Tie It All Together

Have you noticed that I like to drop little bombs of information without much explanation and then come back and do a separate post about it? Because I just noticed that I do that and I had no idea. I just write and then when I re-read to edit I'm like, "oh, you mentioned purchases you are saving for and how you'd like to have get new seating for the living room. You should post about it!"

And yes, I did use the examples that I wrote about yesterday and am going to explain to you today and Monday. Because then, it becomes a full circle. I know you are just sitting on the edge of your seat thinking, "Oh, is she going to tell us about what she wants to save money for?" Because it's edge of the seat information! ...Okay, okay. Maybe not. But it is good to put it out there to try to hold yourself accountable. Which doesn't always work for me. (Like with my weekly goals.) 

The few major things that I want to purchase this year are the following:

1. A New Kitchen

2. Living Room Furniture

3. A Like-New Black Fridge

4. An Equipped Office For The Hubs

5. Bryan's Truck

6. Painting the House

A New Kitchen -

Bryan probably does not read this blog but if he is reading it now I assure you he is laughing at me. And shaking his head, thinking "Ain't gonna happen." I want to completely gut and redo our kitchen more than Lindsay Lohan needs to stay sober. Poor girl. I've been thinking and dreaming about what I want to do for the kitchen and I've been staying away from the Home Depot/Lowe's credit cards because if I have to, I'll use their 10% off and no interest for my kitchen and then make HUGE PAYMENTS (like we did on my wedding ring) to pay it off before the interest kicks in. Which is what I call "making the credit companies work for you instead of you working for them" I'm working on getting a shorter title. Regardless, it's the truth. Credit can be a good tool for people that utilize it the right way. Before we charge anything, Bryan and I think about what the monthly payment will be and how fast we can pay it off. We just refuse to be enslaved in credit. It's not worth it. 

Getting a new kitchen in 2011 is a pipe dream because if I invest in my kitchen, I'm not going to settle or go cheap. I'm going to be reasonable, but I'm also going to get an awesome kitchen that will be used as a major resell tool in ten years. I may have to wait until 2012, which is alright with me. 

Living Room Furniture -

Here is the deal. My sister, Alison and her husband Mark got married in 2003. Shortly after that (I honestly have no idea when) they purchased living room furniture, and had it until they moved to San Diego in like... 2007 or somewhere near there. I have a horrible memory. Then, they gave it to my sister Kari and her husband Adam in 2008 or 2009. Again, memory! Jeez. Well then Kari and Adam gave it to Bryan and I in 2009. It's been love, love loved. But, its old. And the pillows are starting to tear, and its a white couch and boy does it look dirty. DIRTAAAAY. (Which reminds me, I need to call that guy about cleaning it. Or do it myself since I don't, at the moment, have $150 bones to drop...) It's also just a couch and a chair, and with our really large living room, it doesn't "fit." All the Christmas cash I got is going to this purchase. This will be the next thing I buy. Unless I find a new-to-me black fridge first.

A Like-New Black Fridge -

Let's call a spade, a spade. If I can find a brand spanking new fridge at a good deal, I will snatch it up. The likelihood of that happening, however is slim to none. I want to spend no more than $350 on a fridge. And I really don't want anything fancy. I'd really just like either a normal refrigerator with an ice maker in the freezer or one of those spiffy nifty upside down fridges with the freezer on the bottom, but it still needs to have an ice maker. Obviously, if I'm able to purchase my kitchen, I'll buy a new fridge through that, but if not, I am so down with the respectfully used appliances. 

A Fully-Equipped Office for the Hubs -

You may be thinking that I want this for him. Let's remember that I am human and selfish and honestly, I need to hear some new music. I want Bryan to put out a new CD with some NEW SONGS so that I can groove to them. In order to do that though, he needs to have a working office where he can shut himself away for hours on end writing material and recording. Hours-on-end. Just enough time for me to get in some cheesey reality TV in. Love me some Kendra. Although I do like Hank more than Kendra. Hank is sweet and hot. She scored on that one. You like how I stay on point, huh? Bryan needs to get cracking on his music and I want him to have the tools to do so. This is a MUST this year. 

Bryan's Truck -

I can honestly say that Bryan and I have absolutely no other debt other than our house, his truck and my car. Actually, I'm lying, Bryan has a student loan but that loan was used to get the skills he has in Photoshop and those skills landed him his full time gig at a local credit union. So, it's the good kind of debt. Back to the bad debt we have, I don't want the bank to own our house and cars. And you have to start somewhere, right? I want to own his truck. By December 2011 I will have the pretty pink title in my hand and we'll be down to a car and a house. 2012, I will add to my pink pile with my car's title. I want to OWN our vehicles. Not the credit union. So it shall be. Just watch. :)

Painting Our House -

I have no recollection of posting about the horror we went through with this dude we hired and he jacked us over. But it happened. We paid him $1000 and all we got was an almost finished wood floor and some second-rate tools. Oh, and a really tall ladder. Which is handy for us short people... When we really wanted our house painted. Freaking jerk. Oh well. We were gracious and he'll have to answer for his decisions someday just like I will, and I'm going to take the high road. Now, Bryan and I still need to get the house painted and I'm hoping that Bryan will change his mind and he'll say that we should just do it. We have enough Vickers boys that can come over and help. We'll bribe them with pizza and beer. (Stop shaking your head "no" Bryan! It'll be cheaper!) Right now, our house is yellow, with white trim and red shutters. Except for the parts that we painted white because of our appraisal for the loan. Basically the house looks janky. And we're shooting to paint it in the early spring-time.

So, those are the big-money items I want to invest in this year. Obviously, lots of things can happen between now and then, but hopefully 2011 is a smooth year and we're able to knock all of this out! What a blessing that would be! 

Can it be true?

Oh... Hello, there. 


I'm sure you have been waiting on pins and needles for my return. Yes? Yes. Or maybe you have been as busy as I have been. That could possibly be true. Well, I'm back. Eight months later. We'll see if it was worth the wait. 


I think the best way to get everyone (all five people that read this blog) caught up is to give a really quick rundown of what the heck has been going on. 


Here is the recap!


In January, this happened:

 Aww, poor little Skeeter. Breaks my heart to see her like this... Although, that looks kind of like blood right there in the right part of the picture huh? It's not. It's engine fluid of some sort. The fire department came and sprinkled some stuff on it, so it must have been flammable.


So, also, as well, this happened in February:

Heeeellllooo, 2007 Vue. Sorry for the poor quality, but I took this on my phone. Well, my old phone. More on that later. 

To prove just how insane Bryan and I are, we also got this in February.

Yeah. Two cars, one month. Luckily, our pocketbook survived. 

March came around and... I don't really remember March. All I remember is that I cooked a lot... and it was Kari's birthday. Except that I never bought her a present, because I promised her that I could make her a Shutterfly book of her wedding pictures, but we haven't gotten around to doing that. (HI, KARI!)

April rolled around, and we were ready to look for a house. So, while Bryan worked, I looked at house, after house, after house, and I found one. And we put in an offer. Then it was accepted. And then we were in escrow, and then it was ours. It closed on May 7 and we received the key on May 8. There was a whole lot of running around during this part, but I'm going to write a separate post about it. 

May was our 6-month anniversary. So, we went to Carmel-by-the-Sea and enjoyed a few blissfully quiet days. 

We spent one night in Carmel, and then we took the road above, named Old Coast Road, to Big Sur and spent the night there. It was really a great vacation. Honestly, any vacation that allows me to have lobster is a good vacation. :)

Once we got back to work and to reality, we waited and waited for some paperwork to go through. Finally, at the end of June we moved into my father-in-laws' house which was all kinds of stressful, but soon a little bit of this started happening...

Yep! We got a bunch of construction done on the house. We took down a few walls, put in a new garage door, and put in some brand new carpet. The construction went on from the end of June to the middle of September. It was a ridiculously long process and we think that it was part contractor laziness and part city inspector laziness.

While the construction was going on, however, Bryan got bit by the technological bug, and we bought two of these:

...Which would be why the picture clarity changes so much in-betwixt the photos above. How much do I love that I worked in-betwixt into this post? Lots.

July and August we busy months but I can't really remember anything that happened because well, I have a horrible memory. Have I mentioned that before? Probably. OH. Big news. In July, Bryan and I went to San Diego so we could visit Alison and family, and so Bryan could play at a wedding that Alison's company, One & Only Events was coordinating. (You can also read up on their blog.) When we returned from said trip, my other sister, Kari and her husband Adam had HUGE news. 

That is right! Kari is pregnant. In this picture she was 16 weeks. :) She is due in February and I'm SO EXCITED to have another niece or nephew. I think it's a nephew but we shall see!

On September 18, we finally moved into our house on Birch. Our wonderful, crazy, project house. Now its October and we have a ridiculous month ahead of us. Let's highlight... 

-October 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - We're having our wood flooring installed in the kitchen, dining area, entryway and hall way. We're also having our house painted!

-October 8 - My 23rd Birthday. Woo-hoo!! 

-October 9 - Birthday get-together at my place and the unveiling of our house. Hopefully I get everything I can organized and straightened! 


-October 10 - Kari and Adam's Gender party. We're all going to find out what they are bringing into this world at the same time! So cool!


-October 25 - Anniversary.... ONE whole year. I honestly can't believe a year has passed. It's unbelievable. We're taking off on a BIG TRIP. More on that later. :)


That is the end of our catching up journey. I'm sure there is a lot that I forgot, but I'll be adding things in and updating after my husband reminds me of all the stuff I forgot. Did I mention I have a horrible memory? 

Lists, Houses and Chipotle

Looking for a home can be frustrating, intimidating and scary. It is the biggest financial investment most people ever make in their life, but it can be a truly satisfying and exciting experience.

Bryan and I are just in the dipping-the-big-toe-to-test-how-cold-the-water-is stage of buying a home. A few months ago when we were frantically trying to find another rental home, we were told about a local grant that gives a loan (with great incentives) to first-time home buyers that meet a specific income. We weren't even thinking about buying a home at that time, but we figured it couldn't hurt.

So, I met with a broker one evening after work armed with all of our personal information. Unfortunately, the news was not good, we weren't qualified. We made "too much" money for a family of two people. I'll never forget, she looked at me hopefully after telling me that we were denied for the grant, "Do you have a child?" I've never seen such disappointment on a strangers face when I said I didn't.

The good news was that we both have good credit and were approved for a loan. GREAT news. So, I filled Bryan in after the meeting and we decided to try to find a home.

After we find me a new car.

After we buy him a new truck.

After we pay off all of our credit cards.

After we start up all of our new insurances and create a new monthly budget.

Finally, all of that is done and we are ready so start looking!

We had plans tonight to go to Guitar Center and Chipotle. I heart Chipotle. It's delicious. Bryan and I always share a burrito now and we sometimes spring for chips and guac. Mmmmmm.. Oh, sorry back to the point of this post.

During our meal I pulled out my handy-dandy notebook that I keep in my purse. I started writing down things that are important to me about a house. Obviously, you can't get everything you have ever dreamed of in your first home. But there are some things you are willing to let go of and some things that you are adamant about.

My list (below) included four items that were important to me, in no specific order.

1. Bathrooms - Are the big enough? Is there at least one tub? Would we have to renovate? Is there potential to expand?

2. Kitchen - Are the cupboards in good condition? Are the appliances older/newer? Is there a gas stove? Is the kitchen roomy enough to actually cook in? Is there enough counter space?

3. Location - Is the property in a nice/safe area? What school district does the house fall in?

4. Fireplace - Does the house have a wood burning or gas insert?

Of course, every one has different priorities when thinking about purchasing a home. But those things are important to me personally and I am obviously not saying the above four things should be on every one's list.

I turned the page to a fresh sheet and hand Bryan the notebook after explaining my list and I say, "Don't be flip. I need to know what is important to you."

Here is a picture of Bryan's list.

Apparently, the only thing Bryan cares about in picking a house is if I am going to be there and if there is a big backyard for his dog.

I definitely have my work cut out for me.