Mexican & Margaritas....

Over the weekend, I attempted to purchase rugs for our master bathroom.  To visualize what some of my size options would look like, I taped them off in the bathroom.  I wasn't successful (as you can probably tell from the picture) in finding something that worked with the floor plan so it is back to the drawing board.  

....and after mexican and margaritas on Saturday night our bathroom ended up looking like this.... ;o)

Here I sit.....

Here I sit writing this post, instead of closing on our home today, as originally planned.  This is the product of several unfortunate events that were out of our control over the past few weeks:

-There were several liens against the home (back taxes, child support, credit card debt) we had to wait to clear in order to get a clean title
-We have waited, and waited, and waited on several documents from the sellers that have arrived in a very untimely manner
-We just got the last of those documents, the HOA disclosures, yesterday
-There is a huge discrepancy in the true square footage of the home and what the tax assessors office has on file....I don't think we are going to be so lucky to pay those deflated taxes!
-While all along, we were supposed to close today, suddenly the seller is realizing how nice free housing is and doesn't want to move out until she absolutely is made to....as you can tell from the above information they are clearly dragging their feet.

So, we are not closing today after all.  As you can see, this is completely out of our control.  Yet, we have spent the last two weeks on the phone, signing papers, keeping everyone on the same page, pushing for documents, securing a loan, picking up what others drop, moving around money, and juggling so many balls just trying to keep them all in the air!  It has brought me to the verge of tears on several occasions, due to the high levels of frustration, and we have sworn we will never buy a short sale ever again!  We have spent entire days working on this like there was no tomorrow...simply exhausting ourselves, yet seeming to have achieved nothing by the time our heads hit the pillow.  I have felt like we were running backwards!  We have done everything to make sure it didn't all come crashing down, and if it did that it wasn't due to lack of effort on our part.  I don't think this quite embodies the level of anxiety we have been under to make this work, close on time, get out of this hotel, compromise with the seller, appease the bank, get our stuff out of storage, and work around Todd's work schedule. 

Yesterday was the eleventh hour, and after a full and stressful day we felt completely defeated and frustrated knowing we would not be closing today and taking possession of the home on Monday, before Todd goes out of town.  Todd and I decided we should get out of the hotel for the night and go out for Mexican and Margaritas...that always seems to make anything better!  It seemed to work!

Today, I thought I would be upset and still frustrated.  However, I feel so at peace with God's timing in this whole thing.  I have spent my morning responding to emails that are unrelated to the house, on the phone with people I want to talk to, and focusing on my grocery list instead of my moving list.  (Sidenote: We are still doing our walkthrough this evening) For some reason, we are supposed to continue living in this hotel, storing our stuff, taking Breck out to a tiny patch of astroturf in my robe every morning, delaying our move date, and eating out of a toaster oven.  God surely is mysterious!! ;o)

This is worth celebrating....

Thank goodness for celebratory drinks to help a girl sleep! If it weren't for having to get up over an hour ago to take a potty break (this is apparently my new thing, I get up several times a night...my bladder shrank or something, and I assure you I am not pregnant!) I would still be asleep.   Very frustrating, but I will save you the details.  With so many things running through my mind I am surprised I made it this long before realizing tossing and turning was futile!  So, I am doing what anyone else in my position might do, blog from bed of course!  ;o)

Sleeping aid

So, why do I write you at 3 am?  What is going through my mind that I can't seem to shake....and probably won't anytime soon?  Well, after three months of waiting, Todd and I got word late yesterday afternoon that the bank accepted our offer on the short sell!  It wasn't the moment I had imagined it to be. Todd had a suspicion, and took the incoming call from our realtor while in a meeting.  He then called me, and I answered the phone in a Nordstrom dressing room, while trying on clothes (okay, and shoes!) that had nothing to do with the dress I was hunting...but it was the half yearly sale!  We rushed off the phone so Todd could get back to his afternoon of meetings, and so that I could begin tackling our suddenly long 'to do' list.  Clearly, neither of us was expecting the call!  We have been told for the past few weeks the sellers anticipated word from the bank soon.  However, we were not holding our breath, and never thought the response would simply be "okay", instead of haggling over inspection companies, contingencies, or the price.  The bank is requiring we close by June 17th, and we are totally fine with that!  The house is being inspected on Tuesday, and we are hoping to get the appraisal in late next week, also.  We are so ready to be out of this hotel and have our stuff out of storage, so a little rushing to close this home is not upsetting us!  All we have with us is what we brought on the plane, and while it easily got us through the first month, we are beginning to have to purchase things we did not forsee needing.  The Hoods are supporting our locally economy, especially Target, Staples, and our neighborhood post office!

As you can tell, this called for a last-minute celebration!   When Todd got home from work, we headed to a Mexican place in town that has awesome fresh margaritas!  I'm not convinced this place is very authentic, but I love the cool lighting, homemade corn tortillas, and their support of local, organic farmers.  If you come stay in the Hood casa, I'm sure we can take you!  We sat at the bar, Todd enjoyed some basketball while I forced him to document the night with a picture, and we toasted our soon-to-be home in California!