Growing Up and Buying a House

Hi Everyone! I know it's been a half of month since I last checked in, and I'm sorry to have been gone so long. However, life has just been cruising along and not much has change. Right now I'm at a point in my life where everyday is often the same, and you just start losing a sense of time. I really can't believe it's already March... where did the time go!

There is one big thing that has been going on but I have yet to share with my blog world... we are buying a house! Ok... we have been actively trying to buy a house but so far things keep falling through. Ever since the first time I posted about putting a bid on a house and it didn't end up working out, so I've been keeping our housing hunting adventures on the D.L. - well until now. 

When it comes to house buying, we are hoping the 3rd time is a charm!

 

This is the third house we have put a bid on, but it's the first house where we had our offer ACCEPTED! However- it's a short sale, so having our offer accepted by the home owners is only the first step of this process. Currently we are playing the waiting game with the bank to find out if they have accepted our offer. Like a home owner, the bank can counter our offer or turn our offer down completely. So we'll see what happens.

 

If everything goes through on this house, I'll be very happy. This house is only a 15 minute drive from my work, it is close to parks, and a cute historical downtown area. Also, it would a really good house to some day start our family.

But like I said- we'll see what happens. I'm trying not to get to excited about this house because we have been disappointed in the past on the other houses. But a little excitement is always going to be there because this is an adventure that is life changing and pretty important. You really need to find a place you can love if your going to invest a lot of money into it- and I really could (do) love this home.

Big Girl Job- 6 Month Check In

I can't believe 6 months ago today was my very first day at my "big girl" job. I have to say I have learned a lot and have had some growing pains to deal with, but I made it through.

There are many things I had to get use to with this new job. One of those things included getting a lunch hour. That may sound crazy but working in banquets for 8 years, you never got a real "lunch break". If you were hungry you just grabbed whatever food you could, whenever you could.

I have to say one of the major downsides to my lunch hour is that I normally have to eat alone. The bosses want an advisor available at all times, so I that means everyone has go to lunch at different times. When I first start working at my job, I always went outside to enjoy my lunch. Nothing is better then getting out of your office and getting fresh air.

However, as winter showed it's ugly face, my outside lunches had to come to an end. So for the last few months I have locked myself into my office and enjoy my lunch from my desk. The only plus side of eating alone in my office is that it gives me time to catch up with my blog reading and Facebook gossip. Plus if it's a sunny day, like today was, I get to tan right from my desk.

It may seem funny that I can tan in my office, but if your ever look at my right arm compared to my left, the right has a lot more color. Also on these sunny day not only can I tan in my office, but if I image hard enough, I can feel like I'm tanning on a beach in Florida. The reason why- because of how hot it gets in my office. How hot you may ask- let me show you.

Yeah- 90+ degrees- my office gets a little toasty on nice sunny days. Today I even had to open my window to let some cool air in. I refuse to turn on my air conditioner during February in Chicago.

Also, as I have gotten into a routine at work, I have also gotten in the habit of eating healthier lunches. Back in grad-school, I always either had some type of fast food or college student left-overs (ex: pizza, Chinese, wings, etc.). However, with my "big girl" job, I figured I should start eating more like a "big girl". Yesterday & today was a good example (being that I had the same meal 2 days in a row)- a huge salad with all the fixings.

In addition to eating healthier, I'm also trying to eat on a budget (well at least on my lunch). Yesterday I brought a big Tupperware container of  lettuce from home, and bought all the fixings in the cafeteria for a whooping $1.40.  Two days of lunch for $1.40- that's a pretty good deal.

On side note- I told my coworker that today was my 6 month anniversary and I loved her response- "And there is going to be another 6 months, and another 6 months, and another 6 months..." then we both just started laughing. I think the reason why she was laughing is because a 6 months work anniversary is kind of silly to celebrate. And I was laughing because this is the first job I've ever had that didn't have a known expiration date to it.

It's weird getting older and becoming a grown up, but that's life.

Honeymoon Recap: I'm on a Boat!

Even though it wasn't my first cruise, I still can't get over how big the ships really are. They are pretty awesome to see up close.

That morning of us leaving to get on the ship, Sam has his biggest "little kid on Christmas morning" smile on his face. I love when he smiles like that. You can tell he was so excited!

I hate going on vacations were you are always waiting in line (ex. Disney) for something. With any cruise there is a line to check in and to board the ship, but I have to say this check in process went so smoothly. Plus I think having friends to talk to (and take pictures of you & husband) makes the waiting in line seem to go by faster.

Once we got on the boat and got our luggage, we didn't waste anytime breaking into our "mouthwash".

If you ever been on a cruise you know the cost of drinks can start to add up fast, so sneaking on your own booze can cut down your cost. If you remember the Christmas pineapple & the New Year's drink- that ended up in that bottle mixed with Blue Curacao. May I say my "mouthwash" was pretty tasty and I got the blue color spot on.

Once we got settled in the boys (& Anna) wanted to try the "Flow Rider". It is a "surfing pool". It's hard to describe but it's pretty cool.

We had got on the boat pretty early, so after the Flow Rider, we wanted to be on deck to watch the ship leave port. It's a fun tradition, and it was the official start of "Float-a-Palooza".

The first day we really did get to do a lot. We ate, we enjoyed the hot tub, we ate again, I napped (everyone else hung out at the bar), and we saw a comedy show.  All in all it was a great day!

Honeymoon Recap: Ft. Lauderdale Fun

May I start off by saying that we were very lucky that I pick an early flight the day we left for Ft. Lauderdale. We just made it out of town (with only about an hour to spare) before the 7 inches of snow hit Chicago hard. It was so bad that the university I work for closed early (which never happens).

(At the airport ready to get the honeymoon started!)

I have to say we all were happy campers about missing the storm and the warm weather Ft. Lauderdale offered. However, we did end up stranded at the airport for a little while. 

(Just hanging outside the airport with no place to go)

We were saved by our friend Jen who decided she would drive down from Chicago. We had to make two trips to get everyone to the hotel, but I have to say it was nice not having to wait 3 hours for the hotel shuttle to start running for the day.

After we made it to the hotel and check in, we all went to our rooms to get settled in and relax for a bit. Once our friend EJ made it to the hotel, we all were ready to go out and find something to eat. Being that none of us knew where to go, we decided to go to a "bar & grill" that was advertised in the hotel guide in our rooms. When we pulled up- to say this place looked "shady" would be an understatement, but we went in anyway.

So when we walked in, there was no one there expect for one bartender and 3 people sitting at a table. The place didn't "open" until 4:00pm and it was only 3:30pm, but we were welcomed to hang out and the bartender got us some drinks.

This bar knew how to make a drink. I stuck with my rum & coke, but the boys got to enjoy many of the different types of beer this bar had to offer.

(If you stick your tongue in it, no one else will drink it)

This bar had a huge selection of beers with many different crazy flavors. Chocolate, pumpkin, and banana just name a few. The drinks very good, and the food wasn't bad either. I had the wings- and those were really good.

After dinner myself and a few of the girls went to get our nails done. I've made it a tradition to get my nails done before I go on vacation. I didn't have time before I left Chicago, but I wanted to keep the tradition alive. Finding a nail salon in Florida isn't hard- just go to any strip mall and you'll find one, so that's what we did.

 (Of course I went with my wedding color- Purple!)

I went in to the salon with the plan to just get my toes painted, but somehow I got talked into getting eyebrows waxed. I was tricked a little pregnant Alain lady, but after a few drinks it wasn't that hard to do. Oh well. They came out nice (after the redness and itching went away).

Once we got back to the hotel, our other friends Joel and Casey were there and we final got the whole honeymoon crew together. That could only mean one thing- the honeymoon officially had begun.

For the rest of the night we just hung out, had a few more drinks, shared a few laughs, and just enjoyed our evening with great friends. The next day we would be on the boat, and we were all excited for what the rest of trip would have in store. If this first night was any indication- it was going to be a great vacation (and it was)!

Float-a-Palooza 2012

Early on in the honeymoon planning, Sam and I joked that our honeymoon was a going to be a big "float trip". Our college friends have a tradition of going on float trips. Basically you get a group of friends together, drive to Missouri, camp, drink, and float down a river in rafts- that's float trip in a nut shell.

(Float Trip 2010)

So our honeymoon cruise had all the makings of a new and improved float trip. We had a great group of friends, we traveled to FL (which is nicer but further then MO), we get to stay and sleep on the boat, and of course there were drinks to be had. 

However, we couldn't call our honeymoon a "float trip", because well it's not; so we had to come up for a name for our cruise... we came up with "Float-a-Palooza 2012".  Here is how float trip compared to Float-a-Palooza-

Our "Raft"

 Float Trip 2010 vs. Float-a-Palooza 2012

&

Our "Camp Site"

Float Trip 2010 vs. Float-a-Palooza 2012

 (Our stateroom- we got a balcony room!)

I have to say Float-a-Palooza was a lot more comfortable and had a lot less bugs to deal with. And you got to love went you don't have to worry about steering away from rocks (you just have to hope your captain is worrying about it).

However, float trips are all about the people who were there and the stories you left with. And like every other float trip, Float-a-Palooza didn't disappoint when it comes to good stories. But you'll just a have to wait to hear them! (Got to keep you wanting more!)

Questions: Have you ever been on a real float trip?