it's all a bit clearer now

Perhaps you recall me talking about crazy self diagnoses? Well, I was trying to make light of it, but something was not right.

It appears I have found an answer, I have been having panic attacks. Tuesday night I thought I was going to die, I almost called an ambulance. So on Wednesday I vowed to go to the doctor; only problem, we have lived here for two years, and I never found myself a doctor. I ended up at an urgent care place and the nice, old doctor prescribed some At!van in case I felt that way again. He also made me promise to find a doctor as soon as we move.

The moral of the story is to get yourself a doctor! Do this when you are healthy and you will save yourself the stress of having to search for a good one when you are ill.

i'm on hold

Fun day of having the utilities taken out of our names.

Muzak is so awesome :(

new "hobby"

It's 1:45 AM and I can't sleep, so it must be time to blog!

I have found a new hobby - using WebMD to diagnose myself with a myriad of diseases. I know, it is sad.

Most recent diagnoses: diabetes and pulmonary edema. Yeah, for real.

The diabetes ended up being a combination of too little sleep, not enough water and a lot of stress. I actually convinced myself that I was experiencing nerve pain, and I called Jocko at work, in tears, to try and convince him to come back from his trip early to take care of me. Hmmmmmm.

The pulmonary edema ended up being heart burn - I swear, I thought I was having chest pains!

Now, don't think I'm turning into a super hypochondriac. I have not called an ambulance, or scheduled a million doctors appointments; I simply give myself a few hours to decide if I'm really having medical problems, or if the power of suggestion is just a little too much for me to handle.

in case you were wondering...

It is entirely possible to start a fire in your microwave.

1. pop a bag of popcorn for breakfast.
2. do something else while it is popping.
3. return and stare at the horrific amount of smoke pouring out of the microwave.
4. open windows and turn on the fans.

The saddest part is, that was the last bag of popcorn, and I am still really craving popped goodness :(

quickie

1. We closed on our new house last week.
2. We move in Jan 19th.
3. Christmas was very nice, we spent a good amount of time with both of our families.
4. Jocko bought me pearls :)
5. I had so much fun seeing everyone at GLI.
6. In fact, I was still "having fun" at 6:00 PM the next day.
7. And then I had to buck up and be charming at my mom's Christmas party.
8. Oyster crackers have no magical healing properties, but my mom's chili does.
9. I saw Night at the Museum on New Year's Eve.
10. It was super cute.

therapy

Today I self medicated with both retail and baking therapy. Ahhhhhhhhh.

clarification

Thank you all for the kind words, and Jonesy, I especially enjoyed the "bid" for the Imploded Brains Club.

I'm just stressed. With all of the moving chaos, Christmas has totally snuck up on me. Sure I was able to get the cards out (or at least most of them), but I have so many gifts to buy, and wrap, and I just realized I am leaving for Muskegon on Thurs. (T-2 days) and won't be back until after New Years. aaaaarrrrggghhhh.

And I need to clean the house tomorrow because the inspector will be here and I don't want to be embarrassed (so maybe the house isn't dirty, but I want it to sparkle).

And the house is barely decorated, no tree, no lights, just a few knick knacks I pulled out - in fact I still have a harvest wreath on the front door.

Of course, Jocko is in the Fin, and I'm not blaming him for that, but I think my stress level would be so much lower if I could just see him everyday. In fact, this year I believe he has spent more nights out of town than in town. aaaaarrrrgggggggghhhhhhhh.

And to top it all off I don't even have a guinea pig to cuddle with; she's at my cousins until after we move. harumph.

This post is really going no where, I just needed to get it out. Oh, and where's the next meeting of the IBC?

aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrggghhhhhh

my brain is going to implode.

pick a winner, jose!

I've been in The Fin, and we put an offer on a house. Here it is. You can even see a "tour" complete with cheesy background music. We aren't done countering on the house yet, it needs a new roof and we are having estimates completed tomorrow, but I have a feeling this will be our new home :)

The kitchen is fab and I love the neighborhood, oh and the current owners have a guinea pig - not sure how that plays into the appeal of the house, but I thought it was funny.

ETA: the link should work now :)

deer me!

This happened last week, and I was really upset about it, but now it's just really funny.

Apparently I have "gardeners" - yep, the deer have eaten our arborvitae.

I am now the proud owner of three topiary.

accepted!

We have officially accepter an offer on our house!

No Crystal, it wasn't for $20,000 more than our asking price. In fact our house hasn't appreciated that much in the two years we've lived in it, but this is the first house we are selling for a small profit. After doing improvements on our old house we simply broke even, this time we've come out ahead, and I'm happy about that, even if it is only by a little bit.

So, we are set to close on Jan 19, and Jocko and I are going to OH this weekend to pick a house. I'm thinking I'll like the houses more knowing that my house is taken care of.

Would you like to know how I sell my houses quickly? I stage and I pray. It's worked twice, so I'm starting to believe there's something to it.

A few tips:
* fix all real problems
* take down all of the personal photos - they are distracting to buyers
* hang a wreath on the front door - it's like a hug from the house
* list with a reputable agent
* price your property correctly
* pray that the people who need your home will find it.. quickly :)

news flash

We have an offer on our home.

the stats

I'm back in Indy. Driving up to my house and seeing the For Sale sign was super-depressing. Here is the listing. Our realtor has lots of pictures on her site, our listing number is 2673586, it's on the second page.

I house hunted all week long, I found nothing. Remember all the cute, old houses I found? They all suck, not like the pictures at all. I did find two "maybe" houses, both feel like a slap in the face. Every house that I really liked was $350,000 to $1.4 mill, just a little out of budget.

I just want to stay in Indy, I hate Ohio.

busy, busy

So, I forgot how much work goes into selling your home - I swear it was not this stressful 2 years ago. All week long I have been decluttering and staging and packing and calling realtors and talking with the relo company, etc, etc. I am burnt out.

But on Monday I am headed to Troy for the week :) and our house will go on the market sometime next week.

To destress I have been stalking homes in the Findlay area; some favorites so far:

Supercute Historic Type
Another Supercute Historic Type
Historic with "ChaCha" South Main Address
Newer Home

I know Jocko was hoping for another new home, but I just love the old ones, I can't help it!

pop the cork

Today's WOOT! podcast was especially fun. Props to Erika for leading me to this happy little site. :)


Side note:
spell check has issues with "podcast"
suggested replacement: "pitchstone"

Can someone explain pitchstone?

i have password protected myself

Recently, our bank merged with another bank and I received a few suspicious emails from the "bank" - so I changed my login info. At the time I was sure I would remember the new password. Not so sure anymore.

Note to self - write down passwords.

I'm off to my branch to straighten this out.

sausage fingers

I just found Jocko's class ring lying on the steps and decided to slip it onto my finger for safe keeping.

Not a good idea; my sausage fingers have claimed this ring as their own. I can't get it off!

leetle update

I'm back from Ohio, I actually came back early because I was suddenly overwhelmed by the amount of stuff I need to do, and the limited amount of time available.

1. Sell the house: Our realtor came by last night to talk with us and see what we've done with the place. She told me I should stage houses as a career, I apologized profusely because I felt the house was messy. Jocko said I need to relax. Good news: our house should show well, and everything we've done (not too much)will add to it's marketability, also the big M will buy the house if it doesn't sell in 90 days. Bad news: it's just not a great market, and if the big M buys the house we lose a nice extra bonus.

2. Find a new house: I was actually a little excited to do this (ok, a lot)and did a few drive-by's while I was in Findlay. Good news: tons of house for sale in Findlay. Bad news: too many options. Do we downsize, upgrade, get a fixer-upper, move right away, wait awhile, live in town, move to BG? It's a headache.

3. Continue to work: My plan was to go into qualification for directorship and start earning my car Dec. 1, I don't know how I am going to fit this in. I have pushed back my personal goals so much that I am starting to feel like a failure. Good news: there's still time, I can do this. Bad news: I need to work my ass off, and I am beginning to doubt myself.

on the move, again

Yes, I am going to Findlay this weekend for a fundraiser for my Relay for Life team. But that's not the real news.

We are being transferred back to Findlay, OH. Early in October Jocko's supervisor told him there was a new position opening up for him in Findlay, but at the same time Jocko was applying for a different position in Findlay, and he really wanted the job he was applying for. Last week we found out he got it :) So, now he's Mr. District Engineer, and I get to move us again.

Know anyone looking for a nice home in Indy?

j.i.t.

I'm home!

Made it back just in time to hand out candy to the cute trick-or-treaters. There are a ton of kids in our sub and I was worried I would run out of candy and end up passing out 100 calorie packs and bottles of Archer Farms water; but the supply held out and Jocko was sent to work with all leftovers.

Pictures of fabulous trip to Maine will follow. Must work!