So it's official...

Jeff and I are homeowners! We signed all the papers yesterday and the whole process (once our offer was accepted) was really pretty painless and went very smoothly. After we got done with the papers and everything our realtor took us to dinner and then we went to look at furniture. 

We are going in a little while to get the water put into our name, measure square footage for carpet and paint, and get some new locks. We may do a little more looking at furniture, too.  

If all goes according to plan the work can happen pretty quick (if nothing else, on the inside) and we can move by mid-december.

I'm very excited about it. I will probably work on some before and after pictures, but if you've got an excuse to be in the Birmingham area, you're welcome to stop by and see the real thing!

Packing

So we have already established that I'm a bit of a bag whore and can't have enough luggage. I'm also more than a little OCD and I love checklists and organization. So how do these two things interact? I usually start packing for any trip at least a week before I'm scheduled to leave. If it's a really big one that involves the purchase of new items, I will usually start even further out. I started packing for our honeymoon at least two months out. In my defense, I was purchasing new clothes and just wanted them to stay nice and neat in their packaging, plus with all the craziness of moving and what not I wanted to have that suitcase separate and set apart so it was one less thing to worry about. 

We are now less than 4 weeks away from our departure date for the Orlando vacation. All the reservations have been made or confirmed. I have all our important papers in one folder. I am very excited and need to be doing something for it. So I started packing! I have one more load of laundry to do now and I can get several important pieces packed. I have a very short shopping list for a few essential items that will hopefully be taken care of by the end of the week. There are only a few pieces that I will not be able to pack until right before we leave, and those will be on a note pinned to the suitcase so nothing gets forgotten. 

Yes, I am a nut. But I am, at times, a useful nut! And it really doesn't take much to amuse me!

The only thing I have left to tackle - Thanksgiving dinner!

Now, as for my trip to Chattanooga in a little under two weeks - I have not begun to pack for that. In part because I don't know what to pack! Do I dress casually or professionally? I know I'll take the computer but do I need the "grown up" computer bag? Maybe it's because Chattanooga doesn't seem quite so foreign to me or maybe because it's a shorter trip, but I'm not quite as worried about it. Then again, maybe I'm MORE worried about it so I'm putting it off. I have no idea. Like I said, I'm a nut!

Christmas shopping

In an attempt at keeping my life relatively stress free after my Thanksgiving vacation, I have decided to get a head start on my Christmas shopping. Technically I started Christmas shopping in about March (maybe even before) because Jeff and I decided that we would take his grandparents to Discovery Cove over Thanksgiving. We purchased everything in April and then I had to keep my big mouth shut until we gave them the details in July. That took care of Jeff's side of the family for the most part. 

The extended family is going to be pretty easy - copies of the family photos taken at the wedding in a nice frame (and any other photos we think they would enjoy). 

My immediate family is normally a challenge, but I already know what I want to get everyone, it's just a matter of making those purchases. 

I am rather proud of what I came up with for my brother. The challenge is that the original price I saw on it was a little more than I was planning to spend. So Jeff suggested I look on E-bay. I know I am very much behind the times, but I have never used e-bay before. I know Jeff has gotten me a few things from there so I know there is some good deals to be had, but it makes me nervous. I haven't decided what I'll do yet.

And that just leaves the dogs! They are probably getting new beds/pillows, collars, and of course some treats in their stockings!

Garage Sale

Last weekend we had a garage sale with Jeff's extended family. It was a lot of work but it was fun. We got rid of a lot of stuff that was just taking up space. We ended up donating quite a few things, but we also sold a lot. We made a couple of purchases too. I got a small vintage suitcase and carry-on bag that had been his grandmother's, and he got a CB from his uncle. His mom and step-dad actually ended up spending more than they made, but they weren't bad purchases! I think the best part was seeing what everyone else had and was getting rid of. 

I'm not ready to do another one anytime soon, but maybe in a year or so I would consider another one!

Spaghetti x 100

We had our semi-annual UMW spaghetti dinner at the church today. Usually they do a supper where most everyone eats in at the church. Last time they did a few lunch carry-outs so they decided to do that again. Well, we got so many lunch orders that we had to just do carry out lunches as the whole thing. There was a bit of skepticism about how well it would go or how much business we would do, but we sold over 100 plates and had tons of cake left over so all of us that worked got extras!

It was interesting trying to serve that much food in only about two hours with only 5 of us working. But we got it done and really had a good time doing it. We also learned how to streamline the process for next time. I'm still wearing quite a bit of spaghetti and resisting the urge to eat another piece of cake, but after a nap I fell pretty good about the whole thing!