So Sore... BUT... It's Beautiful!!!

I'm pretty sure for the next 24 hours all I will be able to do is type... as I can not move my arms, and my legs feel like rubber.  Why may you ask am I so sore... it's flowerbeds.  The past 2 days I have gone into overdrive in getting the weeds gone, flowers in, and mulch on.

First, removing weeds... these are not your "normal" weeds... we are talking monster, I haven't tended to my weeds in 5 years, weeds.  These are the kind that require shovels, roundup and muscle.  So not all of them are terrible, in one bed a lot of it was just grass, which was easy to pull up... but most of it... took A LOT of energy.  The only part that's left is about a 2'x3' section, which I plan to tackle tomorrow evening.

Second, plant... including color.  Now I have 2 VERY black thumbs.  A plant it lucky to survive 3 months in my care... so needless to say the only plants that are still in the flowerbeds are the kind it takes a stampede of elephants to kill.  But this is where my parents come to the rescue.  Not only are they AMAZING landscapers, they are amazing enough to dig up some flowers and lug them down to my house.  I did stop at Lowe's to get a few shade plants (a lot of their yard is sun)  But still... they saved me a ton, which is very helpful when you are on a limited budget.

Last... Mulch.  This was the part I was dreading... not for work, but for the pocket book.  I will admit, the thought crossed my mind to just start pulling handfuls of mulch from restaurants and apartment buildings landscape and put them in my purse until I had enough to cover the whole area... but I could be stealing handfuls until NEXT July.  This year... I scored the deal of a lifetime!  Given I am later than a lot of garden enthusiasts.... I decided to call around (with the advice of my wonderful boyfriend).  Now, I called Giant Eagle and they told me 74 cents... I thought... YEAH RIGHT!  But I decided to give it a go... and sure enough... less than a dollar a bag.  So I got more than I thought (with a second run to the store that is...my trunk does not hold that much) and now I'm right on track to put the house back on the market... looking better than ever!!!!  Seriously... take a look!

Needing Inspiration

I'm sure a few of you have noticed that I haven't posted in a while... for this I blame my mom who told me I seem to never gets writers block... but here I am... with nothing to write about.  It's not that nothing is going on in my life... just nothing noteworthy.  I guess my life is just lacking inspiration.  I do have a small thing... a little going green action.  Today I was at a garage sale and we got a steal of a deal on some nice planters.  But, now I'm taking a crash course in gardening 101.  I have two black thumbs... which is weird since my parents both seem to be able to keep plants alive for years!  I guess thumb colors are genetic.  But at least I have them for advice... and hopefully I'll soon be able to have a lovely landscaped home that people want to pay more than asking price for!!!!

Off The Market.... For Now

Today I took my house off the market... the house isn't sold, but something had to happen. See, it's been 6 weeks since we had a showing, and no one seems interested. My realtor said we have had a few drive-bys, but they can't get past the weeds out front. So I decided to strategize. Here's my brilliant plan (with thanks from advice from my older brother):

We are taking the house off the market for 30 days. In that time I am going to ROCK the outside of the house by pulling all the weeds, adding some color... in essence do my own little "Curb Appeal" special (with a much smaller budget).  When I'm done... before day 30... we will take some new pictures off the amazing outside and relist the home... and since it's more than 30 days, it will be considered a new listing.

NOW... phase 2 of my plan... with the new listing it will sell in NO TIME, and Shaun and I will be on our way to continue our life in Seattle.... hopefully sooner than later.

Who knows if it will work.  Some buyers say it had worked for them, and I know the biggest thing holding people back is the landscaping, so let's go ahead and take that off the list.  My brother did give me some good advice.  He said to pull up to the house and take a look around... objectively (easier said then done I know).... then go up to the door that the key is at... stop and look around.  See, while the realtor is messing with the key, first time home buyers are going to be looking around... looking for reasons to buy or pass on your house.  Good advice.

Well, I gotta go pull the sign out of the front yard... and all the weeds.  Anyone want to help???

How Much is Too Much?

After coming to the realization that we will most likely be chilling in Ohio for a bit longer, it's hard not to let your mind go on with life.  See when we decided we were going to be making the big move we started selling off furniture, knick knacks, etc.  And while it's been nice living clutter free... sometimes you start feeling more like you are living in someone else's home.  That brings me to the issue of the day... what happens when you fall in love with something that you would then have to move??

What sparked this??  A chair... A beautiful chair from World Market.... a pair would just look STUNNING with our living room set.  But at just more than $300 for the set, not only would we be spending money... but would also be giving ourselves two more pieces of furniture we would eventually move.  BUT that's not all... our overwhelming need to eat Sweedish meatballs has us craving a trip to Ikea.  Which we can never leave without spending at least $100 on storage units, lamps, decorations and of course a few packets of Sweedish meatball sauce.  Then it's not worth taking a trip down to West Chester if you are not going to stop at the Outlet Mall which means even more shopping and fun finds. 

So where do you put the limit?  We haven't had a viewing in more than a month... and there is no sign anyone will buy it anytime soon... so shouldn't we enjoy our time here?  I mean those home improvement shows that tell you how to sell your house spend $2000-$4000 to make a house "ready to show".... so maybe those trips could be investments in the house... and maybe a little bit to my closet.  After all it's important to look cute in case I ever get an interview right?? 

Go Ahead & Make Plans

I thought I would be in Seattle by now... really I did.  I completely underestimated how long it would take to sell the house and/or find a job.  I think I'm a catch, and so is my house... so why am I still here?!!  I am not angry about it... I'm getting a bit bored, but I'm not angry.  It's weird because lately people have wanted to make plans and their question is always "do you have plans for....???"  and our answer is always no.  See, we weren't planning to be here, so we didn't make any plans past April 30.  That's when the first time home buyer credit expired, and when we thought we would be busy packing.  But I guess that just wasn't in the stars!

So here we are... finally making plans.  Today I planted a vegetable garden in the back yard... that is after pulling out an entire trash can full of weeds... on the menu: corn, carrots, sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and basil.  I'm excited... it's the first thing I've really been excited about for awhile.  I have gotten used to not making long term plans... which is quite a shift for me.  I've always been one of those people who make plans 2-3 months out... sometimes more if it's a vacation.... now I am living week to week.  Shaun and I decided last week that we might as well just make plans to be in Ohio all summer... since that's the way it looks like it's going to be.  And I'm actually ok with it (not great, but ok). 

I do however want to make plans way in advance.  I wish I could start shopping for Christmas (yes, I'm one of those people)... and could make plans for Labor Day... see in Ohio I would be going to my family reunion... in Seattle I would be going to Bumbershoot... either way I will have fun... but.... I JUST WANT TO KNOW!!!  I think the worst is not being able to go to things I know I will regret for my entire life.  My best friend from college is getting married in 2 months... in Alaska.  I had planned to go more than a year ago when I got the save the date... but then lost my job.  I still thought, hey it would be a closer flight from Seattle, maybe I can still go... but as the date gets closer and closer it's really starting to sink in that I will not get to see her wedding... and that will haunt me forever.  I know she will say it's ok, that's just the type of person she is... but for me... it's something that you just go to... without thought.  So, anyone want to buy me a plane ticket to Alaska?!?!

Painful Curb Appeal

I haven't talked much about it... but my house is for sale.  It's a cute little house, especially on the inside, since I like painting and decorating and all that stuff.  I bought the house 5 years ago this week... and when I bought a house I was so excited to get to plant things, have a garden, and a great patio.  I have used the patio a lot, it's great... it's the only thing I still think is great.

The past few days I have spent the mornings outside digging up a flowerbed that goes the length of the driveway... the problem is, it was never really taken care of, even before I bought it... so there are weeds up to my waist.  Usually in the fall I just run the lawnmower over it and pretend it doesn't exist.  But I'm starting to realize that the outside it going to have to change if I don't want the house to be on the market for an entire year.  So there I am... digging up weeds and buckets of irises that have been dormant for about 2 years (thanks to a lack of sun with all the weeds).  My shoulders hurt, I've sweat more in the past few days than the years of living here.  It's hard to think that the only way I'm going to sell my house is to put money and time into something I've never really cared that much about.... especially when I'm this sore!

I guess part of me hoped someone would see the potential and want to do it themselves... but that's clearly not going to happen.  I just hope whoever buys this house won't do what happened to my parents... they left beautiful roses behind... just to come back a year later and see them all dug up... I guess it doesn't really matter since in the 700 square foot apartment we would be moving into doesn't have a yard (most likely) the only plants that will be making the move is the beautiful orchid my boyfriend got me for my birthday (that is unless my black thumbs kill it!)... so here's hoping for a good workout and even better results!