Updates

Today is a sunny day... but COLD... so here I am blogging instead of finishing the last bits of paint on the outside of the house. I'll have to go out soon and do it.

I'm getting really discouraged about the house not selling and kind of wish I had taken the lowball offer I got on the first day. I know it's only been listed a week and a half, but seriously! I want it gone! People came to look last weekend, but nothing lined up for this weekend so far.

Rainy season is starting to set in and I am getting DEPRESSED. I've always been a much happier person when I'm away from home, and sometimes wondered if it was just the ability to ignore the reality of my stressful life when I am far away. That probably is a little bit of it, but I am also suspecting the weather. Overcast skies, walking through puddles. Yuck. I remember being a kid and having fits after coming in from playing outside because the water had soaked through my tennis shoes and my socks were wet, and my feet were cold, and I would beg my mom to move somewhere sunny.

My favorite girls, Lucy and Bunny are sitting here at my feet. Lucy seems to be much better aside form her mild psychosis. I always find her huddled on the bricks next to the porch trying to stay out of the rain, so maybe it gets to her, too! Bunny is feisty as ever. Lily had a "baby" (for those non-dog people a baby is a stuffed toy) the other day and Bunny grabbed one end of it, and tugged with all her might while bouncing backwards on 3 legs to get it away from Lily. Not only did she get it away, she knocked Lily down. Bunny actually owns Lily now. The big, dumb, gawky red puppy follows Bunny around all day, falls at her feet, rolls over on her back, and licks Bunny's chin. It's very cute and submissive, but very odd.

Luis the car went away, and I am now the not so proud owner of an 07 Ford Focus. Let me just clarify, I am NEVER shopping alone for a car again. First, even though I got Luis checked out at a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, things went wrong veeeeeeeeery quickly. I could not even register Luis, because in order to register a car in Washington you must pass emissions. Well, emissions will not pass a car if its check engine light is out. Who looks for a check engine light to be out?!?! I sat on the check engine light for a little bit because I have been way too busy working on the house to deal with cars. Then when I was driving my cousin home last weekend the car died. As in just stopped running as I was driving down the road. It started back up again after several minutes, but it was a terrifying "coast" over to the shoulder and I totally freaked out. So I decided to get a new car. Possibly not the wisest decision. I really wanted to sell Luis before moving to Houston and then buy something newer there (and let Jeff help me deal with the haggling) but this stopping in the middle of the road thing was scary. Not to mention just another chunk of money to throw into my 150k mile car. If it was just me driving I wouldn't care very much, but I need something safe to drive Quinn around in. We do mostly freeway driving, so the stopping thing is potentially very dangerous. Anyway, I ended up getting another Focus. It's a used 07 with 33k miles. White (yuck) and automatic (yuck). And I have car payments (yuck). I got a grand off of the kbb suggested retail price and I got a decent-ish trade on the death trap. I hated taking a hit on the car in trade, but I don't think it is fair to sell a crappy car to someone private party. That's apparently what someone did to me, and I don't think it was very nice! Overall I did pretty well, the payments are affordable, and I have a car that moves when I push the gas pedal down, and has no mechanical defects. I guess I should be grateful to have a nice looking car that runs. I just wish instead of trying to be frugal and buy private party I had taken my insurance money from the accident and used it as a down payment at a dealership, because that's where I ended up anyway. Expensive lesson. I also wish I could have held out another month or two because now I have to figure out a way to get it to Houston. Since I have to rent something BIG to drive the dogs, the Focus will have to get there some other way. Anyone want to raod trip with me? :)

Quinn's birthday is tomorrow, and I cannot believe he will be 16! It's crazy. I used to say I couldn't wait for him to be through with 15, and the waiting has paid off. He's a much nicer person now, and over a lot of his drama. He's very realistic now (I knew the brain would eventually rule over the angry hormonal teenage stuff) and he is really excited to move to Houston. Though I could have smacked him the other day when he said he wishes I had put my foot down and moved a year ago, because our lives would have been much easier. Arg!! This year he got a drum set for his birthday. I gave it to him a few days early because it was becoming a definite need. He's been taking drum lessons, and he is REALLY good! I'm so impressed. I also love watching him, because it's the first thing I've seem him really love. He reminds me of when I used to play the violin, and I could sit for hours because I loved it so much. It's great to have music around the house, again, too.

I guess it's time to feed the dogs, start up the crockpot, and go paint a bit. A shower might be good, too.