Heartbreak

Two Saturdays ago, Jason and I continued our house hunt with our Realtor, Tanya. For some odd reason, I had clicked on a link to a home in Moorhead the day before while perusing HomesHQ. We added it to our list of five and headed to meet Tanya. Our list quickly dwindled to three homes as an inspection was pending on one and another couldn't be seen that particular day. I will admit, I was bummed about the one with the inspection as I had been to the open house for it a week before while Jason was in Minneapolis. But off we headed.

Our first stop was a home in Eagle Run, another that I had seen previously. I loved it, but we were both a little less than crazy about the location. It also came with $10,000+ in specials. It was a quick stop as Jason was OK with it, but we just couldn't live with putting that much money into specials and not the house itself. So, off we were to another stop. It was a Chesapeake floor plan, a plan we had seen previously, however that one had white cabinets. A compromise I wasn't willing to make. We walked in though and there they were, my oak cupboards. After a walk through and taking into consideration that it was only three bedrooms, we walked out knowing yet another house wasn't the one. Now it was time to check out that one in Moorhead.

Mind you, we met up with Tanya at 1pm, and it was at that time she called the owners of the homes to set up appointments to see the houses and also allow them leave. All of the owners were OK with that and of course, weren't home upon our arrival. We walked into the Moorhead house, and both loved the layout. It had four bedrooms and felt open yet home like. Then we saw the back yard standing on the wrap around deck with a view of hole 13 for Village Green. We spent a considerable amount of time in the house, outside of the house and while there were a few cosmetic details in need of updating, we were convinced we'd found the one and told Tanya we wanted to put in an offer. She called the other Realtor and left a voice mail indicating that we were heading back to her office to get things started. On the drive back to Tanya's office, her cell phone rang, and it was the other Realtor. Then we heard five dreaded words, "The house has already sold?!?" Certainly Tanya couldn't be talking about the one we were just it. It hadn't even been on the market for 12 hours! When Tanya expressed her disgust in the owners coming to let us see it, I knew right then and there, that house wasn't the one after all. Not that I thought that immediately. Immediately, my heart sunk to the floor.

We went home, both pretty down. Crabbiness sunk in for the both of us, and I don't think you would have wanted to talk to either one of us the following day. Jason was convinced that now I had found this perfect, amazing house I was going to have pretty high standards as I had set the bar. He was right. I didn't admit it though, as I too felt completely defeated and frustrated. Jason I think though was worse off then me in the frustration. I had already been to the low point he had been at. So if I had come around and he was to the low point, was that a sign? Was our future home just days away from being put on the market? Or would we just settle now for whatever to be done with this? The sage continues...

90+ Day Check-in

While my goal was to check in once every 30 days, things got a little crazy for us, first with the flood concerns then with the hunt for our home starting. And while these lack of posts may indicate that things aren't going too well, we are still going to the gym! The sandbagging debacle did sidetrack us for a week as sandbagging in the cold, wet rain leads my well being not being so well. We got back on track though and typically work out now five days a week. Jason gets an extra night off with bowling (though he considers that a workout). The biggest satisfaction for me is that I can easily do 30+ minutes on the elliptical I used to hate at an intensity level of 25-30! I could barely make it on level 10 when I first started for 15 minutes.

During this time, I continue the battle with my shin splits. I've been cursed with them ever since I can remember and running sets them off like humid weather does a thunderstorm. I've resorted to the fact that I should be wearing two different types of shoes and well, that isn't going to happen. I am determined to run again someday though, typically run now two days a week to give the shins time to heal in between. No 5k for me this year, but I continue to have it as a goal, just taking me a little longer to accomplish it. And you'll still see me at the Fargo Marathon as I am working the Swanson Health Products booth for a little extra cash.

Finally, I have been given a new motivator in my quest to being fit and fabulous before January 2010 for our anniversary cruise. I am joining a weight-loss challenge through Cold Fusion Nutrition Center. It kicks off tonight and is a six week competition. While winning the money would be nice, I am doing this to help keep me focused on eating healthy. I think Jason and I have made fitness a part of a set routine, so now it's time to say good bye to butter burgers too. Wish me luck!

The Hunt Begins!

In keeping up with our resolutions for 2009, we decided it was time to take the plunge and start in on probably the #1 resolution, buying a home. The first obstacle to overcome was finding a Realtor. Jason and I had decided on one long ago, but after that fell through (two unanswered emails to her), we decided to contact Tanya with Advantage Realtors in Fargo per the encouragement of Jason's brother and sister. Thanks guys!

Tanya put me at ease almost immediately, replying to my email within 10 minutes and calling me the same day to discuss the beginning steps. It was exactly what we needed as we were to the point where we were ready to start but not sure where. The biggest question for me was where to go for the mortgage. Since "bank" is technically a four letter word to me as my mom managed a credit union for many years, our finances are with a credit union. Most do home loans; however, they are underwritten by outside entities. Jason and I both weren't interested in that based on the recent falls within the financial world. Tanya had the answer though - Valley Mortgage.

I'll admit. I was fearful of the whole aspect of trying to obtain a loan with the economy/housing market as it is. Perhaps I watch too much news because the entire process was a breeze! Just like their web address, www.itsabreeze.com. We'd recommend them, along with our loan officer Ray, to anyone and everyone in a heartbeat. We were in and out in about 45 minutes, pre-approval basically in hand, on the same day I had called Ray to discuss our needs.

So, now it begins. Tanya took us out last Tuesday to look at a few homes and to get an idea of what we want. I was convinced we had found "the one," which Jason referred to as the "garage house" (it looks like a garage and only a garage from the front), but after another look during an open house a few days later, we couldn't compromise not having much of a back yard. The house was beautiful and being new construction, we could have even picked our own colors and flooring, but it wasn't home for us. We've also been to a few open houses over the weeks in preparation for this, so we know what we want. Right now, the market is a little slow in the area, and ours just isn't out there yet. Hopefully with Spring here now, the right one pops onto the market for us to find. Stay tuned as the hunt continues...

"Normal"

After the last week or so, I realized that before the Red River laid its threats upon us, I really didn't have such a crazy life after all. And I took a lot of things for granted. Right now, I try to get my life back to normal - or what I thought wasn't so normal. It was though, it just needs a little tweaking. Or maybe prioritizing. I am not sure. But something has to change. That is the obvious. In one week's time, I worked my ass off filling sandbags, recruited people to join the flood effort, worked 40 hours (ok, 32, they called work off Friday), spent time with friends and family either in person or on the phone, managed to get catch a cold (sandbagging plus rain in March in North Dakota likely contributed), slept little, hit rock bottom through it all and survived the biggest crest of all time for the Red River of the North. I did it all though - and the biggest point is that I survived. And what I went though is NOTHING compared to those who lost their homes or jobs or had to evacuate for days on end not knowing what they would come back to. Yes folks, now that is a life that isn't normal. I should count my lucky stars for the normal I do have (minus last week). And I promise you, I'll think twice before I say my life is out of control. I'll think about the Flood of '09.