March Madness

I want to blog, but I'm not sure what I want to say. I fear getting repetitive with the house updates so I probably will explain this week's couch adventures, picture-hanging adventures, and mix in far more introspective topics.

Saturday morning, we were up and at 'em early! We went to Woodstock Furniture Outlet based on a recommendation from our friend Joe. And keep in mind Bryan's requirements for this couch: it must be a U-shaped 3-piece sectional with a chaise. Driving an hour each way on a gorgeous Saturday wasn't the rough part of the trip - the fact that WFO only had 1 sectional that met our requirements (that although comfortable, Bryan didn't really like) was. On the hour-long ride back home, we made the decision to call-ahead to places in the future that take us longer than 20 minutes to get to (hearing on the phone, "We have ONE" would have definitely discouraged us from the journey). (In Joe's defense, the store had A LOT of pieces we really liked, but we had to deter ourselves from buying other things because first and foremost, we need a couch!)

But all was not lost, since there was a Trader Joe's on the way back. Additionally, we saw the CUTEST puppy up for adoption outside a PetSmart, but everyone else thought he was cute too and wouldn't leave him alone. This was a good thing since we don't want to get another dog on impulse. We've been talking about getting another dog for some time, but will probably wait until the Fall rolls around. Let's be honest, I need more hair to vacuum with the Pet Hair Eraser. (I'm kidding!) We just both really love dogs and want Mags to have a playmate. Yes, I'm aware that there is the hope of giving her a human playmate (that's the sound of my biological clock you hear in the distance - although faintly), but I can't imagine that will be anytime soon either as we can't even decide on a dang couch! Not to get too personal, but I'm told this sound will get louder as I get closer to my 30th...crazy! And here I thought the focus of my 30th would just be how crazy of a 90s party I could have!!! (The planning is underway!) Although I'm getting Baby Fever due to the fact that it feels like everyone is having one. And really, the fact that every pregnant woman I know on Facebook looks amazing is even more annoying. Sorry, but it is! And I do mean this in the most loving way possible. I have in my head that I'm going to be GIANT and swollen and making noises and smells. And everyone's got these pictures up and they look incredible and super happy! And those who have just had babies appear to have radiant, perfect little ones! They're so cute! I think I'll just sit here and repeat to myself "They poop and cry, they poop and cry, they poop and cry..." Much better.

After we got home from WFO, we waited for Sears to bring us...our new refrigerator!!!! It is beautiful and spacious! Bryan was also ecstatic due to the fact that the old fridge went in the garage and is now exclusively dedicated to beer - just in time for St. Patty's Day.

Saturday night, Megan introduced me to Yogli Mogli (I have no clue if I spelled this right). But it's a frozen yogurt place that came straight from Heaven and is located about 2 miles from us. I haven't stopped thinking about cheesecake frozen yogurt since. And this coming from the girl who gave up chocolate for Lent!!!...for a good few hours...I can still turn it around and re-dedicate myself I'm sure. But I've failed miserably this year although I've made valiant attempts to avoid chocolate (i.e. eating only cheesecake fro-yo and fruit!). I can't help it if people just GIVE it to me periodically!!! It'd be rude not to eat it! I've had chocolate 3 times since Ash Wednesday so that's not that bad....right??

Sunday, I had my quarterly freak-out. For those of you that don't know, once every three months, I randomly go on a tirade about what's not done in the house (for the last few years, it was the apartment, now it's the house). This freak-out usually takes place on a Saturday or Sunday morning after breakfast. I just start to notice what's not done and all Bryan hears is this (usually as he's trying to read the paper): "WHY ARE OUR PICTURES NOT HUNG UP YET?!? WE NEED TO DECIDE ON A COUCH!! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!! THE GUEST BEDROOM NEEDS A NEW COMFORTER AND SHEET SET!" Yes, these are things that bother me. And I am completely aware that there are people in the world that have serious problems, I am. I can't explain why I do this!! But something just gets triggered in regular 3-month intervals where I want stuff DONE and I want it done NOW.

What I love about Bryan is when this happens, he literally springs into action. A.) He tells me he has no interest in comforter and sheet sets, so I can enjoy picking that out as long as he gets final approval to decide whether or not it's too girly; B.) He begins researching more couches and actually starts taking measurements to determine how much room the couch may take up (we have vastly different opinions on this - know that if you come to the house and have to leap over the couch to get to the kitchen, Bryan won); C.) The funniest - Bryan explains, "I can't hang pictures without a laser".

What does that even mean? Bryan saw a device last week at Home Depot - a level (the thing with the bubble) that shoots a laser so you can line something up at a distance. Last week, because I like things with lasers, I suggested we get that one. It was $30 more than the level we ended up with, but this week, Bryan decided he NEEDED the laser (if you're keeping track, yes, we wasted about $10). Bryan's argument was that, without the laser, he would continue to hang pictures crooked (as he did Saturday night). So we parted ways - Bryan went to spend the day looking at more couches and buying lasers and I went to book club.

How many more pictures have been hung up since the laser joined the household? Effectively none - so much for springing into action! But I guess we've got three more months to get them on the walls. And by that time, maybe I'll be in a better mood about it since I'll be able to eat chocolate guilt-free!

Batteries not included

I'd like to tell you that I'm becoming more at peace with the fact that I will never be satisfied with things I want to do to this house, but I'm not. And that covers everything from how I'd like to arrange photos and artwork on the walls to where I'd like to put new bookshelves and what type of furniture I'd like and what types of flowers I want to plant. The list goes on...and I know it always will. I've even been told that once I have settled things where I want them, I'm going to want to replace the first things that I arranged. So as much as I love this house, I know it will be an ongoing project. Forever. So I thought I'd share:

Saturday night, I was so antsy I was beside myself. I was exhausted from a late night at the drive-in on Friday and an eventful day looking at potential pups for M.O.H. Nicole, but I couldn't sleep. I needed to accomplish things around the house. I wanted the toilet paper roll in the half-bathroom installed, I wanted to put pictures on the walls, I wanted to set up the guest bedroom and office...and the list went on. As I mentioned each of these things to Bryan (and no, this wasn't the first time I had brought these goals up), he rattled off the tools we needed. "I don't understand," I told him, "You don't have tools?" "Well, I have some," he said, "But not all of the ones we need."

Well, you learn something new everyday! I thought men were born with an arsenal of tools. I actually didn't realize they needed to acquire them from somewhere (and even if they did, I thought this acquisition took place when they were very young?). I guess it's as sexist as expecting a woman to know her way around a kitchen. But come on! How am I supposed to know you need something called a Studfinder to figure out where to nail up a picture on a wall?? If you asked me what a Studfinder was on Saturday before this conversation took place, I would've told you it's probably a matchmaking service or dating website.

So lo and behold, Sunday was spent in Home Depot buying things like studfinders and levelers (is that what 'the thing with the bubble' is called?) and looking at how to install shelving in a closet (we want to add shelving to a closet on the main floor). We got lots of goodies and debated continuing the fun at Lowe's, but decided to save that for next weekend. This brings me to Sunday night...when Bryan figured out that you needed a 9-volt battery to operate the studfinder. There are no pictures on our walls yet :-(

I've blogged about how much I love the Pet Hair Eraser and how crazed I am about keeping up with the vacuuming in this house. Well, Sunday night, Bryan finally assembled the desk in the office as well as the bed in the guest bedroom and we arranged it as much as possible (for the time being). This prompted me to vacuum the office and the guest bedroom at 10pm Sunday night...and I concluded that I may have an obsessive-cleaning illness. I also vacuumed the main floor of the house yesterday and just check out how much hair I picked up (after 4 days!!!)!

Is this crazy or what?? But gosh, I love that thing. Maggie was also promptly taken outside and brushed to the high heavens! When I do finally get sick of vacuuming so much, I may just have to either shave her or wrap her up in plastic. That'll be special.

I have plenty more to fill you in on, but I think I may save a topic of deeper consideration for another blog later this week. If you are in need of more of my writing though, you can check out www.whoyoucallinageek.blogspot.com.

It's a blog that I started with the 4 interns that work with me in my lab, so they will be authoring some posts as well. I've been giving a lot of thought to my professional development lately - where I want to go and what I'm really passionate about - and there's no question that I want to advance undergraduate Science education. I feel like I'm already making a positive impact with the work that I've been doing with these interns (and consequently, how we're implementing changes in the labs that Biology majors take). So rather than continuing to talk about how much I love my job and my goals for Science education, I figured I could just direct you all over to that blog if you're interested.

Now go ahead and ask yourself, do you know what's on your floor? Doesn't that picture just make you want to vacuum!? Have a great rest of the week!

Picture time!!!

As I write this, I sit outside in weather that's gotten dramatically colder in just a few days time. Today, there's no sun, only clouds and the temps are in the 50s. In my world, this is unequivocally frigid. This has no effect on Maggie; chilly or not, she still wants to play. If I do go back in the house, she approaches the door. "Maybe she wants to go inside," you'd think. But when the door opens, she just stands there as if to say, "Why aren't you out here with me? It's playtime!". And I just can't say no to her. So right now, it's always playtime in the Hoey household.

Obviously the first picture is the front of the house. I'll only be sharing a few pictures at a time since these rooms aren't quite where I want them yet. But what I'll tell you about every picture is just another reason why I love this house so very much. The front is obviously adorable in my humble opinion and quite traditional-looking (I want to get some cute chairs or a bench of sorts to put in our little porch area.

But above is the major reason why when I walked in, I said, "Yes, this is our house!". Look at those cabinets!!! As many as you can see in this picture, there are more! And this picture doesn't really do the island any justice at all. I'll take another picture from a different angle on another day. If you look at the left-hand side of the picture, there is a set of double doors. If you open those, that's the pantry!!!! That entire space!!! It's just GLORIOUS!!!

This next picture is the "bonus room". Bryan has dreams of knocking down walls and making it a massive bedroom. For right now, I'm just stoked that we have somewhere to put this foosball table!!! It'd be even more luxurious if it were set up! But more than likely, this will evolve to "play room" status while serving as a "workout room" in the near future.

And then there's Maggie. I took this picture yesterday when she stood outside for hours in the sunshine. Even when you think she'd be ready to come in, she's still just standing there with her head tilted towards the sun and eyes closed. But this is the backyard. It's flat and quite spacious. I don't know that we'll ever get tired of the space (although Bryan last night was talking about one day having acres upon acres...I think he forgets that at some points in time, grass has to get cut). For me, this is the perfect backyard.

We have quite a weekend ahead of us. Tonight, we're heading to the drive-in despite the fact that I'm freezing. Tomorrow morning, we'll be working on getting our home office set up. I'd really like to get some pictures and artwork on the walls. And we'll be spending some time with my B.I.L. Jon and his wife, Sonia. Tomorrow night, Bryan's got poker plans brewing in his mind. After our successful night last weekend in our house game, he's antsy to play again. Sunday, we'll continue our search for the perfect couch. I'm hoping to bring you some developments on that next week. But these things take time. Until then, I'll be emptying the contents of the last bins and trying to learn how to work my new iphone. Have a great weekend!!!

No Dyson

I am actually getting stranger by the day. The last time I filled you in, I was fulfilling my duties as a domestic goddess making broccoli rabe on a Sunday morning. The past 3 days have brought on a new type of madness: Vacuum Mania. I announced to Bryan on Sunday that I was in the market for a Dyson. This meant absolutely nothing to him. So you can imagine his surprise when we visited my favorite store in existence (Bed, Bath, and Beyond) and he noticed the price tag on these gems. "$600???!!!" he screamed. "Uh, YEAH, that's what they cost...we have a dog," I explained. "There is no universe in which it would ever be ok to spend $600 on a vacuum...pick another one, preferably in the $100-200 range. That's as high as we go in this household," he said.

I could've argued that I'd pay for it, but I really wanted to use our gift cards...with "our" being the operative word. So I vowed to do some research for a less expensive vacuum that wouldn't leave us living in Maggie's fur.

In addition to the BB&B visit that resulted in some great purchases: drawer dividers and a shoe rack (yes, I've become nuts with organization), Bryan insisted we go to Target to purchase a 40L simplehuman (the brand) trash can. This would've been great as we had a Target gift card to burn, too, but no Target within a 25-mile radius had this trash can. I know this because we went to ALL of them (for the record BB&B had them as well!).

We were also on the hunt for a couch. Bryan took the lead on this as he has very high expectations - a sectional that includes a chaise lounge, top-notch comfort, and no giant pillows that he'll throw on the floor (ok, that last one's mine). We made multiple stops, but ultimately fell in love with one from the Cindy Crawford Home Collection at Rooms to Go. Not one to make snap decisions, Bryan said he wanted to continue to shop around and think about it. (As of last night, he was still talking about that couch...).

The crazed hunt for the perfect trash can eventually came to an end at our 6th Target stop of the day when Bryan decided he might want to get a 6-pack of Gatorade (ironically at about 6 o'clock). This prompted me to cry, "THE RED CARPET IS ON AND I'M HUNGRY! FOCUS!". I get cranky when I haven't eaten and am missing celebrities on the red carpet. Dejected, we had no trash can for our kitchen. But I did get home in time for the Oscars!

By Monday, I had done my research and selected the Bissell Pet Hair Eraser vacuum. In price comparing, I found it for $150 at BB&B (compared to $190 at Macy's...Macy's is on my bad side anyways right now, so I had to laugh at the $40 difference). And don't forget, since BB&B is the best store in the world, I also had a 20% off coupon. And where did I get the trash can? You got it...BB&B! (I got such wonderful customer service, too, I could just go on about that store forever).

Yesterday, it was Tomboy Bride vs. Machine when I had to assemble the aforementioned vacuum. But assemble I did (with The Bachelor on in the background) and I was off and vacuuming!!! Two thumbs up so far for this vacuum. I cleaned the cylinder once after vacuuming the living room - after 9 days, there was already a ridiculous amount of fur. I've actually even started taking Maggie to the backyard to brush her daily. So I'm on it - the experiment is for me to vacuum today and see how much hair I pick up (I'm not expecting much in 24 hours...). Then I'll wait 72 hours and check out how bad it is on Saturday. If it's completely gross, I'll settle on vacuuming every other day.

I have gotten so nuts about this that I was even using the attachments yesterday to vacuum the stairs (and yes, I grew up watching my mother vacuum stairs and always thought it was a waste of time). Not so! I also read that you can vacuum Venetian blinds - why didn't I think of that?!?! So you know what I'm doing later....

Finally, in the most dramatic personal change that has occurred - even more shocking than morphing into a neat freak - is the fact that Bryan and I are going to Pike this weekend (the Garden store) and I'm am PSYCHED!!!! I have a LIST already made of the things I want there. Most notably, I'd like to pot a plant that our next-door neighbors brought over for us the other night to welcome us to the neighborhood (how sweet is that?!). They are gloriously fragrant lilies (my favorite flower)!

I'm hoping to get Bryan to help me set up our office this weekend (I've been asking him for days now!). I'd also like to get our artwork and pictures on the walls. Overall, we're quite set up! I did make a Dollar Barn run the other day for small baskets that I've now used to organize my bathroom cabinet (on my Mom's suggestion). I am feeling the compulsion to go back because I'd like to get our detergents/stain removers organized by baskets, too, in the laundry room. I may be getting less tomboy-ish and more Sandra Lee in my old age. Oh Heaven help us, I'm going to go read an issue of "Country Living"!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

It's official. I've got the writing bug. On my brief hiatus from this blog, I started writing what I hope will become a novel. I've had the idea in my head for several years now and am trying to find the time to weave and develop my story the way I want it. It's completely fiction (but based on a world I know VERY well) and has nothing to do with weddings or new homes! That being said, trying to find the time lately to make serious progress has been tough, so I can definitely understand how it takes people years to write books. Plus, I've been so distracted by the brilliance that is The Hunger Games (a trilogy by Suzanne Collins) for the past few weeks that when I do have spare time I am content reading her books!

Hilariously, I realized this morning I am becoming my mother. There have been glimpses of this transformation in recent years: the love of all things Home Goods and uncanny ability to spend HOURS in Bed, Bath, and Beyond because items for the home just make us happy; the joy we get in entertaining family and friends (often including hosting dinners); the personal belief that people NEED fine china. And then there are things we just blatantly have in common: we love sports (and can actually sit and watch softball games on TV); we can spend 12+ hours in one day (and do this for any numbers of days in a row) without even thinking about it; we both love celebrities (This side of my mother has developed more in recent years and it just makes me laugh when I get phone calls like, "Did you see Jessica Simpson in those 'Mom Jeans'?" "That Charlie Sheen just gets crazier by the day."); and yes, Mom and I will be fully debriefing about the Oscars tomorrow morning - covering everything from how Anne Hathaway and James Franco perform as hosts to what the heck Helena Bonham Carter thinks when she gets dressed before these shows (this is a good discussion topic for ANY awards show when it comes to the talented HBC).

With all the existing similarities, what did I do this morning that solidified this conclusion? I began the day with a healthy dose of straightening up the house. Honestly, Bryan and I (minus the Wine Incident) have kept the house pretty ridiculously tidy so far - and we've been here one whole week now! We had friends over last evening which meant trash needed to be taken out, wine glasses needed to be cleaned, decks of cards needed to be put away, and the dishwasher needed to be emptied. In the apartment, I would have normally left this until I felt like cleaning it up. But not now! It's like moving into this home activated genes that specifically came from my Mom's DNA (although in fairness, my Mom would've cleaned everything last night even if it meant not going to bed until 4am - I'm the opposite way, I'd rather get up at 4am than stay up).

To make matters even stranger, following the clean-up I decided to do what all people do on Sunday mornings...make a giant batch of broccoli rabe for the week. Oh wait, all people don't do that, but my Mom does! I would've also roasted some bell peppers if I had some (Mom used to add them to my eggs on the weekends), but I'll have to wait until my shopping trip tomorrow morning.

What's next for the weekend? Couch shopping, for one thing. Then we're off to select trash cans, pick out a toilet paper roll holder, and hopefully we'll bring back a Dyson at some point in our travels (you do not want to hear about how much Maggie fur there was in our old apartment upon move-out as she sheds just by breathing...I am NOT letting that happen in this house!).

As for the update on the wine stain, after a several hour battle with the stain armed with Wine Away, Bryan came home with Spot Shot (on Will and Meredith's suggestion). While Wine Away is natural, biodegradable, and essentially everything including safe to drink, Spot Shot will give you a nice aerosol-induced high. It's definitely the hard stuff but it worked like a charm! In fact, the place where this stain previously resided is now cleaner than the rest of the carpet (oops!).

I'm off to add some delicious broccoli rabe to my eggs for brunch...Bryan did find his camera (that has my memory card in it), so I'm hoping to take some pictures of the house to add to the blog this week. There's still so much to do...and I have a feeling it's going to be that way for a long time! Enjoy the Oscars everyone (and the eye-candy that is Jeremy Renner)!

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

Oh, I just couldn't stay away! I missed you readers, did you miss me? (Maybe even a little?) I was going to do an Epilogue complete with pictures and the whole nine, but I realized I had quite a bit to say before I even got around to taking pictures of the house (a feat that is complicated by the fact that 1.) I have a new computer and I have no idea how to use it - it's a minor miracle I can use the internet on this thing, a fancy MacBook - and yes, I'm becoming my grandmother when it comes to electronics; and 2.) Bryan still has the memory card that belongs to my camera).

I am realizing that I'm in the habit of posting way too many status messages about the house and what I'm doing in it. This is exactly what I hoped to avoid doing to people with our wedding and here I have everyone on Facebook-status-update-house-overload!!! So here goes, the whole rundown if you want it!

Last Wednesday, Bryan and I closed on our new home. It was only 6 weeks since the offer was accepted and the papers were signed, but we were chomping at the bit to get ourselves out of our 2-bedroom apartment (I thought it had ample space when we moved in!) and into our 4-bedroom house (I'll say it, there's ample space...for now). We were so eager that in response to the closing attorney's question, "When are you moving in?", I truthfully answered that we had our car's packed up in order to begin the move immediately!

Bryan and I made an uncharacteristically strategic decision (rather than one just based on what we felt like doing at the time): we packed 12 bins of various items from the kitchen and bathrooms Tuesday night. Upon drop-off on Wednesday, we unloaded them ALL. And of course, I was in charge of the packing, loading, and unloading of precious kitchen appliances. The first things to go over? My waffle iron, griddler/panini press, Keurig, and crock pot. This was followed by my KitchenAid stand mixer, pressure cooker, and Calphalon pans on Thursday - and not because I love them any less than what went over on Wednesday. I was strategically using the boxes for the appliances.

Thus, Thursday evening, we unloaded Run #2 - more kitchen stuff! Friday - more kitchen stuff! Saturday, you can only guess - 2 trips from the apartment to the house and back for more kitchen stuff! But at this point, we had started to bring framed pictures, books, DVDs, clothes, and all the fun stuff that usually results in multiple trips to the apartment and back to the car for loading. The reason was we wanted Sunday to be nothing but furniture. We set the goal to have the apartment cleared of literally everything that would be on or contained in the furniture so that just the furniture was being moved and we didn't have to worry about 50 boxes as well.

It paid off! With the help of our good friend Dean and my B.I.L., Jon, everything was loaded into a U-Haul and unloaded into the house (and in some cases brought upstairs and assembled if necessary!) in about 5 1/2 hours.

My biggest concern on Sunday was the fact that Maggie had officially started to freak out. She was fine when it was loads of bins and boxes going out of the apartment last week. But once the furniture started moving, she made a run for it desperately trying to get us to take her wherever it was we were going. As she bolted to my car, I turned to Bryan and said, "It's time". I managed to leash her and get her back to the apartment so she could watch me gather all of her things. And YES, I spend this much time thinking (and discussing with Mary) about the psychology of our dog! I set her up in the front seat with me on her bed and off we went to Maggie's new home.

Although Bryan doubts this, I realize that Maggie is not a human - which is why I took Mary's suggestion and gave her treats all over the house. And then we went into...The Backyard. I can say that I've never been happier than I am in this house, but I think Maggie may actually be the happiest family member at any given point in time. Now, in addition to regular walks (this weekend we're heading to the Greenway right by the house!), she has a huge yard to run around in. And run she does, I've been videotaping her non-stop. Again, I know she's not a human, but throw me a bone (no pun intended). Gosh, I wonder what I'm going to be like when we have kids - am I going to videotape them doing everything?!

I've been joking that we live in the country now. People say, "Oh, you're not that far from the city". Hey, you pass cows going to our house and if you turn on the radio, you inevitably get Sean Hannity - we're in the country!!! As for my commute from country to city, I'm going to have to become an expert on "when not to leave the house". Yesterday, I left our place around 7:45am and travelled 20 miles in approximately 50 minutes...yuck. Now, granted, that was a typical day's commute from the apartment if I left around 8am, but mind you, I was just getting to the train station to take MARTA on into the city. Lucky for me, going in early means getting out early, and I managed to get back on the train and back home before the afternoon rush hour really picked up north of where we used to live.

As for the blog, well, this morning's events reminded me that there's never a dull moment in life with Bryan around. As excited as I was to have so much more space, I managed to throw a toy of Maggie's directly (I mean, dead-on) into a glass of red wine that Bryan didn't finish last night. Our carpet is now wearing the wine. Well, it was - as I blog this, I am in a face-off with the carpet, my only weapon: Wine Away. I understand that this was completely meant to happen. What are the odds 1.) that I throw Maggie's toy DIRECTLY into the wine (especially given our newfound spacious layout?!!) and 2.) that Bryan doesn't finish a glass of wine that he poured for himself during the Sabres/Thrasher game?!

This being said, I may continue to blog although I have no idea to what degree I'm going to do this (can I match the frequency of which I blogged our engagement?). I do want to share pictures of the house with everyone and I think there are things that are going to come up that are fun to blog about, especially given the fact that we have several rooms to organize and furnish. And there are plenty of things that I think are entertaining that I'd love to record like watching Maggie react to a doorbell (hey, we've never had one!) and my obsession with any kind of gadget or container that allows me to organize things (Good Grips Stackable Pop Containers, I'm looking at you!) I am toying with the idea of making this blog private, though, which means that to read it you'll have to "follow" it. If you have any trouble with this, just send me an e-mail and let me know! tomboybride2010@gmail.com

Good night, and good luck

I had to tear myself away from the third book of the 'Dragon Tattoo' (or 'Millennium') series to make good on my promise to blog! I have been antsy to blog for days now, but every time I've had a spare second, I've gone back to Lisbeth Salander (I even uncharacteristically stayed up until after 1am reading last night!). My gosh, if you haven't read the series already, I highly recommend it. The story is just incredible - I aspire to write something as riveting one day!!

In all honesty, I was hoping to close out this blog with a giant announcement. It is the holidays, however, and we haven't yet taken the official step of putting an offer in on the house that we hope to call home in a few short months.

During the life of this blog, the Hoey House-hunting Mission was in full swing. Initially, I thought finding a house would be a piece of cake. The reason for this is because I don't need much - the basics needs for me to be happy in life are:

my family (both immediate and extended - this includes close friends as well as my canine family, Maggie and Myko) - Check,

spending my work days doing something that I love - Check,

and going home to a place I love - half-Check (oh, how we've outgrown this apartment!).

When I think about what type of house I'd love to live in, there are really three major features for me that define whether I could be happy or not in a place - 1.) the neighborhood - is it safe and family-friendly?, 2.) a nice-sized yard, and 3.) a nice-sized kitchen. Cosmetic things (flooring, paint, cabinetry) can be changed, I realize this. And I've done my assessments of places accordingly. My loving husband has a much longer list of things that he wants in a house. This has resulted in an (so far) 8-month search for our home and has spanned every county that surrounds Atlanta.

Whenever Bryan and I have named any surrounding town or city in our search, the response has been "Wow, your commute will probably be terrible". Yes, this is true for every single place we've looked. I work downtown - it is awful to get in and out of downtown during rush hour regardless of where we live. So the commute time for me really doesn't enter the equation, I commute during off hours and have a flexible schedule (I can also get away with working at home a few days a week at times). Recently, we have focused our energies into giving Bryan an easier commute. I think this is a great thing due to the fact that he sometimes works extremely long days (who wants to drive for 45 minutes after a 9-10 hour workday?).

We're hoping the 3rd time is the charm. I blogged during the Summer that we had lost one house in a bidding war. To me that house served as our "training wheels". A great house in a great neighborhood - I think we would have been extremely happy there, but it didn't work out. It took us awhile to move on from that house. Other houses in the same area didn't compare and we switched up where we were looking.

When we did fall in love with a house again, it was fantastic. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, unfinished basement (a rarity in Georgia!), giant yard...our offer was accepted and we moved quickly on having the house inspected. Unfortunately, during the inspection, some major problems were uncovered - holes in the roof, water damage, plumbing issues. We were heartbroken. And again, while we continued to search the area, we could not stop comparisons to what we thought was our house.

Finally, we switched gears into another area north of Atlanta. I am definitely a subscriber of the belief that "everything happens for a reason". Even if we don't end up with my current "this is our house" obsession, I am convinced we're supposed to live in Cumming, Georgia. Bryan and I are both thrilled about the area and very happy with the house (although it seems that now we don't get quite as excited anymore given our previous difficulties). We know anything can happen so we're trying to keep a healthy, positive attitude. But in my mind, this is our house, this is my kitchen (ok...our kitchen) and Maggie's backyard.

There are a few more things I want to talk about as this will be my last blog. I will not be blogging about married life. This does not mean I won't be writing about it - but it won't be posted for the public anytime in the near future. From what I've heard, the first year of marriage is one of the hardest. In the two months that Bryan and I have been married, things have been pretty much as they were before we were engaged. But I would be naive to think that our marriage will never encounter any sort of obstacle and I don't really want to live out such things on the blog out of respect for what is between the two of us. I don't claim to know the in's-and-out's of marriage and I don't want to jeopardize or jinx anything by detailing our private life for everyone to read. As the M.O.B. has told me, "Some things need to be just for the two of you." I learned several years ago to listen to the M.O.B.'s advice :-)

I will say that I have enjoyed the post-wedding life so far. I didn't even realize how consumed we were with wedding-related things until the wedding was over. It's back to just being 'us' again - the 'us' we were when we fell in love (we were 'us' during our engagement - but a wedding-crazed, house-obsessed version of 'us' that was constantly exhausted and running from one place to another). We decorated our first Christmas tree together (a 7-ft. beauty!), we've been watching classic Christmas movies, we baked cookies together over the weekend, we continue to watch football together (as always!), and we hang out and read together. We eat breakfast and dinner together every night without fail. Our relationship was fabulous pre-engagement, during the engagement, and continues to grow even now. I know we will continue to share our lives with all of you through personal interactions as the years go on - and I have faith that there will be a myriad of exciting experiences to come!

It has been a pleasure having this blog through our engagement (and these few post-wedding months). I feel that I exceeded my goal of wanting to keep everyone in the loop in our adventures of planning a wedding and I hope that you all felt included in the adventures! I am additionally really happy that I even blogged about the craziness and stress of trying to find a job. When I go back and read what I wrote during those times, I am reminded of how daunting and scary it was to be staring in the face of possible unemployment. While the search worked out for me in the long run, I am constantly mindful that there are millions of people that are not as fortunate - I hope and pray that the tables turn for them soon.

I am extremely grateful for everything that has happened in the past year. I could never have imagined the responses I would get to this blog. I started the blog confident that the M.O.B. and my Aunt Claire would read it. To find out that my extended family, most of our friends, Bryan's extended family (now, also my family!) and people that I know (but maybe don't talk to that frequently) have also followed us on this journey was nothing short of thrilling.

I have received many compliments on my writing in the past year which is a MAJOR confidence-builder for me (ok, so maybe 90% of them have come from my Mom...it's still nice!). Honestly, I am incredibly happy about this especially due to the fact that I don't do any major editing/proofreading of my writing. When I write these blogs, it is unabridged (obviously - they're so long!) and straight from my head and heart to the keyboard.

For everyone who has recommended compiling these blogs for a possible publication, I do intend to look into that option (although I'd need a very patient editor!). It is no secret I would like to moonlight as a Fiction writer. I plan on enrolling in a writing course beginning Summer 2011 to strengthen my writing skills and learn the trade. Whether I will begin a blog of one of my impending novels remains to be seen (I am toying with this idea...). For now, I am focusing on being a good wife, sister, daughter, daughter-in-law, friend, and every other possible hat I can wear.

Thank you all for reading - I hope this journey has been as fun for you as it has for me! Have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!!!