh -- and cry. Here's to the hope of this cat living the fullest life she can. Here's to cat lovers and pet lovers alike, and the amazing bond we all have with our animals.

The Civil Wars

This band is magical. The two singers are talented beyond measure, and they control their voices without trouble. I long to be a singer like each of them, and I can't stop listening. Not only that, but their lyrics are beautifully made.

Enjoy.

House-Hunting

Never did I think I would get to this point: house-hunting. It just seemed a distant thought of the far future. It was something I never thought would be possible at this point of my life. As a child, I would draw house plans -- on my bedroom door, no less -- and my mother would be very disappointed. The pictures stayed on that door for years and years. I grew to appreciate Lowes for its huge house plan books and guides for my study. Now, I spend my time scoping the local area for good deals on homes and land for possible future settlement. Like I said, it's hard to believe I'm to this point!

I won't say that we're completely ready, though. It will take a lot of work.

We started out looking into a very large, quick-building company. Once we noticed how poorly-built the homes were (the more we drove by them, the more flaws we noticed), we decided to back out quickly. They were making home-buying far too easy, and I didn't trust them at all. Thank goodness we backed out; all I hear is bad things about them now.

We then took a break. Now, we begin again, but now we look at already-built homes, modular floor plans, and land.

Let me say this: it is a tough, confusing process filled with conflicting ideas, different opinions, and hard decisions.

Here are some examples:

great home, great price -- far commute for J
great home, great price -- far commute for D
old house, lots of land, good location -- lots of work
brand new house, no land, good location -- overpriced for what you get, poorly built
great neighborhood -- overpriced homes
great neighborhood, great house -- no basement

Here are some questions that spring from the above:

Do we really need a basement?
Do we want a basement if it is really, really old?
Is a house built in the 70s worth buying?
Do the costs of fixing up a house make it worth the cheap price?
Are we really ready for all this?
What if one of us loses our job?
How far is too far of a commute?
What locations suit us best as a young married couple?
Would we rather have the house or the yard?

As you can see, it's a complicated process. It's fun -- don't get me wrong -- but it's already tiring. We've taken the next step and found a real estate agent to help us on the search. We are also going to get pre-approved soon. It's still, though, the idea that we could make a bad decision, rush into something, or wish we hadn't decided to buy, that concerns me. On the other hand, it's the excitement of possibly owning our own place, our own yard, that keeps me going.

Here are a few of the items on our wish list:

master suite with big tub

at least 1 acre yard

at least 1400 + sq ft

safe community/area

30-40 minute commutes

basement

nice kitchen 

hardwood in at least some of the rooms

porch/deck

I want a neighborhood because I've always lived in one. Justin doesn't care because he grew up on a huge farm.

I want a big tub and so does Justin. We both want the master suite.

I want to feel safe wherever I live. Justin's not really afraid of anything, so he doesn't ever get "scared."

I find hardwood purposeful for the family with a pattern of allergies. Carpets have such short life spans.

The only reason for a basement is for storage and for my paranoia of tornadoes. Yup, you heard me correctly. If I could get away with it, I would skip on the basement and just have a garage or something. They are kind of fun, though, if you use them for a movie room or something.

We say 1400 sq ft because our town home is around 1100, so we figure it should be at least a room larger for it to be worth it. It would be great to get more than 1400.

The kitchen is self-explanatory.

A porch or deck is such a cheap way to enjoy time together.

Commutes shouldn't be long enough to emotionally or physically break you down.

Unfortunately, these things are difficult to find in the location we're looking. Sure, a lot of the houses have most of these things, but then they don't have a basement, which is kind of a big deal. I'm still trying to decide if I'm okay without one.

If we could have it our way, we would buy land and either get a local builder to work with or a modular house. However, land is so expensive in this area, it seems like we'll get more for our money with a house already built. We have one spot of land we're watching, but it's very expensive, and we're not sure if they have minimum square footage limits.

So, any ideas or tips on house hunting? What kind of things would you say we may not necessarily need?

Hope you had a great weekend! It's beautiful...

Beautifully Pregnant

Dana has been my best friend since grade six. She and I get our names mixed up by people all the time. We both have brothers named Matt, and they are both two years younger than us. We both wear size 10 shoe, and we can wear each others' clothes. Basically, we're soul-friends. We are so differently, yet our differences collide so smoothly. I understand her; she understands me. We just work. 

Our major difference as of now is that she is pregnant, and I am most certainly not. However, I love thinking about babies and little socks and what cribs are the best because of my future nephew, Parker, whom I keep in mind often. I also have been thinking about taking pregnant pictures, and I finally got around to it. Here are a few of the beautifully pregnant pictures of Dana. Aren't they just gorgeous?

New Couch (and new chair I want to go with it..)

We have finally bought a new couch. No, not a second-hand, new couch, but a new couch. Hard to believe, eh? Yup, we spent our hard-earned money on it, and it's great! We got it at World Market (aka one of my favorite stores). Here's a picture...

 

And here's a picture of the chair I want to go with it....

Oh, heavenly!